July 14, 2019
Cranbrook - Skookumchuck, BC
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This morning's important news flash is that I have a pea size hole in the bottom of one of my socks. My only socks. At least it's not in the fanny of my only pair of shorts!
Yesterday I bought cherry tomatoes, Britsh Columbia sweet cherries, an apple, and two bananas. That's quite a bit of bulk and weight to carry. I'm not even going to ask Jacinto to take it . . . I still need to buy something for dinner tonight. The last place we can buy dinner is Kimberley. Last night I looked for places on route. Then I remembered it was Sunday, which I didn't think would be a big deal in a tourist area. It is. Our choices of lunch stops were cut down by about half. Jacinto was going to go by the burrito place to get a burrito to carry. Closed on Sunday . . .
We are back at Hot Shots for breakfast. But they aren't open until 8. This is certainly relaxed touring. It's been okay because of moderate temperatures and wind. It's still hard for me to get used to. I do have the choice of going early by myself . . . . company is nice. Having a Navigation Captain is nice . . . .
Later - We've been in cycling nirvana for days. With the exception of a little rain, a couple of flat tires, and an invigorating push the bike session, we couldn't ask for any better riding. The best part of today was the strong tailwind that pushed us to town. I think our next tour should start in the south and head north until we hit rain. Genny thinks that would be about Banff. She also questioned my enthusiasm for a northerly tour, saying in California the wind comes from the north and everyone rides south. But we've had a south tailwind since the trip started. Once we make the turn at Lake Louise and head back down, I'm going to wish for calm air.
We were at Hot Shots Cafe at 7:53. Their advertised opening time is 8 AM on Sunday. There wasn't a single person inside prepping for the day. Hmmm, do you suppose they run on Mexican time, where the posted time is a mere suggestion? At 7:59 we recognized the clerk from yesterday striding briskly across the parking lot. Another woman unlocked the door. I speculated how long it would take for the grill to get hot. Genny wondered how quickly they would put the coffee on. Soon there were 4-5 cars of people ready for breakfast. We went inside to be first in line. I had the same as yesterday, brisket hash. I also ordered a burrito to go for dinner this evening. Our food took quite a long time to arrive and didn't taste as good as yesterday. I have to agree with Jacinto that my food tastes better when I'm cycling and have worked up an appetite.
I felt much better this morning. The sinus headache was gone. Genny says Sudafed is excellent for that. I never buy Sudafed at home because it's a controlled substance. I will try and remember her tip the next time I'm sick, hopefully years from now. It's possible I wasn't really sick . . . . but I"m happy to be feeling better today.
The sky was overcast, but no rain in the forecast. Genny thought the sky looked ominous. We are in Canada and we certainly don't trust the weather. So far so good.
I've been looking forward to our ride this morning. We are on the North Star Rail Trail all the way to Kimberley, a ski town that advertises 42 restaurants, 180 ski runs, and one stop light.
Jim and Genny stopped to read a sign and I kept going. I knew they would catch me. In no time at all I saw a potty. There's a rule about passing potties, I'm sure. Hmmm, what if they passed while I was inside? I kept looking in my rear view mirror, but didn't see them. There weren't many trail users for a nice Sunday morning. A older fellow on an electric bike passed me. I asked if he'd seen two cyclists with panniers. Yes, he had, back at the bridge. Good they hadn't gotten in front of me. I continued on down the road. The pine trees were tall and close to the path. There weren't many open spots to check the view. I saw several trailheads and potties. The helpful man was stopped at one and soon caught up with me again. What chatted going down the road. He used to work at the iron and zinc mine in Kimberley until it closed. He was 58 and that was 18 years ago. I neglected to ask his name . . . but we had a nice conversation for miles. He had just purchased the electric bike to get back into cycling. He is a COPD suffer and had basically quit riding. The E assist was a real game changer. In no time, here were Jim and Genny. It was their turn to chat. I wanted to get a photo of the friendly man, but he rode off before I could get close enough to ask for a photo. We took a right turn into the main business district to see what was open. One block down on the right was Mark Creek Market and Bakery. That sounded hopeful. We could smell baked goods outside. Genny volunteered to stay with the bikes if Jim brought coffee. Our noses led us to the bakery. They had ham and cheese croissants and other meal type pastries. I bought myself a quiche and Jacinto a croissant. Plus a couple of sweet treats. I've been very good on the no wheat all summer. Look at me today . . . .
