Regina to Winnipeg

Day 26 – Tuesday August 31, 2010

Kilometres: 620.2

Time: 7 hours, 15 minutes (including gas stops and half an hour for lunch)

Weather:

Regina: Rain, 10 C at 10 AM

Brandon: Cloudy, 16 C at 2:30

Winnipeg: Cloudy, 18 C at 6 PM

The weather is really getting to me. I haven’t been warm since I was in the hotel in Edmonton. None of the other hotels have the heat on, and it is getting pretty darn cold at night. It rained all night and it was also cold. In the hotel room it was 13 C. I slept in my street clothes because they are the warmest clothes I have. The hotel provided an extra blanket.

I delayed leaving in the morning in hopes that it would warm up and perhaps clear up a bit. It had almost stopped raining when I left, but the temperature had not improved.

It was yet another day of being lucky with the rain. I could see the storms, which were only regular grey clouds of rain, and, thankfully, not thunderstorms. I was fortunate to miss the worst of it. A few times I could see the raining coming down and heading southeast towards the highway … and my future path. I just pulled on the throttle harder and tried to beat the storm.

By the time I arrived in Brandon (the wheat capital of Canada) the worst of the storms were over and the sun was trying to poke through the clouds. It also warmed up noticeably. I’ve discovered that I cannot ride when it is 8 C or colder. Or at least I can’t ride in the gear that I have with me on this trip. At 10 C, I am miserable, but still able to ride. At 12 C, it is tolerable and I can almost enjoy myself. At 14 C I am a happy rider, even though I’m wearing two pairs of gloves, five layers on my top half and four on my lower half.

The wind was a bit gusty at times, especially when I went over bridges, which, thankfully, are few and far between out here.

Just east of Portage la Prairie the landscape noticeably changed. There were many more trees and at one point I rode through a spruce forest.

Just as I reached Winnipeg it began to cloud over, but it didn’t rain. I’m staying in the east end of the city and could have taken the ring road, but instead I went right through the city and found the hotel without any trouble. I think I understand the basic layout of the city and if I were here for a week I would be hard pressed to get lost in Winnipeg.

My one regret about arriving late in Winnipeg is that I won't have time to visit the Forthwyte Alive, which has bison (I have been corrected a number of time that they are NOT buffalo) gated in a natural prairie setting. I've only seen bison hides and would really love to seen one of these huge, wonderful beasts alive and in person.

I’m staying in the same hotel, and even have the same room that I had on my trip west. As soon as I arrived, I ate dinner, drank a beer, then changed into my swimsuit and jumped in the pool. As I have a short ride day tomorrow, I may have one final swim first thing in the morning. Next stop: Ontario.

Saskatoon to Regina

Day 25 – Monday August 30, 2010

Kilometres: 456.9

Time: Five hours, 45 minutes(riding time)

Weather:

Saskatoon: Overcast, 12C at 10:30 AM

Batoche: Partly cloudy, 18 C at 2 PM

Regina: Rain, 12 C at 7 PM

I really should read my itinerary the night before I ride. I thought I skipped over visiting Batoche yesterday because of weather. It was actually planned for today. This morning I weighed my options: Go to Regina early and see the RCMP Museum, or go to Batoche. After a quick breakfast I packed up and headed north to the site of the last Metis battle. I reasoned that there is a good chance of me going through Regina again, but only a small chance of me ever being close to Batoche again.

You don’t just stumble across Batoche. It is so out of the way that you have to know it’s there. I got off of Highway 11 and headed east on 312 for a while before going north on 225. Both 312 and 225 are not well travelled. I passed seven cars going in the opposite direction on both 312 and 225. If I were to breakdown my only witnesses would be the ducks on the ponds. The grain fields go on forever, but I still deny that Saskatchewan in flat. Both the North and South Saskatchewan rivers have created deep, wide valleys, similar to what I’d seen in Qu’Appelle Valley. Stands of trees break up the farmland, and I’ve often wondered if the Prairies without all the farm fields would look similar to Southern Ontario.

Speaking of similarities, highways 312 and 225 reminded me of the concessions and regional roads of Southern Ontario: farmers fields on both sides, a small road ditch, hardly a road shoulder, and quilt work patches of pavement.

I arrived at Batoche a bit before noon. I turned off onto a paved road, which quickly turned to hardpack and then gravel. Don’t these people think of motorcycles? The parking area is on grass, so I guess they don’t think of motorcycles at all. There were only six cars in the lot, so I had high hopes that I wasn’t going to be surrounded by screaming kids.

The national park is undergoing revitalizing construction, so the reception area is in a construction trailer. I paid my $7.80 and was lead to another trailer to watch a short film about the battle. I really think that third semester broadcasting students could have done better. All the key characters were represented by what looked like hand-formed plastic figures. They probably did it this way so the narrative could be overdubbed in French and English, but it looked cheaply done. The six other people in the room were shuffling our feet and staring around presumably from inattention to a rather boring film. I later learned that we were some of the last people to see the film as it is being re-shot for next year.

After the film we were allowed to walk around the site and interact with the few period costumed interpreters. The first building I went into was the original church. Many of the statues, and other religious artefacts are original to Batoche. Beside the church is the rectory. There I met one of the interpreters who walked me around the three rooms on the ground floor. All the items in the rectory are from that time period, but not necessary from the original Batoche rectory. In many ways it reminded me of the recreated rooms I walked through in the big house at Lower Fort Garry.

On the second floor the priest kept the post office, a prayer room, a room for visiting priests and another bedroom (his bedroom was on the first floor, so I don’t know who slept in the upstairs room.

In the corner I saw a piece of furniture that look similar to the oak piece I’d given to Margo a few years ago. The two upper drawers were slightly different and this piece was maybe 15 cm taller. I asked the Parks Canada person if she could open it for me as I was interested in seeing how the handle and catch worked. Also, the colour of the Batoche pieces is white. I had stripped off five layers of paint on the oak cabinet, and I think the last one was white. Hey, Margo, it looks like I gave you something from the 1880s or 1890s. You may want to paint it white.

