Today started out fairly easily as far as these things go. I pack my gear and Meagan's tent as she makes breakfast, and then wash up in Betty's kitchen. After and hour or so of chatting we push out for the highway, where it occurs to me that I want to check my email and such before I hit the road.
Meagan is ok with this, but tells me that she is going to leave right away.
Well, ok. I'll meet up with her in Lytton.
So up to this point we have been told that there is a fairly significant mountain coming up between Boston Bar and Lytton know as Jackass Mountain.
Well, I do my computer stuff and get on the bike about a full hour after Meagan has left. The first two hours of riding seems to go by fairly smoothly and although there are a few hills along the route, I am not over challenged by them until I notice that my bike is suddenly riding kind of weird.
As I look down at the rear tire there is a loud bang, and the valve stem blows off. Hmm, I don't have a spare tube with me at this point.
Well, as I stop the bike and dismount I notice a car pulling up behind me. And who is leaning out the window is Donald from yesterday.
Donald comes up to me wanting to apologize for not being able to host us yesterday when I interrupt him and mention that I am now in need of some help regarding my rear wheel.
So Al (Donald's brother), who is driving the car says that he will zip me up ahead to Meagan to pick up the patch kit in case it will help, and Donald will guard the bike. So off we go, surprise Meagan, grab the patch kit and head back to the bike.
Al thinks he may have a spare tube in his assortment of parts, and he and Donald leave me with my bike on the side of the road to go off and look. Well, sure enough nothing can be done with the tube, and I eventually just take a nap on the side of the road hoping that the guys will be eventually make there way back.
Although it takes most of an hour, they finally reappear, unfortunately with empty hands. Hmm.
Well, I seem to remember that as I entered a tunnel the day before I saw a message regarding a bike shop in Cache Creek (110 km away). Well, Al, will you drive me to Cache Creek and back?
Sure.
So Al, Donald and I drive up the road and let Meagan know what's going on, then Al and Donald drop me off at an Esso (own by a Korean/Canadian named Woo) while they search for someone for Donald to hang around with. Well, no such luck however, Donald isn't terribly interested in making the long trip and jumps out of the car with the intention of making it back to Boston Bar somehow.
From here, Al and I cruise off down the highway, where he introduces me to the world of spirituality according to Al, and along the way he shows me various landmarks and notable items along the way.
Pulling into Cache Creek, we find a series of wooden signs pointing down back roads and side streets to the location of the bike shop. Neil is the owner of Cache Creek Cycle Parts, and sells me his last 27" tube, a new kickstand and a new bike seat.
The ride back is very pleasant however, I am now noticing all the significant climbs that we will be encountering in the coming days... Oh well.
Finally arriving back in Lytton we look in the first campground we encounter and sure enough, there is Meagan setting up the site. Al drops me off, and with many thanks is on his own way again. Meagan turns to me and says, I knew I shouldn't have doubted you'd make it back.
And that is today's miracle on highway 1; goodnight.
No comments:
Post a Comment