Saturday, November 15, 2014

Coast to Coast

It's late May 2014 and I finally had a chance to finish off my journey.  This time with my good buddy Lorne.  The route we sort-of planned was to head to the Ferry terminal at Horseshoe Bay via the Duffy Lake Road, through Lilloet, then head either to Vancouver Island or the Sunshine Coast.  Sky were threatening but the rain held off until the afternoon, right at the start of the Duffy Lake Road.  This road is one gem of a motorcycle adventure with one twisty after another.  On a dry day you can clip along at a pretty good clip.  Not so when it's pouring rain.  It finally stopped briefly between Pemberton and Whistler only to start up again all the way to the Ferry terminal.  I had decided along the way that the best way to go was to head to Vancouver Island straight away.  I knew what time the Ferry departed and it was going to be tight, very tight.  We zoomed in to the terminal with minutes to spare and loaded to Nanaimo, the very last vehicles to load.  The ticket agent was very accommodating and had the Ferry loaders wait for us. 
Last on
We road the rest of the evening in the rain to Parksville. 

The morning brought gray skies but no rain. About 10 k's up the road from Parksville is the small town of Coombs, famous for goats living on the roof.  I had been there years ago when my daughter was just a baby.  Apart from the building being more of a tourist attraction, it was much the same.

Lorne in awe

Except for a brief shower, the rain not only held off for the rest of the day but also for the rest of our adventure on the Island.   Hwy 4 to Port Alberni was okay but the fun started after that and didn't end until Tofino.  What a great motorcycle road!  We set up camp in Pacific Rim National Park before we took off to Tofino, but Lorne had battery issues and had me push starting his bike.  This reminded me of when I couldn't get my bike started in Quebec.  I did get that problem resolved with diagnostic help from Lorne but not after spending a bunch of money at the dealer in Kelowna to have them resolve it.  As it turns out, it was a simple solution.  Replace the worn out on/off started switch. 
After a tasty pub lunch and some running around Tofino looking to resolve Lorne's battery problem, we headed back to our campsite.  It was a short walk from our spot to the beach.  Armed with my camera, the evening was shaping up just perfect for sunset photos.
 I had finally completed what I had set out to do, see the sunrise at the furthest point east in Newfoundland, Cape Spear then ride across Canada to catch the sunset on the west coast.  Now I know that Tofino isn't the furthest point west. That distinction goes to any point along the Yukon/Alaska border, which I had also been to,  but for this ride it was to be from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans. 
Quick snack in Port Alberni
The next morning we stopped in at Ucluelet (pronounced you-clue-let) for breakfast then headed back to Parksville, south to Chemainus for yet another pub lunch, then off to Port Renfrew along the oh-so-cool Pacific Marine Road.  Not much happening in Port Renfrew that time of the year.  It's main starting point for hikers doing the West Coast Trail.  After a pub dinner (what else!) we crashed at a very expensive motel, of which we were the only ones there.  The morning brought good skies for a spirited run south on Hwy 14 to Sooke.  We met Kirsty, a family friend, at a pub in Victoria for lunch then off around Victoria on a sightseeing tour.
We called it an early night and stayed at this nice motel in Sydney, close to the Ferry terminal. 
 
 

Tree-hugger Lorne
Our trusty rides
 




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