Port Renfrew to Victoria and back to Nanaimo through Salt Spring Island

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Wednesday September 28, 2011
Sunny Skies

I woke up to sunny skies so I guess it is a no brainer what my next move would be. Continue the ride to Port Renfrew and the Pacific Coast. Why end a ride when the sun is out?

I hit the road in good time with no camp to break down. I stopped at a Tim Horton’s for quick breakfast. I did something I don’t usually do I ordered a coffee and grabbed a table. Five minutes later 2 bike riders from Taiwan showed up. They were brothers and the one spoke very little English. I think he said that they started in Toronto but they did not ride all the way here. Something about one brother having to go home and they had only ridden about 2000 km’s and had only 1 week left until going back to Taiwan.

I asked them if they had heard about Cathedral Grove and the Pacific Rim National Park. They seemed a little lost for direction. I showed and explained to them how to visit these places because in my opinion these were the best that Vancouver Island had to offer. They had plans to take the ferry to Vancouver the way I had come back to the island. I told them about the tunnel. They wanted nothing to do with danger so they were so thankful for the warning. They asked me about bears; I told them how many bears I had seen on my trip (see Stats and Fun Facts when the ride is done). When they had heard how many bears I had seen I was instantly their hero and I gave them courage for the rest of their trip. I am constantly amazed at how afraid Asians are of statistically speaking safe risks. Yet when you watch them in WW 2 or Viet Nam war movies they are savage. I was presented with a pin from Taiwan for my friendship and help. So much for my good start.

I made excellent time on my ride and when I turned off the main highway towards Lake Cowichan which would take me to Port Renfrew the landscape became hilly. But the climbs were easy to accomplish. The day went very smooth and the kilometers passed quickly until I goofed. This is the first time I have done this, this trip. I did not pay attention to my map and I took a wrong turn. Actually I missed my turn by assuming that I was going in the right direction. Actually I made my turn into Lake Cowichan for lunch and then back tracked to the main road and then rode 15 km’s to Youbou. You can imagine my surprise when all of a sudden the paved road became gravel and a sign said no more public road. Had I just continued down the road from where I had lunch all would have been good. So I had to back track the 15 km’s. So in total I wasted 30 km’s.

After re-entering and then passing through Lake Cowichan I came across their local campground. It was early in the evening but I decided to take advantage of the campground. I was not sure what to expect in regards to human development further down the lake and what difficulties I might have in finding a suitable camp site. This turned out to be a good plan. The campground was vacant, I had a site on the lake and the hot water was still running so I got a shower that I was not expecting.

I rode 105 km’s in less than 8 hours in mostly hilly terrain under perfect skies.



Thursday September 29, 2011
A Demanding Ride

Yesterday evening grew fairly cool and this morning was equally cool. The morning dew was very heavy on the tent. I had woken up in the middle of the night due to noise pollution. I tend to be very sensitive to noise and it was unbelievable how loud the noise from vehicles was from across the lake. I could not understand why there was so much traffic in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere. This morning things are equally loud. That being said the sun is out and it is a good thing I am in a very open camp site. If I was under the trees it would take all day to dry the dew off the tent.

My turn from Lake Cowichan was actually not too far down the road past the campground. The road from the turn off looked to be a logging road that had finally been paved. The road was not overly wide and it was that pressed stone seal coat. So it was a rough road to ride and made getting any kind of momentum difficult. The rode continued to be hilly. I was also feeling it from doing record speeds yesterday. Fortunately and with pleasure; traffic is very light on this road. It is the lightest traffic since getting on the island. The area is very heavily logged. The closer that I got to Port Renfrew the bigger the trees got.

Once I passed Port Renfrew the road while it became smoother also became very demanding. The hilly road became very big winding hills. The descents were quite steep and winding. The highway shows glimpses of the Pacific but most of the Pacific is hidden behind trees. Upon entering Port Renfrew I also enter Juan De Fuca Marine Trail. Unfortunately unlike Pacific Rim National Park this area does not seem to have the short easily accessible trails off the highway and I don’t seem to see any rainforests or shore line (beaches) from the highway. There are a few trails but I have no idea how far one has to ride to get to the trail head and how long the trails are. All the Pacific Rim trails and beach accesses were right off the highway.

I camped at China Beach Camp Ground. The camp ground is closed for the season so once again I get a campground myself. And I get the added bonus the camp ground is right beside the highway. Under normal circumstances I prefer campgrounds way off the highway; but on a bike it sucks to have to ride any distance off the road just to find a spot to sleep.

I got an early start, ended up barely getting the tent up by dark and I only drove 95 km’s today. I guess that would mean today was fairly demanding.


