True Tour

Day 17. Nelson to Creston. 77 miles. 2513 feet elevation. Weather shockingly warm.

For some reason very few of the motels have laundry. So, I’m sitting in a laundromat at 7:15 on Tuesday night, dressed literally only in my gym shorts. I hope the video camera is not recording. I have been trying to get my clothes washed for several days and raced to get here tonight before the laundromat closed at 8:00. I expected to be here earlier but had two spokes break on my back wheel, which put me a good hour behind. In any case I walked into the laundromat or rather ran into the laundromat and while two Asian women chattered away in the next aisle, I stripped to the nude, (sort of hidden behind the washer door which was glass) pulled on my shorts while I threw everything into the wash. If you hear from the police it’s likely me seeking bail. But at least I’ll be in jail with clean clothes.

The day started beautifully. I pedaled down along the beach in Nelson, then up over the Kootenai River. I then spent the next couple of hours on the edge of the Kootenai river on my way to Kootenai Lake and the last BC ferry of the trip. This area is just incredible. I’m surprised that it isn’t overrun by everybody in Canada. There is amazing skiing in almost every direction and water sports out the front door.

In the last few miles approaching this Ferry, a writer pulled up beside me in started chatting. He came all the way with me to the ferry and visited for the next hour while we waited for the ferry. Rick lives hey few miles back but was nice enough to share his story of Crossing Canada with his two sons last year. His wife drove an RV, and the three of them pedaled. He was a wealth of useful information. Most importantly, he saved me from a huge hill that was at the end of my ride today into Creston.

Increasingly getting the hang of engaging with others, Goal number two, I also chatted with a motorcyclist on board the ferry parked next to me. He lived in a nearby ski town since the 70s and had all sorts of stories about skiing, snowboarding, and also living part-time in New zealand. It made the 35 minute Ferry Crossing go quickly and it was fun to get to know him. I don’t want still I don’t want to admit that goal number two is less and less of a burden. friends.  Carl Sagan. Death cults book

The road along the lake headed to Creston was rolling but beautiful. I found this lovely Beach Park and went in the water for a nice break. Other than the spokes breaking, the ride couldn’t have been more pleasant.

BTW, despite the bad book suggested by AI I’ve returned to my list of 10. The last couple of days, I’ve been listening to Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. This is, of course, not Cosmo, but about the cosmos. Pretty different emphasis. I personally love Carl Sagan. It is enjoyable to listen to someone who loves and admires the magnificence of the world, our solar system, galaxy, and universe. He’s also very good at explaining fairly complicated topics in ways that are easy to understand. Anyway I’ll give the AI a brownie point for this recommendation.

And finally, I did help two people get in and out of the laundromat this evening with their heavy loads. Of course they looked a little concerned as I was half naked but I did do my service 🙂