With my interested in the piece, the Parks Canada guide directed me back downstairs to look at another piece that was painted red. She said it was painted using milk paint, which is no longer made. I corrected her on that, and after looking at the piece I suggested that they looked in the Lee Valley catalogue, specifically for ochre milk paint. It is very close in shade, but the Batoche piece maybe slightly lighter in colour.

Here's a picture of the church with the rectory behind it. Both took shots from the RCMP's Gatling gun during the battle.

I had spent too much time talking, and had to hurry the remainder of my visit. I went to the ridge where the battle took place. It was a lovely view of the South Saskatchewan River. I turned around to look back at the church and saw this:

From there I started to walk towards the Metis gun pits, but they were half a kilometre away. Was it worth walking a kilometre to see holes in the ground with my time at Batoche running short? Instead I turned around and walked to the Batoche cemetery.

The guides told me to follow the paths to the different areas. They aren’t really paths, as the area is mostly grass. All they have done is taken a tractor and mowed down three metres of the grass. If you go off the mowed area, you will be standing in grass up to your waist. The path continued around the side of cemetery, but I always like taking the front door when I can find it.

The gates of the cemetery, which is still used by the parish, were locked shut, but the black gate had a simple catch on it. I pulled in the catch and pushed open the gate. Everyone from Batoche to Saskatoon must have heard me open the heavy metal gate. It has never seen a drop of oil in its life. Wow, was that ever loud … and I had only opened it a few inches. I paused for a second. Was I supposed to use the gate? Oh, well, I’d already started making a noise, so I may as well finish. An yes, I remembered to close the gate behind, just in case they didn’t hear me open it.

I was looking for the grave of Gabriel Dumont, Louis Riel’s military leader. I found several members of his family, including his brother and sister, but I didn’t see his grave, even though I was told he was in the cemetery. There was a plaque on a rock commemorating what he’d done, but I couldn’t find the grave marker.

I found the grave of one of the RCMP (or were they the North West Mounted Police by that time?) soldiers killed in the battle. All the other bodies of soldiers killed in the battle were returned to their families in Ontario.

There is also a wooden fence around the graves of the Native fighters who lost their lives at the battle. What I found interesting about the cemetery is the mix of English and French people buried there. Many of the French graves had the inscription, “Ici repose le corpes de …. And then ended in RIP. Generations of the same families are buried here, but interestingly, the cemetery is not divided up by family. This didn’t help me at all with finding Gabriel Dumont’s final resting place. Also, the graves are not arranged in rows. It’s a bit of a jumble.

In the end I gave up looking. The wind had dropped and the flies, especially the mosquitoes were coming out by the millions.

I didn’t see the remainder of the Batoche site, and I know I missed quite a bit, but I couldn’t stay any longer as it was getting close to 2 PM. I had at least a three and a half hour ride ahead of me.

As I stood beside my bike and started to get ready to head out, three tourists from Saskatchewan struck up a conversation with me. They had also travelled extensively throughout Canada. They said that they spent 11 days in Newfoundland and still didn’t have a chance to see everything they wanted to. It sounds like that will be a two-week trip for me and not the one-week I had originally planned. We also started talking about the geography of Saskatchewan. Apparently there are three distinct parts to the province. Batoche is on the edge of the valley. North of here it’s all lakes, trees, and wilderness. The southern part of the province is more hilly, especially the Cypress Hills, which I’d missed seeing because of poor weather a few weeks ago.

As I got on the bike, I noticed that it was 18 C, the warmest weather I’d had since leaving Vernon nearly a week ago. The sun was attempting to poke out from behind the clouds, and for a while it was winning. But as I rode south, the clouds again increased.

I stopped for gas in Saskatoon and kept going south. I knew I had to stop for gas one more time before reaching Regina, and I wanted to prolong that stop for as long as possible. If I timed everything right, I could get gas and quick bite to eat and not have to worry about food once I arrived in Regina.

I stopped at 5 PM at the small town of Davidson. My fingers were numb and so were my toes. The temperature had dropped to 14 C. I needed to warm up. I fuelled up both the bike and myself and then stretched my legs for a bit. My half an hour break would cost me, though, because about 10 minutes after I left Davidson, the temperature dropped even further.

For the next hour and 15 minutes I rode in the rain, which I don’t mind, but I also rode like a frozen Popsicle. Thank god I bought that $10 piece of plastic called a cruise assist. It slips over the throttle and I just lean on it and the throttle opens. It means that I don’t have to grip the throttle all the time. My hands were so cold that I couldn’t grip the throttle even if I wanted to. They simply rest on the grips and turn the bars when I come to a curve in the road. Once again I’m thankful I’m not riding the twisty roads in BC.

I arrived at the hotel craving a hot coffee, but this one doesn’t have an in-room machine, so I had to go across the street and buy one from Tim Hortons, which means I was desperate.

Tomorrow I’m heading to Winnipeg and then I’ll retrace my steps home.

Edmonton to Saskatoon

Day 24 – Sunday August 29, 2010

Kilometres: 578.0

Time: Eight hours (including stops)

Weather:

Edmonton: Overcast, 8 C at 9:45 AM

Saskatoon: Overcast, 10 C at 5:45 PM

This was an absolutely unremarkable day. It was cold, with periods of rain throughout the day. My only stops were for gas and food, which where at the same places. The only variance was a short diversion into Battleford.

Battleford was totally dead. I only saw two kids playing on the street and one person mowing the front lawn. All the stores were closed and almost every house had a car in the driveway. It seems that no one goes out on a Sunday. The town hall was erected in 1912 and it looks like the post office building was also built around the same time. I went up and down a couple of streets and was quiet surprised to find that about 75 per cent of the homes are mobile homes that have become permanent.

