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Published: September 19th 2008
Mike:
We finally caved - checked into a (cheap) motel in Kamloops and enjoyed the first shower in 10 days. Needless to say, we needed it...
Today we biked 125km - the farthest in a day so far! The road was quite wild, perhaps adding to our motivation of getting to Kamloops. The morning was great - a quick nearly all downhill jaunt down to Little Fort from Clearwater - but the uphills soon appeared, and the shoulder almost disappeared. We biked for 7.5hours... which started to wear on the nerves due to all of the logging / industry trucks passing us - loud, stinky, and close enough to touch. That's not even mentioning the hundreds of oversize load trucks on the two-lane mountain road...
The landscape has changed drastically since we first arrived in BC - at Barriere all the way to here, the impact of the forest fires is obvious. Coming into Kamloops reminded me of arriving in Peru - lots of traffic, smelt like diesel, houses up on the side of the mountain, and an almost desert-like terrain.
The 'hogs' are holding up great - minus my rear tire which had been a nagging nuisance from the beginning. In Mount Robson Provincial Park, it nearly met it's match - a hole the size of a dime! Sharon managed to work her magic and patch it up - it even lasted until nearly Blue River. Sharon's dad, who was passing through to visit relatives, brought a better one for us - which is perfect (so far!). We camped with him that night, in an unused logging trail, and were pleased to have a warm breakfast of cous-cous and raspberry jam in the morning.
Had a wonderful conversation with a man while we were filling up (with water!) at the gas station... apparently I should move to Saskatchewan - they got 'em all sorts of diamonds, potash, and oil just waiting to be pillaged! And, according to him, our progress so far is 'not steady.' Obviously, since he could drive the distance in 10 hours, with a stop at McDonald's for his 7 Big Macs, we're just slow road-hazards!
So far, this trip has not instilled in me any new hope for humanity. The only solution in my mind is for gas to jump to $2 a litre - reduce all of the clutter in the road, and in the air. Then I won't get bothered outside of Esso by dim-witted rednecks, either...
On to Merrit, and to the Coast! With this weather, a hop into the Pacific would be quite nice.
Hope all is well,
Mike
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Natasha And Justin
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Redneck Albertans that love oil, gas, diesel and diamonds.
What are you saying that you want it to jump to $2 a litre. Not all of us are hardcore recylers that can bike to work (or go a whole year without working....:) I'm glad you two are having fun although I miss talking to my little cynical brother once and a while. All the wedding plans are going good. I think we have decided to do a reverse wedding (the newest craze they tell me) where the women wear tuxes and the men wear dresses. Don't laugh I'm serious. Okay maybe not but it would be pretty funny. I have an interview for a job on Thursday so wish me luck from wherever you are when you get this. Can't believe you are going so far away :(( :( Have fun and be safe. P.S. Sharon how could you stand being next to Mike if he hadn't showered in 10 days. Next time you are on a bridge going over a river just give him a shove over the edge. Instantly clean Love you