June 3 - Hope to Princeton

Bike log: 134km, 1900m of vertical, avg speed 24.9 km/h

That was quite a day! 134km plus nearly 2 km of vertical. There were 2 pretty good passes. This is a photo of me at the top of the 2nd pass. The first was a bit higher and steeper.

We got a good start to the day - on the road before 8. Last night just as we were going to bed, another cyclist rolled up to the campsite beside us. Another guy with a massive bike trailer. I did not talk to him, but he had a little Swiss flag on the back of his bike trailer. It was pretty late to be getting in. As he was cooking dinner, I saw him light up a cigarette! Insane! It made me feel kind of wimpy, seeing him with that huge trailer, and still able to puff a cigarette. He was also on the road before us this morning, around 7. However, I felt quite a bit better when I passed him on the first hill - walking his bike. I chatted very briefly with him, he seemed to be OK with lugging his bike up. I told him it was a long way...but he was Swiss so he already knew. I wonder how far he made it today, those were some very long hills. I also wonder how much longer he will be pulling all that weight.

The terrain is not too steep yet. Just long. I am glad I have been training on the really steep stuff around Victoria (Mt. Doug, Dunsmuir, Munn Rd) as it makes these hills not seem so bad. I have not had to use less than 3rd gear yet. However, I am pretty sure that will change before too long. I find alternating between sitting and standing helps to break things up too, use different muscles.