Riders on the storm

DAY 4,
07 22 2016, Nelson to Nakusp BC.
Dist: 147 km. Time: 7:30 (est.) 19.6 km/hr avg. (est.), 4131 cal. 118 HR avg.

Pretty much rained the whole day and was nice to have wind as well. Evil always has a buddy. There were some scary sections of hwy 6. No shoulder and broken asphalt make for a jittery ride. I arrived in a very minimal town called New Denver. I was unsure about continuing on to Nakusp knowing that I may not find accommodations.
I got a crappy overpriced room reserved while I checked out the town. I found a tourism centre and was helped by a nice girl at the desk. She got me a cheap room in Nakusp. So I cancelled New Denver and headed to Nakusp with a purpose. Yay!
It was only another 43 km to go, but it felt like a light year. My feet were starting to burn and I was getting rash issues in the trunk. There were some unpleasant hills, but I retrieved motivation from the motorcycle community. The route that I was riding is popular with motorcyclists. They often rode by giving me a wave of approval. Iv'e experienced this gesture many times, especially during my trip across Canada a few years back. At first, it bothered me. I felt as though these motorheads were including me into their hood and this pissed me off. They didn't feel the pain and vulnerability that cyclists feel. Eventually I ditched that philosophy and embraced the salute. Take all the positive vibes available.
There was a nice descent into Nakusp which was greatly appreciated. As I entered the town, I saw a few people that seemed out of place. I didn't think much of it as I headed to my home base which was The Leland Hotel. A cheap room with bare bones. Was crappy, but did the trick. Actually, I don't want to diss this hotel because it is a chunk of history as it is the oldest running hotel in BC from 1892.
http://lelandhotelnakusp.com/index.html
Getting back to the mention of people that seemed out of place...
Turns out that there was a gathering of crazy people for a few days. It was a organized medieval village recreation type of "expo?" A very cool  event with chain mail, swords axes etc.

I was gonna do a sketch depicting the mideaval aspect, but decided that I couldnt do it justice without spending a lot of time, so I included a link instead:

http://www.medievaldays.ca/?page_id=30

Nasty road work to keep the mind sharp. Doesn't look bad here, but got stressful. HWC's talons were at full extension.

I am not responsable. Honest. However, I am a bit of a beast. Hee Hee

They DO exist!! Grrrrrreeeechhh!!!

HWC was not thrilled. Looks like "Funincorporated" ha ha...sigh , Bloody hooligans!!

Kootenay Lake, I think. Or river

Rest spot. Ahhhh, nice

Lost soul

  Misty

End of the line. Uggghhh...Beer me, us!!

Home base. Leland Hotel which is the oldest hotel in BC. Opened in 1892.

Doesn't look a day over 124yrs.

The Trump pedestal. Ikea version not available do to overwhelming sales. Trump doll not included.

The dish towels are folded so nicely. Look out Sandman!!

Really nice garden area

Nice walking path along the lake, however, walking is for losers.

Hippy town

DAY 3,  Thurs. July 21 2016.  Creston to Nelson BC.
               Ride time: 5:36,  116 km., 19.8k/hr. Max. 60km. 3119 cal. HR 119 Avg.

A Great day.
Hot and sunny.  The 3A out of Creston was a real bonus. Almost no truck traffic! The conditions were not ideal, but I didn't whine much. It was windy with rolling hills, minimal shoulder and the threat of a blown rim on some descents was rated "Defcon 5".
I saw a few other touring bikes which is always nice. In one instance, I passed a strange rider going the other direction. It was a fully contained recumbent that may have been part of a aerodynamic project or something, Not only did it look cool, but it sounded cool as well. They hooked up a bizzarre sounding horn. This was a nice distraction. Sometimes you never know what will be seen on the roads by bike. Unfortunately I was too slow to get a pick, so I did a sketch instead.

