Day 26: Port Angeles - Bogachiel State Park (just past Forks), 63.91 miles

September 21st, 2009

After a bit of messing around at the tourist office and at Safeway to buy more Kraft dinners and supplies for my new favourite cyclist breakfast of peanut butter on tortillas, I met up with an English guy called Nick who, again, was cycling from Alaska to Argentina. These people and their cross-continent rides really made my ride look like an amble round the park. Damn them!

I set off, and about 10 miles out of town had that horrible feeling that every cyclist sooner or later experiences. At first, the bike didn't feel quite right, it was slightly swaying back and forth. Initially and as every cyclist does, I ignored it hoping that it would go away. However, after another couple of pedal revolutions, I knew my worst fears had been realised... My very first puncture of the trip! Fortunately, Nick came past a few minutes later and was able to lend me a pump as mine, I discovered, had died.

One large staple now removed from the back tyre - always the blasted back tyre (which is harder to fix) - I continued along my ride. I rode past Lake Crescent, a beautifully clear lake with nice wiggly roads all the way round it. The only downside of this leg of the trip was the seemingly unending hill that I had to conquer when I got to the end of the lake.

I finally got to Forks, which has made a name for itself as being the Twilight Zone. Apparently this is the place where the author of the Twilight Zone came from and she had used various places around town in her book. It seemed to me like an awful lot of hype, but perhaps I am missing the point not being a Twilight Zone fan!

I wonder how a town devoted to selling Twilight Zone paraphernalia could make any money, but then again I got the feeling that this might be where the real victims of America's economic downturn might live.

Oh, I also stayed the night at my first hiker biker site. Something the Americans have set up to cater for those without a vehicle. Congrats to the Yanks.

Day 25: Victoria - Port Angeles, approximately 10 miles (speedometer battery died)

September 20th, 2009

Despite thinking that I'd probably be up at the crack of dawn, I had a fantastic lie in and then went off on my way feeling well rested. I was also on my way having had a shower, a chance to do laundry, a packed lunch and a full belly too. A big thanks to Ursula.

I had an absolutely fantastic ride round the coast into downtown Victoria; I could see why the city had such a good reputation.

I then caught the ferry across to America via Port Angeles. On the ferry, I saw another loaded bike, but it looked a little odd. It had camouflage on it, was loaded to the hilt and had of all things a light fitting strapped to the back. At first, I made the assumption that it belonged to a vagrant of some description.

During the journey, though, the owner of said bicycle introduced himself and it turned out he was a Frenchman by the name of Baptiste who was cycling from Alaska to Argentina (I thought my ride to San Diego was a big feat, but I guess it doesn't matter what you do in life, somebody is always doing something bigger and better!). The light fitting was apparently going to be converted to a camera tripod so he could record video while he rode along, and the camouflage was there so that he wouldn't get spotted during "stealth" camping exercises. He wasn't exactly the person I expected from the look of the bike, but he seemed like a nice guy.

Having arrived in Port Angeles and with a long wait and a flash of my passport, I had reached America with diddly squat open. After some searching, I managed to find a Subway restaurant open and while the sandwich was satisfying, the company was a bit disconcerting. It was here that I met a colourful man whose advice was plentiful. I will try to give you some of the highlights:

1) Eat 2 teaspoons of extra hot cayenne pepper each morning
2) Completely overdose yourself on salt (can't remember exact quantity)
3) Read 4 psalms of the bible every day (one every 2 hours). Read them like this (on day 1 of the month read 1,31,61,91, on day 2 2,32,62,92 etc.)
4) If you are about to get run over by an 18 wheel truck don't say "Sh**" , say "Hallelujah".
5) We all don't weigh anything but are in fact holograms in gods imagination. (Obese people would I thought find this particularly good news)

Points 1 & 2 were, of course, backed up by long references to cell and molecular structure and a little bit of medical background as he slurped away on his extra large subway fizzy drink... After that encounter, I started cycling away from Port Angeles in search of safer more normal friends, but realised I was being a bit of a plonker travelling so late in the day. In the end, I turned around and spent the night in Port Angeles at the local RV park where I was kept awake by a drunken man shuffling around my tent. The fun of the local RV park!

