Friday, June 22, 2007
Dirt, Gravel, Dust, Rain, Wind, and Cold and Mile Zero
Today was a day marked by various challenges. We had it all: dirt, gravel, and dust came from a 10 mile stretch of road construction. It was windy to a point Doug and I had to be careful constantly. The cold was not enough for the Gerbings but it was definitely cold.
It was also a day of both Doug and I being forgetful. The first bonehead move was mine. I realized I forgot my spare battery and charger for the camera when we were about to take an important photo. To my surprise right behind me was a Sony store that had a battery and charger. What luck. Doug's moment of brain flatulence came as we were leaving a remote location on our route. He abruptly pulled over to the side of the road and said he lost his glasses. He looked down and there they were sitting on a part of the motorcycle engine. What a relief.
Today marked a milestone of sorts for us. We reached Dawson Creek which is considered Mile Zero. There is a famous publication called Milepost that gives a mile by mile description of the roads we will travel. Dawson Creek is the beginning.
I am writing this from the town of Fort Nelson, BC. We are heading to Whitehorse where we will get new tires. Unfortunately the dealer is closed on Sunday so we will take our time and arrive in Whitehorse on Sunday afternoon and go to the dealer first thing on Monday morning. So we have two more easy rides (at distance wise). We are following the weather because there will be a storm tonight here in Fort Nelson.
I want to close by telling you two quick stories. In Lolo we talked to the manager of the hotel in which we stayed. We talked about the ride for cancer patient awareness. He has a sister in Palm Springs, CA. Last night I received a very inspiring email from her where she talked about how cancer had taken the life of her husband.
Do you remember I mentioned meeting two BMW riders from Seattle? Well, one of them took the time to log into this blog. He sent me an email yesterday encouraging Doug and me and told me of a very generous donation he had made to the Sutter Cancer Center. Wow, thank you George.
Dell
