After having a corker of a meal of Fish ‘n’ Chips at the ‘Wee Chippie’ in Quensel we tried to get a couple of kilometers in before dark. We were advised from Heather and Chris (who we stayed with in Quensel) to take an alternative route south on the West Fraser Road that was more scenic and had less traffic. We had beautiful views of the Fraser River all the way to Williams Lake but boy did we get a tough workout on the two big hills with never-ending switchbacks!
When we passed through 100 mile house (yes, this is the name of town) we stopped into the A&W (an all Canadian burger franchise that sells root beer as its number one drink). It was a bit of sight to see a group of elder’s square dancing inside all in fancy dress. When I asked them if I could take a photo, it turns out one of their members (Vic Green) knows Roland’s Dad from his work, BC Hydro – small world! We have been seeing a lot of dead pine trees the last two weeks and have discovered British Columbia has had real trouble with the Pine Beetle in recent years. This beetle is naturally occurring but is normally controlled through cold winters and other factors that I’ve forgotten! (Mental note, don’t ever aspire to become a tourist guide filled with interesting facts and tidbits of fascinating information). Along with the dry summer, apparently the pine beetle infestation has attributed to the severity of the fires B.C. has been combating the last few months. After another small detour off the main highway we found ourselves at Green Lake. The last few days of cramming in miles was worth it, being able to chill out and spend a weekend with our good friend Len and his Dad at their cabin. We did a whole lot of nothing up there which was perfect! It was then a reasonably easy three days of cycling (there seemed to be a lot of downhill and flat stretches) to Chilliwack where we dropped our bike into Dan at Pedal Sports. Big Bird was overdue for a good fluffing up of his feathers. While the bike was being serviced we took the opportunity to ‘Greyhound it’ to Castlegar on the overnight bus – yes, it was brutal! Ten hours later we were in the wonderful care of Roland’s Aunty and Uncle (Rose and Larry). We spent a relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable four days with them which included: eating, sleeping, physio for Bee’s neck, fishing on Arrow Lake, sight seeing around Nelson, reading books on the beach, watching movies, Dairy Queen, chatting with Rose and Larry and playing Boggle! After another fun filled bus ride back to Chilliwack (the scenery through the Okanagan and Rockies was awesome mind you) we spent a pleasant evening with Charlene and John (Warm Shower hosts). They had an abundance of cycling stories and offered us lots of great suggestions for our up and coming leg down the pacific coast of the U.S. We slept like babies that night after some good old fashioned accordion playing. Thanks so much to Charlene and John for putting us up for the night – maybe we’ll do some tramping together on Mt Baker in the future? We are now back in Vancouver and will be here for the next ten days or so. Roland’s Dad kindly picked us up from Chilliwack and drove us back into Vancouver today (our first ride to date). We are planning to do three days of volunteer work later this week so stay tuned….. Other highlights: Got given free grapes at Farmer’s Market because “we were cyclists”; a lovely lady (Lydia) that pulled over to chat with us turned out to know the people we associated with in Chilliwack; really great stealth camping spots this entire stretch; passing lots of yummy fruit stands; good rest breaks in the small towns i.e. in Spences Bridge we stopped for coffee in the Packing House Café and played crib on a giant wooden board; delicious ice cream and yoghurt at the Island Farms factory in Rosedale, enjoying the diverse and spectacular scenery – particularly through the Fraser Canyon; getting thoughtful mail from family in New Zealand. Crib score Roland 35 Belinda 25 What is Belinda most sick of right now?
We had a wonderful evening with our warm shower hosts (Chris and Heather who live in a beautiful log cabin just out of Quensel) and had our tummy's filled with a delicious meal and a soft place to rest our head. It was really interesting because during the warmer months they sleep outside in a gazebo overlooking 10 mile lake, which we just thought was so very cool! This morning during breakfast we looked out to see their adolescent mischievious dog (Molly) having some fun with Belinda's gloves, Ipod and helmet. There are now some awesome knaw marks evident that will be great props for a horrific bear attack story!
Lots of sunny days - Part two of Leg four - 09/09/09 to 15/09/09 - Dawson Creek to Prince George9/16/2009 This stint of our journey was filled with sunny warm weather which was a contrast to the previous week, however the mornings were rather chilly! We cycled out of Prince George with another cyclist, Hans from Germany. At first we couldn't believe our luck because the terrain was flat but we quickly found the constant head wind was a real hinderance to our speed. Once we got to Chetwynd (the Chainsaw Capital of the world - there were heaps of carved statues of various things around the town), Hans called it an evening and we pushed on another 20 km. We came across a super nice motorcyclist that was heading to Dawson City who stopped and chatted with us. He was a mexican living in Arizona and had completed over 5000 skydives around the world over his life time. Quite the interesting character to come across! That night we pitched our tent behind some trees in a rest area. This has been our worst sleep to date (maybe Dad shouldn't read this). At about 11pm a roudy bunch of guys came into the rest area and cranked their heavy metal music up. Belinda was somewhat concerned for her safety, fortunately they did take off without seeing our tent. However, after thinking all was well they came back at 2am and did the same thing! All we can say is both of us weren't particularly cheery the following day.