Day 24: Ganges - Victoria, approximately 35 miles (speedometer battery died)

September 19th, 2009

This morning, we stopped off at the Fall Fair that had given us all the accommodation issues the night before. It reminded me of Buriton (small village that I grew up in) fetes. The secret to winning at Buriton fêtes was to enter into competitions that you knew nobody else would enter. e.g. Largest broad beans sown on a Tuesday, etc. Similar techniques seemed to have been applied at Gange's Fall Fair. That said, there were some interesting things, and I enjoyed the morning.

Later, we continued our ride to Victoria, over the other side of Salt Spring Island and across on the ferry back to Vancouver Island on the other side. It was a great ride into Victoria which was all on a bike path through countryside and into suburbia. We spotted a dear on the ride and was slyly taking a photograph while a local watched on with some bemusement. Apparently the gardens around here are considered restaurants to the local dear. Obviously a bit of a pest to the avid gardener.

Finally got to Victoria, where I said my farewells to Louise and set off to find my friend Alex's Mum, Ursula, who very kindly put me up for the night despite my uselessly late warning of my arrival.

Day 23: Nanaimo - Ganges (Salt Spring Island), 40.47 miles

September 18th, 2009

I vaguely made the offer to Louise to join me cycling down to Victoria. I think it is safe to say that Louise was not your hardcore cycle tourist, so I was a bit surprised when she took me up on the offer. The first part of the ride was on a horrible main road, but we were soon on fantastic country lanes following the coast. Louise was a bit slower than me, so I took the opportunity to snack on roadside blackberries and a little bit of apple scrumping in various rest stops as she caught up.

Later, we caught the ferry over to Salt Spring Island and then cycled over to Ganges. Here, we ran into problems. Apparently, the Autumn Fair was in town the next day, and so all accommodation was fully booked. By fortuitous luck while asking directions, we met a couple called John and Anne who kindly offered us their spare room. Not quite sure what we would have done otherwise because my tent would have been an exceedingly tight squeeze for 2, I was very grateful to John and Anne.

Day 22: Nanaimo, 0 miles

September 17th, 2009

Today, I decided to take another day off from the bike, and instead hired a car to visit Tofino which is reputed as being one of the most beautiful parts of the island. It is a long way from Nanaimo to Tofino and the road was very windy with no shoulder, so sharing a car with a fellow cyclist like a good idea.

My fellow cyclist was Louise, a French Canadian who gave me the opportunity to brush up on my French. Sorry, correction. It gave Louise the opportunity to brush up on her English (the Queen's English no less and not this funny North American version)!

First stop on the way was Cathedral Grove with its big big giant Douglas fir trees and a rather ominous sign saying "In case of high winds, please evacuate the area immediately". Having witnessed a comparatively small tree be blown over once before in life, I was pleased that it was a fairly calm day but kept listening for any strange creaking and was ready to run at any point. The trees themselves were mighty impressive though - just about ready to convert into a nice living room table!

The next stop was a salmon ladder near Port Alberni. Here, we had the pleasure of seeing salmon jump several feet up a waterfall (the stupid ones that failed to spot the ladder). It is one of those things that you always see in pictures but don't really believe it happens until you actually see it.

Then we drove over the hills to Tofino where I was reminded of driving my Nissan Micra along the A272 (another under powered car and windy road). The trick as I learnt then is to not lose momentum but at the same time keep the car on the road. Louise looked a little bit nervous, so I was sure I had remembered the right technique! (Mother - it is OK, I have taken a bit of creative writing license with this last bit...)

After a hike at Ucluelet around the Lighthouse Loop, we made our way into Tofino. I am sure Tofino would have looked nicer had it not been raining. Still, if it was going to rain, I would much rather be in the car than on a bicycle, so the day worked out well. On the way back, we stopped off at a place where, apparently, you are pretty much guaranteed to see Black Bear but by the time we arrived we were there in the dark. I am fairly sure we saw a bear but given the light conditions, there is a good chance it could have just been a large bunny rabbit.

