Long day, plus a blown RV tire

Day 17 Sunday, July 1. Pink Mountain to Fort Nelson. Distance 145 miles.

Today was our longest day, in terms of miles and time on the bikes. I did not have to drive the RV today, so I did the whole 145 miles. I'm pretty pooped, but it was a great day out there for riding.

Bert drove first, and we all met at a roadside restaurant at the 33-mile point and ate a late breakfast/early lunch. Here we are at this earthy truck joint (their motto: "A 1000 truckers can't be wrong").

Notice we are all wearing our Tour de Cure kits, in honor of Canada Day since the colors match the Maple Leaf flag.

A highlight of the morning was something I did not see, but Rick, Bob and Bert got to see two grizzly bears and two moose! I was out in the front, and a guy in a truck going the other direction stopped in the road and told be to be careful a few kilometers ahead because he had just seen two grizzlies next to the road. (As he drove on, he also stopped to tell Rick, Bob, and Derek the same thing.) Well, as I rode on, I was VERY observant to watch out for them, but I never did see them. But the others did, and Rick got a photo of one's head as they were lying down in the tall grass near the road. Then he also spotted two moose, but they departed before he could photo them.

Rick was the 2nd driver, and unfortunately one of the rear tires lost all its tread after he'd driven 23 miles. Derek was with him, leaving Bob, Bert and me on the bikes. I took this photo when the three of us first got going, but since Bob rode his light bike today, he later hammered WAY out in front of Bert and me.

We eventually came across the lame RV on the side of the road. Luckily, the treadless tire was still holding its air, so Rick drove it farther to a turnout where there was more room to change the tire. Here's a photo of me positioning the jack hoist on the frame:

Everyone helped change the tire, which took about an hour on a day when we did not have time to waste. We had to remove the three bikes on the rack just to get to the spare tire back there. A corollary yukky result of the tire ripping off was that it put a small crack in the holding tank, which started dripping slowly. Ooohh stinky! I did my best to patch it using the universal repair tool called DUCT TAPE. It seems to be working.

All of us were doing something to help change the tire, especially Rick in getting the lug nuts off, but here's a photo of what you typically see on road work - one person working and the rest watching:

Once we completed the tire change, we continued on, including Derek, to the lunch stop at 75 miles. Even though it was my turn to drive next, Bob volunteered given that I would need to drive first tomorrow to go get a new tire. That meant Rick, Bert, Derek and I rode to the 115-mile stop. Here we are cruising along (except me since I was taking the picture):

It was a fine day for riding except for about 20 miles during this section between 75 and 115 miles. They were doing road work, and there was loose gravel and dirt all along the road. Every time a car or truck (there were LOTS of 18-wheelers) passed us in either direction, they shot gravel at us, and much worse, they created a huge dust cloud that blew right into our faces since the wind was blowing from the west and we were riding on the east side of the road. Cough cough. Hold your breath. Turn your head. We coped, but it was not a pleasant time.

Rick took another turn driving the fourth segment of the day after putting in a 73-mile stint on the bike. Derek rode 11 more miles from the final stop to achieve his first-ever 100-mile bike ride! He was SOOO excited. Congratulations Derek! We all stopped to celebrate. With exactly 100.4 miles on his odometer, Derek ended his ride and got into the RV for the remainder of the trip to Ft. Nelson. Rick and he drove on ahead and did some vital grocery shopping. Bless them!

After 12 1/2 hours on the road, we made it to the campground in Fort Nelson. I thought I deserved kudos for riding 145 miles, but instead I was humiliated by this campground bandit:

After showers and a short happy hour on the RV, we walked 30 yds to the campground restaurant. Everyone at the campground was enthusiastically celebrating Canada Day with their painted fingernails and faces and flags everywhere, so that was fun. I could post the photo our waitress took of all of us at the table, but I think you'll like it more if I show the picture I took of her and the other guys:

We all had a great time unwinding from our long day, especially Bob:

Tomorrow the guys plan to visit the museum right next door to us while I go get a new tire. We have 80 miles to ride, including the highest point on the Alaska Hwy. We'll be climbing! (although I may be driving this section) Time for bed. Jeeze, it's 12:51 am. It's even finally dark outside!