Hudson Doyle's travel blog: Cycling in British Columbia

Let me just say, cycle touring certainly isn't for everyone. Now it's not nearly as crazy as what they do in the Tour De France or this chick who cycled around the world, but it is a bigger workout than you'll ever do otherwise. Carrying 60+ pounds up hill with you, over and over, all day, when else would you do that? But it's far more than a great workout....

Like any true life experience, though, cycle touring cannot be depicted in a blog post, video, etc.. It must be experienced in its original form. And just as I think everyone should try MDMA once in their life, I also think many people should experience travelling by bike. For I have traveled quite a bit by now--by car, by bus, by plane, by boat, by thumb, etc., but traveling by bike is the best experience.

This year I took off to Washington state and British Columbia for my ~7th cycle tour, 3rd alone. This ride came in at ~430 miles over 7 days, about 60m/day. 2 countries, 2 cities, 4 islands, 1 mountain, innumerable roller coasters (i.e. going down hill 25-40mph), countless small towns/communities/personal interactions with people in 7 days, and for as little $$$ as it costs, how else can you do that but by bike?.........

Catching up with my friend, Jen, who I met on my California ride 2 years ago (when she was doing Vancouver-San Diego), we went for a ride around Seattle--a lovely, bike friendly city.

And we caught the 'tail end' of the "World naked bike ride" Seattle chapter, 'hanging out' behind us here

After a couple flat tires leaving the city the next day (no fun!), I was reminded, despite how bike friendly Seattle is, how unpleasant cycling in cities/suburbs is (duh). So as I moved north I resolved to scrap my planned route and turn west towards Vancouver island.

The Mukilteo ferry delivered me to Whidby island, WA.

where I found quieter roads

and my first camp ground on the Puget sound

Cycling up the Puget sound was still heavy with tourist traffic. Those who cruise by in camper vans or carrying boats behind their pickup trucks-- up hills-- have little regard for what it takes to move by one's own power...

On the ferry from Anacortes, WA to Sidney, BC I was trying to figure out where to go. I chatted up a younger couple finishing their own cycle tour in Washington and, natives of Vancouver Island, they recommended island hopping for a couple days. And after departing the ferry, meandering through town looking for a camp ground, I got to talking with a fellow who told me I just had to go check out Victoria to the south and the bike path the connects the two towns... So I resolved to do both the next day.

Having lived in Sydney Australia for 3 years and always hearing about this other Sidney somewhere in Canada, it was nice to finally check it out (quite unexpectedly). Very nice little town: very clean,

very $

fit with its own mini Sidney Opera House

and a view of snow capped mountains (behind me),

Had to wake up at 4:45 to catch a 5:15 ferry over to Galiano island O_o

but it sure was nice to have the 1 perfectly paved road of this relatively remote island all to myself in the wee dawn hours.

Hustling back to make the ferry, I was just able to squeeze in lunch before ferrying back to Sidney and then on to the bike path down to Victoria. What a bike path! So jealous of these folks who use this for their daily commute! The kind of commute I fantasize about :)

big $$ property

Met a 20 year old girl doing her first bike tour--solo! We hung out for a bit, smoked a joint, and listened to a guy play the transportive sounds of the sitar by the harbor :)

After dealing with a 3rd flat tire and grabbing dinner, I found my way back to the bike trail and put the legs into high gear to get back to Sidney before sunset--@1030!! :)

About a mile outside of town, though, my rear wheel went flat again! 4 times!!

I asked someone walking into town where a bike shop was so I could leave lock it up there, run back to my camp site, and then run back to town in the morning to have it fixed... He was very curious about cycle touring, so we ended hanging out for a beer and chatting back at my campsite until after midnight....4:45am to 12am--long day!

Moving north, and to avoid highway riding, I hopped from Salt Spring island

back onto Victoria island and continued north towards Nainamo, where I was to catch a ferry up to Horshoe Bay (just north of Vancouver). Struggling to avoid traffic and the highway, I looked for detour after scenic detour to experience all I could of this lovely part of the world.

I debated whether to camp in Nanaimo where I knew I could find something or continue onwards to cover more ground in the day and catch the ferry to Horshoebay but risk getting stuck on the cliff side road of the sea to sky highway...I just happen to make the next ferry on my arrival to Nanaimo, so I took my chances...

I ate dinner in Horshoe bay not because I was hungry, but because I didn't know when I would be able to eat again tomorrow. Overly full, I moved north on the sea to sky highway towards Whistler, it was beautiful:

But with the sun slowly setting, I resigned to finding somewhere off the highway to camp. So I took the next (steep) turnoff up into the woods.

And camped out by some water flow control station.... Fortunately I wasn't bothered by any people or any bears; it was the most private spot I found to sleep the whole trip.

The next day it was an easy 45mile ride up to Squamish. With beautiful ocean/mountain scenery to my left

and waterfalls to my right.

The feeling of finding a beautiful little pond after having just climbed a mountain in the hot sun and not having showered for 4 days of cycling: priceless :-)

Rolled into Squamish to hang out and explore the town for a bit,

find some Wifi, and eventually to follow a tip on a nice place to camp few miles outside of town.

Found a beautiful and quiet road out of town,

moss growing on trees

that led me to the super cute "Paradise (road) camp ground"

Today was the day I was preparing for--the climb up to Whislter.

After a hearty meal at a crunchy spot,

I found a woodsy place to stash my camping gear and start my ascent.

I have never before worn earplugs while cycling, but with the number of cars, trucks, etc whizzing by unnerving me and spoiling my experience of the vast and beautiful landscape, I'm glad I had them.

Climbing ~2500ft to Whistler was about a 2.5 hour affair. Long gradual ascents with snowy mountain views. It was not nearly as challenging as the mountain climbs into/out of the Lost Coast in my Northern California ride 2 years ago. No big deal really.

A hotbed for outdoor life, Whistler is a lovely summer retreat.

Returning from Whistler to Squamish was the longest downhill I've ever done. I was flying along with cars doing 20-35mph for about 1.5h--it was wild!

Grabbed my camping stuff where I had stashed it and continued back to Squamish. Having a couple beers hanging with some kids in the park I got a tip on a spot to camp out. Followed it and ended up camping out by the train tracks near the train terminal. It was a great spot--no one to bother me and a nice view

....but then, at 3 AM I awoke to a rumble. A train pulls into the terminal near where I was. It wasn't that bad/scary, despite it passing about 10ft from my head, it was just that it slowed down stopped, moved back and forth until 4AM! before leaving again...

My last leg brought me south to Vancouver. Having heard a lot about Vancouver's real estate market, I expected a lot....and I wasn't disappointed. What I didn't expect was how stellar a city it is for cycling. I've come across no other city that accommodates non-motorized transport as well as Vancouver

Some things we could learn from:

I learned that in downtown Vancouver (where I was staying), a main road (like Newbury st in Boston) is closed down every weekend. In the summer, it is home to festivals EVERY WEEKEND. The road stretches about 8 blocks and on every block is a different festival--vegetarian fest, Harley fest, Indian fest. What a great thing to have!