Day 21: Nanaimo, 0 miles

September 16th, 2009

Much of the day was spent faffing on the Internet.

Mum and Dad should avert their eyes now...

...because today, I did a bit of a sneaky one and bought myself a computer from a local shop (name not disclosed so that they don't track me down) knowing full well that I was going to make full use of their 14-day no quibbles return policy and would return it two days later.

It was very useful to be able to have a computer for a couple of days but still failed to get the blog up to date -- observant readers will notice this entry appeared several weeks after the 16th...

Nice to have my first full day completely off the bike!

Day 20: Vancouver - Nanaimo, 22.27 miles

September 15th, 2009

Today saw more trekking around to more bike shops, and I finally found a wheel! Hooray...

$150 lighter, I went on my way with a new, non-cracked, super dooper A319 Mavic Rim in Silver. Now, I could go into the details of why the A319 is a far superior rim to the A119 (which is what I had before) but I will spare you...

And I wanted black but by this point I realised that beggars couldn't be choosers. I was just going to have to live with non matching front and back coloured wheels. The shame of it! What would the other cyclists say??

I tried to go to the Vancouver Space Centre but they were firmly shut, which was a little disappointing. So, instead I had a quick wander round the Museum of Vancouver.

Back on the bike, I pedalled across Vancouver and over to Horseshoe Bay. It was a great ride along Marine Drive, which is obviously where those with cash to burn in Vancouver buy their houses. All in all, it was great views over Vancouver Harbour and a very pleasant ride for the day.

When I got to Horseshoe Bay, where I was to catch the ferry to Nanaimo, I was treated to a spectacular sunset on the ride across. I arrived in Nanaimo to find a super hostel right downtown and happily rested my weary legs. I popped out of the hostel for a bit in search of something to eat but failed. I found an open Wendy's drive through but they wouldn't serve me because "You have to be in a car to be served...." Aghhh!

As if the drive through frustration wasn't enough, I still hadn't seen any sign of those nice Nanaimo Bars that I was expecting to see all over... I would have to track them down in the morning...

Day 19: Vancouver, 17.99 miles

September 14th, 2009

I finally discovered why my back wheel has been failing; it was because it had a large crack in the rim. Much of the day was spent cycling around the bike shops of Vancouver to a) learn more than a man ever needs to know about bicycle wheels, b) find out that that bike wheels are not cheap, and c) discover that few stores actually stock wheels but many people were happy to build me one which was even more expensive and not entirely trustworthy quality -- after all, to build a wheel you have to know what you are doing, don't you?

I did however find myself a $5 Indian curry lunch and soon discovered why it was only $5...it was because they skimped on the chicken. Fortunately my Mother's years of tutelage came into play, and I soon corrected them on the error of their ways! A good full belly for me, but not such a good experience for the person following me into the bathroom at the youth hostel the next morning!

Day 18: Vancouver, 15.22 miles

September 13th, 2009

I spent the day wandering around Vancouver and seeing the sights, including Stanley Park and Granville Island Public Market. As I rode my bike around Stanley Park, I discovered there was a one way system involved. I discovered this as cyclists going the other way kindly pointed this out to me, using expressions such as "Excuse me, sir, but you appear to be heading in the wrong direction. Would you mind ever so much doing an about turn?"... Well, o.k., that wasn't quite their exact terminology, but I am fairly sure that was the message they were trying to convey!

I met one lady with her young son next to her playing on the beach. Surrounding the young lad were hundreds of piles of rocks that had all carefully been balanced on top of each other. The lady turned to me as I was admiring them and said in a very unassuming voice "He has been at it all day!" - obviously he hadn't.

Day 17: Mission - Vancouver, 49.47 miles

September 12th, 2009

Today, I had a great ride into Vancouver yet again treated to fantastic weather. The weather gods have certainly been on my side for this trip! Started coming through the Vancouver suburbs and it felt good to be back into a big city.

