Hog Heaven, Mustard Attack, and a Boat Ride

Total miles : 518

I had a long haul from Qualicum Bay to Campbell River yesterday. The road was mostly in forest though there were sections that ran right along the seashore. I had a mild headwind that started to pick up more and more so by the time I got to Campbell River, it was really unpleasant and demoralizing. I stopped at a few fruit stands for fresh berries and cherries. In one of the towns I passed through, there was a Harley Davidson rally so I had to take a photo of Sam in Hog Heaven.




I got in about 68 miles and was pretty beat when I got into Campbell River. As I was riding through town on the bike lane, a minivan pulled up next to me a squirted me with two big squirts of yellow mustard. My whole side was covered as well as my bike and panniers. I was so surprised that I didn't think to get their license plate. In all my years of biking, nothing like this has ever happened to me. I was more annoyed than anything else since I now had to clean up the mess.

I kept going for another mile or so until the campground where I washed my clothes and cleaned up poor Sam with some paper towels and a gardenhose. When I finally got to my campsite, I met my neighbors, two Swiss boys and Wayne, a fishing guide. Wayne said he was taking the boys out in his boat to photograph some wildlife and asked me if I wanted to go. I've learned from experience not to pass up offers like this so I told them I would go too. This means that I will take the ferry on the third not the first as I had originally planned. With this headwind, getting three days to ride to Port Hardy is a lot more reasonable, anyway.

This morning, I packed up for a day on a boat and went down to the dock with Wayne and the boys. The boat wasn't much to look at, but did fine on our trip across the channel.



We pulled up close to an island and laid a herring out for the bald eagles. Sure enough, when we backed away, the eagles came in for their free meal. I got some great photos as we repeated the herring manouver several times. We then went to a pub for beer and fish and chips for lunch. Wayne also leads tours from Telegraph Cove and gave me the inside scoop on where to go in Alert Bay to buy some art from local native carvers.

The plan is now to get a long day in tomorrow which will leave two shorter days to Port Hardy allowing me some time in Alert Bay. Riding from here on will be quite different with towns much farther apart and a lot less comfort like ice cream, bakeries, and fruit stands. The road will get more rugged and the miles per day will be more with no real options for cutting a day short. I'm feeling strong and am ready for the challenge. Posts will be much more sporadic depending on wifi availability so you'll see nothing for several days and then will get several posts.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Lynn and Steve, send me an email about how your trip went along with photos. I'll give ya a call when I get the chance.
-- Post From My iPhone

Tough Day

Total mileage: 495
Flat count: 2

I got up early to catch the ferry from Vesuvius, about six miles away. I missed it by less than five minutes and had to wait an hour for the next one. I decided that my back tire needed some air so I pumped it up and managed to break the valve stem, which is irrepairable. Luckily, I had a spare tube and put that in. Not a good start toy day. The ferry crossing was nice and I had a great seat.


It wa nice and sunny and warm so I slathered on the sunscreen and wore my tanktop. There is a coastal road that parallels the main highway that is nice riding but is a bit hilly. Closer to Nanaimo, I had to rejoin the main highway but it wasn't bad since there was a huge shoulder. They have nice signs for cyclists that make navigation a breeze going into bigger towns.



Everything was fine, heading into Naniamo. I took a break at my new favorite coffee shop: Seiously Coffee, which also serves great tea and has free wifi unlike Starbuck's that makes you buy some sort of card.

As I headed out of town, I saw some ominous clouds on the horizon and a really strong headwind picked up. Soon it was sprinkling and then raining to go with the fierce headwind. Yuck!! Eventually, the wind stopped but the rain kept on for hours.

I had been planning a 75 mile day but was tired enough by 68 miles that I stopped at a campground for the night and had a nice hot shower.

I'm currently eating raspberries at a fruit stand having already come 32 miles today. The weather is back to sunny and warm with a mild headwind. I have three more days, including today to get to Port Hardy to catch the ferry on the first. If I don't make it, I'll have to wait until the third for the next ferry north. I need to ride about 70 miles a day to make it. As long as I don't run into a bad headwind and eat and sleep well, I should be okay. My butt has made peace with the saddle and is actually pretty happy with life these days so what would have been excruciating a week ago, I don't even notice anymore.

-- Post From My iPhone

Bike Paths Galore

Vancouver Island has great bike paths. I easily found the Galloping Goose Trail out of Victoria and followed it to the intersection with the Lochside Trail that took me out to Swartz Bay and the ferry to Salt Spring Island. I was amazed at the number of cyclists on the paths. I must have seen at least fifty! There are even traffic patterns at trail intersections with turn lanes.

