Water Valley Loop 2016, solo adventure this time !
Well, it is always tricky to squeeze in my schedule a long ride.... specially when all I want on weekends is to spend time with the kids and Maria. So, the only way to do it (at least for me) is to add more hours to the day... and since that is not quite possible, then waking up at 3:30am to start riding your bike is the only option ! or you can go for a shorter ride and forget the adventure.....
Following Kate and Craig always inspire me (I should start following a chef or someone else and get different inspiration) but, anyways, I love biking and I love long endurance days...
The weather was kind of nice and the conditions overall were good, so I did a bit of planning and prep my cx bike for the trip. Put on an extra bag to carry extra food and gear, and use some lights for the first 3 1/2 hours (out of which I only had lights for 2 1/2 since the battery started to die right before Water Valley :::---)) the night riding on back roads was a bit spooky I have to admit .. even though I am use to ride in the dark, I am always on pathways or on the trails and not on roads ! Anyway, I think listening to music made it easier this time/
It was colder than what I expected, and my toes were frozen for at least the first 5 hours.
I got to Water Valley and of course the gas station was closed, so I just kept going (I have anticipated that and packed enough food and water. The climb from Water Valley to the top of Harold Creek is around 30kms (this will be almost 10 times the Cochrane Hill), all gravel, although this time there wasn't much gravel and it was nicer and easier to ride on.
There was a dog chasing me when I went by the farm he lives in, but not a big deal, maybe he was just waiting for someone to play with :-).
At the top of the climb there was a bit of snow still (nothing compared to a few years ago when we last rode with the group in muddy conditions!). This segment in Strava is called "The Guts of the Glory of the Water Valley..." (I don't know who name this segment like this, but what I know is that it took me about 1:40:00, not even close to Stappler at 1:25:00).
The descend was good and faster than what I remember, I think it is around 10kms to the intersection of hwy 40.
From there you know that you are getting closer and that the pavement roads will eventually make you smile again and pick up the speed.
Passing through Waiperous is always nice, great memories from my first camping trips when I moved to Canada, love Waiperous !
I was running on the clock since I promised Maria and the kids I would be meeting them for lunch at 12:00 in Cochrane.
As soon as I hit the pavement I started to move faster, and it all seems to be flatter and smooth.
When I go to the Wild Cat road I decided to skip it and take the 1A instead, I was running out of time and the gravel climb was just going to cost me some time.
As I am riding on the 1A, Maria called me and said she was on her way to Cochrane.
I finally made it there with 5 minutes to spare ! crazy punctual ! I was hungry and probably ate most of the stuff at the old Java Cafe ! from there, we continued our afternoon plans and took the kids eastern egg hunting at the lake.... I am tire today.. my eyes are just closing. Rode this morning to work and legs felt good, but it will take me a few days to recover for sure.
Following Kate and Craig always inspire me (I should start following a chef or someone else and get different inspiration) but, anyways, I love biking and I love long endurance days...
The weather was kind of nice and the conditions overall were good, so I did a bit of planning and prep my cx bike for the trip. Put on an extra bag to carry extra food and gear, and use some lights for the first 3 1/2 hours (out of which I only had lights for 2 1/2 since the battery started to die right before Water Valley :::---)) the night riding on back roads was a bit spooky I have to admit .. even though I am use to ride in the dark, I am always on pathways or on the trails and not on roads ! Anyway, I think listening to music made it easier this time/
It was colder than what I expected, and my toes were frozen for at least the first 5 hours.
I got to Water Valley and of course the gas station was closed, so I just kept going (I have anticipated that and packed enough food and water. The climb from Water Valley to the top of Harold Creek is around 30kms (this will be almost 10 times the Cochrane Hill), all gravel, although this time there wasn't much gravel and it was nicer and easier to ride on.
There was a dog chasing me when I went by the farm he lives in, but not a big deal, maybe he was just waiting for someone to play with :-).
At the top of the climb there was a bit of snow still (nothing compared to a few years ago when we last rode with the group in muddy conditions!). This segment in Strava is called "The Guts of the Glory of the Water Valley..." (I don't know who name this segment like this, but what I know is that it took me about 1:40:00, not even close to Stappler at 1:25:00).
The descend was good and faster than what I remember, I think it is around 10kms to the intersection of hwy 40.
From there you know that you are getting closer and that the pavement roads will eventually make you smile again and pick up the speed.Passing through Waiperous is always nice, great memories from my first camping trips when I moved to Canada, love Waiperous !
I was running on the clock since I promised Maria and the kids I would be meeting them for lunch at 12:00 in Cochrane.
As soon as I hit the pavement I started to move faster, and it all seems to be flatter and smooth.
When I go to the Wild Cat road I decided to skip it and take the 1A instead, I was running out of time and the gravel climb was just going to cost me some time.
As I am riding on the 1A, Maria called me and said she was on her way to Cochrane.
I finally made it there with 5 minutes to spare ! crazy punctual ! I was hungry and probably ate most of the stuff at the old Java Cafe ! from there, we continued our afternoon plans and took the kids eastern egg hunting at the lake.... I am tire today.. my eyes are just closing. Rode this morning to work and legs felt good, but it will take me a few days to recover for sure.
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