There were only two places open in Battleford: one was a Petro Canada station and the other one was a Shell station. Both were on the highway. I stopped at the Petro-Can for gas. It also seems like this is the only available washroom in town. There was a lineup.

Next I drove through North Battlefords (collectively they are called “The Battlefords”), which had people on the sidewalks, cars on the streets, and open businesses.

Originally, I had planned to detour just prior to The Battlefords and visit Cut Knife, tour Fort Battleford, and then ride northeast to Batoche. Again, the weather convinced me otherwise. I really, really, REALLY hate being cold. By the time I’d reached The Battlefords, I’d lost the feeling in the tips of all my fingers. All my planned activities were outdoors, which meant I was cancelling them.

During the hour and a half ride from The Battlefords to Saskatoon, I spend most of the time hunched down over my tank trying to get a bit of protection from my windshield. As I type this out, I have very stiff shoulders and am looking forward to a visit tot he chiropractor next Tuesday.

Edmonton

Day 23 – Saturday August 28, 2010

Kilometres: 38.6

Time: Not much

Weather:

Edmonton: Overcast, windy, 8 C at 9:30 AM

The weather had not improved overnight, and after looking at the forecast, I knew I’d have a few cold and rainy days ahead of me. My first job today was to get an oil change. I’d looked on the Yamaha website prior to leaving Toronto, so I knew where all the rapid service centres were located. The closest one was 15 km away, which. After riding all this way, seemed to be pretty close.

I was in and out in about 45 minutes. I’ve learnt something very important from visiting a number of dealerships on this trip: most of them sell all the same stuff and most of it is crap. The only place that sold a good variety was Blackfoot in Calgary. If someone were really smart, and had the money, they would open up a store that stocked quality motorcycle accessories with a large variety. Yes, the items would cost more, but I really believe that people will pay for quality goods, with a solid warranty, and backed up with exceptional service.

After the oil change, the service manager paid me a very nice compliment. He called me a real rider because I’d put black electrical tape all over the fake chrome parts on the front of my bike. He said that that was an old trick that riders in the Prairies had been doing for a long time. He said that I had caught on quickly and was using my head. I didn’t tell him that I’d taped up some of it while riding in Toronto, and then the remainder of it at the Central Time Zone change turnout, also in Ontario. It was waaaay before I’d arrived in Prairies.

After the oil change I rode over to West Edmonton Mall. I arrived around 11 AM and had to park nearly in the furthest parking spot. Fortunately, I’d removed most of items from my saddlebags so I rolled up all my rain gear and tucked them away. I had the cloth bag for my helmet, so I put the helmet in the bag and slung that over my shoulder. At least I wouldn’t boil while walking through the mall and I knew my helmet was safe.

I really don’t know how to describe WEMl. I guess the closest I could come is to take Yorkdale, Scarborough Town Centre and Sherway Gardens and combine them. Then add in a giant wave pool, a hockey rink, mini putt, and sea lion show. I know that I’m missing a few things, but I’m sure you get the general idea.

When I say take the three malls and combine them, I’m also including the stores. For instance, I saw two Payless shoe stores, three La Senza stores, and three Lids stores (I thought of you Anthony). There are also the departments stores, such as HBC, Zellars, and Sears. But I didn’t go to WEM to go shopping; I wanted to see the different “streets” or areas. For instance, did Bourbon Street make me feel as if I were in New Orleans? Umm, no, not at all. I was greeted by a Boston Pizza, a Tony Rona (ribs) and Moxies (restaurant chain). This is not my idea of New Orleans. The lights were dim to give it ambiance, and the store facades were attempting to look like New Orleans. It may have worked, except for the stores themselves. They are merely dressed up versions of what I could find in most malls. It was nothing special.

Next, I visited “Chinatown.” It had the exact same problem that Bourbon Street had. All the store signs were in English and Chinese, but I really can’t buy into being in Asia when I have a Roger’s store facing me. At the end of the “street” was a Chine-inspired food market. I didn’t bother going on, but I did overhear some one say that the inside looked just like Asia only cleaner.

I stopped by to look at the wave pool. I can see why this would be such an attraction, especially during the Edmonton winters. I walked back through the mall and came across only one store that I was interested in. It is called Millennium and it sells goth clothes. Unfortunately, it sells the cheap stuff (see my mini-rant on quality motorcycle accessories), which I’d first seen in Vaudeville and Trash in New York City. This stuff will fade and fall apart in no time. I really have to take extra care with my lower end goth clothes, such as the Tripp brand, because the material is too thin and the stitching isn’t of good quality. Hence my improved hand sewing over the last couple of years. I’ll stick to Living Dead Souls, but it’s so unfortunate that it’s not available in North America.

I was back on my bike by 12:30 and cars were circling me for my parking spot. I had a lot of gear to put on so many people just gave up waiting for me to leave.

After such miserable riding weather the day before, I knew that I needed something to cheer me up while riding. I needed music. My old headphone speakers don’t fit into my new helmet so ever since Calgary, I’ve been tuneless.

Canadian Tire solved the problem for me. I bought the second cheapest set of earbuds. Back at the hotel, I figured out how the make the new sound system work and then made sure it was comfortable by wearing helmet with the sound system for about 20 minutes. Hopefully, it will work on the road just as well as it worked in the hotel room.

Tete Jaune Cache to Edmonton

Day 22 – Friday August 27, 2010

Kilometres: 483.4

Time: seven hours, 15 minutes

Weather:

Tete Jaune Cache: Overcast, 9 C at 8:45 AM (Pacific Time)

Edmonton: Mostly sunny, windy, 18 C at 4:45 PM (Mountain Time)

I started the day with a cup of coffee on the banks of the Fraser River. (I took the picture with coffee in hand.) It was too misty/cloudy to see Mount Sir Wilfred Laurier, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of its high summit last night as the sun went down.

