Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Monday, September 10, 2018
Summer 2018 Touring
September 2018
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| August 2018 Tour |
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| Hwy 99 start |
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| Whistler concert at Olympic Park |
Been absent from Blog for awhile as I've been doing other media, but I have some time to write something for my blog. Had some downtime in June and July so couldn't ride until August. Started out in Whistler. Clare started her summer holidays on the 4th so we got to do a long ride around the "Big Bend" of the Fraser River, with a stop in Barkerville, BC. I should have gone here many years ago but, as it's a "Ghost town" now at the end of a paved road it doesn't matter when we visit because it's still the same! My surname figured prominently on many of the businesses there and we were enlightened about the Chinese history of the town.
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| Jack of Clubs Lake, Wells, BC |
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| Barkerville, BC |
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| Our name was on a few stores |
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| Site of the Silver Spur, Williams Lake |
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| Prince George, a modern city |
We stopped off in McBride for lunch along the way. Was less smoky up there at the time but two weeks later there were manyn fires started. Kilometres of less traveled roads for sure. Met some trainmen in the cafe who traveled on the train you see.
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| McBride station |
We rode to Blue River and stayed the night at one of Wiegle's rooms for the night. Looked around the lodge and it's really become a large compound and very nice for those lucky heli-skiers. Meanwhile we ate dinner as I watched yet another fire starting further up the mountain.
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| Fire on the mountain |
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| Wiegle's |
As we were close to Jasper, we decided to give them a visit. Best room we could find was more than usual, but hey, it's Jasper. Lots of nice beauty everywhere and populated by folks from all over. The town itself has become much too busy for our liking and it will be awhile before we get back there. Ironically it was the folks who paid more than $500 a night to "see the Rockies", that I felt badly for as one could not see further than across the valley. It was the beginning of an ominous ride down the Columbia Icefield highway.
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| Smoky Mt. Robson |
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| Pine Bungalows |
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| Jasper Park Lodge |
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| Astronomer from Province of Alberta |
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| Don't want to go near herd of Elk |
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| Bridge over the Falls |
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| Athabasca Falls |
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| Athabasca River |
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| 50° F and cyclist was hyper thermic |
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| Bow Lake |
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| Trying out the rain suit |
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| Revolution Breakdown |
We were going to go to the Kootenays but as bad luck would have it, the bagger broke a drive belt on a Sunday afternoon 10 km east of Golden! What to do? Phoned a flatbed from Golden and they came and trucked me to a cycle dealer there (not open till Tuesday). Next door to the motel we were staying at was a small U-Haul place with a bike trailer (they never used) and new pickup truck. I got them to give me a 24 hour deal and I towed Betsy to Kamloops, went to the dealer (Harley parts dealers are open Sundays), brought a belt and towed the bike to a great bike wrench by the name of Rob Draper (250 312 1212) of Midnight Motorcycle in North Kamloops. Under the deal I had I had to drive the truck back sans trailer, to Golden. Well we had a nice time in Revelstoke that night at the Regent and early next morning drove to Golden, where we picked up Clare's Road King and rode back double, to pickup my bike in Kamloops. These things happen if you spend a few miles on the road and you have to think creatively or leave a thousand pound loaded beast on the highway. I want to thank my biking buddy Ed Styffe for mentioning Rob D. to me, otherwise it would have cost way more than just time and money! So we came back to North Vancouver for a couple of extra days to wash clothes and the bikes and change a rear tire on Clare's bike which was rather worn! Then headed back to Vernon to stay and ride with my brother, Barry.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Ucluelet and Tofino at the Last Minute
June 19, 2015, Friday morning, 9 am.
What should we do and where should we go this weekend? With the glorious high pressure system we've been having in the Pacific Northwest, what to do is a no brainer ... two wheels of course but where? Well the ol' lady, er my lovely wife Clare, had been hankering to go to "the Island" and Ucluelet/Tofino for awhile now (has it really been about 10 years since the last Vancouver Island trip with surfer Dan?) and the hoards of school families are not quite on the road yet. Perfect time if we can live in the moment and leave now. Looked on the web and found a quaint place (Little Beach Resort) in Ucluelet, and BC Ferry leaving in 1 hour?! Well best Reason #7 for two wheels is front of ferry line and first on/off the boat, so pack up and away we went and caught the 10:40 with minutes to spare! Paid the fares for two bikes and riders (totaled $177.00 return!) and relaxed for an hour or so. Quite a few bikes doing the same thing and we almost ran out of bike safety chocks, but smooth waters anyways. I've always conjured up that movie cliche wherein the new rider knocks over the 1% 'ers bikes like a domino effect and all hell breaks loose!
