Anarchy on Anarchist

Guidebook advice on riding up Anarchist Mountain:
1. Leave early in the morning to avoid the heat
2. Take plenty of water
3. Give yourself lots of time
4. Take care on the narrow shoulders

Bikewriter's Method of climbing up Anarchist:
1. Start climb just before the hottest part of the day
2. Have wife in support vehicle carry water
3. Time the ride so it is pitch black when you finish
4. Fix flat where there is no shoulder

That little dot at center right is me                          Photo:KRC

You couldn't say that it was a piece of cake cycling up Anarchist Mountain in south central British Columbia but compared to the first time it was a much more pleasant experience.  I mention the first time because the last time I went up Anarchist was after my cycling friend Roy and I paid a fellow 20 bucks each to take us to the summit with our bikes in the back of his pickup (20 mins.).

In the past, I've heard varying reports of cycling up the mountain.  One old cyclist told me that he had done it on a single speed when it was a dirt road.  Another told me that on his ride from B.C. to Halifax, he almost quit while riding up the dreaded eminence.  Other cyclists describe riding up to the 10 km. sign and then coasting downhill into Osoyoos.




Where is that summit?                                             Photo:RKC

Since I'd had the proper gear package installed (see post), the climb was simply a matter of grinding away for hours on end in the lowest gear.  A marathon of endurance versus power.  Unlike the first time when Roy's Garmin told him that he'd burned 5,000 calories and I calculated that I had burned almost twice as much cursing and asking Roy "Where is that summit?"  which after six hours became "Where the @#$%*&#;^% is that friggin' summit??".  My left palm had turned black and blue from a fall at the start of the incline when I veered off the skinny shoulder.  My front wheel buried itself in the sand and I must have stuck out my hand/arm in a self-protection reflex.


Starting to turn black and blue

There was no pie at the end of the climb but by pulling into the Rock Creek PetroCan, we did manage to scrounge some famous Rock Creek Cheese buns that were still for sale.  I munched them in the dark as we rode to the campground satisfied that there would be no anarchy on Anarchist this time.