We met our goal of cycling Vancouver Island from tip to tip. We now needed to get to our van parked in Royston. First part of the trip had us taking a bus (large van) and our bikes back to Campbell River.

Arriving at Campbell River by lunch time we stopped at Tim’s to eat. From here we would need to cycle 60 km’s to the van. This is as far as we could take the bikes on the bus. It was raining the entire time we cycled.

We were soaked once we got to the home of Alex and Kathy where the van was parked. We never met them before and they hosted us like we were old friends. Took a shower, fed us some food before we went on a two hour drive to George and Verna’s place to spend the night, and had another supper.

Today is our last day of cycling to reach our goal of Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island. Day started with breakfast served and made by Duchess. She gave us a complimentary breakfast of 12 bannock, two having eggs inside. She is a very sweet, generous, funny and caring woman.

Took the 9:30 AM ferry back to Vancouver Island. Cycled 50 km’s before arriving at Port Hardy to finish our trip. In total our cycling journey was 843 km’s.

It was only after the 3rd Hotel that we found a room in Port Hardy. Our options were running out and sleeping somewhere outdoors was not going to go over well with the Mrs. We are happy to be relaxing in a room with a great view of the water.

Tomorrow we take the bus part way back and need to cycle about 60 km’s to get to our van. Of course rain is in the forecast.

Visiting Cormorant island (Aug 6th) where the town of Alert Bay is located, was an ideal place for a day off. They were holding a kayak 360 event around the island. Top finishers do it under an hour. There are around 120 participants. Here are a few pictures.

There are also some nice hiking trails on the island. We took the afternoon to enjoy a nice long walk.

In the evening we joined the T’Sasala cultural group for a celebration of food, dance, and education of their culture. It was held it what they call the ‘Big house‘. They had an open fire in the middle that was burning the entire evening. Supper consisted of smoked salmon, salads, seaweed and bannock. After the meal they performed some cultural dances. Here is a picture of the inside.

Completed another 75 km’s of cycling today. We were just in time to catch the ferry to Cormorant Island, if not we would have needed to wait 3 hours for the next ferry.

Arriving on the Island by 3 gave us time to get a camping spot, have supper and get groceries.

We plan to take Sunday August 6th off to enjoy the island. There is a 360 kayak Regatta on Sunday. They kayak around Cormorant Island, it is 8 miles around. It is a huge deal with many people here with kayaks. We will see what this all about tomorrow.

We look forward to another day off from our vacation.

On Aug. 3rd in the evening as we we’re enjoying supper. We noticed two men talking to a park employee about getting a campsite. This happened right in front of our campsite and knew there were no sites available. We felt the right thing to do was to invite them to share our site as the park employee was not helping. It was interesting hearing the story of the two from Germany who had walked from town as they missed the bus to Port Hardy. They have plans to hike the northern island. They only arrived from Germany the day before.

August 4th started with cycling at 7:15 AM and ended at 8:30 PM. Over 13 hours with breaks in between. Some hills were over 10 km’s long, made an exhausting day. It felt so good to complete our cycling goal for the day.

The road was not as isolated as expected. There was a gas station I did not know about, 60 km’s in. Rest spots where you meet people who give you cold water.

Day finished at a rest stop a few km’s east of Woss.

When one does not reserve your overnight accommodations it gives you freedom to do what you want for night. Especially when cycling, when plans can change in minutes. There are times when not having plans in place can be annoying.

Checking with the tourist info people in Campbell River. They did not give us much hope in finding a camp site at the Provincial Park. But we still went to check it out, as expected, the “ campground is full” sign was up. Checking further we noticed that there is sites you cannot book. We found one that was open, apparently it was perfect timing. So happy we can camp out tonight.

Tomorrow (Aug. 4th) will be our longest day of cycling we have planned. Close to 128 km’s, at this point the longest day of cycling has been 88 km’s. We are preparing to have enough food and water as there will be no services for a day and a half of cycling. A little nervous about cycling in such isolation. But also excited to know we have gone a great distance and have greatly enjoyed it.

What an excellent spot we had in a very well designed campground in Parksville. It was so quiet and we slept so well.

Cycling day was filled with highway riding. Cooler weather with some drizzle made for some excellent riding conditions.

Arriving in Courtenay we had no idea what to do for night. Talking to some local people at the grocery store. We decided that a Motel stay is totally justified and the answer for this nights stay.

We survived the night under the hydro lines. It was not a good place to spend the night as we were close to the highway. Did not sleep very well, so we were happy to get on the road again.

It was a day mixed with some trail riding, but most of the riding was on the trans-Canada highway. This made it a little stressful as you had be aware of how close you are to fast moving traffic.

We arrived at Parksville by mid-afternoon. At the campground they told us they were full. I explained to them in very tired looking way that we just needed a very small space for our tent. She looks at her computer screen and says “let me talk to my manager”. I love when people say that. A few minutes later she says they keep some spots open for emergency’s and they have one spot left. We were so happy to hear that.

During the evening we checked the sand sculptures in the downtown. We ordered supper and he asks which pop I want. I said Coke and he says “it’s the last one”. I thought to myself, this is the theme of the day.

Day started with the smell of bacon filling the air as we slowly got out of bed. Another shower, just because we can. Eating breakfast, looking out to the backyard that takes one’s breath away. We took our time enjoying the yard and left by noon.

Day ended by finding a spot under hydro lines for our tent. Quickly setting up the tent as mosquitoes were all over us like mud to a pig. We enjoyed the food, we bought earlier, in the tent. With the noise of the freeway nearby we slowly tried to go sleep.

It was a day of contrasts. Biking on trails to biking on the freeway. Sleeping soundly in a bed to trying to sleep in the bush.

It was a day filled with less traffic, berry picking stops and a wind that was actually helping us.

We are also motivated as we were going to stay with Cheryl’s cousin Verna. First shower since leaving Victoria was something to look forward to.

We are located just west of Duncan, having traveled 88 km’s for the day. In total we have done 328 km’s on the trip so far.