A German, An Island, and Tenting With the Masses

Last night I saw a touring cyclist ride by my campsite. I met him this morning in the waiting room of the ferry dock. His name is Christian and he's from Germany (apparently, Christian is a very common German name). He has been traveling since January. He started in San Francisco (or maybe he flew to SF from Costa Rica--not sure of the exact timeline) and tried riding north, but encountered the wind. He gave up and took a bus to Vancouver. He's spending time riding around in BC, but he's also been to Calgary, Banff, and Jasper. He'll eventually work his way down the coast back to SF where I think he will return to Germany. Anyway, we had a nice conversation on the ferry. When we arrived on Vancouver Island, we rode together into Comox. He said I have "good speed". I told him my speed is not so good at the end of the day!

In Comox, Christian and I parted ways. He was on the lookout for laundry and a shower (he did not stay in the campground last night). I was hunting for the library. I don't know if he was successful, but I found the library.

After the library I stopped at a grocery store to get some produce (3 apples, 3 bananas, 2 tomatoes, 2 avocados, and 1 zucchini).

From Comox I headed around the bay to Courtenay. Since I was only looking at the map from the book and not the narrative, I missed a turn. When it seemed as if I was in a residential area, I stopped and consulted the written directions. Then I went back and turned where I was supposed to. Back on the route, I worked my way along the Oceanside Route, also called 19A (Curiously, everyone around here calls the Georgia Strait the ocean.).

The route today was much flatter and with good shoulders for most of the way. It was still quite warm and I still rode 60 miles--it just didn't take me quite as long.

In Comox and several other places I saw "watch out for deer" signs. They weren't kidding. The traffic came to a stop twice in Comox as first a doe and two fawns crossed the road and then later just a fawn (didn't see the doe). Several miles into today's ride I saw another doe with just one fawn. Drivers seem to be quick to stop, but I did see evidence of one deer who didn't quite make it.

In addition to the library and produce stops, I stopped once for Gatorade and once for ice cream. Off the top of my head I can't remember the brand of ice cream, but it seems to be the "Tillamook" of BC. While I was perusing the ice cream choices, an older gentleman and 17 year old kid stepped up and ordered some ice cream. I was glad they ordered first because then I saw just how huge the scoops were. I had a single scoop of Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. It was pretty good. The gentleman asked where I was going. Then he told me the doom and gloom stories of biking in Ucluelet and Tofino. He mentioned something about a dirt road. Since I've not read anything that mentions a dirt road, I'm guessing I'm not going where he was talking about. We'll see... As for the young man, he was headed to Kyrzakstan (I'm sure that is not spelled correctly) for a year as an exchange student.

At about 5:15 I arrived at Rathtrevor Park. It's a good thing I made a reservation because this place is full! When I got to my site, there was already a tent here. I returned to the Gate House and told the gal. She sent a park guy to the site to remove the tent. If the person returned, I was to tell him his tent was at the Gate House. It wasn't until after I finished my dinner that the guy came back. He was rather mystified as to the whereabouts of his tent. I told him where his tent was and he left. Pretty soon he came back to retrieve some items he had hanging in the trees, and apologized for his mistake.

This tenting area is full. It is called the Tenting Meadow. There are about 26 sites and they are all walk-in (perfect for someone on a bike!). The car campers use wheelbarrows to transport their stuff to their site. There are some seriously huge tents. Next to me there are two guys (Will and Greg). They both have their own tents and both tents are at least 6 person tent mansions. I asked Will if he ever gets lost in his tent! They are nice guys--even offered me dinner (I had already eaten).

On the other side of me there is what appears to be one mom with about 27 kids (okay, not 27, but I think at least 5 or 6) and a big dog. There is also someone playing guitar. It's a PARTY in the Tent Meadow at Rathtrevor tonight.

There is a movie in the amphitheater that the park employee was not at liberty to tell me the title for copyright reasons. What? Are the BC Parks showing pirated movies? She told me the plot (it is "Over the Hedge").

I've walked down to the beach. This is really a pretty nice park. There are lots of trails, and the showers are free!

So, although, due to all the ferry crossings, it has seems as if I have already been island hopping, now I actually am on an island--Vancouver Island. Tomorrow I'll be CouchSurfing in Port Alberni!