I caught up with a charity bike ride and was pleased that, despite my load, I was able to keep up with them. One older gentleman, I fear, did not share my pleasure as he blasphemed in my direction something as I overtook. I also helped one guy on the ride who had a puncture. He seemed to have all the fancy flash gear but didn't actually know how to fix a puncture!

Arrived in Vancouver to find the first hostel I arrived at full. This definitely was not cricket. Everywhere else I had been was pretty much closing down for the end of the season, so I was a bit taken aback to find somewhere full. After a bit of searching, I ended up in the HI which was probably a better bet.

I spent the evening wandering around Vancouver and felt particularly under-dressed with everyone (particularly the women) were dressed to the nines for their Saturday night on the town. I, on the other hand, was in my rather fetching $2 sandals, socks included of course - always a fashion statement.

I feel I am definitely becoming fitter and my stomach doesn't look quite so festivally plump (to quote South Park's Cartman - "I am not fat, I am festivally plump").

Day 16: Hope to Mission, 69.71 miles

September 11th, 2009

Today started with yet another trip to the bike shop. There was definitely something not right with the bike, and it surely had nothing to do with the weight of the cyclist...

For the last couple of days, I had been cycling without a back brake due to my rear wheel buckling again (for my non-cycling friends, when you buckle your wheel, it rubs against the brakes slowing you down with each revolution and leaving you with the choice of either going slowly or not having a back brake). Whilst not a safe option, it seemed better than not going anywhere. After a few days of good fortune, I thought I'd better get the bike checked out before my luck ran out.

So with the wheel straightened by the nice man (who also sent me away with some spokes just in case I needed them), I was off again. I made a quick stop at Harrison Hot Springs which seemed to be the hangout of the rich -- with a float plane tied up at the dock no less (when I am all grown up and have made my millions, I think I would quite fancy one of those, but for the time being, a push bike will have to suffice). Harrison Hot Springs was a great spot. A stunningly beautiful lake.

I had a (expletive removed) of a hill shortly after I left the Springs and just as I grunted to the top, a man pulled into his driveway and called me over for a chat. Apparently his record time for the hill was 8.5 minutes. Bully for him I thought. I had no idea how long it had taken me but, considering I had stopped "to admire the view" a couple of times, I was pretty sure it wasn't 8.5 minutes.

Anyway, he invited me in to admire his house and gave me a much needed glass of water. His wife even offered me a shower. I don't know if this was a hint due to the pleasant aroma I was emitting, or if they were just being nice...

Just before I said goodbye, the man and I had an odd conversation that went something like this:

Him - Can

you hear that noise? I don't think it is a train.

Me - Well, your RV is still running but I assume you realised that

Him - Oh yeah that is what it is...

Weird.

Refreshed and on my way, I finally made it to Mission just after dark. I found out the closest campsite was miles out of town and having cycled back and forth several times to discover this, I ended up sneaking into yet another park for some more "stealth" camping.

Day 15: Boston Bar - Hope, 43.45 miles

September 10th, 2009

Last night I fell asleep after drinking a few beers that I had bought. There was one lone survivor left this morning when I woke up, and I didn't want to carry it onwards. It was nice and cold, and it seemed a shame to waste it. So, I decided that there was no better way to start the day. Perhaps, I should have stayed for that meeting at the Alano Club in after all!

There was a good steep climb to start of my day, followed up by my very first tunnel of the trip. I stopped off at a place called Hells Gate, which was a tourist trap. I skipped the over-priced cable car and hiked to the bottom of the gorge. After all, I needed the extra exercise! Hells Gate is the narrowest part of the canyon and the place that the salmon have the most issues swimming up. Hence, their human friends have built a nice little salmon ladder for them and to ensure there are plenty for the dinner table. I saw thousands of salmon in the water (apparently a run was going through). I tried my best to get the woman to allow me back up the cable car for free but alas my English charm was not up to snuf today. Back up I hiked.

