Day 11: 72 Km-

Well, today was perhaps the greatest day yet although it seems we keep saying that--things just keep getting better as we move along! The weather was perfect, 9 of us out on the road, mostly flat and downhill, creek running along beside us, first glimpse of snow capped Rockies--topped off with a welcome potluck in Revelstoke!

I wouldnt say 100% great though, there were a couple scary and angry moments. Bridges along this stretch are less than ideal, tiny shoulders with deadly drainage grates along them. I was crossing a bridge and had checked my rearview to see what i thought was a break in traffic from the rear. Halfway across the bridge, with oncoming traffic, all of a sudden a huge logging truck was RIGHT beside me with its wind making me shake as I tried to avoid both slipping under and falling into a drainage grate dip. I made it to the other side alive. A little shaken up and a couple deep breaths later I pedalled on. I was pretty angry though, and then a huge semi full of squeeling and squished pigs went by which really topped things off. Martina has a story of her own---our first experience so far with things being thrown from cars. We think it was either a cherry or a strawberry...hard to say given the speed we were travelling at but it definitely came from a large black truck with Alberta plates..hhhm, Alberta might be an interesting leg of the journey. Our friend Will who was riding ahead also got a cherry thrown at him. AND, while stopped in a construction zone, Martina got stuck in her clip pedals and toppled over. As i tried to help her i also toppled over with my bike, a bit of a bike pile up ;)

Following all of this, especially the incident with the logging truck, I have really realized just how big of a commitment this trip is. I am setting intentions of safety and momentumas we continue onward---embarking into the Rockies tomorrow!

So that about finishes up with all the bad news of the day. Overall, the weather, scenery and great people really made today "perhaps the greatest day yet". A big thanks to all the lovely folks in Revelstoke that have put us up and shared their potluck with us! Sad to say that Will and Kesten will be heading back to Kamloops tomorrow, but there is great hope that they will again turn up further down the road somewhere---likely Regina!

Rumours of headwinds tomorrow, dreaming of taildwinds tonight.

Day 10: 96 Km-Do you guys ever drool on long downhills?-Kesten

A tough day towards the end but full of laughs none the less. The title of this blog is one of many hilarious moments we have had since we met our good friend and dedicated cyclist, Kesten, in Kamloops. I'm not sure if anyone else other than him actually does drool on long downhills, maybe that is something yet to be discovered for us.

We left Golden Ears farm in Chase this morning following an early morning sweat lodge with Vilodja where we set our intention for the trip and were blessed with prayers of safety and momentum for this journey. This was my first sweat lodge and i was a bit overwhelmed by the intensity of the heat, a jump in the river was the perfect cure! We left with 8 this morning and are now 6; myself, Martina, J.D, Laurie, Will and Kesten.

The first 60km of todays ride were fantastic, the last 30 were a bit gruelling. After a great swim in Canoe, we were all feeling a bit fatigued as we pedalled up long hills. About 20 km outside of sicamous we were faced with an intense headwind (note the trees in the photo below), tiny shoulders, winding road and barrelling semis--not the best way to end the day! at last, we made it safe and sound!

We have enjoyed our evening; pasta for dinner, cool breezes, goopy chocolate almonds, Kesten cycling around in his token Fairmont bath robe and slippers, reciprocal massages, and now---bedtime!

Day 9 - 68km The most delicious strawberries in the world

Yesterday morning came a little to early for my liking since we had been out at a show at the loft the night before and stayed out way past our regular bedtime of nightfall. Luckily the wafting scent of pancakes drew me out of bed in time to get going for the farmer's market. We zoomed down the hills of Kamloops one last time and headed for the local farmer's market for our send-off. The CFJC news team came down to do a quick interview which was great, our camera girl was really into the campaign and wanted to follow our progress and do a story on us until she found out we weren't local Kamloops girls, I think that probably burst both of our bubbles when we realized it wouldn't work out. We did a little outreach at the farmer's market, it's so much easier when we are wearing out superhero costumes because everyone is curious and wants to talk to us! We also took advantage of all the great local, organic produce and stocked up on food for lunch! We set off just before 10am with 4 new riders and for the first time on the journey the guys out numbered the girls! We had another quick radio interview on the street on the way out of town and then we were on our way.

We travelled along a great back road that followed the river's path and had next to no traffic so were able to ride along socially 2 or 3 wide. Had a couple stops for swimming in the river and before we crossed the river to the highway we stopped for lunch beside the river. We had the most killer spread of fresh fruit, veggies and bread including the MOST DELICIOUS strawberries I have ever tasted! Given to us for free courtesy of Golden Ears Farm - thank you, thank you, thank you!

The second half of the ride was a little less pleasant since I had gorged myself at lunch and my shorts were unpleasantly tight and also we were facing a headwind and riding on the highway. Luckily we had covered most of the distance before lunch so the ride wasn't too long and there was a nice cool river waiting to be jumped in (or slowly waded into in my case cuz i'm a chicken) at the end of the day! We spent the night camping at the Golden Ears Farm which is an organic co-op run by a very diverse and funky group of people. We were given a tour of the farm including the opportunity to pick (and eat) raspberries off of the cane and to have some more of the uber delicious strawberries. That night we ate dinner with the group, a delicious curry made with squash from the garden, and fresh custard rhubarb pie for desert! We finished the night off with a sing-a-long campfire and then crawled into our beds for a good sound sleep! Quite possibly the best day of the trip so far! Can you tell I really like food and that plays a huge factor in good vs bad days?

Cheers! Martina