19 July - Almost a pass too far

Christina Lake to Rossland 76km (1020km total).

I climbed slowly out of Christina Lake knowing Paulsen summit at 1535m was going to be the highest so far on my trip and would not arrive for 30km. I had been assured it was a gentle slope the whole way and nowhere near as bad as some of the passes I had already tackled (you would have thought by now I would have learnt not to rely on advice from non-cyclists!!). 

(Christina Lake)

In the last 4 days I had been over a summit a day (Sunday, Richter, Anarchist and Eholt). I knew I needed a rest day but was determined to get to Rossland to stay with Scott, a guy I know from mountain biking and working at Bushtukah (Ottawa outdoor store). 

They were early signs it was going to be a hard day, at one point I was having to pedal quite hard on what I perceived to be a flat if not slightly downhill stretch. I stopped and checked my tires were still well inflated and my brakes weren't rubbing. I did this a few times, confused as to why it was such hard work. Finally I looked back down the road and realised I was going uphill!! It was a cooler day slightly overcast day but with much higher humidity. I passed the sign below.

There were also signs for construction as they were repaving the road and I was thoroughly enjoying the new asphalt that had already been laid. The road was sufficiently quiet that I rode in the lane as the shoulder was gravel and signed as soft. I caught up with the construction and got to the front of the line, the lady with the stop sign came over and said I had 2 options, ride the gravel shoulder or get a ride in a truck. When I asked how far she said 2km, I told her I would take the shoulder and off I went. It was unbelievably slow dragging Bob through gravel that was barely packed down, I was grateful for my bike handling skills as Bob and I fishtailed around!! Needless to say I was incredibly grateful when it ended although another workman kindly told me it was about to get a whole lot steeper!! I crossed the Paulsen bridge and sadly he was right!!

(Paulsen bridge).

Some time passed before this sign on the other side of the road for those going down what I came up and then the summit sign.

I have to say I thought that was my hard work for the day done, I was pretty sure it would be downhill into Rossland. I had to stop and put a jacket on as I was getting seriously cold on the downhill (partly because it was much cooler at 1500m and partly because I was so sweaty from the humidity). I said goodbye to Hwy 3 which I had been on since Hope and turned on to the 3B. Suddenly I saw another sign on the side of the road, forgive me for not stopping for a picture but imagine the Bonanza Pass one above saying 'Strawberry Pass 1575m, expect sudden weather changes for next 29km'. I couldn't believe it, how could I have missed this, I was honestly exhausted, my legs had been heavy most of the day and I did not know how I was going to make the next 29km into Rossland (I have to admit I checked to see if I had cell service but I didn't so Gary and I crawled uphill). After about 5km I saw someone/something on the side of the road, I really hoped it wasn't a bear, this road was isolated and I was in no position to put up a fight!! When I got there it was a cyclist and I stopped to ask  if she was okay, she had a new bike and was playing with her seat height. I asked her how long the climb was and she said I had about another 5km and then assured me it was downhill into Rossland. With renewed hope I might make it I set off again, I did not have the energy to stop and get out my phone for another summit picture (to be honest I did not realise Nancy Greene Summit was higher than Paulsen otherwise I would have). It was pretty much downhill for the next 20km and a nice flowy grade into Rossland, at some point I passed 1000km for the trip so far.

I was so happy to reach Rossland and stopped at the first bench that I came to. I didn't move much for the next hour or so waiting for Scott to finish work. Rossland has a historic downtown and is nestled into the mountainside at 1000m. I figured I would check out the town tomorrow. It was awesome to see Scott, he moved here from Kanata 2 years ago. He cooked steak for dinner and encouraged me to eat lots and we sat and chatted on his deck, well to be honest I felt like I did all the talking. I apologized as I had not had much company the last few days.