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I've just arrived in Auckland Airport and it feels so good to be back in NZ.   I had to unpack all my carefully-bundled luggage to get through Bio-Security; then pack it again to be transferred to my Rotorua flight.  Now I've got a couple of hours to wander around Auckland Airport; thank goodness for free internet!!

It was good having a 'holiday' in Vancouver before we left - we stayed at Jane's place for 4 nights; she was amazingly generous (well over and beyond any usual expectations - taking us shopping; and even to the airport!)  I had a dream shopping trip to Vancouver's famous MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-Op) - a bit like our Kathmandu but much better quality and CHEAP CHEAP prices.  So I now own a fancy MSR multi-fuel cooker for my next big trip....

On Wednesday Jimmy wanted to make phone calls and pack and catch up with people; so I headed up Grouse Mountain.  It was a stiff bike ride straight up (legs have forgotten how to climb already; after only a few days off the bike); then a 1 hour walk up to the summit.  It is called the Grouse Grind and it was much more effort than I thought it would be.  There were loads of people doing the Grind; all age groups.  The most irritating were the teenage boys who would pant right behind me; overtake, then stop for a rest; so I never got rid of them.   At the top was a gondola - the alternative route up - and a cafe, a souvenir shop selling "I want to Grind" T-shirts; and 2 grizzly bears in an enclosure.  They were rescued as orphan cubs years ago, and now live on Grouse Mountain.  While they weren't doing any wild exciting things it was still fun to see them - and they are surprisingly TeddyBear-like - they would sit with their feet straight out in front and rub their eyes; very cute and cuddly-looking!

There was also a really cheesey scripted Logger show - two guys acting like foolish loggers; but was fairly entertaining in that 'got nothing better to do' kind of way.

I nearly bought a pair of fashion gumboots to complement the two other pairs of shoes I have bought on this trip; but ended up with a hammock instead.  Jane would drop us off in town and give detailed instructions on where we could walk - we would make it about 200m to the nearest coffee shop/market/point of interest and just stay there!  I think we spent an entire afternoon just hanging around the Granville Island public market; eating fresh fruit and people-watching.

The flight home was long.  13 hours and a night-flight and I didn't sleep very well.  Fortunately the practice Manager at work offered me Monday off, and I accepted!

Safely back in Vancouver!

Sara mentioned the Foodbank she works for was doing a firewood-chopping morning on Saturday; with volunteers chopping wood and free pizza afterwards. I didn't even think of offering our services; but Jimmy suggested it, so we did. We had a great Saturday morning helping split firewood - Jimmy was a 'machine' (according to the others) on the splitter all morning; I had a couple of goes with an axe but didn't want to risk slicing my leg open, so left it to the boys. It was really nice to meet some other Whistler-ites; and they were astounded that two cycle tourists would spend a morning chopping wood... I think the wood splitting was a highlight of Jimmy's trip!

There was a table of refreshments for the hard workers; as we were packing up someone pointed out the black bear close by, nose twitching and sniffing in the direction of te food. It was the closest we'd been to a bear all trip! Everyone was completely relaxed about it; just laughing and talking loudly and the bear turned around and wandered off again. Saturday night we took Sara out for sushi at the local sushi bar; it was good.
Sunday we woke up to rain. We rode in the rain along Highway 99; it's a busy road, and with the wet road and rain we were getting splattered from all directions. Fortunately the rain stopped and by the time we arrived in Squamish the sun was out. There was a Classic Car Club event on in the main street with dreadful heavy rock music with "I want to smash your face" lyrics. Jimmy wanted a latte, so we went to a cafe (a cute cafe that combined a knitting class - women literally sitting around knitting - with a gelateria, and an organic bulk bin market). I ordered a $6 2-scoop gelato - and the scoops were so large they could barely balance on the cone. That was my lunch (plus the usual bread and peanut butter).

We continued on to Vancouver, past nice coastal scenery with the islands. It started pouring again as we neared Vancouver. We are staying back at Jane's place in North Vancouver; it felt a bit like 'coming home' to arrive back at the place that my journey began! We have 3 days in Vancouver (to shop, of course) before we fly out on Thursday.

