Monday, 2 July 2007

Ah, Cranbrook. The last time I was here it was 1am on a cold, rainy night after two hours of riding in the cold, dark, dangerous roads through the South Kootenays on the Easy Rider Tour 2006. I was miserable.

Today was much better. To say that the weather was cooperating with Ryan’s Excellent Adventure would be an understatement. I woke up fairly early to go for a jog and find a gym, and it was already warm out at 8am.

After organizing my gear and securing lodging in Creston with my cell phone, I headed out west at about noon. My plan for the day was to get to Creston and then head south to ride the Selkirk Loop- an international destination highway circling around the Selkirk Mountains. For more info see http://www.selkirkloop.org.

After checking into the motel, I unloaded my bags from Silver and proceeded to head south. I thought I would travel light since I wouldn’t need all of my clothes on this little day trip. I passed across the border with no problems except from some grilling questions from the US Border official and proceeded into Idaho.

It took me about fifteen minutes to realize that I was no longer in metric Canada, which took some getting used to. I don’t know Imperial measurements for shit. All metric baby.

I got as far as Bonners Ferry and took a break, at which time I decided to head back to Creston. The Selkirk Loop was 450km and would probably take me 5-6 hours to complete. It was already 3:00 local time and I was getting tired. After two long days in the hot sun fatigue was starting to set in. I thought it was better to get some rest today since tomorrow was going to be a damn long day to get to Osoyoos. I’ll do the Selkirk Loop next time.

When I got back to Creston I had a long nap and went out for supper at about 8. I found this place called Jimmy’s Bar & Grill. Now, most of you know that Creston is home to the Columbia Brewing Company, so I was obliged to start drinking pints of Kokanee. But I did come across another little surprise in this little pub in this little town: the best calamari I’ve ever had. No question. And I’ve had a lot of calamari in a lot of different places.

I’ll remember this place for the next time I come through.

I headed back to the motel for an early bedtime. Tomorrow would be a long day…all the way to Osoyoos (5 -6 hours of riding) and the forecast looks like it’s going to be 35 degrees and sunny. Ouch.

I would also need to get ready for something I’ve been looking forward to: the ride from Creston to the Kootenay Bay Ferry….rated the best Destination Highway in British Columbia for motorcycles. Last time I rode on it was the night of darkness, rain, and cold.

This time will be much better.