Ucluelet All The Way Back To Nanaimo

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Saturday September 24, 2011
A Miracle I Got Out Dry

It rained most of the night and the weather forecast is calling for rain all the way till Tuesday. Today the forecast was for “light rain” and they are even calling for 90 km per hour winds tonight in Tofino. When I woke up things were very overcast. I wasted no time this morning in getting packed up and ready to get out of Ucluelet this morning. I thought for sure I would be getting wet and rained on for most of the day. This would not be the case at all. I made it all the way to Port Alberni with no rain. In fact 40 km’s south of Port Alberni I got sun. I am completely shocked how I got so lucky and it is nothing short of a miracle (in my opinion).

I almost would have like to stay in Ucluelet another day. I am sure it would have been a great day to take some awesome pictures. But with the forecast the way it is I know the smart move was to get out today. I made real good time riding the 100 km’s to Port Alberni considering how hilly the road is. Without the rain I was able to get a better idea and view of the surrounding landscape that I was unable to get from riding in the pouring rain the other day. The area is very very hilly and mountainous. The mountains seem to be very high and bunched close together. So it makes for a very scenic ride but not as great picture taking as I would have liked. With the mountains so bunched together any pictures would have just been a lot of green (trees); but I did get a few pictures. There are lots of water falls and rivers along the highway.

I saw my first black bear today since getting to Vancouver Island; which will probably be my last. I say last because pretty much the rest of my ride is through the heavily populated part of the island; but you never know.

I am staying at the same hostel I stayed at the other day in the same room (all to myself). I dealt with a new girl at the front desk and said had she known I was riding to Ucluelet she would have warned me and tried to talk me out of riding the highway due to how dangerous it is. Last year they had a guest get hit riding the highway and had multiple fractures all over his body. Always the road less travelled.


Sunday September 25, 2011
Port Alberni

I woke up to rain and was not the least bit surprised. At about 20 to 10 I noticed the rain had stopped and considered making a run for it. I packed my bags and as I was closing my last bag I noticed it was pouring rain again. Forget this I am staying put.

An hour later it stopped raining and I decided to take a walk to look for some food. I soon discover that downtown Port Alberni was closed down for Sunday but the truth is that the downtown of Port Alberni has nothing to offer anyone anyways. I could not even find a mailbox to mail a postcard.

I would have to bike to the other side of town to get food. By the time I was back to the hostel for my bike and on the street again it was raining and by the time I got to the grocery store I was wet. If I don’t sound pissed I was.

I spent the day and evening putting my closing thoughts and blog notes together as things are very quickly going to come to an end as soon as this weather clears up.

Late in the afternoon the weather completely cleared up. Does this mean I get a break in the weather for tomorrow?


Monday September 26, 2011
Still In Port Alberni

Woke up to rain again; surprise, surprise. The Weather Network is calling for better weather tomorrow. All I can say is it had better be. I am going a little stir crazy right now. So close to being done and stuck sitting on my ass.

Spent most of the day web surfing different things for the future. It was real noisy around here for a good part of the day. I am not sure what the deal is at this hostel. I think I have figured out who the real owner is but there is and has been all sorts of people that have been working here. And everyone speaks French so I have no idea what is being said. Not that I care much. But now most of the French people are gone and there was a bunch of screaming kids here for most of the day. It was driving me nuts. And I think my room now has guests so I have lost my private room.


Tuesday September 27, 2011
Leaving Port Alberni

It turned out that I had roommates last night but lately I have been heading to bed much later then the other travellers at the hostels so it made no difference to me. It rained throughout the night; so things were pretty wet. It was hard to tell what the weather wanted to do by looking at the sky.

It was not raining while I packed the bike but I did not get out of town without getting wet first. On the out skirts of town the rain did stop and the rain gear came off so that I might make the big climb outside of town without swimming in sweat. At the top of the big climb the rain started up again and the rain gear went back on. That wasn’t so bad as it was all downhill from there. When I hit the main intersection for the main highway (or on the other side of the mountains) it was like they never even got rain.

So I rode the 90 km’s from Port Alberni to Nanaimo and I am staying at the hostel I stayed at last week. When the lady found where I had been (Ucluelet) and that I ridden a bike on that highway she also said she would have also tried to talk me out of riding it. You have to wonder when so many locals tell you how dangerous a highway is.

There is only 110 km’s left to go directly to Victoria and then my ride would be done. Or there is 300 km’s to Victoria if I turn off at Duncan and go through Port Renfrew on the Pacific Coast and then to Victoria. I was intending to go straight through to Victoria but they are calling for good weather for the next 3 days so I am unsure at this moment what to do. I am 55% for going straight to Victoria and 45% going the long way. A lot will of what I decide to do will depend on the weather tomorrow. They are calling for good weather but who knows what that means and I have had enough rain this last week. I have discovered that it is not easy to dry your things out on the Pacific side. There is like no sun and 100% humidity. Pretty hard to dry anything out especially when there is no hostels out that way to get shelter.

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Photos

Winding Road
In a car this does not look so bad. On a bike is a different story

Blind Curves
Have a RV or 18 wheeler drive along side you into oncoming traffic. See how that feels.

18% Grade
What I did not realize at the time was that it was 18% grade going both ways. Meaning when I first climbed this mountain the other day it was also 18% grade.

Comments

[Steven]

Me again
Keep on going, you are almost done. Hope you find a hostil soon buddy. Please do not get hit.