Then, I rode into Hope with a quick stop on the way for some Kraft noodles. Yet another staple for my journey. The campsite in Hope was great - right on the edge of town and on the banks of the Fraser River. I was looking forward to waking up to my view!

Day 14: Spences Bridge to Boston Bar, 52.74 miles

September 9th, 2009

Yet another day of some serious headwind and a bit of rain to add to my misery made today one of the more challenging ones. And there were also some serious hills to add to my plight. So much for everybody telling me I would have a gentle ride down the canyon. Again, never trust the advice of a non cyclist!

I was now starting to wish I had taken the Whistler route on my way down to Vancouver -- something I had debated over for some time, but I did see some interesting places along the way. One shop in particular, right out in the middle of nowhere, just sold cowboy hats. There must have had a selection of over 1,000. Goodness knows how they stayed in business.

I went through the town where the Thomson and Fraser Rivers meet. It was quite cool; the Thomson is clear while the Fraser is murky. Apparently, it takes over a km for the two to fully mix.

Along the way, I also passed Jackass Pass -- looked like Deadman River wasn't the only thing named after Paul. Ho ho ho...

Just before I arrived, I was treated to my first ever sighting of a wild bear! A black bear ambled across the road in front of me. Fortunately, it was far enough away not to be a worry but at the same time close enough for me to get a good view. Sadly, he wasn't up to posing for a quick photo.

Soon after, I found a place to set up my tent but after a bit of consideration, thinking a) it was raining quite hard and b) I had just seen my first bear only a few minutes before, I negotiated with myself and checked into the local hotel (I am my mother's son), and half an hour later, I was sat in a bath (a real luxury) with a beer in hand.

Not such a bad ending to a miserable cycling day after all...

Day 13: Cache Creek to Spences Bridge, 31,93 miles

September 8th, 2009

I spent the morning in the library trying to get this blog going (you may have noticed that it's slightly behind the times in terms of updates). Until today, my attempts at keeping a diary had been completely non existent. Fortunately, the Internet was free and I had until 2:00 because it was Tuesday until the library closed. I think the library saw three customers the whole time it was open...and that includes me.

The towns I've been visiting are not large.

I set off down the Thomson river in the direction of Lytton to be hit by a full head-on wind. By the time I had got to Spences Bridge, I had had enough and stopped at the local bar for a consolation pint. After cycling at an average speed of well under 10 mph I definitely felt I deserved one.

I asked the bartender where to pitch my tent, and he pointed in the direction of a free campsite across the river. We know I like free, however, I have learnt that nothing in life is free. To get across the bridge, I had to sign the angry locals petition, showing my support in keeping the bridge open to cars (the closing was set to take place the next day). I felt it wise to sign just so I could be allowed across.

I eventually arrived at the campsite only to be greeted by a yapping dog, whose owner then popped his head out of his antiquated RV to tell his dog to shut-up and then offer me some fish he had caught earlier in the day. It was an excellent meal of fresh fish followed by the quintessential bear conversation, which then somehow turned into a "I once was tazered" conversation. Suddenly the bears didn't seem quite so scary anymore. Nice fish though...

Day 12: Kamloops to Cache Creek, 55.76 miles

September 7th, 2009

He shoots he scores! Today I got myself a free breakfast at the Holiday Inn. I had made a quick stop there to ask directions and asked - almost in passing - if they knew of a good cheap place to eat. I was invited by the nice lady to their breakfast, and there was no need to ask me twice! It was by far the best breakfast I've had so far and it was all free!

What I've been seeing lately is really dry country (resembling a cowboy movie - I may have stole that line from the Daily Planet but it is true). I also spoke to Mum today who is making good progress and had been out for lunch with next door neighbour's, the Granny's for lunch.

I passed Deadman River, obviously they had named a river after my friend Paul who goes by the very same surname. It was a tough climb up to the top of a pass, but it provided a spectacular view over the lake. Later, I arrived in Cache Creek to have a few ales at the local tavern. Apparently the barman had only made $100 the day before. Somehow I could understand why...