In the photos below, notice the photo of the Canadian Beach Volleyball team.

Sleeping With a Nightlight

I had great plans of leaving Roberts Creek bright and early (not dark and early like yesterday), but I took some time to do some things that I would have ordinarily done the night before (I arrived so late and was plum exhausted!). One thing I did was wash out my bike shorts from yesterday. They dried nicely on the back of the bike.

I ended up getting on the road at 8:20. After finally getting the previous blog posted, I was finally on the road for good by 10:15. I really needed to catch the 3:10 ferry to Saltery Bay from Earl's Cove. You might think that should be no problem. I wasn't too worried either, except the road from Sechelt to Earl's Cove was only up and down--and more up than down. There was no flat. And the ups were mostly Super Granny ups. And yet, I made it to Earl's Cove with about 45 minutes to spare! I did stop at one point at a liquor store and also went in to the bar next door. Now, for those of you who know me, I know you are thinking, "Since when did Colleen start drinking?". Actually, I bought a bottle of Powerade at the liquor store, and the nice bartender in the bar filled my water bottle with ice and cold water. See, I haven't taken up boozing on the bike!

Boat ride #4 to Saltery Bay was very nice. The indoor seating place was air conditioned. I took my shoes and socks off and put my burning hot feet on the cool metal of the seat back in front of me. I took a few photos, but mostly I just sat in the nice cool air.

Upon docking, as usual, I was allowed off first. Then it becomes a race to get to the top of the ferry dock ramp before the motorcycles and then cars start coming. And it is always a steep hill. I got up to the hwy just as the cars started going past me. Fortunately, there was a nice shoulder. Then the long, slow, arduous climb began. Saltery Bay Provincial Park was just up the road. That is where the Bicycling the Pacific Coast book recommends to stay. I didn't want to stay there because I would have 19 miles to go in the next morning to get to Powell River and catch the 8:10 ferry. I wasn't up for another o' dark hundred ride. My plan was to get to an RV park in Myrtle Point, about 6 miles from Powell River. I figured that would be doable. Well, I never found the so called RV park that allowed tents. There was a "resort" with cabins, but no tenting. The person there told me there was camping near the ferry terminal in Powell River. Okay, fine, I'll go all the way to Powell River.

I got to the ferry terminal, but didn't see anything resembling a camping place. I stopped in at the harbor office and asked a nice young man if there was camping nearby. He directed me to Willingdon Beach Campground. I found the campground without any problems. I'm barely 10 minutes ride from the ferry! Much nicer.

This campground is a private campground (thus, in order to make more money, the campsites are very close together--but, it only cost me $18, plus a Looney for the shower). It is gated (but Betsy can fit around the gate easily) and I have a key for the restroom building--which is shockingly close to my campsite! The only bad thing is that there is a streetlight that is lighting up my campsite. It's not often I have a nightlight when I'm in my tent! I'm certainly tired enough that I'm sure it won't bother me.

As I was walking over to the restroom to brush my teeth (key in hand), I noticed there was still a bit of a sunset happening (I was too hungry to go watch the sun set earlier). I walked down a trail to the beach. Not only was the sky beautiful, but there was a heron standing on a rock. I moved in closer to get a nice silhouette photo. A perfect end to a long day!

A Doozy of a Second Half

When I was calculating the miles for Day 2 I factored in the fact that I was riding from the train station as opposed to the airport in Vancouver. It was supposed to be shorter. But, nooooo, it was actually longer! Okay, yes I had to go to MEC. MEC is the equivalent to our REI except there you must be a member. So I had to pony up $5 extra to become a member so I could purchase the fuel for my stove. I thought that was kinda rotten. Anyway, that added maybe 3 miles. I might have picked up a few more extra miles in Stanley Park but I wasn't clear about the route directions and turned before I should have. Then, in West Vancouver I back tracked a bit until I figured out what road I was on. Oh, and then I met Dennis on the Langdale ferry and he rode with me all the way to Roberts Creek, taking me a different way from the route guide. But, that part should have saved miles.

My average speed today was only 8.8 miles per hour. That's because there was a boat load (yes, a double-decker ferry boat load) of hills. Up down up down all the way from West Van to Horseshoe Bay. And, it was very warm.