In Canada they have washrooms instead of restrooms. I followed the signs inside the store, turning to the left and right, going upstairs, more turning around - finally! the washroom.
We stood outside and ate our snacks. I had a maple long john and a milk. We had to ask for a place to throw our trash, there were no cans inside or outside. The checkout clerk was surly at my request and said they wouldn't take anything wet. Genny hadn't finished her coffee. I went outside, dumped it, and brought the empty cup back in. The clerk glared at me. What happened to friendly Canadians? We did buy all of these now empty items in the store . . .
Kimberley was the high point of today's ride. From here it was all downhill. Jim and Genny soon outpaced me. Highway 95A is a good bicycle road with a wide shoulder. I wasn't looking forward to getting back on regular Highway 95. We rode this direction in 2016. I looked around at vaguely familiar sights. I specifically looked for the dirt road we took into town in 2016, Mission Road. I never did see it, I believe it might have been River Road and then it turned into Mission Road.
Jim and Genny were stopped at TaTa Creek Ranch- Jim went backwards to take a photo of the town name. It tickled his funny bone. Just a couple of more miles down the road was our left hand turn onto 95. Then the wind was really pushing us along. What a great day!
There wasn't much Sunday afternoon traffic along here. I checked Strava to see where Jacinto was, fast closing in on us. He had taken a country road that bisected the bike path. It gave him four extra miles and a few hundred feet of climbing.
I carefully watched for a Skookumchuck sign to take a photo. My son has a dog named Skookumchuck and I wanted to send a photo to him. I did not see a sign . . . we were quickly at the motel. There sure isn't much here. A closed gas station across the road. I know there's one more motel in town, but it must be further down the road. We pulled in. The sign on the door said to honk. That's a problem . . Jacinto does have an Air Sound horn that would work. But he wasn't with us. Jim pointed out the sign also says knock loudly. He was just getting prepared to knock when a little lady came out of one of the rooms. She appeared to be elderly, but was more than spry. She was also the cleaning lady and I've never seen cleaner rooms. The sinks and all of the faucets were so shiny they looked new. We had a two bedroom apartment with a full kitchen for $101. CAD. She suggested we could store the bikes under the stairs. I looked. Maybe my bike would fit . . . the apartment was roomy. I asked if it would be ok to put the bikes in the room, they would fit. Yes, that's fine. I was careful to put a bag in-between my bike and the wall.
I unloaded all of my food. I had a lot of food. Two boxes of leftovers, plus all of the fruit I listed earlier. Plus the baked goods from Kimberley. We had to eat this. I could definitely tell my bike was heavier today. The first thing I ate was the quiche because I was hoping it would be good. I needed salt and pepper, but there wasn't any. Then I ate a banana. That's heavy. What else is heavy? How about an apple?
I checked Jacinto's location - almost here. I got started on the journal. I could hear Jacinto outside. Jim asked how was the new cassette. Jacinto replied that he had dropped the chain off the little ring in the back and the big ring in the front. Jim said he knows how to adjust the limit screws. Hopefully we can do that later. Not being able to shift is annoying and possibly jamming the chain would be a real issue.
Jacinto said the country road was deserted and very nice. He also said a dog chased him and paid no attention at all to the Air Sound horn. Jacinto said he needs to pump up the horn again. Jacinto saw plenty of people on the bike path. Maybe everyone here sleeps in on Sunday? We agreed that today might be the best day of the trip for lack of traffic, nice scenery, and a great tailwind.
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Today's ride: 44 miles (71 km)
Total: 248 miles (399 km)
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