Knock knock knock.
Someone is at the door. My goodness, what time is it? Meagan staggers to the door, and Audry is looking in with a face expressing some degree of surprise. "Oh my, most cyclists are up and gone by this point". Meagan rejoins, "Well, we aren't most cyclists".
Blackness.
Sometime later I emerge from slumber and take Meagan's abandoned sleeping bag which is lying innocently on the hide-a-bed mattress she placed on the floor for the night. My own resting place on the couch was blanketless and hardly comfortable during the night and I fully intend to make the best of the next few minutes before the demands of the day set in.
It turns out that the teahouse also makes breakfast and we make our way over to enjoy french-toast, bacon and a couple eggs, then the packing starts, completes and after a brief tour of the Manor, we are on the road again. Almost immediately we encounter problems, this time with Meagan's bike. A significant wobble has materialized whenever she picks up some speed; well lucky thing we are only a few kilometers outside of the town of Cache Creek where we will be able to get most things repaired since I happen to know of a very convenient bike shop in town.
Unfortunately, Neil, the repairman is out of town at some sort of geocaching meeting, however, his sister-in-law Meghan (Sorry! I forget how you spell it!) is about, and lets us know that he will be back at 5:00 PM. Hmmm, I guess we'll be taking the day off. However before we go, we secure a place for ourselves behind their house and then we're off to explore Cache Creek.
Well, first thing on my list is to do a wee bit of laundry. Luckily, we pass the laundromat within mere moments of saying farewell to Meghan. My pocket is full of loonies, and twonies, however I notice that the machines mostly take quarters. Looking around for a change machine I notice a sign which directs me to go next door.
Next door is Bill Stadnyk, quickly he changes my big coins to smaller ones, and as a turn to leave I encounter the balance of his house. Floor to ceiling and wall to wall his house is lined with shelves, bearing of all things, accordions. Laundry can wait, and at once I ask what this is all about. It turns out, Bill is an accordion repair man, the only one in BC outside of Victoria. I call Meagan in to see, and turn to see Bill running to get one of his most favorite instruments.
The following hour is filled with Bill sharing his life and soul with us. From one instrument to the next he plays his music, shares his experiences, pleasures and passion with us. A tour of his shop, an explanation of the workings of the instrument and tune upon tune comes out of the man. The passion of the man brings tears to my eyes. Like no kidding.
Amazing.
Finally we say goodbye, and make our way to Chum's Restaurant. I get some work done, check my email, write some letters and occasionally run back and forth to the laundromat. This goes on for a couple hours until Neil the bike guy strolls up behind me and says, "I hear you need some work done". Well cool. I direct Neil back to his shop where Meagan is now waiting for him, and then pack up and get ready to leave myself. As I leave I see a man in t-shirt and shorts walking down the in front of the restaurant. I call out, "Looks like you are on an adventure". He turns around and says, "Yeah, I'm biking across Canada".
Boy, I must have a sixth or seventh sense pointing me at these people.
Anyways, his name is Terry and is planning on making his way most of the way across the country this summer with a follow up trip next year. At 68 years old he has already biked most of the way around the world and this tour of his home country is the final step in that achievement.
Parting ways with Terry, I head down to the bike shop where a young boy (his name is Quest) runs out of the yard and says, "Yay, Ted is here". Turns out my arrival has been anticipated. Meagan's wobble is now fixed and Neil is working on assorted tune-ups. The Meghan and Gary's (Neils brother) children are playing in the yard and come over to keep me company. The three boys are great little kids who ask all the really important questions like, "did you bring me any toys"?
Neil completes work on Meagan's bike, and turns his attention to mine. After a few minutes he has things tightened and adjusted in a variety of ways to improve my lot on the road. We go around back of the house to set up our tents for the evening and withdraw indoors to chat. The evening finally concludes with Meagan and I sharing our daring adventures and exciting experiences with Gary, Meghan and Neil. The kids are now in bed and finally we ourselves climb into our respective tents on the beautiful lawn to sleep.
And so concludes day 9.
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