This has been my biggest mileage day to date. About 800 km which is close on 500 miles. As Edmund Hillary said when he reached the summit of Everest, “knocked the bastard on the head”. That’s how I feel. I knew it would be a big day and was up early. Unfortunately I had to take care of a number of housekeeping items that my dear PA had left undone in her haste to depart.

Some of these were really important, like organizing the insurance renewals for my aircraft and my Iridium SAT phone annual renewal. These wait for no bike trip. So the beauty of the Internet is I could take care of these from Williams Lake in upper BC. Eventually I leave around 08h00, about 2 hours later than I wanted to.

Given the heat of the previous day and the distances involved, I wanted to get as much of my riding done in the cooler hours before midday. I also had to rectify a couple of mistakes I made the previous day. The first was when I arrived, it was 42C and sunny. So I did not cover Bonnie. The next thing I knew it was hosing rain and everything was soaked, including my sheepskin saddle cover. This all had to be dried.

The second thing was that there was no restaurant nearby and all my food is freeze-dried and non-microwave cook able unless you have a dish, which I do not have. I have a small gas cooker but the dish on it is an integral part of the unit. So although I had a kitchenette, it was useless unless I rode into town and did some shopping, in which case I could go for dinner.I wanted to write and rest up, so dinner was my last can of Tuna and some dried apples.

Quesnel War Memorial. No Politician ever sent their son to war. Nothing Glorious about your head shot off

So both of these mistakes will not be repeated. Bonnie has already been wrapped up for the night in her waterproof jacket and I stopped in Quesnel, as there was a Safeway supermarket and topped up on the Instant noodles, rice and tuna. But things happen for a reason. It was not mere coincidence that I had a puncture in Idaho and decided to stay in Walla Walla. Without that I would never have met Cynthia and Miranda.

Now the Enns and the Friedman’s  now have friends and a valuable contact in each of two important wine making regions. I will be punting their wines, as I am sure they will once they have tasted Môreson wines. Incidentally David and Cynthia a bottle of 2003 Magia, which won the Fairburn trophy for the best South African red, is on its way to you. It will take a few months as it is coming with a regular shipment of Miss Molly wines to our agent in BC and this takes about three months door to door.

Had Miranda been a bit sharper she and her husband would also have been in the loop. I dare to say that if the Halladay’s accompany the Enns to South Africa, they will also receive customary Friedman hospitality. If you read the Elephant Island web site, it looks as if Miranda’s grandmother was like my own Mrs. Mac.

Anyway back to the story. VV, Vivacious Vicky, my new boss in BC had sent me a list of BCLB wine stores to visit on my way. As if I have nothing else to do. I mean forget 9 hours of riding, just make sure you visit one store in Quesnel and three in Prince George! Fuck me with a pickaxe! What does she think I am riding, the Concorde!

However opposite the Safeway in Quesnel is the BCLB store. So in I go and introduce myself to the manager who soon has Amy, the assistant manager and Patricia out for a photo shoot with Miss Molly Hoity Toity and yours truly.

Patricia, Biker Pilot, Miss Molly and Amy in BCLB Quesnel

Miss Molly on the shelves. Bottles sold

I text VV, so she knows  for sure that I have been there.

I then stop again in Quesnel to top up my Iridium phone. I had already done this via the Internet earlier this morning. On receipt of the documentation I noticed that the invoice was for an “Africa only” service. This was obviously on of no use to me in my current situation. I called the agents in SA, Blue Sky Communications. They are normally super efficient. However because Iridium is a law unto themselves, there was no way to undo the transaction. If they loaded a World or North American pack onto my SIM, I would loose all the African minutes I had just bought. I was not about to kiss USD 300 worth of minutes away.

The solution was a new SIM. They offered to courier a card to me in Anchorage for Wednesday next week. This was not a solution, as I really hit the wilds tomorrow, from Smithers, which is where I now am, to Watson Lake in the Yukon. Over the next two days I have about 900 km of nothing. This includes my first dirt roads, just to make it more interesting.

I figured that in this remote part of Canada, there had to be an Iridium Service Provider. I was not disappointed and found via Google BK Telecoms, with outlets in Quesnel and Prince George. The Quesnel branch did not have an Iridium SIM in stock, but their main branch in Prince George did and one phone call later, the SIM was reserved and waiting for pick up.

Now, none of my girls are world-class early morning starters and if I want to ride them hard, first thing in the morning, a certain amount of finesse is needed. Spot is the quickest off the mark. I think this is because she lives in the warmest climate. Jayne is generally not bad, but sometimes a bit fidgety in the winters. Particularly when I have not been around and she has not been ridden for a while. Bonnie is the most temperamental. Given a cold and wet night outside, I was cognisant that she would need a slow build up before I really turned it on. I wanted to get going and get there as quickly as possible.

