Today’s ride, although through some really scenic country and punctuated from time to time with rain, had no special stops, so I thought I’d take this time we have together and do some filling in the gaps of the trip so far. I left Houston this morning in the rain. You may recall that I was hanging out at the motel for a bit to give the rain a chance to let up but as I’ve done so many times before, I decided that I just needed to accept the rain and go. So I did. I got into some pretty heavy rain for a number of miles and was getting rather chilled when the mileage sign said that Vanderhoof wasn’t far so I bucked up and kept going. Of course it wasn’t as though I had a choice. I had to keep going as there was no place to pull over to and snuggle up to a warm fire with a steaming cup of decaf. Vanderhoof was going to be it. I did remember a Tim Hortons there and the thought of that cup of warm decaf kept pulling me forward. 62 kilometers. 43 kilometers. 28 kilometers. 3 kilometers. Like a magnet I was drawn to that Tim Hortons. As I rolled into Vanderhoof, the sun broke out and by the time I got off the bike in the parking lot it was rather warm and felt really, really good. There was probably another dozen bikers hanging out there, obviously there for the same reason I was. I opted to take my warm cup of hot brew outside and enjoy the warming sun. It’s amazing how fast black leather can warm a body up.

The ride through Prince George was uneventful. As I rolled out of town past the junction north to Dawson Creek and the route south to Kamloops that I had come up on roughly a week earlier, I began to recognized familiar country from last year. I was headed to McBride several hours away. In fact there was a sign that warned travelers to check their fuel levels as McBride was 220 kilometers away. I was alright having gassed up in Prince George. The ride to McBride was interspersed with rain showers but no heavy downpours like this morning. I had planned to camp at Robson Provincial Park with the idea of doing a painting of Mt. Robson but with rain showers still lurking in the sky I opted to get a room in McBride and head to Mt. Robson in the AM.

Last night and this morning I had the good pleasure of visiting over supper and breakfast with my neighbor at the motel in Hudson. He was riding a Kawasaki and from just north of Calgary I believe. He had been to Prince Rupert and the cannery in Port Edwards as I had, so we compared notes. In fact we chatted about a number of things. Nice fella, just retired. We had a lot of views in common. I happened to ask him about the speed limit in Canada. At least in British Columbia and Alberta, the speed limit is 100 kilometers per hour, or 60 miles per hour for those of you in the states. Ha! I’m starting to sound like I’m from here. Anyway, as we experienced last year, nobody drives the speed limit. The Albertans are the worse offenders. Bob agreed and said that everybody drives about 20 over. In other words, if the limit is 100 kph then most people drive 120 kph. So I noticed. I had come up with my own analysis that goes something like this.

The highest speed on open highways is always 100 kph which I’ve already said means 120 kph or more.

As you come to a little town or some other reason to slow down, the speed drops to 90 kph which really means, “you might want to slow down a little, but not too much”. Translated it means OK, maybe 100 kph but don’t block traffic.

70 kph means “OK, maybe a little slower now.”

In the towns, the usual speed limit is 30kph which means “Man, I’m sorry. It won’t last long.”

As you pull out of town, the limit will gradually increase back up to say 70 kph, which means “OK you can pick it up now.”

When it gets to 90 kph, you can pretty much kick it in gear and get going.

Back at 100 kph, it really means, “OK, get on your way. Be cool, don’t slow traffic down.”

I will say that Canadians, while tending to speed a lot, do seem to be rather courteous driers. At least they were with me. Maybe it was because I was on a motorcycle or a foreigner. They never tailgate when I’m trying to do my best to stay at the speed limit. Out of courtesy, however, I got used to the idea of setting the cruise control at 70 mph. I mean, when in Rome…

Here are a couple of watercolors I did the other day. Nothing fancy, just some basic sketches I can use for more complete paintings back in the studio. Enjoy.

This painting is of the Little John Falls in the distance I did from the banks of the Skeena River just out of Terrace about 18 clicks. It was a stunning view but the wind was stiff into my face so I just made a quick sketch. Interestingly, I was standing next to the railroad tracks which ran right on the banks of the river and sure enough just as I was finishing up I heard the train whistle. Looking up I could see the train rapidly approaching. The tracks were less than 10 feet away, too close for safety and to my left there was a steep slope down to the water. I quickly grabbed my easel and water and jumped back across the tracks and stood next to the bike with my back facing the train as it flew by. A real rush for sure…in several ways.

I’m not sure but I think this is where the Skeena River flows into the bay at Prince Rupert. It’s hard to tell but it was on the way back out of Rupert facing the direction of the river. The wind was still blowing and fog was creeping in. It was a simple sketch and didn’t take long to do. Because of the fog and the high humidity it took for ever for the washes to dry enough to add to. Fortunately the wet paper made for soft edges which helped with the idea of the fog and misty air.

Here’s a little selfie I managed to capture of me doing the painting.

Alrighty then. Tomorrow I need to do a little grocery shopping then I’m headed to Mt Robson which is still more than an hour away. If the weather allows, I’ll do a painting or two. No hurry. I’ll get into Jasper after lunch sometime and since the weather forecast is for 40% chance of rain, I’ll probably look for a room. There are several places between Jasper and Banff I want to paint and I’ll need all day. That’s if the rain holds off but I won’t know ’til I get there.

I’ll keep you posted. Mike out.