Coastal Adventure Final Day: Victoria to North Vancouver

Thursday, September 21st, 2023

At long last I find myself coming to the end of this trip. For one on holiday, I find myself quite tired. I don't need to blather on about how different the adventure was from my expectations; you know that well enough by now dear reader, but I long for a familiar pillow and my own home. In the meantime I find myself for one last time in someone else's home and enjoy one last breakfast at someone else's table, ensconced in someone else's life. I breathe in the pleasure and privilege of the openness that has greeted me time and time again by friend, sibling and stranger. Save for putting these memories to "pen", it is all becoming a blur. My final moments in our friends' home are punctuated by embrace, from arms of all sizes, as expressions of gratitude for what has come to pass are expressed and promises and resolutions are exchanged for more of the same in the near future.

It is late morning and it is time for me to depart to catch my final ferry home. Once again the late-summer sun beams down on me as I route northwards along the incomparable Lochside Trail. I must pause to say that if you have any inclination to ride with friends and family on a fair day, take the Lochside Trail system as it provides a scenic, approachable and safe route between the Swartz Bay ferry terminal into central Victoria. It is 29 kilometers in length and for an afternoon of exercise and leisure you will find yourself in beautiful Victoria where you can toast to your adventure at any one of the lovely cafés or restaurants in town (or perhaps stay over for the night). In any event, I amble along the trail with little effort as a southerly wind pushes me to my destination. I exchange many a smile and wave at other cyclists and even pass by some riders on horseback who look to be just getting their bearings and can't quite manage such pleasantries.

In spite of leaving separately, Bre and I manage to catch the same ferry. The passengers are packed like sardines and because we have Abigail with us we are placed in a "pet area" on a car deck that feels like a processing chamber in a prison you see in the movies. We share some ferry food. I'm in it for the calories but will need an extended break from french fries for a while. The waters we sail on are choppy and the boat casts back and forth making for an uneasy ride. Abigail looks like she's had enough of this vacation nonsense. Yeah, me too.

The final stretch of my journey sends me through the southern farmlands of the Fraser Valley; for the remainder of my ride I have an almost unobstructed view of the sun's westerly descent. By chance or synchronicity, (there seems to be a lot of that on this trip) I bump into a riding friend at the peak of the Alex Fraser Bridge. It seems word has spread of my little adventure and he asks about how the trip is going. We chat about the intricacies and quirks of bike travel as the mighty Fraser rushes underneath and rush-hour traffic thunders behind. We say our goodbyes and I carry on; it's getting dark and despite that ferry food my body needs more fuel. So close to home and yet so very hungry I now resort to spooning globs of nutella into my mouth with a spoon as I ride (snack bags have their purpose). I'm almost there and the sun is almost gone. I can't wait to have a shower and get out of these ridiculous cycling clothes.

I finally arrive home. Night has fallen and I gratefully accept an open door from a neighbor at the entrance to our building complex. I prop my mobile home up against a wall, take a shower and collapse into bed. It has been what seems to be a long, long time since I was last here.

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Total Distance Travelled: 624.1 kilometers

Total Elevation Climbed: 6280 meters

Total Ride Duration: 29 hours, 33 minutes

Thank you for coming along on this wild trip with me, dear reader! As I have mentioned, a number of you have joined mid-way through the journey and as such have missed some of the adventure. With this in mind I will be compiling the entire collection into one location (to be determined) so you can go back to the days you have missed. Further to this, I have been toying with the idea of producing some short essays from thoughts on this trip that I think will stand nicely on their own (any one of them would have made the blog too cumbersome). Should I go ahead with this idea, you can expect one to two in the coming weeks. If you no longer wish to receive my ramblings please simply reply to this email and I will remove you from the list. Again, thank you for your time and attention. I have received a lot of great feedback from this project and am quite inspired to continue to write as time allows.

With gratitude,