Day 8 was the longest day yet! 130km!
The ordeal began with a 30km ride to Pemberton, a small, quiet town where I sat and got some food at a coffee shop in preparation for the long day ahead.
Leaving Pemberton on HWY99 I peddled for a few kilometres along flat, windy, green tunnel roads, past pastures and lakes.
A few kilometres down the road was the dreaded climb up the Duffy Lakes Road.
Originally when I was approaching from the East side the climb was just as big but drawn out over 60ish km. This was over 3480 ft of elevation over 13km....that’s steep!
Once at the top the hard work for the day was done.
I had planned to complete this section from the East side in 2 days because of the 60km climb but In reverse with the climbing behind me I now had a 60km descent!
Why wait?
After stopping for some photos at the top I jumped back in the saddle and got myself comfortable for the remainder of the day.
I coasted comfortably at a speed I will not disclose for my mothers sake. (She would NOT be happy)
I wizzed past miles and miles of forest and countless peaks, flying by lake after lake.
I paused for a long break when I saw I had covered 30km in 28 minutes.
On the side of the blissfully quiet road in a small pull out I ate Idahoan mashed potatoes (newly discovered favourite travel meal) and sunbathed beneath the Trembling Aspens.
All of a sudden I was approached by somebody. A man named Chris Panasky who was also on a bike tour, one much bigger than mine. If you’re interested in hearing about his whopping 9000km trip up to the Yukon and over to Newfoundland or want to listen to any of the cool interviews he has done with bikepackers from all over the world, you can check out his podcast at Bike Tour Adventures on Spotify.
After becoming fast friends and realizing we were heading the same way for the next 80km we decided to join forces and sped off on a very fast paced adventure.
When I say fast paced I mean to say we descended 2326ft over 20km.
It was brief!
Sorry mum!
The red rock canyons and mountain tops of the Thompson river valley are probably some of the most beautiful sights I have EVER seen.
we dropped into Lilooet BC where we crushed a couple of beers and traded stories before finding a sweet spot to camp right on the Fraiser River.
Some Day!
I threw In a few photos from a previous trip to lillooet as we were moving too fast to take any pictures
Currently listening to
The wind!!!!!!!!
Current feelings
GOINGSOFAST!!!
If you feel that all children deserve to be loved and nurtured and want to donate to a great charity go here
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/y9zdzc-peaks-to-pacific
#savethechildren #bikepacking #charityride #charity #mountains #adventure #opus #specializedbikes #alberta #bc #canmore #victoriabc
Sounds like a good day....I'm not even going to think about the speeds...my worry-ometer is already registering a 10 so can't cope with any more stress!! But just so you know, the level of grey hairs I have developed over the past few years have accelerated to outnumber the coloured ones in the past month!!! So glad you are back to enjoying the ride and meeting fellow cyclists along the way must be encouraging and inspirational. Hope all continues to go well but PLEASE slow down!! 🤤🚴♂️😘