In Hyder I stayed at Kathy's Korner Bed and Breakfast. Normally I'm not a B&B kind of guy, but I would stay here again. Kathy and Ron are awesome and are fun to talk to.
One thing...make sure you request some of Kathy's banana bread for the (cold only) breakfast. I ate a half a loaf for breakfast then raved about it so much that, at Ron's prodding, she sent me off with the other half for 'road food'!
And I DID enjoy it on the road!
Also in the above pic is Mottley, their lab. As Ron was pouring Mottley's breakfast bowl I walked into the room. Mottley left his food to come over and hang out with me for a while...Ron said he has NEVER seen Mottley do that before. You gotta love labs!
Barely across the border, I'll be riding in fog for quite a few of miles.
Clearing up and not even raining for several miles.
Hello Mr Bear!
And it's raining again, hard.
I increase my layers. Did I mention that it was raining?
100 miles into the day and my boot and gloves have totally failed. I'm cold and getting colder. I've had the boots for about 15 years, and the gloves for well over 5 so I guess I got my use from them.
So what did I do...?
I stopped at the Harley dealer in Smithers - 207 miles into my ride, which is about half of the miles I need to do today.
I think I was the only customer at the time, everyone else is smart enough to get out of the rain.
This is Chelsey and her dad Steve, the owner. Chelsey works for her dad, but trust me she is no skater. Her product knowledge, and ability to assess and fill the customers needs is impressive. I went in grouchy, wet, and cold and came out happy (but poorer), warm and dry. She even offered to sell me a bike with a heated seat and heated grips...
If your ever in Smithers, BC stop in and tell Chelsey HellooOOooo for me, and ohhh what the hell, if Steve is there tell him hi too.
Does the Nomad behind us look familiar?
Rest and "road food" stop; the other half of Kathy's banana bread loaf was a great snack!
I make it to Prince George, I have a reservation at the Travel lodge.
My ride plan after Prince George was to next go east to the Calgary/Alberta area, then ride south to North Dakota. But,from the time I left Hyder that morning until late into the night I had had this nagging feeling that I should ride straight south to the border instead of following my original plan.
I had emailed family telling them that I would be following my plan and heading east the next day, but the nagging feeling got stronger. Finally, late at night I emailed again and told them, I'm bagging North Dakota and heading straight south to home. As soon as I did that the bothersome feeling went away.
meanwhile...
My bike is filthy so after I get my stuff up to my room I return to the desk and ask for some worn out towels or bike rags....
"Sorry, we don't have any." He says.
I thought,
are you kidding, no bike rags?!
So I said out loud, "Are you kidding, no bike rags?!"
He said I could go to Walmart and buy some micro fiber cloths....
No thanks, I had a better idea and got on the net and searched 'used clothes'
and Praise the Lord, say Hallelujah!...
......this just happens to be right around the corner.
St. Michael's Thrift shop.
I go in and buy three kid sized white shirts for 3 bucks.
The dirty bike..
The shirts and cleaner...
The not perfect, but MUCH cleaner bike...
So, no bike rags, my deadbolt didn't work and the parking situation stunk big time. All in all - Travel Lodge in Prince George - I won't be back.
meanwhile...
As I mentioned before I had that nagging feeling that I should head straight for the border rather than go east to Calgary/Alberta area and as soon as I made the decision to do that I felt much better.
so...
Today I was about 100 miles into my ride (south) when I stopped at the town of Quesnel for some lunch. I finished eating and was gearing up when a man and woman approached me and started the '
where you been, where you going' conversation. Turns out he rides a GS and she a cruiser, so I take out my ear plugs and enjoy the chat.
But then when I mentioned I had changed my plans from going to Calgary - he became quite excited and told me "No! No! Don't go there or anywhere near! That's where the eye of the storm is! " (I assume that would be the storm that had drenched me for the last two days.) He went on to tell me that there had been several mudslides, numerous road closures, "flooding all over" and some of the towns had initiated their Emergency Action Plans....
OOOkieDokie...I guess I made the right call.
So after lunch I'm on my way SOUTH again.
I stop at William Lake for petrol and a snack.
I make it the 280 miles to Cache Creek...looks like the sign is a duplex for some little rodents.
Where I'm staying - cheap but very clean, I would stay here again.
Aaaaaaaand I made it just in time, it's raining again! Good thing I cleaned my bike eh?
This has been a super ride! I should be back into the States tomorrow - going in via Osoyoos.