Mountain Bike Mecca

On Thursday I signed up for a day of Downhilling - I didn't even think about the charge on my battered credit card as they kitted me out with downhill bike, full-face helmet, gloves and elbow and knee pads. Part of the all-inclusive deal was a group guide; and being off-season there were only two in our 'group' - me and an english guy on honeymoon. Our guide took us up the chairlift (the bikes take their own chair ahead of us) and we cruised down the single tracks. A downhill bike is so different to a regular mountainbike! The seat is at the level of my knees when I am standing on the pedals! (The guide told us we must never sit down - I wonder why they even bother with the seat) The helmet took some getting used to, as the bit that jutted out over my chin meant I couldn't see my hands or my front wheel - a bit like going hiking and not being able to see your feet.
For lunch I raced to my new favourite eatery (Splitz) and got another of their fabulous icecreams; and a large fries.
In the afternoon I had the guide to myself and he took me up a gondola, then another chair, right to the top - something that regular users can't usually do. It was magic being at the very top, among the old snow and rocks and mountain tops; with a bike. We cycled to the Peak to Peak Gondola; hid the bikes and took the gondola just for fun. We saw a few black bears way down among the shrubs. Back on the bikes again we bounced all the way back to the bottom. Most of the tracks (greens and blues) he took me on were great; there were a couple of really rocky and tree-rooty ones that I didn't like and had to get off my bike for.
My guide, Jason, was a bit arrogant and unprofessional in his manner; though perfectly nice to me. So it was quite funny when he fell off his bike on one corner....
Jimmy met me at the end of the day; and told me he had a Splitz icecream and fries for lunch as well!! Sara had made a huge pot of homemade vege soup - using alot of her homegrown veges - which hit the spot.
Today, Friday, we explored the free single tracks on our touring bikes. We stuck with the nice smooth 'easy' trails; it was great fun. We went to Splitz to get our icecream fix but they had a power failure and all the icecreams were back at the manager's home.... We're hoping to catch another one before we leave tomorrow.....

Whistler: Disneyland for adults

The first views of Whistler were rounding a bend in the road and seeing a lake surrounded by trees, with mountains in the background. We got onto the beautifully paved bike path and followed the signs into the city. Any town or city that has paved bike paths has won me over already.

We arrived at Village Square and it felt like disneyland. There were downhill mountain bikers everywhere, and the chairlift was right in town. So I just sat and ate cheese sandwiches and watched the downhillers flying down the hill in quick succession; then get on the chairlift to do it all again. It was a bit daunting seeing them going over the huge jumps, and following so closely behind one another, but I later found out that those were not the regular trails; there were others near the exit too! We spent our first day in Whistler wandering around the shops; I was knackered. 6 100km days in a row probably had something to do with that.
I really wanted a McDonald's chocolate sundae (I've not had so many McDonald's sundaes back to back, ever, but they do the trick!). We got talking to a local, Tom, who tried suggesting 'local' eateries, including Splitz Grill. I think he was a bit put-out that we were going to go to McDonalds! I suddenly got tired of pushing my fully-loaded bike on the strictly pedestrian-only street and plomped myself down on a park bench and sent Jimmy off to get the sundaes. After we'd eaten the sundaes I felt a bit better and we wandered down to the supermarket to think about dinner. Jimmy popped off to find a liquor store and I minded the bikes. That's when I smelt KFC. I have not had KFC for years. I left the bikes and nipped in and got some chicken and fries. Jimmy came back and we noticed Tom's bike. I really didn't want him catching me eating KFC as well! We took off across the carpark; and by the time he found us I had finished and disposed of the evidence....
We cycled to meet Jimmy's friend Gaz, a kiwi rafting guide now based in Whistler. He rents a tiny 1 bedroom unit, up a pretty steep hill. We had a quiet night in; Gaz went out for a swim and we did the dishes - I laughed to Jimmy that here we were in a Party Town and we stayed in washing dishes....
The next day was our Day Off. I was feeling pretty jaded so went for some retail therapy which worked very well. I now own another pair of shoes, and another air mattress....
We went to Splitz Grill for a burger and I ordered an icecream as well. The icecream was a meal in itself! It seemed to be the best value in town and was divine. Two huge scoops in a waffle cone. I was elated.
About 5pm we went to a Warmshowers hosts house. She wasn't home and I ended up talking to her landlord upstairs - who immediately offered us her place to stay as Sara's is so small! The landlord was heading off to Vancouver so we have the place to ourselves. We are so lucky.

