Day 9 - Christina Lake to Castlegar, BC

I wake up this morning and roll over - my world is spinning and I feel nauseated. This is completely out of the blue as up to now, I've been feeling great. I had one can of beer last night, so that can't be the problem. Next in line of likely suspects - vertigo! I've had vertigo a few times in my life and this feels suspiciously similar. In my experience, vertigo usually lasts a few weeks!

I get out of the tent to go to the washroom and it is confirmed, things are spinning and I feel unsteady on my feet. My plans to get an early start today have been kiboshed. I carefully navigate around my tent and camping supplies, taking care to stay away from the retaining wall that drops off into the lake. Sitting with a cup of hot java, I consider my situation - I am feel very emotional realizing that vertigo could be a show stopper - I cannot ride with vertigo.

I consider my options:

• Stay put for another day/ night and re-schedule the visit I had planned with my friend tomorrow.

• Go to an urgent care centre to get an assessment - likely in Grand Forks (21 km away), however, Castlegar (80 km away) probably has more services.

• Christina Lake is unlikely to have a taxi, so if I was to go to the urgent care centre, I'd need to call a ride in from another town.

• Brian has decided to come back to travel with me for a few days. He is 5 hours away and will still be sleeping for 2 more hours (it's 4:00 am) (so really, he is 7 hours away).

• I have friends in the area that I could stay with until I feel better.

As I sat contemplating my situation, I wipe the tears from my eyes. Looking at the possibility that I might have to stop (or pause) the ride this early gets me really down. As the sun rises, I start to feel a bit more hopeful as a plan comes together.

(This is the view I get when I start my first coffee.)

(This is the view I get when when I finish my second coffee.)

I decide to keep moving forward - slowly and carefully I pack up my tent. I load up my bike, and I give it a try to see if I can balance. Surprisingly, I can! I head over to the gas station on the main highway.

At the gas station, I decide that I will give myself until 8:00 am to see if I feel better (or not) and then decide on my 'next steps'. I buy a bag of potato chips for breakfast. I thought, "Maybe I just don't have enough salt.". As I was sitting on the curb with my bike leaning on the building behind me, a young man in the passenger seat of a work truck calls out to me "Which way you heading?" I look up, surprised (wondering if he was going to offer me a ride) and point to the right while chomping on some chips. "Good Luck!" he says in an encouraging voice and then his female colleague drives them out of the parking lot and they head off in the other direction. Those two little encouraging words "Good Luck" picked up my spirits in a way that I just cannot put into words.

The clock strikes 8:00. I notice the dizziness has gradually lessened and is almost gone. Making a 'go'/ 'no go' choice like this is difficult. There's alot on the line (my safety and the safety of other) and I need to carefully consider all the factors.

I decide that I feel confident to do the ride. In a fleury of activity, I change into my riding gear, double check that my panniers have their weight distributed correctly, zip into the gas bar store to buy a sandwich, and then I'm off at 8:30 am!

Today's ride is a biggie! It will take me up the Bonanza Pass to the Paulson Summit (1535 m). The route is a main thoroughfare for transport trucks - so I'm constantly listening for vehicles coming up behind me. There are a lot of tight corners with just a tiny strip for bikers to ride on. I stop before the corners so I can time my entry to minimize the chances of going into it alongside a transport truck.

The ride was very challenging - full stop. And in a twisted sort of way, I absolutely LOVED IT!

I don't recall the details, but I do remember at one point, I thought my water bottle was leaking. I kept feeling this drip, drip, drip on my left knee. I couldn't see any water coming from the bottle, so I thought, maybe it was rain but I quickly ruled that out. Eventually I realized that the dripping was coming from my pony tail that was sitting on my left shoulder!! OMG!

I'm starting to think that Brian driving around with the truck and trailer personifies a shark (Jaws to be specific). He passes me slowly and carefully (I always know he's there, even when I'm not looking that way) and in my head I hear this duh dun...duh dun...duh dun. Brian with his classic timing arrives just as I crest the Paulson Summit. What is it with this guy?!? It is just incredible. Unfortunately there is no opportunity for a photo op as there is no safe place to pull over - and that's okay.

From the Paulson Summit to Nancy Green Provincial Park, it starts to dump rain. I was on a high so I didn't bother to change into my rain gear and got drenched.

One would think that the downhill ride is easy peasy. Well, think again! Riding downhill on a steep slope requires focus, looking out for numero uno (the biker), and being a responsible rider that contributes to safety of others who are on the road. There are lots of things to look out for like debris on the road, cracks (which can make the bike wobble), a narrow and/ or broken shoulder, wildlife and/ or a speed wobble (which can happen if your luggage is not properly balanced). There are probably more things, but that's enough for my brain to handle. It basically comes down to...if you are doing a steep downhill, you are definitely not checking out the scenery. (Check out the epic 30+ km down hill ride into Castlegar below!)

I get to Castlegar, and Brian again has done another great job of finding us a campsite. This time it was Pass Creek Municipal Campground in a part of town called Raspberry.

Tomorrow is a rest day and Brian & I have plans to visit a very good friend of mine and her husband who live in Trail. I'm excited to see them and to spend some time together.

Day 9, 2026 - May 22, 2026

Time Started: 8:30 am

Time Stopped: 4:00 pm

KM Travelled: 79.2 km

Elevation: +1,287m/ - 1,314m

Special Stuff: Good health, encouragement from strangers