July 20, 2014
Today we woke up extra early so that we would make it to the ferry on time. The ferry leaves at 7:00 and we wanted to be there by 6:00 to give some wiggle room.
We got there several hours before 7:00, only to find out that the ferry leaves at 7:00 in the MORNING. And it leaves every other day, so we have all day tomorrow to relax.
That clears up the confusion I had over how an overnight ferry could be known for beautiful scenery.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Day 28: Terrace to Skeena River
July 19, 2014
Day 28 Terrace to Exchamsiks River/Skeena River
Did errands in town: laundry (first time at a real washing machine), groceries, and ALL YOU CAN EAT PIZZA!
Guys at McBike were very helpful. The owner is very good to cycling tourists. I bought two new tires, which are the golden standard for cycle touring.
Highway 16 between Terrace and the coast is amazingly beautiful. You have incredibly steep cliffs coming up from the Exchansis river valley. Glacial streams come down from the mountain, and you can see waterfalls that must be 100 feet tall or more up high in the mountains.
Here's a picture I stole to give you an idea of the beauty out here. Google image search Skeena river valley.
Day 28 Terrace to Exchamsiks River/Skeena River
Did errands in town: laundry (first time at a real washing machine), groceries, and ALL YOU CAN EAT PIZZA!
Guys at McBike were very helpful. The owner is very good to cycling tourists. I bought two new tires, which are the golden standard for cycle touring.
Highway 16 between Terrace and the coast is amazingly beautiful. You have incredibly steep cliffs coming up from the Exchansis river valley. Glacial streams come down from the mountain, and you can see waterfalls that must be 100 feet tall or more up high in the mountains.
Here's a picture I stole to give you an idea of the beauty out here. Google image search Skeena river valley.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Day 27: New Aiyansh to Terrace
July 18, 2014
No pictures, but we did use the bear spray, so keep reading.
Went to sleep to sounds of a bear in the woods. Such things happen when you camp near a bunch of salmon streams. After fretting for a while, I put ear plugs in. If you can't hear or see something, it isn't there. Right?
We woke up early, tired, and wet from the overnight rain. We tried to leave quickly, but my tire went flat overnight. I butchered the patch job as we were alert for the bear we heard last night.
We didn't use the bear spray on the bear. We didn't see any bears today.
I got my tire working and we rode on.
While riding along a beautiful Lava Lake, which is emerald/robin's egg blue from the acidity, we were passed by a van reeking of weed. Ahead of us, it braked suddenly, and started honking at a coyote that had run in front of it. Instead of running away like coyotes are supposed to, it walked in front of the van and down the middle of the road towards us. The van was about 30 meters ahead of us, and went in reverse, and then stopped. We tried scaring the coyote away like it was a black bear.
As we hopped on our bicycles to get away, the coyote started following us very closely. If you wanted to train your dog to heel, you could not have done better than this.
The coyote's strange behavior, and our vulnerable position made me think that we should use the bear spray.
"Spray it!" I said.
"Really?" said he.
And so he took the bear spray, took off the safety cap, and gave the coyote a blast of highly potent pepper spray. Bear spray is much more potent than regular pepper spray, just so you know.
That stopped him in his tracks and gave us time to ride off, leaving the coyote standing in the middle of the road opening and closing his mouth like he had a bad case of cottonmouth.
The people in the van said something to us, and I'm not sure if they were mad we sprayed the bear or not. Maybe we violated some ancient First Nation custom or belief. But I decided I will trample over any sacred tradition before getting nipped in the leg by a rabid coyote.
While spraying the poor deranged coyote was crazy enough for me, I wonder: What was that scene like for the stoners in the van?
The rest of the ride was okay, made it to Terrace where we paid for camping for the first time all trip. Not bad!
The campsite has berries growing all around the roads and trails. I couldn't believe no one else was picking them!
No pictures, but we did use the bear spray, so keep reading.
Went to sleep to sounds of a bear in the woods. Such things happen when you camp near a bunch of salmon streams. After fretting for a while, I put ear plugs in. If you can't hear or see something, it isn't there. Right?
