Reflections on Sea to Sea 2017

After arriving in Regina, I was whisked off by my son Trevor and his family and went to their place, about 15 minutes drive away.  I said good bye to a number of cyclists, but noted that I would be at the church service the next morning as well.

We did fill the church there and I think the red t-shirted cyclists outnumbered the summer congregants by quite a bit.   After church we enjoyed a good lunch in the church basement and I was able to say farewell to a number of cyclists and volunteers.

The three week trip went very well.   Certainly as good or better as I could've expected.   Rain was minimal,  I had no flat tires, and no major aches or pains.   I only used Ibuprofen twice, ha.   If I stayed that might have changed. The hills, even the big ones by Manning, Golden, and Field have all faded into the past now, and I suppose one day when I drive those roads I'll wonder how we ever did it.  Then realizing of course that God was with us all the way.

It was great seeing and cycling with people from the 2008 and 2013  Sea to Sea trips and there were of course a lot of new people to meet and interact with.   Sea to Sea is a family community and it's great to be able to be a part of it.  

Trying to explain the Sea to Sea experience is difficult.   One has to participate to fully understand and appreciate what it's really like.   Everything from the mental challenge of dealing with the cycling aspect, to trying to be organized in the morning, camping, putting tents up and down,   reflecting as you cycle, worshipping as a large family, being out of the loop as to what is going on in the world,  helping others and being helped, the list goes on.  If you ever get the chance to participate, I encourage you to do so.    You will love it, be changed, and help thousands through the work of World Renew and Partners Worldwide.

I am very thankful for the support and encouragement received from my family, friends, and church.  And I am very thankful that God has given me the good health to be able to take on and complete this task, in safety, once again.   A big thank you as well to the tour organizers,  cooks, and SAG support team.   How good it was to see the SAG stops on those longer more challenging days.   You have no idea, ha.

For now I will follow along for the next several weeks and will pray for safety for all involved as this travelling community carries on across the country for a very, very good cause.

Thanks for reading.

Day 20 Chaplin to Regina

The weather report for today, from last night, was predicting an E wind. Not good for us. So the plan was to wake up a half hour earlier yet as the winds are usually calm first thing.

I was up a little earlier than usual along with most others, but didn't get out until just after 6.  It was calm wind wise for the first couple of hours which was good. After that, it was battling the wind all day. about 100 klm. For a while we had a very long pace line going of about 15 riders.  That can work well, but you really have to watch the cyclist ahead of you, and it can mean a lot of irregular pedalling if you get too close or fall back.  At the next sag stop I left that train.   Speeds were barely over 20 kph. A far cry from 25 -30 from yesterday.

A bunch of us stopped at Timmie's in Moose Jaw and the later close to the end. Yup, it was a two Timmie stop  kind of day.

Towards Regina, agriculture was in full swing again.  Fields and fields of canola and flax. I'm told this fertile land is part of the, Regina Plain.

Got into camp, Kings Acres, at 3:15.  This was a long, hard day. I also dubbed it my Halifax day as it was my last ride for Sea to Sea 2017.  Trevor and Kat and the kiddies were waiting for me there. A great way to end this ride for me. I'm now at their house. Tomorrow we'll go to their church which is hosting everyone for lunch after the service.  We will fill the building I'm sure the "Sea to Sea choir", which is comprised of all the cyclists and volunteers will sound as good as ever.

Thanks be to a God for safe travels and a good Sea to Sea experience.  May many be blessed.

Totals for day: 161 klm, 7:05 actual pedalling time, and a 22.9 kph avg.

Day 19 Gull Lake to Chaplin

Left the school at 6:40, warm and sunny. Brigette had a flat at 17 klm. Ed V the master tire repairman  had it fixed in about 15 minutes but noticed a grind in the rear hub. In Swift Current, at the 55 k mark, we found the town's bike shop which was just opening for the day at 9:30.  The owner took the bike apart and fixed the issue in about 45 minutes.

While heading out of town towards the TCH, I noticed a store front sign "Schimmel's Dutch Bakery". At that point we figured we may as well stop and grab a bite.  The place was all decked out like Holland and I was able to try my broken Dutch on the owner.  This was a great little stop and so was the Saskatoon berry pie.

Back on the road again, we were pretty well at the end of the pack, so we had to move it. We finally caught up to people at about the 100 k mark. The winds were favourable all day thankfully.  The land seems pretty barren around here other than by Morse there was a Lake that went on for miles it seemed. They take sodium phosphate out of there. Huge piles of the white stuff which is used for making fertilizer.

