Six Tunnels and an Air Tram: Agassiz to Boston Bar, 64 miles 7/12/09

Vince made us pose for this cheesy photo: Dean and Susan in the air tram, Barbara and Lynda clinging from the outside.

We are in our tent now, snuggled against the elements. The wind is gusting mightily and unstaked tents have been making their owners nomads, as the bounce around the field.

Warm weather today: sunshine, a companionable group to bike with, and TAILWINDS. Hard to ask for more.

Surprisingly, I still have not had to dip into my reserve of Starbucks espresso cans. There was exactly one town on our route today (just 2 K off the route, to be precise) and rumor had it that espresso could be found there. Barbara, Dean, and I set off from camp making a beeline for Hope---Karl and Phil beat us there, Neal joined us, and we all met up in the Blue Moose espresso bar. In addition to perfect lattes, we stocked up on sandwiches and cookies for the road.


Hope turned out to be a gorgeous town, in a valley, next to the Fraser River.

Just before the 1st tunnel of the day, we stopped for a break and joined Vince and Lynda at a picnic spot. For the rest of the day, 5 of us made for a nice cycling group: Barbara, Susan, Dean, Vince, and Lynda.



The tunnels along the road are tough to navigate, but I guess preferable to having to climb the mountains. Bikers must travel on narrow sidewalks, filled with hazards like holes, barely covered by boards. Two of our group (Paul and Barbara) crashed (in separate incidents) as they exited tunnels today, slipping on the gravel at the gates.

Lynda and Vince, exiting a tunnel.




After the tunnels, we visited the Hell's Gate tourist attraction. Here, you can take an Air Tram across the raging Fraser River and buy fudge on the other side. You can also walk across this suspension bridge. When we were there, the wind was blowing so hard that it was scary to walk across the bridge.




I asked some Asian tourists to take my picture, then they attempted to go out on the bridge. They were so scared, however, they just went a few steps then retreated. They looked so cute!

Sunset over our campground in Boston Bar.