JUST ROLL WITH IT

My plans to get away early to day were thwarted by a client calling half an hour before I left. Back in June-ish, they had booked some time. Between the two of us, we screwed it up because I didn’t block the time in my calendar as I normally do, and they didn’t send the invite as they normally do.  Knowing the rest of my week is booked solid, I said we should just do it this morning as originally planned. So we did.

So Fury and I hit the road at 10:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m. and were once again riding in the peak heat of the day.  Still, we rode peaceably through the Similkameen where you can’t throw a rock without hitting a winery and saw some very pretty scenery. I’m coming to the conclusion that whoever engineered BC roads must have been a rider, because Highway 3 is yet another curvy temptation with stunning scenery.  There was a bit of smoke in the air from the Keremeos fire, accentuated today by the fire fighters’ efforts to build a solid break to protect the Olalla Municipality. I was soon clear of it though and the rest of the ride was smokeless.  Thank you, fire fighters everywhere, for the incredibly hard work you do in beastly conditions to protect our communities. 

I’d headed out without breakfast, so by the time I hit Princeton, I fed Fury and then myself.  My breakfast was at Billy’s Family Restaurant where I had the omelette of the day with hashbrowns and toast and coffee. I scarfed it down like my belly was rubbing on my backbone (it is demonstrably NOT doing so) and felt refreshed.  I can genuinely recommend Billy’s.  😊  It was already very hot, so I dunked my t-shirt in the sink at the restaurant to get the cooling effect through my mesh jacket.

By the time I hit Manning Park, my shirt was completely dry and the temperature had once again risen to well over 30. So I pulled into the rest stop, switched my riding jeans for the mesh riding pants and dumped a full bottle of water over my head, startling the people in the car beside me and making them laugh.  Opening the vents up on my helmet provided a nice little airflow over my head and the wet shirt continued to provide some AC.  This was effective for another half an hour where I repeated the process in Hope.  I stopped at the Hope Slide site, which I have never done in all the years of living in BC and riding that road. It’s not as impressive as the Frank Slide which buried a town, but it is still an outstanding display of nature’s power.  While I was there, I had a nice chat with a gentleman from Ontario who has been on a riding trip in Canada for about a month now. 

Carrying on to Chilliwack, hair and shirt dry once again, I pulled in to top up for gas and dumped another bottle of water over my head.  Note that the practice of regularly dumping water over your head and shoving your helmet back on does not make for fabulous hairstyles...

Hwy 1 traffic was getting a little ridiculous, so I set google maps to “avoid motorways” and dawdled the slow but charming back roads of Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Langley, Surrey and finally Tsawwassen to my final stop at the Coast Tsawwassen Inn where my client booked me for the two days of training. My digs are pretty swank!  I don’t think I ever shed my clothes faster…..after I got into my room. Apparently it’s frowned upon to do it in the lobby…..  Jumped in a cool shower and heaved a sigh of relief. My poor hair is loving the nice Bee Kind shampoo and conditioner here after days of helmet hair and cheap shampoo from the budget places I’m usually in.  The Coast Tsawwassen has a guest laundry, which I sorely needed, so dumped out my bag to do it after dinner. Brown’s Social House is connected to the hotel and happens to be one of my favourite places, so I popped over there for dinner and then came back to find the laundry room all mine. My room has a wee balcony off it that faces the sunset and I spend some time rejuvenating my soul and smiling over my little bag of talismans. I am prepped to deliver tomorrow’s training and ready to hit the hay!

​Thanks for sharing this latest little journey with me.  Be well!