BC Rambler

Hello All,
It has now been over a week since I last posted a note to you.
I have driven from Denver to Spokane, WA and picked up 7 guests and headed off on my next trip the BC (British Columbia) Rambler. The guests are people I traveled across the country with last summer. What a great group and they are strong and independent riders. We Left Colville, WA and went into Canada very shortly after we left Colville. The Border Guard asked us, one at time, if we had been arrested or in front of a judge. Since most of them are attorneys, they replied, Yes, everyday, I am an attorney". The other Border Guard had a really nice Colnago bike and was interested in talking to us about our trip. No problems at the Border.
We have spent nights in Salmo, Creston, Ainsworth Hot Springs, Nakusp, Vernon, and tonight we are in Kamloops. We get to Whistler in the next couple of days, then on to Vancouver, and back to Colville, WA
We have seen some wonderful and pretty lakes, Kootaney, and some great scenery.
Today, we got into some rugged mountains in the Canadian Rockies. So that means lots of climbing and good fast descents.
I haven't taken many pictures and don't have the resources of another blog to also include photographs. will try to do better with the pictures.
People have been very friendly and what a great place tovisit. This part of British Columbia is struggling with the economic downturn and the loss of mining and logging. Tourism seems to be better in BC than in NS.
What a privilege to lead such a fine group of people in such a beautiful part of the world. Lots of luaghs, support and even aching muscles, but do believe all are having a great time.

Next Trip

Obviously it has been several days since I have worked aon this and I do apologize I didn't get the posts from ear;ier days posted sonner. But s of 7/25, you are now caught up.
I left Nova Scotia and drove to Lexington, MA to drop off 5 people who I had driven up to Nova Scotia. I then began the 2400 mile trek to return to Denver. I must take after my father, as I actually like driving and sometimes after a long bike ride with a group of people; the time alone in the car is nice to have. While I-90 and I-80 are just interstate highways, I did find the trip through PA to be quite hilly and scenic. It sure beats I-80 across Wyoming.
I spent an evening in Kansas City, with an aunt and it was great to see Roxy and see that she is doing well. She is active and involved in church and other activities, including playing with a 14 piece jazz band.
Below is the itinerary for my next adventure, 3 weeks riding through British Columbia. I met most of the guests on the cross country trip last year. They are strong riders and it should be a truly wonderful trip. My guess is it will be a “hammerfest” which will be good for me physically and spiritually.

My mom is not doing well, as her energy level seems to be decreasing on a daily basis. It is hard to be away, but I do feel I have brought some closure to the wonderful life she has had and the caring and supportive mom she has been throughout my life. Thanks Mom for being the wonderful woman and mother you have been for me!!!

