Bill Markvoort
|
Tuesday, 08 July 2008 |
|
Readers Ride photos can be found at the following site which is open to the public. http://www.flickr.com/photos/billmarkvoort/collections/72157606046768553/
|
|
|
Monday, 30 June 2008 |
|
June 29, 2008 The final day. In some ways it feels as if we have been riding together forever, one small town melting into another, but then at other times it seems such a short time ago since we pulled out of the parking lot in White Rock. Nevertheless here we are, one good day of cycling from Banff. We have developed quite an entourage as well. Dave Strange’s wife Heather and son Carter will be meeting us in Banff as will Bea, Brian Carlson’s wife. Also here for the final day is Sandi’s husband, Dennis, and his father who used Sandi’s cycling excursion as an opportunity to go on a golfing excursion of their own. John Edworthy’s wife, Heather and my wife Janet drove up to Radium in a boss, black Mustang. As mentioned Eva and her friend Kassia had arrived a day earlier to lend vocal, moral, and artistic support. Facing another day of 35+ temperatures we made the logical decision to start early and get the first climb out of the way before the heat settled into the day. John was first out of the gate and the only one to follow the previous evening’s game plan of cycling to the Husky and continuing on right after breakfast. He departed at 8:00am and the rest of us were on the road within the half hour. As soon as you leave the main highway 95 to Golden and turn off on Highway 93 the climb begins as does the scenery. Right away and still in town we came across a herd of big horn sheep. Then we entered a narrow canyon with a creek rushing along almost underneath us. This presented a perfect photographic opportunity, except that my camera was in the car. After that the grade became steeper and steeper with pitches of 10%+. I don’t have an inclinometer but I know from experience that if I am in my lowest gear and my speed drops to sub 10 then it is 10% or higher. Luckily this only lasted awhile and soon I was able to sit down and spin my way up at a comfortable 11-15 km/hr pace depending on the grade. Initially I had some company but soon I was cycling on my own with only John Edworthy about half an hour ahead. Brian Carlson and I refer to all climbs in SFU units (One SFU unit is a climb from Broadway to the café at the top of SFU university or about 1000 ft). We had it figured out at 1.5 SFU units but that was not the case. It felt more like about 3SFU’s and I required 54 minutes to reach the top. Jan and Heather and the aforementioned black Mustang were at the top of the climb and they had water and Gatorade waiting for us. John had already left at this point. Some of us formed a small group and after a lovely descent we started climbing again but at a very low gradient, just basically following the river up the valley. Wildlife sightings included a bear and some deer and one rather large green frog at the side of the road. Eventually we reached the 80 km lunch break just before our final big climb. By this point the sun had soaked into everything, although, as a cyclist you aren’t aware how hot it is until you slow down and step off the bike. While Fran was setting up for lunch we followed a small trail to the creek’s edge and soaked our overheated feet and legs in the glacial water. Some of the cyclists were quite concerned about the afternoon climb having underestimated the morning’s climb. However the grade was considerably less as was the elevation difference. This however was the Continental Pass divide, the boundary between BC and Alberta and at one point we climbed above Columbia Lake, the source of the Columbia River which drains into the ocean in Astoria, Oregon. Marcel told me that when Hunter traversed the divide into Alberta he let out a big whoop because all of a sudden he was of legal drinking age. From the pass it was a long, steep and quick descent to the junction of Highway 93 and Highway 1 midway between Lake Louise and Banff. We regrouped at the Bow Valley Parkway junction, changed one and all into our colourful red GearUp4CF jerseys and rode as a group towards Banff on the Parkway. I had telephoned ahead and our non-cycling entourage had set up a finish line, final destination at Central Park, right beside the bridge at Banff Avenue and the Bow River. We regrouped again at the train station in Banff and rode from the top of Banff Avenue all the way through the downtown core, with the support vehicles festooned with our signage, and with blinkers flashing. We rode two abreast, whooping and hollering at the bemused and curious weekend tourists thronging the streets of the main thoroughfare. At the end of Banff Avenue our enthusiastic support contingent had balloons out and a crepe blue finish line. Four year old Carter had his face painted Spiderman style and was throwing spinnerets at everyone. Big hugs and high fives all around. Mission accomplished and only minor injuries to report. Later that evening during and after dinner at the Greek restaurant, we had some thank you speeches for all our volunteers and the CF parents thanked all the riders who had supported the cause. As well Eva did a special presentation of her one woman vocal mask “One Day in the Life of Ward 8A”. Rumour also had it that certain individuals, including my son, ended up at the pub and played pool until the early hours. However your hard working correspondent was safely tucked between the sheets in a very hot, un-airconditioned room by 11 pm. That’s it, the ride is over. If you are interested in joining us next year phone the number on this web site, speak to Joyce and get your name on the list. It’s that simple. Oh and raise at least 5000 dollars for the cause. Because after all, that is what it was all about.
