We chatted with single Harley rider from Saltspring Island as we boarded the ferry to Comox from Powell River and ended up following him down island on hwy #19A when we landed at Little River ferry terminal.
There were many tourists filling the small towns and villages as the afternoon sun warmed up the day, making the riding a little slower than one wants to be moving out in the heat!
Following our friend Doug's instructions, we rode Herd Road into an area of Duncan to arrive for a stay with Charlotte and Doug Bemister. We spent the remainder of the day eating and catching up on the many years since we had all spent in Hudson's Hope, in the late 70's and early 80's. They are both retired from BC Hydro now and left the Vancouver area for the slower pace of Duncan and life on another island. (Doug is originally from St.Johns)
Doug has a good looking early 80's Honda Gold Wing that he keeps in great working order and continues to do day trips one and two up. (He tells me it's touring days are over. Hard to believe when you see it!) He accompanied me into Island BMW the next morning, so that Taylor Yakubowich could take a look at a coolant leak I noticed several days before. (Several drops, enough to leave a
trace on the ground after a days ride.) Taylor told me to come back of Friday Aug. 9th and they would replace the water pump. Doug took the lead on the ride home and we took the coastal secondary roads to enjoy the slower pace through places like Mill Bay and Cowichan Bay.
We picked up the ladies who had zipped around Duncan in the Bemister "quad" a Mazda MX-5 with the top down, checking out the downtown area, and took an air conditioned Dodge van for a farther afield tour of this island paradise. A stop for" Island Farms" ice cream was enjoyed by all before returning home and yet another great supper!
The next morning (Aug. 7th) Gayle and I rode into downtown Duncan so that she could get a hair cut\colour and the bike got a thorough pressure wash cleaning not simply a wet wipe down! I took the remainder of my wait time to relax in the park of the "City of Totems" near the downtown museum.
The remainder of this day was spent talking about everything under the sun. Relaxing in the company of friends before and after the supper which we drove to, to enjoy the waterfront deck of a pub in Maple Bay.
Aug. 8th saw us pack up the bikes for the "long way round" into Victoria. Doug and Charlotte agreed to ride the day with us which pleased us to no end!
This would be the first time on the trip that we spent the day riding with someone else! We enjoyed it immensely. We took hwy. #18 past Lake Cowichan heading to the Pacific coast near Port Renfrew. I noticed a tourist sign indicating the Harris Spruce was nearby so I pulled off to take a look. We were all amazed with the girth of the GIANT tree. It is reported to have a diameter of 13' and be over 80 metres tall.
Mounting up in the sunshine and leaving Tamara the cat behind.
The fence was installed to protect the tree's root system.
The frame behind Doug was empty.....I was hoping to find some "tree facts" there! The Harris Creek Sitka Spruce is inside the fence, not the one behind "the tourists".
On we rode on this "seal coat" or "chip sealed" highway until we once again found pavement as we passed Port Refrew. The highway turns into #14 and runs to the capital city of BC.
A stop to check out the Pacific breeze near Sooke. Check out that classic Honda Gold Wing!
Very good colour choice if I do say so. I was with Doug the day he saw this bike in the Dawson Creek shop window, many moons ago. Doug was riding a Honda CB450 back then and I was riding my 1974 Honda CB550K.
Doug and I switched passengers, so I could try and "spoil" Charlotte by riding a ways on a newer touring machine. Doug was reluctant to swap bikes outright for part of the ride. [ I think he was afraid of liking the experience too much:) :) ]
After a cove side deck lunch break at a place that Char remembered near Sooke we were off again. When we got closer to Victoria Doug took the lead and acted as tour guide. He took us through downtown and the inner harbour jammed packed with tourists and we stopped to check out Fisherman's Wharf and decide where to ride next. We decided on following the coast line around Victoria and out to Saanich. Wow are there ever some nice homes in this area! Lotto tickets anyone??
There is a lot of traffic in Juan De Fuca Strait. That is Washington state in the distance. It will have to wait till next time!
We continted to ride the coast to Cordova Bay till Doug pulled over to ask us wether we were going to call an end to the tour and find a room for the night. I pulled over on the left side of his bike and discovered I was too close when my right rear pannier protection bar clipped the rear of the Honda's left pannier rear. This is no way to end a wonderful day with friends! (When he checked for damage when he got home Doug advised me that he was shipping the bike back to Japan for a factory paint job and will send me the bill for my share!) Please accept my apologies again for my clumsiness.
We said our goodbyes so that they could get home and we found a motel close to Island BMW.
The next morning I took the bike into the dealer to have a new water pump installed and 2.5 hours later we were ready to roll. I was pleased with the service and the conversations with the staff and fellow riders. We went back down to Trans Canada Mile 0 for a photo op then crawled out of town in bumper to bumper traffic. Yawn, yawn.
There is that Biker Chick again.......she keeps getting on this machine day after day!
How would you like to cross Canada?
Still amazed by what Terry did all these years later!
We made it to Port Alberni for the night and were lucky to find a room because my attempt at booking a room on-line mis-qued, confirming a room for a week away! Not so good! But it all turned out for the best. August 10 saw us ride out to Tofino, Long Beach and Ucluelet for the day and back to Nanaimo to finish off our Island tour. A fun week it was.
Just as I got off the bike to take this picture a black bear came out of the bushes (just to the right of Gayle's right shoulder) Her shout or was it scream of surprise scared it off! I didn't scream, I calmly and quietly said "oh, bear, bear, bear, bear, bear." Yes, I scared him, but not as much as he scared me! That's why I'm still on the bike. :)
Parking on the the dock with the "No Parking" sign posted..... for a photo op in Tofino.
"REBELS-R-US"
Surfers playing at Long Beach, Vancouver Island.
Did I mention that it is always windy here? (we were here last in the summer of 1973)
I claim this log as mine!
We took the second ferry of the day (6:30am is just too early) from Departure Bay (Nanaimo) to Horseshoe Bay (West Vancouver) on Sunday morning. Again bikers loaded first after we had a chance to chat with fellow bikers as we waited to load.
Doug a retired father on a 79 Honda Gold Wing and his son Brad, a school teacher, on a 2013 Yamaha Stryker came up behind us and were travelling home to Edmonton. And behind them came a couple from San Diego. He was on a Harley Road King towing a Bushtec trailer and she was on a Harley Sturgis. They were on the way across Canada to Maine before returning home. Then came three younger guys from Oregon. One had a Triumph Tiger 955i duo-sport, one had a BMW R1200RT and the other on a Kawasaki Concours 14.
In this first shot you will notice a variety of Harley's who loaded in front of us. They were all from the island and were off for several days each.
If you look closely, you can see the last bike to load was a Kawasaki KLR650
There are two sets of golf clubs in here! Tough way to vacation. Everything was protected in a trailer with air assist suspension!
This should be our last ferry ride for awhile. Goodbye Vancouver Island.
Golf clubs?? :D
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful pictures! And if I ever see a bear, I hope it's with Mom so she can scare it off! :D
What are you going to "say" to the grizzlies up north?
ReplyDeleteOh bear! Bear! Bear! Bear!
ReplyDeleteGlad you are having such a great time out there with the bears!