Digging Deep

We arrived too late to post yesterday, so we decided to wait until today to write.

Starting off in Revelstoke in the early morning.

Yesterday's ride was a bit of a gamble, considering the 92-mile distance, nearly 6,000 feet of climbing, and the decreasing daylight hours. It was one of those rides where conditions had to be just right if we were going to make it before sunset.

We started fairly early, around 8:00 AM, which is early for us:). It was a perfect morning for riding—cool, cloudless, and bright with sunshine. We couldn't have chosen a better day to cross Roger’s Pass in Glacier National Park.

A bit of an ominous start.

Throughout the day, we were treated to stunning natural scenery: majestic mountain peaks, lush forests, and glacial waters that dulled the pain of what was a tough climb up Roger’s Pass. We also benefited from significant road construction, which stopped traffic completely for up to 20 minutes at a time, allowing us to have the highway to ourselves without worrying about vehicles.

Some things just make you feel small. Molly nearing the last climb up to Rogers Pass.

The descent on the other side of Roger’s Pass began slowly but quickly turned steep, allowing us to race down the road like we were skiing on a run that stretched for miles. The ride down took about 15 minutes as the road twisted and turned through several avalanche tunnels. It was an adrenaline rush, to say the least. By the time we reached the bottom, our knuckles were white, and I had developed a blister on my hand from gripping the handlebars. We laughed once we reached a flat area, but that joy was short-lived as we faced another big climb before heading down toward Golden, the only place to stay after leaving Revelstoke.

Halfway through the ride at the top of Rogers Pass

This is when caution flags began to wave in our minds. We realized we were only halfway there, with about four hours of daylight left. To make matters worse, the sky started to darken with ominous mountain clouds, and the temperature began to drop. The bliss of the day was fading, and we both worried about making it to Golden before dark. Focused, we began the second big climb. Molly set an excellent pace, and we rode steadily. The climb was gradual but slow, and by the time we reached the top of the pass, we saw a sign indicating that Golden was over 30 kilometers away. It was disheartening since we felt like we had made more progress than that. We started calculating the remaining daylight and the average speed we would need to maintain to reach our destination. Doubts crept in, and we knew we would have to dig deep.

The last of the sunshine as clouds moved in.

The Columbia River and Golden, BC

As we descended, the sky lightened a bit, and Molly had us moving at a fast and relatively consistent pace. However, when we were about five miles from Golden, the road flattened, and we slowed down; our legs felt like pure jelly. I think those were the longest five miles we've ever ridden! We arrived just before sundown and enjoyed a long hot shower, beers, dinner, and an excellent night of sleep.

Today, we are taking a much-needed day off. The weather is changing, making it difficult to plan our next steps. The upcoming ride from Golden to Lake Louise is another challenging one—just over 50 miles, with 42 of those miles uphill. It will be the last big climb before we start heading down toward Banff and then Calgary. We hope the forecasted rain for tomorrow will either hold off or be light, but for now, the plan is to ride to Lake Louise tomorrow.

Until tomorrow!