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Today was all but easy! -I couldn’t keep fluids or food down
and threw up 3 times
Rogers pass was killer…ran out of water and had to cycle for
40 km without water or food…should have planned that a bit better…at one point
the intimidation of the unknown when I was staring at mountains that are unbelievably
gigantic became overwhelming and I really had to try to think positively about
the climb.
A few things went through my head….Firstly, where the hell
was Elyse-Every time I turned around a corner, I was hoping to see her with water
and food, BUT when I didn’t, staying positive got very hard to deal with as
dehydration and lack of energy set in.
Secondly, how much further was this climb and constantly
questioning why anyone would bike across Canada for fun…this was not fun and I
would have loved to throw my bike over the mountainside and catch a ride home.
Finally, I had two options…complain and whine about the
climb and everything I can’t control or start thinking positively. So, I
thought back to the talks I had leading up to the ride with Larry Abbott, who
is completing his masters as a mental performance consultant, and one thing
Larry always includes at the end of his emails is, “keep smiling”. This is the
key to thinking positively! You can’t be mad when you are smiling, or at least
the smile helps combat the negative feelings…it’s wild…try it…throw a smile on
your face, and I promise you will feel better!!! So, I started smiling and
thinking about all the people who are supporting me, and how successful our
ride has been. This wasn’t just a mountain…this was the point where I realized
the importance of my mental preparation. Think positively and all will be well.
It may be an uphill battle but being negative wasn’t going to get me anywhere,
so through a smile on and get doing what I set out to do.
Revelstoke has something like an elevation of 480m and the
summit of Rogers Pass is at an elevation of 1330m…then it is all a downhill
reward and I got going over 65 km’s….I realize it isn’t all that safe to go
that fast down the mountain, but there is no way I could touch the brakes after
punishing my body during that climb, so I decided I was going to fly down the
steep slope.
Everyone
says Rogers Pass is super sketchy and one must take great caution through the
tunnels. We stopped at the first tunnel to remove my sunglasses, put on a handlebar
light, and get my taillight blinking. I put on a brighter vest and headed for
the first tunnel, only to find out it was about 10 seconds long and the
visibility was amazing because of the natural light that is allowed to enter
the tunnels. There are a series of tunnels like this because they cover the
road from snow/avalanches etc.
I was able to almost keep up with traffic through the entire
downhill slope which was nice because that is probably the safest way to bike
in my opinion…If no cars are passing me, my safety is in my hands and I don’t
have to worry about others. So, I am flying through another routine tunnel,
until I realize this tunnel is unique from the others- It is BLACKOUT!! I went
from 60km to complete darkness with zero visibility because my headlight failed
me.…THIS WAS TERRIFYING…I can’t describe the feeling that comes over your body
when you can’t see what is in front of you, you don’t know if cars can see you,
and you have no idea what to do. I couldn’t stop fast enough in my opinion, but
eventually a car came into the tunnel and the headlights helped guide me to the
end. I am so lucky nothing bad happened, and I used a lot more caution when
entering the following tunnels.
The ride felt like it took forever, but I made pretty decent
time to Golden. Once I get under 40km to my destination, I am laughing because
I know it is right around the corner…We arrived in Golden and met up with my
grandma’s friend’s daughter Jan. Jan showed us to her home and her and her
husband Grant prepared dinner!
Golden is a cool little town. There is only something like a
population of 3500 people and the small town feel is very welcoming. They had
live bluegrass music down at what they call the spirit square, and I was
fortunate enough to be able to say a quick word about Parkinson’s disease to
all the folks there (thanks to Jan).
After the performance we went back to the Arlt’s home and
kicked it with their family as they got ready for their son’s swim meet in the
morning (hopefully he dusted the competition). The Arlts are a super friendly family,
and I can see why my grandma was a fan of Jan’s mom!
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