Monday, July 4, 2005
Day 7 – Distance: 65.96 km
Spences Bridge to Merritt, BC
What a night! The campground was great, but there was a train track on either side of the Thompson River, and they were both well used – all night! Needless to say, we got up nice and early and got on the road by 7:35, after a cold cereal breakfast at the campground. We loaded up the van, but left Adele napping, as we intended to meet her at day’s end in Merritt. Finally, a day where she didn’t have to be at our beck and call. This was the first day we had a road with very little traffic; the surface was a bit rough, and there were no paved shoulders, but it didn’t matter; I rode in the middle of the road for most of the trip. The scenery was absolutely spectacular – very barren in a way, with sandstone mountains, but with ranches alongside the Nicola River. We stopped every ten minutes or so to take photos, and little rests. Because, of course, perfection is hard to find, and although Hwy 8 follows the river, it does not stick to the river BED. The ranchers were irrigating the bits of flat land near the river, and of course it makes sense that the road would have to take second place. It had lots of climbs and down hills, many of which we also had to pedal down because there was a fairly strong head wind all day. Eventually, Monique decided her muscles weren’t ready for the effort, and she urged me to go ahead, which I did. She went her own pace, and Adele picked her up when she came by. We all ended up stopping for a bit of lunch together, then I continued. I reached Merritt about 1:30 pm, to find that the other two had already put up my tent for me. What a treat! I stretched, then had a shower and we headed into Merritt to find some food and wine. It started to rain before we got back, but this campground has a covered picnic pavilion, so we enjoyed the take out food we had bought at the grocery store there. In fact, that’s where I’m typing out this log right now!
For the record, I think I sorted out my odometer yesterday, and it is now reading accurately (I guess I inadvertently inflated my mileage and speed a bit for the past few days. Sorry!) Evidently it can be set up for two different wheel sizes, and somehow the odometer that was tracking my distance was not the right one. Luckily I found out now, although it did make the day seem more difficult.
Flora and fauna notes: I took a photo of a beautiful brown-eyed susan (a brown centre with a red ring, different from our black-eyed susans). I saw several ospreys, and also the tail end of a fox retreating behind a rock. Also, the smell of all the clovers growing alongside the road has been almost heady – and wonderful.
Spences Bridge to Merritt, BC
What a night! The campground was great, but there was a train track on either side of the Thompson River, and they were both well used – all night! Needless to say, we got up nice and early and got on the road by 7:35, after a cold cereal breakfast at the campground. We loaded up the van, but left Adele napping, as we intended to meet her at day’s end in Merritt. Finally, a day where she didn’t have to be at our beck and call. This was the first day we had a road with very little traffic; the surface was a bit rough, and there were no paved shoulders, but it didn’t matter; I rode in the middle of the road for most of the trip. The scenery was absolutely spectacular – very barren in a way, with sandstone mountains, but with ranches alongside the Nicola River. We stopped every ten minutes or so to take photos, and little rests. Because, of course, perfection is hard to find, and although Hwy 8 follows the river, it does not stick to the river BED. The ranchers were irrigating the bits of flat land near the river, and of course it makes sense that the road would have to take second place. It had lots of climbs and down hills, many of which we also had to pedal down because there was a fairly strong head wind all day. Eventually, Monique decided her muscles weren’t ready for the effort, and she urged me to go ahead, which I did. She went her own pace, and Adele picked her up when she came by. We all ended up stopping for a bit of lunch together, then I continued. I reached Merritt about 1:30 pm, to find that the other two had already put up my tent for me. What a treat! I stretched, then had a shower and we headed into Merritt to find some food and wine. It started to rain before we got back, but this campground has a covered picnic pavilion, so we enjoyed the take out food we had bought at the grocery store there. In fact, that’s where I’m typing out this log right now!
For the record, I think I sorted out my odometer yesterday, and it is now reading accurately (I guess I inadvertently inflated my mileage and speed a bit for the past few days. Sorry!) Evidently it can be set up for two different wheel sizes, and somehow the odometer that was tracking my distance was not the right one. Luckily I found out now, although it did make the day seem more difficult.
Flora and fauna notes: I took a photo of a beautiful brown-eyed susan (a brown centre with a red ring, different from our black-eyed susans). I saw several ospreys, and also the tail end of a fox retreating behind a rock. Also, the smell of all the clovers growing alongside the road has been almost heady – and wonderful.
posted by BikingBabe at 1:55 PM
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