Minnitaki - Ignace

GOD DAMN HEADWINDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Total Distance 133km. Ave speed 19.4 Ride Time 6hr 53min.
Well, I was only going to write the sentence about but too much has happened to leave it out. I called the Zetteks to say I would be there tomorrow and set out on the road again from Ignace expecting to do another 40km today. 2km out of Ignace it began to pour. It is still raining now. I was going to go back to Ignace to camp but instead I pulled off the road and am camping in the woods. I have enough supplies to there was no need to be in a town.
I had just finished reading more of my book when I looked at the walls of the tent. It was covered in slugs! Mmmm....slugs. I will have to be very careful when packing up tomorrow.
Today has been horrible. The headwind was very strong and now the rain has made tomorrow a VERY long day. At least I am dry.
I will be spending a rest day in Thunder Bay on Canada Day taking in a baseball game:).

Clearwater Bay - Minnitaki

Total Distance 142.56km Ave Speed 22km/hr??? Ride Time 6hr 34min.
Heard my first loon call this morning. Yes, it's obvious that I'm in Ontario. And the blackflies are out. They seemed to start at the border.
I stopped at the library in Kenora and did some blogging and emailing. I also got my brakes tuned at Olympia Sport and Cycle for free. They were very nice there.
I was also looking at my brakes and I don't think I got a good deal when I bought them. I am going to go talk to Cambridge Cycle about them when I get to Guelph.
I met a guy from Montreal, Sam and had dinner with him in Vermillion Bay. he is the editor for the school paper at the University of Montreal.
I continued to Minnitaki where I stopped at a gas station to ask for camping info. She gave it to me and then offered the grass behind her house. After some consideration I accepted. It wasn't as far along as I would have liked, but it was free:)
Anyways, after I finished setting up my tent, she brought me dinner. (Leftovers from her and her husband's meal). It was extremely tasty. Unfortunately there was steak included. I ate what I could and will I will bike away with the leftover meat tomorrow. I didn't want to say anything because she was being so nice.
Next time I stay somewhere I will make sure that I bring it up in conversation. I'm off to bed now I have a big day tomorrow.

My mountain goats.


This is beautiful Calgary.

Here are some pictures from Winnipeg

Horse racing:)

Alison and I at the race track

CURRENT POST - Winnipeg - Clearwater Bay - Into Ontario!

I HAVE DECIDED TO POST MY MOST RECENT DAY AND FILL IN THE REST OF THE DAYS AS I CAN.
Ave 25.0km/hr. Total 204.35km Max 50.4km/hr Time 8hr 13min.
The ride was good today. Mostly flat except for around the border and into Ontario. It gets into typical Ontario hills and rocks. It was a strange wind today. It seemed like a headwind, but I was able to make very good time. There was a shoulder most of the day. I'm staying in Pye's Campground ($10)
It was sad to say bye to Aloe. I had a really good time in Winnipeg with her and her family. Everyone was so nice to me.
I stopped for dinner at a roadside restaurant and had a tripledecker grilled cheese sandwich. It really hit the spot. Going out for dinner is a hazard of long days.
It was really good leaving early in the morning. It seemed to make the day go quickly.
I have spoken to Mike Zettek and am very excited that I will be staying with them for a day in Thunder Bay.

Broadview - Oak Lake

Ave 21.2km/hr Distance 156.82km Ride Time 7hr23min.
Woke up this morning to Andrew muttering something about a thunderstorm. We both got out of our tents and decided to snap some quick pictures and go back to bed.
We started out after a good nap. We met throughout the day for breaks and chatted. We decided to stay at Oak Lake after getting some advice from the travel information booth.
Andrew had a few flat tires but we managed to make it to Oak Lake where were had good showers and some ice cream. The bugs were terrible, but somehow we managed to stay sane.

