Day 62 Wisdom from Humungus

Day 62 - 7/17/08
Start - Outside Fernie, BC
End - Elk River near Elkford, BC
Mileage - ~55 miles
Nice lazy morning once again. Rolled out of camp around 10 am and onto the dirt road. It would be our only dirt for the rest of the day, so I tried to savor every pedal stroke before we were to hit the dreaded pavement. After 30 minutes or so, we hit a group of 9 riders from an Adventure Cycling group riding the Canadian section from Banff down to Roosville at the border. It was crazy to see that many riders at one time. Interesting people bearing great news that the scenery only gets better as we approach Banff, oh yeah. Then we rolled onto the happening little town of Fernie in British Columbia. Our first real town on Canada- and it is sweet. Granted its skiing, mountain biking, and outdoor mecca- so it figures that it's up our alley. After purchasing some calories, we were off to Freshies- the dopiest coffee shop in town. Janice, the super nice barista, whipped up an earl grey soy latte with vanilla that was out of this world. Of course we had to chill for a few hours and soak up the good tunes and vibes. Then it was off to Sparwood.After 20 miles of riding on hwy 3, we got to Sparwood. Sparwood boasts quite an amazing tourist attraction- the world's largest truck. And it is indeed rather large. Even bigger than the trucks we encountered after getting lost in New Mexico and illegally entering into an active mine. We played along and took the stock photograph in front of the truck, and to tell you the truth, it was quite satisfying. Net amazing thing of the day...at the library I found the Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien on sale for 10 cents! You might not be too excited by this, which is okay, but it works out perfectly since I just finished the hobbit. Rereading the Tolkien series is great fun. We moved on another 1.5 hours or so and are now camping on the side of a beautiful river- at least it was much more beautiful until the mosquitoes began to emerge from their caves. Now they swarming and decreasing the quality of my life. Alas, I believe I shall survive. Two more days of the bike adventure until Banff. I've been having vision of celebrating my arrival with a spinach and walnut salad, 14 oz tofu steak (if that kinda thing exists, but that's why it's a vision), washed down with a locally brewed porter- yum, yum!! Gotta start a fire and enjoy some of the banana bread cooked with home-ground wheat flour by Lord Humungus of the Wasteland (not a joke if you're wondering). As Humungus reminds me all of the time and I would like to share this kernel of knowledge with y'all (yup, I'm a southern boy)-....."Life is But a Dream"