June 2, 2008 .Latest newsl

Day 4, Thursday, May 29, Mule Deer Campsite, Manning Park 56.5 km

After a great breakfast in both lodgings we set off into the fog heading east. We could not see the hills ahead of us which might have been a good thing. The shoulders had rumble strips and gravel left over from the winter so we cycled in the traffic lane and moved over when necessary. Fortunately there was not much traffic and finally the sun came out after two short climbs. We followed the Skagit River as it crossed the highway several times. Most of us saw a black bear just across the highway (which reminds me that two black bears visited the premises of the B & B during the previous evening). We also started to see snow in the woods beside the road.
We reached the Allison Pass Summit (1342 meters) 37.5 km into the day’s ride. It was a challenge and we congratulated ourselves at the top. We now started to follow the Similkameen River as it wound its way down the mountains. It seemed to be downhill, but not really, for 10 km into Manning Park Lodge area where we had a lunch in the sunshine. We were entertained by Columbian ground squirrels (according to Dave 2) and cowbirds (according to Brenda). We had a relaxed visit, then headed for a further relaxing 10 km downhill to Mule Deer campsite.
At our nightly fireside chat led by Pat M. we discussed perhaps heading as far as Hedley tomorrow. All possibly attractive to bear things were put in the RV and then we headed to our tents.
Report by Yvonne

Day 5, Friday, May 30, Gold Mountain RV Park, Hedley 92/5 km

After a breakfast with hot chocolate but no coffee we set out in crisp but sunny weather. The ride didn’t seem as difficult as yesterday’s; we regrouped to shed clothing at the base of the climb and arrived at Sunday Summit (1282 meters) after 24 km of cycling. The downhill started gently then became crazy with 2 km of 8% grade…Adele and I reached a maximum speed of 60.1 kph. From the summit to the bottom of the first downhill was 20 km, then we had another long and scary downhill right into Princeton. Our arthritic hands were hurting from grasping the brakes.
Brenda had found a laundromat for us; while our clothes washed we ate our lunches on the sidewalk in front, trying to get some shade. I had my first coffee of the day.
We arrived in Hedley just after 4 p.m. after a long flat but slightly downhill stretch of almost 40 km. Of course Brenda was there ahead of us and had put out the orange cones.
The highlight of the day was that Adele had to buy everyone a beer because she got the first flat of the day.

Day 6, Saturday, May 31, Osoyoos at the private home of Adele Moeller’s uncle Dennis Bissonnette and his wife, Carole (reported by Carol)

The ride into Hedley from Princeton was absolutely gentle downhill along the Similkameen River. This morning, leaving Hedley, we immediately got into rolling hills and the day had promise of considerable heat. We stopped to see the old gold mining facilities stuck onto the side of the mountain just past Hedley. It sounded amazing, but not all of us could make out the old buildings far up the mountain.

We rode into Keremeos where we saw the unusual sight of a horse and rider on the sidewalk – though the scene seemed not to be so unusual to the residents of the small town. Brenda had located some neck things with crystals in them that one soaks in water so the crystals swell up and get soft and retain the sense of coolness on the neck. This was supposed to help in the heat. Several of us bought one – including me. Unfortunately, as it turned out, we didn’t have the water available to soak them just there and then.

Further on along the road we were looking for a shady spot for lunch. Since we were in a desert, this was hard to find. Lo and behold, a few picnic tables and umbrellas showed up at the end of a lane leading from the road. Some people even noticed it was a small local winery called Seven Stones. Well, lunch turned into a wine tasting session and most of the cyclists bought bottles of what they called fine wine. You get the picture.

By now the heat was blazing down, no shade, a desert, and increasingly sharp hills with a mountain pass (Richter) coming up. Don’t forget those wine bottles in the panniers. Needless to say, this ride turned into perhaps the hardest so far, though the last bit downhill into Osoyoos was pleasant.

Adele’s aunt and uncle live right on Osoyoos Lake so we ended up enjoying the heat that was such a problem earlier.

Day 7 Sunday, June 1 Rest day at the Bissonnette’s in Osoyoos – reported by Carol

This report will be shorter than my first, as all we did was eat and sleep and lie around all day. It was not without its excitement, however, when overnight a wind and rainstorm blew through the area. Our tents were absolutely drenched and the occupants were universally happy that we had decided to take the day off before tackling Anarchist Mountain. I won’t mention the food, except to say that it did include cheesecake brought from Kelowna by Dave and Brenda’s RCMP daughter, Clover, who was passing through on her way to Chilliwack to take a work-related course.

Day 8 Monday, June 2 – Kettle River RV Park - Reported by Carol

Well folks, we came, we saw and we conquered the mythic Anarchist Mountain today. Jerry Porter, you will be so proud of us! After that what more is there to say. Here are some of the details. As almost everyone knows, Anarchist is about 30 kms of more or less straight up, culminating in a summit at 1233 metres. It is reputed to separate the sheep from the goats, so to speak. We left Osoyoos at about 8:30 on a cool and threatening morning, which was a good thing. Although the climb was relentless, we took it in stride and reached the summit after 3 and a half hours. We then put on warm clothes and began our descent into Rock Creek. By now the weather was really threatening with dark clouds all around us. The wind rose and we almost froze on the way down. Dave Johns went so far as to say he enjoyed the climb more than the descent. I don’t know how many people agreed with him, however.

By Rock Creek, a storm was imminent. Most of us decided to make for the RV park just 8 km away. We must confess we got somewhat wet and put out tents up in the rain. A few decided to stay in Rock Creek, drink coffee and then come on. I was in the “make for it” group, so naturally the “wait it out” group had sunshine all the way for their ride and they put their tents up in sunshine, too.