Christina
Lake to Crawford Creek
Daily
distance: 263 km (164 mi)
Riding Time:
19 h
Total
distance: 795 km (494 mi)
Standing:
2nd place
My alarm started beeping and I thought, “Great, I got up at
3am as planned”. I commenced getting
ready, had a nice cleansing coughing fit and packed up. Once I started riding, I realised that I
slept through my 3am alarm and got up at my 4am alarm. Oh well, I probably needed the sleep. Today was the day with the ferry. About 225km of riding and the last ferry
leaves at 9:40pm… no problem. The trail
was more pleasant rail grade up and over a pass. The tunnels here were awesome! Some were really long and dark with water
dripping from the ceiling. I loved
it!
 |
| Long, dark, drippy tunnel |
On the descent, the trail started to parallel a really big
lake. The views were great! I was keeping a good pace and was breathing
well. I found the mornings were the best
times for breathing well. Later in the
afternoon is when my airway would start to close up.
 |
| View of the lake near Castlegar |
I was planning on stopping in Castlegar for some cough
medicine. The trail met up with the
highway and I followed it down across a big bridge. I stopped to see where a store might be and
discovered I missed Castlegar. It was back
up the huge hill and off route. No
problem, Trail is only about 40-50km away. Hopefully the trail is as easy going
as it was in the morning. I continued
on. I checked Trackleaders and saw
Lennard was about 20-30km ahead. The
best thing for me to do is keep on riding and minimise stopping time. Hopefully he would stop to take a nap or
something. Haha. Little I knew the trail to Trail (had to say
it) was not easy going.
The single track was fun, but tough. Steeper climbs than the rail grade so I was
required to push my bike at times. The
trail paralleled the river and went up and down the riverbank. It even went through the river at times and I
had to wade through shin-deep water. I
enjoyed it, but it was slow. I started
doing the math. It’s 1pm and I have to
make the ferry in about 8.5 hours. I am
no longer averaging 20km/hr and I have no idea what the trail is like on the
way. I had better keep going and hope
for the best. On I went, pushing and
riding where I could. The trail would go
over loose rock and through thick river bushes.
Again, lots of fun, but the ferry started nagging in my mind. I resolved to stop fast in Trail and ride
without stopping until I got to the ferry.
I had no idea if I had to be early to get on either. We recently took the ferry from North
Vancouver to Nanaimo and had to be there early to get on. All I could do is ride. Whatever happens - happens.
I got into Trail at about 2pm. I had 7.5 hours to go about 120km. If the riding is easy, I should be able to
cover that in about 6 hours. If it’s not
easy, I would take much longer. I had
better hurry!! I stopped at Safeway and
wandered the aisles looking for supplies.
Gas stations are much easier to resupply in. More cold drinks, less ground to cover
looking for snacks, and more ready-to-eat sandwiches. The good thing is they had a pharmacy so I
was able to get some cough syrup. I took
some, but it didn’t seem to help that much.
Off I go to catch a ferry!
The road to Salmo was all paved so I made good time. Hooray!
Since I had no idea what was ahead, I was hoping I could keep a good
pace. On the way to Salmo, the sleep
monster hit me and I stopped for a quick nap.
I vowed to never ride drowsy due to safety and the fun factor. On the Tour Divide, I would try to push
through the drowsiness and it was miserable; not to mention unsafe. I stopped for a quick 10 minute nap and
snapped out of the drowsy zone. The
little magenta line on my GPS turned north at Salmo and I was back on gravel
rail trail. Uh oh, slower going. It was about 5pm now. 4.5 hours until the ferry and about 70-80km
to go. I pushed on up the gravel rail
grade. As I reached the summit, I was
riding along a creek and heard some crashing in the bushes. I looked to my right and saw the square head
of a grizzly on the other side of the creek.
I whispered, “Hey bear” (no voice) and kept riding. I blew my whistle a few times, but I wasn’t
too worried since he was on the other side of the creek. After the summit, I started the descent into
Nelson. It was about 7:30pm and I had
about 40km to go. This was going to be
close. I blasted through town and was
happy to see it was pavement all the way to the ferry. I tucked into the aero bars and went as fast
as my single speed could take me. My
throat was getting drier and drier no matter how much water I drank. I kept rolling and staring at my clock. The darkness fell and I rolled up to the
ferry terminal at 9:32pm. Eight whole
minutes to spare. I still didn’t know if
I was going to get on so I attempted to ask a guy in uniform coming from the
boat. I opened my mouth to ask him what
to do and nothing came out. I had never
lost my voice that bad. I whispered my
questions to him and found out the ferry was free and all I had to do was ride
my bike on at 9:40. I made it!! I even had time to get some drinks and food
at the store at the station.
 |
| On the ferry |
The ferry
ride was about 35min long and I had a chance to use the bathroom and charge my
battery pack. On the other side, I
started riding and looking for a place to sleep. I found a spot in the trees by a creek and go
to sleep about 12am.
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