Prince George

Tuesday morning was fortunately a bit cooler than the previous morning and the skies were hazy with several fires burning in the area.  The destination was Prince George – only about a 445km ride.  I need to buy some oil for another change as I’m approaching the 4000 mile mark since the last change in Fairbanks.

I was feeling a bit rough on this morning – most likely due to the sketchy Chinese food I ate the night before.  Always trust your instincts.  The place was convenient as it was right next door to the place we were staying but didn’t give me a good cleanliness impression upon walking in.  I should have walked out but didn’t and am now paying the price.  First stomach issues of the trip.

The ride was about 20 degrees cooler than the day before at peak daytime heat.  The only challenge was the smoke in the air from the fires.  It was definitely stinging my eyes a bit as we rode.  We arrive in Prince George around 3pm and I walked to the auto store to buy some oil and a pan.  The parking lot of the motel where we were staying was a bit cramped and crowded so I opted to carry the supplies to the next stop and do the change there.  Dinner consisted of a grocery store deli salad as that was all I could stomach.  Prince George gives the impression of a sketchy town and the motel was in a sketchy area so I had to do a full de-rig of the bike – first time in ages and a PITA.  To bed early hoping I would feel better in the morning.

Wednesday morning was cool and partly sunny with rain in the forecast.  I geared up prepared for the first rain in over a week.  The destination was Valemount and only a short 3 hour ride.  Joe has decided to tag along for a couple more days before heading back towards Seattle.  He has been to Jasper but not Banff so decided to extend his trip.  The goal was to get within striking distance of Jasper NP and the Icefields Parkway.  All campgrounds and lodging in Jasper were booked or over $500 per night so staging 70 miles out was the only sane option.  I stayed dry until the last hour and then got dumped on.  Luckily it was only for about 20 minutes and then was able to dry out during last few miles into Valemount.  It started raining (and hailing) again just as we pulled into the motel lot.  So I took a nap and waited for the rain to stop so I could change my oil and filter.  The forecast was for clearing late after noon and it turned out to be correct.  By 4:30pm the sun was peaking through the rain clouds.  I changed the oil and filter, cleaned and oiled my chain and checked all the bolts for tightness.  Several had backed out again.  This bike vibrates a bunch and I’ve already lost two bolts to backing out during this trip.  Glad I checked and saved them this time.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow and the ride through Jasper and Banff.  Hopefully traffic would be too terrible in the park as we have to cover about 450k.  The destination for tomorrow after touring the parks is a hostel in Golden.  The forecast is again for rain but hopeful that the visibility will decent to get a glimpse of some of the glaciers.