|
|
|
Saturday, 28 June 2008 |
|
June 28, 2008 If on any day this spring and early summer our ride had ended at Radium Hot Springs, Sandi, Mieko, Brian and I most assuredly would have jumped into the hot springs. Today our ride ended at this lovely resort area in the mountains on a day that reached 37 degrees. The only thing that we could think about immersing ourselves in was some cold water over our head and several cold beer. Our intention was to set off early in the morning from the resort, and back track the few kilometres to the highway and then continue on Highway 95. However our starts have been later and later each morning and we did want to enjoy not only the great breakfast buffet at the 19th hole but just to soak in the luxury spa ambience of the St. Eugene Mission Resort. After all we were only doing 150 km. today with only a modicum, of climbing. Eva joined the entourage today and immediately set out to paint the trailer and both vehicles with some GearUp 4CF artwork. She also gave Hunter a sporting blue facepaint that he wore all day. At lunch Kassia and her boyfriend Dan joined us to provide further support. Then shortly after we arrived in Radium Hot Springs my wife Janet and John Edworthy’s wife, Heather rolled up in a black Mustang. Quite a family gathering to see us cycle on our last day to Banff Our cycling day went pretty much according to plan. We rode single file, there were no chases and breakaways other than David Strange who likes to ride Triathlon style to ease his aching back. There was a pact to keep our speed at 27 and under unless there was a following wind and for most of the day we did indeed have a tailwind. The heat started early and initially we had rough pavement on the shoulders forcing us to ride on the actual roadway. This got us a few dirty looks and honks as the locals couldn’t understand why we chose to ignore an eight foot wide shoulder. My Cervelo RS which has two Paris/Roubaix victories in its short lineage was the perfect bike for this type of roadway as the skinny, curved seat stays dampen out a lot of road vibration. Our lunch destination was Canal Flats 80 km from our start but there was not the usual idyllic spot beside a river. Instead we were in a bit of a gravel quarry underneath the highway overpass with a train track (and subsequently a train) not 10 feet away. In the afternoon five of us settled in for a shared ride and slowly the kilometres melted away as we in turn wilted in the heat. A few hills but nothing major. The only casualty of the day was Mieko who fell off her bike not once but twice and has skinned knees and an elbow as well as a sore hip to show for it. Mieko is usually a very careful rider but this time she almost hit Sandi and fell down as she spun into gravel and then collided with Anne Gregson at the top of the big hill overlooking Columbia Lake. We are all a little worse for the wear. Sore rear ends, aching shoulders and necks, some strained knees, and significant overexposure to the sun are common complaints. We will persevere until tomorrow afternoon. Chinese dinner on the lawn by the gazebo was followed by presentations from Sandi and Mieko to each and every rider and support person highlighting some foible, or character tic that the girls had noted for just this type of evening. Let us say that mine involved a diaper and leave it at that. Avi received some girls thongs that he had to model, Mark Lavigne received some extra chest hair for a missing patch that only the girls had noticed, and Su Ling received a tattoo from all of us to accompany the tattoo that all the men had noticed on her dip in the river at Johnny’s Motel. You get the drift. Tomorrow is our final day. It involves a 500 metre climb right out of the gate and then a gradual climb to the divide and then a drop into Banff. But that’s tomorrow. This evening it’s still hot and I think that I will drink another bottle of water. Or maybe a beer
|
|
|
Saturday, 28 June 2008 |
|
Friday June 28, 2008 This was a day of contrasts. A day of almost no hills when the prior three days had all been big hill days. A day of a big busy highway (no’s 3 and 95 heading North South) when the previous few days had consisted of secondary highways) and a large contrast in accommodations from the morning’s slightly dated, still smelling of 50 years of cigarette smoke Downtowner Hotel in the noisy heart of Creston to the evenings surprise lodgings at the 4.5 star St. Eugene Mission Resort. The ride itself was relatively uneventful. The only real excitement were the self made breakaways and catches by one group of riders on another. Hunter took both a turn as the breakaway group when he and Brian Rose were captured by a few of us in pursuit (Su Ning, Mark Lavigne, David Strange and myself for those with an interest) and later Hunter did the pursuit and caught up with us and was part of the fast group that led out after lunch and cycled the 30 km’s into Cranbrook at a 35+ pace. We only cycled about 110 km (a few months ago this would have been a major undertaking but now this distance with no big hills is seen as more of a Sunday ride). The major event of the day happened when we arrived in Cranbrook. Marcel informed us that the Sandman had let our reservations go, mistaking the cancellation by CP (rail) who did cancel for CF (us) who had not. But Dan the manager made up for it big time. He made arrangements for us to stay at the St. Eugene Mission Resort about 10 km North of town. So that is where we spent the night at a lodge that combined beautiful surroundings, superb beds, showers that ran at the proper temperature and a great luxury hotel ambience. Sometimes God smiles on you. Even the cycle out here was on a secondary road and was the best cycling of the day. Life was very good last night. We all congregated at the 19th hole and had a few pitchers of beer and a high end pub dinner. Whoever made the call on this,,…thank you very much! My only scare of the day is that we are now riding in big traffic and yet the highway was very bicycle unfriendly. The rumble strips wavered all over the cycling lane and they were deep and nasty to encounter at any speed. Sometimes they kept going when the paved shoulder disappeared and forced you to ride into the gravel, or jink left into the traffic lane. The bridges did not have a cycling lane and we had a scary moment when the cyclists all rolled over the bridge with oncoming traffic and a big RV who could or did not slow down. There was enough room, but certainly not enough of a safety margin. So cyclists who read this, shoulder check before you cross the bridge and be prepared to wait. You don’t want to be dead right. I also had two family visitations. My nephew Stephen Brine and his wife Laura and 2 children came into town from Kimberly and had dinner with Hunter and I. Later that evening Eva and friends rolled into the resort. They spent the night camped out and we just finished breakfast this morning. Eva and Kassia and friends are going to give us support today. Tomorrow night Jan arrives at Radium. Till later then its time to suit up and ride.
