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Tuesday July 30        Rest Day 5

      Fort Nelson (BC)

Nice pleasant Rest Day and not many distractions in town.

Last night I had some British Columbia salmon for dinner with Walker over in Dan’s Pub and tasted lovely. Afterwards checked his pricing on premium products in his liquor store.

Fort Nelson was originally a fur trading post for the Hudson Bay Company in 1805 and is named after the naval hero, Horacio Nelson. Many of its 3500 inhabitants are involved in or service the natural gas, forestry or tourism sectors. The Alaska Highway runs through the centre. Originally Fort Nelson was Point Zero of the Highway, the work started here. There was a road from Fort Nelson to Fort St John to Dawson Creek already. Once completed Dawson Creek was named as Point Zero and now Fort Nelson is Point 455 km.

Rose early and after a few phone calls attended to the usual - drying the tent, laundry and cleaning/oiling the bike. Bike is on a Rest Day also and I’m looking after it well re accommodation .

In the afternoon, I took the bike out down to the Heritage Museum at the other end of town. Marl Brown, a Canadian Army mechanic started collecting on the 1950’s and the Museum opened its doors in 1987. He is still very active its operation.

I had a good wander around viewing the usual farm equipment but also heavy gear used in the construction of the highway.

Outside in an open shed I came across a vehicle used in the construction of the Highway. It was a Ford 1500 with v8 engine. It had a selective to front axel in order to act as a 4-wheel drive. This one was restored by Marl Brown in 1992 for the 50 anniversary of the Highway.

In the car shed I met the guide, Paul Dimaggio, whose mother’s side have connections with Co Cork, a family named Kenney. He stated that all the cars in the shed are operational and mobile. The Model T Ford (1924) was repainted in 1965 but nothing else and still operates. It had planetary gearing....virtually automatic. The Model A Ford has a gear stick shift. He said these early Fords had no neutral and had to be started by crank-handle. To stop the car from lunging forward on starting, the rear wheels (rear wheel drive) needed to be jacked up off the ground. And those early ones only had brakes on the rear wheels as had been the norm with horse-drawn carts.

The Dodge Type A (1924) was a 4 cylinder with gears and brakes like the Fords but had a started....Dodge we’re far ahead with this. It has an all-steel body, not wood like the majority of cars of that era.

Outside was a restored vehicle as a Paddy Wagon (his term)  as the guide told me. Marl Browne himself has used it as such on ceremonial occasions.

I enjoyed the while I spent down there wandering about. Relaxing.

Just remains to organise the two bags now and be ready to re-start in the morning. 

Thank God for a lovely day.

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Monday July 29        Cycling Day 22

 Tetsa River (BC) to Fort Nelson (BC)

Distance:  (Km). 114

Time:  5:11

Average Speed: (Km/ hr). 22.0

Ascent:  (m). 958

Heart Rate: (beats / min). 110

Cumulative Distance:   (km). 2441

Cumulative Ascent :  (m). 19,694

Punctures so far : 0

A good night’s sleep last night. It wasn’t from the absence of noise - the generator in the centre of the campground ran all night but it was continuous not intermittent. I adapted to it, earplugs in, and this is the first morning that the alarm woke me. Other mornings the sound of zippers of tents being pulled etc wakes me up. Waking at 6 for breakfast at 7 is ample though other rise much earlier.

Last night had been one of the coldest nights so far, colder than many nights above the Arctic Circle. All layers were on and still it felt cold.

Since there was WiFi at the lodge on the campsite I got the results of the matches. I see Limerick we’re always playing catch-up for the 70 mins. And Tipp seem to have overcome a number of setbacks to triumph at the end. So now all set for an All-Ireland with the old stripped enemy. Bring ‘me on!

I was late out of camp since I rang home on WhatsApp to get all that news. But this campsite is renowned for its cinnamon buns and I purchased one as a treat for myself at the end of this day. Bun......it’s almost half a cake. But it was delicious when I had it after my shower this evening.

So I set off after most had gone. Yesterday cyclists were always in view either ahead or behind. But today we were more stretched out on the road. Some were keen to get to Fort Nelson for the Rest Day while others reckoned there was no rush since rooms wouldn’t be ready till 3:30. The early kms were a continuation of yesterday....still descending from Summit Lake.

But we knew that today was one big climb and then down and flat. The highest point of the day, Steamboat Mountain would come at 32 km. In time that rise in the road appeared ahead. I came to the ‘crest’ just behind Lloyd (Can ) but then I spotted the sign on the right advising motorists to fix chains here. Not the top quite yet, be ready for more. And there was a lot more. I settled in with my hill technique and arrived at the top of Steamboat (1074metres) just behind Herman and Ada (Neth). 

And ahead lay the descent winding its way through the trees and around hills back down to lower ground. From here the view out over the Muskwa-Ketchikan area was spectacular...as good as yesterday. Trees covering the floor of the valley in all directions and those lofty snowy peaks in the far distance. Like the Blue Mountains?

The descent down was as exhilarating as being at the top. I stopped a number of times to admire that view once again. Coming down lasted for 12 kms on open road till the 45 km point.

