Slow Return on the Mystery Tour

August 4, 2021

Killy General Store, Harrison Mills

Ruth:

Hope to Mission: 91 kms

Our ride back from Hope to Mission was completely different from our trip out. The smoke from the fires at the north end of Harrison Lake filled the valley with a thick smoke. It felt like a weird twilight rather than the middle of the day. The barn we had passed before was now much less sharp. I decided to paint the view of it in the sun instead of in the smoke.

 

Mission to Vancouver: 72kms

Ok, sometimes Pocket Earth gets it wrong. The best route into Vancouver to my sister’s house is not to the top of Burnaby Mountain!!!  I didn’t catch it because Vancouver is such a grid and the roads looked straight on the map. They were straight but not flat! Wowee! Fortunately we were feeling pretty strong and we made it in one piece. 

It was great to have some time with my sister Joan. 

Vancouver to Victoria: 83 Kms.  Total for trip:  717 kms.

Just enjoy the ride, I kept telling myself, but it still made me mad. Cyclists have to travel 20 kms further than cars to get to the ferry.  The backtrack to New Westminster was lovely and we are now old hands at crossing the Alex Fraser bridge. 

We were keen to get an early ferry so we decided to take highway 17. Lots of traffic, but nice big shoulders. After a few kilometres we heard a bang and watched as a car spun and rolled and a truck became airborne after fishtailing and hitting its own trailer. We were sure there would be fatalities, but fortunately everyone exited their vehicles. Next time I’ll take the country roads!

While it would have been interesting to cycle across B.C. and perhaps the Prairies, our cat assured us that we made the right decision.  It was wonderful to be back on the bikes seeing new places, if only for 11 days.  And there is still the possibility of a bike trip in Europe in the Fall…

Back to Allison Summit in a Ford

July 31, 2021

Today: 68 Kms mostly down   

Valerie, Perry, Dave and Kari have been friends since they were in grade school in the 60’s.  We were warned that a ride in their truck might be entertaining, and it was. We were in Dave and Kari’s truck, but the banter between the two vehicles over walkie-talkies was constant. Parry would let us know when he spotted a deer or any other wildlife.  Behind the wheel of his Ford F-350 Dave would tease Parry about whether or not he could keep up in his Chevy truck.  When we made it to Allison Pass in Manning Park, we asked to be dropped off. Kari got onto the walkie talkie and said, “We’re getting sick and tired of these two so we’re going to dump them out at the next pull out.”  Kari then looked back at us with a great big smile. 

Even without the much needed lift, running into this group of friends was such a lucky break. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with them and hope to reconnect in Victoria. 

There is a new fire burning in Manning Park and the clear skies we previously had at the summit were replaced with thick smoke. A health hazard for sure, but on a downhill run, manageable. We flew down the road and were back in Hope in 3.5 hours. Unfortunately, the smoke came with us. 

I must say bike trips in BC are great for food. After our long coast down we returned to our motel to bathe and then set off for another wonderful curry dinner at the Indian/Italian restaurant.  I love seeing signs for all the interesting combo restaurants, including “Sushi and Fried Chicken”, “Chinese and Canadian”, and “Greek, Italian and Indian”.  While these are all impressive in the breadth of their offerings, in Mission this afternoon we kept it simple and had a delicious meal at a restaurant offering only Indian cuisine.

Manning to Hedley: BC is Burning

July 30, 2020

Today 68km. 

Forestry Camp Sight on Old Hadley Road before the smoke. 

Ruth:

5:00 PM

Gord and I are sitting in our camping chairs watching the orange glow of the sun as small flakes of ash drift down around us. Many are needle shaped - but all ash. Our solar charger is barely charging because the sun is so shrouded by smoke. 

I just looked up again and the sun has completely disappeared. In spite of this,  it’s still stinking hot. We are continually getting into the river to cool off. Apparently this is smoke from a fire just over the ridge on the American side of the border. 

The Similkameen River has always been one of my favourite rivers and it doesn’t disappoint up close. The water is cool and clear with beautiful polished bolders. We are camped in a Forestry Campground on the Old Hedley road. Our neighbors in the campground are also from Victoria and they generously shared beer and peaches with us.  Valerie, Perry, Dave and Karry just want to go home after three weeks of smoke. Getting back to the island, however is challenging. Apparently the Ferries are completely beyond capacity and for the first time ever they have shut the road to cars without a reservation. 

There are turning points in many vacations and we have had a few today. We left Manning Park a day earlier because it looked like we could make it past East Gate and the fire without too much smoke. Eastgate was fine but just as the climb began the smoke became much thicker. I put on my mask and started pedaling for a few kms when a guy from Calgary turned around on the highway and came back for us. He had a bike rack!!!  He took us to the summit when there was less smoke and we sailed down into Princeton.

Our second turning point happened this afternoon when Dave mentioned that a big piece of ash came down still smouldering. Then he said, you know we have room for your bikes in the trailer. In an instant I had agreed for the both of us that a ride heading west was our best option. This mystery ride was turning West.