May 19 - 21, 2001
This is a popular tour, organised each year by the Vancouver Bicycle Club on the Victoria Day long weekend.
Day 1 - Saturday, 19 May 2001
Lytton to Cache Creek
The route begins in Lytton, a small dusty town at the junction of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers, about 250 km east of Vancouver on the Trans-Canada Highway.
European settlement in the area began for the most part with the Cariboo Gold Rush of the 1860's, and most of the towns have links to those days, or to the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880's.
Some club members drove up from Vancouver early Saturday morning; others came up Friday night and camped at Skihist Provincial Park, about 4 km north of the town. You can leave your car for the weekend ($15 fee) in the parking lot of Kumsheen Raft Adventures, a river rafting company just south of the park on the Trans-Canada.
In late May the weather can vary from windy, cool & rainy to windy, hot & dry, and in 2001 we had some of everything. The Trans-Canada is a major highway, but it didn't seem particularly busy on this May long weekend. At the height of the tourist season of course it's a different story. It has wide paved shoulders however, and feels pretty safe for cycling as main highways go.
The scenery on the first day was pleasant, certainly a change from the rain forest environment of coastal BC, but the best was yet to come. We stopped for lunch in Spence's Bridge, fought a headwind and the occasional burst of rain through the afternoon, and pulled into Cache Creek about 4 pm. The sag wagon had already arrived at the campground, and after setting up their tents most people made a bee-line for Horstings Farm Market, a market/nursery/restaurant about 2 km north of the village. If you're ever in Cache Creek, BC (and who doesn't get there eventually??) don't miss it, especially if you're hungry. Great food!
Distance for the day 98 km
The first leg of the tour is an 85 km run up the Trans-Canada, which follows the Thompson River to the village of Cache Creek. It's a gradual climb for most of the day, through a combination of river canyon and open valley.
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copyright 2001, Bob Adair. All rights reserved