Friday, August 21st, 2009

It sure feels good to be back in the saddle. I anticipated a long day so I got up early and was on the road at 9:00 local time, knowing that I would gain an hour once I crossed the Continental Divide (and a time zone) into British Columbia. The early morning sun was at my back as I rode through the crisp morning air toward Mount Robson, which would also end my time on the Yellowhead Hwy #16 as I headed south on the Yellowhead Hwy #5.

This is by far my favourite road into the British Columbia interior. Starting in the mighty Rocky and Caribou Mountains, the road follows the North Thompson River the entire way to Kamloops. As the scenery changes gradually over the course of 2-3 riding hours to that of the Shuswap Highlands the mountains get less rocky, and the air is much more dry. You can smell the dry forest in the air as the whole area feels like it could go up into flames with a single spark. No wonder this has been a bad year for forest fires.

After Kamloops I took a different route than usual and headed straight into the Thompson Plateau by riding the Lac La Jeune Road to Logan Lake, from there I headed straight south to Merritt. At Merrit I refueled and started following the Nicola River west toward Spences Bridge.

The landscape was breathtaking during this final journey. Sage and hoodoos took over the hillsides and the valley became more and more narrow until it finally opened up into the Thompson Canyon at Spences Bridge. I intentionally planned the trip to end up here for the night because I wanted to stay at the Inn at Spences Bridge- the oldest operating hotel in BC. It was worth it- they prepared a vegetarian homemade meal for me, after which I watched the sun go down over the mountains with the mighty Thompson River right beside the Inn.

After riding for over 10 hours it didn’t take much for me to fall asleep as the sound of the river water could be heard through my room’s window. The railway also ran right next to the Inn, and the trains shook the entire building as they went by all night.