Tag archives for Nanaimo

Day 30: Nanaimo to Whistler

By Chris Published August 15, 2012

The ferry leaving Departure Bay for Horseshoe Bay

Thank you so much to Anthea at Bayview Terrace B&B in Nanaimo for taking care of our accommodations last night, and for the nice fresh breakfast to start the day off with. The house was very nice, and the view out the back was stellar!

We took the 5 minute trip down to the ferry and caught the 10:40 with ease. The guy behind us in the motorcycle lineup said he showed up 15 minutes prior to the previous departure and they wouldn’t let him on, so it was a good thing that we showed up early.

The view leaving Departure Bay in Nanaimo

On the ferry we enjoyed some white spot burgers which were probably the best burgers that we’ve had on this trip… and yeah we’ve had a lot!

We also met a few other motorcyclists on the ferry that were very interested in what we were doing as one of their relatives is currently being tested for MS. Hopefully you get the news that you’re looking for from the doctors!

Vancouver Skyline in the distance as we arrived in Horseshoe Bay

Once we got off the ferry we got on the Sea to Sky Highway and opened er right up! The weather was stellar, and traffic was fairly light, making for a pretty smooth ride up to Whistler. The first part of the highway had incredible scenery, but that died off after a while. Had it stayed that way for the whole ride, Sea to Sky would have been one of the top roads we we’re on, but unfortunately it was just too short! And sorry, no photos due to the GoPro camera breaking off the bike a few days ago now 🙁

They’ve done studies you know. 66% of the time, it works every time.

Today, Adrian declared that he’s good luck on these motorcycle trips, as in 2009 we had the most sunshine on record when we ripped about 3500km of BC, Montana, and Idaho up. This year since he joined the trip has been the same, but I reminded him of 2010 when his parked bike got hit by a dumb dumb and his trailer, which quickly put an end to our ride. 66% success rate I guess?

Unfortunately upon arrival and a little time in the AC, I had to shut er down for a while. The whole length of the trip, heat, waking up early, etc etc is taking it’s toll on me, and I needed my beauty sleep. Woke up, still ugly, but felt way better so now it’s time to go check out the town.

Here are today’s points of interest:

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Day 29: Tofino to Nanaimo

By Chris Published August 14, 2012

Today marks the start of the home stretch as there are no more westbound shots for us on this trip. Amazing to think that we traveled almost 11,000km in one direction across the country and continent over the past 28 days!

This morning in Tofino was overcast and chilly, and we pretty much froze during the first part of the ride. Once we got closer to Port Alberni the weather straightened out and we shed the gloves and jackets after a quick stop for gas and a refreshment. The ride out of Tofino wasn’t as fun as the ride in as the traffic was heavy, and we barely got anywhere near the speed limit.

Just outside of Port Alberni we hit the 11,000km mark!

Massive tree forest somewhere between Port Alberni and Nanaimo

Along the highway we came across MacMillan Provincial Park, a spot where several cars had stopped, so we decided to stop too and venture into the forest. The trees were ancient and massive, and it had a Jurassic Park feel to it… Seemed like at any moment we were going to become Velociraptor meat…

We didn’t…

But what we did find was a massive garden gnome near Parksville!

The lucky garden gnome

Check out the size of that thing! Adrian swore the gnome was good luck, so he popped inside the gas station to buy a Lotto Max ticket. He then said something like “Let’s go spend these millions!” but so far we haven’t seen anything… likely not as confident as he initially thought about the win.

Upon arrival at the B&B, dad quickly found a place to crack his head on… he’s now done it twice… I’ll keep updating the count as the night goes on here. Yeah, we are having such an action packed evening that the “dad hitting his head on the roof” game is the height of our entertainment.

Tomorrow we take the ferry to the mainland and head up to Whistler. Can’t wait!

