Monday 06 August 2007

Chatting last night with Larry our campground manager, ended up with our picking blueberry's and raspberries from nearby bushes ready for this mornings breakfast, our chat also meant that we were able to use their office computer to empty the mailbox. Further chatting saw us walk back to our campsite with a nice big frozen salmon and a bottle of huckleberry and blueberry jam before we fell asleep to the sound of the river gurgling as it flowed past.

Some days on the road there is not a lot to talk about and today was one of those days. We left our campsite near the river and in the chilly morning air began our ride towards Houston. The scenery was not that great mainly because the open paddock farming we had come into yesterday was continuing, hay production well and truly in full swing, but occasionally we would get a glimpse of snow covered mountains off in the distance and somehow the hay bales in the open paddocks with the snow covered mountains in the background looked quite nice.

We had heard from a few people that we had a very large hill called Hungry Hill to climb and we came around a corner and there it was, a ribbon of road that seemed to go forever and climb right up to the sky - it was going to be along slog. Not long into the hill we met two cyclists from Vancouver Island - Natalie and Nathan. They were on a 3 week ride from Prince George to Prince Rupert so we stopped for a chat which we enjoyed very much.

Leaving the two N's to continue down the hill we recommenced the climb. Overall the hill was 7 kilometres long, had a false top which meant that when we thought we had done it, we still had more to go, and it had a grade of 8%. The hill is called Hungry Hill because they used to feed the horses at the bottom and they needed another feed at the top. From the summit we enjoyed a 14 kilometre downhill run which ran out about 3 kilometres from town.

Some time ago Hungry Hill was home to three very large Grizzly Bears, and after some stock losses two were destroyed, both taking a trip to the taxidermist, one ending up on display at the Smithers Airport and the other is in a glass case display larger than most household bathrooms at the Houston Information Centre, the third - is still out there! Its funny how things pan out but when we reached Houston I realised that we had been carrying a rather large half frozen (thawing out) salmon that would no doubt have been attractive to the third bear had it been close enough to smell it - jeepers!

Hungry Hill Grizzly Bear. Aged between 18and22 years, weighing 975lbs and standing 11' tall.

Houston is also the home to the worlds largest (so they claim) fly fishing rod. The 60 foot anodised aluminium rod and 21 inch fly are mounted on a pole near the visitor information centre. Leaving town we found a nice spot in the Shady Rest RV park and were able to cook up our salmon before making some smartie filled pancakes, both of which were wonderful - especially the salmon.

Today's Stats

From: 6 km East of Telkwa

To: 1 km East of Houston

Ride Time:
3 hrs 46 min's

Distance:
47.44 km's

Av Speed:
12.50 km/h

Max Speed:
67.5 km/h

Max Altitude:
952 m

Av Climb: 3 %

Max Climb: 11 %

Weather:10-31 deg C. Sunny.

Camp Location:

N: 54:24'56.5"

W: 126:37'58.1"

Tuesday 07 August 2007

Waking early we got a good start on the road which again passed through open farming area again. The traffic was light with many logging trucks on the road again. As in Alaska, the Spruce Beatle has been at work in these parts and the dead trees across the landscape look quite nice and like the leaves are turning and fall is underway, but its not.

Coming out of Topley meant climbing two large hills of Hungry Hill preportions, the slow slog up the inside lane causing the legs to burn and the lungs to heave, but once at the top the body recovered and although there was no long downhill the gentle grades with slight downhills made life pleasurable. Coming down one such hill we met Donald and Elizabeth, two Canadians who were riding from Prince George to Prince Rupert before taking the ferry to Vancouver. Compared to our load they were only carrying backpack and rather than camping were staying in motels - such a civilised way to tour. We enjoyed our chat with them and of course the rest that came with it.

A lunch break after 60 kilometres meant that we were only 20 odd kilometres from Burns Lake our intended destination for today. Lunch over it was a pleasant and fairly easy ride alongside the railway line to town. The area is known as the Lakes District of BC and includes Babine Lake, the longest natural lake in BC, though we saw nothing of it as it is a fair way away from the highway.

A trip to the shops for some supplies before heading up the hill and out of town to the Wana Kena Motel was the last part of our day. We had decided to have a little luxury tonight and certainly have that with a sitting room, cable TV, wireless Internet, shower and full kitchen.

Today's Stats

From: 1 km East of Houston

To: Burns Lake

Ride Time:
5 hrs 50 min's

Distance:
82.50 km's

Av Speed:
14.10 km/h

Max Speed:
59.50 km/h

Max Altitude:
991 m

Av Climb: 3 %

Max Climb: 10 %

Weather:10-25 deg C. Sunny.

Camp Location:

N: 54:13'44.5"

W: 125:45'45.0"

Wednesday 08 August 2007

We awoke this morning to a grey sky, rain and a rather upleasant lookingday. Neither of us felt like riding-so we didn't. Somehow our get up and go had got up and gone, so while we look for it again we are having a day off. This feeling happens occasionally on a trip like this and is not a pleasant one. Sitting here in the motel spending money we could be saving for something else (like another day on the road) rather than being out there, covering distance, battling the elements, the terrain and the traffic is a bitter sweet experience. It's one of those "we want to be here in the warm and dry but we want depserately to be out there getting wet and amongst it all" feelings. This may seem rather strange to many readers but immediately recognisable and understandable to other cycle toursits. Of course tomorrow will bring more rain and we will be leaving here regardless, so the question has to be posed, it is worth it to postpone the inevitable? Ask us now and we will say yes, ask us tomorrow and we'll probably tell you it wasn't.

We spent the day catching up on a few things, correcting mistakes and errors in the website and compiling the movies we have taken into various chapters for our DVD, surfing the net and the cable TV.

