Day 1 - Home to Cache Creek

I put out a message to my local Gold Wing riding group that we were interested in doing a ride to Shannon Falls, BC and possibly stay overnight. 4 people answered the call, and we set up the ride. 2 riders (Mike & GaryPaul) would ride with us to Shannon Falls and then head back. Our Chapter Directors, Jeff & Yvonne were game to ride an overnight trip. So, Angela and I met the Harvey's at the Chevron station near RMC, couldn't get fuel there because of a pump reeet that would take 20 minutes, so we fueled at the nearby Shell station. We headed up 405, gathered GP and then rode to Smokey Point where we met Mike Mercier. We were instant tourist magnets with the bikes and trailer. But there was more of that to come.

We crossed the border at the Blaine truck crossing with just a little wait. It was then a nice ride on Canada 1 to BC99 and a stop at Cypress Provincial Park overlook. We had no more than pulled in than Asian tourists were positioning themselves to be photographed in front of the bike, on the bike and we got a real hoot out of our new found notarity. Here's a picture of one family that were especially enamoured.


It was then a short additional ride up to Shannon Falls where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. Here's a shot from along the water. Note the water color.



Shannon Falls



There was much less water than when I was there on 6/3. Here's a shot from that day:




As to lunch, here's the documentation.







The meals were as good as the last time I ate there on my Hyder trip (http://tbhyder2009.blogspot.com). I had the bangers and mashed potatoes. You can guess what the others ate.



After lunch GP & Mike headed home while the Harvey's and us joined a very long traffic jam headed north. It seems that this weekend is Canada Day and folks are headed north. It took at least 1/2 hour to break the jam. But soon we were cruising along BC99. If you've not ridden this road, you owe it to yourself to do so.

I have a book which documents all the great rides in southern BC (Destination Highways - BC) and it indicated several side roads that I thought would be good to do.

So at Mt. Currie we headed straight instead of turning right to Lilloet (hold that thought). It was a nice 18/23.2 mile ride. What happened in the other 5 miles you ask? We got got in the heaviest torrential rainstorm and got thoroughly drenched. Keep in mind we are wearing vented clothing after riding the day so far in temperatures hitting 95 degrees. That little cloudburst dropped the temperature 30 degrees!

Of course, what good Tim Bowman ride would be complete without herding some cattle?





Arriving at D'Arcy, we pulled into the convenience store/gas station and assessed our situation. My camera was soaked and became pretty inoperable. But here are its last two pictures (RIP, I purchased a Canon SD970 to replace it):



We bantered with some local folks (one fellow could not speak English - only an Indian dialect) and up rides a fellow on a HD cruiser. "Where's the turnoff for Lilloet?" he asks. "23.2 miles back down the road through the rainstorm you just rode through" was my answer. He fired up his bike and headed off.

On the great Alaska trip, we missed that same turn, but we realized it well before 23.2 miles.

Here's a few photos from Angela's camera:





So, we mounted our trusty steeds and headed back for Mt. Currie where we would refuel before heading for Lilloet.


Along the way we re-herded the cattle and took some pictures of a couple cool old structures.





As we finished refueling, we started seeing rain drops and lightning and hearing thunder. Hmmm. Should we proceed? Since we were in rain gear, we discussed the options and decided to go for it, and headed off on BC00 for Lilloet. We didn't get but a few miles when we saw all sorts of limbs on the road, wind gusts and then another blast of torrential downpour. Oh, and did I mention, we're riding through all this on extreme tar snakes and lightning and thunder that's really, really close. Soon the tar snakes give way to the most beautiful pavement (mind you, the rain is still in torrential downpour mode) as we proceed to climb up above 4,000 feet on a very twisty mountain pass road. Oh, and did I mention the number of wooden bridges that had to be crossed? They are all slick when damp!!

The sky starts lightening up (pun entended), but the sun is still obscured by forest fire smoke.






We are riding down this most beautiful canyon and we arrive in Lilloet (which is under siege from forest fire activity). We determine that there is no lodging there, take a break at the city park, and watch the helicopters make pass after pass with their water buckets in order to fight the forest fire.





Leaving Lilloet, we make a wrong turn away from the direct route to Cache Creek, got stopped while an electrical line is installed.




The line gets installed and we do a challenging uturn and soon we're on our way to Cache Creek on a wonderful paved road with little traffic. The temperatures warm up into the 80's and we are once again drying out (except for certain parts that we sit on).





Arriving in Cache Creek, we see that many motels are full, but we score a couple nice rooms at the Knight's Inn at the south end of town after a bad experience at another in the middle of town (very moldy). Across the street is a Chinese buffet. However, there's one problem. They closed at 9pm and we're there at 9:05. Jeff uses his smooth persuasive voice and soon we are seated and eating a sumptuous Chinese feast. Tips were generous tonight.






Tomorrow we'll head home using some back roads that are well regarded in the DH book (I've ridden them before). By the end of this trip we will have ridden on DH3, 4, 13, 9, 29, & 37. Stay tuned for that part of the ride's description. I'll also upload pictures once we get home. So check back.