Got into the Chaplin Campground at 2:25. It's basically a field. There is a community swimming pool  that had ice cold showers.  Walked a few blocks to the town grocery store for a chocolate milk and saw the roads are all gravel.  There really isn't much going on here, no wifi either. The 3 ball diamonds here haven't been used in about 6 years. There is a K-12 School though with 45 students.

Totals for day: 145 klm, 5:22 cycling time, 27.3 kph avg.

Day 18 Medicine Hat, AB to Gull Lake, SK

Woke up this morning in the Klok guest room which kind of beats my tent.  Cousin Richard drove me back to camp at 6 am and so the day began. It was great being billeted for a night and spending a bit of time with my family.

As today was to be a long, hot day, everything got moved up a half hour and we were on the road by 6:40.  Biked mostly with a group of 5. It was 20 degrees already.  Again the road shoulders along the TCH were excellent.  At least in Alberta. Saskatchewan side could be better, but wasn't as bad as predicted. We were on the TCH the whole day.

The winds were somewhat favourable today, coming from the SSW, so mostly cross breeze right to left with a slight tail wind, so could've been a whole lot worse.

By 9 am we hit the SK border, 51 klm into our ride. Lots of pictures being taken there of course. Our second rest stop was hosted by the Maple Creek Assembly of God church. Lots of goodies and the slightly frozen mixed berries in a cup were the best.

Shortly before that I came by cousin Harry and Audrey. Harry's bike was upside down and the rear tire was off.  I stopped and Harry exclaimed "third flat in three days!"  Yup, one of the two things that  cyclists don't like - headwind and flats.   But we got it fixed and on the road again.  One guy had three flats we heard at pelaton meeting tonight, so then only one doesn't seem as bad. Right Harry?

Not much to look at today it seemed, a few black beef cows and dry land. Surprisingly there were a number of good climbs to keep it interesting.  The last 25 klm, after the last sag stop, were a little tough, but then the last 20 klm of any day are a little tougher anyhow.  It was getting pretty hot, over 30 degrees, and today is probably the most water I've gone through so far. There was an ice cream stand by that last sag stop but I passed thinking ice cream wouldn't be good to do with that many klm left. But the 3 guys I was biking with did and that seemed to give them a lot of pep. Go figure.

Rolled into Gull Lake at 3:00. Gull Lake is on a bit of a hill.  Last guy in was old Jim around 5:00.  He left camp this morning at 6.  Now that's a long  day.  Right now I am at a little restaurant I town having a beer and using their wifi.  Tomorrow is slightly shorter at around 135 klm.

Totals for today: 166 klm (101 miles), 6:39 pedalling, and a 25.0 kph avg. Glad to have this one done, but really glad no head wind to speak of.

Day 17 Taber to Medicine Hat

Heavy dew over night in Taber so tents put away wet. Not a real big deal as they dry up really quick next day. Got out of town at 7:20, not too bad.  The shoulders for the first 40 klm were really nice, fresh pavement.  Bit of a head breeze which kept us below 25 kph.

By Bow Island we stopped at Erna's Berry Farm for lunch.  At 10 am.  Best BBQ burgers ever, Alberta Grade A beef along with Saskatoon berries, muffins, pastries. Then you have to bike again.
The wind then shifted to a S wind, meaning cross wind for us. Not bad but a little tiring. Could get back up to 25 anyhow.

Came past a mint field by Bow Island. We could smell it as we biked by. It's used for making gum, peppermints, that sort of thing.  Getting closer to Medicine Hat we stopped at Kramer's greenhouse
for a tour and some cukes.

Was able to meet a number of relatives in both Taber and the Hat including Jesse K who happened to come by a SAG stop while I was there.  I heard someone ask "is Uncle Randy here?"  I am currently at Richard and Margaret Klok's home for a little visit.

Got to Medicine Hat Christian School 2:15. Totals for day 125 klm, 5:00 hours cycling, 25.1 klm avg.

Day 16 Granum to Taber

A home coming of sorts as Taber is where the DeWolde family settled upon immigrating from the Netherlands in the early 50's. So Taber is where I come from before we moved to Chilliwack. I have been back dozens of times over the years visiting Oma, cousins, etc, so I tried to soak it all in as a bunch of us rode into town.

Breakfast was provided by the Granum CRC people. Pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs. Very good.
Out the campground at 7:30. Riding with a few guys in the beginnning and was doing 35ish with a little wind help.  At the sag stop we agreed that was too fast. You get somewhere fast, but the pace tires you out quicker.  Rode with Harry and Audrey after that for a bit.

