July 22, 2016 Manning Park --> Princeton, BC - 41 miles

CORRECTION TO YESTERDAY'S POST: I misidentified the cute little critters yesterday as prairie dogs. Pam texted to inform me that they are, in fact, yellow bellied marmots. 

The little marmots were out in full force again when I emerged after breakfast - even crawling on top of my foot in response to my clucking noises. Personalities plus. I wanted to grab a couple to take along on the ride. 

A steady rain began as I left the Manning Park Lodge, making it a little difficult to see through my sunglasses, yet not that much of a ride deterrent. I have always found that riding in rain is easier than wind any day. The first 13 miles were a piece of cake, the two lane road being essentially flat alongside a lovely stream. I was amused by the sight of a group of Canadien geese waiting to cross the road to stream side.

Most of the traffic was in the opposite direction, presumably because it was Friday and more people were heading into the park for the weekend as opposed to out of the park. The next phase of the ride was mostly a delightful downhill ride almost all the way to Princeton, with the exception of one long slow incline. I had my head down chugging up the hill, when I looked up and spotted a black bear crossing the road approximately 300 yards ahead. I wasn't too concerned about my safety, as he was well on his way to the woods off the road, and I suspect the traffic on the road would speed him along. Plus, I don't really imagine he would hang out there by the side of the road in wait to get me. Still, I formulated my contingent plan which was to reverse course and head downhill in a hurry if necessary. Hard to imagine  a black bear sprinting down a hill after a touring bike. And obviously it didn't happen. 

I was happy to notice that my body had recovered better than I would have expected after yesterday's hard ride. My legs felt strong, and no knee pain for the first time in a couple of weeks. I attributed that to some extra special stretching and self massage/roll-type techniques targeting the knees.

Other than that one climb, the remainder of the ride consisted of one downhill cruise after another, during which I often reached 30+ mph. The rain had stopped and it was slowly clearing up.  The scenery also changed somewhat from those huge adjacent mountains to more moderate size mountains a little more distant. By the time I reached Princeton at 1:15 pm, I was more or less in a valley with outlying mountains. I made such good time to Princeton and it was such a stress free ride, I would have continued on to the next town of Hedley had I not already booked a room at the Sandman Inn.

I spent the afternoon resting up and planning for tomorrow's 72 mile ride to Osoyoos. I am told the road will be curvy, but mostly flat or gently rolling with little in the way of severe climbs. I plan to get an early start, and hope to get there by 3 or 4 pm.