Day 8 - Cranbrook to Invermere 131 km

It's 7:30 AM here in Crenbrook. It was hard to wake up this morning, especially as there was a one hour time change when we moved from Creston to Cranbrook. I've just gulped down dry cereal, toast, two cups of 'ok' coffee and orange juice here at the Super 8 motel and am madly throwing together my gear for the day. It's going to be warm, not a cloud in the sky. At least I don't have to pack my rain gear!

It's difficult, and rather sad to believe that we are only two stages of the tour from our destination in Banff. This tour has been such fun! Tonight, we're going to be hearing an updated on the current state of research and treatment of CF kids. I am looking forward to it. Assuming we have Internet access, I'll provide an update this evening. Wish us luck on our journey today!

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Evening update:

This was, without question, one of the most scenic days of our ride. It seemed that with every pedal stroke there was something new to see. Here's our route, a long, easy ride along the edge of the majestic Kootenay Rockies.

<--The route looks tough, but actually it was very easy. Look at the elevation scale. The biggest hill we climbed was only 400 feet over 20 kilometers! On Day 6, we climbed one that rose over ten times that height. For more route information, including a larger map, click here .

I had lots of time to take photos. For one, I rode about a third of the entire route on my own, as my friends left ahead of me thinking I would quickly catch up. Not with this beautiful scenery about me. I stopped frequently to grab my camera,

<--Our morning ritual, getting the bikes ready.

The Kootenay River, near Fort Steele-->

<--We encountered several road crews along the way

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Fisher Peak, elevation 2900 meters (9500 feet), This mountain can be seen from many parts around Cranbrook and is a favorite hiking destination in the region-->

<--The eastern slopes of the Purcell Mountains

Quiet waters of the Kootenay river, beside grassy marshland-->

<--Just a little farther! Near the junction of Highway 95 and 95A.

Beautiful vista could be seen everywhere we looked-->

<--We stopped for lunch at Canal Flats.

By the tine we arrived, Joyce had already set out lunch, waiting for us. This became a common sight on our trip. Thank you, Joyce!--->

<--James arriving for at our rest stop for lunch

The Columbia River headwaters, located near Canal Flats, flows to the Washington-Oregon border on the Pacific Ocean in a journey that will take 12,000 miles-->

Canal Flats was part of a scheme in the 1880's to divert water between the upper Kootenay River into the Columbia River System. The original idea was to lower Kootenay Lake to the point that it would transform the rich soils in the estuary we passed when travelling into Creston into farmland. This would have amounted to over 48,000 acres! The idea was a bit flawed, however, as it would have flooded existing farms around Golden and might have put CPR railway bridges crossing the Columbia river under water. Instead, a canal system was created to link the two rivers. Only a couple of boats ever used it, however, and Canal Flats as a thriving community faded into history.

What was left are lumber mills that, when we went through, were idle with thousands of board feet of processed lumber waiting a buyer, and many more thousands of board feet of logs stacked to be processed.... a graphic indication of what terrible shape the lumber industry is in right now.

An idle lumber mill at Canal Flats, seen just beyond our picnic area -->

After leaving Canal Flats, we journeyed on through broad hills of the Columbia Valley region. The weather was perfect - sunny, but not too hot, thanks to a gentle breeze.

As we neared Fairmont Hot Springs, we began to approach some very strange rock formations that reminded me of some of the geology found in Colorado. Called the Dutch Creek Hoodos, they are odd formations of earth resulting from erosion.

If you look carefully, you can see birds nests situated into small cave-like niches in the mountain wall-->

<-- At last, along the beautiful Winderemere Valley, the outskirts of Invermere, our destination!

We made it to our Super 8 hotel by 3:00 PM, giving us lots of time to get showers, take a dip in the hotel Jacuzzi and even take a snack-attack walk to Tim Hortons, just up the street a block away.





We returned with time to spare before 6:00 PM, when we were treated to a beautifully prepared pasta dinner, prepared by the Windermere Valley Kinsmen, in the motel parking lot. Yet again, we were given such a warm welcome by the Kinsmen, with some additional assistance from a local cycling club.

Simon being served by the Kinsmen in Windermere Valley-->

Prior to this trip, I had no idea of the tremendous work the Kinsmen and their conterparts, the Kinettes have had across Canada.

This evening, Steve and Paul, who were accompanied by a new member, "TJ", told us a bit about the history of the Kinsmen across Canada after dinner.

<--Left to Right: Steve, Paul and TJ

This "made in Canada" organization has over 375 member chapters across the country. I learned that the Kinsmen have been working tirelessly in support of Cystic Fibrosis research and treatment for over 45 years. Our dinner tonight, then, was only the most recent of many, many activities in support of this vital cause. One of our team members, who lost his daughter to CF, told how the Kinsmen had put up his family in a hotel and paid all expenses while she was in intensive care at Children's Hospital. Again, I was overwhelmed by the generosity of this organization. If you are interested, there's an interesting summery of the history of the Kinsmen and Kinettes on their Kin web site.

After dinner, our three Cystic Fibrosis researchers who are riding with us during this trip, provided an informal but highly informative introduction to the work they are doing. I was able to make some notes on this, and will introduce them here as soon as I can. However, what I took away from the meeting was that the work they are doing is directly involved in finding ways to better understand and battle dreaded bacterial infections that occurs with these children. Unlike many research projects I've seen funded over the years, this clinically based research is very closely linked to health outcomes of these young patients. It cannot be understated how important these funds are n continuing the fight to find more effective treatments that can extend the life of these young patients.

For those of you who have already contributed to CF as a result of our tour, thank you!! For those of you who have not done so, it's not too late. Contribute now, before you are distracted and you forget to do so. You can find the link to sponsor my ride (or any of the riders who are with us), here .

<--The GearUp4CF 2009 team at Invermere. One person is missing, Doug , who could not be there tonight. His oldest daughter has CF, as does Simon's son.

By the way, Darryl Crane of the Invermere Valley Echo interviewed us while we were here and wrote up an article about our tour. Click here to read it!

Another day, another sunset. Tonight's sunset was particularly beautiful, as the sun passed beyond the Rocky mountains in the distance.

Tomorrow is our last day of the tour. Incredibly, we have already traveled over a thousand kilometers to arrive here. Now, in just 151 kilometers more, we're done! Our epic ride to Banff will be complete.

Our final day won't be easy, though. Looking at the profile, it appears nearly three quarters of the way is uphill, with two very sharp grades. I'm leaving very early, so must get some rest.

Look for my update tomorrow night!