After four days of rain, cancelled ferries and two-minute hot showers, we finally set foot on Vancouver Island. The weather was smiling at us at last; the wind was still blowing right in our faces, but that is another story. If I had known what was waiting on this stage, I would have pedalled faster: two strangers we met on the road would take us into their home and give me the courage I needed for the rest of the trip. They also had cats. I really don't like cats.
- 27 September · Night 1Comox → Qualicum Beach → Nanoose BayDeer by the road, a prawn Caesar salad at the Crown & Anchor Pub, a break at Qualicum Beach. Night: a campground in Nanoose Bay, $25.
- 28 September · Night 2Nanoose Bay → Ladysmith → Steve and Doddy's houseColourful Ladysmith and a wrong burger decision at the Wigwam. Night: the home of Steve and Doddy, whom we met on the road.
- 29 SeptemberMill Bay → Brentwood Bay → Victoria → Port AngelesPancake breakfast, the Mill Bay ferry and the wheelhouse, our last Canadian lunch at Spinnakers, and the Coho ferry to America in the evening.
| Powell River → Nanoose Bayferry excluded | 106 km | ↑ 490 m | ↓ 470 m |
| Nanoose Bay → Steve and Doddy's house | 103 km | ↑ 670 m | ↓ 640 m |
| Steve and Doddy's house → Port AngelesVictoria–Port Angeles ferry excluded | 52 km | ↑ 370 m | ↓ 340 m |
| Stage total | 261 km | ↑ 1530 m | ↓ 1450 m |
I could not keep a daily GPS log: in 2011 power banks were hardly a thing, and with GPS tracking on the phone battery died within an hour, which would have made recording the rest of the tour impossible. So these are approximate values from Google Maps cycling directions along the route I rebuilt from the location points on my phone. On the few days where Google pushed the route onto other roads, distance comes from my own route and climbing from an elevation model. Ferry crossings are not included.
27 September · First day on the island
As soon as we turned south from Comox, the road gave us its first surprise: deer grazing at the roadside. They looked at us with no hurry, and we looked back. Two loaded bikes, two tired men and three deer who did not care at all. It was hard to say who was more curious.
For lunch we stopped at the Crown & Anchor Pub. The board at the door said "Prawns & Caesar". Too fancy for a cyclist's menu, but someone had to pay for four days of rain, so that day we spoiled ourselves.
At Qualicum Beach we sat on the sand, rested and took photos. Philip looked at the map on his phone, I looked at the sea. Our roles were clear from day one: he had the navigation, I had the view :)
Nanoose Bay · After 100 km
We shopped for dinner and breakfast and spent the night at a campground in Nanoose Bay. For $25: free hot showers, free wifi and a few strange neighbours. The water smelled a little, but I did not care at all. That night I wrote in my phone: "After 100 km any place can make me feel good." The night got cold, and my sleeping bag passed its first test with full marks.
28 September · Ladysmith and the Wigwam
The next day we reached Ladysmith, a small, lovely town with colourful houses. We had lunch at the Wigwam Restaurant. The sign said "Chinese, Canadian and Vietnamese food". So, very wisely, we ordered burgers and chicken. Not bad, but the lesson was clear: never order a burger in an Asian restaurant!
Steve and Doddy · A home found on the road
Riding towards Victoria, we met an older cyclist couple on the road: Steve and Doddy. After a short roadside chat, they invited us to their home. Dinner, a hot shower, a place to sleep... all at once, for two cyclists they had never met. That day I wrote just one line in my phone: "Nicest people in the world."
Dinner was BBQ chicken, pork and beef. After our camping-stove meals, it was a feast. Later they showed us their old photos. Years ago they had crossed Canada together by bike, from west to east; they told us it took 7,500 km. There I was, in my first week, cursing every hill, and in front of me sat two people who had ridden more than twice the length of our whole trip. These people lived for bicycles.
Steve and Doddy gave me the courage for the rest of the trip that evening, at that table.
The house also had cats. Many cats. I told you I don't like cats. But I was a guest, so all evening I pretended I loved them :) At breakfast one of them sat on the chair behind Philip and stared at his plate. In the photo its eyes are glowing green. I will let you guess what it was thinking.
Breakfast was just as good as dinner: pancakes, maple syrup, oranges and endless coffee. In that colourful kitchen with blue walls and a yellow ceiling, nobody wanted to leave the table. Me least of all.
29 September · The Mill Bay ferry and the wheelhouse
Doddy drew us an easier route with fewer hills. It turned out she hates uphills just like me. Deal! Her route took us to the Mill Bay ferry dock, 12 km from their house. A small, quiet, lovely little dock with only a few people waiting. A bicycle ticket was $2, cash only. And a surprise: the sun was out. The sea was shining.
The best surprise on this little ferry was our captain. Before we knew it, we were standing in the wheelhouse. Radars, radios, buttons... a few more gauges than our taped-on bike computer. The captain took the helm, and I grinned next to him. There may be a little "I am a captain too" in that smile :)
Victoria · Our last lunch in Canada
On the way from Brentwood Bay to Victoria we met two more older cyclists. They recommended Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub: fair prices and their own beer. They were so kind that they rode with us all the way to Victoria. On this island, everyone we met on the road took us somewhere.
We had our last lunch in Canada on the Spinnakers terrace, looking at the harbour. I had not had a beer for seven days; you can guess how the first sip tasted. The weather was perfect. Victoria reminded me of Bodrum. In my phone I wrote: "If I ever come back to Canada, I could think about living here."
After lunch we rode our loaded bikes around the city a little: the harbour, the British Columbia parliament building and the famous Empress Hotel. Philip in front, me behind taking photos. Seeing a city from a bike saddle is a different kind of fun.
Goodbye Canada · The Coho ferry
In the late afternoon we reached the Victoria ferry terminal, and there I spent my last Canadian dollar. After 49 weeks, I was saying goodbye, on two wheels, to the country I had lived in. I felt a little sad, but it was good to know I would see Vancouver again. How that would happen, I did not know yet; that story is in Stage 10.
A big ferry called the Coho took us to Port Angeles. On deck Philip checked the route with his phone in one hand and our guidebook, "Bicycling the Pacific Coast", on his handlebars. My bike posed at the bow, right in front of a "KEEP OUT" sign. Even leaving Canada, we were on the edge of the rules. On the other side of the water, America was waiting.
- Where we slept: a campground in Nanoose Bay ($25), Steve and Doddy's house. For their status today: Where we stayed
- Ferries: Brentwood Bay–Mill Bay (bicycle $2, cash only), Victoria–Port Angeles (Coho).
- Lesson from the road: The route other cyclists recommend is often better than the one on the map. And don't order a burger in an Asian restaurant.
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