14th May - Smithers

"Where you off to today, David?". Given this was a bed only type of place, Darryl had just come back from having his full American breakfast (on expenses). Meanwhile I was tucking into my instant porridge in a pot. "You're going right by my cabin - do you want to stay over?". Damn, I'd just booked a hotel. Still it was good of digitless Darryl to offer. "Watch out for those bears, saw one round the back of here yesterday". 

As I headed off, I started to scan the roadside for a) deer b) elk c) moose d) beers or e) any other suicidal canuk creatures I haven't been told about yet. No sign. I did start to bore of scanning the forest edge though and gave up when it started to rain as I figured any self respecting animals would be safely tucked away in the canope somewhere. Soon after, I swerved & narrowly missed the mother of all roadkills.

The further east I had ridden, the less mountainous and more agricultural the landscape became. The area I was travelling through was known as the Lake District. Nothing like the UK's namesake but an area of natural lakes surrounded by fir forests & fast flowing rivers. The locals seem to live in either sprawling great log cabins or in trailer parks with little in between. They do share some things in common though - a fondness for derelict cars.

As I was contemplating what Sam's house would like now if I had also kept all my cars - worse bikes, I realised I was being clocked. A large, deer was galloping towards the road. As I started to brake, it ground to halt. Looked at me, leaped upward, turned mooneying a white flank and ran back into the forest. I'd heard of a biker being headbutted by a deer but managed to stay on (yes, Darryl again..). Afterwards she couldn't get off the bike as her leg was so badly bruised. I finished the day as I started, scanning the forest line.