Regina - Broadview

Total Distance 165km Ave 22.4km/hr Ride Time 7hr 24min Max speed 36.6km/hr.
Make sure that you take to fastest way out of Regina. I didn't. It takes off quite a bit of time and km if you go by the University.
I travelled with Andrew again today though we didn't bike together. We had dinner at a gas station restaurant and are camped in the community campground. It's a piece of crap. Don't come here. There is a donation box but I refuse. The bugs are bad too.
I got some carbohydrate mix in Regina and it seems to be working really well. My muscles feel great. Not much more to report. It was another day on the road.

Day Off in Regina

So, today I hung out with Andrew and Melissa (a girl we met at the hostel).
Andrew and I started by taking our bikes to get looked at at Dutch Cycle. (Ask the people at the hostel where it is. It's a great place. Really nice people that know tons about bikes).
Then we met up with Melissa downtown and tried to find an antique mall that was listed in my guide book. We searched everywhere for it but came up with nothing. Apparently we just didn't go far enough. Oh well, I'm sure it wasn't that good anyways:)
We then walked around the main park in Regina. It's supposed to be the biggest innercity park...um....ever...or something like that. Bigger than Central Park. It also has another record. It has the longest bridge spanning the shortest water. oooohhhh aaahhhhh!
We saw the legislature and dipped our feet in the fountain on the grounds. We also dipped our feet in a fountain at the University of Regina which was our next stop.
We basically just hung out and walked around all day. Altough there didn't seem to be much to do I got a really good feeling about the city. On our way back to the hostel we stopped into the grocery store and picked up some food which we BBQ'd. Mmmm soo good.
Later in the evening we met some other hostelers from Ottawa and some from the Seattle area.
Some of us tried to get ice cream but the place was closed so we settled for convenience store ice cream instead. It was a very restful day off.

Swift Current - Regina - Another big day!

Total 247.37km Ave Hwy 30.9km/hr (total ave 30.6)
In the morning I was tightening my bike rear rack and the head came off one of the screws. It supported the entire rack. I managed to borrow some pliers from an RVer and get out the remaining screw. I replaced it with a duplicate.
I met up with Andrew after about 3 hours on the road. We passed each otehr multiple times. After my Subway sub for lunch we ended up meeting another cyclist Pierre Bard. He is cycling across Canada in 4 parts. He will finish is 3rd part in Regina tomorrow.
Called my Dad for Father's Day. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY AGAIN:)
I convinced Andrew to stay at the hostel in Regina. It's a nice old house. Very nice porches.
We met some people at the hostel and went out to a bar called La Bodega. It's so nice to chat with other travellers. Melissa, Fab, Sue, Rene and Andrew.

Redcliff - Swift Current - Into Sask!!!

248km total!!! Average speed 27.5km/hr. 9hr00min of actual biking.
Apparently Medicine Hat got hit hard by the storm and a building's roof collapsed. Golf ball sized hail. I don't think the tent would have stood up to that!
Great roads. Felt like all downhill. I had a tailwind all day long. The went into Medicine Hat to get groceries and spent 20 minutes trying to get out, only to end up back on the hwy 5km before I got off. (You should be able to get all your supplies without leaving the main hwy so don't go into town).
So..on the road at 10:40am and into camp at 8:30pm I think.
I camped just inside Swift Current at Trail Campground just north of the hwy. $14 per night. Pay showers.
Another guy pulled into camp just after me. Finally, a fellow tripper. His name is Andrew Ross. You can check out his log at http://canada2005.crazyguyonabike.com
The Prairies aren't all that flat so far, but it sure is nice not to have summits and passes to deal with.
The mountains do have some spectacular views, but so do the Prairies. There is something very powerful about biking through such a vastness.
It would have been nice to see this area before the roads, farms and houses.