Nobleford church provided us with fresh cinnamon buns so we had a little pit stop there. In Picture Butte Kosters Bakery was providing free baked treats.  Right after Picture Butte Harry got a flat, his second of the day. It was windy and a little wet.  Tried fixing it, but to no avail and a fellow from Iron Springs CRC stopped and we figured it best Harry go with him to the church so he could fix it there while we carried on.  A turn north brought us into a head wind and rain and to Iron Springs CRC where we were provided a good lunch around 11 am.  I was talking to a lady there who knew our family from our Taber days.  At this point we were half way to Taber. The sun was coming out and I could ditch my jacket.

Side winds earlier on really had us noticing when semi trucks came by. The amount of wind they'd push our way made us hang on tight each time. Very gusty.  We saw fields and fields of bluish flax, brown winter wheat, yellow canola, and green peas and barley.

Before Coaldale we crossed a big coulee. Harry says it's a river valley, not a coulee as he reads over my shoulder. A big drop down followed by a big climb up the other side. The stretch from Coaldale to Taber had us heading east and the crosswind and headwind was a little wearing and unpopular. We came by the McCain potatoe plant and could smell the cooking oil. We rode to Taber Christian School with a small group at 2:50.

Taber church is hosting us for dinner tonight with.a pig roast, should be good. My niece's husband Tim has been busy with that all day I'm told.

Totals for today: 135 klm, 5:00 pedalling, and a 27.5 kph avg.

Day 15 Calgary to Granum

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  I first heard the drips of rain at 4:30 this morning, not music to my ears.  We were to start a half hour earlier due to the length of today's ride, so up at 5:45, tent was a little wet, but not bad.

Do I wear a rain jacket or not is the question. Decided not to, hoping the drizzle wouldn't last. This is sunny Alberta after all.  Left with the usual crew plus Harry and Audrey. Audrey had a fall on the bike path, bad start card.  The rain started more in earnest as we went along and we all got soaked from head to toes before Okotoks. Maybe the rain jacket would've been good, but they also feel like saunas.

We had a lunch stop at High River CRC and got there by 10:30. I wrung my socks and arm warmers out in the bathroom sink.  A lot of us were there eating lunch in our bare feet.  Uncle Morris was there, waiting for me, unfortunately not a lot of time to talk. The sun came out and the roads dried up after that.

We had a really nice north wind most of the day and as were heading due south, that meant tail wind, so doing 30 - 35 kph was no problem.  We had our last sag stop at Timmies in Claresholm where I enjoyed a chocolate milk and I could see it darkening up again. Got into the Grandview Campground at 3:00 ish. The rain held out out until 6, but it's been drizzling ever since, so the past few hours.  I'm told the rain kind of goes with the N wind, so a saw off there. A S wind would've been awful on a long day like this, even if it was dry.

The scenery was nice when things were drier.  Fields of canola and dry peas and barley. Some good photo ops like an abandoned independent service garage and church.

The Granum CRC people brought supper in, beef on bun plus salads and a bday cake for Deanna B (AB).  They are also cooking breakfast for us tomorrow morning. Pretty nice of them.

Totals for day:  163 klm, 6:03 cycling time, and 27.5 kph avg.

Sunday in Calgary

I spent last night at Henry and Sandi's place, about 20 minutes south of the school. A bed does sleep a little better than a sleeping bag for sure. We went to Emmanuel CRC in the morning which is situated right beside a Calgary Christian School.  Another good worship service and the message was based on Ephesians 3:14 - 21 and was entitled "Enough is a Lot!"

I'm back at camp now and just ran into cousin Harry and Audrey who will be cycling to Winnipeg. I also noticed I'm missing a biking glove, but have been offered a spare. Will have to check the lost and found box, but it's not in its usual spot either.

Last week in a Lake Louise a bear was spotted that night. In the morning it was pretty chilly and we standing around eating breakfast and Billy D said he was so cold in his tent he would've invited the bear in to keep him warm.

There's an 18 year old cyclist here from MI, John S, who has long hair, a skateboard, and is super chill.  I caught up to him out of Lake Louise on the quiet road and he's biking with his hands behind him, holding onto the back of his seat.  I said "hey John, pretty good, no hands!".    He replies "just taking it easy man."