Here are today’s points of interest:

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Day 28: Victoria to Tofino

By Chris Published August 14, 2012

Keeping up with our visits to all of the Terry Fox monuments across the country…

Terry Fox and Monst in Victoria

Monst demanded that we visit the third and final Terry Fox monument at “mile 0” in Victoria, so we made our way out there at 9am for a quick meeting. Our good family friend, Anne, happened to be in Victoria so she joined us for our quick stop over at the 3 for 3 monument.

Yep we made it from Mile 1 in Newfoundland to Mile 0 in Victoria!

Quite a good feeling knowing that we made it all the way from Mile 1 in Newfoundland to Mile 0 in Victoria. This isn’t the end of the ride, but it’s a definite milestone in the MS Ride!

Look closely and see who we almost left behind…

Oh man if we had forgotten the Monst in Victoria, Erin would have kicked our butts when we get back to Edmonton… Thankfully Adrian had his eyes on and saw the little fella still hanging out there with Terry before we rode off! Thanks for saving the Monst’s life today Adrian, and you’re welcome for me saving your life later in the ride today.

Having breakfast with the awesome people at the Victoria MS Society

After our quick stop off at Mile 0, we headed over to A&W for breakfast with the Victoria MS Society. Thank’s so much to Sukhi Tomana for organizing this event where we got to meet members of the chapter, and people in the community that are living with MS. Thank you all for hosting us in Victoria and for being so supportive! We really appreciate it, and hope that you’ll continue to follow us as we finish up the last leg of our journey.

My GoPro broke off it’s mount…

Somehow as we made our way north from Victoria towards Nanaimo my GoPro camera broke off it’s mount and went smashing down the highway. The mount somehow snapped, and the camera is GONZO… which is a real shame as I had almost recorded the whole ride from coast to coast, and then this happens… I think I may have seen it as it broke off, but I couldn’t be sure, and we were on a stretch of walled highway where there was nowhere to stop anyway so I couldn’t even go back and get the camera if I wanted to… not like it would have survived falling off the bike at 100km/h anyway.

I contacted GoPro about it, and once I’m back in Edmonton and can get my receipts together it looks like I can get a replacement camera. Still a pain in the butt as it shouldn’t have broke in the first place, but as you know it’s not the first thing that’s broken or lost on this trip. Just hope that GoPro comes through and warranties their product!

Scenic shot on the way from Port Alberni to Tofino

The ride to Tofino was DYNAMITE! We’ve seen stretches of great roads, but I haven’t had to test my riding and bike as I did on these roads today. The hairpin turns and twisties for what felt like hours were beyond what I had ever hoped this stretch of the ride would be! It was a little rough during the transitions from sun to shade, but I continued the peg scraping pretty much the whole way from Port Alberni to Tofino and had a great time. Definitely not roads for new riders (as we discovered from the 30km/h rider in front the white mini van), but definitely a road to behold for more experienced riders. LOVED IT!

Tofino!

The coastline of Tofino was pretty mediocre… don’t really care for it here 😉 Seriously though it is really nice here, and we had a good sushi dinner upstairs in the hotel. Service was a little slow, and I may have asked if they were still out there catching the fish (therefore causing the delay), but once the food came it was great! Dad must have mumbled during his order and got some Saba instead of Salmon… how was that “fishy” piece dad? haha

Ps, I think someone just went through a whole roll of TP in one sitting… I’m sure we’re going to get charged fro that tomorrow morning at checkout… Just to clarify, it’s not someone who’s name rhymes with schmadrian or schmriss.

Pss, we also had a few more people recognize us today. The first being at the Terry Fox monument, second being a relatives sister who knew we were coming through and happened to see us on the highway, and thirdly the lady that was waving hard on the highway in Port Alberni. Thanks everyone!

We’ve now travelled as far west as we are going to go on this trip, and tomorrow we start heading back east towards our finale in Edmonton. Amazing to think that we’ve now riden coast to coast, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean!

Here are today’s points of interest:

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