Chilling in and around Vancouver

After cycling across a continent I thought I needed a rest and there was no better place for it than Vancouver, especially with Xav & Sarah as my kind hosts. I even got a sofa to sleep on - luxury after the tent - and Sarah did her best to help me put on at least some of the weight I lost with her gorgeous home baking, her cookies amazing and have to be kept locked away to stop Xav (and me) eating them all.

Stressful times at White Cove Beach

White Cove

Ryan showing the kids how it's done

"Don't ever even think of beating up those hills again"

 

One of too many beers in Vancouver

My friend Ed joined us from London and another Water Polo friend Spencer was on hand to join us for some drinks and beach time - the pacific was fresh but certainly bearable. We used the bikes to get around to White Cove, Kayaking with seals in Deep Cove, swimming in Kitts Pool and the university pool for some Water Polo scrimmaging. 7 and a half weeks on the bike may have made me fitter, but it hadn't done my arms many favours - my shot that had never been that strong had almost disappeared and swimming was very tiring on my arm muscles. Anyhow it was a good bunch of guys and girls, and playing in an outdoor pool under sunny skies was pretty awesome.

No idea what's going on here, but it looks like fun

As Vancouver went back to work on Monday morning Ed and I jumped on our bikes (me fully loaded and Ed with a bulging backpack) and headed out to Vancouver Island via a short, lumpy ride around the waterfront to Horseshoe Bay. Onboaard the ferry, routes were hastily replanned when we found out that half the roads we intended to ride were nothing more than dirt logging tracks (Never blindly trust Google Maps!). So we decided to head for the west coast, which brought in some new logistical challenges as distances were too gfreat to cover all the miles and get back by bike alone we needed to trust buses to get both body and bike along certain sections.

Cameron Lake - watch out for Cougar

Leaving Nanaimo for Port Alberni we unfortnately couldn't help the optimistic hitchhikers heading north but instead managed to wind along the coast via a combination of scary flat highway and lumpy scenic coastal roads before cutting inland on one of the few roads across the island. A "big long hill" took us through the dense forest to a summit at XXXm (not quite the Rockies) - Ed's ironman training had clearly done him well, when the gradient increased he quickly sped away from me. I reassurred myself that this was all due to his lighter rucksac, skinny race wheels, super light bike and the 30kg he was still giving away to me; plus of course I was taking it easy, it's not a race after all... We stopped in the enchanting Douglas fir forest (Cathedral Grove) around Cameron Lake - 800 year old trees but no wildlife to be seen; later  we were told that the next day a 2 year old kid was snatched by a cougar on the banks of the lake, fortunately the child will recover and even Ed is too big for a hungry Cougar (of the cat type) to target.

Ed makes friends in Port Alberni

Port Alberni lies at the foot of a long fjord where the river feeds in, it felt like a bit of a rough town on the edge of the wilderness, which was confirmed when we saw a black bear scavenging across the river a mere 20m from us. Here I had my first issues with relying on others for transport - our bus had broken down, been replaced by another and was going to be at least a couple of hours late but at least our bikes would be fine - we were shown where the bike rack was stored. The delay meant we arrived into Tofino at 10:30pm without anywhere to stay, a quick ask around found us a bottle shop and advice to wing it by camping by the beach. This of course was not allowed but nobody noticed my small (and cramped) green tent pitched just behind the beach. Cold beers on the beach under a clear star-filled sky was a nice close to the day and we even got the bonus of dazzling shooting stars and bio-luninescent algae tracking our footsteps across the wet sand.

Waking up to Tofino Bay after a night's illegal camping on the beach

Morning came at 6am and after quickly packing up the tent it was time for a was / swim in the ocean - Ed opted out of this one and instead acted as photographer, probably a wise idea as not even I could stretch the word "fresh" to describe the cold exposed pacific waters. Back on the bike with some breakfast in the belly we headed along the west coast road through temperate rain forest and alongside sweeping long surfing beachs where clearly others had had the clever idea of camping out too.

Heading out for a 6am swim in the Pacific

Look, it's not cold at all - it's bloody freezing

Tofino in the early morning

Local dangers...

Into Uculet at the end of the headland, we had plenty of time to sort out bus tickets back to near Crofton where we were due to catch a ferry across to Salt Spring Island. This is where more bus fun started - the first bus arrived and was too full to take us so they sent another and the driver didn't know how to use the bike rack - after a little improvisation we got the bikes on and were on our way - another bus change at Port Alberni got us into Nanaimo on time, now all we needed was a short lift from Greyhound to near our ferry terminal.

