XCAN Day 5 - Manning to Hedley

Distance: 91.9

Elevation: 841m

Time: 3:50

Flats: none

Weather: sunny and warming

Started cold and sunny - 7 degrees.  But after the last two days we were glad to see the sun.

The start was downhill for the first 17km then a constant 5km climb, a slight downhill and another climb before heading down to Princeton.


Weather continued to warm and we were stripping layers most of the day.

At the coffee stop in Princeton we ran into some local ladies who told us about the Old Hedley Road as an alternative to the highway.  That was lovely as it got us off the busy roads and onto a scenic back road.  Thank you ladies.

When we arrived at the campground the trailer was set up and ready for snacks.  Our best campground to date although the showers still only give you five minutes at a time.  Who can have a shower in 5 minutes?!

Start for tomorrow is 13 degrees and 25 in Osoyoos.  Setting up nicely for our first rest day afterwards.

XCAN Day 3 Chilliwack to Sunshine Valley (It wasn't sunny by the way)

Total Time 3:49

Distance         81.6

Elevation        930m

No Flats

Weather        Rain all day!

Great sleep last night by all.  Packed up and saw Greg off.  We started out this morning in overcast conditions and no sooner did we hit the road and it started spitting. From there it got much much wetter.  

Had to stop a few times to check out the course, because Heidi in all her wisdom didn’t want to trust Garmin.  We hit Yale Road and after about 20 or so Km we were able to get back on course.  Crossed the Fraser and headed towards Hope.  Mike says it was a nice ride on that side of the Fraser for sure. Garmin routes are still great!

Stopped for a quick snack at a rest area and cooled down so had to get moving.  

Arrived at Hope and stopped for coffee and ate our lunch at Blue Moose Coffee shop…with 2 busses of Tourists. Not the fastest service as was so busy...but coffee was good!

Great route out of Hope and after 3 km on the freeway turned off on the Crowsnest Highway #3.    A lot less traffic and good shoulder.  

Trucker rock!!!  They move over nicely for you!  

We hit the last long grade…nothing over 8% and might have felt the elevation change a bit.

Passed the Hope Slide and then it was 2 Km of the coldest downhill so far!  

Quickly hopped into the hot tub and warmed up.  A shower and laundry and then a clean up of the bikes, finished off the afternoon.

No cell or Internet until Tuesday night…so keep the faith and stay tuned.

Mike

2018 xCanada Ride - Day 2 is in the bag

A pretty easy day today. All the hills were at the start and it was easy sailing afterwards.
Distance: 85.4 km
Elevation gain: 419m
Time: 3:28
Flats: none!

A really nice route once we got out of Surrey and Fort Langley the roads were quiet.  A few big rigs but once they took the turnoff to Hwy 1 it was just us and other bikers.


And when was the last time you saw one of these:

Day started out cloudy but by the end it was sunny and 21c. A perfect day for riding.
A nice coffee stop in Aldergrove was all we needed.

Mike is reporting he had a sore butt today - all other butts are intact!

Not there yet, but getting closer.

Day 1 X Canada

Nanaimo to Surrey

Total Kilometers    47.6
Total Time             1:58
Total Elevation      292M
Flat Tires                 2
Blue Herons         Hundreds

We started the day at Maffeo Sutton Park at 10 am dipping our wheels in the lagoon, with friends and family.  Thank you to everyone who came down to see us off and wish us well.

A quick ride to the Duke Point Ferry Terminal where we met up with Greg.  Upon arriving at Tsawassen Terminal we rode in the truck to a pull out just off the causeway.  We would not have been able to get out bikes out of the trailer on the ferry.

Just as we were about to start riding, Heidi had a flat.  Dave had one this morning which he noticed when putting his bike on the bike rack.

While we were stopped in Tsawassen, there were

hundreds of Blue Herons nesting in the trees beside the road.  Nancy said we were in their flight path but were lucky we were not dropped on!

A good ride through Ladner on back roads picked by Garmin.  No traffic to contend with until we hit Surrey.  Lots of traffic and didn't help that it was rush hour!

Mike cooked dinner tonight, was very tasty.  Leslie, Arthur and Aliyah stopped by for a quick visit.

A quick walk after dinner and then settled down for the night.  Good day.  No rain.

Looking forward to Day 2

2 More Sleeps!!

Winding up our preparations.   Dry food purchases for the first two weeks done and Nancy and I are meeting tomorrow for the fresh food.  Trailer is looking good but I am sure there will be lots of rearranging going on as we get used to the layout.