I had a perfect night’s sleep and I highly recommend Teet Jaune Lodge to anyone who is looking for a simple (no TV, radio, alarm clock, telephone or hot food) night’s rest in a picturesque surroundings. If you really want to rough it, you can also sleep in a real tepee, but that is too roughing it for me.

Here's a picture I took of the mist rising from the mountains that were in front of the lodge.

I ate the Campbell’s soup just-nuke-and-eat for breakfast and then rode east towards the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies – Mount Robson.

Before reaching Mount Robson, I stopped to look at Mount Terry Fox. I thought that would be nice to add to the trip as I’d stopped by his monument near Thunder Bay on the way out west. Interestingly, it was exactly 30 years ago that Terry ran the Marathon of Hope. I think (but will have to double check) I will be riding through Thunder Bay the day after the 30th anniversary of the marathon being called off.

I’d seen Mount Robsom 18 years ago on my first trip out west. I was disappointed, but not heartbroken, that the mountain wasn’t visible through the clouds. Through the occasional break in the clouds, I saw the side of the mountain, but not the summit. The Parks people told me that the rain I’d experienced yesterday fell as snow on the mountain. I’m not sure if that means winter is quickly coming or if this is normal all year around. It is, however, above the treeline so there is snow up there all year.

My next stop was Jasper, which to me is a tourist trap. I ate a quick hot meal, filled up the bike with gas and continued on. By this time the weather had turned wet and I was riding through on-again, off-again showers. I don’t mind riding in the rain, but I really hate riding when it’s cold.

As I rode out of Jasper, I looked over towards a valley to the west. It was completely black with rain clouds that had settled in between the mountains. It was also heading very slowly my way. The highways speed is 100 kph, but people tend to drive quicker. Every now and then the speed limit is lowered because the danger of wild animals on the roads.

I was lucky enough to see a big horned sheep perched on a cliff at the side of the road. It was only about 12 metre up on the cliff. The only reason I noticed it is because it’s white backside was pointed towards me. Against the rock, that part really stood out. I wouldn’t have noticed him otherwise because he blends in perfectly with the cliff.

At the same time, I kept an eye on the storm behind me. I really think it was chasing me through the valley.

A little further up the road, the vehicle in front of me slowed down to let a pair of coyotes cross the highway. They didn’t seem to be in hurry, but at least they didn’t get hit, or stop on the road.

I was all too soon out of the mountains and into the foothills. The foothills in this area didn’t seem as extensive as the ones near Rocky Mountain House. By the time I reached Edson, the foothills were behind me and the mountains were gone from sight.

As I slowed down to enter Edson, a deer was grazing at the side of the road just inside the city limits. It certainly was a day full of wildlife

As soon as I was clear of the mountains, the wind really picked up and was at times a bit hazardous. The ride from Hinton (in the foothills) into Edmonton was unpleasant because of high crosswinds and the occasional shower. When I pulled into Edmonton, my thermometer read 18 C, but the wind was from the north and had a strong bight. It really felt closer to 10 C.

I ended the day with a nice piece of salmon, a baked potato, veggies and a beer. The perfect end to a day full of ups and down.

In the news ...

I just found an article in the Toronto Star about hikers discovering the body of a hiker who was lost in 1989. The body was found on August 16, the day before I walked on the Icefield. The bus driver who took us from the excursion centre to the transfer station told us the story.

Read the article here

The body was found by two workers from the company that does excursions. It was their day off and they went for a hike in the Ancient Forest, which is on the north edge of the Icefield and overlooks the lake created by the melting glacier.

To me this is old news, but I guess the Canadian Press was waiting for confirmation of the hiker's name and notification of next of kin.

I'll go through my pics of the Icefield and try to find one of the lake and Ancient Forest and post it soon.

Vernon to Tete Jaune Cache

Day 21 – Wednesday August 26, 2010

Kilometres: 534.3

Time: 10 hours with too many stops

Weather:

Vernon: Sunny, 28 C at 9:15

Kamloops: Storms moving in, 20 C at 11:30

Tete Jaune Cache: Overcast, 8 C at 7:15

It was a beautiful hot, bright, and sunny morning. Just the kind I like. I had a quick continental breakfast at the motel and was on the road by 9:15. As it was so nice, and after baking a bit yesterday, I decided to wear my spandex bicycle shorts under my riding pants. The shorts are so much more comfortable than wearing jeans and are also cooler. But as the wind was cool, I wore my GoreTex rain jacket to keep the chill off my arms.

I continued north on Highway 97 and when the highway split, I took 97 west towards Kamloops. I was dropping in for a quick visit with Freddie, the innkeeper at Thriftlodge, to thank him for suggesting my route change. Highway 97 from 97A to Highway 1 (the T’Can) is a fun little road that isn’t laden with traffic. It’s twisty with some good elevation variations in a few sections.

As I came to the end of Highway 97, I noticed a huge thunderstorm brewing to the west (pic on the left). The anvil was forming and I saw one thermal rising. With a final twist in the road I realized that I was heading straight for it, which I’d prefer not to do. These things are beautiful to look at, but I know what they are capable of, so I didn’t want to experience the storm when it unleashed.

I got into Kamloops and Freddie greeted me with a big hug and kiss on the check. I told him all about the ride through the smoke and my favourite ride, Lillooet to Pemberton. I also told him that I really wasn’t thrilled with the ride up the Fraser Canyon, but as he said, “It’s better than riding the Coquihalla Highway” (think of the DVP and you’ll have a good idea of what it’s like).

Freddie went on to tell me about a couple of other roads that are similar to Highway 99 (Lillooet to Pemberton). All the more reason to return. But he told me that I’d better get going as the weather was calling for thunderstorms. If I hurried, I’d stay in front of them. I put on all my rain gear, except for my rain-off gloves and was soon ready to leave. I got another hug and he told to drop by anytime. Freddie waved me goodbye as I took off.