From there on scenery was absent. The road was left and right, up and down with trees on either side all the time. The most interesting photo I could take along here was the lunch stop at 64 km. Time to rest and to re-fuel for the remaining 50 km.

For the rest of the day the scenery was unimpressive, plenty of the same.

 But at 78 I spotted some movement out to my left.  A black bear, actually two, was making its way to the road. No2 was a bit shy and waited in the growth. He came up on the road, had a look at me and then shyly crossed just behind me. His companion still hid in the growth. Always nice to spot some of Canada’s wildlife along the route. That broke the sameness of the afternoon ride.

Some 30 km from destination, clouds came over and the road was wet and soon heavy drops began to fall. On this level ground careering along at 30 km/hr even a light rain seems much heavier. Cars and RVs coming against me were throwing up a spray. And it was the first time since Nevada (2008) that I encountered rumble strips gouged into the surface. But it was just a narrow strip and possible to avoid them.

Then just 10 km from Fort Nelson I spotted a sight to please the eye....a farm with cattle in the field, and hay for sale. I could have been at home ! I expect more of that from now on.

Over the last 30 km my rain gear was on and off and on and off. Dark clouds were moving across our route. And the Fort Nelson came into view. It’s larger than Watson Lake but not a large town.

Our Rest Day base is Motel 6 just off the Alaska Highway and near to everything. 

Checked into Room 208, showered and enjoyed my cinnamon bun. Now to do all the housework and allow tomorrow to be one of Rest.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.

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Sunday July 28        Cycling Day 21

 Muncho Lake (BC) to Tetsa River (BC)

Distance:  (Km).  137

Time:  6:38

Average Speed: (Km/ hr). 20.7

Ascent:  (m). 1461

Heart Rate: (beats / min). 115

Cumulative Distance:   (km). 2327

Cumulative Ascent :  (m). 18,736

Punctures so far : 0

A rather uneventful night beside Muncho Lake except that I got very little sleep - though a near neighbor had a sound sleep, emphasis on sound. Still that didn’t come against me on the road today.

Crossing my mind umpteen times during the day was how it was going in Cooke Park between We ford and Tipperary. I was constantly on the look out for omens that might indicate who was getting the upper hand. And both counties claim my allegiance for one reason or another. Still I was on edge to know how things were progressing...and what was the result between Kilkenny and Limerick last evening.

Breakfast was officially at 7 and most out on the road by 7:30. We had another 8 km down by the edge of Muncho Lake and the beautiful views there set the tone for the rest of the day. Come on Tipp.

Today we knew that we would cycle over the highest point on the Alaska Highway at 1294 metres. Shortly after leaving the southern end of Muncho Lake a climb started, a stiff climb. It brought us up to 1200 metres altitude and I was thrilled to see the cyclists just ahead of me clearing the crest. This would get most of the climbing out of the way before lunch at 78 km, I thought. Up Wexford.

But shortly after that crest I spotted this sign informing us that we’d be giving back lots of those metres over the next 3.1 kms. All that effort for nothing! But, I really did enjoy that 3.1 km zooming down down around gentle curves with the scenery ahead just breathtaking. Come on, Tipp.

Now we were down beside Toad River and followed its course to the lunch location. The end result was that by lunch we were back down at 670 metres i.e lower than when we set out this morning. But the scenery was beautiful - rugged and ever-changing. At times walls of rock appeared towering over cyclists ahead. It appeared that the road had no chance of threading a passage through the visibly impassable mountains. And high up they were covered with pine trees, some maintaining a foothold in the most impossible looking locations. Up Wexford.

At lunch I surmised if this morning was an omen in itself. After a bright start and the using great effort in scaling the heights only to give it all back and be worse off at half-time (lunch). Did this happen to one of the combatants? Up Tipp, come on Wexford.

After lunch I knew that we would still have to get up to1294 metres from a lower base. But climbing didn’t start straight away. For a long while we stayed by the Toad River and I even spotted a few enclosed fields. In one I saw my ‘wildlife’ for today - horses. I haven’t seen one since I leftTipp almost a month ago. Come on the Premier.

At times the road rose 100 metres or so only to give it back immediately. I was getting nowhere. Knowing that the summit would come at 110 kms and we were now at 90+ , I feared the big lift. And it came - a steep climb by a deep canyon for 4 km. In shape it reminded me of the climb up to Monarch Pass (2008) at the other end of the Rockies.

. I have developed a strategy for dealing with these climbs without bursting a gut. And often I pass others ( not the stronger cyclists) on the hills. Up Wexford. Remember ‘98.

In time the crest appeared up ahead and I knew I’d made it....elated.  Punched the air. Was this the big comeback in the second half. Come on Tipp and Slievenamon.

Just over the top is Summit Lake again showing that vivid green jade coloring. May the best team win.

From there to camp (22km) it was a glorious spin, either downhill or on the flat with an assisting tailwind. I caught up with Walker as we joined the Tetsa River and cycled into camp together with plenty of grassy spots for the tents.

A beautiful day’s cycling. At the end of yesterday’s post I wished for more of scenery and less of rain. I had my wish granted in spades. Re match, I wonder will my other wish be granted.....whatever that wish actually is. I won’t know the results till I actually succeed in uploading this post.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.