Tag archives for Victoria

Day 28: Victoria to Tofino

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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Day 27: Vancouver to Victoria

Adrian woke up super early this morning so that he could get down to Victoria and hang out with one of his friends. I on the other hand slept in till the last second… Dad and Erin were also up early so that Erin could get out to the airport. She absolutely loved the trip and we were glad that she could join us for those 4 beautiful days of riding!

The ride out of downtown Vancouver to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal was easy, and the weather was perfect. Once on the ferry I caught up with yesterday’s post, and enjoyed the view as we sailed toward Swartz Bay.

Beautiful Victoria BC

The weather on the island was great, and we had a great time in the downtown and bay area taking the water taxis around for fish and chips, ice cream, and all kinds of goodness. This is the first time I’ve been in the city, and I quite like it here.

You too can live in one of these little houses at Fisherman’s Wharf for a mere $385,000.

Our three man wolfpack is really looking forward to meeting the Victoria MS Society tomorrow morning, and then the ride up to Tofino. Fingers crossed this weather sticks around!

Here are today’s points of interest:

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Terry Fox Monument

As I’ve been planning the route, I’ve come across a few interesting places that I’d like to stop off at along the way. I’ll be making additions to this list slowly, and will be filing them under the places to see category.

Anyway, the first place that I’m going to mention, not necessarily the first place that I’m going to stop off at will be the Terry Fox Monument in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The monument isn’t far from where Terry Fox ended his 5,373 km run on August 31, 1980. I’m sure every Canadian is familiar with who Terry Fox is, but if you’re not, here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Terrance Stanley “Terry” Fox (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi), and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world’s largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$500 million has been raised in his name.

The monument is located on the Trans Canada Highway, just east of Thunder Bay, ON. I will definitely be stopping at the Terry Fox Monument.

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