Then there's his older brother Eric. At the sag stop by Field where everyone wa taking it easy with a long break he asked me if I had looked up the road to the left where the  start of the 10 k climb was visible.  I looked that way and laughed.  "That's right, we laugh at hills like that!" he says.

Another day another 18 year old cyclist, Curtis (MI) came by me with a few others in tow and he had a radio going. Song was a Simon and Garfunkle tune, " I am a Rock".   Had to chuckle about that. I told him he had good musical taste for an 18 year old.

Day 13 Canmore to Calgary

Last night's  sleep inside the school wasn't too bad as my earplugs helped block out the snoring of the guy sleeping down the hall who sounded like a Stihl chainsaw. On the road at 7:20 with Ed V (OR) again and Bonita V (MB).  It was a little cool, but warmer than yesterday.  The ride was fairly fast   as we were mostly descending today to get to Calgary.  A lot of it was on the old hwy, the 1A. 

We were served lunch at the Bow Valley Baptist  Church in Cochrane.  That was at about 10:30. Lunch comes pretty early these days.  Bow Valley runs along or near the Bow River and it was soon evident we were in a valley as we had about a 10 k hill to get up and out of it. At one of the later stops Bonita went with some other cyclists and Brigette had caught up and joined us.

Nearer to Calgary we went through the ritzier area of  Springbank by way of bike paths that took us all the way to Calgary Christian  School on the SW side of the city. Calgary I'm told, has a vast bike pathway system that goes all over the city. At one point the path had a steep decline with two switchbacks.  We had to really slow down to negotiate the curves.  Up ahead were Peter and Marja S on their big bike made for two.  I asked them how those curves went and Peter said they had to walk their long bike through, it was pretty tight cornering. When I got to the school and saw Len K (ON) in one piece, I told him I was surprised. He replied that his group didn't let him lead or he would've for sure ended up wiping himself and everyone else out.

When we got to the school, around 1:30, a 2008 cyclist, Kathryn M, who lives nearby was there greeting people that she knew.  So we talked for a bit and she offered her place for laundry etc so a few of us did that and we had a little deck party as our laundry got done. 

I'm now at Henry and Sandi's home where I'll spend the night.  It's kind of nice to get out of camp for a bit.  Around 14 cyclists are leaving today, some probably happy to go home after two  weeks and others that found it went way too fast.  I believe 8 new cyclists are joining here, including my cousin Harry S  and his wife Audrey from Medicine |Hat AB.

We also have two moms here from ON who are each cycling with some of their children (who are cousins I believe). The two boys are 14 and the girl is 12 and they are all doing great and enjoying  their time with Sea to Sea. I think they're pedaling to Ottawa. No whining or complaining heard,  not from the kids either.

Totals for the day: 117 klm,  4:35 cycling time, and a 25.5 kph avg. We were over 27 avg.

Day 12 Lake Louise to Canmore

It was a little  chilly this morning, around 8 degrees.   Not a big deal, put on the arm warmers for the early part of the ride and it's fine. 

We are enjoying the last views of the mountains as tomorrow we ride into Calgary. Here the air is so clean and the skies blue. Great scenery. We spent a good chunk of the day on the Bow River Trail and later the Legacy Trail.  Nice not having to worry about trucks, rumble strips, gravelly shoulders, and that sort of thing.

A lot of us did a side hike for about 1 k to Johnston Canyon.  We went to the Lower Falls. There were a lot of Nikon cameras there.

Got to Banff at 11:30 and had lunch there with Billy D and Jim B, an 81 year old cyclist from CA who is on his 3rd Sea to Sea.  I biked with him out of Banff, not sure if he would find his way out of there on his own.  We got into the Legacy Bike Path heading to Canmore. It was a slow go as Jim's not as fast as he once was. I marvel though that he can even do this.

On the path we came across two ladies, one of whom had a flat tire, and no idea of how to fix it.  So we helped them with that and Jim carried on while that was going on and I biked the rest of the way with Ed V who had also stopped when he came across us doing the repair.

Got to our destination, Canmore Collegiate High School. It's huge, too bad we are not allowed to camp, so we're all on the floor in various classrooms.  Not popular as most like to be in their own tents, but we'll get over it.

So a bit of a different day what with day trips, tourism, flat fixing, but it  was good. No serious hills to climb that I can recall, good weather, quite roads, and great scenery.

Totals for day:  85 k, 3:40 cycling time, and a 23.5 kph avg.

