Day 23, Wednesday June 29, Quesnel, BC to Port Moody, BC, 667km.
Today, I have an appointment: I am to be at my sister's place for supper in Port Moody, a suburb of Vancouver. She and her family have lived there for thirteen years, yet I've never visited.
On the road at 8:30am following a typical continental breakfast: a bowl of cereal, toast, yogurt, fruit, and coffee.
When about to leave, the fellow on the Concours, whose name I forgot, discovered he was low on oil, but he had none. After receiving so much help in recent weeks, now it was my chance to give back. I had exactly what he needed, a half litre of 10W40 synthetic. "Help yourself", I said. His crash bars necessitated the use of a funnel and I just happened to have a couple of disposable paper ones. He thanked me, of course, but it was really the least I could do; I was quite happy to help.
I said goodbye to the guys, and hit the road. It's about a seven hour ride to Port Moody taking the direct route, but I'd chosen to take the longer way, riding highway 99, the Sea to Sky Highway.
I made good time on 97, arriving at the cutoff for 99, just north of Cache Creek, around noon. With about half distance done, I thought I was in good shape. Not so. The ride on the Sea to Sky, while spectacularly scenic, is much slower with more traffic. I remained committed, though, and carried on.
The Sea to Sky is breathtaking. One could stop every two minutes for photos. Incredible views, great riding. The top half is more barren, the road twisting around mountains and rock faces. Some areas remind me of the same scenes you see in a carefully made model railroad, only on a 1:1 scale! Fantastic!
While a lovely ride, progress was slowed by construction and plenty of traffic, including numerous RVs and camping trailers. With so many twists and turns, getting stuck behind one was common, passing opportunities few.
Even heavier traffic south of Whistler, now late afternoon, and it was hot, hot! The rider was becoming cranky.
The Chief, a granite dome in Squamish, was magnificent, but where's the photo? Simply not enough time. However, I did stop for a short walk and a photo at Shannon Falls Provincial Park. The shade of the park was most welcome, the falls themselves glorious.
Now onto the final leg of the day, and the heaviest traffic yet. Rush hour in Vancouver is every bit as bad as Toronto. To make matters worse, the hated GPS had a way point inadvertently added, thus taking me on a ridiculous ride through north west Vancouver. Once I finally figured out all was not right, I'd lost a ton of time and was fuming.
I got back on the right track, at long last arriving at my sister's place at 8:30pm! Twelve hours in the saddle. I was hot, tired, hungry, and generally unhappy. This was the toughest day yet.
My sister was quite concerned with my state, clearly beaten by the day, and quickly ushered me in to a waiting meal. So nice to be off the road and out of the heat, with family who I've not seen for over a year. I was given the royal treatment and slept like a baby.
Tomorrow: Nuthin'!
Crown Lake, BC
Shannon Falls Provincial Park.
In a real garage for the night.
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