Friday September 30, 2011
Victoria But Not Done

The sky was overcast when I awoke but not as cool as yesterday morning. That meant the morning dew was not as bad as it was the morning before. I made good time in breaking camp and was on the road by 10 am. But somehow the morning turned cold and it was a difficult ride to get comfortable with regarding to maintaining temperatures. I was cold, but if I wore my hoody I was sweating like crazy before I would finish a climb. The first part of the day continued to be a challenging ride. I would have to compromise and remove my hoody at the beginning of each climb and put it back on at the top of each hill. Sporadically there would be light rain on and off throughout the morning.

Jordan River provided some good views of the ocean and I even spotted a seal swimming in the shallows near the shore. There were a few good climbs this morning.

Around the time I hit Sooke the sun was out but Sooke is a good size city/town and the traffic was heavy and only got heavier until Victoria. Upon reaching Sooke the ride also got a lot easier in regards to the highway levelling out. So the traffic had continued to be fairly light right until Sooke.

So I reached Victoria under sunning skies in the mid afternoon. Traffic was very busy on the highway as it would be in any city. Victoria is a much bigger city then I remember. I found the hostel easy enough and it is a very busy place. I think I got like the last cheap bed.

If you noticed the title of this blog you will notice it said “Victoria But Not Done”. I have made an “Executive Decision” to extend this ride to another finishing city. Initially Victoria was my destination; but I am going to make Vancouver City my official ending destination. The reason I have decided to make this the new finish is because I have decided that Vancouver City is where I plan to stay/live for the next while. My 3 main considerations for where to live was Victoria, Nanaimo or Vancouver. I have decided on Vancouver City therefore it only seems reasonable that I ride to Vancouver and make that my final decision. It would seem goofy to finish in one city and then ride to another city to live. So I have authorized this executive decision and it stands final.

I am now sort of considering my route to Vancouver. I will defiantly be taking the ferry via Horseshoe Bay from Nanaimo. I don’t need to be going through anymore tunnels. There are 2 possible routes back to Nanaimo; one route; the direct route is the Trans-Canada Highway and the other route is through the Southern Gulf Islands via Salt Spring Island back to the mainland at Crofton. I suspect that I will be going through the Salt Spring Island.

So I rode at least 75 km’s from China Beach to Victoria in a mixed bag of weather and road conditions.


Saturday October 1, 2011
Saltspring Island and October?

I can’t believe it is October; how long have I been riding for?

I got an early start on a cool October morning. I slept horrible last night. Too much city noise and stuck on the top bunk. I especially find it hard to fall asleep when the bunk has no side railing. I hate the top bunk; I am always afraid that I am going to have one of those dreams that make you wake up with a jump and then I will be dead because I fell off the top bunk.

I have decided to ride to Nanaimo via The Southern Gulf Island of Salt Spring. It is only a short ferry ride to the island. Riding to the ferry I came across a farm with a bunch of Pumpkin patches. A sign of the season I guess. The highway to the ferry is fairly flat and busy. Being fairly flat I made the 30 km’s in record time and arrived only 15 minutes before departure. I saw a seal from the ferry.

Salt Spring Island is a nice quite island. I think I read somewhere the population is a little over 10,000 people. The ferry drops you off in Fulford. The ride is pleasant enough with an occasion hill. Upon reaching the main hub of Ganges it turns out that they have a regular Saturday (what I call an) artsy fartsy fair. I guess the island has a flair for the artistic side of things and every Saturday from April to October artists display and sell their wares. I took the time to walk through and browse; but only briefly. When one has no money or home (in Canada) there is little point in being teased with hand crafted pieces of art work.
From Ganges it was only a few kilometers to Vesuvius to catch the ferry back to Vancouver Island. Only 20 km’s to ride through the little island. There are a few other routes to take if I had wanted to stay and explore the island.

The ferry dropped me off in Crofton and it was 45 km’s to Nanaimo mostly along the coast. So a total of 95 km’s under mostly overcast and cool weather. I staying at my usual hostel with a room to myself; nice and quiet.

I am waiting to hook up with the uncle that hooked me up with a hotel room in Grande Prairie back in July. He is supposedly coming to Nanaimo tomorrow for the next few days. After that visit I take the ferry from here in Nanaimo across to the mainland at Horseshoe Bay, cross into Vancouver and the ride is done.

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Photos

Harris Canyon
I don't know who Harris is.

A View Of The Pacific
I don't know the name of the island (land mass) out there.

China Beach
My last camp site :(

Slug
The most common animal on the island besides birds is slugs

Comments

[Ryan]

So I was looking on the map to figure out which side of the Jordan River was the Promised Land and noticed Neah Bay to the south on the American mainland. So I guess the Promised Land is to the south. I\'m so disappointed.

[steven]

hello......
Noticing you are sooo close to being finished......stay safe......keep in touch and keep making me proud buddy

[henny]

enjoyed your blogs and pictures so much!! kind of wishing it wasn't over -- so says Maryellen