Some of the ride was like this at about 8% to 10% grade, our bicycles weight over 90 lbs(40kg).We would ride down every hill, the small rocks were the size of cantaloupes, we aimed for them. We sat on the packs on the rear bike racks, lay down forward and flew down. We never fell or had a flute. After one downhill I ask Sandy "How fast did your speedometer say we did that downhill" He said "51 km/hr". I look at him and said "You didn't wear you helmet", he look down at his bike helmet tied to the front bike bag, he look at me and said "and yours Billy?". a mine was tied down to my bag too. For then on we try to put the helmet on for downhill stuff. It was so rough that Sandy's odometer broke within hours of 1st day of the big ride. Everything in my front handle bag was pulverized into a handful garbage, Sandy burn it) the panersbags would fly around and hit my tires and slowing me down. I ended up use long driftwood logs tied to front rack to hold my bags down it looked like two bull horns.

These Pictures of the Bremern Creek area, were I made supper and camp in a nice campsite. Just before we call it a night, a truck came by second one all day). They stop look at the Mt bikes and us. We waited, they shook thier heads and drove way.



Every time we would stop long enough Sandy would make a fire, I would look for sandy and he be starting a fire. We brought small axe for firewood, but all we had to do for wood was reach down and pick up the wood put on the fire. we didn't even have to stand up!) Some days Sandy would of had 5 to 6 fires by the time we went to sleep. We bought these WW2 German troop movement packs which was a rubber coated parkers that converted into a sleeping bag with hood like a little tent and self inflating air mattress, with zipper ground sheets that could be zipper together to make a tent if a rained. it never did rain) Every night we slept under the stars. I would wait for Sandy to start snoring before I would fall a sleep.( I believed that snoring is way of protection. When we lived a caves or outside. The snoring sounds like animal crowling and keep most animals away) I hope and we slept by one of Sandy fires too.

This was a gravel/sand spit that went out into the lake made by Bremner Creek's spring washouts.

Cairn Needle looking north

We rode on old logging roads and hydro electric transmission line slash roads. This area we met a couple guys in a 4x4 truck. we could hear them trying too get up the last hill we just did( they would back up as far as they could up the other hill ,then floor it. We waited and had some coffee and granola bars. When they finally made it I said "It took you guys three runs to make that hill we did it one try!" They were in shock to see us, the drivers said "Do you know were you are?" I said "Yes, do you?". He said "no were is the nearest gas station?" I looked at Sandy and said "80 miles that way and 60 miles that way". The other guy got of the truck and got up close to look at the bikes and said "Hay Dave they are byicles!" The driver said "What the beeb are you two doing here?" I said " We are having a cup of coffee" He said" Not that were are you guys going? I said "We are go to Pemberton and you guys?" The other guy said "so are we". Sandy and I showed them on a map that they had were they were and how to get to their gas station. Maybe I should of told them to follow us.

We could ride up the first couple hills of the day, no matter how steep or long. The weight of the bikes made them have incredible traction, so if you could peddle and balance you would make to top of the hill. Then we make it haft way and then walk the bikes up and ride down. And again and again, slowly getting weaker and weaker, till we could only take a couple steps up and rest, then couple steps up. The sweat would drip off my eyebrows into eyes, off finger tips. I kept asking" why do I feel so hot?" we found out later that here was a heat wave and it was almost 100'F every day). We would sweat so bad when we went up these huge hills that we had to tied off bandanas round our necks to make the sweat run off the bandanas instead running down our backs. I lost 25lbs and 2 inches off my waist on this trip. One hill Sandy want to leave his bike, everything and walk out, but by time he got to the top of the hill saw the view he said" This is great adventure and You won't hear that me from again!"

Mt Breckinridge ice cap

Trethewy Creek And Breckinridge glacier

When the was flat like this we take a picture

sandy at the end of Harrison Lake

The cloudy Lillooet River

This is Skookumchuk a native village

We had only seen six people since we left Twenty Mile Bay in last three days, till we got to Skookumchuk. There was a small school with all the kids playing in the field, the biggest one was holding a soccer ball facing the road and towards us riding by, all the other kids were looking him. When he saw Sandy and I he drop the ball and walked over to the fence and all the kids turned around and ran to the fence too! and they all said" Where did they come from? and were are they going?". There was a office in the village they said they herd we were coming and the one guy said" Was that you two at Bremner Creek the other night" we said yes He said "you guys got here really quick"( he was the driver of the truck that stop with two people that looked at us and shook their heads and drove on.) The people in the village said they don't see people riding mt bikes to often, some of them didn't know there was a road that went down along Harrison Lake to Fraser Valley

Over 100 years old cathedral

Church of the Holy Cross, Skatin BC

Ama Liisaos Heritage Trust Society

Fundraising to restore the "The Skookumchuck Church"

I told by Ama Liisaos who are trying to save the cathedral that a lot of the buildings are gone now.