Highway 99!

We set off from Blue River in the rain, hoping things would clear. Google Maps said it was 120km to Bridge Lake (it was actually 180km). It was a long 100km to the next town, Clearwater - and I realised that there was no way Bridge Lake could be only 20km further up the road. I was ravenous when we arrived into Clearwater about 4pm and the first thing I saw was a Dairy Queen. There was no hesitation in stopping; and we ordered their special deal of "4 items for $6". I wolfed down my sundae; Jimmy had 2 burgers and a sundae - then I went back to the counter and ordered 4 more things (including a second sundae).... We decided to stay in Clearwater for the night; and headed to the supermarket on the way to the campground. "So, what shall we buy for dinner?" I asked Jimmy. He said "Oh, I thought that WAS dinner we just had".
The campground was by the lovely Dutch Lake and it was a lovely novelty to be able to sit at the picnic table in the twilight, with a clear(ish) sky and no rain...


The next day we turned off Highway 97 and headed up the hill from Little Fort. We'd been warned it was 'a bit of a climb' and it was. 12km of unrelenting uphill; which at 7km/hour makes slow-going. We arrived in Bridge Lake just as the rain started; luckily there was enough of a break in the weather to set up the tents at Sheridan Lake. We had dinner at Del's diner just up the road - it was a simple dinner but we didn't want to leave his warm, dry, cosy building! The prospect of sitting in a tent in the rain didn't really appeal...
The next day we rejoined Highway 97 and pedalled our way to Clinton. As we entered town we saw a campground offering $9.99 BBQ buffet; which of course got our attention. We went to the local museum and information centre and got talking to Mike, who has lived in Clinton for 40 years. We asked about the campground and BBQ buffet and he entertained us with stories about the owner; also called Mike, from Mexico. "He annoys me. No-one in town likes him. He said to me once "I think half the people in town don't like me" - and I said back to him "don't be so modest; it's more than that". Museum Mike then talked about the BBQ buffet "I'm not sure about the hygiene - I mean, no-one has actually DIED eating his food but...."
The campground did have a charm about it, and nice green grass to pitch a tent, so we stayed there; and had the buffet. The buffet consisted of various slow cookers containing mashed potato, zucchini casserole (amazing); fried green tomato curry (very nice) - but I could imagine he would use the same curries night after night.... We told Mexican Mike that we'd met the other Mike and immediately he said "What did he say about me? Everyone in town is just jealous that I make money". I think we met the two biggest characters of Clinton, and could imagine them butting heads at all the community events....

The next day we turned onto the fantastic Highway 99; a highlight of the trip for me. It is a narrow tourist Highway with no trucks. We cycled first through the Marble Canyon which was dramatic with it's sharply rising rock faces. We stopped at the Hat Creek Historic Ranch and had a coffee and muffin. Jimmy was eyeing up everyone else eating large hot breakfasts; and said "I'm still hungry". So we ordered pancakes with an extra side of hash browns. Out came two plates of pure carbohydrate. We both suddenly felt quite daunted just looking at it! I wolfed down the hash brown (which was just pieces of potato fried up); then started, quite a bit slower, on the pancakes. I was really quite full even before I'd finished the first of the three pancakes, but as I had ordered them I had to eat them..... I gave up halfway through the last pancake and couldn't face another bite. Having an overfull stomach while riding does take away from the enjoyment of the experience somewhat (and Jimmy enjoyed teasing me by saying "pancake" and hearing me groan); I just can't believe I keep making the same mistake over and over.....
Usually I need to eat every 20km of cycling; but after the carbo-loading at Hay Creek it wasn't until mid afternoon and 60km that I could face looking at food - Jimmy thought that was very efficient and suggested we make a regular habit it loading up like that..... (he was kidding).
We arrived in Lillooet and camped at the Cayoosh Campground by the river.
The next day we were heading from Lillooet to Pemberton. Various people had warned us about the 'big climb' out of Lillooet and we were curious to know what it would be like - different people have different ideas of what 'big' is; and we'd done a few big passes already, so we weren't worried. It was nice and cool at 8am and there was no wind. A good start.

