A slow start today enjoying being refreshed after sleeping in a bed for the first time in more than a week. Al showed me around Northwest Community College where he teaches. He walked me through the new and impressive Long House, which is turning out to be a great resource for the community.

I have a late breakfast of complex carbs as recommended by a fellow cyclist.

The ride along the Skeena River was rolling and with little traffic. The sky was clear and I was pushed along with a light tailwind all day.

One theory I have about being a solo cyclist is that you are not seen as a threat of any kind to people along the way. People instinctively know you might be open to conversation as you have no one else to talk to but yourself. And unlike a solo hiker or walker, with your fully loaded bike, people know you won’t be staying long so why not strike up a conversation?

A good example was when I was riding by a former restaurant, the Grill. There I found three friends on the porch cleaning fiddleheads for dinner. They – Rob, Wendy and Phil – more or less insisted I stop and get a story of the place. And they wanted to know my story too. They have lived there, living close to the land and what it produces for the past three years. They plan to
reopen as a restaurant to be called The Seven Sisters.

At one road rest stop, BC parks ministry suggests I stretch. What great copy.

Photo forthcoming..,

I make it to Kitwanga, about 90 km from Terrace where I am told there is
a restaurant. There is one, where Route 37, the Alaska Highway goes north and splits from the Yellowhead Highway. If you like deep fried food, you would not be disappointed. There is absolutely nothing fresh for sale. No salad, no fruit, no vegetables. A fresh food desert. I manage with a hamburger and fries, which came slathered with gravy. Yikes, no wonder bodies in this community are shaped the way they are.

Although it is approaching 8 pm by the time I leave the restaurant, with clear skies and no traffic, I decide to pedal away into the peace of the evening. It is like my own private universe.

I continue until it is too dark to ride but that is nearly 11 pm. I ride hopeful that i will see the white “spirit bear” that has been spotted in the area but all i see is bear droppings along the roadway. By midnight, settle quietly into the Seeley Lake Provincial Park.

Stats

Start: Terrace
End: Seeley Lake
Distance: 130 km
Average Speed: 19.4 km/hr
Time on Bike: 6:42
Distance to Date: 1,112 km