The number 4, smoke, and rain were the themes for today. This is the first day that all of us are riding together since Whitehorse. Gabe left us in Whitehorse to attend his mother-in-law’s funeral. When he rejoined us in Prince Rupert, Mike was sidelined because of his injury. It sure feels good to have our quartet back together. Mike’s transition will be gradual so he joined us for just 30 km today.

We left Salmon Arm under a shroud of smoke. It was not as thick as yesterday, but we felt surrounded by smoke. When we saw this sign, the expression, “Where there is smoke there is fire,” came to mind.

Our ride had some sections of really broken shoulders and other places with narrow shoulders. This means each of us has to be very vigilant of passing vehicles, potholes and broken pavement. None of us use head phones of any type for safety reasons.

Here’s a sign we are always happy to see. The route today had some gentle climbs and nice downhills.

We are missing a lot of the great views because of the smoke but every once in a while we still get a glimpse of the natural beauty around us.

Mike had a problem shifting and discovered his front wheel bearings needed replacing so he and Lyndon went ahead into Revelstoke to find a bike shop that could do the work. The team at Shookum Revelstoke Cycle and Ski took care of both in quick order! Big shout out to Mike the bike mechanic!

The last section of the ride was in the rain, heavy at times. Riding in the rain is not our preference but today there was universal rejoicing that the rain had arrived and is continuing into the evening.  Revelstoke Baptist Church is giving us a place to park and plug in for the night. Thank you RBC!