We woke up early, tired, and wet from the overnight rain. We tried to leave quickly, but my tire went flat overnight. I butchered the patch job as we were alert for the bear we heard last night.
We didn't use the bear spray on the bear. We didn't see any bears today.
I got my tire working and we rode on.
While riding along a beautiful Lava Lake, which is emerald/robin's egg blue from the acidity, we were passed by a van reeking of weed. Ahead of us, it braked suddenly, and started honking at a coyote that had run in front of it. Instead of running away like coyotes are supposed to, it walked in front of the van and down the middle of the road towards us. The van was about 30 meters ahead of us, and went in reverse, and then stopped. We tried scaring the coyote away like it was a black bear.
As we hopped on our bicycles to get away, the coyote started following us very closely. If you wanted to train your dog to heel, you could not have done better than this.
The coyote's strange behavior, and our vulnerable position made me think that we should use the bear spray.
"Spray it!" I said.
"Really?" said he.
And so he took the bear spray, took off the safety cap, and gave the coyote a blast of highly potent pepper spray. Bear spray is much more potent than regular pepper spray, just so you know.
That stopped him in his tracks and gave us time to ride off, leaving the coyote standing in the middle of the road opening and closing his mouth like he had a bad case of cottonmouth.
The people in the van said something to us, and I'm not sure if they were mad we sprayed the bear or not. Maybe we violated some ancient First Nation custom or belief. But I decided I will trample over any sacred tradition before getting nipped in the leg by a rabid coyote.
While spraying the poor deranged coyote was crazy enough for me, I wonder: What was that scene like for the stoners in the van?
The rest of the ride was okay, made it to Terrace where we paid for camping for the first time all trip. Not bad!
The campsite has berries growing all around the roads and trails. I couldn't believe no one else was picking them!
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Day 26: Meziadin to New Aiyansh
July 17, 2014
75 miles
LOST!
Lost clothes on gravel road between Meziadin Jct. and New Aiyansh:
If you see these things, please return them to me! Thanks.
I offered a reward to motorists who passed us in the other direction if they could find them and return them. A man with a Russian accent told me to ask my girlfriend where my pants went. What a joker.
Good riding, the gravel road is a fun change of pace and scenery.
75 miles
LOST!
Lost clothes on gravel road between Meziadin Jct. and New Aiyansh:
- Reflective Vest (also known as a highvis in New Zeland)
- Khaki mountain biking shorts
If you see these things, please return them to me! Thanks.
I offered a reward to motorists who passed us in the other direction if they could find them and return them. A man with a Russian accent told me to ask my girlfriend where my pants went. What a joker.
Good riding, the gravel road is a fun change of pace and scenery.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Day 25: Bell 2 to Meziadin Jct.
July 16, 2014
75.91 miles
7:29:36 ride time
No pictures. Camera busted, and I haven't gotten them from Nick yet.
Woke up early to take full advantage of the all you can eat buffet at the ski lodge! It was such a great idea, and we fully enjoyed the wide selection of cooked items. Despite eating almost exclusively oatmeal for breakfast and snacks for the last 2 weeks, I jumped for the granola they had there. Nick made fun of me for going for the oats over potatos, bacon, sausage, and fresh fruit at the buffet.
I know why I don't sunburn despite little sunscreen: I have built up a layer of dirt, dead skin, and general filth that protects my skin from UV rays.
We reached an important junction and decided our route south:
Leave the Cassiar Highway
New Aiyansh and the Lava Field
Terrace (big city)
Go to Prince Rupert (port town on coast)
Take ferry from Prince Rupert to Fort Hardy on Vancouver Island
This will take us through some different scenery, and the ferry ride is supposed to be spectacular.
75.91 miles
7:29:36 ride time
No pictures. Camera busted, and I haven't gotten them from Nick yet.
