Up and at ‘em at 5.15AM, Chris and I expected to break camp and get on the road early. Turns out when you have someone to chat too in the morning you end up moving much slower than you think. After breaking down our camp, retrieving our bear bag, collecting water and having a very relaxed breakfast we didn’t end up on the bikes until about 8.30.
The day started out pretty relaxed with a small climb out of Lillooet. On the way out we bumped into another bike packer who was doing a very cool historical gold miners route around the area. Definitely one for a future gravel bike trip!!
After chatting about gold minors and pioneers for a short time we took off again and the climbing really began.
The heat and desert sun made for a tough morning but by 1pm we were over the worst of it.
We took a swim in Pavillion Lake at the highest point of the day and I scrubbed what I could of the stink out of my kit.
The next hour and a half was seemingly down hill but because of the landscape and strange angles of the road we kept on finding ourselves riding false descents. This is an optical illusion that occurs when you are cycling uphill but due to the terrain You are lead to believe you are cycling downhill but pushing very hard. SUPER STRANGE FEELING!
Finally we hit a large decent that took us down the valley, past the red rock mountains and desert pastures and dropped us at historical Hat Creek Ranch.
This was the end of the line for myself and Chris. We had lunch, took some photos, hugged and wished each other safe travels and as I cycled south, he turned north to Dawson City, Yukon Territory. (Crazy B@#%*!d)
After a 10km ride on the good old Trans-Canada Highway I made it to Cache Creek Where I sat on a bench and started looking for somewhere to set up camp for the night.
Not too long after that I met a man named Ben who took interest in the bike and we got talking about my trip and the charity.
He kindly offered to let me camp in his back garden and introduced me to his lovely wife Karen.
They invited me to have dinner with them where we had great conversation and after enjoying a back yard fire and watching the sun set over the hills and canyons it was time for me to hit the sack.
Currently listening to
Good conversation
Current feelings
Hot, Sticky, Tired, Happy
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