Erich’s Journal -- Leg 03 – Southern British Columbia – Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – July 21 to July 30, 2001 – 10 Days.

Saturday, July 21, 2001 - Day 37 – Campground -- Canyon Creek RV Park,Hixon, British Columbia, Canada - cycled 45 miles / 73 km (See Central BC Map)

Friday we put in some major miles to try to get in to Prince George. On the way we ran in to some bikers from Switzerland. They were riding recumbent bicycles across Canada and Alaska. They could really cruise on those bikes. (See photos 0283 and 0284). Recumbent bikes allow you to ride in a seated – lean back position. Looks quite comfortable. The two, Franzi & Mathias Müller, were spending their summer touring.

After 85 miles of biking, we made it to an RV park just a few miles short of Prince George. Shortly after we arrived, we had the hardest down pour of rain in quite a while. Before setting up camp, we opted to sit in the restaurant and have dinner. It was a busy place called “Bon Voyage” which seemed to be a family restaurant. At times we feel a little uneasy in certain restaurants as we are usually wearing bicycle shorts, covered with sweat and bicycle grease – unpresentable to say the least. This was one of those nights. We sat though and had a wonderful steak dinner. Camp was set up kind of late that night after the rain was finished. (See photo 0291, 0292, and 0293).

Today was rather relaxing as we haven’t put in the miles that we’ve put in the past two days. After two 80+ mile days, we hung out at the RV park until 11:00 or so just working on routine bike maintenance, drying out gear, a little laundry… etc.

We took some time to ride through Prince George, which is the 4th largest city in B.C. (about 70,000 people). We went to a couple of places to use the internet and had lunch before getting on the road again at about 3:00 p.m.

We are now in the small town of Hixon at one of the nicest RV parks we’ve stayed at so far. Tomorrow we plan to put on some miles. Between rainstorms, the weather has been getting hotter. (See photos 0294, 0295, and 0296)

Sunday, July 22, 2001 – Day 38 – Campground -- McCleese Lake, British Columbia, Canada – cycled 85 miles / 137 km (See photos 0297, 0298, 0299, 0300 and 0301)

Monday, July 23, 2001 – Day 39 – Hotel -- Slumberlodge Motel -- Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada – cycled 29 miles / 47 km (See Southern BC Map)

Sunday was a long day. Although it really wasn’t hot, it seemed hot after so many days of cool rain. Although we traveled along the Fraser River since Prince George, we would climb out of the valley and descend down in to the valley frequently. The terrain has been less than interesting for the most part. We stopped for lunch during the hottest part of the day in Quesnel (pronounced Kwe-NEL). As is Prince George, it is a community whose main economy stems from Lumber.

We ended our day with a 800 ft climb out of the Fraser River valley in to the community of McLeese Lake. There was wonderful café there with very reasonable prices. As usual, the rain started after we set up the tents and climbed in for the night.

Today was short ride, as it rained most of the time. We are now in the rather large city of Williams Lake where we are taking it easy. No bike problems or anything pressing. Just a motel room with a pool, a restaurant, and internet close by… To help us feel a little normal and clean again. (See photos 0302, 0303, and 0304)

Tuesday, July 24, 2001 – Day 40 – Campground – 100 mile House, British Columbia, Canada – cycled 57 miles / 92 km)

Wednesday, July 25, 2001—Day 41 – Campground – Lillooet, BC – cycled 92 miles / 147 km

Tuesday was a day not much different than many of the others since we left the Cassiar. The road was relatively flat, some rolling hills with farms, lots of traffic. This was the 9th day since we hit this kind of travel and I am quite bored with it to say the least. The only nice part about it, is that we can crank out the miles, or we can get done sooner and enjoy the evenings a bit more.

Tuesday night, however, we stayed in one of our worst places. The “100 mile Motel & RV Park” in the town of “100 Mile House” was not a good choice. It was not pretty. It was not really expensive, but showers were not included, and they were expensive -- $1 (Loonie) for 3 minutes. All that would not have seemed so bad, but when we returned from dinner, we found two big Semis backed up right to within inches of our tents. As I saw one of the truckers, I asked them why he backed up in to our tent site. All he said was that he hoped that we were heavy sleepers because they were getting up to leave at 6:00 a.m. The owner had apparently told them to park back near our tents.

I was mad. None the less, it was late so we ended up moving our tents across the grounds. I do not recommend that anyone stay there.

Today was different kind of day. We awoke early, got on the road early, and toward the afternoon, got off of the Cariboo Highway at Clinton, BC (See photo 0305) and took a shortcut to the town of Lillooet, our destination for the evening. It was a gravel road, but was very pretty and NO TRAFFIC. We climbed a canyon to Kelly Lake, then climbed a steep windy road to the summit. (From 3500 feet to 5150 feet – our highest elevation so far. See photos 0306 and 0307). The views and country side were spectacular. The coming mountains to the Northwest were incredible. (Vancouver is on the other side). The real nice part was that the next 30 miles were for the most part down hill due to the fact that Lillooet was at 650 feet. (see photos 0308, 0309, 0310, 0311, 0312, 0313 and 0314)

Tomorrow morning we depart for Vancouver via The Sea-to-Sky Highway (route 99). We will travel through Whistler, BC which is apparently the biggest ski resort town in North America.

Thursday, July 26, 2001 – Day 42 -- Campground – Pemberton, British Columbia, Canada – cycled 65 miles /105 km

It is amazing how heat exhaustion can set in even though you seem well-hydrated. I drank close to 150 oz of water today, yet as I sit here, I feel whipped and fried. The heat was not bad – in the mid 80’s at the most. We cycled though from 10:30 a.m. until close to 7:00 p.m. with very little cloud action. Our elevation fluctuated often but we cycled from 600 feet above sea level, to 4200 feet and then back down to 600. I think though if you added all of the times we climbed today, the amount of elevation gain would be doubled. (See photos 0315, 0316, 0317, 0318, 0319 and 0320)

I mention the minor heat exhaustion as a possibility as an excuse to feeling a little angry at a kid working behind the counter at the convenience store/gas station in Pemberton. We cycled in and discovered that Pemberton was not like most of the small towns in B.C., but more of a spill over from the very touristy and overpriced Whistler, which we will hit tomorrow. It was so much so that they didn’t have any camping accommodations in town. When I asked him (the clerk) about camping, he stated there wasn’t any around, but after some prodding, discovered there was a Provincial campground down the road toward Whistler. (See photo 0323)

When I asked him how far up the road it was, he stated… “a couple of clicks up.” When I requested a little clarification, he angrily said… “It’s just a couple of clicks up the road. I don’t know!” Now maybe he didn’t realize that we were cycling, but a couple of clicks up the road (which is vague), when you are in a car may not be that big of a deal. A couple clicks when you are on a bike may be a half a day’s ride. I just wanted to reach across the counter and start slapping that frosted hair tips right off of his head…. But I refrained.

Pemberton, we discovered was a mix of Yuppie and Cowboys. My guess is that the Cowboys were there first and Yuppies started putting up condos later. Did have a great meal at “The Pony Espresso” Salmon-Calzone…. Mmm good. (See photos 0321 and 0322)

The Sea To Sky Highway is definitely worth the ride. The prettiest terrain since we left the Cassiar. Maybe prettier. If you plan to cycle, make sure you are in good shape since the grades can be as much as 13%. Make sure you bring your water filter as there are no services for 60 miles. Car may be a way to go if you don’t want sore legs. Or in my case, sore knees.

Friday, July 27, 2001 – Day 43 – Campground – Whistler, British Columbia, Canada – 18 miles / 28 km

Reminds me of Telluride – only larger. We found a campground just about the time the rain started. It did not let up until 6:00 the next morning. The night before a coke spilled on the laptop – Now we noticed it doesn’t work. The bearing in my BOB trailer wheel virtually fell apart on the way up the mountain this morning. Not a good day for Erich… of all the problems we’ve had so far, it seems they all could have been fixed. The laptop problem is a bummer! I feel naked without it. AHHHH!

We took a shuttle in to the main village to see wealthy people vacation and dine. We tried to fit in as best as we could without spending too much money. It was actually kind of relaxing. I had dropped off the B.O.B. wheel to be fixed earlier that afternoon.