|
|
|
Friday, 27 June 2008 |
|
Day 6 June 26, 2008 This was the big day for most cyclists. The really steep climb up the highest and longest peak on our trip. The infamous Salmo Creston ride with unrelenting grades climbing at plus 8% for 20 kilometres. And it was all true. We started the morning in Trail at the RayLyn Motel, some choosing breakfast at the restaurant across the way and some of us opting for cereal and fruit at the motel. Part of Leona and Max’s sizable suitcase contained a French coffee press amongst other food items and I was able to cadge a good cup of coffee from her to ward off the early mountain chills. We aimed for an 8 am departure and managed to get off by about 8:30. Sandi led us down into Trail proper (shed had already visited the day before on the overshoot) which is not a pretty town. A big smelter hulks above the town proper and you can imagine the pollutants that must have hung in the air in previous decades as well as all the wastes that were dumped into the Columbia River. The houses and town have a “company town” feel to it, sort of a depressing socialist order kind of sameness. The one bright note was the huge mural painted on the side of the hockey arena commemorating the Trail Smoke Eaters of half a century ago, back in the days when Canada could field a small town amateur hockey squad to the worlds and return as lopsided champions. The Russians finally fixed that with their military hockey program and Canada did not win again until the 1972 Series with Henderson’s famous goal. I digress. We rolled out of Trail which is big enough to warrant a Wal Mart and other strip mall amenities and followed the Columbia downstream for a pleasant few miles. All to soon we closed in on the American border and instead of following a big beautiful valley all the way to Vancouver , Washington, we jinked left back on Highway 3B and climbed up and out of the valley at Montrose (elevation 1948 feet and population somewhat less). It was a quiet secondary road traversing through Fruitvale direction Salmo. We had an unfriendly encounter with a flag person who got his signals mixed up and found ourselves half an hour later being waved over by RCMP Officer Bill who after a few words of explanation by everyone quite rightly ended up posing for photos with us and reminding us to ride single file. We followed Highway 6 after Salmo going downhill with the Salmo River. That all ended just after lunch as we again had to bear East to avoid the border and regained Highway 3. This is the famous Salmo Creston climb. The initial climb was reasonable as we followed the creek upstream into the Selkirks. Then of course we had to lose the stream as we climbed out of the valley to gain the pass. It was a steady 8+% grade and slowly my speed dropped from 15-17 down to 13 then 12 then 11 and finally at the final grade to sub 10km/hour. If you look at a profile map it looks like a child’s graph of a fever with a high temperature spike and an even faster downslope. There was some chat of a King of the Mountain for this stage. John E. John J. Brian Carlson and I left first from the lunch stop, but soon John Edworthy gained a gap. Once the real climb started I was on my own with only John ahead. I worked hard to close the gap and get on his wheel but I did not want my heartrate above 145 as I knew we had 10km to go. I just about made it, within 10 metres actually. Then a miracle happened. John was suited up with an Ipod and had loaded up on Queen tracks. Just then Freddy Mercury cut loose with Prince of the Universe, John picked up the pace and that was the last I saw of him and his Ipod. Soon he was a red speck in the distance. At the summit David Strange closed on me and we rode to the top together. However, King of the Mountain, John overshot the CF lunch stop at the top and had to be ignomiously hailed back by the vehicle. It served him right for wearing an Ipod and not paying attention to his surroundings. Over the next hour everyone else wheeled in and we had lunch inside the warming hut because it was so windy. This was a great accomplishment for every rider and we high-fived the riders as they came in. The Kootenay Pass at the summit of the Salmo Creston route peaks out at 5820 feet (1773 metres) and is the highest all year pass in Canada. A young moose even made a guest appearance at the top. With fierce cross winds the descent from the top became quite hairy and I experienced my first speed wobble on the Cervelo. Luckily I had changed out the brake pads that morning and I was able to put on enough brake to keep it under control. A little further down the mountain the winds dropped and I could hang it out to60+ km/hour. It’s not often you get to descend steadily for 35 kilometres and that was a rush. A short ride through the valley bottom and we were in Creston at the somewhat ratty, dark, Downtowner Motor Inn. Beer and pizza night….yahoo. It was a quiet night and by 10 all the lights were out. 120 km. and 1300 metres of climbing (4300 feet). Tomorrow a relatively easy day. Double yahoo. Bill
|
|
|
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 |
|
This is going to be a very short post as it is almost 10 pm and we have the toughest climb of the trip ahead of us tomorrow. The Salmon Creston Pass. This is 20 km of 8% grade and the words used by the experienced cyclists is , unrelenting and unending.