Woke up early to take full advantage of the all you can eat buffet at the ski lodge! It was such a great idea, and we fully enjoyed the wide selection of cooked items. Despite eating almost exclusively oatmeal for breakfast and snacks for the last 2 weeks, I jumped for the granola they had there. Nick made fun of me for going for the oats over potatos, bacon, sausage, and fresh fruit at the buffet.
I know why I don't sunburn despite little sunscreen: I have built up a layer of dirt, dead skin, and general filth that protects my skin from UV rays.
We reached an important junction and decided our route south:
Leave the Cassiar Highway
New Aiyansh and the Lava Field
Terrace (big city)
Go to Prince Rupert (port town on coast)
Take ferry from Prince Rupert to Fort Hardy on Vancouver Island
This will take us through some different scenery, and the ferry ride is supposed to be spectacular.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Day 24 Kinaskan Lake to Bell 2
July 15 74.45 miles
7:07:54 Ride Time
Good morning from Kinaskan Lake! Great free campsite, if you are a cyclist and you get the awesome park ranger lady.
Met many people today!
We met a group from Missoula Montana doing a group ACA ride. Don't know if I mentioned this yesterday. Anways, there were two groups and we met the second group today.
We also met a man from Japan going from Vancouver, BC, to Anchorage, Alaska. He went up via the Al-Can highway, through Banff and Jaspar.
We also met "X." X is not his real name, but he said "On this trip, call me X." X started traveling in St. Petersburg, Russia. He walked across Europe and then flew to Toronto. He worked in Toronto for a year before heading out to Detroit. From Detroit he started walking towards Alaska. His goal is to make it to the Western edge of Alaska and then find a way back into Russia across the Bering Strait. He is ambitious. I asked him why he is doing this, and I don't think he understood my question, but anyways he said that he walks because he can swim across rivers or cross mountains if he needs to.
So good luck to X!
We scared off two more bears, and chased off another bear into a ditch as we approached. We saw a fourth bear from about 10 feet away right beside us as we went down the road. We frightened each other and the bear ran into the bushes, luckily for us.
I've felt great since the 100 mile day, and I think it is time to up the mile quota. 50 minimum no longer, its time to do 60!
In BC, there are so many waterfalls all over it's not even a big deal. If this waterfall were in Minnesota, there would be all like OMG OMG!!!!! And there would be brown signs pointing to it for miles around as a tourist destination. Here, they are all like, eh, NBD. It's just another roadside water fall.
466 m is really not very high, but we started out low.
I don't know what was actually happening here, but I like it that way. Where is Nick walking to? What will he do there? Will he turn back? Did he get tired of riding his bike? Will he walk to Panama?
So close to glaciers!
7:07:54 Ride Time
Good morning from Kinaskan Lake! Great free campsite, if you are a cyclist and you get the awesome park ranger lady.
Met many people today!
We met a group from Missoula Montana doing a group ACA ride. Don't know if I mentioned this yesterday. Anways, there were two groups and we met the second group today.
We also met a man from Japan going from Vancouver, BC, to Anchorage, Alaska. He went up via the Al-Can highway, through Banff and Jaspar.
We also met "X." X is not his real name, but he said "On this trip, call me X." X started traveling in St. Petersburg, Russia. He walked across Europe and then flew to Toronto. He worked in Toronto for a year before heading out to Detroit. From Detroit he started walking towards Alaska. His goal is to make it to the Western edge of Alaska and then find a way back into Russia across the Bering Strait. He is ambitious. I asked him why he is doing this, and I don't think he understood my question, but anyways he said that he walks because he can swim across rivers or cross mountains if he needs to.
So good luck to X!
We scared off two more bears, and chased off another bear into a ditch as we approached. We saw a fourth bear from about 10 feet away right beside us as we went down the road. We frightened each other and the bear ran into the bushes, luckily for us.
I've felt great since the 100 mile day, and I think it is time to up the mile quota. 50 minimum no longer, its time to do 60!
Look at the mountains in the background, ruining the picture of this beautiful transmission line platform.
