FIVE STOP CYCLING TOUR SPANS 130 KM

AT A CERTAIN POINT OF NO RETURN EVERYTHING SEEMS LIKE A MISTAKE

By PETER THOMAS BUSCH

Two hours of road cycling soon became okay for a daily road workout, but a bit longer was required to keep my interest, and then again something a bit longer.

Two summers ago, I had made a tour from West Vancouver near the Cypress Mountain parkway along the Sea to Sky Highway to Squamish, British Columbia.

But I have since moved from West Vancouver to Davie Village in the West End of Vancouver. This relocation added two hours onto any trip north.

I had been returning to the Horseshoe Bay tour which I had always kind of extended into Stanley Park and then back home into West Vancouver for a two to three hour ride.

But now, I had a slow climb of about one hour just to get to my previous starting point, which also included an additional hour returning home.

I had previously made the trip to Squamish during mid-day, deciding that a good night sleep and a good breakfast was the best start to such a trip. The heat though really drains a person by 3 pm.

And now with the extra two hours, I had decided that an early morning start was best, me having estimated that the round trip would take 6 hours, based on a previous time of 4 hours from around abouts the junction of Cypress and Highway 1.

I was beside myself about jumping from the 2.08 tour I was taking on a regular basis to a 6+ hour tour. The substantial difference in time might require some training.

I was disappointed by the trip to the Richmond Olympic Oval because the plan was to increase time on the road. But at the end of the day the Olympic Oval tour took 2:08, just like the Horseshoe Bay tour and the Deep Cove tour and the Second Narrows tour.

I had to roll over a few times in the early morning before beginning the training for the big tour up and down the Sea to Sky Highway. When I did get going, I managed to get to Britannia Beach. I was quite concerned on arrival that the return trip would be difficult and painful, involving dehydration cramps and a loss of endurance.

So, I turned around after a 10 minute microbreak, during which I drank a bit more water than usual and ate an energy bar and a banana.

I now understood how much training was required.

I returned to a Horseshoe Bay trip, two days later. Then I headed back up the Sea To Sky Highway to Porteau Cove, after another two days.

I could not resist the challenge though, so after two more days I returned to Britannia Beach, had another micro break and then headed back home. Getting to Porteau Cove took about 2 hours, thus creating a 4 hour round trip. Britannia Beach took 2.5 hours and a 5 hour roundtrip.

I was really into the stuff then at a 5 hour round trip. I kept on thinking that the trail hike took 6 to 7 hours to Cape Scott from the parking lot at the trail head, and that I should just do that trip again instead.

I then laid off a bit waiting for my legs to bounce back. I eventually went to the Richmond Olympic Oval and really powered most of the way there.

That was three days ago on a Sunday.

Today was Wednesday, and ‘anything can happen today’.

Today was a good day too because the weather was overcast with some sun. And with the rains returning in the next few days, and me not road cycling in the rain, for safety reasons, the tour was to be today or a maybe next week when the rains stop.

I left the West End at 7 am. Someone was in my face right away as I left the building. So I knew the route would be fraught with problems just one minute into the tour.

I am so disappointed. But I continued on anyway.

I reached my previous starting point about five minutes earlier, so I knew that physically I was ready.

I got to Lions Bay after about 70 minutes, 10 minutes earlier than previous trips this year. And then I got to Porteau Cove 15 minutes earlier at about 105 minutes. I reached Britannia Beach at 2 hours and 15 minutes, and then decided that a microbreak was not necessary, and that I should just continue on.

So, I continued on. The Britannia Creek hill is difficult. The hill is a slow gradual climb that quickly seems steeper than the long drawn out climb of Furry Creek hill, which I swear I had just finished.

The thing with the climbs on the Sea to Sky Highway is that they are worth every bit of pain because of the quick exhilarating descents they create on the otherside. You have to really enjoy the descent to be able to overcome the psychological and physical pain in climbing the other side of the long drawn out hills. And on the way home, well, ‘you knew what you were getting yourself into,’ I tell myself.

Once overtop the Britannia Creek hill, the route is almost entirely downhill to Squamish.

I circled the downtown in a kind of victory lap, as I like to do, kind of reveling in the accomplishment. I had got turned around a bit in trying to get out of Squamish. So I used the crosswalk. 

I took a microbreak on the way out of town across from the granite monolith. The Stawamus Chief has had a facelift of sorts, with a thin layer of fresh granite (or whatever) sitting there all white and pretty like in a pile. See picture at the bottom.

The long climb back to Murrin Park is more of a psychological struggle, because the hill is just the beginning of a long drawn out return trip having to now climb all those fantastic descents in the other direction.

Murrin Park to Britannia Beach is a nice descent, with two lanes and a decent shoulder.

But then the climb after that is just gruelingly slow.

I took another micro break just before Brunswick Point. I was running out of water, and I always really need water just before turning for home on that last stretch passed Horseshoe Bay. At 4 hours, I could taste the beer in the fridge at home and at 5 hours the remaining water tasted really good.

I got home after 6 hours and 20 minutes, having relaxed and eased up quite a bit the last 90 minutes to avoid having to go through the home stretch in a bit of pain. But at the vertex of the day, I cycled 14 kilometers per half hour somewhere between Lions Bay and Porteau Cove, between the 44 km highway sign and the 30 km highway sign, a bit effortlessly, making for a total round trip of 130 km.

Unfortunately, I am disappointed in great numbers by the heavy equipment vehicles and their lazy driving, often meandering onto the white line of the bike lane as they passed me, instead of steering two feet over to the center line like most passenger vehicles were doing. 

I could hear the heavy equipment coming most of the time about 200 meters away, with their big diesel engines and flutteringly loud air brakes. I would move over for sure, but one truck drove me onto the gravel just right at the point where the shoulder disappears just passed Britannia Beach.

I am really disappointed.

I guess I am supposed to give them a good review now. But I give them two big thumbs down, and discourage other cyclists from touring this highway. The bike lanes have not been groomed since before last winter, and are littered with debris falling off vehicles and still showing the gravel in the sanding trucks from the winter. 

I counted 25 double haul dump trucks passing me, with many nearly on the shoulder line, with only one or two single haul dump trucks out of those 25, and dozens of semi-trailer trucks and cargo vans heading in that same direction between 8:30 am and 9 am.

On the weekends, the highway is almost bumper to bumper with tourist vehicles.

That was just too uncomfortable and too dangerous for anyone. The conditions were just outrageously poor at the height of tourist season.