J
Jagir
Guest
Left my home in Vancouver at noon and caught the 12:55 ferry from West Vancouver to Nanaimo which is on the east side of Vancouver Island. It's great that bikes are ushered to the front of the line while all those cars are waiting, waiting... especially on labour day... waiting...
An hour and a half later I was bombing up the Inland Highway maxxing out my little 400, but trying to make time instead of swaying through the "Old Island Highway" which is much prettier as it snakes around the coast. When I reached the town of Campbell River, the tank was full again and I was soon on the ferry to Quadra Island, a quick crossing. The weather was perfect. I was keeping it in 4th and 5th, while exploring this 'middle' island before ending up on the other side to depart for Cortez Island. Quadra is cute, has a liquor store or 2 and a fancy dining restaurant on the water, not to mention the nice winding roads through forests, with some ocean views.
My 2 hour exploration of Quadra got me to the Cortez ferry just in time (I could have connected right after disembarking from the Quadra ferry, but wanted to look around). This 50 minute ferry was a stunning vantage to watch the lowering sun and hide my watch while assuming 'island time'.
Cortez Island has tight twisties and lots of up and down rolling roads. I found that at 40 kmh, I was loving the scenery, smells, feel of the bike and could slow just enough for the corners as some of them have loose gravel. There are a few hippy cafe's tonnes of organic veggie farms, a book giveaway and great beaches. It's not metropolitan.
It only takes about an hour or 2 to see the whole island (where there are roads)- with a few beach stops here and there, but I burned up a whole tank of gas there in 2 days exploring, getting around and just enjoying some nice slow riding.
At 9:50 am, I left and retraced my steps back through 2 boats and then took the old highway south to Courtenay where I hopped another boat to BC's illustrious Sunshine Coast. Rumour has it that it was called the Rain Coast and a realtor changed the name. Whatever you call it, the ride from Powell River to Saltery Bay is fun and twisty and a little bouncy and real nice to begin to re-integrate your riding into the speed of traffic 'off-island'. From Saltery Bay, there is another ferry to Egmont. This is home to the powerful Skookumchuck Rapids - a tidal surge that is surfworthy!
Down the Sunshine Coast is a fantastic ride with lots of turns and whoops and, unfortunately, a few grannies that are scared of narrow highways and too few passing areas. But, if you pull over and wait for the ferry traffic to pass, you can eek a sweet spot and take as much time as you like to work your way south to the last ferry which will drop you back in Vancouver, or on the way to Whistler on the Sea to Sky Highway.
An hour and a half later I was bombing up the Inland Highway maxxing out my little 400, but trying to make time instead of swaying through the "Old Island Highway" which is much prettier as it snakes around the coast. When I reached the town of Campbell River, the tank was full again and I was soon on the ferry to Quadra Island, a quick crossing. The weather was perfect. I was keeping it in 4th and 5th, while exploring this 'middle' island before ending up on the other side to depart for Cortez Island. Quadra is cute, has a liquor store or 2 and a fancy dining restaurant on the water, not to mention the nice winding roads through forests, with some ocean views.
Cortez Island has tight twisties and lots of up and down rolling roads. I found that at 40 kmh, I was loving the scenery, smells, feel of the bike and could slow just enough for the corners as some of them have loose gravel. There are a few hippy cafe's tonnes of organic veggie farms, a book giveaway and great beaches. It's not metropolitan.
It only takes about an hour or 2 to see the whole island (where there are roads)- with a few beach stops here and there, but I burned up a whole tank of gas there in 2 days exploring, getting around and just enjoying some nice slow riding.
At 9:50 am, I left and retraced my steps back through 2 boats and then took the old highway south to Courtenay where I hopped another boat to BC's illustrious Sunshine Coast. Rumour has it that it was called the Rain Coast and a realtor changed the name. Whatever you call it, the ride from Powell River to Saltery Bay is fun and twisty and a little bouncy and real nice to begin to re-integrate your riding into the speed of traffic 'off-island'. From Saltery Bay, there is another ferry to Egmont. This is home to the powerful Skookumchuck Rapids - a tidal surge that is surfworthy!
Down the Sunshine Coast is a fantastic ride with lots of turns and whoops and, unfortunately, a few grannies that are scared of narrow highways and too few passing areas. But, if you pull over and wait for the ferry traffic to pass, you can eek a sweet spot and take as much time as you like to work your way south to the last ferry which will drop you back in Vancouver, or on the way to Whistler on the Sea to Sky Highway.