I veered off the Lochside Trail and cut west to Butchart Gardens, which were spectacular. I especially liked the rose garden and that the plants they use are everyday garden center plants. There had these neat bamboo trellises for sweet peas which were just gorgeous. I will try something like that in my garden next spring.

The ferry embarcation at Swartz Bay was one of the biggest ones I've ever seen with toll booths and something like six or eight ferry docks. The ride across Salt Spring island was tougher than I anticipated with several steep hills. I camped outside Ganges in a not very inspiring campground but the grocery store was amazing with fresh island lettuce, fresh rolls, and a great deli counter.

-- Post From My iPhone

Hangin' Out in Victoria

It's sure nice to take a day off here in Victoria. Wow, what a gorgeous town! The entire downtown can be explored easily on foot and there are lots of great restaurants, tea shops, and gelato stands. The city is very tidy with flowers everywhere. There are all sorts of street performers down on the warf including a me and a woman playing the harp. I watched a juggler and comedian who was quite the showman and drew a huge crowd.

The ferry ride coming into the harbor was just great. I watched float planes take off and land and the funny looking harbor ferries (they look like bathtub toys) putt by as we approached the dock. I was held up by customs for a short while since I don't think they believed me when I told them I was going to Alaska by bike. Or maybe they thought I had shifty eyes...

The hostel I'm stying at is right off Wharf street right in the center of town. Hostels are good since they are inexpensive and often there are interesting people to talk to. I met a 72 year old lady from Vancouver who still bike tours! The bad side of hostels is that the dorms have anywhere from five to twenty five people in one room and sometimes people are just downright inconsiderate. Last night, two women came in around midnight and proceeded to unpack what seemed like all of their belongings that were packed in plastic bags. They must have rattled around for at least twenty minutes.

I got going around eight this morning and headed down to the Royal BC Museum, which my guidebook said was not to be missed. They had a visiting exhibit from the British Museum that had representative art pieces spanning all of human history from all continents. It was very well put together and had some great artifacts including 2 million year old hand axes from Olduvai Gorge, a replica of the Rosetta Stone, Viking chess figures from the Isle of Harris, and Australian Aboriginal art. There was another section in the museum that had lots of BC First Nations (that's Canadian for Native American) totem poles and masks. There was also a Victorian/ Edwardian era replica street with all sorts of shops, a train depot, and even a silent movie house playing Charlie Chaplin movies.

After the museum, I went off to have tea and a currant scone with clotted cream and jam since this is Victoria after all and is supposedly more English than England.



After tea, I walked up to see Craigdarroch Castle, a mansion from the 1890s built by a a wealthy capitalist. The whole house is done in fantastic wood paneling and has beautiful stained glass windows. It's obvious the guy wasn't buiding this thing on a teacher's salary!




I am currently in an Irish pub enjoying a pint and listening to an Irish band.



Ahhhh, a last bit of comfort before heading out tomorrow for Sydney and the ferry to Salt Spring Island. I'll cut over to see Butchart Garden along the way. I hope to catch the ferry to Prince Rupert on the first of July so I have my work cut out for me since it's around 300 miles.
-- Post From My iPhone

Sailing the high seas

I stayed at Sequim (pronounced Squim) Bay State Park last night and rode a quick 25 miles to Port Angeles along a fantastic rails to trails off road paved path called the Olympic Discovery Trail this morning. It actually starts at Port Townsend and is planned to extend out to the Pacific. It was so nice to ride away from the traffic noise of highway 101. The trail crosses several old railway trestles and even has a covered bridge. Thee are a few brutally steep climbs one of which I walked. The other one I started up and then realized how friggen steep it was but by then I had to keep going because there was no way to unclip from my pedals fast enough to stop. I made it... barely but I felt like my arms and legs were going to fall off and my lungs were going to explode.


I'm currently on the ferry heading for Victoria on Vancouver Island. I love riding ferries and have been on dozens of them. Sam is getting the royal treatment and is riding on the forward deck for the first time ever. They always make me park him on the car deck so I'm sure he's enjoying the feel of the sea wind in his spokes.



I have reservations for two night at the Victoria youth hostel so tomorrow will be my first day of not riding at all since I left home. My butt is incredibly grateful.


THE SADDLE: everything you wanted to know about sore butts but didn't want to ask.
When one spends five to ten hours pedaling a bicycle, all sorts of issues arise. Hands and feet tend to go numb from nerve compression. This is why cyclists wear padded gloves and hard, plastic soled shoes.