A few people have asked what our itinerary will be so am going to post the first couple of weeks.  We  thank everyone for all the encouragement and support.  I am sure it will help us on our way!  Nancy has booked a wine tour for our first rest day in Osoyoos!  Time to stock up.  

Weather forecast isn't great for Friday...but maybe if we start in the rain we won't have much more along the way.  Heres hoping?!!?  That is all for now.  Heidi

British Columbia	Date	Start	Finish
1	01-Jun	Nanaimo - TBD	Surrey
2	02-Jun	Surrey	Chilliwack
3	03-Jun	Chilliwack	Hope
4	04-Jun	Hope	East Manning Park
5	05-Jun	East Manning Park	Hedly
6	06-Jun	Hedly	Osoyoos
7	07-Jun	Rest Day	Osoyoos
8	08-Jun	Osoyoos	Greenwood
9	09-Jun	Greenwood	Christina Lake
10	10-Jun	Christina Lake	Castlegar
11	11-Jun	Castlegar	Gray Creek
12	12-Jun	Grey creeK	Yank
13	13-Jun	Yank	Cranbrook
14	14-Jun	Cranbrook. Rest	Cranbrook
15	15-Jun	Cranbrook.	Fernie
16	16-Jun	Fernie	Frank/Bellvue, AB
Alberta

The countdown is on!

In 5 days our epic adventure begins. The training is done, the bike supplies bought, the route finalized.  All that's left is shopping for food, packing up the trailer, and hitting the road.  We will be leaving Friday June 1 from the Swy-A-Lana lagoon in Maffeo Sutton Park, Nanaimo between 10:00 and 10:15am and riding to Duke Point Ferry.  If you would like to come by and say hello/goodbye or, better yet, ride with us to Duke Point, we would love to see you there.  At this point, the weather forcast for Friday is chance of a shower but we are hoping for sun and clouds.  We will do our best to post to this blog on a daily basis starting June 1 so if you would like to receive notifications please subscribe to the blog.  And feel free to drop us a note along the way, we love to hear from you.

Three Weeks!!

Time has flown by and we are down to three weeks, just 21 days, before we leave on our journey.

With the help of Mike's brother in law, Tom, the trailer was dewinterized on Wednesday and all water tanks rinsed out yesterday.  Greg and I being new at the RVing thing, it was nice to have the help.  (Actually Tom did it all, we watched). A few more items to complete on the trailer, mounting another battery and Greg's garmin and backup camera and she *the trailer, will be ready on the outside.

There has been some nice weather for rides in the past few weeks.  It is still cool some days and quite warm other days.  I guess that is what spring is on the Island!  The foursome have done some rides together and some on our own, fitting into our oh so busy retirement schedules.  It will be nice to be on the road and have the main focus as riding without all the other stuff that has been happening around here.

Our cycling kits were finalized, ordered and we have now received our kits.  I think we will be able to be seen on the road for sure!  Nice and bright, red and white!

Nancy organized a group bike maintenance course with Robin from Coal City Cycles on Bowen Road in Nanaimo.  We were cancelled for the first try and after meshing schedules we were able to get together on Wednesday night.  It was great. Some stuff we knew, but it always helps to review. Then we covered a lot of new areas, chain replacement, gear lube, brake and gear adjustment etc.  So a Big Thank you to Robin for his time to make us more comfortable on the road with all the positive energy we received and having more confidence with our rides.

At the Coal City bike maintenance gathering, a couple others participated,  Dan and Chris.  Was nice to meet them as well.  Chris is starting Mid June and flying into Inuvik and going up to Tuk and then riding from Tuktoyaktuk to the bottom of the Baja.  That sounds like an amazing trip and we wish all the best to him on his journey!


We will be getting out and doing a lot more rides in the next few weeks.  Some days riding north through Parksville Qualicum and others down south through Cedar and South Nanaimo.

It is so pretty out there riding the mid Island when it is sunny.  There have been quite a few headwinds lately which are getting us ready for the Prairies!!  We are also getting in some hill work in for that dreaded 30 K climb out of Osoyoos.

Still have a bit of last minute planning to do and a few things to pick up.  Nancy and I will spend an afternoon out at the trailer organizing and making sure we have what we need.  Nancy and Dave want to have a sleepover in the trailer soon so they have time to do additions to their beds for comfort if need be.  Mike has his eye on a nice new air mattress for his comfort.

Exciting times ahead for sure.  We all will have  busy 3 weeks coming up.  

I will try to make more of an effort to take a few more pictures in the next few weeks while we are out and about. It is not like I am travelling too fast and not able to stop!

Heidi