Day 11 Golden to Lake Louise

Left the Golden Municipal Campground at 7:15, not a bad start seeing as things are spread out a bit here at camp.  We had a bike path take us up and out of a Golden and Doug S and I were behind a couple of other cyclists.  I expected that when we started the incline on this path they would boot it a bit, but, no, they slowed down. I was still in my middle chain ring, couldn't shift down at the slow speed, didn't unclip in time, so just put it all down, nicely landing on the curb at about 2 kph.  First fall since 2008.

Getting going again it was a 10 klm hill, granny gear the whole way. I've driven up and down that hill many times, thinking it'd be a rotter to bike up.  But early in the day my legs felt good and I didn't mind it. Took an hour and 15 minutes. Met up with Herman V (MB) and biked with him the rest of the day.

The third SAG was by Field at k 58. People hung around there for quite a while. Off to the left was a major hill that would go on for about 8 klm, which took us 50 minutes. A slow go, but again my legs felt ok and I was glad to have it done.

Our last sag was at the top of Kicking Horse Pass, the highest part of our trip.  We had crossed into Alberta some where around there. About 6 of us cycled into Lake Louise together and grabbed lunch in the plaza there. Bit of a zoo, very busy. Our camp is Lake Louise Campground and it's pretty nice here, although it's a 5 minute walk to the kitchen truck.

Our total climbing today was 4800' and the the declines were 2800', so a net climb of 2000'.

Totals for the day: 85 klm, 4:20 cycling time, 20 kph avg.  A good day all in all and our last time to be on the TCH until we get to Medicine Hat.

Day 10 Revelstoke to Golden

The day many have been nervous about. It lived up to exepectations, but we're all here. Supper is over, steak and beans. Good fuel.

We all got up and left an hour earlier today due to the length and difficulty of it. So out at 6:25. Cool in the morning, but an early hill soon had me warmed up. The first 70 k were pretty much uphill, broken occasionally with a downhill reprieve.  There were 3 snow sheds to cycle through before the Rogers Pass Summit. They were ok actually. I don't know if traffic got held up or what, but in the second shed I didn't see a single vehicle.

Got to the Summit at 10:30 where our second sag stop was. That was at 70 k. There were 4 more snow sheds after the Summit. The last one was pretty fast and no cars. Could go well over 50 kph. There was a nice 10 k downhill after that.

There's some road construction going on so we had a couple of delays, one for15 minutes or so. It was 33 degrees at the time. The rest of the way was a mix of down and up and a bit of head wind. It was a tough slug due to hills, heat, and the amount of klm. We were in just before 3, but the last ones came in around 5:30. Time change now too as we move our clocks ahead.

Totals for day: 151 klm, 6:45 cycling time, 23.0 kph avg.  Like 90 percent of the people here, I'm glad this one is over. Tomorrow, Lake Louise, AB.

Day 9 Salmon Arm to Revelstoke

Another beautiful sunny day here.  Got out a little earlier at 7:10. Biked mostly with Doug S and Ed V but also in a larger group for a time.  We spent a lot of time on the Trans Canada Hwy today.  We had a rest stop at 28 k mark, hosted by the Sicamous Bible Church. At that point we were able to take a side road for about 20 k.  Nice to own the road for a while, although early on the TCH traffic wasn't too bad.  For the mist part the shoulders were good, but at times, not much there either.  Mix and match.

Second pit stop was at Craigelachie, a historical site commerating the ceremonial last spike of the CN railway back in 1885.  We have stopped there many times as a family travelling between BC and Alberta over the years. We got there by 10.  At the 82 k mark we were at 3 Valley Gap, another DeWolde stop over the years. My dad always had to stop there for a coffee.

That whole section from 30 k to 90 k showed on our route map as being slightly uphill, but it didn't seem like it, and if it was uphill we could always maintain a 15 kph speed, so doable. Sometimes we'd cross a river and could feel the temperature drop there.

We had a fast downhill into Revelstoke, came through town and then up the hill to Williamson Lake Campground. We didn't stop for lunch by the Hwy like everyone else, so we got to unload the gear truck.  There is a lake right here and the cold water felt good. For some reason my legs feel tired. We were in at 12:30.

Tomorrow is the day many have been fearing.  Revelstoke to Golden, 150 k, and over Rogers Pass. They want us all out of camp by 6:30, an hour earlier than usual.  Camp will be dead by 9 tonight.

