[doser]

Did the Hope > Spences Bridge > Merritt > Princeton > home loop on Sunday. Very light traffic up the canyon; typical superb breakfast at Fat Jacks; excellent road conditions on Hwy 8 ( just some dust near the centrelines, but no gravel or sand at all); perfect surface conditions on 5A south to Princeton; there's a 2-3 kms gravel section on Hwy 3 about 15kms west of Princeton, otherwise all good, altho moderately heavy traffic on a sunny Sunday afternoon; plenty of snow beside the road up at Allison Pass, but not overly cold and the road is fine. One patrol car running radar on the 4 lane section west of Princeton (no surprise), otherwise no sign of 'trouble'. In other words: good to go!
(Sounds from filterwrench's report that the Duffey needs a bit more time...)

 

[CoolDaddyGroove]

Thanks for the road report Don!

 

[bikeguy]

I know 5a got re-surfaced not too long ago (3-4yrs?) with nice new blacktop. Haven't been on hwy 8 in some time. Used to be kind of a tar/gravel surface. Has that been upgraded to blacktop as well?

 

[doser]

8 is decent blacktop, but still pretty burly. but actually, I like it that way. it's a super challenging ride, both because of the unpredictable twistiness, and also because of the surface. it takes FULL concentration to ride it fast...

 

[bikeguy]

8 is decent blacktop, but still pretty burly. but actually, I like it that way. it's a super challenging ride, both because of the unpredictable twistiness, and also because of the surface. it takes FULL concentration to ride it fast...

Agreed. I've only ridden it from the canyon up to Merritt. "Burly" describes the surface well. Yea lots of funny decreasing/increasing radii and abrupt elevation changes. Makes the top 10 in Destination Highways (no 9). No small achievement.

 

[Redhawk]

Princeton to Spences Bridge for lunch on 5A and 8 and back is a lovely way to burn up a tank of fuel.
At times I feel lucky to live in Princeton.

 

[Pea Souper]

At times I feel lucky to live in Princeton.

As you should, it's a beautiful area.