Before leaving Kamloops, I filled up with gas and food and then headed north up Highway 5 towards Jasper. Well, that was my intention, but I missed the turn off and headed southwest to Vancouver. I had to ride about 15 kilometres to the first exit and turn around. On the way back to Kamloops, I swear I saw the sigh that said 5 North, but I guess I was seeing things because I wound up on the same road I’d taken to go to Lillooet. Yes, I’d love to do that again, but it will have to wait. Fortunately, I didn’t have to ride far before I saw a turnoff into a mining operation. I pulled in and turned on my GPS. I punched in the word “Jasper” and I was soon back to where I’d almost started. My little detour had taken 45 minutes and 56 kilometres.

By now the storms looked menacing. Black clouds surrounded me, and I knew that I was probably going to get caught in the downpour. I love watching the weather. And this was going to be good storm. I could see the stormfront. These clouds formed a solid line at the edge of the black clouds, but they kinda curled downwards and rolled in the wind. Hmm, not a good sign. Some the darkest clouds (I don’t know the official name for the these things) had a few ragtag swirling clouds that had dropped beneath them. It wasn’t rainfall, but distinct clouds. These were darker but much less dense than the clouds above. They weren’t twisting like tornados, but they dropped down from the clouds above and hung there like fingers.

I kept my eye on those and the front. I was extremely fortunate because just as it started to rain (not spitting, but big fat blobs), I came to Little Fort. Up ahead was a Husky gas station and Subway Restaurant. I pulled in, turned off the engine and just as I undid my tankbag, the sky opened up. Down came the hail. A couple of piece of hail hit on the helmet before I reached the porch, and wow, did that sound cool. I pulled off my helmet, took out the camera and snapped a couple of shots as I waited out the storm. (In the pic, that's hail falling. If you look closely, you can see the little white pieces of ice.)

It passed in about 10 minutes, to the west the sky was clearing. In its wake, the storm brought cooler temperatures. I changed into my cold-weather riding gloves, got on the bike and headed north.

It soon began raining again, but not with the intensity of the last storm. I stopped at nearly every gas station, as I didn’t know when I’d find the next station.

Thirteen kilometres south of Avola I pulled into a rest station to put on my polar fleece. Again, I had perfect timing because the sky opened up with a heavy downpour. I pulled off my helmet and decided to wait out the worse of it. Just as it let up, and I’d put my helmet back on, thunder literally shook the ground. I’m a lightning rod on two wheels, so there was no way in the world I was going out to play in that weather. The thunder was so cool because it echoed and bounced off the mountains (that I couldn’t see through the clouds) the duration of one thunderclap was probably double to what I’m used to hearing.

The one thing I found really fascinating while waiting out the storm was the how the weather systems differ from those in Toronto. As the rain continued, mist began rising from the trees. At first I thought it was smoke from forest fires, but I was wrong. As the mist rose it swirled, almost like reverse tornadoes, or churning smoke rising, it began to gather and soon formed a cloud separate and lighter in colour from the storm clouds. These mist clouds reminded me very much of fog clouds I’d ridden through between Rocky Mountain House and the Banff National Park. Perhaps I’d ridden through the mist rising from the trees and not very low clouds.

The only good thing about the storms, I reasoned, is that they will hopefully help the forest fire situation, if the lightning doesn’t start more fires. I waited about five minutes after the last thunder clap and headed to the bike, which was only about three metres in front of me. I looked up the road to see how heavy the traffic was, when I saw lightning strike the mountain near the road from the direction I’d ridden from. I counted to myself to guestimate the distance. I only counted to four when the thunder again rumbled. That was way to close for me to go out and play in.

In total, I waited at the rest station for about 45 minutes. And as I waited I got colder. It was now gone 4:30, and I still had quite a distance to go. As soon as the lightning seemed to clear the area, I was on my bike and trying to make for some lost time. I flicked on my GPS and it estimated my arrival time at Tete for 6:30, but I still had to stop to eat and get gas. That along with the on and off rain, which slowed my speed to about 90 kph, I knew it was going to be a late arrival time.

These mist clouds (for lack of a better term) sat about half way up the mountains. Sometimes, as the roads rose in elevation, I drove right through them and it was like riding through fog. However, for the most part they stayed above the trees and didn’t cover the road. There were some spectacular views with the double clouds, and dark mountains. I couldn’t take a photo, thought, as my camera was wrapped up in a plastic bag inside my tankbag, which had its rain cover on it. Coupled with my double pair of gloves and still frozen digits, there was no way I was going to stop to take a picture.

To cut a long story short, I arrived at Tete Jaune Lodge at 7:15. I was cold and all my luggage was wet. I bought a Campbell’s just-nuke-it-and-it’s-ready soup at the little store and asked for an extra pouch of coffee for the in-room coffee maker. I needed to warm up. It was a chilly 8 C (add that to the 100 kph wind while I’m riding) and I’d just come from the sunny and hot Okanagan Valley. This was shock. I couldn’t feel my fingers and my toes were also frozen. I was very thankful that the road was relatively straight because I was in no condition to be playing on a twisty.

As I write this out, I am staying in a nice big, warm, comfortable room. There is no TV or telephone here. The Fraser River is perhaps 300 metres away from me. The lodge is owned my natives, and with the campfire ban finally lifted, about 200 metres from window is a campfire. One of the Indians is singing and playing a drum by the fire. Sometimes when I look up, I can see his silhouette as he sits on a log in front of the fire, with a big round drum in his hand.