I continued along Hwy 3A which follows Kootenay Lk. to Crawford Bay. I had 2 hills as I got close to the Ferry Berth. The second one was crazy steep. I kept thinking, "Why am I climbing so much as the ferry is so near, shouldn't I be hitting sea level soon?" I thought that I screwed up and was headed the wrong way. Anyway, up up up eventually became down down down and I found my way across Kootenay Lk. on this free 25 minute service. Highwaycat loves free fairies.  Not that kind, but this kind; "ferries"
This portion of the 3A is wider and has more traffic. Crossing the "Nelson Bridge" into town was great. The roads were hectic and a bit stressful. After finding the visitors centre, I checked out the local campground.  There was one site available, but it was beyond pathetic,
http://www.nelson.ca/assets/Residents/Maps/CITY_TOURIST_MAP%20.pdf

I ended up getting a room at the Mountain Hound Inn. A shitty room for $85.00. I especially liked the concrete block wall treatment. Also, the small room has no place to sit and read or doodle. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest" kinda feel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WSyJgydTsA

The town is so overpriced and designed for clueless tourists. I'm not totally clueless. HWC maxes out the eye roll. Sigh.
There is a Subway down the street which is helpful. Otherwise, there are no brand name businesses that are recognizable. Where the hell is the damn Starbucks?!
They have kept the local flare intact and at least in the downtown core, they have kept big retail out. It's cool but a bit expensive, I can adapt.

The Magnusen Motel had a huge storage room where I kept Shirley. She was nervous at first, but enjoyed the quiet time. Packed and ready to seek out the land called "Nelson"

Kootenay Lake

A nice stretch

Sketch: A strange encounter. I'll take strange over Grizzly any day.

No brakes requiered. WEEEEEEEEE!!

HWC waits for the ferry to Balfour. She may look content, but believe me, she was furious. I almost lost my left eye. Gotta clip those talons!

Happy cat

Bridge into Nelson BC. Yay.

Local bike shop. Mountain bike heavy town.

http://www.gericks.com/

Little Mexico

Unfortunate base camp

Nice view at least

Vantastic

DAY 2, Wed. 07 20, 2016
Cranbrook - Creston BC.
106 km, 19.8 km/hr Avg. 5:21, 3044 Cal, Hr. 118 Avg.

A fine ride. No big hills but was hot and windy. I consumed almost all of my liquid stores:
Three 710 ml. One 500 ml. and One 1000 ml. Nalgene bottle. Maybe it was hotter than I remember.

I was riding along minding my own business and having a pleasant conversation with HWC about fur and it's place in a growing synthetic society when a van suddenly pulled over in front of me. No warning and almost ran us over. Before I could yell "WTF?!",  they sped off. I could see a hand waving at me through the rear window.
Assholes!

Stopped for a break at Yakk Prov. Park.
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/yahk/
Really nice spot, but too soon to stop.

As I approached Creston, my feet were on fire. "Hot Foot" is a condition that Ive had before. Its very painful, It feels like it sounds, fire!! This is a condition aggravated by heat and expansion. Too much pressure on the nerves creates a huge painful sensation.
http://www.active.com/cycling/articles/causes-and-prevention-of-hot-foot-in-cyclists

Anyway, I hobbled into town excited about stopping.

I got a room at Magnuson Hotel. The clerk noticed that I had a bike with a big load and gave me a more costly room at a discount. Nice!

Lots of stuff nearby:
Overweitea Foods & Liquor store 200 metres. A&W for breakfast maybe.

I tried to put these photos in order but this antiquated blog software fought me to the bitter end and won.
Soooooooo frustrating...

Sketch of "The Van" This pic should appear below the Bear Lodge pic.  I gave up trying.

Ready to roll out of Lazy Bear Lodge

HWY meets another HWC. The things you see at 20 km/hr

Affortable housing

Break at Yakk Prov. Park. Would be nice to stay, but too soon.

Selfie at Moyie Lk. 25 km W of Cranbrook

Dont fence me in

Helpful signage. Sometimes a depressing visual, not this time.

Magnuson Motel, Creston a good deal

HWC looks over tomorrow's agenda...Meowww