The other reason for the slow average was from the ride through Stanley Park. Talk about a Mecca for cyclists (actually for all things wheeled)! I think there were more bikes on the path Than cars on the road. In fact, I finally went on the Scenic Dr. road because if I hadn't, I would have never made out of the park! It is a cool park though. I wish I could have spent more time there.

My premature turn in the park was due to trying to get up onto Lions' Gate Bridge. I had to go across it. I figured it out after a couple of wrong turns. Going across the bridge was similar to going across the Narrows bridge.

Once in West Van, I was back to a bike path for awhile. The route guide is somewhat outdated because it said to get on this gravel path. Well, the path is now paved. I still managed to make it on to the path. Problem was I got off too early. Consequently I had to battle more traffic and traffic lights that turned red for me everytime.

After a bazillion hills, I made it to Horseshoe Bay with what turned out to be a two hour wait (the Langdale ferry was late). Since I had spotted a Subway as I was coming into Horseshoe Bay Village, and I had had very little to eat, I got my ferry ticket then went over to Subway for another late lunch (even later than yesterday's). If the Horseshoe Bay Subway is indicative of Canadian Subways, I won't be eating at any more of them. They have no spinach and no avocado.

I returned to the ferry when I was done. The ticket agent gave me a special code to get through the gate for people on bikes. Another guy happened to be there going onto the ferry too. We both went in on his code.

Finally the ferry arrived and off loaded its passengers. Then us bikes got to board first. I just followed a couple of other cyclists to see where to go. They have bike racks, but Betsy wouldn't fit so I just leaned her against the wall.

The ferry ride to Langdale was beautiful. It was about 40 minutes to Langdale. I could see a road from the ferry. Later I asked Dennis if it was possible to ride from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale. Nope, the road I saw goes to Squamish and Whistler. The only way to get to Langdale (and points North along the Sunshine Coast) is by ferry. One can imagine that this area was probably very sparsely populated before the ferries started.

As we pulled into Langdale, an unbelievable amount of walk-on passengers assembled on Vehicle Deck 2 to depart. I've never seen so many walk-on passengers. I hadn't seen them get on because where I got on, again Deck 2, only people with bikes and pets got on. All the rest of the walk-ons got on up above. Anyway, it was a big ferry with two vehicle decks. Dennis said to follow him, so I did. Instead of staying on the Hwy (BC 101), we turned left and went up on a quieter road that was, mercifully, in the shade. It was a bit steeper according to Dennis, but shorter and an overall less elevation gain. Fine by me!

At Gibsons, we took another turn to avoid going through the town. Also a good idea as it was a nice quiet road. That's not to say the Hwy was bad. There was a fair amount of traffic, but a good shoulder the whole way. Dennis and I were even able to ride two abreast and chat for some of the time.

After a few more hills we arrived at Roberts Creek. It was 8:15. Later than I prefer to get in, but that's the way it goes. I got my tent set up while continuing to chat with Dennis. He was going on to his mom's, but had told her he wouldn't get there until 10:00 (he had good lights on his bike). He left about 9:30. I ate some Sin Dog, did my best to clean up a bit (no showers), started to write this post, but got too tired, so went to sleep. I'd been up since 4:00am. I was tired!

Currently, I am at a Starbucks in Sechelt. Gonna post this then get back on the road. Lots of miles to go today in an effort to get as close to Powell River as possible. Enjoy the photos (not many from Langdale to Roberts Creek because I was just trying to keep up with Dennis). Notice the one of Betsy on the train.

Okay, so the wifi at Starbucks didn't work (arrrggggg). I'm now at the Sechelt Public Library. It's 9:44. They open at 10:00. I'm going to wait.

First Half of Day 2--Water Taxi to the Train

I can relax a bit now. The worry about getting to the train on time from Vashon was for nothing (well, maybe not nothing...). I made it to the train station with plenty of time to spare.

My day started in the middle of the night. I had set my alarm for 4:30, but my bladder had other ideas and woke me at 3:30. I took care of business, but there was no way I was going to be able to go back to sleep. I finally got out of my sleeping bag a little after 4:00. Actually, it was a good thing because the earlier start gave me time to wipe down the soaking wet rainfly (no rain, just heavy dew). I got everything packed up and headed to the water taxi terminal (in the still dark) by 5:10. I'm glad I brought my good headlight to ride by.

