In Nelson: the Proctor ride

July 17, 2023

So in a change of plans, I’m riding on my own again today and Rachael’s taken a walk. And it feels like the right decision. Most of today’s ride is on Highway 3A again, which Rachael probably wasn’t that enthusiastic again in the first place, but had previously agreed to join me on it. So what changed?

The cracked helmet. When we looked at its defects together, it didn’t seem like the right idea to risk another thirty miles of highway riding in it when there was an easy alternative. Yesterday was Sunday and the bike shops were closed, and if we waited for them to open today we’d be getting too late in the day to be starting off for this ride. So she’s off on a hike east along the Great Northern Rail Trail, and afterwards drops in at The Sacred Ride, the bike and ski shop just around the corner from our apartment.

She’s shocked by the price (she hasn’t bought a new helmet in a long time), but quite pleased with the look. Just her colors!

The biking websites only list a few road bike rides starting from Nelson. One goes out west to Pass Creek Road, which I rode a version of yesterday. Another goes south on Highway 6 to Salmo, a ride we did most of five years ago starting from the other end. The others go east along the west arm of Kootenay Lake on Highway 3A.

The ride I chose goes east on 3A for about fifteen miles until it comes to the turnoff for the ferry to Proctor. After that it takes the ferry across the river to the south shore and then continues west another five miles to the end of the road at the village of Proctor before reversing direction. It’s about a 45 mile ride with only modest climbing, which sounds just right. If you don’t mind 30 miles of highway riding anyway.

The ride begins with a traverse of Nelson, followed by crossing the lake on the Big Orange bridge. Getting to experience this bridge up close was one of the attractions for me when I considered this ride.

The view east (the direction I’ll be riding today) from the bridge.

I was a little hesitant about riding this far on 3A, but it makes an excellent first impression this morning. There’s a good shoulder at first, but before long I come to a glassy, unstriped section: virgin highway that looks like it’s just been resurfaced in the last few weeks. There’s no shoulder stripe, and the median is marked only by the reflectors; but the lane is plenty wide enough and there’s little traffic this morning so it feels perfectly safe.

Just east of the bridge I come to a resurfaced road that is smooth enough that cycling is effortless. Fun!

It’s quite calm this morning, with only a minimal tailwind pushing me east. Between this and the glassy surface of the road I’m hardly working at all.

I’m just pinching myself over my good fortune to have such excellent conditions and imagining sailing all the way to the ferry when my bubble bursts and I come to the end or the resurfaced segment. In its place is one of my least favorite riding surfaces, the grooved pavement before the top layer is applied. Rats.

Five miles later I’m cursing the Fates for serving me up such terrible luck, when I finally come to the end of the grooved segment. beyond that is outside the current roadwork - a normally surfaced old highway with the typical conditions you’d expect on a road like this. Under the circumstances, I’ll take it with pleasure.

The three segments are roughly equal, so all in all it feels fair. I have no reason to complain, and don’t. I do think though that on the whole Rachael wouldn’t care much for all this. I’m just as glad she’s not along so I don’t feel guilty about dragging her into this.

When I come to the turnoff for the ferry crossing and leave the highway it feels like the real ride is just beginning. I’ve viewed the highway miles as the price of admission for what really attracted me about this ride - the ferry crossing, and the quiet rural road on the other side.

I’m not really sure what to expect of the Harrop ferry, but it feels immediately familiar when I see it: it’s a modest cable ferry, similar to the Wheatland and Buena Vista ferries I’ve ridden so many times across the Willamette. It’s unscheduled, crossing on demand, but in my brief experience here it looks like it must run more or less continuously during the day because there’s always a queue of cars and trucks waiting to cross when it pulls up at either bank.

It’s just landing on the opposite shore when I pull up so I have to wait while it unloads, loads with travelers on the return trip, crosses the lake, and unloads gain. I wait what - ten minutes, fifteen at the most? Insignificant really. My timing is better on the return, when the boat is on my shore and just unloading.

One other thing about the ferry - it’s toll free, as are all inland ferries in B.C. And, of course, it’s fun. Who doesn’t like crossing a river on a free ferry on your bicycle?

The Harrop ferry approaches. It runs on demand, 24 hours per day.

The west arm of Kootenay Lake, from the Harrop ferry.

Cable ferries are guided across the water by a cable affixed to both shores.

The Harrop II is only a few years old, the latest in a series of vessels that have continuously run this crossing since 1925.

There’s not too much to say about Harrop and Proctor today, the two small communities that had much more importance in the past. This article provides an interesting overview of the history here, including of the ferry itself. It doesn’t look like many folks still living out here, and I was surprised to see how much traffic showed up at the ferry.

It makes a fine if short ride though biking out to the end of the road and back. It feels like riding on a small island. The road ends at Proctor, on the point where the long arms of Kootenay Lake come together.

I was excited seeing this when I stepped off the ferry, thinking I might see some interesting birds on the island. Not tody though.

Nice of them to give me their undivided attention for a minute.

Along Proctor Road. Two barn shots today!

I stopped for lunch on the beach at Proctor, at the end of the road. It’s right across the water from Balfour, the terminus for the east-west crossing of the lake between Balfour and Crawford Bay. That ferry just arrived while I was sitting there.

Back at the ferry, I’m startled by how much the wind has built up since the first crossing. It must be blowing a steady 15 mph or more now, and there are whitecaps on the lake. I’ve got a challenging ride home ahead, and now I’m really glad I didn’t drag Rachael along for this.

The lake looks much different than it did two hours ago.

Heart

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Ron SuchanekThat looks like a concerning ECG reading
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9 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Ron SuchanekYup. I think those two spikes are probably brief afib episodes.
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9 months ago

Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 836 miles (1,345 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	6
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Graham FinchThis jersey made me wonder if you've ever tried the beer...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126014698091?hash=item1d570fb26b:g:KBwAAOSwWopj8neX&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwM2Yp4KEyQZptyE5g6zZeqecHyUzLB%2FotALDxPjFT4QjWEp7cEVQhrSg6Tno75BeI38clDSrBbbm1od6IoXjwq4ajEIUUsMCgskTFmUzcoK8XXKXsNuMKiWOVmB2BFt8V04qaL6CBzv13cxxaZzReFuUvEsZ2bmlzsHdRJg7tqXGR88F0SQhwZieKfjZoTHmpWA8psnfwlx0nIztDyWDUDgijm%2BkPZpb2oBJnzdY3h4mIpj%2FEFF0MqIfer7aNfg8UQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6yQ08utYg
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9 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Graham FinchYup. Part of the regular rotation when I’m in town.
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9 months ago