Bike
Trip
Day 1
At 6:00 a.m. Got up and ate breakfast of bacons & eggs and waffles.Got everything ready, and left home at around 7:30. It was fortunate that I got perfect sunny day for my trip.
Handling the bike with full load took some getting used to. Making a turn and breaking would take more time than the bicycle with no load. When you go up hill, you would have to use very low gear because it's hard to pedal this heavy bicycle on the standing position.
I'd decided to use sea bus to cross Burrard Inlet, because I didn't want to (or shouldn't) use neither Second Narrows Bridge nor Lions Gate Bridge (anybody knows when the construction will be done?) Used Kingsway and Victria Dr. to get to Downtown. Not heavy traffic at this time of the day, although Victria Dr. was kind of confusing. Got to Waterfront, and then took sea bus. In fact it was the first time for me to get on sea bus. Nice to see the downtown from the boat.
There're two major roads which take you to Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal; Hwy1 and Marine Dr. I chose Marine Dr. which is somewhat hilly, but scenic. I wasn't surprised when I saw many cyclists on road bikes running on the other side of the road, because it is a nice cycling course. They greeted me with a wave of the hand or a nodding. I replied them in the same way. Got to Horseshoe Bay at 11:30. Unfortunately I just missed a ferry which left at 11:20. I had to wait for another two hours, damn it!
While waiting for the next ferry, I got to know one couple who live in Nanaimo in Vancouver Island. The husband is originaly from Malaysia and the wife from Taiwan. According to the husband,
they had traveled all over the world. He'd toured on the bicycle before like me. They gave me their address so I could stay over night. I gave him my address in Japan, too. Very friendly and nice people. One good thing touring by youself is you have greater chance to get to know people.At 1:20 finally Ferry arrived and put up sail. It was a great sail. If you are at the tail of the ferry, you'll see a breathtaking panoramic view of the snow-capped mountains. Recognizable The Lions, Mt. Unnecessary, Mount Harvey... I was really pleased to come.
At 2:30 arrived at Langdale. I continued Marine Dr. rather than inland Hwy 101. Road was actually good. Hilly in some areas but generally flat and scenic.
Meanwhile, I entered Gibsons. Gibsons is a cozy town. Geophysically Gibsons is within a stone's throw from downtown Vancouver. But I could tell the atmosphere is definitely different from that of Vancouver. Probably that's because Gibsons is sort of isolated from the populated area, which can only be reached by ferry, even though it is on the mainland.
Gibsons was actually named after a person, George Gibson, who landed here by accident 1886. It was when he was 58 years old. He found good soils for gardening and sold them to the people in Vancouver. He and his family ended up with settling in this new place. Imagine one pioneered and starts a new business at the age of 58. Must've been very tough. There are many pioneers in the history of B.C. developing new world struggling with hard nature and native people. I admire them.
I quickly recognized Molly's Reach, a famous cafe for The Beachcombers, at the center of the town. I stopped by one grocery store near Molly's Reach to buy milk. The old owner was sitting on a chair outside the store and chatting with his everyday customers probably all day long. "Hey, young. Don't worry about your bike. I'll be watching it for you", he said when I was going to lock the bike. People passed the store saying hello to the old guy. Everybody seemed to know this old guy and this guy seemed to know everybody in this small town.
I went down to Ocean Beach Esplanade, just because it's there. This rout is, as the name shows, along the shoreline and very scenic, although I wouldn't even imagine how steep the road was. To go there, it was downhill and just comfortable ride. I didn't mind going steep downhill because I wasn't supposed to come back up to where I was (of course!).
In the meantime, I bumped into a familiar sign that looked like, but could not passibly be, "Dead End", except it was, which never shows up on my map. I realized I would have to go back to the top of the hill where I started downhill. I asked one lady with a dog if there was any other route that would take me back to Hwy 101. Yes, but all other possible roads are as steep. I still would have to go up steep hill anyway, according to her. So I did. It was 4:30 when I finally went back to Hwy 101. Now I have to look for somewhere I could camp over night. There are two possible provincial parks that have campsites, Robert Creek P.P. and Porpoise Bay P.P. Since Robert Creek starts its service at May 15, I had no choice but going to Porpoise Bay. The road between Gibsons and Sechelt is almost flat and has a relatively wide shoulder. I was out of water. But I couldn't find any stores for drinks.
At 6:00, 4 km away from Hwy 101 along Sechelt Inlet I got to Porpoise Bay P.P. I was exhausted from all uphills I never expected. But the campsite was very nice. Actually the best site during this trip. It's got special campsite only for cyclists where you can see the sun setting into the inlet. You have tap water and toilet nearby. Plus free hot shower is available! They charge you $9.00 at this time of year, which I found reasonable.
Set up my tent and cooked pasta. Simple, but great meal after all work! After taking hot shower, I watched sunset at around 8:30, and went into sleeping bag. It was a tough day. My legs were sore. But the first day of touring is always tough. I was satisfied with today's all my work.
