View Larger MapWe started on the road after a vegetarian Breakfast. There was lots of wind blowing down the canyon and we should have taken that for a sign but we started rolling on the highway and then the first rain hit. Big wind and Heavy Rain.
We stopped after about 2 miles and closed the vents on our Kilimanjaro jackets and Eric changed from his mesh summer gloves to waterproof leather winter gloves. It was much better for both of us, but we were wet underneath already. It was cold riding and we started looking for a place to dry-out.
We rode until we reached the Husky Station in Cache Creek. We filled-up and then went inside and took off our cooling vests and put the fleece liners in our coats. Jennifer put on thermals also. We generally dried ourselves out for 30 minutes. While we were there drying, we talked to 2 Harley riders and a GSA 2008 rider all from Vancouver.
We went to a bank in Cache Creek (RCB Financial), that we actually passed at first because it didn't look like a bank, and got $400 CDN in anticipation for those times when credit cards are not accepted. A really friendly couple in the bank parking lot wanted to talk. He rode a Weestrom, she was really looking for a bike for herself and was interested in Jennifer’s Versys.
We got rolling again and rode through all the town/building mile houses 70, 100, 150. There was on and off rain as we rode and it was cloudy most of the day. We stopped for lunch at the 100 mile house at a Subway (Hot Meatball Marinara after our cold morning!)
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We were planning to stop for the night in Quesnal, but it was too early in the day and the town was too big to be “interesting” for so early on our trip. We then looked for lodging in the small town of Hixon, but the main drag Motel was full and the option of setting-up camping in the rain was not fun. In the end we kept riding all the way to Prince George.Prince George is a big spread-out town with a University. We stuck to our planned route through town until we saw a roadside Motel Sign that said $29.99. When we asked at the office, an actual room for 2 with a shower and a double bed was $45. We paid without seeing the room and then went to the room - what a dive! The shower was just a vertical coffin. The floor didn’t seem safe for weight in the bathroom. There were patched raised holes in the floor. The toilet was unsecured and felt like it was held to the floor with rubber bands. There was an overwhelming scent of cheap air freshener.
Another family on 2 Harleys rode up while we were unloading the bikes. They were from Alaska and had been in the lower 48 for several weeks. The wife was on a HUGE trike, the Husband was on big Harley with a trailer. The late-teens son was riding with the Husband. They had stopped at the Prince George Harley dealer for problems with the motor mount on the trike, but there was still something else wrong, so they had to stay over to continue the work the next day. The Husband said they had traveled already 6000 miles and they had around $6000 in repair bills already.
There were no restaurants within walking distance, so we used our camping stove and freeze-dried dinners and enjoyed one of those meals for the night.
