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.