Next Tour in the DOCKet

For my next tour starting August 14th, I will be spending a lot of time on the docks. This will be the "Bike and Boat Tour". Twenty-one days, 17 boat rides! I'll be mostly taking ferries with one passenger freighter thrown in for fun.

This tour has another purpose. My mom passed away a little more than two years ago. One of her wishes was that her ashes be scattered from the top of Mt. Constitution on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands. Although most of her ashes have already been scattered at the Oregon Coast (another favorite place), I have a small amount that I will take with me on my tour of the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island, the Canadian Gulf Islands, and the San Juan Islands. Yes, I will be taking the long way to the top of Mt. Constitution, but I think my mom would have enjoyed the journey (especially since she wouldn't have to pedal!).

Because I am traveling at the height of summer, I have resigned myself to a pretty strict itinerary by making some necessary reservations. I have my train reservation on the Amtrak Cascades from Seattle to Vancouver, BC. I have also made a campsite reservation at a Provincial Park that comes at the end of a long day of cycling (and a 75 minute ferry crossing). I have secured a space on the M.V. Frances Barkley Passenger Freighter from Port Alberni to Ucluelet on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

There will be some very early mornings as I pedal hard to make, in some cases, the only ferry for the day. Or, at least the only one that will enable me to get to my destination during the ever-shortening daylight hours as I ride later into August. I will be sure to take a good headlight with me!

I think it's going to be challenging and beautiful. After this tour, I will have completed the entire Pacific Coast Bike Route. I will be hoping to post blogs as much as possible along the way. Stay tuned!