Ride Day 15: Whistler to Nanaimo

Another double day.  The first part is confirmation that what goes up must come down.  The run from Whistler to Squamish is all downhill.  That ought to be fun.  And from Squamish to the ferry terminal is rollers.  While the overall distance is significant on the day, it shouldn't be too bad given the amount of downage.

Our first leg:


From Horseshoe Bay we catch the ferry to Nanaimo.  That will be a few hours of rest.  Then, once back on the island we head south for a few miles to Ladysmith.  Here's the day's second leg:

We were pleased to have done the Sea to Sky (Vancouver to Whistler) and then easy part, Sky to Sea (the opposite).  We did the downhill part fairly fast, keeping it civilized, but the total time going down the road was nearly 2 hours less than the time going up the road.  It is one of the prettiest rides we have done but the volume of traffic is pretty high and that is a distraction.  Still, the shoulder on the road is good and the big trucks are all courteous.  All things considered, we’d recommend the ride.

We were pleased to have done the Sea to Sky (Vancouver to Whistler) and then easy part, Sky to Sea (the opposite).  We did the downhill part fairly fast, keeping it civilized, but the total time going down the road was nearly 2 hours less than the time going up the road.  It is one of the prettiest rides we have done but the volume of traffic is pretty high and that is a distraction.  Still, the shoulder on the road is good and the big trucks are all courteous.  All things considered, we’d recommend the ride.

Black Tusk

Cheakamus River

Tantalus

Tantalus

The first three hours out of Whistler we were “light,” without two of four panniers.  But we stopped in Squamish to grab the bags that we’d left and we were instantly “heavy” again (and it made a big difference)!

South of Squamish, heading toward Vancouver

Howe Sound

Shannon Falls

Mt. Garibaldi(?) over Howe Sound from Brittany Bay

We hopped on the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo ferry and after about a 1 ½ ride across the Georgia Strait we were back on Vancouver Island.  The ferry always lets the walk-on passengers and bikes off the ferry first (to avoid conflict with the cars, which tend to be in rather a hurry to get off), so we were on the road to Ladysmith, our stop for the night, in no time at all.

We had time for ice tea in Horseshoe Bay before the ferry boarded -- it is hot outside

Horseshoe Bay

Our ride for the afternoon

Heading out to Vancouver Island

Preparing to dock in Nanaimo

An old, no-longer-used lighthouse

We had 45 km still yet to ride to Ladysmith, and already had 120 km done on the day.  So at over 100 miles this was our longest day ever on the tandem.  Fortunately, a lot of it was downhill but still we had a ton of climbing.  But we were in our place in Ladysmith by 1800 and, being tired and wanting to get cleaned up, we called the local pizza delivery joint.

We are taking it easy this morning with a short ride to Crofton, then a short ferry ride to Saltspring Island where we are hanging out for 3 or 4 days.  Our hard riding is pretty much done.  An odd and kind of sad feeling for us since we love the daily rides.  But on the other hand, we're ready for a break and especially since our daughter is meeting us on the island. 

Cheers!

Ride Day 14: Squamish to Whistler

It is mostly up from Squamish to Whistler (i.e., sea (Squamish) to sky (Whistler)) and we hope to leave a couple of panniers at the Howe Sound Brewery -- we'll be passing back through on our way back in a day or two and it would be great to lighten the load going up  The climbing is actually pretty minor compared to what we've done in the past, so it shouldn't be too bad.  Just a gradual, slow grind on das bike.

We've always enjoyed Whistler, especially in winter though it gets pretty crowded.  Summer is fun, too, especially watching the downhill bike guys flying off the ramps.  Our wheels are happy being firmly on the road.  Keeping the rubber-side down!

It was a bit smoky in Squamish this morning.  The interior of BC is burning pretty badly with hundreds of wildfires and the smoke is making its way to the coast.  It looks to be heavier to the northeast, toward Whistler.

We had a good breakfast at the Howe Sound Brewery where we stayed last night – the brewery has guest rooms and we’ve stayed there many times.  The addition of breakfast is a new thing.  And speaking of new things, Squamish is really growing and getting fancy – flowers, street vendors, gentrification.  It is no doubt experiencing the same growing troubles that many towns are, notably Bend.

