Yukon Ho!

June 13, 2006

July 6, 2006 on 11:53 am | In Uncategorized |

Biking time: 9:30am to 7pm
End: Terrace
Distance: 141km
It was cold and grey when we woke up, so we donned our jackets and hit the road. First, I took our box of extra junk we’d sorted out over the last few days and mailed it to Cor (Amy’s sister in Victoria). It weighed about 18 pounds… enough weight to significantly improve our climbing ability (hopefully). All that’s left is to get rid of that overweight sleeping pad. Our first (very important) stop was Tim Horton’s, where we enjoyed the standard coffee, bael and timbit breakfast. I miss the Aberdeen Tim’s. Rachel, if you read this, can you give our link to the employees over there? Thanks!

Geared up for a chilly climb over a 600 metre mountain pass outside of town (as described by the tourism office), we headed east toward Terrace. Our goal was a provincial park about 100 km along the way. The mountain pass turned out to be 160 metres, and once we easily conquered that, it was smooth (and fast) sailing for the next hundred kilometres or so. The ride was amazing… with the Skeena River to our right almost the entire way, the road was flat and smooth, and when the wind blew it was almost always at our backs. 50km into the ride we stopped for lunc hat a rest area where a girl travelling West told us to look out for a great Indian restaurant on the close edge of Terrace. Figuring we were pro stars, we decided then and there we’d ride the entire way and get ther ein time for dinner. At about the 100km mark, we were dying for a drink so we pulled into an adventure resort type of place off the highway, only to find that their Cafe was closed Tuesdays (but otherwise open 9-7). Luckily Amy stumbled upon the owner when she was looking for a tap outside. He brought us in and let us fill all of our bottles from his water cooler. Turns out he runs the place for corporate events and fisherman looking for a place near the skeena to stay. Sad we coldn’t get coffee, but happy we had water, we carried on. By that time it was getting a bit later in the afternon, and the sun started hitting us straight on our backs. Everythig went well until about 120km into the day, when we realized that they had put a bunch of stupid hills on the West side of Terrace. We reluctantly climbed them, fuelled by the desire for curry. At the top of one of the last hills, Amy’s headset (the steering part) started making noises and sbhe was unable to turn her handlebars. Fearing the worst, I got angry at everyone who might be respomnsible (Fuji Bikes, Bikes on Wheels, Shimano, Jesus, etc), but there was no time for anger cause papa’s gotta eat! After we both swore that we wouldn’t climb even one more hill, we coasted down and around a bend and a cross a river and hit the first building in town: Haryana’s restaurant. Take that, Terrace! After an excruciatingly long wait (an hour), we got our food and devoured it in minutes. It was really good too, especially the naan. I’m a little suspicious though… perhaps they make you wait an hour so that even if they brought out a pile of dog crap you’d be hungry enough to love it. In reality, we’re pretty sure each order is made from scratch by hand, so the wait is worth it. Anyway, after dinner we asked if it would be okay to tent in their side yard (which looked like it was actually a campground that is no longer officially in service). We got the go-ahead, and as an added bonus the restaurant bathrooms were accessible from the outside AND equipped with showers. Thanks Terrace!

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