Day 4 - Manning Park to Princeton

73.22 km - Total so far 331.94 km - http://ridewithgps.com/trips/4785107

• Today was a most excellent day! We were on the bikes at 7:30 and unlike the previous days it was not raining. The sun was out and shined on us the entire day. On leaving Manning Park, we had the good fortune of a 20 km ride down a most gentle slope and it was divine. A nice reward after the climb yesterday.

• We had one climb today on our way to Princeton, Sunday Summit.  It required a solid effort but not nearly as much effort as what we had to muster yesterday. We spent a few minutes taking the customary pictures at the top and got on the bikes for the fun downhill to the next rise. About 10 km away we got to the top of Mine Hill where we stopped and closely examined the signs warning truck drivers. Although the sign warns of steep descents and run away lanes, it does not convey just how scary this ride downhill actually is. It was Cape Breton Cabot Trail scary. On the Cabot Trail on crazy descents you can pull off the road nearly every km and rest, here we decided to rest just past the runaway lane, 3 km away. Hélène's forearms were burning and applying the brakes became extremely difficult. You can almost feel a hand on your back pushing and making you go faster!

  

  The descent was not nearly as pleasant as the sign would lead you to believe!

• Taking advantage of the sun, we took out the lounge chairs and had ourselves a nice picnic by the side of the road. We could see in the distance snow on the mountain peaks. Had we had more time, we would have taken out the BBQ instead of the one burner stove. As we were relaxing, we caught a glimpse Kyle, who waved to us and raced up the hill. 

Never leave home without your lounge chairs, ever.

• As you can see on the GPS data, we had one last descent to Princeton. This descent had a much gentler slope and we just let it go, no brakes. On the descent, we noticed a billboard for "Bill's All Day Breakfast" and off we were for meal #3.

• At Bill's, we ran into Millon, who we introduced yesterday. Turns out this young man is a much more experienced cyclist that we are. While this is our first long distance trip, he already has a solo trip down the Pacific Coast of the US under his belt. He shared with us many of his lessons learned on that trip for that, we are most grateful. Much has been written about the life changing experience of doing the Camino the Santiago but I would think that doing a solo long distance bicycle trip should not be overlooked as a character building exercise. Climbing up to Allison Pass on a loaded touring bike in the rain and by yourself no less, shows a lot of intestinal fortitude and mental strength. 

  

  Millon with his Canadian made Brodie touring bike.

• Today I managed to snap a picture of Hélène's jet pack. You can see it's shiny bottom near her waist. No it is not really a jet pack but a large can of bear spray that we both carry everywhere. After yesterday's bear sighting, we don't mind the additional weight around the waist.

  

  Hélène's jet pack. In the background the huge trucks we share this small road with.

• This message is for the folks in the basement of Building 34 and from Hélène's "Yes, I want to be part of the lottery pool."

  

  Our humble abode overlooking the Similkameen River