Day’s distance: approximately 100 miles (odometer)
Total trip distance: 440 miles
The day was partly cloudy with warmer temperatures, mid-50s to mid-60s. No rain fell on us today.
Since I brought an oatmeal/quinoa breakfast meal, we rehydrated it along with some tea for breakfast. After we finished, we packed up our gear. No dew settled on the tent overnight, so packing up was quick.
Our first stop was Starbucks for a latte.
We sat outside and planned our day. Our only realistic option for the ferry to Powell River departed at 3:25pm, so we had time to do a little site seeing.
Harald, an avid hiker, took me to MacMillan Provincial Park. There are short trails easy to navigate for most folks. Each trail is short so we walked along two of them.
MacMillan lake is visible from one of the trails.
We backtracked to Coombs for lunch at the Old Country Market. The draw here for tourists, besides local cheeses and meats, are the goats on the roof. There are four or five goats who graze on the grass.
Lunch was great! Highly recommended.
Afterwards, we continued north on Hwy 19. At the rest stop just south of Union Bay where we met Preston Gill. His motorcycle trip started in Louisiana on his three-wheeled motorcycle. His newly replaced clutch gave out in Modesto, CA. The dealer who installed the clutch apparently was refusing to warranty the service so he ended up continuing his trip on a used bike he purchased there.
Preston switched to a trike when his knees started to give out. Being shorter and older and now used to riding a trike, Preston found he can’t manage this used two-wheeled bike and was cutting his trip short – a very stressful decision for him.
We wished him well and I am following his trip now on Facebook.
We first arrived at the ferry terminal just after 2pm. There was time to back track a few kilometers for an afternoon coffee before boarding. We met a Canadian there who had put over 300,000 kilometers on his Gold Wing. That is well over twice the distance I’ve ridden – amazing!
The line to board the ferry was short. Bikers are given priority boarding.
On these ferries, motorcycles are loaded at a 45 degree angle to the direction of the ship. You leave the bike on the side stand in low gear, and place a block under the side opposite the side stand. That’s it!
The ferry crossing to Powell River took about 90 minutes and was calm sailing.
Our hosts for the weekend live near Lund on about 20 acres. The place is beautiful and has a view of the water and surrounding islands.
They have a lot of fun home-made toys, like a giant teeter totter …
as well as some compound bows, which I’ve never tried before.
They suggested we stay here in Lund an additional day. Then they will accompany us on our ride down the Sunshine Coast and eastward to Lillooet, BC on the following day and needed to plan and prepare. Win-win for everyone!
So, Harald and I will do a little exploring on motorcycles in the morning. In the afternoon, our hosts will take us sailing on their boat. I can’t wait!