Perhaps slightly drunk after one too many refreshing ales, I set up my tent at the back of the park and went to sleep, worrying a little (once again) about my illegal camping activities. In the end, I needn't have...the next morning, all the grounds keepers came by and gave me a very hearty hello, not the least bit concerned about where I was camped.

Day 11: Kamploops, 34.58 miles

September 6th, 2009

Today was a rest day in Kamloops, giving me time to sort out an issue with the bike and buy some pegs for my tent, since I lost my peg bag. Doh...

It was nice to be in a big town again where the grocery store doesn't quadruple up as the grocery store, gas station, liquor store and fast food joint with everything well overpriced.

The Alano Club here made me a good cheap breakfast and then asked whether I would like to attend their morning meeting. I declined not quite sure what kind of a meeting they would want to recruit me for... Having finished my breakfast though it seemed a wise choice to make a sharp exit (stage left)! I've since learned that the Alano Club is the BC version of Alcoholics Anonymous. Some might call this divine intervention??? I call it a lucky escape.

Cycled up to a campsite miles out of town (this was supposed to be my rest day) and finding it overpriced and nowhere near anyplace I could get some food ,I came back down the hill to find some food and a park to set up my tent and sleep in. After a long time, I finally fell asleep. I'm still not used to this "guerrilla" camping. Next thing I knew I was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of gunfire and flashes all round the tent. A little excessive for illegal camping I felt, but I cautiously and nervously opened the tent to see what trouble awaited me. Bang! Another firework went off at the top of the park. Bloody teenagers!

Day 10: Clearwater - Kamloops, 74.76 miles

September 5th, 2009

While making my way from Clearwater to Kamploops, I stopped in a town called Barrière. There was big excitement happening in town. The annual rodeo was on, and I was faced with a bit of a dilemma. Should I spend the $10 to go the rodeo (something I've never been to before), or would the $10 entry fee be better off in my pocket. In the end, I decided to miss all the excitement and continue on to Kamploops.

During the day's ride there was a dramatic change scenery. Apparently Blue River is classified as having a temperate rain forest, whereas Kamloops is regarded as being in a dessert. I was quite taken aback by the sudden change.

I also saw some dear on the ride today. Finally left the highway...and with it, the logging trucks, which can get a bit tedious at times. Crossed the river by a free boat and rode down a fantastic quiet country road from McClure into Kamloops while watching the sunset.I slept behind the back of a church (in my tent) and spent the whole night paranoid that I was going to get caught and found myself up really early in the morning. I didn't get caught and everything was fine, but I think I'll opt for more sensible, free places for camping in future.

Day 9: Blue River - Clearwater, 79.13 miles

September 4th, 2009

So if I thought Valemont was a one horse town, I'm not quite sure what that makes Blue River!

I set off early with an OJ to keep me going courtesy of a now-hungover Kasey. Apparently she had been out to 3:30 in the morning and wasn't feeling her best. Not quite sure where you go to until 3:30 in the morning in the exciting town of Blue River but there you have it...

Day 8: Valemont - Blue River, 59.65 miles

September 3rd, 2009

Ahhh...got my washing done with the help of the Korean lady. This was good; I could see my socks were on the verge of getting up and walking away. The nice Korean lady also gave me a foil-wrapped baked potato to eat. The Korean couple thought I was odd when I didn't peel my jacket potato. I thought they were odd when they didn't smother their potato in lashings of butter and sour cream...but I kept my silence.

They were also kind enough to let me use their laptop, but I didn't do very well because all the settings were in Korean and had to guess where to click half the time. I ended up going to the library to use their Internet but then that all came to a grinding halt when a little lightning hit Valemont and off went the power. Apparently the last time this happened the power went out for 13 hours. Why did I feel reminded of Tuvalu?

Valemont has a salmon spawning creak where salmon swim all the way from the Pacific ocean up the rivers to spawn their eggs. They then die! Pictured is one of the dead ones. I did see living ones, but the dead one made a better picture!

