Another First

Today we experienced another first on this trip as we were forced to ride through rainy conditions the entire day, which left us extremely wet and cold. We left Kamloops in the midst of some scattered showers, but the forecast said that the afternoon would bring the sunshine we have grown accustomed to thus far. However, a quick glance at the sky revealed that any chance of sunshine was remote... black clouds dominated the sky and they showed no signs of letting up.

Leaving Kamloops proved to be a simple task as we had a route all planned out before leaving the motel, and since we left at around 9:30am, most of the rush hour traffic had already dissipated. Also making the exit of Kamloops extremely easy was the fact that it was entirely downhill... we went for kilometres at a time without requiring any pedalling.

By the time we returned to the highway the rain was coming down and the wet roads were causing major splashing all over me due to the lack of fenders on my bike! However, it wasn't the rain I was concerned about... it was my bladder! With my back teeth floating, I was determined to reach a gas station as quickly as possible. Unfortunately that gas station did not arrive for a full 41km... on the good side however, Dave and I took full advantage of the tailwind and smooth road conditions, allowing us to cover the distance in less than two hours.

Following a short break at the gas station, it looked like the rain may subside; however, as we mounted our bikes and continued towards our destination, it immediately began raining once again. This lit a spark under our asses as we continued our brisk pace and managed to ride approx. 85km before stopping for lunch in Sorrento.

Finally the sun started to break through and we were feeling good, so we started talking about extending todays trip as far as Sicamous, which is about 30-40km past Salmon Arm. However, once again we had to deal with wet conditions (although not as bad) and by the time we reached Salmon Arm (around 3:30pm) we decided to call it a day since we would not really be gaining much by continuing on. Also, by this time, both of us were covered in mud from the trip, and we were completely soaked. My shoes contained enough water to rival that of the Great Lakes, and as a result my toes were quickly becoming ice cubes!

So here we are in yet another motel (this has to stop!) in Salmon Arm, with plans on getting to Revelstoke tomorrow. We expect to stay in a hostel in Revelstoke, which will hopefully allow us to do some other things in town. The distance to Revelstoke is just over 100km, and if the road conditions are anything like today, it should be a pleasant trip... hopefully the rain goes away!