Guest Post: 2023 Cycle of Life Tune-Up

David Pope is a long-time Cowichan Hospice volunteer. Click here to donate to David’s Fundraising Page

 

The idea

 

I have two passions: I am a long-time hospice supporter and I love to ride my bicycle. In 2023, the 200km Cycle of Life Tour (COLT) hospice fundraiser does not happen until August. I had the inclination to go for a ride in the Spring. With relatives living near Smithers in north central BC, we have driven there several times over the years and I have often thought “this would make a nice bicycle ride.”

 

An attraction of bicycle touring is that when you go through the country at 20 km per hour, you get to hear, smell and see more details than speeding past in a car. My commuting to work several days a week on my bicycle and occasional long weekend rides made me think I could easily get into the rhythm of a longer ride. I have done bicycle touring before and thought, hey, I can do this!

 

In the weeks before leaving, I gathered together my camping equipment, tested what sorts of freeze-dried meals I would take, and dreamed about riding. I decided to leave on the May long weekend and my only deadline was to be at the Bear Cove ferry terminal near Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island on Saturday, May 27 for the 6pm ferry to Prince Rupert.

 

To have a bit of COLT interest, I decided that I would visit the hospice offices as I went along Vancouver Island. No advance arrangements were made as I wasn’t sure how fast I might be or exactly what day and time I would be at a particular hospice. I also decided to make the route bend a bit so I could see friends in Cedar near Nanaimo and relatives in Courtenay.

 

I was too over-committed at work to try any loaded test runs and it was late on the long-weekend Saturday when I went looking for the front rack for my bicycle so I could carry panniers (saddle bags) front and rear, as well as gear in a handlebar bag and on the back rack. Oh bummer! Too late to go to the store and buy a different one, I discovered that the front rack I have does not fit my newer touring bicycle with disc brakes! I had my older touring bike with rim brakes rebuilt this spring to use as a back-up commuter, and although I hadn’t ridden it for several years, I knew it was a trusty steed it is a “Volpe” (Italian for “horse”) and I’ve ridden thousands of kilometers on it.

 

Day One: May 21: 3.9 hours, 70km Shawnigan Lake to Cedar

So, Sunday was hard-focussed, putting racks on the bike, making sure everything could be stuffed into the panniers, and by mid-afternoon, I ate a sandwich, filled my water bottles and was ready to leave. Oh wow! The bike with 60lbs of stuff hanging on it was a lot more work to pedal and control than the bare bike alone! After the first 200 metres, I stopped and reorganized and redistributed weight between bags, then trundled on. First through Duncan, and I found a looney on the road leaving town so I had a good luck dollar already. Just under 4 hours later, after discovering that I had to walk and push the bike up some steep hills in rural Cedar (I hadn’t noticed they were that steep in the car!) I arrived at my friends to a welcome beer and pasta and salad supper. That night I had a hard look at what I was carrying and left a bag with about 10lbs of stuff I decided wasn’t that vital in their closet, to be picked up when I next drive to visit.

 

Day 2, Monday May 22: 5.3 hours, 60km To Rathtrevor Provincial Park

Off by 9am, a sunny day. I know Nanaimo Hospice is near the hospital, so I follow the signs towards the hospital and just after entering town, oh drat: my first flat tire! I pulled off the road, took the bags and wheel off when a fellow came out of his house 50 feet away and said, “I’m a cyclist, come to my place and I’ll help you fix it.” Geoff was a great help and in half an hour I was back on the road looking for the hospital. I ended up asking someone in a hospital gown sitting outside the hospital chain-smoking cigarettes if she knew where the hospice was and was told, “I think it’s over there” (pointing) so I rode what ended up being a big circle, and with the help of my friend Siri and Google maps, arrived at the hospice office to find it was closed – of course, it’s the Monday of a long weekend – so I took a selfie and rode off to find the E & N Railway path that parallels the old island highway almost to the north end of the city. A really nice paved route, with only occasional other bike traffic and walkers. Then on the highway all the way to Parksville and great luck – a walk-in campsite at Rathtrevor Provincial Park with hot showers and flush toilets – luxury! Great supper of freeze-dried something (just add boiling water, stir and let sit 10 minutes) and to bed at 7:30pm. Peaceful quiet sleep until I got up at 5am for a bathroom break and there was a momma deer and Bambi standing less than 2 metres from me on the path. I quietly said “hi” and mom snorted and then the two of them slowly ambled off. Wow, close to nature!

