One more thing...

I left off yesterday talking about Greenwood BC. But there are a few more things to note about this place.

Greenwood was one of the 8 Japanese internment camps in BC during World War II. As the Japanese empire expanded across the Pacific, all Japanese-Canadians in BC were sent inland, and many of them ended up in Greenwood. The buildings along the main street in town, now shops catering to tourists, is where most of the Japanese families lived. 200 people lived on the second floor above the ice-cream shop with only a small wood burning stove. One of these 200 people was a man named Tiki. Yesterday was Tiki's birthday, and we met him.

Tiki turned 90 years old yesterday, yet his small stature still remains strong. He doesn't look a day past 60. Tiki spent 45 years driving trucks throughout BC. As we greeted him in the morning light, he recalled his days of living in Greenwood. The winters were cold, he remembers. He remembered how the street was lined with people every labour day for the annual parade. There is still a strong Japanese community in Greenwood to this day.

After our morning ride out of Greenwood, we descended into Christina Lake. We decided to get a quick swim in the lake before conquering Bonanza pass, a 1,535 m (5,036 ft) summit. The road climbs out of Christina Lake, and keeps going up...and up...and up. We peddled for 4 hours up hill. all up hill.

The strain in your legs at this point is brutal. It seems as though the lower half of your body goes numb, and your brain just keeps firing signals t peddle up and down, up and down. At about 8pm, we reached the summit. Then we had to g down the other side.

Up one side of the mountain, then down the other side.

The 26 km up takes a long time. The 26km down the other side, doesn't take so long. Except when you get a flat tire. And we did.

Once again, our entrusted captain, Brent Seamone, took the reigns, and changed the tire at the side of the highway, and then continued to pilot the bike into Castlegar. He has been at the helm of this bike for every Km so far.

The strain on the captain, mentally and physically, is exausting. Yesterday we rode over 140km. 60km of it was uphill.

Today, we rest. In Nelson.

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