July 14th, 2015

What happened…

Andrew writes: It must get cold in these parts, because there was hundreds of mosquitoes all curled up snug as bugs in between our tent and rain-fly when we woke up…the first time. I say the first time because Amanda and I were lights out around 2130hrs, and then woke up at oh-dark-thirty (0530hrs), before deciding to spend a few hours cuddled up together. It was decided to skip making breakfast and just pack up and ride down the hill to Vavenby where we would enjoy a nice hot breakfast at the local greasy spoon.

We attacked the downhill in different ways, Amanda and I. I took it head-on, chinese downhill style, weaving, bumping, and jumping my way down the gravelly slope. Amanda was a touch more dainty about the whole thing, especially because by the end of the hill, she couldn’t feel her hands, they were so numb.

I’m often worried about the nerve damage Amanda has in her neck/shoulder. Her arms go numb at night while she is sleeping, she can’t lie on her side, and I don’t think that riding bikes all day makes it any better. I’m not sure what could be done. It’s bothered her for years. The other day when we stopped to play some frisbee, she could only throw with her left hand. Maybe its time to trade her in for a newer model??

So we rolled into Vavenby, and alas it is a one-stop-shop kinda town. The General Store offered gas, groceries and food. It was surprising actually how good the pepperoni pizza was that we had for breakfast; made fresh onsite, baked to perfection. We split a third piece between us, and while we were finishing it off, a real, honest-to-goodness bicycle tourist rolled in as well.

Thibalt, from France, started in Vancouver 9 days ago, riding through Whistler, and Kamloops, on his way to Jasper, and he hopes to cross Canada within 3 months. Amanda got back on her bike and started to ride while I sat and talked to Thibalt, who rolled a cigarette and seemed all too happy to just sit and relax. I have such profound respect for solo-cyclists, especially ones that tackle tasks like crossing the second largest country in the world. Sipping his bottle of Coke, he said that he wanted to spend the night in a real bed tonight, perhaps a hotel, or a bed and breakfast. I wished him good luck, and godspeed, and set out after Amanda. I let him know that we would look for him down the road.

After Vavenby, we left the forest service road, our last Amanda insists, and re-joined Highway Route#5, north towards Jasper. The day today was short, and consisted of long climbs at low grade, followed by equally long descents. I had a bit of a scary moment during one of these descents, when without warning, I was smacked right in the face, about an inch from my eye, by a bumblebee. I screamed, not quite like a girl, in panic, and just concentrated on keeping my bike on the straight and narrow. I could feel my face puffing up right away, and wasn’t sure if the stinger was stuck in the side of my cheek or not. Thank goodness I’m not allergic to bee stings – only brussel sprouts.

It didn’t take me long to catch up to Amanda, maybe 45 minutes. Then the wind picked up in the early afternoon, turning into a headwind, as we rode along beside the North Thompson River. Still 15km from Avola, our intended destination, I pulled in to the Wire Cache Rest Area, just to check it out, and to stretch the legs. Amanda also pulled in, and one thing lead to another, and we ended up just camping here instead. We’ll try to head to Avola in the morning for breakfast.

Thibalt joined us for a few minutes at the rest area, intent on reaching a “washing machine”, at some mythical campground that might lay somewhere ahead. We invited him to stay, but he opted to stay only long enough to roll a fag, and sit and talk for a few moments. He strikes me as being in his mid-20s, and he says that he loves to cycle everywhere. He mentioned briefly a previous trip he did from France to Turkey, along the Eurovelo6 route. He enjoys travel via bicycle mostly because of the people he meets. I think also, he enjoys the adventure. He spent last night sleeping beside a pub, and a few days ago he said some man gave him a few joints, as a welcoming gift to Canada. He reminds me of Jojo in some ways, perhaps his scruffiness, mixed with his innocent manner. We might join forces tomorrow if the stars align, and cycle to Jasper together.

Right now the plan is to play rest area hopscotch, as they are usually placed about 70km apart, a perfect riding distance for us these days. A few trains have gone by in the time that we’ve been here, and they are quite loud, as they make their way east-west, carrying TVs and washing machines to the rest of Canada. Hopefully we can get a decent sleep tonight, and then have an awesome ride tomorrow!

Amanda writes:
While we may not want to admit it I’d say that yesterday took a lot out of us. Having gone to bed before the sun was down and then sleeping until 8:30 I’d wager our bodies certainly didn’t have any problem saying it. Almost 12 hours sleep is unheard of for us. After deciding to just get out of mosquito land we road down the big hill. It wasn’t as fast as I had hoped because I needed to be careful with the road. In Vavenby we fuelled up and headed out.

As soon as we pulled into the rest stop I voiced my desire to stay for the night. After a few minutes Andrew was convinced and we made ourselves at home. I had a nice mini bath in the Thompson River after chatting with a woman from Denmark. Then we set up the tent and kicked back and practiced instruments and read books.

After dinner while doing the dishes I met a nice couple Teresa and Vito from Burnaby, They were staying in an RV on the other side of the rest stop. After introductions it was just so easy to chat with them. You know how sometimes people are so approachable and great to converse with; well that is Teresa and Vito. After spending almost an hour with them I was left thinking “I hope Andrew and I are like that when we’ve been married 47 years; easy banter back and forth, finishing each other’s sentences and a good sense of humour.” They shared with me the purpose of their trip and as they told the story I literally got goose bumps. Their 14 year old grandson Matteo just had a successful liver transplant. They were on their way back from visiting him in Edmonton. Their daughter was a match for the liver and they were both there recovering. Modern medicine is amazing to me and it’s when I hear stories like Matteo’s that I’m reminded how lucky we are to live in this generation. As we exchanged contact information Teresa was kind enough to share some real Italian pasta and sauce that she made along with four wagon wheels!

People really are kind. I remember saying on our CKNW interview that I believed that most people in the world are kind. When I meet people like Teresa and Vito I know I’m right and I’m reminded why we’re traveling the world.

Today’s Photographs