The second day out of Dawson Creek we had the summit to reach. South was definately the way to go as it was a gradual uphill, whereas there were some steep downgrades after we got to the top. We had a lovely break at the Bijioux falls where we shared our lunch with some Bluejays. On this day we got offered free showers on two separate occassions, once in the morning where we stopped for coffee at Azouzetta Lodge and again at the end of the day when having an ice cream at Windy Point Inn. We took the second offer for a shower which felt like such a treat. Further up the road we came across a Provincial Campground (that had actually closed for the season) so we camped in a beautiful lakeside, sheltered and safe space for the night that felt like heaven compared to the previous night. At the start of our next day we were aiming for a resort restaurant about 15 kms ahead of where we stayed to warm up and get kick started with a coffee (it's scary but Belinda is becoming just as much of a coffee drinker as Roland), however it turned out to be closed for the season. Just as we were about to leave we met the owners of the resort, Andrea and Terry, who kindly invited us in for a free coffee and chat despite being closed - so kind! Just after having a conversation to them about only coming across two bears from a distance did we see our first bear close up just down the road from the resort! This black bear was having a good old munch on some berries on the side of the road. Although he looked pretty chilled out we waited for a car to come along before we passed him. He actually walked across the road in front of us and went into the bushes - was pretty freaky but also awesome all at the same time. Just before we reached Prince George we came across two beavers busy working on their dam below the Salmon River bridge. We were both really excited to see them up close as we had seen lots of activity of beavers along our journey but they always seemed to be away on holiday. We stayed in Prince George for three nights with Warm Shower hosts, David and Megumi. They were just so welcoming and relaxed - "Appreciate it"! We had our first home cooked salmon of the trip (which was delicious) and enjoyed the company of their numerous pets (Muriel you'd just love these people). While walking their two dogs one day we came across a bike swap. We upgraded our front panniers (for $15) and gave our ones to Megumi for use around town. One highlight of our time in Prince George was seeing a fiddler and her accompanist on guitar (Yvonne Hermendez and Jeremy Walsh). We had never taken in fiddling before and we just thought it was terrific. So much fun and boy were they talented. Yvonne had won the North American championships five times in a row. She also could to the foot work dancing while fiddling, which truely was a sight to see. Thanks to David for taking us along. Our final night there we had dinner with Ray and Helena. The couple we stayed with in Fairbanks (Janet and Robert) strongly recommended us meeting this couple and we were sure glad we did. We were stuffed full of excellent food, wine and yummy saskatoon berry pie - oh so good! The next morning we were treated to a hot breakfast too to prepare for our cycle ride to Quensel. It was a pleasure to meet you Ray and Helena - thanks again - we enjoyed hearing your cycling stories. Our ride to Quensel went well for us but we did witness an accident where a motorcyclist plowed into the back of a car going through a construction area. Fortunately all involved were ok minus the Harley Davidson - ouch! We stopped at a place called the 'Second-hand Cinema' on our way and met another cyclist taking advantage of the free camping there. William has also cycled from Alaska and is heading to California to learn more about survival in the wild. An interesting guy and place (filled with stuff from tools to eight track tapes) to spend an hour or so. However, to Roland's dismay there was no actual cinema to watch movies - what's up with the name! What is Belinda so sick of right now? *Seeing photos of herself in that blue jacket. *Not having the self control to only eat one Vanilla Dip donut in one sitting when at Tim Horton's. What has Roland had enough of right now? *Sewing up the never ending holes in his cycling shorts and socks. Things found on the side of the road: *Pair of Van's board shorts *A dust buster *A beach ball *CD's *Cell phone charger *Several more licence plates Dear Aunty Bee and Uncle Roland,
Here is a picture I drew for you. It is a picture of Roland and Bee. There was a rocket on the back for you too. I've been enjoying riding my bike. And nothing else. Love from Leo Thanks so much to Jen, Dan (and Milo the dog) for having us to stay. We hope to see you again in the future! You guys are inspiring with how much you do in your day!
After leaving the comforts of Marsh Lake, well known for its swan viewing, we quickly headed south towards the land of world famous cinninomon buns and percipitaion. Our next stop was Teslin where we took in the Tlinglit Heritage Centre and were surprised to see ourselves in the Yukon News, (Friday, 28th August - http://www.yukon-news.com/life/14305/). In keeping with all the rain and lack of shelter at rest areas, generous RV’er thought it best to give us some Alaskan smoked salmon!
