Day 7

We are in Fort St. John, BC tonight, stopping at 5:00 our time but learning that we had crossed into another time zone and it was only 4:00 here. We've covered an additional 508 miles north. We could have pushed on but I still think we are ahead of the clock a little. But, we were ready to call it a day. And, an interesting one it was. Not the views, which were non-existent but, again, the weather.

It occurred to me that from Calgary to about 60 miles north of Edmonton must be the high chaparral, north is the low plains. So, we awoke to a gray, cold (32F) morning but no snow. The bike covers were frozen to the bikes and had to be pealed off, wrapped, ice and all, and stowed. I scooped a motel laundry bag to wrap mine to keep it from soaking everything else in the trunk. I packed up and headed for the breakfast room. Same bowl of cereal and a juice. They are not loosing money on me/us.

After suiting up, we headed out to hit the road and the snow had started again. Onward. A mix of snow and rain greeted every mile to just beyond Edmonton when the clouds hung low all around us but we were assaulted by only the occasional brief downpour. The temperature remained between 32-34. I had solved the wet hands problem in Shelby with the darling blue gloves. I solved the cold by inserting brown garden gloves as liners with a chemical hand warmer in each. By keeping the warmer in my palm, I could pull my fingers and thumb out of their "glove fingers" and hold the warmer to bring feeling back. It worked great! But, of course, I was driving one handed and couldn't possibly get to the clutch or front break lever in a hurry depending on which hand I was warming. But, heck, the roads a incredibly straight, there are very few people on them, especially on a Sunday mid-day and, any towns, construction, or stop lights are forewarned well in advance. So, I could slip my fingers back and work the leavers. The only real risk revolved around the possibility of an errant wolf or caribou/elk leaping out in front of me. Since the occasional road kill is seen, I suspect the chance was there but I felt the reward outweighed the small risk. Bruce had his heated grips and that solved his problem but his back gets cold. He solved that with numerous layers, which seems to have worked. We've figured out how to cope with the cold but don't look forward to repeating the last three days if we can avoid it.

I also learned that an enjoyable ride does not depend on the weather, the road, or the destination but, the absence of discomfort/pain. The ride takes care of the rest. So, with my continued yoga stretches, which minimize back and neck pain, the heaters and blue gloves to eliminate the pain of the cold on my hands and Bruce's many layers, we had a great day.

Adding to the comfort was an dramatic change in the temperature about 130 miles north of Edmonton, when we dropped out of the high chaparral and back to the plains. Here the temps went as high as 66, the clouds lifted and eventually dissipated and the sun came out. The rest was easy riding but the plains are the plains, no views, really. One photo op that was gone before it was caught and that was it. The camera has not seen much action. Maybe some scenery will present itself as we approach Dawson City.