 

Day 3 Tuesday May 24: 8.9 hours, 93km to Courtenay

Breakfast was regular oatmeal that I had soaked overnight then slowly heated up on my camp stove. Surprisingly not bad for not being cooked for the usual 10 minutes. Then a short ride into Parksville to Arrowsmith bicycles who fixed my bike headset that had come loose, (lifesavers, repaired while I waited!) then to the Oceanside Hospice office in Qualicum Beach where I had a very pleasant meeting with volunteer coordinator Suzanne who gave me a snack and took my photo beside their new sign. Downhill back to the highway and whoosh—my second flat, again on the front tire! Found a park bench took tire off and repaired it then asked Siri to navigate me to the closest bike shop (which of course was back uphill) where I bought a replacement tube and had a chat with the owner about my recurring flat front tire, (heavy load on the front makes it susceptible to “snake bite” flats when I hit a bump or pothole and my small pump has difficulty getting enough air into a tire to make it sufficiently hard to ride with a heavy load) then went next door to the grocery store and bought lunch. Proceeded gingerly back down to highway and thereafter made an extra effort to avoid potholes and sharp bumps. Stopped at the beautiful Oceanside Hospice facility in Courtenay and had a chat with the two care workers on duty then headed to my cousin’s home. A discovery that it was up a long, long hill (apparently 8% and a kilometer and a half long) and that others pushing their bicycles up it had worn a path in the grass alongside, as did I. Finally arrived at my cousins only to find that Bob had just dropped a big pot of spaghetti sauce before I knocked on the door. Got to spend near 2 hours chatting while helping to clean sauce from the floor, walls and cupboards, but we decided to leave the ceiling for their son to clean and repaint. Luckily there was enough sauce left for me to enjoy (it was good!) but an interesting example of the physics of splatter – who knew that a pot of sauce could paint a whole kitchen with just one bounce! No problem in falling asleep in the comfortable bed in the guest room.

 

Day 4, Wednesday May 24: 2.8 hours and 45km to Campbell River Hospice and then 6.1 hours and 81km to Sayward municipal campground

The oceanside route really is interesting and pretty. At the Black Creek Community Hall, they are advertising Body Rolling on Tuesdays. Nobody around to explain what that was. Looked it up later to find that it is yoga with different-sized exercise balls but in the meantime had fun speculating as to what it might be. I was passed separately by two women on electric bikes on the path going into Campbell River. Neither had a bell or called out to let me know they were passing. A reminder that it is both for etiquette and safety that we should call out or give a warning when we are passing someone from behind. A pleasant meeting and photo at the Campbell River Hospice (again uphill) and then back down to the highway and northward. Once thorough Campbell River there is only one road, and I am sharing it with all other traffic. First 20km or so busy, but then traffic thins out and it is quite peaceful. Long hills and then headwinds to get to Sayward. My Garmin says I have climbed 1,791 metres today. That’s close to 6,000 feet of climbing and my body knows it! Got to Sayward Junction and because the two commercial campgrounds are within 200 metres of the highway, decided to go the extra 10km into Sayward Village because they have a municipal campground and it should be quiet. It was quiet, along a body of water and across from a baseball park and playground. Supper of another freeze-dried gourmet meal and fell asleep to the sound of children playing in the park.