So we were off like the Wild Hogs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8RVvETrP64 and had a great ride through the coastal suburbs around mid island to the beautiful town of Qualicum Beach. We briefly stopped there to see our friends Pat and Vicky who have owned and operated Whats Cooking kitchen shop for quite a while now. Nice to see that all is well, then we were on to Port Alberni and beyond to the West Coast.
Once again a beauty ride past Sproat Lake, Cathedral Grove and the twistys on Highway 4. I will always remember this route as I had one of my first summer jobs working on the BC Department of Highways (Dept. of Holidays ... haha!) survey crew around 1970, and stayed in Ucluelet when it was a one motel town. Those steep hills and bends are still there and on a bike, awesome fun! It was nice to see that they were repaving it 1 km at a time so there were only short lengths of gravel. We arrived at mid afternoon and found the accommodations were exactly as described with a Jacuzzi (not needed), sauna (not needed), fridge (yes!) and within a stones throw of the beach. After cruising the neighborhood and having dinner at Hanks BBQ (kind of unique cuts of meat and seasonings), we lounged on our room deck while watching the sun set over the Pacific. Perfect day!
The Wild Pacific Trail started nearby, and as Clare likes to jog and my joints don't allow that, she was out there early next morning to try a few km before noon and also take a few photos. This was contrary to each activity she remarked, as ya can't get the cardio up before another awesome view comes around to stop and snap. A quick change and we jumped on her bike to cruise around and explore almost all the roads in the area before dropping by the four star Black Rock Resort for a look see. It was 10:30 am and the girl behind the desk mentioned brunch in the Fetch Restaurant is over in an hour and would we like to try it? Clare had a very good breakfast wrap and I had the Seafood Bennie which was the best I've had in a long while. The view and the serenity was absolutely amazing with only a few others enjoying the open air deck (see photos). I love the almost "Off Season"!
We headed back to the room after that and got ready to go to Tofino, a cool 40 km cruise north past the famous beaches (Long Beach, Florencia Bay, Wickaninnish Beach). Took my bike only as it's very easy to just rip down any road and park to see and explore. Clare would be drinking later and does not pilot after doing so. Tofino has changed a little with many tourista lodgings and restaurants all over. We met a biker/musician on the ferry over who mentioned that his band was playing at Jack's Pub on the water and as the late pm sun started waning we settled on that for a simple nosh of a burger and beer special and her salad. Unfortunately the band did not start till 10 pm and I don't do much riding after dark especially with the wildlife wandering onto the roads at dusk, so we headed back to enjoy our own room a nice ride away.
Sunday morning we were packed and kickstands up at 11:30 for a scenic retracing of the roads back home, with a stop in Port Alberni for a break. Like most BC towns on a summer Sunday there is always something happening in the town center and this was the same for the port. Got the 5:20 pm sailing and only waited maybe 30 minutes till boarding (Reason # 7). As it was Father's Day I called the son and asked if he would be around when we got back. He was, so we did a chain restaurant thing and had a happy Father's Day after an awesome ride!
If you go:
Off season or mid week travel is recommended as that ferry thing is a time waster. There seem to be many more accommodations available that are not advertised, especially in Tofino, which is a little pricier than Ucluelet. Bring all the stuff you would normally have for an adventurous time in the great outdoors.
(all photos © Bob and Clare)
What should we do and where should we go this weekend? With the glorious high pressure system we've been having in the Pacific Northwest, what to do is a no brainer ... two wheels of course but where? Well the ol' lady, er my lovely wife Clare, had been hankering to go to "the Island" and Ucluelet/Tofino for awhile now (has it really been about 10 years since the last Vancouver Island trip with surfer Dan?) and the hoards of school families are not quite on the road yet. Perfect time if we can live in the moment and leave now. Looked on the web and found a quaint place (Little Beach Resort) in Ucluelet, and BC Ferry leaving in 1 hour?! Well best Reason #7 for two wheels is front of ferry line and first on/off the boat, so pack up and away we went and caught the 10:40 with minutes to spare! Paid the fares for two bikes and riders (totaled $177.00 return!) and relaxed for an hour or so. Quite a few bikes doing the same thing and we almost ran out of bike safety chocks, but smooth waters anyways. I've always conjured up that movie cliche wherein the new rider knocks over the 1% 'ers bikes like a domino effect and all hell breaks loose!