A surfer's paradise

Vancouver Island's Wild West Coast

Greyhound refused to take our bikes unless we paid an extra $30 each for a box that we'd have to break them down into. In addition, the guy at the desk was the most unhelpful person I have ever met - apparently the fact we'd been misold our tickets was nothing to do with greyhound and we should travel 4 hrs back to where we bought them to take up the issue. He even admitted that Greyhound was "not very bike friendly" - if you like cycling avoid Greyhound where you can. The one thing the driver did manage to do was get us angry, something I hadn't been for about 2 months, and anger can be turned into aggression that can in turned into pedal strokes - we packed up the bikes again then flew along the rolling coastal highways to Crofton, narrowly avoiding a costly wrong turn (thanks Ed), beating the bus along the way and making it in time to enjoy a celebratory beer waiting for the ferry.

On the ferry to Salt Spring Island

Quiet Salt Spring Island waits across the water, and a short but very hilly ride takes us to Bullock Lake farm where family friend Tom has just popped out to the shops, assuming that having "made it all the way from New York, Eric will have no problem finding the farm". Along the way I spot small dear slowly chewing away on the hedgrerows, my eyes must be more attuned to the surroundings as Ed once again misses the dear for the 3rd time in 3 days. We're treated to a homemade dinner of potatos, salad, cheese, chicken soup and an amazing blackberry crumble - Tom's little project for the day.

Me & family friend Tom at Bullock Lake Farm

Bullock Lake Farm has been part of the fabric of the island since it was first populated by Europeans. Owned by Henry Bullock, it's one of the most beauutiful spots on the island with open fields surrounding the large, freshwater Bullock Lake. The Bullock family used to own huge swathes of the island and gradually sold off or gave away portions so other families could start their own farms. Henry himself was the local celebrity; conjuring up images of toad of toad hall, he drove the first car on the island, threw huge formal parties on the farm where he gave the ladies white gloves and the men hats to ensure they could dress properly. Henry also ran an orphanage on the farm, which must have had Bullock's boys running wild all over. Children would pick up stones from the fields and bring them to Henry who would give them a nickel for each stone, as a result, Bullock Lake Farm has some of the best, stone free, fields on the island.

At some point Henry either got bored or fell on harder times and the farm was split up; there are now four or five properties butting onto the lake. The most obvious is a 40 shallet deserted luxury resort, abandoned after the builders built three quarters of the shallets without planning permission and were ordered to pull them down. There used to also be a the hotel & conference centre but they mysteriously burnt down, now the remaining shallets sit earlily empty but for the expensive furtiture and fittings in each of them. The only residents being a lone security guard and the local beaver population; several attempts to buy the property have each fallen through.

Ed & Tom thinking about dinner

Bullock Lake Farm recently came into the possession of Zac & Molly, a young couple trying to bring the farm back to it's former glory. Zac, originally from Tennesee, is passionate about using sustainable farming practices to reintroduce arable farming to the farm and is constantly experimenting with different crops alongside a small number of sheep, pigs and chickens. He and Molly are helped by a ragtag bunch of woofers, including Tom, that each bring something to the mix and make the farm a wonderful place to hang out. During our single day and night there we slept under the stars, swam in the lake, picked blackberries and I nearly had my toes eaten by the hungry pigs. The farm's a special place and I hope Zac & Molly can make it work.

Majestic view from Mount Maxwell

Ed & Tom at the top of Mt Maxwell

Salt Spring Island is like a little organic haven off the coast of Vancouver Island. A short ride on the bikes also reveled it was very lumpy with winding roads hitting a collossal 28% gradient, but only for a matter of metres before plunging back towards another stunning bay. Ed & I easily wasted away a day cycling, climbing Mount Maxwell for its stunning views, cheese tasting at Salt Spring Cheeses (recommended), wine tasting at Mistaken Identity and lounging around the farm. Sadly it was then time to return to Vancouver via 2 boats, a train and a bus which loaded our bikes onto bull bars on the front. I could have lost a lot of time on Salt Spring and can see why people sometimes turn up there for a couple of days and end up staying a few weeks, months or even years.

Leaving Vancouver Island behind

Kayaking in Deep Cove

Back in Vancouver I enjoyed another weekend with good friends, swimming in the cold Pacific, exploring Vancouver's Coves, BBQs at friends houses and of course a little water polo. After 12 days away from solo touring it's time to get back on the road or I'll get too used to this luxury lifestyle. Next destination, my friend Nicole's wedding in Novato just North of San Francisco, I've about 9 days to get there...

Sunset in Vancouver

Vancouver beach life

Thanks to all those who have already sponsored me and contributed to the North Staffs Adventure Playground - I'm hoping to hit 1000 pounds so please donate using the following link:

http://www.justgiving.com/BigRedOnABike