Bassano - Redcliff

What a crazy day. Left at 10am. Had a head wind again. It was about 20 degrees off direct so it wasn't too bad. I made ok time. It rained a bit during the first part of the day.
I stopped at a rest stop and tried to put money on my cell. Grrr. I hate Rogers. It took forever. Anyways, while on hold I got some good pictures of Prairie Dogs. Laurene, I think you would like them. They are as cute as Meerkats, but I don't think that they have the same social structure. Around 4:40pm the sky got dark and there was lightning. so I decided to pull off the road and wait it out. I set up the tent just in time for it to storm pertty good. The wind was pretty crazy. I wasn't sure if the tent was going to hold, but it did:) I had set up on the side of the hwy. About 30 feet to the side.
I read a little in the tent and had a nap. Quite productive:)
When the rain stopped (about 2.5 hours later) I decided to pack up and get out of Dodge. I could see the edge of the weather system and I made a break for it. With some luck I made it out without anymore rain or lightning.
While I was riding I passed an overturned transport truck and truck and camper van.
I biked another 52km to Redcliff. It was pretty much dark when I got there. I followed the signs to the campground in town. I stayed with soem guys that had a baseball tournament the next day. We chatted a sat around their fire. Good times. (They all got shamammered.)
Mentally, the first part of the day was tough but after the strom I was all about business. During the storm I was pretty relaxed. I had everything organized and I was mostly dry. I went 150km going by the map. My computer wasn't working properly for some reason.

Calgary - Bassano

132km total today.
There was a difficult headwind today. It's not quite what I was hoping for after the speedy day that I had yesterday.
It was worst because the trucks really stirred up the wind when they passed me. The gusts from the trucks come in three parts. First, you get the initial burst that makes you swerve back and forth. Second you get a calm moment to regain your bearings. Third, you get the draft that pulls you along with the truck for a moment. It is in this moment that you pedal like mad to gain speed. Although it's a bit scary sometimes, it does give you a momentary boost and breaks the headwind.
It was easy to get out of Calgary. The 1 is nicer on the way out than on the way in. I stayed in the campsite in the middle of Bassano and met a woman from Quebec, Jocelyn. She is cycling to Montreal. I practiced my french with her over dinner at a restaurant by the hwy. Just after that we got a big rain storm. It was nice and dry in my tent.

Banff - Calgary

The trip to Calgary was extremely fast. 68km total and my average speed was 28.0km/hr. It seemed like it was all downhill. I took hwy 1 and not 1A. People said that 1A would be less busy but the 1 wasn't bad at all and the shoulders were really good.
As I was biking down what looked like that last bit of mountainous territory I was thinking that I was disappointed that I didn't get to see any mountain goats. Just then, on a bank on the side of the road some rocks fell down. I looked up and to my surprise 3 goats where making for the woods. I yelled at them to wait while I got my camera out. Of course they didn't. I stood there a little longer grumbling to myself. I did snap one picture of an ass making for the trees. Just as I was about to get on my way again all three goats came back on the hilltop and stared straight at me. I got a sweet pic. I guess they felt bad for me or something.

I stayed in the hostel in Calgary. It was in a sketchy area of town. Apparently there is a Backpacker hostel that is a few $ more but is much nicer. I met a guy from German. I think his name was James. (Sorry for not remembering. Email me if you're reading this:) )
We visited the Calgary tower together. It is an ugly building, but the view that day was very nice. The mountains seemed so far away. They shrunk very quickly as I was biking.
We also walked along the river and saw a nice skyline of the city. We walked along 8th Ave which is a nice pedestrian mall in town with patios and cool shops. We were told to check out Eau Claire Market, but it ended up being just a boring mall. Apparently a few years ago it was a real indoor market with cool shops, but not anymore.
At night we checked out the nightlife board at the hostel and tried to go to a bar called Venne. The board was at least 4 months out of date so instead of a hiphop bar it was a bar called ClubHiFi. It was Pink Lightning night. (80's dance music). Not really my scene. We ended up staying much longer than we should have.
All in all Calgary was ok.

A Day Off in Banff

The morning was a lazy morning. I got up slowly and made my way into town. Mailed some more useless stuff home so that I don't have to carry it. Then I had lunch at a Chinese restaurant in town. The waiter messed up my order so instead of getting tofu with blackbean sauce, I got a mixed meat pot. When I question him on the food he said that's what I had ordered. There was still lots of tofu and I ate my fill anyways. I wasn't in the mood to fight with him.