The main problem, though, by far, is sitting on that dang saddle for hours every day. Novice cyclists tend to buy soft, squishy gel seats not realizing that after a few miles of sinking into that gel, their soft tissues will get compressed and things will start hurting very badly and will never get better.

Experienced cyclists know that squishy is to be avoided and use fairly hard saddles. Ideally, one sits with most of the weight on the pubic bones and not on soft tissue. Cycling shorts look ridiculous with their lycra and padding but are an essential for a happy butt. And, no, spending $100+ on a pair of really nice riding shorts isn't extravagant, it's survival!

I invested in a Brooks saddle, which is a hard leather saddle made in England. Long distance cyclists swear by it because it conforms to the rider's posterior thus becoming a custom fit. But, like any leather product, there is a break in time which I thought I had done during my training rides but it seems there is stil work to be done. Actually, today it felt pretty good so I think I'm finally getting there.

Saddle sores, rashes, and chafing are basically unavoidable at the beginning of a long bike tour. As a fellow cyclist from Britain exclaimed five days into her tour, "I've got nappy rash!" I've been suffering , too, like I almost always do at the beginning of a trip. For the first time ever, I actually have a blister. On my butt! No it's really not that funny so stop laughing.

Luckily, one's bottom slowly gets accustomed to the abuse and the skin toughens up into what a cyclist friend calls butt leather. Once butt leather is built up, things are fine except for the first five minutes in the saddle every morning when things are a bit tender.

Remedies for troubles of the butt include using a cream called Chamois Butt'r on the padding of cycling shorts to help with chafing and antibiotic ointment with the pain reliever, litocaine to help with the owies. Some people use diaper rash ointment and a Ranndoneur (super crazy cyclist who rides 800 miles in three or four days as part of an organized race) I met swears by tons of Bag Balm.

-- Post From My iPhone

Born to Run...er Bike

Total mieage: 311

I'm currently in Quilcene doing laundry, always an interesting activity when travelling. First, I have to find the laundromat. Asking locals for directions is usually helpful and by the fourth version of, "turn at the second street and you can't miss it" I might actually find it. Then, one must navigate the treacherous coin and soap dispensing machinery. "Should I really risk a five dollar bill in this thing?" Next comes the excavation of every bit of clothing in my posession and the determination of which is the 'cleanest' that I will wear while everything else is being washed. Then there is the striptease, in a bathroom or if one is lacking, squeezed in behind one of the monster driers and hopefully out of view to change into the selected 'clean' clothes. Finally there is the feeding of coins, tokens, prepaid cards, etc into the machines. Anecdotal evidence suggests that cussing results in more successful operation.

The riding for the last few days has been okay but not great. I battled headwinds two days ago for a good part of the day. The scenery has been
mostly forest with a few nice views of the Hood Canal. My butt is really sore which makes long days in the saddle pretty excruciating. I managed to roll my left ankle quite badly, stepping off of a curb. It doesn't hurt but did swell up nicely for a good day or so. To rest it a bit, I rode a short 40 mile day yesterday and soaked it in the cold ocean a few times. The swelling has gone down almost completely so I think it's fine.

I stayed in Dosewalips campground last night and met some neat people. Jim and Doris drove me up a side road to show me Dose falls, a really pretty waterfall I would never have known about otherwise.

I've had lots of warnings about the big climb I had coming up this morning. The locals made it sound like the ditch was strewn with the bodies of unfortunate cyclists. Well, I didn't see a single body, in fact, this horror of a hill was pretty easy. There was a great downhill coming down and I had a blast singing along with Springsteen's Born to Run on my iPod as I barreled down the curves.

Well, the clothes are done so it's time to go.
-- Post From My iPhone

Soggy Day

Flat count: 1 near Rainier due to a sharp piece of metal.
Total mileage as of right now in South Bend: 162

Yesterday was a pretty rough day. I had camped by the Columbia River on Puget Island and it had rained all night. I slept quite badly so I was really dragging. I rode into Cathlamet and had eggs for breakfast and some tea. Theresa, I drink English Breakfast black tea with milk, when I can get it. I picked up my tea habit when I was biking in Scotland and needed something to warm up during the soggy weather. I could get tea everywhere and they always served it with milk.

I kept going, not feeling all that happy, and then it started misting. Then a head wind kicked in. Then, I had to climb over the coast range and, of course, by then, the mist had turned to a driving rain... with a headwind. Icky! I had to put on a bunch of layers for the coast down to Grey's River where I stopped for some hot soup.

The rest of the day was more hills, rain, and wind. I finally got into Bay Center where I met Mary from Scotland and Peter and Pat from Vancouver, all on bike trips. Mary is heading to San Diego and Peter and Pat are going to Portland.