The quiet road wound it's way up the valley, with snow-covered mountains coming into view. Stunning. It was a steep grade (13% in places) but the seal was good, the road was quiet, the scenery stunning and distracting. We were loving it.

After about 10km we had some downhills, and were saying to each other that it was disappointing the uphill was over - was that ALL? We spoke too soon.
The steep grades were over but the relentless uphill continued for kilometres. We arrived at the beautiful Duffy Lake, after 50km of uphill.

I was expecting the promised downhill to begin. It didn't. We continued up. We were expecting to do 100km this day, to make it to Pemberton; and I started to doubt we would be able to. I was running through my mind what food we had if we had to camp out a night - not much. It would be strict rations of muesli, 1 egg, 1 sausage, 1 bread roll, no milk with our coffee.....
Finally, by about 2;30pm and 68km of uphill we reached a sign that made us smile "Steep grades downhill next 13km"
.
It was up to 15% gradient on the downhill and you could smell the brakes from the cars. Jimmy's rear brake overheated and stopped working.... I was flying ahead of him so didn't know until afterwards. I said mine must have been fine as they didn't get used much....
It was a wonderful feeling cycling the last 15km into Pemberton. Suddenly my energy returned and the flat (it was even slightly uphill as we were following a river upstream) felt like a downhill.
Pemberton is cute. It's tiny, with just a few shops. It's a flat valley, surrounded by hills and mountains. I like it. Immediate first stop was McDonald's for a sundae. Then we headed to our Warmshowers hosts, Niki and Anna. It was a magic evening swapping stories about cycle touring (always a popular topic) and life in general. It was also magical sleeping inside and on a bed..... In the morning Anna offered to make her special porridge; which i have to admit was better than mine (and I think my porridge is pretty good).
Today we are off to Whistler, a 'short' 32km uphill ride; we are running ahead of schedule with a few days left up our sleeves. We pretty much have only 2 cycling days left - the rest will be spend exploring Vancouver and shopping!

Heading West on the Homeward Journey

While I was writing my last post Jimmy was in an Outdoor Shop. He wanted to show me a top he liked. I said it looked a bit 'try-hard' - and that's when the shop assistant explained it was a women's top.... Then I noticed the bike shorts on the next rack. Below the knee 'Smart Wool' cycle shorts. Yes, come to think of it, my knees were getting a little chilly the past few days.... So I walked out of the store with a new pair of bike shorts. And matching wool socks. I'm starting to feel a little fashionable!
We went to the pub for dinner - and had the same great burger and fries deal we'd had the night before! It was Jimmy's third identical burger; and my second. It was unbeatable so why change a good thing?
The next morning we loaded the bikes again and left Jasper. It felt good to be on the road again. The weather was pretty overcast so the mountaintops were obscured. There were "moose 30km" warning signs, but we didn't see any. Apparently they are still 'away up'. It was a fairly easy 120km ride to Valemount - generally downhill, with a tailwind. I can't believe we are still getting tailwinds now that we have changed direction and are heading West!
We arrived in Valemount about 3pm, gaining an hour in the day by crossing a time zone. Valemount is a very sleepy, tiny town with a few shops and a grid of 'suburbia'. We cruised through the streets to find our Warmshowers host's house. It was a weird feeling cycling along the deathly quiet streets, past permanent-looking trailer homes, in varying degrees of 'done-up-ness'.
It was a real pleasure to meet Tom and his friend Peggy; both keen cycle tourists. Tom's place is lovely. He's a carpenter so has renovated his trailer with gorgeous wood panelling and framework. We'd found a New Zealand wine in the liquor store, which we had with the lovely dinner Tom made.