I checked out the information place to try to find something to do. I decided to hike Cory Pass Loop, "one of the most difficult hikes in Banff National Park." The guy at the information building was a little hestitant about suggesting it to me because I had only biking shoes to hike in. It's a 13km loop with an elevation gain of 915m. The recommended time is 6 hours.
The hike was incredible. Definitely a rival for my favourite hike of all-time. The start of the hike climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed....you get the picture. Eventually I was able to see the intended pass and began a meandering trail leading to it across the slopes. There was quite a bit of snow in the pass and my ankles were a little cold. The biking shoes just didn't have the insulation I needed. (Nothing to worry about though) When I finally made it over the pass the valley that opened up was beautiful. It had rock towers on both sides. The trail was extremely steep and for some sections I had to make my own platforms in the snow. (which was on top of scree). Most of the next trail section was scree. Very fun to walk on. When descending the pass it began to snow lightly. Very magical. The rest of the trail was uneventful and meandered through the woods. It took me 4 hours (I pretty much ran it:)) and I only saw about 6 people.
Here is the description. "This is one of the most difficult hikes in Banff National Park for strong hikers with good route finding skills. Return from Cory Pass by making a loop around Mount Edith and descending the Edith Pass Trail."
At night in the hostel I met some of the people staying in my room and we got a couple drinks at the bar in the hostel. It was a pretty early night.

Lake Louise - Banff

Today was a really busy day. The weather was uncooperative. Bah!
I got up early and packed all my stuff and put it in a locker at the hostel. Then I biked up 4.5 km to Lake Louise. The hotel was awful looking but the lake was nice. It was super cloudy so there wasn't anything special about the lake...it was just nice. There were quite a few people there. I hiked up to a teahouse ...about an hour hike. I passed Annette Lake I think...and then to Mirror Lake where the teahouse was. I bought some chocolate cake:) and a sandwich. They were both very good and very expensive. I was going to hike further but it was cold, cloudy and rainy. (It snowed for a few minutes too.) I took some pictures but none really turned out.
Then I biked to Moraine Lake. It too was 'nice.' The cloudy weather does nothing for the scenary. It was really raining by this time so I dried off in the gift shop and restaurant. It began to snow really hard and I tried to wait it out but it was no use. I had a timeline to meet.
I biked back to the hostel and got my stuff and headed for Banff. I left at 4:20pm. I biked along the Bow Valley Parkway. A very nice, scenic ride. Apparently all the bad weather was around the lakes so the ride was nice. I stopped along the way for and hour and hiked Johnston Canyon and saw two very nice waterfalls.
The ride to Banff was very nice and mostly downhill. I arrived at the hostel at 8:45pm. The hostel is up Tunnel Mtn Road. At the top. Be prepared for a hill.
I haven't met anyone here yet so I guess I will be on my own tomorrow when I spend the day here. I'm going to review my guide book to see what I can do.
Night.

Columbia Icefields - Lake Louise

It was a pretty cold in the campsite. I wore all my warm clothes to bed. Max 74.9 km/hr. Ave. 19.5 km/hr. total distancee 129km.
The hostel is down village rd. which is pretty much the first road that you come to in Lake Louise Village. Turn right. The mall is on your left as you pass by it. It is a really expensive hostel $37 per night. I should have camped, but it rained all day.
I took off my rain coat 3 times only to put it back on 2 minutes later. I stopped at Sask. Crossing for some food (way overpriced) and I also bought 3 chocolate bars. They were gone by the time I got to Lake Louise:)
Even though it was raining all day my spirits were still good. It's a shame I missed tons of great scenary today. I got to see the bottom half of (I'm sure) some very spectacular mountains.

Jasper - Columbia Icefields

Ave. 17.4 km/hr max 70.4km total distance 109km.
I was warned the ride today was all uphill. I gained 1000m in elevation. Mostly in the last few km. I only rested at the viewpoints. The campsite is just after (500m) the info center. It's only for tents and vans (no RVs). $13/night. No running water.

