Everyday for 7 Weeks–Day 23–Stewart to Prince George

The skies were overcast when I left Stewart just before 9am. The forecast called for rain, so I wanted to get out of there before I got wet. I was warm and comfy until I got to the mountains and glaciers; then I turned on the heated coat. Who knew all that ice was so cold? There were thousand of dandelions out too. I thought they looked nice. My neighbor would probably have a heart attack if he saw the fields of them I did today; he’s crazy about having the perfect yard. I swear he is out there with a net catching the leaves as they fall out of the trees.

I saw my first Grizzly bear outside of Stewart! She had two little cubs with her. They ran from the road to the forest rather quickly. She was a bit smaller than I expected. I got it on video, but they are too tiny to show up well.

I killed another bird this morning; the second one on this trip. This time it was a little song bird; I didn’t get a good look at him. I think the birds have either a rite of passage or some sort of hierarchy based on how close they can fly to a moving vehicle. For the past several days I have been swerving and breaking for the little guys as I ride down the road. When I approach, they are on the right side of the road and suddenly need to get to the other side or visa versa. I occasionally get to practice my matrix skills as I duck and dodge their aerial assault. One nearly hit my face shield yesterday. I swerved to the left for the one today, but he still slammed right into my right boot. I was happy I have the reinforced toe box. I felt a small thump on the boot and in the peg. Then I watched his little body bounce down the road behind me. Sad. I’m much happier murdering mosquitos and other insects with my motorcycle than birds.

I didn’t plan on riding all the way to Prince George this morning. The plan was to ride until I got tired and then stop, but to get close. Well, it turns out I don’t really like BC-16, so I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. The mountains faded from view the further east I went. BC-16 is just like any country road in Minnesota or Wisconsin – trees, hills, farms, and one lane each way. Lots of traffic and small towns too. It was my longest day on the bike and the most miles. The previous longest was Minneapolis to Bismarck at 426 miles, but today beat it out at 434 miles. I’m now in a good position to get to Vancouver early on Tuesday which will give me time to eat all kinds of tasty food!

The other annoying thing about BC-16 was the road construction. Twice I stopped for a one-lane road. The first time was only ten minutes even though the sign warned about a thirty minute wait. The second time, I was not so lucky. I arrived on the scene with a couple cars in front of me turned off, and their occupants standing on the shoulder. Not a good sign. I waited at that one for thirty minutes even though the sign holder came by and said it was only ten minutes to wait. Seems the road construction workers in BC can’t tell time very well. The wait was silly too. They were just replacing a bridge. It was a short transit section. I have no idea why we sat there for so long. I’m happy I avoided all that mess on the Alaska Highway and the Cassiar. I had heard stories about construction on those roads, so I guess I was due some waiting time.

I didn’t find a nice lunch spot today. I ended up at a small overlook with a giant chain link fence with a river below. It would have been nicer, but cars were going by about every minute (at least). While I was in the middle of eating, a large black Escalade pulled up. Turned off the engine and just sat there. hmm. Eventually a tall guy got out of the Cadillac. He had shoulder length black hair, a bushy black beard, a black coat, and dark jeans, and giant black sunglasses. He didn’t say anything, but instead starting looking around as he paced about. I started eating faster. He walked back to his SUV and opened the back. He put on a black glove. Ugh oh. Going to get murdered now for sure. Then he pulled out a large sheet of plastic and started laying it carefully into the back to cover up the interior. Yup, totally gonna get murdered. I can’t ride away fast enough; all my lunch stuff is spread out with my riding gear on the table. He started walking over to me, and then opened the trash can next to me. Huh?! He started pulling out plastic, glass, and cans. Ah! Dumpster-diving for recycling. Business must be good if he is driving a Cadillac, or maybe he needs the extra cash for the payments. Then he said “hi”; I said “hi” back. I finished my lunch and left as he scrounged in the other trash bins.

Sorry not a lot of pics today. I wasn’t impressed with the scenery after Stewart and Cassiar. The Cassiar is all paved except for that little 1km stretch.

World’s Largest Fly Fishing Rod (over 60 feet) in Houston.

Several murals in Houston too.

 

 

Day 23 Full Flickr Album (41 pics!)

 

Today’s Route (434 miles):

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