I’ve gotten back on the road, but it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing.
- Kyle and Avvai, the warmshowers hosts we stayed with in Vancouver, are extremely kind, generous, and easy-going people. They had no problem with me staying 3 extra nights while I figured out my bike and health issues. I caught one of the city tours that Kyle runs, they offered me tons of food, and we watched the birding documentary ‘Listers‘ with one of their friends (which is amazing, by the way, and free on YouTube!). I had a great time staying with them
- Kissing Crows cycle shop did an amazing job getting my bike back in working order in a short period – they had to replace my bottom bracket, and overhaul my rear hub, but now it’s all running good as new. I’m lucky I ended up in Vancouver when I did, and that Avvai recommended them. Still a little bitter that my local shop did not catch any of these issues when I specifically asked them to check out those components, but it all seems to be working out.
- Unfortunately, right after Nick and Zach left, I started feeling not so hot, so I decided to stay a few extra days – until Saturday – hoping I would kick whatever was ailing me. I was also stalling in the hopes that the wildfires in the Fraser canyon (which I am planning on riding through) would get under control.
- When I finally left on Saturday morning (I had been in Vancouver since Tuesday), I was feeling pretty good. I took the light rail to skip some of the sprawl heading east out of the city (in 2009 we rode all the way out and I remember it being not much fun). However, once I got to riding, I started feeling not great and decided to just do a short day. I found a really beautiful campsite on a lake in Golden Ears provincial park, after a mostly easy 25 miles of riding.
- There was one catch though – my offline maps app led me on a horse trail that crossed the river. I had assumed there would be a bridge, but there wasn’t. I was too stubborn to backtrack to the last real bridge and add 10 miles to the ride, so instead I found a large stick for balance and made 4 trips shuttling my bike and gear across the river. I didn’t fall in once!
- On Sunday, I was making pretty decent time, but again was starting to feel crappy, so I did another short day and checked into a motel in the hopes I would recover quickly. I didn’t, and ended up staying an extra night. This morning, I was still feeling pretty rough, but I was too antsy to stick around. Instead, I rode 50 miles in 90 degree heat through a ton of wildfire smoke. It was pretty easy riding though – very flat, with a tailwind most of the way.
- Unfortunately, when I pulled into the town of Hope, I was greeted with a sign that the highway I planned on taking was closed – it turns out a new fire started today! And the alternate highway I was considering (heading east vs North) is also closed due to a fire! The only ways out of this town are back the way I came or on the major freeway that doesn’t allow bikes. I’m holed up here tonight, and hoping conditions improve tomorrow – we shall see!
