July 20, 2016
Cranbrook, BC - Eureka, MT: The easiest border crossing ever. Why isn't it this easy to enter from Mexico?
I was totally out of my routine yesterday. We were going to bed at 11 PM (late for us on tour) and I suddenly realized I hadn't charged any of the electronics. Egads! I scurried around like crazy plugging things in before bed. In the wee hours I woke up to wee (ok, bad pun, but I couldn't resist). Then I found out the plug in by the bathroom only works with the bathroom light on. Nothing had been charge. Damn. Double damn. There I was bumping around in the night, finding another plug in. I didn't think a thing would be charged this morning. But the first round of electronics did charge. It didn't seem I really slept after the middle of the night excitement. I got up at 6 AM and swapped out electronics, we should get enough charge for the day. I hope.
7 AM breakfast here at the motel. We get two eggs and two pieces of bacon for free with toast. Anything else we have to pay for. I believe I will be spending some of Jacinto's extra money!
On with the day - sun is the forecast. Lucky us. Don't ask about the wind.
Breakfast was very slow being served, even though there was only one other table to serve. It was a real breakfast though. Hash browns were $1.00 extra. Oren paid. Thank you, Oren.
Genny mentioned an 8 AM departure. That was before she found out about Jim's flat tire. He also had two tubes that he hadn't patched from previous flats. Would we have a spare tube they could carry until they patch the two extras? As a fact, we do.
Oren was gone. Jacinto and I left at 8:25. Jim and Genny weren't far behind. It wasn't near as bad getting out of town as I expected. We were much closer to the intersection of 93 than I thought.
We had two road diversions today. The first one was good for seven miles, but the road wiggles around some. Was getting off of the highway worth going extra distance? These roads were Rosicky to Shelbourne. Shelbourne comes in on Highway 93 for a matter of mere feet before we turn right on Jaffray Baynes Lake Road. This road goes straight south and cuts a few miles off of the Highway 93 route.
Jacinto stopped at a rest area only six miles into the ride. Well, heck. Sure. I can use a potty break. He stayed behind, telling me to go ahead, he would be sure and catch up before the first diversion turn at mile 21. Jim and Genny passed me and I stayed right with them.
We had a pretty good granny gear climb. Almost to the top was our turn. Genny was undecided if the car free road was worth the extra distance. The end decision for them was no. Off they went, continuing the climb. I waited and waited for Jacinto. 15 minutes later, here he came. He had spent longer on a phone call than expected. We discussed going straight. Nope - off highway is the first choice. We chatted going down the very nice paved Rosicky Road. At the intersection of Shelbourne, it was dirt. The google guy hadn't been able to look at the entire road - this two miles must be dirt. But it was very nice dirt. No pot holes or soft spots. We did not see a single vehicle for the entire seven miles. I didn't count how many cattle guards we went over. Five or six in the Seven miles? Canada has very bicycle unfriendly cattle guards. The pipes that go across are round and widely spaced. They are difficult to ride over and equally difficult to walk over.
Right at the intersection of the lake road was a coffee house. Who was there but Jim and Genny, eating huckleberry sauce on top of cheesecake. They declared it to be the perfect mid ride snack. Certainly they passed me with extra power. The lake road wasn't excellent surface and did have a few vehicles going to the lake, but over all the two side roads gave us about 1/3 of the day off of busy 93.
Scenery today was typical of the past few days with nice mountain backdrops with green fields in the fore ground. Ponderosa pine trees were spaced throughout.
We kept moving down the road. We've had several short days in a row. Today was our last day over 60 miles. My legs were doing well. It was just another day at the office. If the wind had been calmer, it would have been perfect.
Jacinto and I didn't quite have the smooth daily pattern that Oren and I had developed. I was either slowing down waiting for Jacinto to catch up or speeding up to catch him. I developed a case of hot foot while trying to catch up. It occurred to me on the lake road that we were carrying three apples and three bananas and were just about to cross the border. No fresh fruit going in to the USA. I ate my banana right there. When I caught up to Jacinto, I reminded him about no fruit. He gave me an apple to eat that was half bruised. I ate it while I rode, a recumbent advantage. Although it didn't feel like an advantage to eat such a gross apple.
We saw a sign saying 11 kilometers to the border. I told Jacinto I could pee in Canada one more time. I know, I have a warped sense of humor . . . . he agreed and said he needed to eat the last two pieces of fruit. Then he rode and rode and rode. Hello? I'm sure not pulling my drawers down right at the border.
Within sight of the border crossing, Jacinto stops. He and I need to get on the same page. Oren knows pee stops are to be scheduled when mentioned! Just as Jacinto stopped, two fully loaded cyclists crossed the road to talk to him. Ben and Miranda were on their way to Jasper, riding 30ish miles a day. They had started in Columbia Falls. We talked at least a half hour. Miranda had to go back for college in August, but Ben was planning an epic two year tour.
Finally we said our goodbyes and good lucks and headed to the border crossing. Jacinto stopped at a bear safe trash can to throw away his fruit remains. It was quickly our turn in line. The border officer was very nice, asking where we had been, for how long, saying that sounded like a wonderful trip and welcome back to the USA. It certainly isn't the experience we have going to Mexico to visit Jacinto's mother. We also noted that it did not cost money to enter or exit via Canada, but it does entering and exiting via Mexico. Isn't a border a border? We were across in less than five minutes.
The first thing we noticed was our nice shoulder was gone. Now it was down to 6-12". Canada - we appreciate your bicycle friendly road widths.
Now distances are listed in miles. Six windy miles to town. We had been to Eureka earlier in the trip, but not from this side. Ah - there's the Ksanka Motel. Jim and Genny came outside. They had been having a sandwich at Subway.
We were happy to find out they will take Canadian dollars at 66 cents. Not that great, but better than taking the money home. I had two V-8's and slugged them both down before we got to the room. I even wiped the bike down before entering. Next thing was plugging in the devices. I got that job done also.
Special note - I forgot to mention the one significant climb today. Since Sinclair Pass, we have had a few little climbs, but nothing significant. We've been going through valleys ringed with beautiful mountains. We've had a few rolling climbs, but nothing big. Truth is, this was another short (half mile?) rolling climb. But I sure did say 'oh, shit' out loud when I saw it. We all agreed we wished we'd had a photo of the downhill/uphill at Elk River bridge. It was a GIANT swooping downhill with an equally giant uphill that was awe inspiring to see. My Garmin said 10-11-12% on most of the climb. It was signed as 8%.
Yes, I'm on a roll. 66 miles is just another day. I should tour all summer long every summer. Think of how fit I will be.
Dinner is at 6:30, next door.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
A photo is worth a thousand words. Here is an excellent shot of the "Oh, shit" hill. Thank you so much to the Shaws' for the documentation!
Today's ride: 67 miles (108 km)
Total: 1,491 miles (2,400 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |