Off to Kimberly BC
May 8 2022
Tomorrow morning I am off with my neighbor to meet Ken at
the Kimberly Riverside Campground. The
plan is to spend ten days riding as part of the training for this summer’s
coast to coast (C2C) bicycle ride. This will be my sixth C2C ride. My first C2C was in 2007 with Crossroads and
was from Los Angeles to Boston following Route 66 for a good portion of the
way. I then completed my first northern tier
from Seattle to Boston C2C in 2010 with Cycle America. I then did a southern tier in 2012 with Bubba’s
Pampered Peddlers, going from San Diego CA to St Augustine FL. The northern tier is the best and Cycle
America really knows how to do it so I completed C2C rides with them in 2014
and 2018. I was prepared for 2020 but
Covid got in the way and the ride was cancelled.
This year I am in probably the best bike shape I have ever
been before a C2C ride. Mostly thanks to
my friends in Phoenix and Mike in particular who whipped me for close to 3000
miles. In 2018 I wasn’t in bad shape but
then we did a three week China tour and standing in the buffet line for three
weeks killed it. Mike and I completed
three century rides one of which averaged 17.7 mph. My fastest century ever.
I also have a new bike.
It is a Look 765. The Look 765 is
Look’s endurance bike so it is a little more upright than a race bike and the
frame is designed to absorb some of the road vibration. It is certainly
one of the lightest bikes I have ever ridden. It has the new fat tires, disc
brakes, and most importantly the gearing is much lower than my Giant which I
have ridden on 4 of my previous C2C rides.
The front is a 50x34 compact and the rear derailleur is an 11x34. So the lowest gear is a 1:1. The Giant’s lowest gear was 1:1.26. It won’t
be the flashiest bike there, but it will be a strong reliable ride.
The campground we will be staying at is about half way
between Cranbrook and Kimberly and is on the 35 kms paved rails to trails route
between Kimberly and Cranbrook. Because
it is a rails to trails route the grade never gets above 3% but over the course
of 35 kms it averages 2.5%. It is a
great ride and as it goes through the woods you always see some wild life. Deer are really common but you often see
eagles fishing in the river. I have laid
out a number of courses which total over 900 kms. The weather is going to be the big challenge as
the forecast ranges from lows of -1C to highs of 22C.
This year the C2C ride starts June 18 and arrives in Boston
on August 20. It is a long ride and I am
planning on putting a blog post up everyday.
I hope you follow along.
Terry
4 comments:
Terry,
I am so excited. Here we go again!
Say hi to Ken for me, that would be Ken-of-the-Steel-Steed!
Later,
Earnie
Hi Terry,
And hello to Ken. Looking forward to your blog in the coming months. Weather in Scotland not as good as where you are in BC.
I think the level of fitness you have attained since Dec will be a great asset. I remember the state I was in when I started with Bubba in San Diego. If I was doing the northern tier with that level of fitness, I would have been in the van a lot for the first 7+ days.
Liam
Terry, looks like you will be in Wisconsin at the end of July. If so, get me dates and I will ride with you. I am old and slow but would love to do it again. Colleen Golomski
Terry, just finished leading a group around Israel with seven straight days of riding. Beautiful weather and great roads and of course history on every hill. In Jerusalem today and walking instead of riding but looking forward to Cycle America. Be safe and enjoy!
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