Totals for day:  110 klm, 4:08 pedalling time, and 27.0 kph avg. And we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Day 8 Vernon to Salmon Arm

Beautiful ride today. Left camp at 7:50 as Brigette is on breakfast cleanup this week. Monday is service team change time, so the West Coast Express may have to change a bit.  Nice and sunny again to start the day. Of course a nice climb early on at the 10 k mark which went for 1.5 k.  Granny gear time again at 10 kph.

We had a lot of time on back roads like Salmon River Rd.  The topography began to open up and so we began to see dairy farms and corn fields again.

We had a pit stop at the Wikkerink dairy where we were all treated to gelato ice cream. That was at 10:15 and we spent about 45 minutes there.  That was at the 25 k mark.  The road was a little flatter today as we went through the farmlands.   Ed vdp (OR) left us and turned back as he thought the day was too short so he added 30k total.  Without further stopping he was still at camp just after me.

As today was to be a short day, a bunch of us stopped at Timmie's about 10 minutes later.  Camp was then just a short distance away and of course there was a slog of a hill for 2 klm to climb to get to the church we are staying at, Salmon Arm EV Free.

No supper duty tonight as it is being provided by the Salmon Arm CRC.  Otherwise this week my new serve job will be supper serving,  basically scooping food onto people's plates.

We arrived at the church at 1:00, near the end of the pack.  Spirits are high, nice short day, no major hills. Only thing is it would take 20 weeks to get to Halifax at this rate.  It's going to change.

Totals for the day 63 klm, 2:38 cycling time, 25.5 kph avg.

PS, after I blogged yesterday Gary B dropped by for a bit and at Princeton the Meyerink's stopped by.
I don't think it many any of them want to get on their bikes though.

Sunday in Vernon

Today is relax and recuperation day.  We had breakfast at 8 am, served by our volunteers. Pancakes, bacon, breakfast sausage.  Then we could shuttle to the Vernon CRC for their 10 am service. As it's summer, the crowd they said would be a little thinner, so they were happy to have us there. We filled the place to capacity and heard a good message on Fighting for your Joy (Galatians 4).  We belted out 10,000 Reasons but even louder was When Peace Like a River was sung.  I saw a few people wipe a tear or two away. It's quite something to sing a song like that as a part of this travelling and bonding community that is so supportive of each other.  Next Sunday the Sea to Sea choir should be at some church in Calgary.

After church a guy came up to me and said I looked familiar. It was Pastor Leon who served at Agassiz from 2007-10 who was in the area.

I need to pick up a couple of things and then head back to camp. Another cooker.  I bought Pastor Peter Slofstra's book he wrote documenting the first Sea to Sea trip across Canada in 2005.  Find a spot in the shade and read until I drift off........

Tomorrow, on the road to Salmon Arm.  Have a good day y'all.

Day 6 Summerland to Vernon

Sitting at a laundromat in Vernon, good place to beat the heat. I think it's about 35 degrees out.

Left again at 7:30 am and had a steep hill for just over a klm right out the gate. Granny gear and 9 kph. That got us onto Hwy 97. We had a nice ride through Summerland and Peachland, some on bike paths.  At our first sag stop a couple of motorcycles came by with stereo on playing Bethel Music's  I'm no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God.....we had to smile at that.

By Peachland we could see where the lake had over flowed due to the huge snow melt and storm. No boats allowed on either Lake Okanagan or Kalamalka as no boat wakes wanted.

The ride over the Westbank Kelowna bridge was interesting and by then we bunched up a bit as we biked through Kelowna. The ride through Kelowna was pretty nice and at k 56 we stopped at Kelowna CRC for lunch at 10:30.  It was great, buns, tuna wraps, fruit, etc.  We stayed for an hour.  No pbj sandwiches today.

We were booking it pretty good at times, over 30 on the flats, and I thought my training really had paid off, but when we stopped at a sag stop I realized we had been enjoying a tail wind.  

Coming into Vernon, I picked up a chocolate milk at the Petrocan station.  We arrived at Vernon Christian School at 2:15, just in time to unload the bags from the gear truck and find a good spot to pitch the tent.  Many plan to sleep in the gym where it's a little cooler.

Ethan V (ON), a 14 year old cyclist  had a nasty fall at a construction spot,  hitting some gravel.  Road rash on his shoulder and hip, putting a hole in his new Canada jersey. But he and his bike are ok.

Yesterday some guy got his sunscreen and under side cream mixed up. No chaffing on his face at least.

Totals for today - 110 klm, 4:30 cycling time, 25.0 kph avg.  A nice day and week one is in the bag.  Tomorrow church shuttles to Vernon CRC and relax time.  Will have to find some a/c I think.