The next day was pretty overcast, but still a tailwind which was just incredible. We arrived 90km later in Blue River about 2pm. Blue River is even smaller and sleepier than Valemount. We weren't sure what to do in Blue River all afternoon so considered pushing on a bit further. But the next town (and campground) is 90km away, in Clearwater! It really feels like we are out in the sticks here. We got some supplies from the small grocery store (I made myself sick on blueberry flavoured australian licorice) and headed to the Blue River Campground. Jimmy spotted some Teepees and, as it is only $3 more to stay in a teepee than our own tents, we are staying in a teepee tonight! AND it has fullsized mattresses inside!!!
Luxury.... There is a 'loungeroom' - an openair area with a roof on - with TV, cooker and tables; so I have been glued to the TV (watching US Masterchef - while cooking and eating a considerably less exciting packet soup) and generally feeling quite relaxed and pleased about how the day has turned out. Tomorrow we hope to make it to another Warmshowers host in Bridge Water.

Edith Cavell, Jasper

Our big lunch lasted us until we got to our campground for the night; Mt Kerskelin campground, another basic National Park campsite with no shower and just pit toilets. I was desperate for a wash due to missing a shower the day before, so had no choice but to plunge into the glacial stream. It felt so good to be clean! The ranger came by to check our tickets and Jimmy asked if there were any bears. "Oh yes!" she said cheerfully. "And we have a wolf around too".
Jimmy wanted a small dinner so we had one of the freeze-dried meals he'd been given weeks ago that he'd been carting amongst his clothes in his bag. It was an uneventful night in the tents - I just put my ear plugs in and forgot about being in a National Park full of wild animals.... In the morning we awoke to rain. This meant a lesiurely breakfast and 3 coffees while waiting for the rain to stop. We eventually packed our gear and hit the road, stopping at the Athabasca Falls just 4km down the road. We were ravenous! It had been 2 hours since breakfast by this point, but still felt funny to be so hungry after only 4km on the road.... The falls were cool, lots of water gushing.









We turned off the highway and headed up the Edith Cavell road, a 14km climb up a dead-end road into the mountains. There were sightings of a female grizzly bear with cubs, so I made sure my bear-bell was ringing as we cycled up! The clouds were looming rather ominously, but kept shifting and giving hope that we might get some good views of the mountains... We arrived at the hostel at 2pm to find checkin was not until 5pm! So we continued the 2km on up to the carpark and glacier walk. Which is when it started sleeting. We were both cold and Jimmy muttered about heading straight down the hill to Jasper (20km away). I really wanted to stay in the hostel, despite knowing it was another 'rustic' hostel with no hot showers. We were cold and hungry (a now familiar feeling) and let ourselves into the hostel kitchen and made some hot soup. Within minutes the sun was out again and the sky started to clear. By this stage we weren't in the mood to hike back up the road to visit the glacier, so just relaxed at the hostel. Gradually it filled with hikers and other holidaymakers; with the warm fire and cooking smells from dinners it was very cosy. I sat in a corner and drank wine offered by a german couple who spoke little english.
The next morning we flew down the newly asphalted smooth road back to the main highway. It was so cold we had to stop and put plastic bags over our hands. (I already had them on my feet).

It was a nice short down-hill ride into Jasper; our first town in days. Jimmy was really looking forward to going to McDonalds but unfortunately they didn't have one. I think Jasper prides itself on allowing few of the chain stores to set up shop.
We wandered into a pub on Sunday afternoon; where there was a local acoustic jamming session in full swing. It was nice to sit in a warm pub drinking chardonnay and listening to the men singing and playing. That evening we went to the movies and saw "Eat Pray Love"; it was surprisingly good. I was expecting american cringe; but the cinematography was fantastic.
Today is our 'day off' - spent exploring the cycle trails surrounding Jasper. A day of cycling without luggage is like a day off, really!

Tomorrow we start on Highway 16; our turning point as we are now halfway through and heading back West towards Vancouver. We've done about 1600km now.... I have a new bike seat - I reluctantly had to give up on my Brooks saddle in Banff - I had to concede defeat that if 10,000km of touring still hadn't 'broken it in' to a good comfort level then it probably just didn't suit me. I now have a saddle called "megasoft" and it seems to be working fine...