In BC, there are so many waterfalls all over it's not even a big deal. If this waterfall were in Minnesota, there would be all like OMG OMG!!!!! And there would be brown signs pointing to it for miles around as a tourist destination. Here, they are all like, eh, NBD. It's just another roadside water fall.
Finally a view not perverted by powerlines.
466 m is really not very high, but we started out low.
I don't know what was actually happening here, but I like it that way. Where is Nick walking to? What will he do there? Will he turn back? Did he get tired of riding his bike? Will he walk to Panama?
So close to glaciers!
Spending night on road by Bell 2. Bell 2 is a heli skiing resort, and is a quiet fancy hotel where a bunch of ski bums work and hang out all summer. We were told they have a breakfast buffet... Can't wait.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Day 23 Gnat Pass to Kinaskan Lake
July 14, 2014
56.59 miles
5:28:12 ride time
This morning we said goodbye to our friend Tom. He already has a flight ticket purhcased and needs to slow his pace down so he doesn't get to Vancouver too early.
Safe travels to Tom! We enjoyed riding with him.
More fun riding, more steep, long, uphills, and steep, long descents. We are in the Stikine River Valley, if you want to research that on your own. As expected, its beautiful. There are few pictures because its hard to capture the expanse and size with our cameras. Also, when we are flying downhill, you don't want to stop. Google image search it if you don't want to use your imagination.
Here's what we did get:
We a bunch of people traveling together as part of a group ACA ride. They started in Misoula Montana. A lot of them are retired, and it was good to see that this can be a life long activity.
This is km, but still, you are a long ways from anything, considering Meziadin Junction is not even more than 1,000 people.
Signs of civilization! Maybe we are getting closer to something.... These pylons really destroyed the view of some of the mountains. Oh progress.
Nick and I stopped at a store for a long long time. We had some bad experiences with the cashier lady, and they sold Lucky Charms for $12 a box. The prices of things were written directly on the boxes, or not at all. The only thing cool I saw in there was this sign advertising free contraceptives. Good to know something is cheap up here!
We waited around so long at the store that Tom caught up to us, and we rode together for the rest of the day. Guess we'll have to try and ditch him again tomorrow.
My derailleur has been acting up, and with 5 miles left till our destination, I got it in my head that I would adjust it during one of our short snack breaks. This quick adjustment lead to an hour of me, Nick, and Tom all trying to figure out how to make it shift properly. It went from bad to better to much worse, to, magically, better than it started. I can't wait to see an actual mechanic.
Here we are at that fateful snack break.
56.59 miles
5:28:12 ride time
This morning we said goodbye to our friend Tom. He already has a flight ticket purhcased and needs to slow his pace down so he doesn't get to Vancouver too early.
Safe travels to Tom! We enjoyed riding with him.
More fun riding, more steep, long, uphills, and steep, long descents. We are in the Stikine River Valley, if you want to research that on your own. As expected, its beautiful. There are few pictures because its hard to capture the expanse and size with our cameras. Also, when we are flying downhill, you don't want to stop. Google image search it if you don't want to use your imagination.
Here's what we did get:
We a bunch of people traveling together as part of a group ACA ride. They started in Misoula Montana. A lot of them are retired, and it was good to see that this can be a life long activity.
This is km, but still, you are a long ways from anything, considering Meziadin Junction is not even more than 1,000 people.
Signs of civilization! Maybe we are getting closer to something.... These pylons really destroyed the view of some of the mountains. Oh progress.
Nick and I stopped at a store for a long long time. We had some bad experiences with the cashier lady, and they sold Lucky Charms for $12 a box. The prices of things were written directly on the boxes, or not at all. The only thing cool I saw in there was this sign advertising free contraceptives. Good to know something is cheap up here!
My derailleur has been acting up, and with 5 miles left till our destination, I got it in my head that I would adjust it during one of our short snack breaks. This quick adjustment lead to an hour of me, Nick, and Tom all trying to figure out how to make it shift properly. It went from bad to better to much worse, to, magically, better than it started. I can't wait to see an actual mechanic.
Here we are at that fateful snack break.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)