October 1st, 2014
Facts about the Yellowhead Highway
The Yellowhead Highway starts on Haida Gwaii, BC and stretches across four provinces to Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Portions of the highway in BC also share designation as Hwy 1 (the Trans-Canada Highway).
Today’s Lowlights
Amanda writes: Getting access to the mobile network changes things. Andrew is quick to jump on the phone and I wish we could just ride and not look at the phone and online sites.
Today’s Highlights
Andrew writes: Mountaintops, waterfalls and glaciers…cycling in the sunshine…reaching Rainbow Summit…Campground all to ourselvesAmanda writes: Taking things at a leisurely pace with multiple long breaks made the long ride enjoyable.
Cycling Stats
Starting Point: Exstew Rest Stop
Ending Point: Prudhomme Lake PP
91.3 km travelled
17.6 km/h average speed
44.0 km/h maximum speed
5:11 riding time
What happened…
Andrew writes: We woke up to sunshine, but of course it was short-lived. While it was out though, we cycled past some amazing scenery. We stopped to take quite a few pictures as we cycled along the northern banks of the Skeena River. It’s amazing what you could see once the clouds went away, we have been cycling past or through these mountains for a few days now, and the views when it’s clear out are amazing!
After 50km, we came to a rest area and were tempted to call it a day, but the intense rain shower we had been cycling in broke, and after a hot lunch, we kept going. With the sun on our backs, we couldn’t think of any good reason to stop. The landscape stretched on either side of us from mountain to shining sea.
Near the end of the day we climbed up the Rainbow Summit, it was only 150m in elevation, but I must admit that it took me by surprise in a way, given that we had been cycling at or near sea level for the last two days. Then we ripped downhill to Prudhomme Lake Provincial Park, which, wouldn’t you know it…was closed. This meant we had the whole place to ourselves. Apparently, all of the provincial parks in northern BC closed on September 15th, which was why we had been enjoying empty campgrounds for the last few weeks.
I’m really excited that we cycled so far today. There is definitely a difference between riding far because you choose to vs. riding because you have to. By cycling almost 100km today we are quite close to Prince Rupert. This will allow us a bit of a rest tomorrow. And since the sun was out for the latter half of today, riding just seemed…fun! Here’s hoping it continues tomorrow.
Amanda writes:We rode much further than we had planned today but it seemed simple with the big breaks. As Andrew mentioned there was a nice rest stop on the water that we were very tempted by. We sat there for a few minutes and Andrew took advantage of having reception on the cell phone and searched for how far the next campground was. While we were there we went for a walk down to the beach, sat on the bench soaking up the sun and trying to dry a few items of clothing. After deciding to ride the extra 25 kilometres we were on a mission. Drafting and pedalling faster than we normally would. Near the end I was pretty tired and super hungry which isn’t ideal but knowing we had climbed the pass we knew about was a bonus. Furthermore, the empty campsite was very nice to share with the few bluejay birds. All in all a good day as we head closer to the coast.