So there is a Seymour Arm

It was time to catch up on a few emails and the blog. It is a bit of a job, but one that I enjoy. It’s nice to see the output and I know from past experience that having something to look back on and a physical record of a trip is worthwhile. I wrote up my last ride into the Flinders Ranges and the printed eBook that I did from my journey to Oman is something I’m really glad to have. Reckon I’ll do the same with this adventure.

By the time I’d done what I wanted to, it was 1.00 pm. I’d pulled into a store by a campground where I could get WIFI. I’ve bought a local SIM but have no idea how fast I’m getting through the data as the app that records your data usage doesn’t work, of course. I had a very average wrap for lunch and the coffee was appalling – not at all unexpected going by the look of the joint. Thought I should get some riding in for the day. The most interesting looking way east involved a couple of ‘restricted’ roads to Revelstoke via Seymour Arm. The ride up by the lake was, as always, spectacular. I’ve probably seen over 100 now (make that a 1,000) and, while I don’t tire of them, I’ve generally stopped taking photos. They are all awesome, but they do become a bit the same! After leaving the lake, the bitumen degenerated into 70 odd km of pretty bad forestry roads – they were dry, chopped up and as corrugated as anything I’ve ever ridden on. As I was starting to discover, the logging trucks go everywhere and they are not kind to the roads. There was quite a bit of traffic going in the same direction – SUV’s and RV’s all driving very slowly. The dust was seriously bad. Seymour Arm was on the map but not on my GPS – nor was the road for that matter. I was assuming there would be little if anything there.

What a surprise I got when I did arrive – it was quite a community. I stopped at the cafe for a cold drink and started talking to the locals. There are about 600 cottages in the area and people ‘summer’ here to escape the rat race. It’s a bit alternative with lots of people having come here for holidays all of their lives. They get 20 feet of snow in the winter and the lake sometimes freezes over – the permanent population then is said to be 62 people.

After a bit of a blow, I headed off, travelling east and then ‘expecting’ to head south. About 15 km on, I came to a Y. No signs, no directions, not on the map – a travellers nightmare. I took the left turn as it seemed the most appropriate direction, however 5 km further on I came to a sign saying there was a bridge under repair 48 km down the road and it was permanently closed. Nice. At least they had a sign close to the beginning of the road though. I went back to the Y and followed it right for 5 or 10 km, but it was obviously going in the wrong direction. So, I did the smart thing (unusual for me) and headed back to Seymour Arm. It hadn’t occurred to me that I would have trouble navigating, even though the area was pretty isolated. I shouldn’t have been surprised though – I do need to be more careful. I took the opportunity to fuel up and got some directions from the woman at Daniels Store and Marina – they had everything there you could possibly want. Her name was Helen, she knew the area very well and said that about 30 km down the closed road there was a turnoff to the south that would get me where I wanted to go. There was also a little unmarked waterfall about 5 minutes out of Seymour Arm – ‘don’t miss that’ she said. It was about 4.30 by this time and, rather than riding until dark ‘again’, I took her other suggestion and set up camp by the lake. I’d bought a couple of beers and had a swim – just what was needed.

There were plenty of other campers and a guy called Jason came over, introduced himself and offered me an axe and firewood. ‘A guy’s got to have a fire’ he said. Jase was a man’s man. He was a pretty interesting guy, had a broad accent, was fit, very loud and he loved shaking hands – he just stuck his mitt out very few minutes and he wouldn’t let go. Think it could get rowdy here tonight! Cooked up spaghetti with chives and parmesan cheese and made an avocado and tomato salad for dinner. It was good to cook for myself after the heavy meals of the last few days.

Campgrounds are great places to meet people – you can just roll up, introduce yourself, and next thing you know, you’re old mates. My other neighbours were Kevin and Susan from over near Vancouver. Kevin was really interested in the bike (as so many are) and had done a lot of riding himself. The next morning they invited me to breakfast – French vanilla coffee and homemade blackberry jam on toast. Doing it tough! I learned years ago to readily accept what people offer you with humility and thanks. It makes them feel good and you have wonderful experiences as a result. It’s generally the people with the least that give the most and the camaraderie that comes from these simple, generous acts are a big part of travelling. Spent a good hour talking to Kevin’s Dad the night before. They all think Australia is a dangerous place. When you talk through it to try and dispelled the myth, you then realise that it kind of is actually.
A miserable 100 km for the day – that’s alright though, there’s plenty more to come!