Today's Stats

Location:
Wana Kena Motel, Burns Lake, BC.

N: 54:13'44.5"

W: 125:45'45.0"

Thursday 09 August 2007

Was the day off worth it? You bet it was, and to top it off the rain from yesterday was nowhere to be seen. Waking to a foggy morning we debated wether or not to delay the start but in the end just went. Traffic was light and able to see us reasonably well although we kept a careful eye on the mirrors just in case.

The cold foggy air was keeping us cool as we rode, our legs informing us that the time off was not quite enough but being in good spirits we were enjoying the ride.

We were following the train line and that meant easy grades for a while and we passed a number of lakes, mist rising off of them and providing a pleasant view in the cool morning air.

Arriving at a rest area we noticed a large rock cairn, the plaque on the front informed that the central stone was from Castle Tintagel Cornwall, reputedly the birth place of King Arthur of the Round Table. However, what the stone was doing in a cairn in a rest area in the middle of nowhere in British Columbia Canada was not explained.

Riding on through the fog as it was clearing and still following the railway we were still being passed by logging trucks carrying their load to the sawmills along the way.

We also started to notice many wild blueberry bushes along the side of the road and stopped for a taste. These were sweeter than the ones we had tried before and made for a very nice inpromptu roadside snack, the juice of which was staining our fingers and anything else that it got onto.

Leaving the berries behind for the bears we began to see more and more dead and brown spruce trees courtesy of the spruce beatle that is running rampant through much of Alaska and Canada. The beatle has a varacious appetite and as yet there has been no way found to stop it. In the meantime huge areas of spruce are being killed off, the dead trees virtually useless for anything.

Arriving in the small town of Fraser Lake we stopped for a break at the visitor information centre before heading out of town, up and down a few hills before ending up in a small cheap cabin overlooking the actual Fraser Lake and the clouds rolling in.

Today's Stats

From: Burns Lake

To: 13 km's E of Fraser Lake

Ride Time:
5 hrs 43 min's

Distance:
82.97 km's

Av Speed:
14.5 km/h

Max Speed:
54.5  km/h

Max Altitude:
817  m

Av Climb: 2 %

Max Climb: 8 %

Weather:7-25 deg C. Foggy then Sunny.

Camp Location:

N: 54:03'47.1"

W: 124:38'43.3"

Friday 10 August 2007

Our little cabin was a pleasant way to spend the night and having household amenities meant life was that littlebit easier. Leaving when we woke up rather than getting out of bed early and getting on the road ealy meant that we enjoyed a more relaxed and leisurly departure, still before most others were up, but slow and easy never the less.

Not much to speak about again today, the road and scenery living up to what we had been told - boring. Well, not really boring but lets just say not as spectacular or interesting as other parts. Up hill and down dale, spruce tree forests with plenty of dead and dying trees courtesy of the spruce beatle, plenty of trucks laden down with long loads of trees and the occasional locality to ride through. Once such locality was Fort Fraser, afew kilometres from where we stayed last night. A small town of round about a thousand people and one that looked rather tired and worn out, many of the buildings looking like they had seen better days and were probably new when when the last spike on the Grand Trunk Railway was driven in near there in 1914.

The riding improved somewhat and we began to make good speed as we continued to ride through the open farming country, hay making in the process and lots of it. No real mountains or interesting features to look at or photograph, just more rolling hills. The major industry around here is either farming or wood - sawmills and the like. As such we took no photos today and it was just one of those nothing sort of days.

Eventually arriving in Vanderhoof, the geographical centre of British Columbia, we re-stocked some of our supplies before riding up the hill and onto Daves RV park, a park we had been told we should stay in so decided to see if it lived up to its reputation - and it did.

Today's Stats

From: 13 km's E of Fraser Lake

To: Vanderhoof

Ride Time:
3 hrs 17 min's

Distance:
49.32  km's

Av Speed:
14.9  km/h

Max Speed:
52.0  km/h

Max Altitude:
839  m

Av Climb: 3 %

Max Climb: 13 %

Weather:11-25 deg C. Sunny.

Camp Location:

N: 53:59'48.5"

W: 123:58'42.2"

Saturday 11 August 2007

With rain clouds building we began our day and journey towards Prince George. The generally flat road and terrain was again non-descript and generally un-inspiring, the scenery a mix of open farming and spruce tree forest, again filled with many dead and dying trees.

With rain clouds again building we arrived at the Bednesti Lake Resort so pulled in the investigate lunch and the price of accommodation. A chat with a couple cycling to Prince Rupert was nice until the rain began to fall. A room with kitchen was cheap so we booked one, bidding our cyclist friends goodbye as we raced to the room to minimise how wet we got, they heading for the restaraunt. The rest of the day was spent relaxing.

Today's Stats

From: Vanderhoof

To: Bednesti

Ride Time:
3 hrs 20 min's

Distance:
47.56  km's

Av Speed:
14.2  km/h

Max Speed:
43  km/h

Max Altitude:
898  m

Av Climb: 1 %

Max Climb: 5 %

Weather:7-21 deg C. Overcast.

Camp Location:

N: 53:52'33.3"

W: 123:24'11.3"

Sunday 12 August 2007

North American Weather, in particular the chance of rain, is reported by percentage of probability, so with a 60% chance of rain during the day and an 80% chance this evening we decided to take a day off and remain inside while the weather did its thing. Not only would we be more comfortable, we would have a day off, something we both enjoy. We have noticed a significant shift in our mental approach to this trip over the past week and are not entirely that comfortable with it, as we edge closer and closer to larger pieces of civilisation we find that we are actively planning short days with stops in accommodation of various types and costs. We are not sure why or where this is taking us but will no doubt find out.

Previous Page    Next Page