Friday, July 4, 2025: Cranbrook - Some Scary Night Riding

 

On July 4, I celebrate the US Independence Day by arriving in Cranbrook, BC, a city of 20,000 residents. It is the main shopping, healthcare, education and transportation hub of the East Kootenay region.  It is an outdoor recreation base with many lakes, hiking trails, and ski areas in close proximity.  And for me it is the site where I pick up the main TCT again.  Highway 3 has been a safe detour for me with a nice paved shoulder in most areas.  

Getting a later start today, Cranbrook is situated 26 miles from my starting point.  Nice scenic riding with some elevated views over nearby lakes made for a pleasant trip to Cranbrook, and I was able to secure a motel room for the next few nights.  However, around 7:00PM, I was faced with the decision of riding into the evening in order to return to the truck, or saving the return ride for tomorrow.  I have a good lighting system on the bike with a strong headlight and two red taillights.  Confident that I provided good visibility to the cars and semi trucks on the road, I decided to  return to get back to the truck to move it along to Cranbrook.

However, shortly after departing Cranbrook, it began to sprinkle, which turned into a drizzle, and then a steady rain, and eventually a downpour.  Riding in the rain is something every long distance cyclist has to encounter from time to time.  The temperature was reasonable, so other than being wet, I was comfortable on the bike.  However, the steady rain made for poor visibility, and I was concerned how well traffic could see my taillights.  As a vehicle would overtake me, I would move over to the gravel shoulder.  However, there were a couple of long bridges which didn't afford me a shoulder.  I tried to time  the bridge crossings  for breaks in traffic; however,  on one long bridge I did not complete the crossing before being overtaken by a semi.  Thankfully, the driver saw me, and moved over to give me room. Whew!

Most rain showers don't last very long but this was a good drenching and the rain continued for the entire ride.  I had parked the truck on a roadside turnout facing  northbound toward Cranbrook.  Of course I was cycling southbound on the other side of the road.  Due to the rain and mist, I became concerned that I might have actually rode past the turnout.  I finished the ride travelling against traffic on the northbound side, dismounting from the bike whenever a car approached. Eventually I came upon my truck and  said a prayer of thanks.  This was one of the most frightening days of my Canadian journey.