Today was also had a tough day, the toughest day for me at least on the trip yet. What we expected to be a relatively easy day turned out to be anything but. The first 30 km. were quite relaxed as we followed the Granby River Valley South to the Christina Lake turnoff. I now call Highway 3 the political highway. If there were no border South of us there would be no Highway 3. Everytime the Highway wants to follow the valley South the border interferes and the road has to turn East and climb over another mountain range. First it was the Cascades over the Hope Princeton, then over the Okanagan Range at Richter Pass and at Anarchist Mountain. Today’s flavour of the day was the Monashee Range as once again we turned left from a nice flat valley just to avoid bumping into the American border and headed to Christina Lake. It was all fun and games until we hit the far side of Christina Lake when we started a slow but steady ascent up a creek valley. Unlike yesterday at Midway we got the wrong side of the creek in that we had to climb up the grade instead of following it down. Gradually the grade steepened and what had been 2-3% soon became 4-5% and then 7-8%. This climbing went on for kilometre after kilometre with every curve presenting another long climbing straightaway. Sometimes it would appear we should be picking up speed as it seemed we should be going downhill but instead we had a tough time holding 18 km/hour and then when looking back it became apparent we were still heading up. Finally at one point we crossed a high bridge which gave a long view back down the valley. However this wasn’t the summit and it just got steeper and warmer. Finally a group of us including Mark Nassan, Hunter, John Joyce, John Edworthy, Avi Ostry, David Strange, Brian Rose and I came over the Paulson summit at 1535 metres (5500 feet for you Imperialists)and headed for the long ride down to Nancy Green Lake where lunch was planned. Due to a minor mishap with a misplaced car key lunch was a little long in arriving and we had time to soak our limbs in the Lake and rest a little
After a great lunch we headed out again for our second not quite so major climb of the day as we aimed toward Red Mountain, Rossland and finally Trail. We stopped in Rossland for awhile to allow everyone to catch up (some of our group descend with a little more sense and use of their brakes than others). This gave Sandi and Mieko a little time for shopping as it was Leona’s birthday today and we wanted to gussy up her bike a little. Six, hairy, 10% grade, winding kilometres underneath Rossland Trail finally braked into view and only one of us overshot the motel and had to climb a few hundred back up the highway. I won’t say it was Sandi but if anyone guessed this to be so I wouldn’t say they were wrong either. Anyway Sandi and Mieko prettied up Liona’s bike with streamers, baseball cards, crepe paper, and a fine purple wig and we had a wonderful presentation in the parking lot. Later at dinner John E. and Sandi with help from everyone else sang a full rendition of the “Theme from Gilligan’s Island” which starts “Now sit right back and you will hear a tale” and goes on and on from there. John knows every word…every word. Okay so we had a few more beer, some champagne and a nice bottle of red, not exactly a training regime but a fitting way to end a birthday nevertheless. That was Day 5. Tomorrow is likely the toughest day on the Tour. Good night and sleep tight.
|
|
| | << Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>
| | Results 1 - 16 of 23 |
|
Sponsor A Rider 
Every year, too many children and young adults die from this terrible disease. All across Canada, parents of children with CF are hoping that we will find a cure in time to save their child. Please help. Every dollar you give brings the dream a little closer, and makes the hope a little stronger. That's why there's never been a more important time to give.
|