PROPOSED DAILY ITINERARY
July 29-Aug. 17, 2011
Day 1 (July 29): Assembly: Group arrives in Spokane early afternoon; van shuttle to
Colville (1-1/2 hours); orientation dinner; overnight lodging at Colville Motor Inn
Day 2 (July 30): Bicycle tour begins: Colville—Cross border into British Columbia--Salmo
(1st option—Alladin Road/CR 9445/Waneta Hwy/Hwy 3B/Crowsnest Hwy) 68 miles
(2nd option---WA 20/WA 31/Hwy 6) 77 miles
Day 3 (July 31): Salmo—Kootenay Pass (5,823’)—Creston 52 miles
Day 4 (Aug 1): Creston—Kootenay Lake—Crawford Bay—Ferry across Kootenay Lake—
Balfour—Ainsworth Hot Springs; overnight at Ainsworth Hot Springs Lodge 63 miles
Day 5 (Aug 2): Ainsworth Hot Springs—Kaslo—New Denver—Nakusp; overnight at
Kuskanax Lodge 74 miles
Day 6 (Aug 3): Nakusp—Lower Arrow Lake-- Fauquier-Ferry across Lower Arrow Lake-
Monashee Pass (3,953’)—Cherryville—Lumby—Vernon. 121 miles
Day 7 (Aug 4): Vernon—Monte Creek—Shuswap Road—Kamloops. 77 miles
Day 8 (Aug 5): Kamloops—Cache Creek. 71 miles
Day 9 (Aug 6): Cache Creek—Duffy Lake Road—Lillooet. 54 miles
Day 10 (Aug 7): Lillooet—Duffy Lake Road—Duffy Lake Provincial Park—Joffre Lakes
Provincial Park—Mt. Curie—Pemberton—Whistler. 80 miles
Day 11 (Aug 8): Whistler –Layover Day
Day 12 (Aug 9): Whistler—Sea-to-Sky Hwy—West Bay/North Vancouver. 74 miles
Day 13 (Aug 10)(1st option): North Vancouver---Stanley Park—Port Moody—Port Coquitlam—Harrison Hot Springs; overnight lodging at Harrison Hot Springs Hotel. 85 miles
(2d option): North Vancouver---Stanley Park—Port Moody—Port Coquitlam—
Hope 106 miles
Day 14 (Aug 11): Harrison Hot Springs—Hope—Crowsnest Hwy—Princeton. 106 miles
Day 15 (Aug 12): Princeton—Princeton-Summerland Hwy—Penticton; 79 miles
Day 16 (Aug 13): Tour of the Okanagan Wine Country: Penticton—Skaha Lake—Okanagan Falls-Oliver—Willowbrook—Penticton. 56 miles
Day 17 (Aug 14): Penticton—Summerland—Peachland--Kelowna; overnight lodging at
Manteo Resort. 40 miles
Day 18 (Aug 15): Kelowna—Beaverdell—Rock Creek—Midway; overnight lodging at Mile 0
Motel. 84 miles
Day 19 (Aug 16): Midway—Greenwood—Return to U.S.—Republic, WA; overnight at Great
Northern Inn. 63 miles
Day 20 (Aug 17): Republic—Sherman Pass (5,575’)—Kettle Falls—Colville; van shuttle return to Spokane; tour concludes. 53 miles

Total Mileage 1,300 miles

Last Day of 2011 Odyssey

Peggy's Cove Lighthouse
Peggy's cove from a distance

Peggy's Cove
Group Photo


The last day of this Odyssey for 2011, took us along the Lighthouse Route from Lunenburg to Peggy’s Cove. What a great spot to finish a great trip. Peggy’s Cove is quite lovely and while it is full of tourists, it is a spot where I would like to spend more time. Actually, the last 3 days have been the most enjoyable and ones I would like to retrace at another time and with other people. It is probably good we didn’t start here, as I just might have stayed. Not far from this location is the memorial for Swissair Flight 111, that crashed of the coast here in 1996. One of the guests had a colleague that was on that flight.
Once again, I was on top of the van loading bikes, for our last drive to Halifax airport area. We did drive through Halifax to drop off a couple of people who were spending the night there before they flew out the next day. Much of the fun areas in Halifax are between the Citadel, on the hill and the waterfront, about 6-7 blocks away. ¼ of all of Nova Scotia’s 900,000 people live in this city.
What a great ride and a wonderful opportunity to get reconnected with people I spent 8 weeks last summer and to make and establish new friendships over the past two weeks. People have been helpful and supportive throughout the trip together.
We had a safe trip, with no accidents and only 9 flats for the whole two weeks. We saw some great scenery, met most graciuos hosts, and expereinced the influence of culture and history for the people who have called Nova scotia home for the past 400 hundred years.

Coastal waters

Lunch at La Harve Bakery Yummmmm!

