The break at the Empress had been a real tonic after the long ride from Stony Plain, ridden in three quite long days. It had been really easy to let yourself be taken over by the opulence and splendour of this lovely hotel, with equally lovely setting. Although Victoria is the Capital City of BC, with only about 3500 people, it felt like a big town. Now it was time to repack bags and get on our way again. We were still so ‘stuffed’ after the wonderful dinner the evening before, that we had to leave the complimentary breakfast. Wendy jokingly suggested we ask for ‘doggy bags’………. Instead, we gathered our belongings; filled the pannier bags and the two roll bags I lash onto the back of the GS. Our last indulgence, was too call for a porter to bring a luggage trolley and take our collection of bags down to the underground garage. We had been lucky enough to find a parking slot right in front of the entrance to the garage, along side a lovely British racing green Bentley! The bikes were in good company…….
Loaded once again, we pulled on helmets and gloves, fired up the bikes, checked in on the bike too bike radios and slowly rode out of the garage. Out in the open, I could finally turn on the GPS and let it search for the satellites. As it was a Sunday morning, the roads of downtown Victoria were pretty quiet. This made an otherwise hazardous left turn quite a simple matter. Clear of the garage, we headed up Douglas Street/ Route#1. Along the way we had to make a stop for gas and a top up for the trip to Tofino. Although the trip was only about 200 miles, you can never take it for granted that you will find fuel when you need it – I’d learned that one earlier! Once we had topped up, we headed North on Route #1. I had thought as it were a Sunday, the traffic would light – wrong, it was packed. We were in constant traffic from Victoria, all the way north to Nanaimo, where we turned West onto Highway #4 and the mountains.
Before we reached Nanaimo, we had climbed to quite a height above the water. As we rounded a left curve in the dual highway, I noticed a sign for a ‘View Point’ and decided to pull over for a photo opportunity. We pulled the bikes over to the right in between a few parked cars and immediately drew attention. A couple from Calgary came over and started chatting to Wendy about the Spyder, while two guys with their wives on a three week vacation from the Netherlands came over too look at the GS and chat bikes. It’s amazing how many people come over and chat about bikes, whether they still have then, have fond memories of their riding days or are inspired to go and get another. Either way, it is always fun just to talk ‘bike’. After I had taken a few photo’s of the view down into the scattered Islands below, it was back on with helmets and gloves and head North again.
The road to Nanaimo had been packed with traffic, so we were hardly able to relax and enjoy the ride. That and the seemingly endless string of traffic lights, made the run feel more like a trip into town. North of Nanaimo, we joined Route #19, then onto Route #4 West to Port Alberni and Tofino. The run up to Port Alberni took us into foothills and some interesting ‘twisties’. Nothing testing and we were held up for a while behind ‘boxes’ sticking religiously to the 80kph speed limit! Up to now everyone seemed to treat the speed limits as ‘advisory’ only. Not so with the couple of ‘boxes’ we now found ourselves stuck behind. They sat just under 80 ‘clicks’ on the windy hilly road. I eventually saw a gap, tapped down a gear and ‘Gertie’ and I shot forward, past the ‘box’. Wendy was no slouch and was soon following me as we made our way along more ‘twisties’. The countryside was getting more interesting as we climbed higher and we soon found ourselves riding past huge redwood cedars. A sign at the side of the road read, ‘Cathedral Grove’ and the pull over was packed so no chance to stop. Shame really, I have heard that trees are truly magnificent specimens – another day perhaps.
A little later, we rode into Port Alberni and looked for a suitable fuel and food stop. From the vantage point at a set of traffic lights, Wendy spotted the ‘Golden Arches’ about ½ mile ahead, so we elected to dine at ‘Mickies’ once again. We had noticed that McD’s in general, seem to be going through quite an overhaul of their properties. At home in Stony Plain, they are currently limited to drive through only and so it was at Port Alberni. We parked up the bikes at the foot of the deserted car park and joined the cars going through the ‘drive through’, doing our own, ‘walk through’! We reached the speaker where those disembodied voices ask for your order - nothing! A guy in a truck behind us leaned out of his window and suggested that the system was weight activated and although I am a mite heavy, still not sufficient to trigger the device. The guy kindly eased forward, hit the sensor and the disembodied voice asked for our order. After taking it, the voice said, “please drive to the first window”. We walked forward to pay, then walked to the next window to collect the food. It being McD’s, I use the term loosely……………. Anyway, we thought it was funny, but you probably had to be there to get the full humour of the situation.