Day 5, Thursday May 25: Sayward to Port McNeil 12 hours, 150km

I didn’t start off the day thinking I would try to get to Port McNeil, it just worked out that way. First, there is no commerce at all in Sayward Village and I was too early through the highway junction to wait for the store to open to buy a banana or apple, so I just headed on out. Well, I remember from driving that there were long hills after Sayward, but wow, are they ever long! I am still sore from yesterday and decided to ease the pain in my backside, ride for 10 minutes then walk the bike for 10, then ride for 10, etc. I am actually headed North-West into the centre of Vancouver Island, and wouldn’t you know it, whenever I get to the top of a hill, I am facing a headwind. Mid-afternoon arrive at the Village of Woss and take a short tour of the very quiet settlement. A pleasant stop and chat at the public library, a very nice facility for a small settlement, then back to the highway to the only restaurant/bar for a lunch. Dying for a salad but the only thing available is hamburger and fries. The friendly young woman put lots of lettuce and tomatoes on the burger and it was much appreciated. Ladies at the library told me there are pleasant campsites along Nimpkish Lake, I just have to pick the right road down to find them.  Try as I might, anything going towards the lake peters out in toilet paper and garbage. No help from Siri, (no service) so I just kept plugging on.  Much later at home I studied the backroads map book and see that I should have turned down the Nimpkish Forest Service Road but when I looked at it from the highway I was intimidated by the rough and rocky gravel. Oh well, I’ll know for next time.

My recollection is of seeing bears on this stretch while driving and I wondered if I might just smell like a burger and fries if I stopped. So I kept on going as afternoon faded to twilight by the time I got down to the service station at Nimpkish heights, about 7km from Port McNeil. Stopped, put on the headlight and taillight brought for unplanned dark-ish excursions and carried on into Port McNeil, down through town, up an extremely rough gravel goat path (road!?) to the municipal campground. Put up my tent by the light of my headlamp, boiled water for freeze dried something and then to bed around 11pm. Battery in my watch died after 11.5 hours showing 139km and 1,263 metres climbing, and that was still long before town.

Pretty tired after a long day of hills.

 

Day 6 Friday May 26: Port McNeil to Port Hardy 3 hours 44km

OK, I just have to get to Port McNeil to catch the ferry tomorrow. The day starts out misty, never really raining but never clearing up. Sore and tired from yesterday, and to start out it’s 2km uphill from downtown Port McNeill to the highway. Can’t remember the highway other than misty, but early afternoon it was clear and I hauled into North Coast Backpackers Hostel in downtown Port Hardy. Welcoming, clean and friendly. After a shower, I walked to grocery store feeling salt and sugar-deprived and bought and ate a bag of chips and half a box of cookies, then slept until 6. Next door, a Korean sushi restaurant gave me a great meal and then I explored the waterfront. Host at the hostel showed me on the map the short cut to ferry terminal at Bear Cove so I didn’t have to go back up the long hill to the highway. To bed early and 11 hours of sleep.

 

Day 7 Saturday May 27: Port McNeil to Bear Cove 0.8 hr and 10km

Easy ride, some on a paved path near the waterfront, some hard packed fine gravel through the woods, and some on the paved road. Got to the ferry terminal early and checked in. While waiting, a fellow came up and introduced himself and showed me his touring bicycle. Michael is from Montreal, retired this January and flew with his bicycle and gear to Vancouver, put his bike together at the airport, rode out to Horseshoe Bay, ferry to Nanaimo then rode up island on the same route I had taken a day before me. We had several hours to chat before the ferry finally left an hour and a half late, and found that we really enjoyed each other’s company. He is aiming to ride all the way to Newfoundland. He had spent months planning his trip and while he had done bike touring a decade or more ago, he hadn’t done any recently. He was carrying so much more gear than I was – stove, several pots, knives, forks spoons, espresso maker, freeze-dried food for weeks, several locks and a security system in case he had to leave his bike unattended – and all sorts of wonderful technology. Only drawback was that his gear must have weighed 100 pounds! We walked our bikes onto the ferry, locked them together with a cable and a heavy-duty U-lock, set the security system and adjourned to the upper deck cafeteria where we indulged in the biggest meals we could buy with beers and desserts! Decided to share the cabin I had reserved; we each are carrying ear plugs so as to be able to ignore the other’s snoring. 