Cove Crescent beach


Dublin Cove

In our adventures from White Point Beach to Lunenburg was as stated below by Rick Johnson, one of the most picturesque and what I had thought much of our riding would be like, as we stayed near the coast of Nova Scotia.
"Zippidy-doo-dah riding if you had the wind on your butt, but alas we had in our face. Gusts were supposedly up to 40 kph. Aside from that little annoyance, today's ride was one of the best of the trip. I had pictured in my mind that Nova Scotia cycling was through a series of small picturesque seaside villages and that's exactly what it was today. Even got a ferry ride. The bakery/lunch stop in Le Have was great. We started our ride in drizzle but it dried out and the last half of the ride was, temperature-wise, most pleasant. Topped the day off by going down to the UNESCO designated harbor of Lunenburg chuck full of sailing ships, whale watching tours and a place to buy and savor a milkshake. The old buildings are all seem to be color coordinated so the area has quite an eye catching image. The historic district was not overrun by tourist trinket shops, but alive with restaurants, shops selling crafts and arts. Lunenburg is a tourist trap for sure, but one I feel comfortable being trapped in."

Keji

Mills Falls in Keji

Osprey feeding its young

Lily Lake in Keji

On Wednesday, we rode from Annapolis Royal, on the western coast, to a large national park in the middle of Nova Scotia. When looking at a map of Nova Scotia, this is the large green area inland and in the southern part of the island.It has a huge lake and is quite scenic. The park is called Kejimkojik National Park. I can’t spell it or pronounce it, but it is called Keji for short. There is a small Germanic influence in this area, as both innkeepers were of German decent. Roads were generally in good shape and not a lot of traffic.
Thursday, we returned to the coast, this time the Southern Shore. We are at White Point Beach, just south of Liverpool Nova Scotia, not England. and there are some wonderful white sand beaches. Too bad the temperatures are in the 50’s and it is raining. Fortunately, I didn’t get too wet while riding, as my half was up prior to the rain coming down hard.
I haven't seen much in the way of wildlife on this trip. have seen sevral large nests, which are housing Osprey. They are fanastice birds to watch and pretty good at catching fish.
It appears the tourism business in Nova Scotia is kind of slow this year, as even in this resort that is about 1 1/2 hours from Halifax is not very crowded.

Rest Day

Bike in Annapolis Vally that may be my bike when I'm 85


View of the Settlement


This is part of my daily job.

Yesterday we rode from Wolfville along the Annapolis Valley to Annapolis Royal. the route was hilly, lots of rollers, with a fairly consistent head wind. People were tired at the end of the ride, having ridden for several straight days. What a good day for rest day. It rained most of the morning. We toured the settlement and I even took a nap.

Annapolis Royal is a town of about 400 people that has a long history. the first settlers in this area were the French in 1606, yes over 400 years ago. It has been the site of 13 battles and numerous changes in control from the French to the British and back. There is a replica of the original settlement occupied by the French and it was quite interesting to get an idea of their lifestyle and environment. They were pretty hardy souls.

Fishing seems to be the main occupation and of course it is very seasonal. There are 13 B& B's here, so now the tourist business is the primary industry. This area is affected by the Bay of Fundy, thus the tides are extreme, an average of 21 feet in each tidal change. They have one of 3 tidal power plants in the world. It is pretty odd to see a boat beached when the tide is out and floating in the water when the tide is in.

We rode through Paradise and West Paradise, Nova Scotia yesterday. So my favorite my favorite saying, "Just another ho hum day in Paradise" was quite apropos.

I am finding I like to ride along the coast or bodies of water better than riding in farm and rural settings like our ride was yesterday. There is a great deal of agriculture and trees in this part of Nova Scotia. Headed to the South Shore tomorrow, so should see more coastline.

The place we are staying has a dog that is the spitting image of the family dog we had when Iwas growing up, a poodle/terrior mix named Sampson. What a wierd sight to see such a similiar dog 40 years later.

Soggy and Wet

Today, we went from Brackley Bay and rode to Summerside, about 48 miles following in the footsteps of Kate and Will. The hotel at the top is the Shaw Hotel, where we spent the night. It has been in business since 1860. they have Osprey and Bald Eagles that nest on the property.

There was even a parade as we rode through down and I was directed to ride on the parade route before the parade started. The parade was for the annual Lobster Fest in Summerville. The middle picture is one of the floats. Participants and parade members were all dressed for the inclimate weather.