I arrived at the ferry terminal at 5:35. The first water taxi was at 6:10. I got my $5.00 ticket from the machine and sat down to wait. I'm glad I was one of the first in line to get on the boat with Betsy. The boat holds 18 bikes but, not 18 bikes with gear. Although I was the only fully-loaded bike, the racks were full with commuter bikes. I counted about 15 bikes. The boat itself was pretty full with people commuting to work.

The water taxi crossing took 22 minutes. The sun was coming up over the hills of West Seattle while we scooted right along.

After disembarking from the water taxi, I made my way along a bike path under the Alaska Way Viaduct to King St. From there it was just a couple of blocks to the Amtrak station. I just wheeled Betsy right into the ticketing area, packed up the stuff I was checking and took my place in line (with Betsy beside me). At first when I put the Chinese shopping bag on the scale (37 lbs) the gal said I couldn't take that bag. Then she noticed it was zipped up and said it was okay. Momentary panic there.

Betsy got her tag, I got my ticket, and we headed to the waiting room. It's kind of interesting trying to wheel a bike through a packed waiting room. Fortunately, they called to board the Vancouver train and we filed out onto the platform. I had to wait with Betsy until the baggage guy came. He took her and loaded her up. I'm in the car just behind her. In fact, I can see her hanging on the hook through the baggage car window.

So, with plenty of time to spare, I have completed boat ride #2 and am relaxing while riding the rails to Vancouver. Canada here I come!

Not So Boring Afterall

Okay, it wasn't wildly exciting either. But, considering I've done this ride a few times, it was a pretty interesting day.

My plan was to catch the 11:45 ferry to Vashon. Apparently, in order to do that, I would need to leave my house at 8:30. I left at 9:00. Yeah, I didn't make the 11:45 ferry. BUT, that turned out to be a good thing because that meant I had time to check out the Point Defiance Botanical Gardens and also ride the path to Owens Beach--two things that I have never done at Point Defiance! I also rode by The Boathouse (still in use). I didn't even know such a facility existed there (kind of behind Anthony's restaurant). I don't know how many boats they can store in the boathouse, but it looks like quite a lot. I also stopped in at the Tackle Shop. Guess what they sell there? Surprise! They sell TACKLE (and a few other odds and ends, but mostly TACKLE)!

As I was slowly making my way over to the ferry ticket office, I stopped to take a photo of the ferry for boat ride number 1 of this Bike and Boat Tour. There were two couples, one older couple (from Allyn) and one not-as-old older couple (from California--I thanked them for bringing the nice weather with them). They were taking photos. I asked if they would like a photo of the four of them together. The older gentleman handed me a nice camera. I took two photos. Then the not-as-old gentleman handed me his iPhone (and took the nice camera). I told him I was familiar with iPhones. When I went to take the photo, I noticed he had it set to video. I told him so, then I switched it to camera. Apparently, he does that a lot. I imagine he has a collection of very short videos. When I gave the not-as-old guy his phone back, he tried to give me the nice camera back. I told him thanks, but I think that was the other guy's camera.

At the ferry dock, the same gal was working that was there the last time I was there (she's the obsessive dock cleaner). I asked her if she was keeping the dock clean. She told me she was fed up. Some workers have been doing some maintenance work on the ferry dock. They have repaved a section. On the side where they sealed the edge, the tar is very sticky. They don't want to put sand on it because they are going to paint it. The gal is all mad because they haven't painted it yet. The dock was getting all dusty and dirty while she's been waiting for them to paint. She said she finally had to clean it because she couldn't stand it anymore. Then she said she is retiring in 198 days so she won't have to deal with it anymore. I'm thinking once she retires, she will go crazy because you can only clean your house so much. Maybe I should have her come clean MY house! She would have a field day with that. I'd keep her busy until the end of her days!

