Ride on, Highway Cat !!: May 2019

DAY 9, Tue, July 24, 2018
Princeton Municipal Campground → Mule Deer Campground, Manning Pk.

Stats:
Cat Eye: Dist, 61km, Avg spd, 15.3km, Max 58.3, Time, 4 hrs.
Polar: Time, 3:40, (omitted big downhill sections) Cal, 2067, Avg Hr, 120

Well, despite consuming a kings share of hops and barley that night, I woke at around 5:30 and headed out. I stopped at the washroom and bumped into the girl cyclist that was tenting 50 feet across from my site. It turns out that she is just as introverted as me, ha ha. I guess that I can stop feeling bad for not talking to her and her partner. Anyway she said (in a european accent) that the ride through Manning to Princeton was terrible as the shoulder was dangerous. Having cycled this section a couple times in the past and never had a problem, I thought that she may be a novice.
I found out later that she was right.
The climb out of Princeton was no surprise, but the road conditions were. The shoulder was degraded and dangerous. Sounds like a metal album. After hitting "Sunday Summit", (1284 m/4213 ft.) about 37 km W of Princeton, there were some twists and turns and then... Wammo! Road work. They were doing rock scaling and had traffic stopped in both directions. I ended up talking to the traffic control guy. He was a youngish dude with tattoos and piercings that seemed lonely and eager to talk. He noticed that my heart monitor was beeping. "Hey dude, what's beeping?" he said. I told him that it was a heart monitor and that I needed it to warn me of my heart exploding. He was very satisfied with that answer. It is an interesting situation when different cultures collide. He asked me all kinds of questions regarding cycle touring. I was happy to relieve his boredom, but I was losing TONS of time and needed a green light!
He FINALLY gave me the green light (was at least 30 min. delay) and said he would also give me an early departure to bypass the construction. Well, his "Head Start" was about 30 seconds when I needed 5 minutes!
While climbing in the hot sun, I rounded a corner to find NO SHOULDER with construction equipment and debris blocking my way. All traffic was unleashed at the same time in both directions. As I tried to navigate through the unpleasantries, I kept wondering if this would be my last day of existence.
After that shit show and at the 53 km mark, I found myself at the "East Gate Gas Station/store". This is a few km from the east boundary of Manning Park. Pee break and Gatorade fill up. Also, I scanned the store knowing that I would be back for goodies.
The road ahead into Manning Park sucked. Lots of broken blacktop. I was surprised about the state of disrepair. Anyway, I found myself an OK site at Mule Deer Campground, got set up and returned to the store for a bunch of beer and ice. (less than 10 km)
Burp

Leaving Princeton...

Shoulder is not good

Sketch of road stoppage due to rock scaling. Was held up for maybe 30 min. The ride ahead was very nasty. Road crews have no concept of danger for cyclists. It's a rare situation, but should be a standard rule. Cyclists get no respect.

HWY 3 silloette

Climbing with the big boys

I've been here a few times before. Not sure why I keep punishing myself. Anyway, that was sooooo much fun as per usual.

East Gate gas station/store/sanctuary. A quick stop for a pee and electrolites. I will return later for beer and ice. No other retail for maybe 80 km accept for Manning Park Resort until Hope BC.