The day wasn't all bad. I saw lots of birds, including some vultures, and several deer and the forest was pretty in the mist. I'm also getting my touring legs back and the miles pass by more easily now. It was also nice to camp with fellow cyclists!

I will be changing my route and will ride up the east coast of the Olympic Penninsula because it's supposed to rain for a few more days and the west coast will be really wet.

I'm planning on making it to Montessano or Elma today

I thought I would include a section on different aspects of cycle touring so I'll start with one of the two most difficult things to deal with.

RAIN
I don't pay particular attention to the different types of rain until I'm out in it and then I obsess over it.
All of the following come in both light and heavy forms.
Mist: Tiny drops of fog that take a while to soak into clothing.
Sprinkles: Larger drops that are transient. Either it will stop or it will become rain. Sprinkling has me worriedly scanning the sky to try to read the clouds as to what is coming.
Drizzle: Large drops that aren't heavy enough to be called rain. Lasts a while.
Showers: Bursts of rain that last for less than an hour.
Rain: Endless grey sky with no breaks in sight. Big drops that soak clothing within 10-15 minutes. Lasts for hours. Miserable especially when my shoes get soaked.
Pissing Rain: Ridiculously heavy rain that hurts when it pelts my face. Can fade to rain for short periods of time but returns many times a day. It causes me to develop a special hatred for the shiny, clean, warm and dry people driving by in their huge, decadently comfortable RVs especially when they smile and wave. I resist the urge to flip them off.
Driving Rain: Pissing rain combined with a headwind. The pinnacle of misery.
Snorkle Rain: Rain on the windward side of Hawaii. At least it's warm.
Expetives are added to the above terms based on how many days it's been raining and how tired, cold, and grouchy I am.

Other Forms of Rain
Vog: Fog and gases that vent from Kilauea and cover the entire Big Island of Hawaii in a haze. The sulfuric acid made my eyes burn a little. If clothing and/or bike parts start dissolving, it's best to get out of there.
Snow: Yikes, there is half an inch of snow on my panniers. I need to get off this mountain!
Hail: Helmets are a good thing!
Thunderstorms: I count the time between thunder and lightning. If it's close, I dress warm, lay the bike down in a ditch and hunker down a ways away with a tarp over my head.

Next time: Wind
-- Post From My iPhone

Fifty miles down and lots more to go...

I finally left yesterday at noon and made about fifty miles. Getting through north Portland was pretty icky with lots of noisy traffic.

Once I got across the St John's Bridge and onto highway 30, things got much better. I made it to a campground near St Helens by around six and had a nice hot shower. It always takes a few nights to get used to sleeping in a tent.

I saw a bunch of road bikers on highway 30 and talked to a few of them. I feel pretty silly telling people that I'm riding to Alaska this early in the trip!

Right now I'm drinking tea in a Starbuck's and posting on my iPhone. Isn't tecnology cool?... That is, when it works!

Time to ride! I want to get past Cathlamet today.

Night Before I Leave

Well, all my chores are done around the house and the garden. I did a final sort of my gear and the bike is packed. Lynn and Steve Wren took me out for a yummy pasta dinner. Thanks, guys! Have a great trip sailing the Caribbean!

I plan on taking off tomorrow morning, heading west towards the coast. I'll ride Marine Drive west from Troutdale and then cross the St. John's Bridge to Highway 30. I plan on crossing the Columbia by taking the ferry to Puget Island

and then across to Washington.

I'll ride west to Highway 101 and will turn north and head along the west side of the Olympia Peninsula. Once I hit the north coast of the Olympics, I'll head east to Port Angeles and take the ferry to Victoria.

My Route for My Summer Ride

View Bike Trip 2009 in a larger map

Well, here it is, my route for the summer. I'll ride up the coast of Washington to Port Angeles, and then will ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island. I'll ride the length of Vancouver Island and then will take the ferry from Port Hardy at the north end of Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert. I'll then head east to Terrace, then over to the Cassiar Highway, which I'll ride up to the Alaska Highway. I'll head down to Skagway so I can hike the Chilkoot Trail for a few days. Then I'll take a ferry to Haines and ride back up to the Alaska Highway. Then I'll ride north on the Richardson highway and will cut over on the Denali Highway to Denali National Park where I'd like to do some hiking. Then its up to Fairbanks on the Parks Highway, down the Alaska Highway to Tok, and over to Dawson City on the Taylor and Top of the World Highways. Finally, I'll head north on the Dempster Highway to Inuvik, in the Northwest Territories.