When leaving the hostel there is a huge hill. That is where I got up to 70km/hr. It was very windy too, so it was super fun.



I stopped at Athabaska Falls and took some pictures.






I also met Nordberg again. He is the biker going to Calgary. He caught up to me again because I stayed in Jasper another night. I got his picture this time.



After Athabaska Falls a woman that works at that hostel caught up to me on a road bike.She was going to Sunwapta Falls junction for fries. I asked if I could join her. We spent an hour chatting about everything. It was pretty cool. If you stay at that hostel, tell Kat I say hi.

This trip has been good for meeting cool people.
(Left at 11:15am got to camp at 7:20pm.)

I met a German couple last night that are vacationing in the area. They ended up giving me their cell number just in case I needed help:) It was very nice of them.
Most of the people I met in the hostel spoke french. So I got to practice with them. Hahahaha....Gr. 11 french just doesn't cut it. I felt so stupid sometimes but I do understand quite a bit. It was pretty fun.
(There was a group of 4 that I met in the campground 2 fathers, 2 sons. Pretty cool.)

Another Day in Jasper

The fire was good last night, but my clean clothes smell like smoke. I went to the Miette hot springs with a trip that was run by the hostel. It wasn't as natural or as serene as I was hoping, but still it was nice and relaxing. (well deserved I think)



We stopped by Punchbowl Falls on the way up to the hot springs, but it was not even worth wasting a picture on it. The springs were pretty far from Jasper, not biking distance.

Scott the guy biking to Ontario has decided to stop his biking completely because of his knee injury. He will be travelling to his parent's place in Ontario to recover. Crappy.

I began reading my book "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. I'm on page 82 already. It's pretty interesting.

Rest Day in Jasper - My Birthday

Did laundry. Went to town with Scott and mailed some clothes home that I didn't need. I took a day trip to Maligne Canyon on my own. It is a limestone gorge with some nice waterfalls. Very short. I got a little lost at one point because I missed a sign. Just remember to keep your head up when climbing hills. On my off path adventure I ran into some climbers. We chatted it up a bit. I'm going to sit by the fire now. All in all, a pretty relaxed birthday.

Mt Robson - Jasper

105km
I left and took another picture of Mt Robson. It's really good. (no clouds). I thought that going through Yellowhead pass on the border of BC and Alberta would be more climatic. Instead, you climb all the way from the campsite to the border. Long and slow.




I averaged 13.4km/hr over that section. By the time Jasper came I brought it up to 19.4km/hr with a ton of work. I stopped at the next Mt Robson Park for water. Got to town at 3:30pm and organized my stuff on the sidewalk. I met a guy named Scott who is also biking. He has a knee injury that has stopped him for now. I will have to be very careful.
Took the shuttle to the main Jasper hostel. Catch it at the totem pole in front of the park, next to the train station. There is a good info booth in the middle of the park.
Along my bike I passed through the park border. It's $7 just to be in the park per day so calculate the number of nights before you get there so you know what type of pass to buy.




I almost fell over at the gate cause I couldn't unclip my pedals. There were tons of cars behind me. It would have been really funny. Whew!
I met lots of people at the hostel. 6 of us went out. Annika, Scott, Kerstin, Sofie, Jim and I. We played pool and foosball and had drinks at Earls. We took a cab both ways. $15 each way.
I also tried to get my bike fixed but some places where 4 days behind in repairs. I found one that said they could have it for me end of day tomorrow.

Blue River - Mount Robson Park

133 km today. ave speed 19.0km/hr.
I got my pedal crank problem fixed in Valemount at a nice little outdoors store there. Canoe Mtn. Extreme Sports on 5th Ave. They also put some LockTite on my rotors so my brakes won't come loose again. I got some groceries in town too:)





So, this is the second time I have seen Mount Robson. Well, it's the second time I have seen the base of it. The rest is always covered in clouds. Grr.
I am at Mount Robson Meadows campground inside the park. If time permits, I suggest you push on from Valemount. It isn't long or hard.
The campground is 17 dollars/night but I biked around and found another biker to share a sight with. His name is Ito. He's from Japan and is cycling to Alaska. He seems very like me...except I'm better at English.




