XCAN Day 12 Grey Creek to Yahk

Distance:              108.52km

Time:                     4:47 

Elevation gained:  1088 m

Weather:                Sunny  7 - 28 C

Flats:                      none

After last nights Thunder and lightning storm we awoke to beautiful blue sky, however a little chilly.   Got ready to ride and left camp at 8:59.  Nancy and Dave left a few minutes early and I rode with Mike and waited for him every 20 k.  Met up with Nancy and Dave and we all leapfrogged with the Aussie couple again today.  They travel at a good clip with their big packs.

Weather was perfect for riding and coming down the eastern side of Kootenay Lake was beautiful.  Calm winds and very little traffic on the roads made for an amazing day. Saw an Osprey on a tree and then about 100m further another one sitting on a nest on some pylons in the water.  

 It was a lot of small uphills and down…all the way to Creston.  Just before Creston there was a large uphill but luckily our Garmin showed us a nice route along the fields well below the climb.  

When Mike caught up we planned a stop at a coffee shop. Black Bear Bookshop for lunch for some and coffee.  They served Oso Negro coffee so matched Nelson in quality.  

After lunch we had 40 k more to do.  The grade was okay…usually 1-3 % with a few 8-10 % thrown in just for fun.  

Arrived at Yahk and hunkered down with recovery protein drinks for some, cokes and chips for others.  Somehow a whole bag of chips got eaten…Dave?

Showers, (Bathroom Rating a 1.5 - 2 with Castlegar being the 10 so far)  Nancy did like the unlimited hot water and the close proximity which raised the rating up by .5.  

Dinner and then used toothpicks to try to keep our eyes open. It was a long day today.  Our first over 100K and Garmin did lie today again and added on an extra 300 M of elevation, but a few more days and then we are on the prairies!  

I think we are all looking forward to an rest day in Cranbrook on Thursday!

That's all for now!

Heidi