Daily Summary:
1:00 PM to 10:00 PM — Average Speed: 19.1 Salmon Arm, BC to Kamloops.
Odometer: 2,290 – 2,366 miles
Climb: 3,642 ft. — Descend: 3,865 ft.
60-75° F :
Ran out of battery entering Kamloops. Charged inside Starbucks for 30 minutes ’til closing.
Ran out of battery again at second RV park. Had to push 1/2 mile going somewhat downhill.
Sunny day after early morning rain. 5-15 mph headwinds into Kamloops.
Battery Performance:
Note: All charging and range data after the World Record Day will be published in Excel format at a later date.
— 41 —
As I was packing up this morning, I discovered a little guy crawling under my hammock. He’s carrying his house with him, too.
I hope he ended up having a better day than I did.
I got a late start today as I waited out the morning rain at Sky Blue Waters RV park. Aaron was very kind and allowed me to stay until the weather cleared.
After scooting into the wind the last 30 miles or so, I finally arrived on the outskirts of Kamloops.
I had originally planned to stay at an RV park on the east side of the city, but someone suggested that I go to a different park farther inside the city to avoid the train noise.
I flew past the park where I originally planned to stay with plenty of battery charge and no trains in site. Then the headwind increased and not a few miles later I felt the scooter losing power.
Thankfully I just got to a traffic light and was able to push the scooter across the highway to the Starbucks on the corner.
It was now 7:30 PM. Starbucks was closing at 8.
As usual, before ordering anything, I checked for an outside receptacle to plug in the scooter. Luckily, there was one just under an outside table.
But someone had broken the GFI switch and so it now didn’t work, AGAIN.
(COME ON PEOPLE! Don’t abuse your privileges and ruin it for others. Be at least a little resonsible for ALL your actions. )
A quick walk around the building’s perimeter revealed no other outlets, AS USUAL .
(COME ON STORE OWNERS! It’s 2022. Haven’t you figured out yet that EVERYTHING is going electric inside AND OUTSIDE your stores?)
I now knew I was about to have a serious problem: stuck inside a big city, at night, with a dead battery, a heavy scooter and a too-heavy trailer.
The Starbucks manager must have seen the anxiety on my face and kindly allowed me to charge inside the empty store for a few minutes before they closed. (Thank you, AGAIN!)
After charging a bit, I left Starbucks heading for the previously-suggested RV Park.
A BIG river runs through Kamloops. The river was flooded because of all the rain. My map program didn’t know the river bike path was closed.
I began to take one bad turn after another. The RV PARK was only one kilometer away, but I couldn’t get to it from anywhere!
Finally someone gave me correct instructions and I went 3 kilometers out of my way to get to a bridge that DID get me over the river and not too far from the Park.
It was 9:30 PM. The Park was closed. I was also told by an employee that the Park was full and I needed to leave.
I was nearly out of battery. He told me there was another Park — basically an open field — and they probably would let me camp. He said it was only a kilometer away.
It was TWO kilometers!
The battery died after one. I pushed, AGAIN.
Fortunately it was mostly level and even a bit downhill.
It was now after 10 PM. The office was closed AGAIN, of course.
The full moon was shining brightly. I threw the hammock down on a somewhat grassy spot next to two other tents; one a bicyclist and one a motorcyclist (ask me how I knew).
I was warm, but knew the temperature might change quickly. I skipped the sleeping bag but grabbed the pillow and synthetic blanket. I also took off my down vest and coat but left them in the hammock.
I removed my belt (didn’t want to risk putting a hole in the inflatable mattress) and quickly crawled in and zipped up.
Kamloops has a big river. Mosquitoes love people camped next to big rivers…
Tonight was the First Day on this trip that I slept on the ground without a tarp.
I’m so thankful that it was a relatively warm night with no rain and not too much wind.
I slept for about 3 hours in total in probably as many intervals .
I got up at 4 AM with the birds and completely exhausted.
The welding shop located about 50 meters from my hammock was starting to make noise AGAIN (it didn’t stop until after midnight that night).
I packed up, charged for 30 minutes at a plug that I found on the washroom trailer, and headed back into the heart of town where certainly there would be an early morning breakfast place that had a place to charge my scooter.
A Starbucks, but NO outside receptacles, AGAIN.
A Tim Hortons. No receptacle, AGAIN.
A Save More grocery store. No receptacles. NONE, in fact, in the entire mall area that I was certain would have at least one plug somewhere.
The battery was almost gone, AGAIN.
A security guard suggested a pizza place a few blocks away. I asked directions from a girl at a coffee shop along the way (with no outside receptacles, of course).
She was new. She didn’t know about pizza, but she thought she had seen someone charging a phone at a light pole a few blocks away.
Turned out it was the light pole 20 meters from the coffee shop. I plugged in until the battery was FULL. I drank water and coffee until I was TOO full, AGAIN.
I rode to Pinegrove RV Park and was given a PERFECT camping spot with a table and extra covered spaces!
(Technically, I’m now describing Day 42, but this part fits here, so forgive me. )
I hung the hammock, plugged in the scooter on trickle charge, took a shower, and took a nap.
Thank God for anti-gravity sleeping devices…
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