Accumulated: 989 km
Average speed while moving: 72 kph
Overall average: 51 kph
Time on the road: 10 ours 32 minutes
Moving time: 7 hours 23 minutes
Maximum speed: 132 kph
Once again, not quite the day I envisioned. Maybe THAT is what the blog should be called.
Woke up early so went out and wiped down the bike and got yesterday's bugs off it. Then walked around trying to find a place to get coffee but it was too early so I logged on and into work to review the (work) day. When Truffle Pigs opened at 7:30, got latte's for the room and once Nan was ready, we went and sat at the bar as we had last night and ordered brveakfast. We each ordered the two egg breakfast with bacon, potatoes, toast, which is actually made from artesian French bread and fruit but I ordered my eggs whites only while Nan ordered her breakfast without the bacon. Cholesterol, you know. Anyway, once again, beautifully presented but the chef could not bring hijdbdimself to just "hold the bacon" so he put it on my plate. Howi - 0ok we Re, cholsterol 1 point. Oh well, we are on holidays. I ate the bacon. And liked it.
We were not in any big hurry to get going; even though we know we have a big day, it's nothing too onerous. We are deviating from the pre-set route and taking the "long way" to Creston, via Revelstoke, the aforementioned 533 odd km. Other than that I know it is a stunning route and made better by being on the motorcycle, I really haven't given the route any thought whatsoever.
We are on the road by 10:30 and while fresh, it is a beautiful morning, perfect for a ride. It is two hours to Revelstoke and despite being on the Transcanada, typically a very busy road, it passes by uneventfully. We did ride through the snow sheds-tunnels not very from Revelstoke that allow the avalanches to shoot over the road and not block traffic - and for me, this is always a treat. For some reason, growing up and on the annual family vacation to Shushwap, I was amused by driving through the "tunnels" and they represented a significant road marker for me that we had covered more than three quarters of the journey.
So, I say "mea culpa" because after our much larger than necessary breakfast, which was eaten in its entirety - I helped Nan - I commented that it was fine because there were no good places to eat from Field until the Valhalla area, which is where we are headed, so we will probably just need something light.
We get off the highway and go into Revelstoke and we cannot go down the main street because road work is being done, so we are on a side street. We are looking for a book to judge by it's cover and we spot a little place that looks acceptable. I pull the bike to the side of the road and just as I back up to the curb, I spot a local walking by and I accost her to get a lunch recommnedation. She is "Terry" and is wearing her bold, red Home Hardware shirt. We ask her about the place we have eyed and she tells us it's not her kind of food and proceeds to quickly rattle off about four other prospective places and their destinations, none of which I recognize and means nothing. We thank her and then go have a look in the window of the place we had first eyed, Mountain Meals Revy. Looks simple but fine. There is a window case with sandwhiches, squares, pasta etc. but upon closer inspection, looks a little more like our kind of food which clearly, is not Terry's. We each order the multigrain chicken salad sandwhich and we each have soup. WE HAVE HIT THE MOTHER LOAD. THIS PLACE IS AWESOME! The food is great and we can't believe our luck; home made food, healthy-ish and all incredibly fresh. For dessesrt, we order two scones made with local cherries. Again, really good. Let this be a lesson to you: NEVER SHOP AT HOME HARDWARE.
Ok so we have eaten lunch, a bigger lunch than I thought we would need but it's worth it. Mountain Meals Revy will be a regular stop for us on the millions of times we will pass through Revelstoke in the next few years. We are heading south now and our first adventure is to take the "old bridge" across the river to leave town - a single lane bridge governed by traffic lights. It crosses the Columbia River
As I said before, I hadn't given much thought to the route but as soon as we are heading south, I am reminded that we have a ferry crossing at Arrow Lake. Then I am thinking, "hmmm, not too much traffic (none, in fact) which means, we are probably totally out of synch with the ferry schedule". When we get to the ferry, which is about 60 km from Revelstoke, we see that in fact, we are almost perfectly in tune with the ferry schedule as there is a long line of cars and trucks waiting to board. In fact, the line is so long that I think we have no hope of getting on this sailing. We are on holidays, so I am not too stressed about it but we are guests in Creston this evening and I am thinking a little more about what time we might end up arriving.
We don't have to wait too long to start boarding. I think the ferry looks pretty full but we do get on; one car behind us gets on, too. Some do not. I am starting to think that maybe I should be planning this a little more carefully.
On the ferry we meet a guy from Saskatchewan riding a huge (Gold) "Wing" pulling a trailer. With a big cooler. He is riding solo and I remark that he has a lot of bike and gear for one person but he retorts that he is camping and golfing. Not necessarily in that order. Looks like a lot of fun to me. Then we get talking bikes, of course, and tells me he has a car tire on his back wheel. His observation: half the price and twice the tire wear. I tell him I need a picture of this for the blog. After just having spent $620 for two new tires, I am intrigued and sure enough, there it is. Not like I thought he was lying or anything like that but whoa, that's wild. Can't wait to discuss this with Stan from Stan's Used Bike Emporium, Home of the Limited Lifetime Warranty.
Get across the ferry in just over a half hour. I want to phone our hosts, Art and Linda in Creston but cell service is non-existant until we get to Nakusp, about a half our off the ferry. Talking to Art, I am reminded that we have ANOTHER ferry crossing coming up and I realize, we are going to get to Creston much later than I had earlier been thinking. It's only 500 odd kilometres but twisty, windy roads and another ferry crossing, it is going to be late. It's great for us, we are on holidays. Art and Linda may not see the value in that statement but I resolve to keep them in the loop as we travel south.
From Nakusp to New Denver is a great ride but turning at New Denver to get to Kaslo is one of the Great Motorcycle rides. In the past, when I have Googled Top 10 motorcycle rides, this is near the top of the list.
to be continued...
O.k, we're back. And in Creston.
We are satiated. It has been an amazing day with riding and we are whipped. 10 1/2 hours on the road, which seems like a lot for 533 km but there are the ferry rides in there, which make for a nice break and of course, lunch in Revelstoke.
Art and Linda are waiting for us. I should tell you that Art and Linda are FOAFs, as in Friend of a Friend. We have chatted to them on the phone and by e-mail but have not met them in person; they are just the kind of people who are gracious enough to take in FOAFs. We get served refreshing cool drinks and they make a nice salad for us starving bikers. They recognize that we have had a long day so don't force us up to regale them with stories about our wild biking adventures though it is clear, they are waiting anxiously to find out about bikers. Like us.
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