I left Valemont with the lights out and headed to Blue Water which allegedly (according to the man in the library) was all down hill. Not quite sure how, then, the first 20 miles involved a serious climb!

Finally, I arrived in Blue River -- in the dark and in the rain and a bit miserable too. It was not a very inspiring ride along the highway, and it felt like even when I was going downhill that I was having to pedal extremely hard just to get anywhere. I am blaming strong headwinds this time and certainly not the cyclist. You would have thought that I would have learnt from last time at night in the rain! Note: There really is nothing in these valleys. I think I saw a total of about three buildings between Blue River and Valemont.

In town, I found a pub where I had an excellent dinner. I asked the nice barmaid, Kasey, about where I could put up a tent (preferably for free) and she volunteered her back yard with a "Don't worry my Dad won't mind." Yes, it was a little awkward turning up to a house which was a converted church/shop/school (although I don't know that the conversion had ever been finished given the looks of the place), but the Dad was, to Kasey's word, extremely friendly and very accommodating. Within about two minutes of me starting to set up the tent, he invited me inside and gave me a mattress to sleep on. Apparently his brother had done a similar trip across Canada and so he knew how appreciated strangers' hospitality can be.

Day 7: Lucerne - Valemont, 63.50 miles

September 2nd, 2009

Much of today was spent cycling through Mt. Robson Park on the Yellowhead Highway. To prove their was no end to my camping culinary expertise, I mixed up my now-regular pasta lunch with some Kraft Dinner instead of pasta and Ragu. I sat by Mt. Robson and enjoyed the view.

I also spoke to my Dad today. Mum's surgery had gone well with no complications so that was very good news.

Later, I took a short hike to the Overlander Falls and read the story of the Overlanders. Makes you think of what they must have gone through all in the search of gold. I also stopped by Mt. Terry Fox -- his story makes my ride look like an amble stroll around the park. Incredible guy!

Then it was into Valemont, where I treated myself to a Chinese dinner...and I think I may have kept the Chinese in business for the evening seeing as I was their only customer. Valemont can generously be described as a one horse town. Just to make it better while I was there, they were digging up the whole high street so you had to dodge round JCBs to get to the shops...or should I say shop...well, maybe I'm being harsh...I think there were three shops there.

I spent the night at the local RV park which was run by an elderly Korean couple. Proud of my negotiating skills, I successfully bargained them down to $10 for the night and was able to enjoy the first shower in a while. Phewy or should that be Pooey...

Day 6: Lucerne (Mount Robson Park), 28.37 miles

September 1st, 2009

I started the day by finding elk grazing all round my tent! Most of the rest of the day was spent wandering around Jasper, and I even treated myself to a couple of lunch time beers (concluding that "Traditional" is, in fact, a damn fine ale.)

I went to the camping shop to get the right gas canister for my stove and discovered that despite having a degree in engineering, I was unable to master a simple attachment of a canister onto a stove. I did, in fact, have the right one all along. (If only I had done mechanical engineering and not electronic!)

I also spoke to my Mum and let her know that I was thinking of her before her surgery (she was having her hip replaced). She seemed in fairly good spirits about it so that was reassuring.

Dinner included another burger and chips (this one at just $5.50). At these prices, there was no need to have pasta and Ragu; I could easily convince myself this.

Foolishly, I set off far too late to Lucerne, which is a campground about 20 miles out of Jasper, and it got dark about half way there. The trucks whizzing by in the dark was not fun. Then, at the half way mark, I reached the Jasper park gate. I was thinking I was about there, but then the lady there said I still had 12 km to go. She turned out to be a little wrong, a few moments later, I saw a sign saying 13km to Lucerne campground, and that extra km made a world of difference. Just at that point, it started to rain and a few minutes later I could see a fierce lightning storm in the distance. This was not good!

I ended the day/ride feeling very relieved that a) the storm never quite hit me fully and b) knowing that I had finally made it to the campground safely.