Out of ‘Mickies’, we popped over the road – more fuel for ‘Sydders’ and a bathroom break for W and me. Fuelled and fed, we were soon on the road again for the last leg to Tofino. Well to be more accurate, the Best Western Tin-Wiz resort just a few kilometres outside of Totino, travelling on the famous Pacific Rim Highway. As we left Port Alberni, the road became narrower and it was clear from the surrounding geography, that it would also be quite interesting – in a biker sort of way! As we climbed, so we got into low cloud and more of a drizzle that actual hard rain. That combined with pretty testing roads, made for quite a scary ride for Wendy. We quickly learned that a bend marked 60kph could easily be taken at 80 on our bikes. However, a bend that read 40 or especially 30kph meant exactly that! I had to back off from time to time, allowing Wendy to get back in touch. Being a more experienced rider and the additional manoeuvrability of two wheels meant that if I got too immersed in the fun, I would quickly lose sight of my riding companion. In fairness, Wendy was riding sensibly and riding to the conditions that were quite testing. I on the other hand, was behaving like a hooligan! After what seemed like an eternity in the twisty rain soaked mountains, we suddenly appeared at sharp right hand turn where the road levelled out for our final 25km to our destination.
The sign for the hotel was quickly upon us and we made a left turn into a long tree and hedged lined driveway. From the rear, the hotel doesn’t look too inviting. The accommodation wings that I could see, were reminiscent of cheap two story motels. However, I know the level of research Wendy does in booking our stops, so was sure all would be well. We parked the bikes in front of reception and went inside to register. Having done so, we moved the bikes again to be adjacent to out room. We were in a second floor room, all of which have balconies and ocean view. We were no sooner inside, and Wendy was discarding bike gear and boots to get out onto the balcony. All of the miles since Victoria and the tense miles since Port Alberni over the wet and twisty mountain roads, were suddenly being washed away by the soothing sound of surf on sand. There really is nothing quite like the sound of the ocean.
Unpacking took minutes and we were soon in more relaxing gear and I was being dragged out for a compulsory walk along the beach. In fairness, it was nice to stretch legs after hours of being sat on a bike. The cove in which the hotel sits is quite small, but has a beautiful sandy beach. Although this is mid/late June, in this part of Canada this is still only regarded as spring! So, although the temperature was in the‘mid teens’, it was not as warm as some folks would expect it to be. The walk was pleasant none the less. On the way back, Wendy showed she was in touch with current trends and tried her hand at 'planking'!! I'll let you be the judge of the level of her success - bless. We returned to the room deciding on an early dinner. Unlike any Best Western we have ever stayed at before, this one had a proper restaurant, not the more common breakfast ‘nook’. We had taken a quick look at the menu and were quite dismissive of the range. All the same, we were hungry enough to dine at about 5:30pm. When we were given the menu, our waitress showed us one side, thennnnnn, the other! We almost went ‘ahhhhh’ together when we saw the full menu. Dinner was a lovely, relaxing, enjoyable affair with a standard of food well beyond our expectation. All washed down with a lovely bottle of Canadian wine. Back in the room, Wendy was soon under the covers, leaving me to play with the days photos in preparation for the Blog.
What a day! From the grand opulence of the Empress and the Capital City, too a very laid-back beach front hotel. From the bustling city streets teeming with people, to ambling along a sandy beach with only a handful of people in sight. From elegant dining rooms, to simplicity with a stunning view out onto the Ocean. What a day! Well that is it for now fan, time to get this into the Blog and another day of adventures tomorrow. Nite nite, see you again later.
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