July 4, 2015. Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

After getting almost everything for the final setup, I decided not to go straight to Banff to start the GDMBR but do few days of riding on the backroads along the Fraser Canyon.

Packed 8 days worth of food and hitchhiked to Williams Lake, the first 30km are on the paved Chilcotin highway.

After not cycling much for the last two months, the not-so-steep climb on the other side of the Fraser was tough - especially with that summer heat in British Columbia. A heavily loaded cyclist met me and when he heard I was headed to Lillooet he suggested I go back to Prince George.

"There is nothing there," he said. That's exactly what I'm looking for!

Just before descending into the Farewell Canyon, a sign caught my eye. There is a 10km hiking/biking trail to a lookout. Well... why not!

Along the way, I was happy to find out that the high pitch squeaking sound was not coming from my bike!

At times I was pushing my bike up steep hills, swiping my arms and legs and face frantically fighting off the mosquitoes...

but it wasn't all that bad.

Backtracked 10k or so and was on the Farewell Canyon road - just in time for my morning date with the switchbacks on the other side!

The only traffic I saw was logging trucks, except for the water truck - which did an amazing job in keeping the dust down. Everytime one passes me, I can see them on the radio. I wonder what the radio chatter sounds like!

Then 3 things went wrong:

1. I got a flat and found out that while in storage the tubeless sealant dried out - my patch kit was in the bottom of my rear bag.

2. I underestimated how much water one needs on these hot days! Ended up drinking murky and funny tasting pond water.

3. The water truck did not water the 2200 Road...

One wrong turn and one black bear later there was Gang Ranch. These cows were very excited to see me. Also looks like I am doing better job at rounding up the cows than those cowboys! That's the future of ranching: bikeboys or cowbikeboys!

Down through Gang Ranch and the Fraser

The best thing about being in these areas is finding a spot beside the road and saying:
"Yup, I can sleep here!"

Meanwhile on Poison Lake Road - why build one powerline when you can have 5?

I got down to Big Bar Ferry right after it closed for an hour.

"That's ok, I can take you over now." Said Chiko, the ferryman. I stopped for lunch, I wasn't really in a rush to get to the other side, here's why:

The Ferryman was happy to see the video I made from last year I was here (here is his part). I also managed to forget my SD card on the table. Bummer!

The ferry itself has no motor and moves across by angling itself and using the current.

The hill and the heat were merciless. I alternated between riding the not-so-rough sections in granny gear and just not being a hero and pushing up the rest of the way.

As if that wasn't enough, Chiko told me of a lake further up so I took that turn off and continued climbing. Looks like the bears were doing terrible job at eating those strawberries so I decided to pitch in and do my part!

To my surprise there was somebody at the lake. Wayne was even more surprised to see a cyclist here. When I told him how surprised I was that there aren't more cyclists here, he responded:

"Don't you think it's a little extreme?"

He had a point, these roads are at times barely walk-able and definitely not rideable with a full load.

Wayne treated me to a second - Trout dinner and wine. Definitely not what one would expect at a remote lake. On his way back, he also found my SD card at the ferry and mailed it to me!

A sign on the way up caught my eye: "No Through Access to Yalakom. Road closed @ Dovey Jones Creek, 22km"

Wayne's backcountry map showed a 4WD road over a mountain and a rather confusing network of roads after. I could take this turn, then this one and then end up at Gold Bridge, maybe ride over to Pemberton... I decided to take a shot of the map... just in case.

So here it is, at best - a great trip and at worst a rather embarrassing 22km ride (or walk) back!

It was a long and steep walk on the way there too. Pedaling was completely out of the question. It was even difficult not to slide back while pushing the bike.

But being up here had it's perks.

The good news is that the slide where the road was closed was passable, the bad news is that I had no idea which one of the 3 roads was mine. I rode up one only to turn back few kilometers in and then onto another.

That shot of the map was not helping much but for some reason pulling out my tablet and looking at the map made me feel less lost! I have no idea where I am... but i like this!

...and then - the most amazing sight of all: A KILOMETER MARKER! I LOVE YOU 76!

25k later there was a camp beside the road.

"Why don't you stay here?" said Christine, a native who is here to block access to a road which the logging companies built over an old native village site. Sadly most natives in Canada live in reservations now and not many live out on the land, on their land. Along with being a road block, there are big plans into making this a permanent settlement.

I could have ridden to town but there is nothing for me there, this is a great spot to camp!

Native songs over the campfire and meeting some of the volunteers at the camp. It's an amazing place to be, and you should go there, if you find yourself near Lilloet, BC.

(here is one of the songs at the campfire)

High spirits and downhill made the morning a breeze. Like in tour de france, I rode behind a peloton of cows on the narrow road until an opening few kilometers later when they ran off on the side. Man, those cows can run!

Then I was onto the larger and smokier road. Looks like Gold Bridge will have to wait for later, I rode down to Lillooet.

Although I had planned to ride down and follow the Kettle Valley Rail Trail to Fernie, I really felt the need to make south-ward progress. I decided to hitch a ride from here to Banff and get started with the GDMBR!

Two days and 8 rides later I got to Banff. Next: GDMBR, the CDT, Mexico, whatever comes after mexico, central america...

NEXT PART: GDMBR CANADA