Boy, they were good hours. The day started with a blast of a shortcut across Barnhartville Road, which I chose merely to avoid traffic but which turned out to be a great road to ride. 97 then took me down into Vernon, then 6 eastbound into the valley. The fields and skies approaching Lumby prompted memories of a previous era of adventure, but the eyes needed to stick to the road.
I figure that I navigated more turns this afternoon than in an average Yellowknife riding season. It was nonstop curves along 6 from Lumby to Needles to Nakusp to New Denver and, the exclamation point, 31A across to Kaslo. This section of road takes the title from the 37A into Stewart as the best chunk of pavement in BC. Both have waterfalls. Both parallel mountain rivers. 37A has a glacier. 31A is curves. As a car passenger, I'll pick 37A. On a bike, 31A takes it.
The only downer is that I don't get to ride it again in the morning.
Day total: 424 km, 6h00m Trip total: 4120 km | Start: Kamloops, BC. End: Kaslo, BC. Soundtrack: Hawksley's "The City is a Drag," iPod Top40 shuffle |