June 30, 2016
New Denver - Fauquier, BC: How many perfect days can we ride?
Yay for rooms where I can shut the bedroom door and get ready without disturbing Jacinto. We didn't have a microwave, so I ate cold oatmeal. Instant oatmeal. That's a double negative.
Oren and I agreed to meet at his motel at 7 sharp. I was there. He was doing the final adjustments. Today was an easy routing day. Highway 6 up to Nakusp, then a hard double left and follow 6 south down to Fauquier.
It's another big mile day with a medium amount of climbing. This trip has had mostly 60ish mile days with around 3,000 feet of climbing per day. My body is doing the work, but my mind thinks a 5-0 day is friendlier than 6-0.
Off we go, along the lake. It's one lake after another around here. I don't even try to keep track of them all. We do pass Summit Lake Ski Area, so I remember Summit Lake.
There was a chance to cut the top off of the route, not going into Nakusp and saving three miles. It has a bit more climbing. Jacinto likes climbing. he's into that route. Brouse Loop to Billings Road, etc. Oren and I see the first road. We stop and debate. It is a big downhill. If we don't like the road, it's a big climb back out. I decide I'd rather have a V-8 and find ice for my drink.
We head into Nakusp and stop at the first C store since we don't have any idea what's in town. This is an excellent country store. They have everything. A nice selection of fresh fruits and veggies, canned good. A cleaning section and hardware section. A good deli with homemade baked goods. I bought a croissant sandwich, after some debate. This trip I've given in easily on eating wheat items. It's hard to follow an unusual diet on the road. I spotted a small 6" carrot cake that looked just right for Oren. I was so happy, I took him back to see it. It was the perfect size to eat half now and half later. Oren insisted it was way too large, but I disagree.
Another American observation on Canada - they don't do fountain drinks or ice. C stores have canned or bottled soda only. Which makes it difficult to get ice for my bottles. The first two times I asked for ice, the cashier got me some out of the ice machine. This time I had to buy a bag of ice for $3.50. I did buy it. Having ice on a hot day makes all the difference for me.
I bought way too much stuff, but we weren't sure what would be available at remote Fauquier. Plus we would be doing a hard day the next day, no services there either.
We had already done most of the climbing for the day before Nakusp. Now it was mostly level ground heading south. We were hoping for a tailwind to go with it as we'd had an annoying headwind coming into town. That was part of the reason for my wanting to take the shortcut road. As we were heading out of town, I saw a pharmacy. I asked Oren if he needed anything from a real pharmacy. Who knows when we will see one again? He decided to buy a leg brace as insurance. I sat in the shade (shade!) and watched the bikes.
Off we went. Zippy zip. 40 miles to go. When have I ever been so happy to have ONLY 40 to go? This side is definitely not as green as the New Denver side. 25 kilometers from Fauquier we see a sign that says road construction and loose gravel. Heck. It's been such a nice day. Quickly we pull up to the stopped traffic. Oren holds my bike while I walk over to ask the flag lady what construction holds for us. She told me to get back in position, but I asked my question anyway. She must have missed out on the customer service training. What does it help to be rude? Martin in New Mexico could give her a lesson or two. I did find out that it was all fresh pavement all the way, no gravel. Excellent!
We were making good time today. Off we went. 60 mile days are getting to be the norm.
We weren't real sure where the Hummingbird B&B was located. Looking at their website, they are very close to the ferry. Surely their website is correct? We were a couple of miles out of town when we saw their sign and screeched to a halt. Oh. We are here. Ok. I'm always ready to stop early. We turn down the dirt road. Flag down a car coming up. Yes, we are here, turn right. We stop next to some rough looking cabins. Oh, boy. We leave the bikes up top and walk down to the bottom. Hello? Hello? Yes, here is Leslie, getting a manicure and a pedicure on the deck. That's the life. We chat for a minute, get the key, and agree on a 5:30 dinner.
Back to the top we go. Our two bedroom cabin isn't exactly two bedrooms. It's one bedroom, with a curtain for a door, and a double bed and two twin beds in the big room with a love seat and a table squashed in. The bath house is next door. The dining area window looks right into the bathroom window. How interesting.
The little bathhouse is clean, if basic. The water says non potable, but Leslie assures us the people have been drinking that water for 100 years and it's just fine.
Oren and I shower and sit out on the deck, looking over maps for the big day tomorrow. We are feeling the cumulative big mile days and are ready for a day off. Nope. 5,000 feet of climbing tomorrow. We look to see if there's another choice besides the big climb. We've been listening to those motorcycle riders about how big the Monashee Mountains are. No - it's up and over we go.
I was just starting to wonder if Jacinto would get there for dinner and he shows up. He had tried the cutoff road and it had looped him right back around. He followed the route into Nakusp and did see the spot where he would have come out on the other side. Oren and I had watched for it and hadn't seen a paved road on that side. We spent some time imagining this logging road or that logging road might be 'the' road.
Jacinto quick showered and off we went to Leslie's for salad and stir fried chicken and veggies. We worked a deal where she provided meals for us because we were out in the middle of nowhere.
We ate outside at the picnic table in the shade. Leslie joined us for dinner. She had lost a leg to cancer and got around in a wheelchair. Oren helped bring plates and food out. Jacinto went in to help and came back with the only beer in the house. None for Oren. Leslie and I had wine. I think Leslie might have been sampling the wine first, she was very vivacious conversationalist during dinner. As much as I can talk, it was a relief to escape to our cabin.
Jacinto and I sat outside and talked while Oren worked on his notes inside. I kept trying to get Oren to sit outside with us, but he was dedicated. We had neighbors show up, late. We would be sharing the bathhouse now. We had better remember to lock the door!
We were all tucked into bed by 9 PM, thinking of the big day ahead.
Edit- 2/2/17 - During dinner Leslie had mentioned with much glee what a good tech person she had who always got her B&B to the top of the list and managed to 'block' the motel at the ferry. I did believe that story, as I had found no mention of anywhere else to stay. Some digging around this cold winter evening and I turned up the Arrow Lake Motel, right in 'town'. The photos look nice. 250-269-7622. As memorable as it was to stay with Leslie - I would suggest the motel.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Today's ride: 66 miles (106 km)
Total: 600 miles (966 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |