Fraser Canyon

Well the Fraser Canyon lived up to be everything I thought it would be.  It was another sweltering day, 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit); the Fraser Canyon is regularly the hottest place in Canada. 

The ride itself was as scary as anticipated.  At one point I was riding on the white line, which passes for the “shoulder” on this section, with semi’s on my left and a coal train on my right.  The only thing separating the train and me was a small cement barrier.  I actually could have reached out and touched the train if I had tried.  Originally I was going to split the Canyon in two days but after only a few miles I decided that I didn’t want to be on this section of road any longer than necessary.  So I chose to power through and ride to the other end.  It wouldn’t have been all that bad if it weren’t for the heat, the sun was intense, and it took me about six hours to ride to Hope.

The bad part about the heat isn’t riding in it; it’s trying to get some sleep in it.  It takes quite awhile for the van to cool down at the end of the night.  So after three days of very little sleep and crazy heat, we decided to take another rest day when we arrived in Hope.  I know that I just took one but I was so dehydrated after the last few days that we decided I probably wouldn’t be a bad thing to rest a little and get some fluids in me.

We spent the day relaxing and swimming up at Sliver Lake, a spectacular spot just outside of Hope.  Days like this are what I envisioned this trip being.

(Azure said "well it isn't everyday you get to ride up a mountain named after you")

 

8-15

87.15 miles

14.2 mph average

42.5 mph max

6:04:34 ride time