Photo: Xiangzhou Kong
(All other photos by Murray Tough)

Hopeless 1000
Ride dates: May 17-19, 2025
by Murray Tough

The Hopeless 1000 was a "cloverleaf" course that retuned to the same place every night. That meant we only needed to carry clothes and food for 1 day. As the ride organizer, I named the route "Hopeless 1000" for its double meaning—there was a high chance of getting hopelessly lost and we bypassed the town of Hope.

The problem with a cloverleaf is that every day starts and ends with city riding. Our start and end point was in Burnaby. The regional population is over 3 million. More than anything, this is what made the ride hopeless. Far too much of the route was on urban streets. Even without traffic, it is slow riding with lots of intersections, traffic lights and corners.

We started out in the rain with 3 riders, Mike, Kong and me. It rained off and on all day. Rain and wind would be a common theme each day. We had about 2 hours of urban riding, most of it on paved bike paths and quiet streets. It was pleasant riding but our average speed was low. After that, there were a couple of gravel sections. Olund Trail was a lot of fun but, again, slower riding. Our turnaround for the day was at Harrison Hot Springs. We stopped for a gas station lunch and then headed south through Chilliwack and on to the border at 0 Avenue. Despite the headwinds sweeping across the open prairie, we were making up time. We had a control at Birchwood Dairy but it was windy, wet and cool. Ice cream just wasn’t what any of us wanted. We stopped for a control and sandwich at Ocean Park (South Surrey). Our tour looped through Tsawwassen and Ladner. Then a pothole appeared out of the darkness and caused a flat late in the ride. It set our time back a bit but we were back on the road soon enough. The day ended with some climbing and urban riding back to Burnaby. Anna was still up when we finished and had a hot meal ready for us! Day 1: 358 km.

I managed just over 3 hours of sleep before heading out on Day 2. We had lost our strongest and most experienced rider. He had an ongoing injury that was flaring up. The forecast was originally for sunshine but, again, we had to deal with on and off rain showers. It was a different course but it felt a bit like the same course on different streets. Between the urban riding and the hills, it took us several hours before we got to a section where we could make good time. Our turnaround was at the Hope River General Store in the middle of nowhere. When we arrived, they were closed! We were devastated. It was 4:10 and they closed at 4:00. But they still had some customers straggling out and didn't hesitate to let us come in and get much needed food. We stopped again for some gas station food in Mission at nightfall. At one point there was a construction detour that sent us along a dodgy singletrack path in the dark.

Much of the Fraser Delta is low-lying farmland. The rivers all have dykes with pretty paths on top. They are very smooth, wide, gravel paths that were better than some of the paved roads we had ridden on. When I designed the course, I hadn't pictured that this section would be ridden in the dark. Our view of the world was limited to the narrow cone of light from our headlights. The day ended with some climbing and urban riding. Again, a hot dinner was waiting for us when we arrived! Day 2: 351 km.

I managed 3.5 hours of sleep before heading out on Day 3. It was pouring when I got up. Two days of rain were taking its toll on our drivetrains but Mike was up early to oil our chains for us! Day 3 was different. Most of the day would be urban riding. The first section to Deep Cove in North Vancouver and Whytecliff Park in Horseshoe Bay involved lots of short hills and some steep grades. I opted to stop and take a picture on one steep section and then walked most of the way to the top. The picture didn't turn out because there was too much rain on the lens. There was a section along the waterfront near Lonsdale Quay that would have been lovely for a family bike ride but for two tired riders, in the rain, with more that 200 km still to ride, it was just another section of slow riding. Just after 4:00 p.m. we stopped in Steveston for pizza. We still had 160 km to go and we were both very tired. We stopped again for a sandwich in New Westminster. It was getting dark and we still had 100 km to go.

We reached the last turnaround point at the boat launch on Pitt Lake. I believe it is a very pretty spot on a long, narrow lake, surrounded by snowcapped mountains. Of course, the park was closed when we arrived. We had to lift our bikes over the entrance gate to reach the boat launch. It's 11:00 p.m. it’s pitch dark, raining, and we saw nothing. 60 km to go.

At 15 km to go, we have a highway section to ride. The Barnet Highway is a busy 4-lane highway with big wide shoulders. And that’s when the rain starts. Again. The highway is not an awful ride in good weather but in the rain, every passing vehicle showers you with road grime. If there are trucks, it’s even worse. But it’s nearly 2:00 a.m. and the road is deserted—it might have been a pleasant ride without the rain and the exhaustion. The day ends with a 5 km climb. Day 3: 293km.

We finish at 2:40 a.m. Getting off my bike is a clumsy maneuver that involves swinging an uncooperative leg over the saddle. I barely manage without falling. As usual, there is a hot dinner waiting for us when we arrive! I can take my time and savour it because it really doesn’t matter what time I get up.

Success! Total time 69:20. I'm exhausted. I'm still exhausted! When I got up later that same morning my legs were stiff and sore.

Type 2 fun.

Mike made pancakes for breakfast and Kathy drove over from Victoria to pick me up. I slept on and off most of the way home. Life was good.