Lemmon in a Fortnight

I'll be back home in Tucson in 2 weeks! So long Houston! However, I'll only have three days there before Kenya, so I want to make the most of it. And what better use of my time than climbing Lemmon again, all the way to the top. If this doesn't train me for those BC hills I don't know what will. I think I'll be doing this route many more times in the upcoming year.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/30517448

The first time I got up on will-power alone. Hopefully I'm a better cyclist now. I'll keep you posted how it goes!

Windy Point - Halfway Point @ 6600 ft!

Day 2: Climbing the Cascades (83)

Leaving Hope behind, this will be the first day in the mountains. The proposed route would see us hit 3 Cat-2's, along with a Cat-3, a 4 and a 5. This is likely to be one of the toughest days in the tour, as we'll be climbing a total of ~6200 ft (over a mile) in elevation. Sounds like fun!

We would hit the hills fast as well. A Cat-3 (3.4 mile; 3.7%) would be less than 2 miles outside Hope. A Cat-2 follows immediately after at Mile 6 (5.1 miles at 5.1%). This means that by mile 11 we'll would have already climbed 2100 ft.

Entering Manning Provincial Park at mile 21, Allison Pass, the biggest climb of the day, awaits us. The summit of this Cat-2 is 4400 ft (1300 m) high. From there however we descend until mile 58, where the final Cat-2 and 5 await us on the run into Princeton.

Not too many days would be harder than this one... in fact, just the one.

Hope, BC to Princeton, BC through Manning Provincial Park

Panoramic View of the Cascade Mountain Range inside Manning Park

Elevation Profile (Day 2)

Right, I'm off to enjoy Aberdeen!

Black vs. Grizzly... vs. Cyclist

On the back of a hiker being killed by a Grizzly in Yellowstone yesterday, I thought it would be prudent to put this information up.

http://www.wikihow.com/Escape-from-a-Bear

Important Points:

• Know your bear (Black vs. Grizzly). Colour isn't a good indication. However, Grizzly bears have a prominent shoulder hump, unlike the Black bear (see picture below).
• If the attack by the bear is in self-defence (we startled it), don't run. Slowly back away if possible (front still facing bear), or stand your ground. Avoid direct eye contact. Make yourself as big as possible.
• If the bear still attacks you, act dead after the first physical contact with Grizzly. It should leave you alone.
• Never do this for a Black. Stand and fight (they're smaller at least).
• Bear Spray works well apparently. Adding a case of that to the post 'The Crap We'll Need'

The article goes into a lot more detail, and was an excellent read.





Left: Black without shoulder hump. Right: Grizzly, with hump.