Merritt to Vernon

Day 20 – Wednesday August 25, 2010

Kilometres: 398

Time: 7 hours, including stops

Weather:

Merritt: Not a cloud in the sky, 30 C at 9:30

Osoyoos: Sunny, 40 C at 1:30

Vernon: Sunny, 36 C at 5:15

Why do I have so much trouble getting started in the morning these days? I just couldn’t get myself together. It took forever to pack up and eat breakfast. I didn’t get on the road until 9:30, which was late for what I had planned for the day. Last night I decided to get up early (ha!) and add a few extra kilometres to my route by going down to Osoyoos. Originally, I was going to turn off Highway 3 at Keremeos and cut the corner off to save a bit to time. I didn’t think I’d ever come back to this part of the province JUST to see Osoyoos, so I may as well go there.

Heading out of Merritt, I took Highway 5A, which is a fun road to ride. Again, I was surrounded by desert, and not a car or truck would pass me for minutes on end. When a few cars did come up behind me, I just pulled over and let them pass. I wanted to play with road.

This new way of riding (Lee Parks’ method of leaning and pushing) really makes riding a totally engaging sport. I’m working with the bike and not against it. This is just so much more fun than how I used to ride. I think I’m going to get quickly bored riding the straight regional roads and concession roads of Southern Ontario.

Anyway, Highway 5A is a really fun road with all the twists and turns you could ask for. It doesn’t have the paving variations like the road from Lillooet to Pembertson does, but is still a fun road and I’d happily ride it again.

I filled up the tank and ate a quick sandwich in Princeton and then headed southeast on Highway 3, which is the Crownest Highway that took me the Crowsnest Pass last week. If I had more time, I would have stopped in Hedley as they offer a gold mine tour, but it looks like the tourists have to repel down the shaft. I’d love to give that a try. Hmm, does that mean I have yet another reason to ride out this way again?

About 5 kilometres before I rode into Keremeos, the wind really picked up. For the first time since riding in the Prairies, I had to fight for control of the bike. There were a few twists in the road, and after coming out of one turn in the distance was a treed mountain with clouds around it. But the clouds didn’t look quite right. As I rode closer, I realized the clouds were rising from the trees. One cloud had a bit of an orange haze. These weren’t clouds. These were forest fires. This was soon confirmed when I saw a helicopter drop fire retardant into the smoke.

I pulled into a wildlife-viewing turnout to get a better look at the fires. At the turnout, I met a BC Fires information officer who told me the fire was started by lightning on July 28 and eventually grew to cover 530 hectares. The mountains are so steep in the area that it is impossible for fire crews to get to them. At one point they had five helicopters battling the fire. She went on to say that the fire seems to go out, but it still burns underground and will spring back to life as spot fires days later. This is what I was seeing.

I couldn’t but think of the poor animals living in the forest who were trying to get away from the smoke and fires. It’s unfortunate that there is nothing to be done to help them. We just have to let nature take care of itself.

The further south I went (surprise!) the hotter it became. This area is a desert, with similar vegetation to what I saw in Kamloops and Lillooet. I was starting to equate the BC deserts with really fun roads. I’ll have to find more of these roads.

The ride down to Osoyoos was hot, had twisty roads, and brown vegetation. I’d heard that Osoyoos was one of the warmest places in Canada and that the town (city?) tried to model itself after Spanish towns with a similar climate. Unfortunately, the turnout to view the town was on the opposite side of the road and not accessible to vehicles going south. I would have loved to have taken a picture, but it was impossible.

The town looked beautiful as I descended the mountain highway. A clear blue lake was the centre of activity. Boats of all description were cutting through the waves. Windsurfers were enjoying the sun and wind as they skimmed along the surface. Surrounding the lake was the town, and many were white stucco houses with reddish-brown clay tile roofs. It did have a bit of a Spanish feel, but there were other “normal” building in the area so the effect wasn’t complete.

I stopped in the Visitor Centre to cool down (I very rarely seek out air conditioning) and to find out a bit more about the town. The average winter low is 0 C and the summer average is in the high 30s C. I found the average number of sunshine hours, but I think it may be misleading, as it doesn’t offer a comparison to other towns/cities at that latitude. However, it is probably above normal for Canada otherwise they wouldn’t have listed that statistic.

Osoyoos has only two industries: tourism and agriculture. It is surrounded by futile farmland, and as the southern most town in the Okanagan Valley, there is an abundance of fresh fruit and veggies. Fruit stands are all along the highway leading out of Osoyoos and all the way up to Vernon. You can buy 20 pounds of peaches for anywhere between $7 and $11.

I didn’t think much of the ride north through Penticton, Kelowna and Vernon. It was a bit twisty, but once you’ve ridden one highway, you’ve ridden them all. It was the usual: Cars going at least 20 over the speed limit and trucks breathing down my tailpipe. Fortunately, it was two lanes in both directions, so they were able to pass me with out getting too irate at me doing only 10 over the limit.

The one thing I did like about the road was the changes in elevation. It was just fun going up and down. My ears seemed to pop every couple of minutes. For example, here’s a pictures of Penticton from a turn out. It seemed like only two minutes later (ok, closer to five minutes) that I was down there driving beside the beech.

The water in Lake Okanagan is very rough, and it was very winding on the highway as well. White caps were the norm, but people were still out swimming in the lake and enjoying the sun.

I really didn’t like Kelowna simply because I arrived in town at 4:30, which must be their rush hour. I hit almost every light and was starting to overheat and get a bit ticked off at the timing of the lights. In an effort to cool down, I stopped into the local Dairy Queen to taste test a hot fudge sundae. This is my first DQ treat since the Qu’applle Valley, so I’m rather proud of myself for holding out this long.

But you just can’t take the Toronto person out of me, even in a small city. When I pulled in, I did the normal “check out everyone in parking lot to make sure it’s safe” look around. I noticed a guy smoking a stoggie who was either eying me, the bike, or both. I made sure to take everything inside with me that wasn’t locked down. I placed my order and while they made the sundae, I walked to the window and, sure enough he was giving my bike a once over. I went back to the counter, picked up my order and then sat by the window to keep an eye on the bike, but the dude had walked away. By the time I’d nearly finished my ice cream, I saw him ride away on his own motorcycle. I guess you just can’t take the big city mentality out of me that quickly.

