The ferry ride marked a change in Team Krusti. There are several factors in this change, some imperceptible, some readily apparent. One of the more apparent factors is that we have left lonely Alaska for a place that is still open wide and sparsely populated, but has many, many more people and towns than northern AK. I realized after our stint in the wide open places of Alaska that I am not quite suited for such an isolated lifestyle. It's great to get to a town almost every day. And not a "Census Designated Place" but an actual town with more than one store and several bars! British Columbia, known as BC, is a very different place than Alaska. For one, it's Canadian, not American. Canadians are awesomely funny and nice and speak with adorable accents. It's like the United States, but just a little bit different in small ways.
This has led to meeting a flush of super-awesome, inspiring people in the past few days. We left Petersburg (the isolated of isolated - a small town on a small island, the only nearest small towns long ferry rides away) early early in the morning. Upon loading our bikes on the ship we saw a magical sight! Three touring bikes! We thought, "Who are these tourists? Are they Swiss, German, old, young?"
They turned out to be Americans, our age, headed in the same direction! They had a guitar, some beer, and the best attitudes of anyone I've met in I can't remember how long. I believe they were sent from heaven. These kids were out for FUN and they took us along with them. We needed that kick in the pants so badly and soaked it in. We hit the road in Prince Rupert at 5 am, and after breakfast and coffee hit the road by 8 o'clock to the tune of, "LET'S RIDE BIKES ALREADY!!!!!!!" They "mached it" (Montanan for rode like mother f**ers) and we miraculously kept up. I guess all of that hard riding in Alaska coupled with a few days sitting on the ferry paid off, because I've never ridden any bike like that, especially not a loaded one. It was so exhilarating to be around kids who were that excited about life and cycling and mountains and swimming. We did 50 miles by 1 o'clock and then basked in a river while sipping on some beer. We had the rest of the day to kill, so we rode another 40 after that, and then after pints and fries rode around town to finish of our century, the first for most of us. A totally random fireworks display ended our night. The next day was a little shorter but just as much fun to spend with our newfound friends, and we camped at a free campground and hung around a campfire that night. The next day Team Krusti reverted back to our slower pace and we lost track of our friends. We may meet again before Prince George, we may not meet again until we're all back in the lower 48, but we will meet again. I still need to get learned up from them about how to have a ton of fun.
Our slower pace paid off, however, because we came into the town of Smithers just in time to meet Ali. She was waiting for a friend in front of an Inn and we asked her where to eat. When she realized we had nowhere to stay she immediately offered her house. We readily accepted and found a hot shower (very, very necessary after 3 looooong days of riding), a comfy bed and laundry! Then we met her at the restaurant she had recommended, to find out it was her birthday! We celebrated with her friends and her brother bought us all dinner. We came back to Ali's to sleep in an awesomely comfy bed only to wake up to feta, cherry tomato and arugula omelets. It turns out Ali is a chef! She is also a long distance swimmer and activist, and swam 600 miles down the Skeena river to raise awareness for the watershed that may be in danger from a pipeline. Check out her website here. Her brother and friends were also activists, and planted a seed of interest in both of our minds of learning more about that endeavor.
So now here we are. In great shape, putting some great miles on, meeting great people in a great place. I love adventure cycling.
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