Finally, I catch a break!

Today was, as hoped for and predicted by the British Columbian weather station at Quitcherbitchin, B.C, a stellar day. I woke to low hanging mist, awaken by the sound of Gareh's bike starting and pulling out at 7.

 I packed everything but the rain pants, which went on to ward off the moister in the air. You quite literally act as a sponge when riding through the morning fog at highway speeds. My plan was to ride until I found the first place offering breakfast (in B.C. that could be 62.09 miles, or a hundred Km, which ever comes first. A break for breakfast, then a decision whether or not to shed the rain pants. As I mentioned before, the pants serve not only to keep me dry but also to keep me warm(er) because they are non-porous and excel at retaining body heat. 

Five miles down the road I had climbed to a point where I pierced the top of the morning mist. The (brief) panorama allowed me to see the mountain peaks that lay ahead.

I soon descended into the mist once again, but by milepost 20 (only kidding it was Km1483693686) it was clear, and would stay that way for the duration. A ridge of snow capped peaks rose before me. . The opportunity for breakfast came at a spot on the map labeled Bell II, at a classy little place called Bell 2 Lodge which I was to find out is, in the winter, a heliport for adventure seekers to be swept away to nearby peaks, for a day of heliskiing! I could have chosen to refuel here but instead decided to ride about an hour further to Meziadin Junction. The exact meaning of Meziadin has been lost over the years but may be related to a First Nation word meaning "Don't ask me how to pronounce it, you made it up"!

By the way, I found out while reading a book at the 16 Mile Cabin titled "What Canadians think", that the official Canadian spelling of their oft used expression is "eh". I have been using the English, non-metric version, ""hey", pronounced with a silent H. Just like the title of their National Anthem is actually "O Canada", not the Americanised "Oh Canada". Don't worry aboot it, they don't!

Before pulling out of the parking lot of the Bell 2 Lodge I stored the rain pants. The remainder of the day was stamped with clear skies and ever escalating temperatures. 

I was making such good time that I actually came to Meziadin Junction before I was expecting to. I flew by two parking lot entry points at the gas station and finally turned left onto a paved road, another highway that was intersecting the Cassiar Highway. It allowed access to the parking lot, so I pulled up to the pumps and refueled. I went inside to get the receipt that failed to print at the pump and asked, just to verify, how far down the road (that I had been on) Kitwanga was. She quickly corrected me. I needed to turn left on the road I had entered from, in order to get to Kitwanga. Had I refueled at Bell II, I would have blown right by this station, and the intersection, probably remaining blind to my error until arriving at the gulf of Alaska!

Both the scenery and the temperature improved the further down the highway I rode. A hundred and fifty three Kilometers  (kilometres) later, I rolled to the stop sign at the end of the Cassiar. The two days had turned into four, three of which were less than fulfilling. But the final one was near perfect, the reason I ride, or one of them anyway.

A left turn on Highway 16 and I was headed toward Prince George, by way of Smithers, B.C. The next step in my grand plan, and the only additional one to date, was to stop at Smithers and find the Harley Distributor. There I intended to see if, without delaying my adventure unduly, a check could be done to see if Charlie and Wally had correctly aligned and tensioned my power drive belt. And buy a poker chip for my collection.

I found it, they checked it, it was way too tight. So I left the bike there, got a motel room and a poker chip and they, the Harley Dealer, got it in and back out again in no time! To top it off, they washed my bike! Yeah, it looks great again! 

and they gave Spuddy a (dry) front row seat to watch the show!

I roll again in the morning, at least to Prince George, if not further. The motel is real nice and even has U.S. quality WiFi, meaning it sucks. It will allow me to do about half of what I need to do. Hopefully this will get better as I continue east