So after the fiasco with the bear I cycled to Golden.
The first sight of my nemesis…the mountains
Now this was over Rogers Pass which believe it or not really isn’t that bad. Perhaps it was the fact that I was lighter because I no longer had a tent weighing me down, but the pass really didn’t seem all that much. I took a photo at the top and one at the memorial, pulled into the Best Western Hotel at the top of the Pass and ate lunch.
Rogers Pass Memorial
They have a creepy bar where all the walls are decorated with stuffed animals, all of which where killed on the highway. The Hotel has a kind of “Shining” feel to it to be honest.
While the climb of Rogers Pass is easier than the Hope Princeton the descent is much harder, with tunnels and water on the road, and water on the road in the tunnels, which is a bit unnerving when you are doing close to 60km an hour!
The Tunnels
Not to mentionthat afterwards you need to climb back out of the valley you have just descended into. After that it is pretty flat though.
I coasted into Golden about 2:30 in the afternoon which was really now 3:30 because of the time change.
I found a neat place to stay, a hostel called the kicking horse lodge. They had a big BIG tv and so I watched the Championship league finals between Barcelona and Arsenal. What a game!
I gorged myself on pasta at the local Greek restaurant and prepared mentally for kicking Horse Pass which is above 1600m. Turns out it is the hardest one of all.
Stats
Distance 111km
Top Speed: 59.8 km
Average: 18.6km