Just outside Valemount I broke a spoke. One on my rear wheel on the cassette side. Isn't it a shame that I decided not to take the cassetter remover! (Kicking myself.)
I will wait til Jasper to have it fixed.
...We just walked and took pictures of Mount Robson...no clouds.:)
Later

Birch Island to Blue River

I wussed out today. The rain got to me and I stopped early. A meer 97km. Ther were tow reasons: It was raining (which continued until 7:30pm) and there were no actual campsites until Valemount and I wasn't going to make it there. So, bottom line is ...I wussed out! The road was more hilly then yesterday, but not too bad. Messiter Summit at 765m was the only climb of note.
The nice woman at the last campsite made me breakfast too! Can you believe that???? Toast, coffee and some sliced veggies. It was waiting for me when I got out of my tent on the picnic table. I'm going to send them a nice note. :)
So...I have two more problems.
1. My Achilles tendon (spelling??) really hurts. I have fixed my knee, but it some how has made my Achilles bad. i can feel the creaking of tendonitis. Fun times. More pedal/shoe adjusting to be done. I have a way to pedal so it doens't hurt. So it's not a big deal right now.
2. My pedal crank seems to be separating from my bike. I don't have the tools to tighten it with me. it isn't something that should come loose. I will have it dealt with in Jasper. It's not dangerous. It's just a big pain.
So, today was pretty much crap. (Well, except for my breakfast:) )
So. Here is some insight into Ryan.
I was eating dinner at my picnic table, swatting at all the mosquitos around me. (This is the first time that I have really seen them.) Anyhow, I was sitting there...wet, groaning about my tendon, the rain and the bugs....and it came to me. They should add a bug part to the daily forecast.
"And now Harold Hussain from the weather desk, Harold"
"Um...today will be partly buggy with some sunny breaks and a high of 31. And yes, the triple threat will be out in full force today...blackflies, mosquitos and noseeums."
or....
"Make sure you break out the sunscreen and bug spray today. The UV index will be a whopping 7.9 and the BF (bug factor) 9.2."
Good times.

Kamloops - Birch Island

132km today.
Jun 5. Got up late today. Changed my flat tire again, cause the patch wasn't a permanent solution. Left the hostel at 11am. Biked north on Hwy 5. the road was very flat following the North Thompson River valley. I made really good time and arrived at camp at 6:30pm. The scenary wasn't anything to speak of. Much greener than the Kamloops desert though.



There was one thing about the ride that is worth mentioning though. One of the trees around is seeeding. They are like dandelion seeds and float on the wind. It was like it was snowing. Very majestic to bike through.
(I bought some Subway cookies in Little Fort:))

I'm camping at the Birch Island Campground on the highway. The husband and wife that run this place have been so nice to me. When she found out I was a biker she brought me a huge fruit place. Mango, guava, pineapple, an apple and an orange. Mmmmm so juicy. We chatted about biking as she is a biker too.
She also brought me a fresh greens salad and a plate of stuffed peppers and yam and onion pie for dinner.....Can you imagine??? Sooooo good!!!



It was 14$ for the night. They have a phone, showers dishwashing station and places to stay dry if you need it.
It hard to know what to say when people are so nice to you.
If you are in the area please please please stay there and support nice people.

P.S. My new seat is a dream:)

Day off in Kamloops

I have done some laundry and done lots of emailing and called people. I like staying at the hostel. Everyone is very friendly. I'm going out for drinks with a couple guys tonight if everything works out.

I picked up a new seat in town today. Apparently there are important arteries that feed blood to important parts of my anatomy and sitting on the arteries all day can cause longterm problems in the functionality of that anatomy. Well, I think you get the picture. The new seat is very nice. I am still in the market for some new tubes though.

According to my guide book there isn't much to do in Kamloops. Perhaps I will find something interesting to do this afternoon. Catch y'all later.

