Day 5 – New Friends, X-rays, and… Nate???

L³

I do have to share this story because it’s pretty funny (sorry Leah!)

I woke up from my deep slumber in Leah’s backyard (my new acquaintance), to the sound of her voice greeting me, immediately followed by a big fluffy dog poking his head under my rain cover. Within seconds, the dog (Larry) had broken into my tent to jump me with ALL the licks! Wow, talk about an entrance! But yes, literally broken in, taring a huge hole in the tent’s mesh with his paws.

Leah felt awful about it, but it was a total accident! Rather it be a big friendly woofer than a curious bear.

Accident-aside, the experience at Leah’s was wonderful: she offered me with a shower, some delicious scrambled eggs, and some great company. As she self-diagnosed, she suffers from the “entrepreneurial disease”, and it was just so cool and inspiring to hear about all of the projects she has on the go! Not only that, bust a really kind heart with a drive to help others!

Here’s the squad: Larry, Leah and Leo.

And Larry, don’t worry, we’re still friends.

X-rays / Moment of Truth

Spent the rest of the morning getting my own health situation sorted. I was able to get a same-day x-ray lined up through one of the local clinics, which was amazing news in itself!

Made a new friend, Natalie, as I was killing time, exploring some cool local shops, waiting for the initial x-ray paper work from the first clinic.

Then back to the clinic, and off to another part of the city to get the x-rays done.

After several x-rays on my ribs, and toe, the friendly lady there was kindly able to walk me through the results (when she normally wasn’t supposed to.) The x-rays showed that there was nothing glaringly bad, implying that neither the ribs or the toe were broken. Rather, likely some bone bruises.

I felt a huge relief. In that moment, I knew that I would be able to continue the trip. Just need to be careful with the ribs, which I’m no stranger to.

Amazing, amazing news.

The Ride Goes On

Following that great news, returned to Leah’s, said our goodbyes, and also took some time to regroup on what’s ahead, plus give my bike and gear a good cleaning after the past few muddy days.

For the rest of the afternoon, I made my way towards Shuswap Lake, where my friend Nathan’s parents would host me for a day at their lake-house.

The ride itself was short, relative to what I had been doing, but everything felt heavy. I couldn’t tell if it was the bike, my legs, the wind, or all of the above. But one thing was for sure, I really could not wait for that rest day.

Upon arriving at Sorrento, by Shuswap Lake, I was welcomed by Nate’s Dad, Brian, and… Nate??

I was exhausted and could barely process what was happening, but he had driven out all the way from Langley the night before to surprise me there! He even drove past me that night and took some sneaky pictures as I was pushing through to Kamloops in the dark and cold. This fricken guy! It was a great surprise.

They had picked me up and driven me up some windy roads to get to the lake-house, where a warm shower, and delicious steak dinner awaited me. And not to mention, the most stunning view on the lake.

Daily Stats

• Route: Kamloops, BC —> Shuswap Lake, BC
• Distance: 75km
• Elevation: 421m