Going The Distance: Day 2 and 3

Outstanding! That’s how I can describe yesterday’s ride out of Port Alberni. It did start off like the first day with a long uphill . 😦  My legs weren’t warmed up yet so I walked it a bit. It’s very frustrating to start off slow.  The downward portion took me up to speeds of 60 km/hr. Still not as fast as the other day 😉   The road conditions ended up being marginally flat where I maintained a good average pace of 25 km/hr. I was thinking that going this fast I’d get to the ferry back for the mainland in no time.

I really enjoyed the scenery. At one point the highway circled a small lake surrounded by mountains. Breathtaking.  I’m sure if I stopped I’d end up having a picnic and relaxing for a few hours.  As tempting as that was I had to keep going. I needed to be in Vancouver by the end of the day.

I had met some cyclists on the road. As is the custom, you either give a wave hello or a nod in passing. A few that I managed to talk to I had mentioned that I come from Uculuet.   The “wow, you’re crazy” look on their faces was almost instant.  As if they are having some sort of horrific flashback from their own ride.

The highway from Parksville to Departure Bay reminded me of the 401 back in Toronto. The difference being is that this one has trees instead of condos and office buildings flanking the sides of it.  There is also a bicycling lane.  While cars are zipping past at 80 km/hr, I’m riding next to them on an wide paved shoulder.

The BC Ferry is about a 1.5 hr ride. In some ways I wish it was longer. The ferry has  lounge seating, big screen TV’s,  kids play zone, cafes and various dinning areas. I found a nice comfortable spot to get some shut eye to rest up before my last push into downtown Vancouver.

Total distance traveled was 100 km. My legs weren’t bad at the end of Day 2. I feel like my muscles are starting to adapt to the amount of riding I’m doing.

I’m fortunate to be staying at my friend’s place whose condo building has a steam sauna and whirlpool :).  He also has a cat named Spartacus who is either extremely shy or is planning to prey on me during my sleep (I’m on to you, cat!).

We went out  for a nice tasty burger last night. The place we went to had free drink refills so I ordered a Nestea Ice Tea.  When the server dropped off my glass I joked, “see you in five minutes”.  It took two more refills to satisfy my thirst. Beats drinking water all day.

Today is my day off. The first two days was a good trial run to figure out what I need and don’t need to bring with me. I plan on lightening my load by at least a kilo or two. My bicycle computer is acting up and I wasn’t able to get a good reading during the last leg of my trip. Hopefully there’s a reset button else I have to get another one.

I’ve taken some pictures which I will be uploading soon. Ciao.