However given my experiences I let her amble along until she reached operating temperature. Then I started picking up the tempo. Faster and faster. She responds instantly to my touch and her purring starts changing to a low roar. I have an opportunity to overtake a number of slower vehicles up a hill that has a passing lane. I slam it in, to a lower gear, for more torque. She needs no more urging and leaps forward for the crest, her engine screaming. Then we are there, past everyone and through the gate. As we go over the top I ease off and let her down gently. I know today is going to be a series of great rides. There will be many such peaks. Pacing ourselves will be the key.

It never really gets hot. This is cold country and yesterdays heat is not normal. In Ashcroft, where I stopped for lunch yesterday at Annie’s Bistro, Annie tells me that Ashcroft is a refuge for people from Alaska in winter. The reason for this is that in Ashcroft the average winter temperature is only around -15C with cold days at -30C. In Alaska the average is at -30c with cold days dropping down to -55C.

Ashcroft used to be a major stopping off point for Canadian Pacific Railways. In fact I see a CP train going through the town. It is all of 2km long. Now days no one travels by train. However CP Railways is in my past, indelibly etched. My father always spoke of his trip on CP across Canada from Toronto to Calgary, Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise. I will miss these places on this trip but have been before.

I also lived the Jack London stories of “White Fang” and “Call of the Wild”. All of these were about the Canadian wilderness. I idolized the Mounties “who always got their man”. For the youngsters of today this was the nickname for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  Then reputed to be the worlds best police force. Today this reputation is in tatters, riddled with corruption they cannot even solve the problem that is making the road I am traveling on today, the most dangerous road in North America for female hitchhikers. From Prince George to Prince Rupert has, in the past ten years, seen over 37 girls and a few boys who were hitchhiking or camping, go missing. The epicenter is a place called Vanderhoof.

I stop there for lunch. It is a nothing place. Whereas Prince George is big, about the size of Port Elizabeth, modern and with a university. Vanderhoof is like Parys without the potholes. I can see why the girls are hitching to get out. There are reward notices everywhere, in particular for Madison Scott, currently the latest case.

Modern day horse in Vanderhoof. Note the Gun. Mounties have given up trying to solve the cases and called in Nature Conservation. Must suspect a Grizzlie is eating the missing girls

Shortly after Vanderhoof, near Burnt Lake, I see my first moose. A youngster, with small antlers. I am still waiting to see my first bear. Twice I think that I see one, but it is a large dog and a cow! At Burnt Lake I see the ultimate lake holiday house. The owner has two float planes in the front drive. A beaver and a husky!

The cattle in Canada are mainly Herefords, or Herfords as they refer to them here. Loved by my father, he scoured the world for these white faced beauties and then brought them back to peace and tranquility in Koster. In the US I only saw Black Angus’s. I think about Morningside Farm and growing up there. Of the cattle and the open space and freedom we enjoyed. Dry dusty winters. Fires and dogs around us all the time. Running in the roads for hours. Baboons eating my fathers maize (Corn). Digby and Tim stealing our clothes while a girl friend and I were getting to know each other better on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Leaving them outside my parents house so that we would have to get there to reclaim them.

The level of farming has also tapered off along the way. Fairly intensive near Williams Lake and Quesnel, it is now only ranching. All the farmers are cutting hay. No doubt “making hay while the sun shines”. They do not have pastures but simply cut the natural grass and bale it. It is very green everywhere. I try and identify the trees. I can see Maples, Aspens, Pines and I think there are also Ash trees. The sky is ultra blue, I work out that this is because there is none of the African dust in it. Snow lines the mountains near Smithers. The clouds point to a cold front. Not good seeing as I may have dirt roads tomorrow.

The front reminds me of the first TV weather forecast I watched in the then newly independent Zimbabwe. The forecasters description of the approaching cold front was “ A cold front is approaching from the Racist South”! Here the cold fronts come from the White Arctic and are COLD!

Soon I am in Smithers at my hotel. The Hudson Bay Lodge. It is very nice and appears to have a great pub and restaurant, so no need to cook for myself. They also have a Liquor Store, so I am in there and I introduce myself to Cindy who is on duty. Tomorrow I meeting Penny the manager at 09h00.

My routine on arrival is getting waxed. Offload Bonnie onto trolley. Kit into the room. Items to be recharged hooked up. Washing in hotel guest laundry or basin. Unpack, shower, shave and start the computer. The days are now very long as I am far north and going to get longer. The sun sets at about 23h00 and it is light at 04h00. On arrival here I look for the air conditioner, as the room is a bit warm. They do not do aircon here. The under floor heating is on and there is an electric fire. I turn these off. The temperature will be around 9C tonight.

Tomorrow I have around 280 miles that, provided the road condition is good, should be doable in about 5 hours. I will be staying north of Stewart at a place named Bell2. It has a legendary reputation.

If I have time, I will also answer a question that I received from one of my followers as to whether Jayne, Spot and Bonnie would be upset about my being so smitten by Lithe Leggy Leslie and writing about it.

Today I have given great thought to what comprises a “one strike and you are out” dalliance and what would be a “ I don’t care”. So there is a scale from 1-10. With one being the level at which “Darling” will take no notice and Ten being the “You are out of here” level!

Until next time.

Good Night and Good Luck