It was a fairly quick ride to Vernon from Kelowna. It was all highway riding. The motel was just off the main street (the highway) and had a Safeway Foods across the road. As I had a microwave in the motel room, I did a quick shopping trip and settled into the motel for the evening.

Vancouver to Merritt

Day 19 – Tuesday August 24, 2010

Kilometres: 385.7

Time: six hours (including one 10 minutes rest stop and stops for gas)

Weather:

Vancouver: Sunny (it never rains here. I’m sure it’s just bad PR) and 16 C at 9 AM

Merritt: Sunny with a few clouds, 32 C at 3 PM

I could not sleep last night (that hardly ever happens) and was woken up by the sound of a text message coming in on my cell phone. Diane, my riding buddy, was wondering why I hadn’t posted anything on the blog. I really didn’t want to type out the full explanation or reason for still being in bed, so I told her I was having breakfast and then getting ready to go, which was about 20 minutes later.

I discovered that I was a bit out practice packing up the bike. It took much longer than usual, considering I had done most of the work the night before. I finally got on the road at 9, filled up the tank and headed towards the Trans Canada, East bound.

The ride out of town was punctuated with road construction, but not enough for me to ride below 60 kph, so I guess I can’t complain when I compare that to Toronto. I had not been over the Second Narrows (or Iron Workers) Bridge before, and as Ian had told me, it was much quicker than Lion’s Gate.

I was soon zooming through Burnaby, Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and then into Hope, where I topped up the tank before leaving the Trans Canada for the ride up the Fraser Canyon.

I’d heard so much about this road that I was a bit let down. I can only compare it to riding along side the Niagara Gorge … but a much longer ride. The rapids looked really cool and I’d love to get in a raft and go down them. They look much more vicious than the Ottawa River rapids. I shot the Ottawa three times, but the water of the Fraser River, is much wider, so there is more room to manoeuvre the raft. I wonder what the river is like in the spring. Cold, yes I know, but the water level would change and so would the speed. This sounds like a ride I’ll have to try.

The canyon road tunnels were not like those I’d gone through near Roger’s Pass. These weren’t there to protect motorists from avalanches, but because there is no way to get to the other side of the mountain except blast a hole in it. There were maybe half a dozen tunnels, all individually named but all looking exactly the same. All were arched concrete.

I’ve only had a couple of encounters with animals on the road – and two near misses. Both the near misses were with birds of prey. The first near miss was as I rode through the clouds between Rocky Mountain House and the border to Banff National Park. The one of the Fraser Canyon was a near disaster for the bird. I thought these things had exceptional eyesight. I’d like to know what possessed the bird, who was at the side of the road about 200 metres ahead of me, to fly towards me. It had something in its talons – it looked like straw. I was doing about 100 kph and I managed to slow down to about 50. I don’t know why the bird couldn’t get any lift, but it was sure trying to. I was so sure of a collision that I ducked behind my windshield and braced for impact. The bird released the straw right in front of me and then the bird managed to veer up in time. My bike ran over the straw about two seconds later. It was a close one.

The road was a bit challenging, especially after not riding anything but city streets (and that was minimal) for the last four days. I turned off the T’Can at Spences Bridge and deviated from my original plan. Freddie, the innkeeper in Kamloops, didn’t understand why I would want to return to Hope after riding the Fraser Canyon. The problem was that I originally though it was one road up on west side and another road on the east of the canyon. I wanted to ride both roads. I had read the map wrong. “Why ride the same road twice?” he asked. Instead, he suggested I carry on to Merritt and then go into the Okanagan Valley. I talked to Ian about the route change and he concurred with Freddie the innkeeper.

I’m so glad I changed the route. I was soon back into the desert and from Spences Bridge all the way Merritt, which is about 70 kilometres, was full of lovely twisty roads with switchbacks. Now that was a load of fun. Here's a quick pic I took from the side of the road.

I rode into Merritt a little bit before 3 PM. I felt refreshed to be back riding and really could have comfortably gone another hour or two.

I was really disappointed with Merritt. I listen to classic rock, classical, symphonic goth, punk (old and new), and progressive European metal. How is it possible that I’m in the self-proclaimed country music capital of Canada? There are murals of famous country artists on the sides of buildings here. They have a country walk of fame (I guess these artist are the one that visited here). Residents of the town actually wear cowboy hats and cowboy boots. I feel like I’m back in Alberta. Oh my! Maybe I should have made my hotel reservation in Princeton.

After a quick visit to 7-11 for gas I also picked up a sandwich for late lunch/early dinner and some fruit for breakfast. I hope that I will have an opportunity to get more fresh fruit in the Okanagan tomorrow and also refill my wine. Here’s to another day of adventure on the road. Cheers!

Vancouver - Day 4

Day 18 – Monday August 23, 2010 – Vancouver

Kilometres: 0

Time: No riding today

Weather:

Sunny with a few clouds, about 20 C at 10 AM

Sue met me at my hotel room around 10 AM, but we started talking and drinking coffee, so we didn’t get going until almost noon. The weatherman was again wrong with his forecast, as it was another beautiful sunny and warm day. Our destination was my only “must see” while in Vancouver: The Aquarium.

Our first visit was with the three sea otters. All were rescued and for one reason or another would not survive in the wild, nonetheless, I felt sorry for them because they really don’t have much room to swim around. They quickly swim back and worth and really reminded me of large animals pacing back and worth in small cages. Anyway, I didn’t realize who big sea otters are. I would guess that they are about a metre and half long. And they are not all skin and bone either. They are chunky because they need their body fat to keep them warm in the cold sea water.

We quickly stopped by to visit the dolphins and sea lions, both of which had much larger swimming areas than the sea otters.

