Back to the hotel to pack up my stuff and I was surprised to see that it was nearly 11:00 by the time I left. These mornings really seem to get away from me... I elected to ride "Old Hedley Road" which follows the same basic route as Hwy 3 but on the other side of the river. It's more or less the same distance/profile but there's a lot less traffic and it's a little more scenic. I was rolling along, thoroughly enjoying the sun and warmth. In the time it took me to eat breakfast and pack my bags it had warmed up considerably and I was thrilled to be out in just shorts and a jersey. I'd guess it was 24, maybe 26 degrees. Perfect riding weather. I stopped a couple of times to take some pictures, and then started to shoot from the bike. Seb does this constantly, and I'm pretty used to doing it with my little rangefinder as well. It's a little different with an SLR however, and after taking a few shots I looked up to see that I was drifting toward a crack in the road. I steered away from the crack but the quick one-handed input combined with the extra weight I'm carrying instigated a bit of a front end shimmy. I went back and forth a few times flirting with the edge of the road and ultimately crashed. When the world stopped spinning I got up and walked down the road to check the damage to the camera - which was unfortunately inoperable. The electronics still work in that I can review pictures, but it won't focus or shoot. The left side of the body was also separated a bit. I hope I haven't done unrepairable damage to the camera, but I guess the good folks at Nikon will have to tell me that. For now it's just ballast. Assessing the other damage I scraped up my right knee and elbow, bashed my left palm, and strained my left pinky and ring finger. My bike wasn't badly damaged though I did need to reset my left brake lever and untangle the chain. I rinsed off the blood from my elbow and knee, reattached my panniers which had come off, and saddled up.
Back on the bike, I rolled on toward Hedley - there wasn't anything else to do. Hedley came and went, and I pressed on toward the Crowsnest Bakery in Keremeos - home of the best sausage rolls I've had pretty much anywhere. I made decent time, arriving in Keremeos from Princeton in 3hrs (incl crash time). I pulled up to the Crowsnest and went in for a much deserved cup of coffee and a couple of sausage rolls. To my great disappointment, they were all sold out! The lady told me that they had "just sold the last ones" - which prompted me to wonder if I hadn't crashed (and not lost some 25 odd minutes) if I'd have gotten the last ones. That may haunt me for the rest of my days... Or at least until I get a good sausage roll. :p I consoled myself with 2 cups of their very good coffee and an apple turnover (look Ying, FRUIT!). I hung out there for a good while, chatting with Phil and Julian on FB and not really in a hurry to get moving again. Finally I rolled up the little hill to the gas station where I bought a Powerade and met a couple of triathletes training for what I assume to be their first Ironman (based on their nerves and comments). I gave them a few course tips and was on my way - about an hour after I arrived in Keremeos. :p I sent Jen and Vince a text as well, to let them know where I was - also that I would be headed straight to Penticton rather than looping down to OK Falls. I was feeling the effects of my crash and had no interest in adding extra mileage. As I rolled past the Bear (fruit stand) I contemplated taking Green Mountain Road rather than going over Yellow Lake. This would skip the climb, but is a longer route that rolls pretty much constantly. In the end I decided to go over Yellow Lake. There's no cell service in the area and Green Mountain Road gets very little traffic. If I ended up in a bad way I'd have a much better chance of getting help if I stuck to the main highway.
Up I went. Slowly. Very slowly. It didn't hurt that much. I wasn't tired. I wasn't even feeling that bad - but I wanted the day's riding to be over and done with. It had warmed up a bit more, but it wasn't hot - it was just comfortably warm (high 20's maybe?). Another triathlete went by with a car driving sag. When I got to the top of the climb there were 4 lines of cars, stalled. The road was closed and they were alternating traffic due to an ongoing construction project. All three cyclists were there so I chatted with them for 15min or so until they let us go. I took off first and was surprised that they didn't immediately go past. After a while one pulled around, followed by a second who told me "I was feeling guilty drafting behind you". The third said "I wasn't - I'm tired!" and they slowly vanished into the distance. From there it's pretty simple - one last little rise and then a bunch of descending into town.
I rolled into Penticton and stopped at a 7-11. I sent Vince a text and went in for some fluids. When I came out he had sent a text back saying that he was on his way. Perfect.
I'll be supporting Vince as he races Ultraman this weekend so I won't be making any forward progress until Wed the 3rd. Then it will be up through Vernon on my way to Lake Louise, Jasper (along the Icefields Highway!) and the back down through Lillooet to Whistler - and finally, Vancouver.
Stats:
Total Ride Time: 4:37
Total Elapsed Time: 6hrs
Distance Traveled: 111.2km
Avg Speed: 24kph
Max Speed: 65.4kph
Breakfast:
The beautiful Similkameen Valley:
The last picture my Nikon D80 took:
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