Yeah, my biking buddy is turning 50 today. May the next 50 be just as good as the first.
June 2: Princeton to Keremeos (68.84km)
Another late start to our day. After breakfast and getting a few groceries we were on the road by 10:00. Riding was really good today because it was again mostly downhill. So we made good time and reached our destination in early afternoon. There was only one campground and it was on the side of the highway. So we skipped that and went to a motel. Tony is proving to be not only good company, but also a shrewd negotiator. We had to get two rooms as one of Tony's friends was coming to visit him and I would have a room to my own. Anyways, Tony negotiated my room from $65 to $40. Thanks Tony.
I let Tony and his friend catch up and I spent the evening on my own. So I decided to check what Keremeos has to offer. Well apparently not much. The few merchants were closed by 6:00 and even most restaurants closed not long after 7:00. So I went to the town bar and watched the hockey game. It's strange, I'm watching more TV on this trip than I ever do. That's going to change shortly as I plan to do more camping.
My morale is surprisingly good so far. I say surprisingly because I anticipated that the first few weeks were going to be really tough as I would be transitioning into this new lifestyle and getting used to not having my usual creature comforts. It's true that I've spoiled myself with a number of motel nights and having Tony around to chat with makes things easier as well.
Small anecdote: As you may know, Rambo (the first movie) was filmed in Hope BC which I visited a few days ago. As a result, I'll have to rent that movie when I get back home to see if I recognize the sights. Anyways, when Tony was talking to his friend this evening, he mentioned this bit of trivia and subsequently told a story where I was involved. The two bits of information got mixed up in Tony's mind and he referred to me as Rambo. This garnered a good laugh between the two of them (not exactly sure why:) and they have come to refer to me with that name ever since. I can safely say, this is the first time I have been confused with Sylvester Stallone!
June 3: Keremeos to Osoyoos (52.45km)
A fairly easy ride today. The day began with some rolling hills and then there was a long uphill followed by a nice downhill into Osoyoos. I could have gone further, but I need to get a few things done (e.g. laundry, getting my bike checked, etc) and Osoyoos is the best place to do this for another few days. When I leave, it promises to be challenging as I'm told that the hardest hill I will face is not long after leaving town. Yikes!
Osoyoos is in the desert. So I deduced that it would be pretty warm here. Well I was wrong. It's cloudy, drizzly and threatening rain for tomorrow. But we decided that it was enough with the motels and are camping at a nice campground tonight. In fact the weather has been coolish ever since I began the trip except for one day. Hopefully it won't persist.
A couple of people asked me for my review to Indiana Jones. Errr, mediocre. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for mindless action, but I was rolling my eyes at the unlikely predicaments that the characters would endure unscathed. I guess it wasn't cerebral enough for me ... ah ha ha ha! Phew, I kill me. In case you don't know – I have horrible taste in movies and cerebral would not describe most of my movie choices.
June 4: Osoyoos to Osoyoos (about 8km running errands)
Well as the heading suggests, I ran errands this morning. It was actually good to get on the bike, because it was freezing cold this morning and I needed to warm up. I was nice and cozy in the tent, but when I got up to make breakfast, zowie it was freezing and the wind off the lake was biting (my campsite is right on the lake).
Anyways, not much to report except that I met a number of nice people and my campsite neighbours invited me to supper when I cross through there home town of Thunder Bay.
Not sure when I'll post next. Probably not until I reach Nelson which hopefully should be in about 4 days. Here are my recent photos.
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7 comments:
Salut Roland,
Le moins que l'on puisse dire c'est que j'ai vraiment du plaisir à lire tes aventures. Ce qui est très intéressant, c'est qu'il y a quelque chose de nouveau sur ton site à chaque fois que je le consulte. Bref, j'ai impression d'être là, pas trop loin de l'action.
Si je compte bien, tu as déjà parcouru à vélo plus de kilomètres que moi pendant toute l'année dernière. Certains diront peut-être que ce n'est pas un grand exploit, mais pour moi, cela mérite un premier Bravo!. Si je me souviens bien de mes cours de géographie, j'en déduis que les Rocheuses approchent lentement(!). J'espère que les premières montées seront aussi agréables que les derniers jours (avec les écureuils en moins...). Bonne route! You can do it!!
S.N.
To build on what "S.N." said (for those of you who don't read French, he said that Roland has now passed the mileage that S.N. pedalled during all of last year)... you passed my mileage in your trip to the grocery store on your first Monday in Vancouver!
:-)
I'm checking the blog nearly every day. Saw a post from Terry, but still waiting to see Rodrigue, Sheryl, Renee, Andre, Julien and Dominique. Hello... are you out there? Maybe even Hannah, Simonne and Benjamin too!
:-) Monique
Bonjour Roland,
On partage le plaisir de te lire de Sylvain mais je commence à m'inquiéter un peu... 60 km ici par là on est loin de notre moyenne de 130 km par jour? On a vraiment hâte que tu sois dans les Rocheuses!!! Bon courage dans les premières montagnes! Plus vite Roland!!! Denis & Ginette
Hey Rambo,
(Why I didn't think of that one myself, earlier, I don't know...)
You sound great!! As in it sounds like you have settled in great to the touring lifestyle and that's fabulous :-) I'm pumped to see/read/infer that ;-)
Keep enjoying every pedal stroke and every sight along the way. But you don't have to enjoy those freezing mornings in your tent, if you don't want to. There are limits, you know ;-)
Best, Caroline
ps. I bet those two books you ditched made for one heck of a roaring campfire!
Dear Uncle Roland, I didn't know anyone could put anything on the internet. Well, congratulations! I like biking too. But I never went that far! I hope your sunburn gets better. Love,
Erika
Hi Everyone,
Thank you all for posting on my blog. I'm enjoying writing it and I'm enjoying reading the postings even more. A very special hello to my niece Erika who I didn't expect to receive a message from. I very much appreciate it Erika.
Things are still good on my end and I will post the details of the last few days in about a half hour or so. I'm spoiling myself today, but I am freezing. It is way to cold for June.
Thanks again everyone,
Rambo
PS: Desole Ginette et Denis, mais ma moyenne a diminue considerablement dans les derniers jours.
Salut Roland,
Just'avant ton départ je te disais que tu étais super chanceux d'entreprendre ce défis et que j'étais jaloux. Après la lecture de tes aventures jusqu'à maintenant, je ne suis pas aussi jaloux. J'espère que la santé, la route et la température s'amélioreront. On a bien hate de te revoir au bureau. Bon courage et penses que tu aurais pu être en face de ton écran d'ordi tout ce temps, si tu n'avais pas pas été sur ta bicyclette. Pense aussi aux difficultés si tu avais fais le voyage d'est en ouest avec les vents prédominants! Bon courage Raynald L
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