Day 14 - Cranbrook to Fernie, B.C.

I wake-up this morning feeling tired ( maybe it’s the time change). Tomorrow is a rest day, and I’m super stoked to spend my rest day in Fernie. I’ve been through Fernie once, and I remember thinking it was awesome! If I want to get there…I need to get going.

At 6:30am, I’m ready to leave and I do a final sweep of the room to make sure I have everything - even though I think I do. Thank goodness for this routine practice because I have not packed my foot-long Subway sandwich with the deli meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato and cucumbers with mayo! What a disaster that would have been!

The ride this morning is overcast and cool - my favourite riding conditions! I’m riding through some really amazing farmlands with peaked mountains looking over them.

By the time I’ve pulled into Jaffrey (about the half-way point kilometer-wise), I’ve peeled off the layers because the cloud coverage is gone, and it’s HOT again!

At Jaffrey, I decide to have a rest and a cup of coffee at First Peak which is a coffee shop in a log home that is so friggin’ cute! I fall in love with it and take pictures - maybe I’ll try to convince Brian that we need a log home (I already know he’ll say “no”). Unfortunately the coffee shop will be closing this August (according to a local).

A local elderly gentleman travelling by e-bike informs me that the weather is going to change just after tje Elko tunnel. Note taken (both on the weather change and the TUNNEL(!}.

The landscape has been amazing! I do a lot more stopping when I realize I am missing the transition from smoother to more jagged mountains. The ‘watch for wildlife’ sign has switched out moose for mountain goats - thankfully bears have been left out again!

I have decided my next break spot will be Morrissey Provincial Park. I bike and bike and bike and realize that I’ve missed the park (or any signage to indicate that it was around). About 10 km out from Fernie, I need a break - trash can refuse pullout it is. I crouch down in the little bit of shade that I can find and eat the second half of my Subway sandwich. (I have come to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE sandwiches).

I get to the “Fernie Welcome” sign and stop to take a picture of it. A gentleman gets out of his car on the other side of the highway. He says “hi” and asks where I’m off to. It’s hard to hear, he goes back to his car - talks to someone and then crosses the highway to talk to me. “This is going to be interesting” I tell myself. The gentleman who looks to be in his 60’s and has a bicycle on his shirt tells me that he and his wife (who is now coming across the highway) rode their bikes across Canada to Ontario 40 years ago - FOURTY YEARS AGO! That is incredible. I can’t imagine navigating this journey with a paper map and without the road closure, fire, weather notifications nor the communication systems that we have now. I tell them I think they are truly amazing and an inspiration! They are from Ottawa and are just passing through en route to visit family out west. It was a great chat.

Riding into Fernie I remember why I like it. Fernie is truly and utterly spectacular! Stunning landscape! It is also one of my favorite B.C. towns. When I go for dinner on a patio for a beer and caesar salad (or rather - a salad with a beer), I observe the locals calling out greetings to one another. The town has a real family friendly feel to it.

I was going to order a second beer for dessert, but the clouds started rolling in again. Thunder storms in the forecast. I better skip the beer and head back to the tent. Nothing is going to get in my way of a good sleep tonight - including some ‘ole thunder shower.

Day 14 - May 27th, 2026

Start Time: 6:40 am

Stop Time:1:30 am

KM Travelled: 97.7 km

Elevation: +611/ - 490 m

Special Stuff: Meeting locals and experienced travellers