I boarded the ferry and then went up to watch the rest of the traffic load. There were two double dump trucks with loads of gravel. Once the second truck was loaded, there was just enough space for the cars to continue to load to the side. The ferry guy directed all the small cars to squeeze through. Then there was one more 36' truck (how do I know it was 36'? Because I heard them as they were trying to see if they had room for it). It squeezed in behind the first dump truck. There were about 7 cars that didn't make it on the ferry. Double dump trucks take up a lot of space.

Once on the island, I sweated my way over the usual route to the "downtown" area. I stopped at Thriftway to get something for lunch tomorrow and an apple for tonight (I packed lots of dinner stuff, but no lunch stuff). I got a Killer Dave's Sin Dog. I love the Sin Dog! It is a roll of bread filled with cinnamon and raisins and then coated in all kinds of seeds. Yum yum DELISH!

After Thriftway, I went to Subway for a very late lunch (I did have a snack at noon). I can now check the Vashon Island Subway off the list. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo. I suppose it's not that big of a deal...

Now I am back at the Vashon Hostel for the third time. There are actually a few people here! I've met Ashley and Ryan who are on their honeymoon from Wisconsin. Ashley is an 8th grade science teacher and Ryan is finishing his degree in Physical Therapy. Very nice couple. There is also a gal named Maxine. She is originally from Minnesota, but now lives outside of Denver. She has had a fascinating life with the Forest Service.

The bad news is that this hostel is going to be closing at the end of summer. It is not in compliance with King County Health Dept. That's too bad because this is a pretty decent place and it's also the only camping place on Vashon. It doesn't seem to get much use during the week, but I've heard there can be upwards of 100 people here on the weekends.

I've got an early morning tomorrow (got to get up at 4:45 to make the 6:10 water taxi) so I'm hitting the sack early.

Here's a few photos from my not so boring day.

Ready Enough

It's 10:45pm. I'll be heading out tomorrow morning for Vashon Island. It will be the first day and first boat ride of the "Bike and Boats Tour". It will likely be a rather boring day. I mean, really, I have already done this part of the ride twice this summer. I should get a frequent flyer deal at the Vashon Island Hostel! I just might be disappointed if they don't recognize me. What am I saying? The people who run the place are looney-tunes! I don't even know how much it's going to cost--I've been charged a different price each time I've been there! I'm sure they will have no recollection of me ever being there before.

My stuff is mostly ready to go. It's not loaded on the bike, but since I'm not in an all-fired-up hurry to get to Vashon, I'll load Betsy tomorrow. I'm aiming for the 11:45 ferry only because I want to eat lunch at the Subway on Vashon (I know, it's hard to believe in all the times I've been on Vashon this summer, I have NOT eaten at the one and only Subway).

So, am I ready for another 21 days on the road? I say, "Ready Enough".

What's Missing?

Notice in the photo below there are no panniers sitting packed and ready to go. No tent or bag with sleeping bag and sleeping pad all lined up just itching to get on the road. Have I cancelled my upcoming "Bike and Boats" tour? Not going to ride the Sunshine Coast or go up and down the hills of Vancouver Island, the Canadian Gulf Islands, and US San Juan Islands? Of course I am! Then how come I'm not packed? Aren't I always packed waaay early? Usually...yes.

I know I'm leaving in one week, but I don't feel the pressure to have everything packed just yet. I haven't even pulled my stuff out of its storage place (the chest at the foot of my bed). My panniers are still in the bin in the garage. I haven't even taken a look at Betsy (except in passing, on my way to taking Stella out for my "Thanks For Wearing a Helmet" campaign).

Maybe it's because I've been busy doing other things (the aforementioned TFWAH campaign--but that doesn't take THAT much time). Maybe I'm just not excited to be traveling solo again (are you kidding??? I LOVE solo bike touring!). OR...maybe it's the fact that I've already done two fairly major tours this year and I've finally realized it's not necessary to pack everything up so early. Maybe I know now it doesn't take me that long to pull it all together (I'd say it's about time I learned that!).

Anyway, I'll be pulling out the gear sometime this week. I'll have it all ready to go for next week's Tuesday departure. I have set up a CouchSurf place in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island. I'm looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends. I think I'll try to CouchSurf or find a Warmshowers host in Anacortes too.

It's going to be a great tour...uh oh...now I'm getting the urge to go pull out all my stuff and start packing!