So after months of 'planning' (comprising 95% daydreaming about cycling across Canada, 4% attempting to plan, and 1% actually booking things like flights) and a stonking final dinner with David and Uli at a fantastic Greek restaurant; a humongous slab of moussaka with potatoes, rice and salad resulted in me being rolled out of the restaurant by my relatives, and questioning whether I would be able to roll out of the driveway the next morning...
But somehow I managed to stuff my life into panniers and onto the back of my bicycle, wave farewell to my wonderful hosts, and pedal off into the Friday morning traffic.
I managed to send my way out of Vancouver fairly easily, and before I knew it I was out on the open road, drifting towards the eastern sunshine.
Possibly a combination of adrenaline, an early start and flat roads had me cycling well beyond my intended target distance for the day, resulting in my arrival into Hope by 3pm. This allowed time for an essential celebratory cup of tea and muffin at the Blue Moose Cafe, before meandering back through town to an appropriate campground.
Now as someone who is into the great outdoors, it may surprise you that I have never properly camped before. And I suppose you would think that someone in this situation would have organised some form of practice trip to trial all my shiny new gear and see if I know how to use it correctly... My preparation included putting up the tent on a still sunny day in the garden and having a snooze with my dogs inside it. So I was impeccably prepared!
My cunning plan was to be able to spy on fellow campers to 'see how it's done' and then nonchalantly carry out the same procedure like I had done it a hundred times before... Turns out there aren't that many campers in Canada at the beginning of May; my fellow camper was already set up and had long since disappeared, so I was left to fend for myself with a mass of poles and tent pegs. I got there eventually, and sat down to eat my culinary masterpiece of quick cook rice, almonds, raisins and digestive biscuits next to a fast flowing river.
I had been told to expect the following day of cycling to be one of the toughest I would experience on the whole trip; I soon knew why. I trundled out of Hope and immediately encountered the brutal gradients that would be my companions for the majority of the day.
I am very glad it's early in the season for hikers, as my motivational speeches to myself would have been pretty tiresome to listeners in...'Come on Ballantyne, you will not be the fastest to climb this mountain, you certainly won't be the slowest, but one thing's for certain, you will make it'!
And sure enough, seeing the summit sign in all its mediocrity (I personally felt that banners and a marching band would have been more appropriate) was a euphoric, near-hysterical moment for me in my sun-burnt, dehydrated state.
More climbing awaited me the next frosty morning. The roads were my own as I reached Sunday summit on beautifully bright and clear Sunday morning, only the birds singing to accompany my victory.
Later on in the day, I pulled into Hedley, an old gold rush town, for a quick pit stop to get out of the growing headwind. It was rather like stepping back in time. No chain stores of any kind, wonderful old wooden buildings, a town where everyone knows everyone. The Hitching Post, a fantastic little restaurant on the main street, came to my rescue with plenty of tea to send me on my way.
The following day saw a transition into lake country, passing by the serene Yellow Lake on my way to Penticton, my direction beginning to turn northwards up the Okanagan valley. I realise I'm running out of superlatives and positive descriptive devices, but the vistas of the highway rolling gently away into the distance alongside the Okanagan Lake were truly stunning in the brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies.
En route to West Kelowna and my first Warmshowers hosts, I saw a bakery and cafe sign just up a rise away from the road: I immediately swung off the highway in search of a carb-laden lunch, but was crestfallen to find that it was yet to be officially open. Luckily, the owners Trevor and Meghan were there and very kindly offered up some wonderful baked goods anyway! We had a great chat about cycling, the UK, and tea (they are planning to do high teas at the cafe - if only I'd been there a week later!) and sent me on my way with fresh water in my bottles and cookies in my panniers - I wish them all the best in their new venture!
Jacqui and Rob were wonderful hosts to me; incredibly experienced tourers themselves, they were a fountain of knowledge and advice for my ongoing trip, even giving me fantastic directions for getting to Vernon using as little of the main highway as possible.
My final day on the road before my first rest day took me along the Trans-Canada Highway for the first time. And once again, all I can say is the dramatic scenery made up for any leg pain I may have been experiencing. Railway line, river and road were all enclosed in beautiful craggy mountains, and clouds swathing the glaciers above.
I've had a great opportunity to get acquainted with the Canadian side of the family: firstly the lovely David and Uli, and now Kim and Glenn, their wonderful children Allison, Gillian and Cameron, and the lovely auntie Dorothy. They provided me with bucket-loads of food, a comfy bed, oodles of local knowledge and a lot of laughter. Without overly gushing, I am so grateful to them for welcoming this relative stranger into their household and affording me so much hospitality, thank you so much!!
The running theme of my trip so far appears to be everyone telling me that I'm incredibly early to set off for the cross-Canada trip. From the lovely Doug who managed to catch up with me at a rest area on highway 1 to chat about touring, to Jacqui and Rob, I have been told how extremely lucky I am with the weather. This time last year, it was apparently grim! Sooo I've got my fingers crossed the weather holds...though I've seen pictures of snow in Edmonton... Hmmm....!!!
So that's me up to date! My legs are well rested and I'm all set with clean kit and stocked up on teabags. More mountains? Bring it on!!
great work!
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