Canada

After the great ride yesterday I don't have much to say about todays ride. Freeway till lunchtime. At times it was quite scenic the rest was pretty boring. Minor roads after lunch that were very stop start with lights and traffic. Was not my idea of fun. Had an issue at a gas station when I had trouble pulling the pump on and the fuel sprayed all over my tank and splashed into my eye. I gave a rather grumpy reply when MJ said to me," Its not complex you know". Tiredness creeping in. We crossed the border into Canada just after 6pm. A painless affair. Arrived at John and Shelly's at Cultus Lake about 7.30. I was very glad to get there. Lovely meal and chat with our hosts then off to bed.

The following day Maree and I went for a walk into town and down to the lake while Marty and John lengthened the centre stand on my bike and created a new seat for Maree. There is a huge water slide park in town that despite only being open for about 3 months of the year more than pays for itself. That tells you how many people flock to this little town in summer. There is a play ground adventure park for kids too if they don't want to get wet.

The afternoon was spent trying to plan a route but after several hrs I dont think we were any further ahead . To exhausting for me I had a nap. Another pleasant evening with John Shelly and Sheldon. Early to bed. All a bit tired. After a leisurely breaky we loaded up the bikes and got ready to leave. Maree not jumping for joy at the prospect of her new seat. Looks the part if nothing else.

We needed to visit a bike shop for oil etc and in the process made our first major turning error of the trip. We turned left at a set of lights but into the left lane and were immediatly met with oncoming traffic. Shit. Luckily we were able to scoot down the shoulder then up onto the footpath, through a sidewalk garden and into the bikeshop carpark. Phew. Was all a little pricey so we headed to a Walmart after getting directions from a couple of guys in the carpark. They had just returned from the Arctic circle so gave us a few tips etc. Back onto the freeway for the ferry to Vancouver Island. The sign at the terminal said 2hr wait for next crossing but the ticket guy told us and two other bikes to go to the top of row 40 and we would soon be loading. Great timing. The bikes aren't tied down like at home. Just backed in, sidestand down, in gear and a block wedged in from the opposite side to the stand and thats it. They do recomend returning to your bike before the boat docks to ensure it doesn't topple over when the boat hits the wharf. The 2hr trip flew past and before we knew it we were on the Island. First dilema was finding some accomodation. Being a Friday and holiday time it was in short supply so we had to settle for a rather expensive smallish room at the Travel Lodge. Had a nice meal at a nearby pub then took a stroll down to the water. Was lovely. There are lots of cool statues and beautiful tubs of flowers all along the footpaths.

 We are all a little jaded tonight and hoping for a good nights sleep. Maree seems to think she was a little more comfortable today. We all slept in this morning and nearly missed our free breaky. I was sitting on the bed reading when I felt my bum getting very warm. I hadn't put the lid on my drink bottle properly and instead of filling it with cold water I had put warm water in hense the warm feeling. My riding jeans were soaked. I tried the hairdryer but that didnt work so I got the iron out and eventually dried them out enough to wear. All ready to go and I can't find my gloves. Back to the room. Not there. On the way back to the bike I have a brainwave. They are in the countdown bag in my topbox . Hasn't been a good start to the day. First stop was the Butchart Gardens. They were lovely. Spent a couple of hours roaming around.

Even got to have a ride on a real merry go round. That was fun.

Went into Victoria to have a look around but too busy and spread out so we stopped at a little market had a look around and had lunch. Bought some supposedly fresh bread there to have with the smoked Salmon John gave us. The bread was not fresh!! Next we went to Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse. Got to go in the lighthouse and up to the first level which was pretty cool. Didn't look around the fort to much as it had started to rain.

 We headed off to find our motel on the outskirts of Chemainus. We were quite wet by the time we arrived. Lucily they had a guest laundry so we through all our wet stuff and our washing in and went to dinner at the local restaurant famous for its curry. Having the option of it on fries or coleslaw put me right off so I had scallops. Neither Marty or Maree were very impressed with their meals. Maree hurried off as she had booked herself a seat to see Footloose in the local theatre. Funnily we watched it on tv. Maree and I thought we were having breaky in the town of Chemainus and fhen looking at the murals but Marty decided he didnt want to so we ended up in Ladysmith. Only one cafe open so choice was made. Next stop the ferry. Had an hour wait which passed pretty quickly. Then onto find our motel in Surrey. I knew we had to take exit 10 to King George Boulevard. It came and went. Where the hell we going this time I thought. Well to the border it seemed. Crap. Marty pulled into the duty free carpark so we could re program the gps!! Trouble was their was no way out except across the border. No option. We had to go out the no exit which meant Maree holding down the tyre spikes so we could get the bikes across. A couple more minor blimps and we pulled into the motel then off to Marees ex for a bbq. Had a really nice evening there. Made it back to the motel without going off course. We must be improving.
 Bike shops don't open on a Monday in Vancouver which was a bit of a problem as my bike needed a rear tyre. Thankfully Marty found the only one that was open and they had a second hand tyre they would sell and fit for us. Was almost in downtown Vancouver. Marty put the wheel back on and then discovered they had put it on the rim back to front so back inside and start again. They gave him a t shirt and sticker to make up for it.

It is now lunchtime and we are hungry so its off to the heart of downtown Vancouver to meet up with Mary and Fred, friends from NZ.

 Next stop the Capalino Suspension Bridge. Wasn't nearly as big as we thought but was still a cool thing to see.

The walk in the tree tops was pretty cool as well.

Pretty cruisey day today. Headed up to Whistler. We were a little disappointed. Both Maree and I thought there was an old town Whistler but no just a town built for the Olympics and now tourists. Seemed to be doing a roaring trade.

Quite a bit of traffic but being able to look at the stunning scenery more than made up for the slow speeds. Coming down one pass the smell of car brakes over heating was over powering. We stopped at a scenic lookout over the Fraser River for a leg stretch before heading into Lilloet for lunch.

The traffic seemed to thin out and we had a reasonably quick ride to 94 Mile Motel where we are staying. Oldish motel but very friendly lady owner. Marty and I went to Lone Butte for dinner on the recomendation of the motelier but the resturant she recommended hasn't opened yet (new owners) so we went to a little cafe and ordered a couple of pizzas. Big mistake. They were huge.

We had a coupe of pieces each then bought the rest back for Maree.

We are now staying in the little town of Wells. Here for a couple of nights as we plan on exploring the old west town of Barkerville tomorrow. Hopefully the rain will be gone by then.