Four day bike trip to Nanaimo area OCT 27 – OCT 30/23

[Ye Chu]

My third annual bike trip was posted as exploratory and it did not disappoint.

Oct 27: Everyone biked to horseshoe bay from their homes, exploring the Sea view TCT trail and Spirit trail. We got two flat tires getting to the ferry.

Oct 28: We biked 83 km in very hilly terrain from downtown Nanaimo to the Crow and Gate classic English pub, then to the idyllic Yellow Point Lodge located in the Ladysmith bog. We lunch on the sunny beach and we saw a whale. Then we biked back on the very challenging TCT, as it had a lot of tree fall with huge puddles. Some people walked the 2.5km. We finally got to the Haslam Creek suspension bridge in the middle of no-where. Biking back to Nanaimo was challenging as it was hard to find the trails and we missed one and had to bike on the highway for 500m! By the time we got back to the forest Parkway trail, it was dark out and it felt like a spooky Halloween night as you tried not to crash into a tree. Luckily I had lots of bike lights and could see the forest floor, while others ran out of batteries and had to walk difficult sections. A fun, but challenging day.

Oct 29: Out of 8 bikers, only three of us were up to biking the entire Gabriola Island. The highlights were the Malaspina Gallery which is like the Aurora Borealis meets Atlantis.  A fellow biker said he saw a painting of this place in a Madrid museum painted by an early explorer. A second highlight was the Drumberg Provincial park beach in full sunshine. We were entertained with a sea otter watching us. The last two highlights were the Entrance Island Lighthouse and Petroglyph park. In total, we biked 53 km in very hilly terrain.

Oct 30: On the last day, we wanted to see the Abyss and were told that due to active logging, the access trail was closed down. So, being intrepid NSH, we biked to a remote location away from the logging and tried to bush whack to the top of the ridge. We got very close, but a huge rock band blocked our way. We did reach a bike trail that would have taken us in a long 8 km loop to the Abyss, but my group wanted to catch the 1 pm ferry. I can’t believe they are logging the entire hillside so close to town and huge tourist attraction. But I guess it is vital for the survival of the community’s economy.

On the ferry ride back, we saw two humpback whales! Travelling to the islands always provide a great glimpse into wildlife. We got back to Horseshoe bay at 2:50 pm and biked back the way we started in full sunshine. All in all, one of the most interesting and challenging bike tours I have led.

 

• This topic was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by Ye Chu.

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