Slow Return on the Mystery Tour

August 4, 2021

Killy General Store, Harrison Mills

Ruth:

Hope to Mission: 91 kms

Our ride back from Hope to Mission was completely different from our trip out. The smoke from the fires at the north end of Harrison Lake filled the valley with a thick smoke. It felt like a weird twilight rather than the middle of the day. The barn we had passed before was now much less sharp. I decided to paint the view of it in the sun instead of in the smoke.

 

Mission to Vancouver: 72kms

Ok, sometimes Pocket Earth gets it wrong. The best route into Vancouver to my sister’s house is not to the top of Burnaby Mountain!!!  I didn’t catch it because Vancouver is such a grid and the roads looked straight on the map. They were straight but not flat! Wowee! Fortunately we were feeling pretty strong and we made it in one piece. 

It was great to have some time with my sister Joan. 

Vancouver to Victoria: 83 Kms.  Total for trip:  717 kms.

Just enjoy the ride, I kept telling myself, but it still made me mad. Cyclists have to travel 20 kms further than cars to get to the ferry.  The backtrack to New Westminster was lovely and we are now old hands at crossing the Alex Fraser bridge. 

We were keen to get an early ferry so we decided to take highway 17. Lots of traffic, but nice big shoulders. After a few kilometres we heard a bang and watched as a car spun and rolled and a truck became airborne after fishtailing and hitting its own trailer. We were sure there would be fatalities, but fortunately everyone exited their vehicles. Next time I’ll take the country roads!

While it would have been interesting to cycle across B.C. and perhaps the Prairies, our cat assured us that we made the right decision.  It was wonderful to be back on the bikes seeing new places, if only for 11 days.  And there is still the possibility of a bike trip in Europe in the Fall…

Leaving the Lower Mainland

Today’s ride: 86 kms (Mission to Hope)

Trip total: 230 kms

Gordon:  I’ve lived in B.C. for more than 35 years, yet I had never taken the highway to Hope along the north side of the Fraser River.  “Pity”, as they said in the Red Rose tea commercial, because it is a varied and beautiful route.

By the time we reached Mission, last night’s stop, we had surrendered the excellent cycling infrastructure of the Lower Mainland, and entered a world where bikes are rare and barely acknowledged.  Mission appeared to still be within a (long) commuting distance from Vancouver, and traffic in the late afternoon was fairly heavy.

Leaving Mission early this morning, the traffic was light and the light was beautiful.  We passed through some rich looking farmland, mostly producing blueberries, corn or dairy products, until the farms were crowded out by the hills.  It was a generally flat road, but eventually we found ourselves surrounded by heavily treed mountains.  

Tomorrow we climb into those mountains as we cycle towards Manning Park on Highway 3.  Our ability to continue the tour has been rendered doubtful by the fires that are burning throughout the interior of the province, and indeed, across the western half of the continent.  I’ve been telling Ruth that “I have a good feeling about our chances of getting through the interior”, which she is treating as some sort of flaky spirituality.  Judging by the highway camera pictures that Ruth has been reviewing each day, smoke conditions do appear to be improving along our route.  Perhaps I’ll have to sacrifice a goat near the Alberta border.