Day 3 - Hope to Manning Park

Well today’s ride did not disappoint!

It threw everything at me to see if I was up to the challenge - rain, snow, sun and an unexpected surprise - fog! These were the first real hills (actually a mountain)! The day was long and hard, but I made it.

I am ever grateful that I put in the time and effort to train - my body is tired at the end of the day, but I don’t have that “post legs day workout” pain (you know the one I’m taking about where you cringe at the thought of having to sit down to use the toilet).

The ride started out at the base of highway # 3 (Crow’s Nest Highway). I’m looking at the signs and considering this whole journey and I think of Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” (here’s the end bit of the poem):

“I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -

I took the one less traveled by,

And it has made all the difference”.

There’s a lot of feeling in this morning’s ride - but it quickly disappears as the hills emerge and it starts to rain. Coming up to the top of the hill before Sunshine Valley things take a scary twist as fog quickly and unexpectedly appears. I know what it is like to drive a vehicle in the fog - getting as visible as possible is my top priority.

Thankfully the fog does not last long. As I descend, Sunshine Valley lives up to it’s name and the sun breaks through the fog! Talking to Brian later in the evening, we figure it is likely that I was riding through a cloud (there’s a first!).

I changed my gear many times throughout the day to adapt to the weather (and of course that was a good reason for a snack and to take a breather). The 15 km hills were gruelling, the elevation was nasty, the elements were challenging.

A massively emotional accomplishment today was cresting the Allison Pass Sumitt. I could not hold back the tears. I stopped to take a picture of my bike under the sign, and someone slowed down and stopped. I thought maybe a fellow biker understanding the gravity of my achievement…but to my surprise it was Brian - right there at exactly the right moment. I got the best hug and the best picture (somehow I pulled it together enough to smile).

Brian let me know that he’d found a campsite at Mule Deer Park about 10 or so kilometres past the Manning Park Resort area (thankfully it was all downhill). We planned to meet there at the end of the ride.

Just before the last turn into the campground I took a little break. Nature again provided me with an amazing gift of a 🌈 rainbow! This time it was over a creek - so amazing! (The picture does not do it justice (below on the right.)) A beautiful gift after a tough ride.

The next two hours I spent bringing my body temperature back to normal while I tried to sort out a bit of a challenge that I was experiencing with a shimmy sensation on the bike - I probably need to do some more weight re-distribution. Packing and unpacking wet/dry gear mid-ride throws off all the good prep from the beginning of the day.

Tomorrow’ ride will be to Hedley. Lots of downhill at the beginning of the day - so I really need to sort out the weight distribution - so I can enjoy coasting down (the reward!).

Day 3- May 16; 2026

Start Time: 7:30 am

Stop Time: 4:30 pm

KM Travelled: 76.8 km

Elevation: 1,704 meters

Special Stuff: Rainbows