In addition to the trying weather, Roland’s rump got infected (eww gross!) and our Swiss Army Knife seems to have done a runner on us. Fortunately as we approached Watson Lake, our spirits lifted, as we were treated to a lovely home cooked meal by Susan, Barry and Robbie (the Scottie Dog) Drury. Having absorbed the magical powers of a good nights sleep, clean clothes, showers and Tim Horton’s coffee, we managed to tack up a Yukon lisence plate in the Watson Lake Sign Post Forest. It is said to be the largest collection of stolen property in the world, with over 7000 signs from around the globe. Lots of lodges, gas stations and RV parks are now closed and abandoned. For cyclist this means we have to go for longer stretches without potential refreshments, accommodation and warmth. At Donna’s cafe we were blown away by her generousity as she gave us oranges, apples, 9 grain cereal, zip lock bags and juice crystals powder. We even ate a bison burger. Very tasty! The Liard Hot Springs was a no brainer, as both our bodies were feeling the effects of a solid week of cycling. Shortly after we got our first glimps of a bison, and although Bee initially thought this was a bear from a far, she continues to be a very nervous back seat driver, as we slowly pedalled by. As we approached the Northern Rockies we were treated to some magnificent weather and some spectacular scenery, wild life and climbs. Amazingly we were even tracked down and given some reinforcement cookies complements of Susan and her daughter who just so happened to be driving south. At Toad River Lodge, we treated ourselves to another popular northern staple, freshly homemade pie. This café is the proud home of the most hats along the Alaskan Highway with over 7037 hats and growing. Once we resupplied in Fort Nelson we were once again ready to face the wet stuff. We cycled long into the night, searching for a place to turn out and pitch our tent. This came in the way of a highway maintainence crew lot, where we greeted the next morning at 5.50 am with loud vehicles and headlights beaming down on our tent. The construction workers thought it was a great laugh! This stretch proved to be very difficult, as the distances between things were very long, the road was flat and unrevealing, B.C. rest areas don’t have toilets and our feet were rarely warm and dry. Infact we even had to splash out on a cabin, the only time we have paid for accommodation thus far, but well worth it as everything we owned was drenched and team moral was at an all time low. Again filled with a good nights sleep, dry clothes, dry bags, dry everything, we continue down the road with a bounce in our step, knowing Fort Saint John would be reached in a day or two. Yeah that bounce! It lasted about ten minutes before we were right back where we started, cold, wet and wondering what we were doing. Additionally, Roland’s feet smell like rotting musty toe jam festering slugwarts when his shoes are wet! We sucked it up, braved it out, did not talk to one another, listened to our i-pods in the hopes that music may take our minds off the current situation and add some much needed comfort. After harboring ourselves at yet another restaurant/lodge/gas station for a couple of hours, we would have almost been temped to stay the night with Ron, a gentleman who invited us over for an additional tea and time near his hot wood burning stove. Roland has written thus far and even though he’s done a real great job writing this entry has had enough so it’s up to his wife to finish up the loose ends for him…..tee hee. We were glad we continued on though as the weather did clear and meant we could get into Fort St John the next day. Just 40kms shy of town we stopped in at the Sheppard's Inn for a warm up. We were served by two lovely ladies there and wonderfully surprised when they said the bill was settled! Boy oh boy have we just been spoiled on this trip! It was cool talking with them though, as when they first arrived into Fort St John 15 years ago they spoke little English and the first people to help them settle in was the Salvation Army - very cool! Once we got into town, we bumped into a lovely lady at Tim Horton's (it's where all good things happen) and ultimately ended up staying with her (long story). We spent a wonderful night with Kathy, eating scrummy wholesome food, sharing a bottle of red wine and watching March of the Penguins on DVD (really good by the way). We are now in Dawson Creek which is at Mile ‘0’ of the Alaskan highway. It’s a quaint little town with a bunch more character than many of the towns we have been recently passing through. As I write this we are eating “Dilly Bars” from Dairy Queen and Roland is playing scrabble with one of our lovely hosts here (Dan and Jen). Hey Roland you sneaky creature! We will add another blog when we get to Prince George (three days away) and include our volunteer work….. New nicknames (as by Roland) Roland – “Mash” Belinda – “Spin” This has to do with personal cycling techniques going up hills – interesting when we’re on the same chain! Crib Score: Roland ahead by two: 22 to 18 What did we find on the side of the road? · One snorkeling flipper · Two beach balls · A baby backpack carrier · One fancy evening tie · Orange safety vest · Chealsea Lee, A pink ‘My Little Pony’ – we will introduce her formally on video in the near future. She’s become an integral part of our unit now. We are like a little family – Mash, Spin, Big Bird and Chelsea Lee all on the road together! · A snap on Wrench and Phillips Screw Driver · OR Beanie (this is momumental for Roland as he lost his OR beanie in NZ the day before we left) |
Roland and Belinda
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