Day 4: Merritt to Kelowna (T.D.: 119km; S.T.: 6h47m)

We hit the road after a healthy 11 hour sleep, and started the day with a healthy 11 kilometer climb out of Merritt. With all the fuss about the Coquihalla, one would assume (as we did) that the Okanagan Connector wouldn’t be much to write home about. As it turns out, the Connector would prove to be the real challenge, with some ridiculously long climbs that make up the bulk of the 80 kilometers it takes to reach the 1728m summit (484m higher than the Coquihalla). How come nobody gave us dire warnings about THIS highway? Honestly.

Anyway, as you can imagine, our legs were pretty worn out already from the previous day’s ride, so Day 4 was a challenge and a half. Hot weather too. I won’t bore you with the details (As if I haven’t already! Congratulations to you if you’ve made it this far), but I will tell you about the highway construction men who were putting reflective stakes in the side of the road and pulled up beside us while we ate a snack huddled under a lone pine tree in the ditch on the middle of this desolate highway (shade was a rare and valuable commodity). They looked at us, said a brief hello, and then moved on, as if they see crazies like us several times a day. Not that I’m starved for attention or anything, but come on, those guys were just downright unpersonable.

Anyway, I’ll skip ahead to the good part, which was a 25-kilometer uninterrupted descent from the summit. We coasted for a thrilling 40 minutes straight down a long and winding road on the edge of the Okanagan Valley. I don’t think either of us have experienced anything quite like it. From the bottom, it was an easy 10 kilometers to Marion and Roy’s in Westbank. Made it just in time for supper.
Today has been a much-needed rest day, and I’ve spent most of it writing this novel. Wasn’t even too sore. Hope you’re all well.

Stats:
Avg. Sp: 17.3km/h
Max Sp. 57.6km/h
Most excruciating climbs: Take your pick
Most amazing descents: The big one that I told you about
Least personable highway construction men; The two guys we met on the Okanagan Connector
Best meal: The vegetarian lasagna Marion fed us when we arrived
Biggest surprise: Being able to walk the next day