Day 144 September 27, 2011 Sicamous to Vernon 64km

Neither Mike nor I drink coffee and this is often a problem for the people that come and join us to drive the MCC. This was the case for Tyler. While we were filling with propane at the gas station Tyler hurriedly went to the nearby A&W and came out with a tall cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. He also had the biggest single piece of beef jerky I’ve ever seen. I really wish I’d taken a picture of it but it was easily the size of his face.

Mike started running with me but kept having to stop to answer the phone. Eventually he gave up and spent about an hour answering phone calls from Vernon and Kelowna. By the afternoon Tyler was running with me and we passed through an area of construction about 5km long. Earlier in the day we had met two family friends of Mike’s who had warned us about the construction. Once again though, the construction provided Tyler and I essentially a brand new empty two-lane highway all to ourselves for 5km. Perfect.

Over the past couple of days the same two cyclists have been passing me. Today, for the third consecutive day these cyclists rode past me. Three days ago it was in the morning during a steep uphill so we just waved at each other. Yesterday they passed me while I was running with the fire escort. Today they passed us while we were eating lunch. I haven’t had the chance to talk to them yet but I find it odd that I keep getting out in front of them. The only thing I can think of is that they are sleeping in and starting late. (And because I’m writing this blog from the future I can say that tomorrow I will see them again for the 4^th time!)

As we approached the Vernon city limits I was met by two fire trucks waiting for me by the side of the road. Two firefighters joined in and ran with Mike and I while the two trucks escorted us through the city. Tonight was the first time that I ended up running in the dark and it was even cooler to have a fire escort with lights flashing in the dark.

The final few km of the run saw us running up a fairly steep hill, past the new Vernon hospital where Tyler’s fiancée Elaine works, and ending in the parking lot of the military camp. When we arrived we were met by Lloyd from the local prostate cancer group and a number of volunteers. They had brought foam hands, a huge banner, and a number of shirts for us. It was a great reception.

We spent the night at the fire hall where they let us plug our RV in and provided us with some of the best showers we’ve had so far this trip.  Sean, another friend of ours from Camp met us at the fire hall and we all went out to dinner at Boston Pizza.

Tomorrow I should make it to Kelowna!