Our next stop was the three beluga whales. The three are all related and all female. There’s grandma, mother, and a two-year-old daughter, who is still adolescent grey in colour and not yet white. It was close to feeding time and when the trainers came out the whales did a few little tricks for their fishy lunch. They waved to crowd, rolled over, twirled around and in the end gave the kids a good splash or two with a tail. I was happy to see that they didn’t have them doing the silly swimming thought hoops tricks.

Sue and I also went into the tropical area where it was lovely and humid. Macaws, turtles, butterflies, and other birds and creatures inhabited the small area.

Other swimming areas in the aquarium include the sharks (mostly nurse sharks, I believe) mixed in with the ever-graceful stingray. I really felt sorry of the huge octopus that was kept in such a small enclosure. It stick to the glass and at one point propelled itself from one side to the other, but barely had enough room to stretch to its full length. I’ve seen these creatures on TV and know that they can really move when they need or want to. It was really a pity that the Vancouver Aquarium cannot provide a more suitable environment for both the octopus and the sea otters. There must be a way for the public to see the wonderful animals in a much more comfortable way for them.

There was a dolphin show scheduled, but I have seen a number of them through the years and really didn’t want to see another one.

Back in the car we went and off to drive around the various parts of Vancouver. I have seen so much of the city and by this time I was finally starting to get my bearings. After a while we wound up having a late lunch/early dinner at a Greek restaurant in Davies. My visit to Vancouver was coming to close and it was now time to return to the hotel to pack for early morning departure.

I’m really lucky. I have really great family out on the west coast. I found that all of us have so much in common that we could all just talk way forever. (Donna, that’s a hint. We want you over here.) In fact, Sue and I were talking away so much that I invited her into the hotel room while I packed. So we could spend some more time together.

With everything done finally done, except for the packing that has to wait until morning, we went next door to Denny’s for a coffee and a milkshake. By 9 PM, we both knew it was time for one last hug. I was soon on my own after a wonderful time with some truly nice, down to earth, friendly people. I will cherish my memories of my too short of a visit to Vancouver. Thank you for treating me so wonderfully, showing me the sights and making sure I had an exceptional time in Vancouver and with all of you.

Vancouver - Day 3

Day 17 – Sunday August 22, 2010 – Vancouver

Kilometres: 7.8 KM

Time: 10 minutes

Weather:

Sunny with cloudy periods. Around 20 C at 11 AM

It was another day of seeing the sights and walking. Ian and I started off in North Van and gradually worked our way long the seashore to West Van. We stopped at a beach that offered a really good view of Lion’s Gate Bridge and Downtown Vancouver. The beech was nearly deserted, which was surprising considering the weather on this beautiful Sunday.

From there we drove as close to the seashore as possible, along twisty roads with huge houses, which I’m sure offered magnificent views of the sea and Vancouver. After several stops we came to our final hiking destination: the lighthouse. Walking through the forest was amazing. The Douglas fir trees towered over. Some were bent by the wind and some tree trunks reminded me of palm trees that stood at strange angels because of sea breezes. But here in Vancouver, the underbrush was nearly forest-like. Small ferns grew in the shade, cedar added a lush green, and sweet fragrance to the air.

We came to a crossroads and there was section of a 500-year-old tree. Standing on its side, it was taller than me. While not all the trees were this size, they were some scattered about the forests. The area offered many paths, but we took the one directly to the un-manned lighthouse. The currently lighthouse was built in 1912, while the previous one goes back about 50 years from that. The public isn’t allowed access to the lighthouse. He stood on some large boulders that overlooked the lighthouses and, for our hiking efforts, were given a magnificent view.

We were soon sitting in the car and driving further west. We stopped in Horseshoe Bay for a quick lunch and the drove back home.

After a couple of games of air hockey, Wii, and go fish, it was time for dinner. The day just flew by and around 9 PM it was time for me to go back to my hotel.

Vancouver - Day 2

Day 16 – Saturday August 21, 2010 – Vancouver

Kilometres: 7.8

Time: 10 minutes

Weather:

Another perfect, sunny day in Vancouver. 18 C at 9 AM

I was a bit behind in my emails, so I got up early and started replying to growing number in my inbox. Then I quickly packed up some clothes and rode out to visit my cousin Ian and his family for a pancake breakfast. It turned into a late breakfast, as I didn’t get there until almost 10 AM (Oooopps!) As soon as I parked my bike everyone came out to see it. The two kids put on my motorcycle gloves (I brought both pairs – one pair for each) and then sat them on the bike.

The bike is waaay too big for them, but it was great. We were all laughing and having fun. After a perfect breakfast, the five of us jumped in the car and went to Lynn Valley where we walked over the swinging bridge over the valley. The water was low, so it made the valley look even deeper. The fire rescue crews were there practicing their technique. It was all down hill from there, or for about 10 minutes as we hiked along the well wore forest trail to another bridge, but this one didn’t swing. It was really neat watching the water flow over the rocks and form eddies. Of course, what goes down must go up, and up, and up. Man that was a lot of stairs. I’m really out of shape because I’ve been sitting on a bike for the last couple weeks, but I made it up the steep slope without losing my breath.

The afternoon’s major activity was going to the car show, where old Jaguars, MG and British motorcycles were put on display by local car clubs. There were about 30 cars and half a dozen motorcycles. We looked under the hoods, and in the interior, and had a fun time comparing the different models and years.

We made it back to the house a bit early, so the kids and I played Wii before the entire family arrived for dinner. Originally we were going to have a BBQ, but the weatherman called for rain (he was wrong) so the nine of us stayed inside for a wonderful meal. All of us talked, and laughed, and had a really fun time.

But time flew by too quickly and soon people started to leave. But not before we had a good family portrait.

Soon, everyone had either left or gone to bad, except for my cousin and I. We stayed up for a while, and chatted, and we also made a slight change in my homeward journey.