St Agness Hot Spring We had rode our mt bikes 3 days and had not washed for 5 days. We always sat around fires and only used sand and water to clean our hands. So a the natural hot springs would be nice for a swim, I think we smelled bad, there people there but they didn't come near. There were three hotubs to dip in, the big one under the old wooden A frame roof was hot. The other big tub outside beside the bathtub was really hot, the bathtub I am in is full ice water. I was so hot from the ride and hotubs that stayed in the bathtub for whole hour before I cooled off

alpine meadows

. I would drink gallons of water in a day, I boil the water as soon as we started making camp, make supper and boil all the water for the next day. Sandy would make fire. We would eat in one place, We would hang all the food up high in tree at least 500 feet away from were we would sleep and 500 feet away from were we ate and Sandy would make a fire too. We never saw a bear or any that could eat us. We had some protection bear spray, big maceity and knives. We didn't talk about that too much.

Looking back south towards Harrison Lake














Lillooet Lake looking south

Driftwood Bay

The Driftwood Bay forestry camp site was the last night we camp out. The water was down the road about half a mile down the main road. So I went to get water to boil, I rode my bike without any bags or packs for the first time in five days. I flew up the dirt hill out of the campsite and hit the gravel road. I had no traction I was spinning my rear wheel and my steering out of control, I was going all over the road sliding from one side to other side of the road. I could not control my bike at all! I stop the bike and look all over the bike to see what was wrong. I couldn't find anything, so I rode slowly to Lizzy Creek and got my water. While I was down at the creek I realized I was on my own for the first time in five days and in the woods. The hair on my back of my neck stood up, I fill up the bottles and quickly rode back. I said " There something wrong with my bike" I lower the seat and got Sandy to get test my bike and gets some more water. Now I was at the campsite by myseft,I started to worry about Sandy it was starting to get dark. So I walked up the dirt driveway and met Sandy coming back. He was laughing about bike. He said "You have gotten use to the all that weight on the bike and you are using to much power. He did the something when he hit the gravel road too! We laugh And I started boiling water. The next thing a big old white van pulled to the campgrounds, stop the doors open. About ten native men get out, Well I had already been unglued a couple times in the last hour. Sandy was standing behind me, I said" What should we do if they come over here" The next thing the acuity came flying down right in front of me, and Sandy stab into the picnic table. At the same time Sandy yelled at me "We use this on them" Well I jump and almost fell off the seat. They waved at us, used the outhouse and drove away. While I was trying to relax waiting for Sandy to fall a sleep, I was laying down looking at the full mom thur the little clouds that were moving by quickly. I was starting to feel sleepy, the next thing a huge owl fly just over my head and screamed at me. It was only about 3 or 4 feet above me. It took a long time after that for me to fall a sleep

Looking north up Lillooet Lake towards Mt Currier

End of Lillooet lake

Duffy Lake road in Mt Currier

last look at Lillooet Lake

When got to Pemberton Sandy's friend Chris was managing the Pemberton Hotel, Sandy went in the hotel and got Chris to come outside I told him " We haven't washed or had a shower in six days" He Said" I know, I could smell you guys as soon I got outside". (Sandy wore the same shorts for five days) So he gave us used room before the maids clean up so we could have a shower. I looked at myself in a mirror I was so dirty that the only things that was kind of clean was my face and palms of my hands, my was neck was black caked on dirt, My reddish hair was black It took me six times shampooing my hair before the shower water stop turning black.( I hope Sandy thur away those shorts and maybe the bike seat too!)
Nice and clean Sandy waiting for the train.

Mt Currier at Pemberton train station

It was only $17.50 cdn for us each to ride the train to North Vancouver($10.50 train ticket + $7.00 excess baggage -bike)

( its well over $100.00 now) Thanks to the government selling the government ran railway.

lake near Whistler

 

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Sandy & Bill's first Mt bike. Photo by Riley Charters 1992AD