From Squamish to Whistler is about 75 km and about 1,500 meters of climbing.  There is nothing that is super steep, but it is a fairly constant climb.  But we left 2 panniers at the brewery in Squamish and took just what we needed for a night in Whistler – that lightened our load significantly.  We’ll pick up our panniers on the way back through tomorrow.  But watch out for bears!

I promise to not feed them

Tantalus in the center

Cheakamus River flowing out of Garibaldi lake/reservoir

They had a big winter but the reservoir is super low

We just get into rhythm on the climb and grind it out. It is chilly first thing in the morning but it heats up fairly quickly to the upper 20s – pretty warm to be riding a 3 hour climb.  But we take breaks every hour and the weather is perfect (save the smoke) and it is a nice ride.

We made it!

The ski runs on the Whistler side

And on the Blackcomb side

We get into the main village at Whistler before mid afternoon.  It is always fun to be here, but wow, the place is swarming.  It is mostly families on vacation but there are thousands of the gravity bike guys – I have heard that Whistler actually has more summer revenue on the lifts than winter revenue because the gravity bikes ride the lifts up, then go down by, well, gravity.  And the buzz really seems to have caught on as there are lift lines in summer just like there is in winter.  And that doesn’t even consider the many thousands of folks who go up the lifts to see the sights and ride the Peak to Peak gondola.

We took a nice hike out to Lost Lake, then retreated to our room to turn on the air conditioning.

Discussing the latest big air

The gravity park

Creek flowing out of Lost Lake

Lost Lake

 Tomorrow is a long day to Horseshoe Bay, then a ferry to Nanaimo (back to Vancouver Island), then to south Ladysmith.  I guess in a big sense we’re heading home, but first we get a week with our youngest out in the Gulf Islands.

Ride Day 13; Sea to Sky

So long Vancouver, we are heading north on the Sea to Sky highway to Whistler.  But first, we ride to Squamish to enjoy this beautiful place and stay at the Howe Sound Brewery.  We have stayed here so many times when our daughter was at a nearby university and have fond memories of nights in the pub with the crazy locals watching Canuk hockey games!

Back to Squamish.

It has been several years since we’ve been to Squamish, a neat town at the upper end of Howe Sound that we have spent a lot of time in.  Lorie was a bit nervous about the ride from Vancouver up the Sea to Sky highway but it was a nice, if lumpy, ride.

We rode the Sea Bus to downtown yesterday (Sunday) and spent the day yesterday doing a brewery tour through East Vancouver.  After a fun breakfast and coffee, we must have visited six or 7 of them and we were still walking at the end of it all!  OK, the beer was good but as dear Ali proposed when she submitted her entry for the tag line for the contest put on by a brewery in Squamish (“why buy our beer”), “Because you can’t buy Oregon beer here!? Still true.

The view from the Sea Bus

Breakfast and coffee

More

Beer 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8; I've lost count

 And for those (3 of you) who wonder, yes, we walked about 5 miles back to the West End to Denman to get a gelato at Mums.  Sadly, it is no longer there. 

But, back to the blog, we got a good start from the fancy hotel in Vancouver and rode Marine Drive back to Horseshoe Bay. Rather than getting in the ferry queue we merged into the Sea to Sky Hwy and headed north. It was still early so traffic was light but there is a good shoulder.  We have driven this road many times and it is such a different experience riding versus driving.

Leaving Vancouver

On the Sea to Sky Hwy

Great coffee in Brittany Beach

The Chief

There's a decent shoulder but lots of traffic

Shannon Falls

Early morning this time of year means a southerly inflow along Howe Sound, which translates into tailwind.  Cool.  We made great time over the notorious hill north of Fury Creek and the no-less-brutal hill north of Britannia Beach, and were in Squamish by mid-afternoon. 

Might as well practice our slack lining:

(Sheesh, this is tough!)

We are off to Whistler tomorrow, a long gradual slog up to the top of the Sea to Sky.