 

The ferry ride to Prince Rupert really is a superb experience, and going north it stayed daylight late. This is a stunningly beautiful part of the country, blue water, green mountains with still lots of snow on them. Didn’t see any whales but did see other ships and tugs pulling barges. Really a great rest! Slept through our dockings at Bella Bella and Bella Coola in the middle of the night. Went for a walk on deck Sunday and my GPS shows me walking 20km on water. I’m sure there’s a story I can milk out of that!

 

Day 8 Sunday May 28: Prince Rupert 0.5 hr 5km

Even though we left late, the Northern Adventurer made up the time and we arrived in Prince Rupert at the scheduled 4pm. Walked on deck during the day and my GPS shows me as walking on water for 20km. There’s got to be the potential for a story there.

 

After docking, uphill (of course) from the terminal to town then to the B&B that Michael had reserved and it began to rain. 250 days a year of measurable precipitation in this town I have read. Checked in, then walked back downtown in ever-heavier rain to buy supper at the Safeway store delicatessen. An assortment of 5 or 6 salads and entrees and desserts, of course. Then watched some forgettable movie on the TV.

 

Day 9 Monday May 29: Prince Rupert to Kasiks Resort 5.9 hours 89km

Great veggie omelet breakfast by our host Andrea. She is a real go-getter, has 17 suites she rents in Rupert, has a dog and cat, a hotel and is planning to start a distillery! Michael found and gifted to her a big (1 or 2 lb) combination lock that he was carrying as a spare and decided that he really didn’t need. Rain in the morning. Uphill over the Rainbow pass, then the day eventually changed to just a cool overcast. Actually, nice riding weather, and my body felt so much better after two days of mostly resting. This resort, near halfway between Prince Rupert and Terrace was formerly a Highways Department bunkhouse and equipment storage area that has been purchased by the local First Nation and is being developed into a wilderness resort and campground. There was only one other guest and we were very well treated. Clean and spacious room, great supper (“Western” Chinese food and Pavlova for dessert) and a delicious breakfast of sausages, eggs, potatoes and healthy smoothies. As we were getting ready to leave in the morning a very small fox that had obviously been semi-tamed came up to us looking for food. Unfortunately, we had none to give it, but it was interesting to see the kit so near and not shy of humans at all.

 

Day 10 Tuesday May 30, Kaskiks to Terrace and then Kleanza Creek Campground 6.7hrs 80km

Photo with the grizzly in the Kasiks lounge. That’s as close as I want to get!

A day of intermittent showers, sun and overcast. Frequent stops for stretching and snacks. Got to Terrace around 2pm, spied the first restaurant (Boston Pizza) and it was Tuesday pasta on special day! Ate a big lasagne with cheesecake dessert, then navigated through town and continued west to Kleanza Creek Provincial Park campground. Cruised around the campground beside a rushing and bubbling creek and then set up one campsite away from the park host. Have to love being a BC senior at the provincial park campgrounds; half price to stay. No shower and just pit toilets at this one and 250 metre walk for potable water, but feels like really camping. The charming park host let us know that there had been a bear and cougar in the neighbourhood and allowed us to store our food bags in the (unlocked) rear seat of her vehicle overnight. Ah, another demonstration of Michael’s planning, a 3-person tent (“So there’s room for me and all my stuff”) multiple pots and cooking utensils. My old MEC Tarn 2 was leading edge tent technology in the 1980s but certainly down-market now! My stove and one pot is sufficient for my meal of freeze-dried something and I only had to wash my one spoon to clean up. 8:30pm bedtime and a peaceful night with no wild animal visitors.

 

Day 11, Wednesday May 31. Kleanza Creek—Junction of Highways 16 and 37—New Hazelton 6.5 and 3.4 hours, total 9.9 hrs 78 + 45 = 123km

A morning of light rain, cool mist, rain gear on and off many times, eventually giving way to filtered sunshine. Tired and sore, many snack and exercise stops (“Old men with back sides to highway demonstrating how to use concrete barriers to aid in stretching”). Lunch at a stop of interest regarding paddle wheel steamers on the Skeena River. Freeze-dried Mac and Cheese that contains 98% of a day’s recommended sodium. We split it, so only got 49% each from that meal, but I suppose we sweat out enough that we can handle all of a day’s recommended salt intake and more. How many bottles of water with Nuun tablets can I swallow in a day?