We went through Cavendish, which is famous for Anne of Green Gables. We also went by St. Mary's Church in Hamilton. top picture above.
Once I got on the bike, about halfway through the day, it started to rain and rained the remainder of the day. While I was soaked to the bone, I still believe a bad day on the bike still beats a good day at the office.

Canada information

Ferry to Prince edward Island

Having spent several days in Canada, I thought I should provide some basic information. Cape Breton is the northern portion of the Nova Scotia province. Nova Scotia is sparsley populated with about 1,000,000 with most of the people living in the southern portion and capitol city of Halifax. The roads are lightly traveled and that is a good thing, as there is no shoulder and the roads are pretty rough. There are many trees and many places to have lobster for dinner. Grades can be pretty steep and they don't use switchbacks very often. The primary industry seems to be tourism, as the mining and even fishing have dried up. This has been an area controlled by the British, Scotish, and the French at various times, so there are pockets of each country throughout the land. People have been quite friendly and helpful.
Yesterday we rode on a 75 minute ferry to reach Prince Edward Island, a very small island province. PEI is known for potatoes, red dirt, lobster, and Anne of Green Gables. The high point is 455 feet in elevation, so there won't be much climbing here. There are many harbors and mostly fishing boats in the harbors.
This group is a fun and strong group. we have people from England, Austria, Canada, and numeruous states, CO, MA, NY, KS, IL, ME, WA,and MN. We have 11 women. Many people have been on more than one Timberland, with some pushing nearly 20 trips.

Half way to the North Pole

Maragee Harbor with sunken boat
Group we picked up in Lexington,MA

We went from Belle Cote to Pleasant Bay. Lots of rolling hills and trees, with great views of the ocean. Did our first big climb, it was about 1500 ft over about 6 miles. Kind of like climbing Look Out Mtn in the Denver area. Well I guess, not really, as this went straight.....up (no switchbacks) and had the ocean on the left most of the way and there were signs for moose, but none were spotted. I felt strong and stayed in double digits for the climb, it must have been the tailwind. Oh that's right, I switched my computer from mph to kph. Darn, I thought I was getting stronger. But I will say, 11% is still pretty steep in kilometers or miles.
I couple of days a go we passed a signed that we were at the halfway point between the Equator and North Pole. Now that we have passed that sign, we must be getting closer.

Finally on a bike.

Having not ridden since last Monday when I was in Denver, it felt really good to get on the bike. I rode 50 kilometers, about 30 miles through the rolling tree-laden contry side of Cape Breton, in northwestern Nova Scotia. I am overlooking the Atlantic Ocean from the condo and I am looking west. What a sight!
Dennis

Canyonlands

My first hike was in Canyonlands and we had a great time. The attached link in a 360degree view of where we were.
Note it is not just 360 degrees, it is 360 degrees at every latitude...try going up or down! You can control how fast, by moving your mouse.
Don't get dizzy!! Best not viewed if you have a hang-over!!
You can also look straight up and down too.
Click on the pictures below and when they come up, click again and drag your mouse in any direction and the picture will give you a 360 degree view --- Amazing Photography!!! Too bad I didn't think of this.
http://www.utah3d.net/panoramas/DoubleArch1_swf.html
http://www.utah3d.net/panoramas_3/GrandView.html

New Season

New Season

Hello All,
It is a new season and I am ready to once again see parts of the US and Canada via my bicycle. After driving 4 days and 2800 miles, I am in Halifax, Nova Scotia getting ready to lead a 2 week trip in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Many of the guests are people I rode with last season, so it should be a really good time. Happy Canada Day! and Happy 4th of July!
A great website is: www.crazyguyonabike.c0m/doc/maritimes2011
This is actually my third trip. I have led hikes in Canyonlands and Grand Canyon. It is amazing to see such incredible sights and amazing scenery. What a wonderful World!
Have a great day!