****I'm back. I met an Auzzie(Clancy), English guy Darren and a Scottish guy Mike. We all went to a dance club called the River. It was pretty good. They weren't club type guys though. they're accents really bring in the ladies so I brought me lots of dance partners. I've never heard bird used so much in one night. They were pretty fun guys.

South of Spences Bridge - Kamloops

What a long day.
Left at 9:15am and got to the hostel in Kamloops just before 9pm (I think) It was a little hazy at the end:)
I will update the km soon. I don't have my computer with me now. The scenary again was beautiful and dry. Apparently there were quite a few long climbs on today's route. The only one of note to me was just after you meet up with Kamloops Lake. Grr...endless.
My right knee started to hurt early in the day, and I actually had to stop biking for a bit because of the pain. I have changed the setup on my pedals and it seems to be working much better. We shall see next time I'm out.
I got numberous flat tires today too. As I was coming into Kamloops I knocked my tire on a barbed wire fences accessing a bike path. (call me dumbass) I put on two new tubes but both had holes. ( don't know if it was my fault or not) I ended up patching the first tire and it's holding still.



I met two bikers today and they were both more than happy to chat about two-wheeled travel. Neither were really going in my direction, but at least it was nice to see someone else pedalling away.





I got my best directions yet. They were from 3 fourteen year old girls in the outskirts of Kamloops. They directed me right to the hostel downtown. (7 Seymour St.)
I will be staying here two nights even though I have heard from Laura and we won't be getting together. She is too busy with school stuff.

Jun 2: Biking Day 3: Hope -South of Spences Bridge

My bike computer says 136km. That took me 6hr and 33min. I left late again at 10:10am and got to camp at 7:20pm. It isn't too bad though. I get enough time for dinner and then to review my route for the next day.
I'm camped at Thompson River RV Park a few km before Spences Bridge. ($8.50 per night. No phone or cell reception. Free showers.) The guy that runs it is pretty nice. Make sure you have time to chat if you run into him though, he's a gabber. FYI - there are two provincial parks between Lyton and Spences Bridge as well. Each is close to the towns.

Today's ride was the reason I wanted to do this trip. Beautiful weather (in the afternoon). Beautiful scenary. I took lots of pictures today. The Fraser canyon is very nice. Very dry other than the river.


Trucks have been very nice to me. There was only one problem. There was construction and all of a sudden my shoulder ended. I was going 55km on loose gravel and almost died. I fishtailed and swerved back and forth. If I had my mountain bike tires I would have been fine. Needless to say I slowed down very quickly.
I haven't seen any other bikers yet. People talk about others so they must be out there somewhere.




I was going to call Laura tonight to see if we could meet up in Kamloops but no phone and no reception.
When I was at Kevin's (I forgot to mention) my brake rotors came loose. As well, they were installed backwards. (I thank Kevin for letting me know.)

June 1: Biking Day 2:Vancouver - Hope

Sorry, this post will be a little dry.
I went from Kevin's palce at E. 39th and Windsor (just east of downtown) to Hope. 152km. I left late at 10:30am and got to camp at 7:10pm.
I went up 99 to Hwy 1. Then I got kicked off the expressway because bikes aren't allowed. When I got on, there was nothing to tell me that. A highway inspection guy stopped and told me. As he was leaving he started speaking to me in Chinese. I just kept a blank look on my face and said that I don't understand. He then proceeded to say about another few sentences. Perhaps his English isn't as good as his Chinese...I said 'I DON'T UNDERSTAND' Good times.

I got off the expressway and took a 4 minute ferry to Albion where I met up with Hwy 7. It was a pretty easy ride. I am staying at the first campsite that I came across coming into Hope. ($16 per night and it cost extra for showers, but I didn't cave)
Internet access is at the Blue Moose Cafe downtown.

It rained for 3 hours today and I felt like stopping. It got pretty cold. The faster you went, the colder you got. Crappy. It cleared up at bit before I got to Hope. I'm really glad I didn't stop early.