Weekend exercise is something I look forward to all week and last week was no exception. With a long ride Saturday and a half-marathon Sunday, last weekend was an exhilerating, exercise-stuffed two days that left me feeling gratified and sore.
Just north of Vancouver, on the Sea-to-Sky highway, is the town of Squamish. Touted as the "Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada," Squamish is home to some of the best hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, and snow sports BC offers. It was also the cycling destination for this ride, approximately 70km north of my house, along a very hilly section of highway. A beautiful journey, and a great training ride for the Cyclebetes National Relay beginning August 13th, along this same stretch of road.
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| A cultural journey it is indeed. |
I started out at 10:45am, joining a group of riders that had set off from downtown Vancouver. The first section of ride was uphill, followed by long, windy, rolling section through West Vancouver, passed the Horseshow Bay ferry terminal to Lions Bay. The weather was ideal for this kind of ride; overcast and cool, with a chance of showers. And shower it did. Our first rainstorm hit just past the village of Lions Bay. Heavy rains fell for about 2-3 kilometers, before the sky opened up again and sunshine streamed down on us as we rode through Porteau Cove to Furry Creek. A quick stop to regroup and wait for other riders to catch up turned into a full shower as severely heavy rains poured down. By the top of the Furry Creek hill I was completely drenched. With water pouring down my face and sloshing around in my cycling shoes I finally reached the summit of the last big hill, just north of Brittania Beach, and began my much-earned descent into Squamish.
A nice relaxing lunch at the Howe Sound Brewing Company ensued before I rushed home to begin prepping for Sunday's half-marathon and dinner party. What an awesome day and a ride I will definitely be doing a few more times this season. Below are a few pics of the views along the route, plus an elevation map of the ride (I started about 18km in, at the base of the first big hill.
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| Looking southwest from Lions Bay |
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| Looking west, from just south of Porteau Cove |
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| A stunning early sunset |
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| Elevation map of the full ride |
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