 

Had a bear encounter along the way. It was in the ditch on the left and ambled across to the right while we stopped well back and watched it snuffling along in the ditch on the right. Then we switched to the left side of the road and went like mad for half a kilometer! There is really not much other than wild country until you get to the junction where the highway to Nisga’a territory takes off north so we were glad to get to the restaurant there at 5:30 PM. The waitress mentioned “I had to go to Terrace today and passed you both going and coming back. You’re lucky you made it here now because we close in half an hour.”

 

We quickly ordered the day’s special (grilled cheese and ham sandwiches, fries and soft drinks, chocolate bar dessert) and looking at the clock and how long it would stay light called ahead to a motel in New Hazleton and made a reservation for around 3 hours from now. Off, not so fast, with a heavy meal but at least it’s not raining and the wind is at our backs. Hills are challenging and one of Michael’s technological wonders is a readout that tells how far to the next hill, how long it is and what % grade it is. Sometimes I just don’t want to know – just let me suffer – until it’s over and then I can celebrate! I had forgotten how rolling (big rolling) up and down it is to New Hazelton. Arrive there almost 9:30pm, get to the Subway just before it closes and order two big breakfast sandwiches, there’s a beer store across the street, pick up a couple of thirst quenchers, then 200 metres more to our motel. A motel from the ‘70s, but friendly, clean, hot showers and got the senior’s rate! A beer and just one bite of the breakfast sandwich resulted in a second beer and the rest of the sandwich, but it all went down so easily that there was clearly lots of capacity generated in that last ride.

 

Called my lovely wife Diane in Smithers. She will drive to New Hazleton in the morning and take our heavy bags back with her, so we should have a relatively easy day carrying only one bag of snacks each.

Witset, where the Bulkley River squeezes down to 10 metres wide and First Nations have been spearing salmon for around 5,000 years (but not on this day, as no fish running)

 

 

 

 

Day 12, Thursday June 1: New Hazleton to Smithers, 7.1 hours, 81km

Diane arrived at the motel early in the morning and joined us for breakfast at the only restaurant open. Then she took off with our bags (beep, beep, wave goodbye) and we got underway. Oh, I had forgotten that the first 4km leaving New Hazleton was all uphill. And there’s more! We have climbed out of the Skeena River Valley, over a height of land and are headed down into the Bulkley River Valley. We are both remarkably sore, especially where we sit on the bikes. Lots of pauses for stretching exercises. Snack stops are focused on what can we eat that weighs the most to lighten our loads. Did we stop for lunch? I can’t remember. Diane met us at the west side of Smithers to take a photo, then jumped into the car and went home to make supper. It’s uphill into Smithers as well, then through Smithers, as where we are going is actually half way to Telkwa. Got to ride the new paved bicycle path parallel to the highway that goes east from Smithers half way to Telkwa, then north on Old Babine Lake Road, (“oh no, not another hill!”) then 1 km of washboard gravel, then pushing our bikes up the last 600 metres of steep gravel driveway. Arrived! Finally!

 

Summary

Around 73 hours in the saddle and 930 km that included finding the hospices.

I am humbled and feel so lucky and grateful that I am able to get out and ride! Hospice is there for the people who don’t have that option.

Every hospice office on the east side of Vancouver Island is up a hill, except for Victoria and the actual Oceanside Hospice in Courtenay. All the people I met at the hospices are charming and obviously dedicated and passionate about their work.

Better to actually train on the bike and with the load I am going to carry, than to assume that because I have done it before I can “just do it again.”

It is so much more pleasant to share the trip, even if much of the conversation is about how hard the going is.

Technology today is all about lighter equipment and more information availability, but it requires power and batteries are heavy.

Michael lightened his load by over 20lbs in Smithers (left a bag to be sent to a friend).