I just want to pass on what I think is the best training route for a long ride. I used to race and I don't think there is a better place to ride locally than the Fraser Valley. Start in Brookswood ( 200th street and 41st Ave ). Brookswood has a Starbucks and a Japanese restaurant - a good place to start and end a ride. .... Zig-zag your way down to Zero Ave and ride along the border east. It's nice and flat and you can get into a nice endorphine fuelled tempo groove. Don't worry about the lack of hills - some of the best Tour de France riders are Dutch and Belgian. When you're ready for a hundred mile ride turn up the Chilliwack Lake road ( just past Yarrow ) - the fifty mile point is a few miles up the road. There is a small grocery store there so you can refuel with water, power bars, creme filled Ding-Dongs etc. The road is a gentle climb that parallels the river - very quiet and cool on a hot summer day. Pedal your butt back to Brookswood and treat yourself to a hot bowl of tempura Udon soup. ......If you want to get some hill work in I'd recommend Cypress Mountain. It's a great time efficient way to get an intense work out ( like the Grouse Grind ) - perfect for mid-week. I would not get into it until the ski season is over - some of the local hard core riders are doing it now but I'd wait untill most of the snow melts. Happy trails Stu
Thanks for the information on the route. I've started a google map where anyone can add information about their recommended training routes, and have transcribed your route on to the map.