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| 2 nights on the coast |
So we were off like the Wild Hogs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8RVvETrP64 and had a great ride through the coastal suburbs around mid island to the beautiful town of Qualicum Beach. We briefly stopped there to see our friends Pat and Vicky who have owned and operated Whats Cooking kitchen shop for quite a while now. Nice to see that all is well, then we were on to Port Alberni and beyond to the West Coast.
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| Dude |
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| Don't want to get too close to Bambi fer sure! |
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| Zzzzzzz! |
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| Nori? |
Once again a beauty ride past Sproat Lake, Cathedral Grove and the twistys on Highway 4. I will always remember this route as I had one of my first summer jobs working on the BC Department of Highways (Dept. of Holidays ... haha!) survey crew around 1970, and stayed in Ucluelet when it was a one motel town. Those steep hills and bends are still there and on a bike, awesome fun! It was nice to see that they were repaving it 1 km at a time so there were only short lengths of gravel. We arrived at mid afternoon and found the accommodations were exactly as described with a Jacuzzi (not needed), sauna (not needed), fridge (yes!) and within a stones throw of the beach. After cruising the neighborhood and having dinner at Hanks BBQ (kind of unique cuts of meat and seasonings), we lounged on our room deck while watching the sun set over the Pacific. Perfect day!
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| nice shot Clare! |
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| just a Classic |
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| Beachside |
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| waitin' patiently. |
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| Ucluelet archipelago |
The Wild Pacific Trail started nearby, and as Clare likes to jog and my joints don't allow that, she was out there early next morning to try a few km before noon and also take a few photos. This was contrary to each activity she remarked, as ya can't get the cardio up before another awesome view comes around to stop and snap. A quick change and we jumped on her bike to cruise around and explore almost all the roads in the area before dropping by the four star Black Rock Resort for a look see. It was 10:30 am and the girl behind the desk mentioned brunch in the Fetch Restaurant is over in an hour and would we like to try it? Clare had a very good breakfast wrap and I had the Seafood Bennie which was the best I've had in a long while. The view and the serenity was absolutely amazing with only a few others enjoying the open air deck (see photos). I love the almost "Off Season"!
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| great food |
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| and nice surroundings! |
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| Jurassic |
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| somepin' bout waves! |
We headed back to the room after that and got ready to go to Tofino, a cool 40 km cruise north past the famous beaches (Long Beach, Florencia Bay, Wickaninnish Beach). Took my bike only as it's very easy to just rip down any road and park to see and explore. Clare would be drinking later and does not pilot after doing so. Tofino has changed a little with many tourista lodgings and restaurants all over. We met a biker/musician on the ferry over who mentioned that his band was playing at Jack's Pub on the water and as the late pm sun started waning we settled on that for a simple nosh of a burger and beer special and her salad. Unfortunately the band did not start till 10 pm and I don't do much riding after dark especially with the wildlife wandering onto the roads at dusk, so we headed back to enjoy our own room a nice ride away.
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| poser |
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| Twisties above Kennedy Lake |
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| roll the throttle on! |
Sunday morning we were packed and kickstands up at 11:30 for a scenic retracing of the roads back home, with a stop in Port Alberni for a break. Like most BC towns on a summer Sunday there is always something happening in the town center and this was the same for the port. Got the 5:20 pm sailing and only waited maybe 30 minutes till boarding (Reason # 7). As it was Father's Day I called the son and asked if he would be around when we got back. He was, so we did a chain restaurant thing and had a happy Father's Day after an awesome ride!
If you go:
Off season or mid week travel is recommended as that ferry thing is a time waster. There seem to be many more accommodations available that are not advertised, especially in Tofino, which is a little pricier than Ucluelet. Bring all the stuff you would normally have for an adventurous time in the great outdoors.
(all photos © Bob and Clare)
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