An interesting set events is occurring in Whistler. The PNWTER (Pacific Northwest Trade economic Region) was meeting in the community center. There was a police barricade and several protestors hanging around. It reminded me of the Seattle W.T.O meetings – only without the violence and much smaller. (We read in the paper a few days later that a riot did break out on Saturday after we left). The protestors didn’t seem very organized. A few were arrested. I thought it was quite humorous seeing the anarchists and Canada’s wealthiest share the same space. (See photos 0324, 0325, 0326, 0327, 0328, 0329, 0330, and 0331)

Saturday, July 28, 2001 – Day 44 – Stayed with Host – Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada – cycled 67 miles / 107 km

Currently we are on a ferry traveling from horseshoe Bay (north of Vancouver City) to Nanaimo, BC over on Vancouver Island. (See photos 0336 and 0337) We left Whistler a little late today. It rained hard most of the night but quit around 6:00 a.m. – Again we are fortunate with the weather. We had a nice breakfast at the main lodge, dried our tents in the Laundromat and I cruised in to the main Village Square to pick up the BOB wheel. Apparently the bearings were fried pretty good. Many of the bearings were missing the fix is just a temporary one.

The protestors were also there en mass. As I was snapping some digital pics, one woman noticed me and was curious about my reason for taking pictures of the protestors. (I think she was trying to catch me off guard) but I had a nice long talk about the BikeAmericas project with her. It was then that one protestor walked into the middle of the square with a big pot of soup that he cooked up somewhere. The protestors all lined up with their dreadlocks, body piercing, and value village clothing to get some lunch. They were definitely getting the stares from the wealthy crowd with their salon cuts, clean skin, and Eddie Bauer clothing who were trying to eat, cycle around, or get ready for their river rafting trips. Again. Interesting.

The ride down from Whistler was not the spectacular and dangerous and windy road that we were led to believe. The gradual descent and strong headwind took a lot out of us. After we reached thee bottom of the mountain at Squamish, we biked along the beautiful shoreline for about 20 miles to Horseshoe Bay. It reminded me of the coastal route from Anchorage to Portage Glacier. (See photos 0332, 0333, 0334 and 0335)

As we sit on the ferry, we met a guy named Guy Masseni, who lives in Nanaimo. He is a social worker who contracts for the schools in the Nanaimo area. Guy overheard us talking to some people about our trip and invited us to stay at his home for the evening. It was getting late, we didn’t feel like searching for a place to stay in the dark, so the hospitality was perfect timing. Guy’s wife and daughter were staying over on the mainland side for a few days so it worked out well. (See photo 0338)

(The next morning)

Guy had a foreign exchange student staying with him from Japan (See photo 0338) who was quite knowledgeable about fixing computers. He took ours apart. He seemed to think that we might need a new motherboard. Something was shorting out. (Later we discovered the damage to be quite extensive and expensive)

Today we are to ride to the south side of Vancouver Island to stay with Gil Blair whom we met through his web site www.bicycletheamericas.com. He has given us some excellent advice via the Internet and offered us a place to stay. He and his wife Lyn did this trip a year ago. We hope to tap their experience this evening. Our routine has changed significantly in the past few days.

Sunday, July 29, 2001 – Day 45 – Stayed with Host Family – Victoria, British Columbia, Canada – cycled 61 miles / 97 km (See photos 0339 and 0340)

Monday, July 30, 2001 – Day 46 -- Stayed with Host Family – Victoria, British Columbia, Canada – Rest Day

Victoria is a beautiful city, (see photos 0341, 0342, 0343, 0344, 0345, 0346, and 0348) with so many people from so many places. I had no idea about this place and I’m glad we stopped by. Gil and Lyn are so hospitable and helpful. (See photo 0350) They had some other cyclists from England visiting them. Their names were Maggie and Allen Pendleton. (See photos 0349 and 0353) They started their trip in Flagstaff, AZ and plan to end in Anchorage, AK. The sangria, chicken, salmon and all the side dishes were a pleasant change in our diets and lifestyle.

It was great walking downtown and also wandering through the museum today. I had a sense of being a tourist (as opposed to a cycling tourist) as we strolled around in the city of 400,000 people or so.

One of the best things I liked about Victoria was the bike path that went through the peninsula. (See photo 0347) It was actually an old railroad, so we were able to ride clear into the city center without hitting any traffic lights.

Gil and Lyn were exceptional hosts that made us feel at home. They had shown us so many pictures of their trip to South America last year. It definitely gave us an idea of what to prepare for. We will definitely need some winter gear when we get down there.

Gil also helped us by showing us how to effectively adjust the gears on our bikes. Throughout the ride, cables tend to stretch which affects thee shifting.

I am also still having spoke problems. I broke one on the way from Nanaimo to Victoria. It looks like I’ll need to get another new wheel.

We ended the day with some Pizza, Wine and Slide show. Gil helped me get some software off the next help us get some pictures off of the camera quickly. We also downloaded some pictures from the camera and saved on C.D. Tomorrow – day 47, we enter the US.