On the Road from Hope, BC 12/21/09

Friend (Joe) Hey, Peace Rider glad to see you made it down Highway l in one piece.

PR Yeah, me too. No shoulders, blind curves, tunnels and narrow bridges made this "no walk in the park." But you know I also had help.

F - How so?

PR Just after Cache Creek on a narrow stretch I caught a tire on the transition between the shoulder edge and dirt and fell off the bike. A Mountie saw my tracks in the snow where I fell. He pulled off the side of the road ahead of me further on. He was concerned for my safety on this stretch and cautioned me to be extra careful. From where I was to Spences Bridge and Lytton was the worst he said. He offered to give me a ride but I thanked him and declined. My friend Don Laird has also cautioned me to be extra careful on this Highway The Mountie's warming came just before I headed into one of the worst stretches for blind curves and narrow shoulders.

At blind corners I would stop, look back to make sure there was no on coming traffic then pedal like crazy to round the bend and so on, same way at bridges and other road restrictions.

F - How did you manage through the tunnels?

PR - Several of the tunnels had a yellow caution lights you could set flashing at the tunnel entrance to warm motorists that a cyclist was in the tunnel. At others there was a walkway along one side of the tunnel you could ride on out of traffic. But man, the noise from cars and especially trucks in the tunnels was deafening and nerve racking. You don't think about it as a motorist.

F - And you had blue sky and sunny weather all the way?

PR - Boy I wish. From Kamloops past Spences Bridge to Jackass Summit was fine. It was clear and sunny from Cache Creek following the Thompson River into the canyon. At Jackass Summit, my fourth night out, I camped next the to road on a narrow patch of snow free ground. A few feet the other side of my tent was a nearly vertical drop to the river below The next morning, however, a couple of inches of fresh snow was on the ground. Descending from there, snow turned to rain and it was raining when I set up camp just past Hells Gate. The snow was wet, the ground soggy. I didn't even bother to set up the stove. The trees were wet and I'd have been lucky to get a fire going. My second cold camp but I did have hot dinner.

The next morning more of the same, rain, cold and just about everything I owned wet. I did float high and dry on my air mattress and my sleeping bag remained dry. I was warm until I emerged from my cocoon and got pedalling and the blood circulating.

Rain tapered off later in the day when I hit Hope and The Swiss Chalet Motel to dry out in.

F - You meet any interesting characters along the way?

PR - When I got to Cache Creek late in the day I went in the local grocery to buy a few things like noodles, cheese and bread. I had everything at the register ready to check out but for some reason was distracted and looking elsewhere. Tony in that instant stepped forward and paid for my groceries with a Merry Christmas. What a nice gift and reminder the Christmas spirit is alive and well.

My next grocery stop was in Lytton. I first stopped at a food store on the main highway, but bad vibes. Guard dog on duty, no washrooms and no business. I decided to hit the store in the main part of town even though it meant going downhill from the main highway. Outside the store I asked a driver if he had a pliers I could borrow to put my front fender back on. He did. I was putting it on when I strike up a conversation with Mark Jaccard and Michelle Nickerson. Mark is a Professor at Simon Fraser Univ. in the School of Resource and Environmental Management. Isn't it "interesting" that he deals with policy issues regarding climate change. They stopped in Lytton because that is where the Fraser R. begins. Michelle it turns out plans to make like a salmon and swim the Fraser next summer to highlight the plight of salmon. For more on that see www.ripplerelay.com.

F - What do you mean by "interesting?"

PR - Well, I'm not sure exactly but would like to follow up with him to educate myself further on what governments should be doing policy wise to reduce fossil fuel emissions. He said that BC has put in place a carbon tax, among the first to do so.

F - So you're heading down the road today.

PR - Yes, right after I'm done with this. So we'll see you down the road again.

F - Anything else to report before you go?

PR - I went to the local laundromat in downtown Hope to dry my wet things. When I got there the attendant asked what I was going to do. Dry my clothes I responded. He said you have to wash your clothes before you can dry them, that is our policy. Huh? He did tell me of another place and I went there. So much for business.