Today I had the biggest surprise of the trip so far. But more about that later. One of the camping items I bought for this trip was a fleece liner for my sleeping bag. The last few nights have been fairly cool so it has been so nice having the liner. I feel so snug and warm in my bag that I hate to get up in the morning. This morning I got up at 5:15. Getting up that early is a function of going to bed early. That might have something to do with everyone going to bed shortly after 9:00 most nights. By 5:30 I was dressed in my cycling gear and had everything inside my tent rolled up and packed. The only Wifi reception was up a hill near the office. So up the hill I went, iPad in hand, logged in to Wifi and uploaded my blog. Then it was back down the hill to take down my tent and store my gear either on he truck or in my sleeping bag. By 7:30, after a breakfast of porridge and French Toast, Michel, Elaine and I were on the road. Shuswap Lake was beautiful as we headed down the Trans Canada. Our first stop was at Craigellachie, the site where the last spike on the CPR Railway was driven, serving to unite the East with the West. Some of our group were already there and more arrived after we did. Our ride continued along Hwy.1 up and down hills. The hills at this point were’t too steep ( 4 to 5%). We stopped at 3 Valley Gap for lunch. While we were inside it started to pour. As we departed Michel and I donned our full rain gear. A couple of kilometers west of Revelstoke a car slowed beside me. At first I couldn’t see the driver and I didn’t recognize the car. After a moment I could see it was Lesley, one of my best friends from St. Albert. She drove ahead then pulled over. I was totally surprised! She was visiting relatives closer to Salmon Arm, had seen yesterday’s blog post, and realized I wasn’t far away. She texted Susan to find out where we were headed an set off in search of me. She had come across several other groups of riders who told her I was up ahead. It really was a special treat to see her. Upon entering Revelstoke we stopped at a gas station next to Tim Hortons. Miracle of miracles there was a line of bikes outside the Tim Hortons. At the gas station I got directions to a bike shop where I purchased some new cleats for my bike shoes. The road out of Revelstoke was very steep. We met back up with Hwy. 1 and continued East. The climbs now were getting steeper as we made our way towards our stop at Canyon Hot Springs. A wonderful soak in the hot springs followed by another fantastic meal and it was off to my tent by just after 9 pm.

Last spike monument

Guess what kind of sandwich

Some riders at Last Spike location

Three Valley Gap across the lake

Lesley & me