Cycling Day 5

We awoke early in our room (4 AM for Jessica, 6 AM for me).  John and Jeff were still sleeping at 8 AM when we knocked on their door.  We didn't have breakfast included at the Sandman Inn in Princeton and the boys had the food (granola, yogurt etc) so we were hungry!  We knew the weather wasn't going to be great so we hadn't set a time for an early departure.

We did get on the road at 9:15 AM - and there was a light rain.  The temperature was 6 Celsius.  We pedalled on Highway 3 towards the town of Keremeos.  We did have a fruit break (apples) by the Similkameen River where a bunch of white water paddlers were putting their boats in.  They were a friendly bunch and keen to paddle on this rainy Saturday.

After 41 km, I told J and Jessica I was going to call it a day - as I was looking for improvement in the weather or a decrease in the number of vehicles passing us and neither had occurred.  But Jeff couldn't find a safe pullout until km 57, so we pedalled an additional 16 km while the rain came down a little harder and the cars sprayed a little more water each time the passed us.  Oh to have the luxury of a support vehicle!  I had little desire to pedal an additional 54 km in these conditions.  As Jessica said, "I am so glad it rained!  I would have hated to cycle 111 km!"

So we stopped at a fruit stand and Jessica bought a basket of fresh cherries.  They were delicious.  We drove close to an hour to get to Penticton and we were really thrilled to be allowed an early check in before 2 pm.  Well the girls room was ready - not the boys, so we loaded all our gear into one room.  The cyclists promptly changed into bathing suits to go into the hot tub and Jeff walked down to the car show taking place in town.

Jessica and I went to Denny's for a very late lunch (2:45 PM), then were back in the hotel room to watch the Men's National soccer team play Curacao in the Gold Cup.  We ended up with a draw (Curacao scored in the final few minutes of extra time so that was disappointing).

We then went to a Vietnamese restaurant downtown for supper.  Jessica and I shared a bowl of Pho and the boys had a more substantial meal.  The obligatory game of Frustration Rummy was won by Jessica tonight!  We hope our cycling gear will dry by the time we have to cycle in the morning!