{"id":38042,"date":"2016-03-17T17:03:46","date_gmt":"2016-03-17T21:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/?p=38042"},"modified":"2020-04-07T14:12:19","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T18:12:19","slug":"travel-british-columbia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/2016\/03\/travel-british-columbia\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel \u2013 British Columbia"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Continuing (Mis)adventures of a Knucklehead, The Second Chapter<\/p>\n

Previously, David Williams and his mysterious riding partner, Fx, embarked on a four-day ride, but owing to poor planning and being easily distracted, the pair find themselves nowhere near their destination of Lund, British Columbia, so technically, the story hasn\u2019t even started yet
\nWith little left of the day and us being in Port Hardy (which is only a few hundred kilometres and a ferry ride away from where we were supposed to be), Fx and I burned it south.
\nWe were still rational enough to realize that evening was not the best time of day to burn it anywhere, what with all the signs promising caribou crossings for the next 65 km, so Fx broke out her trusty camping book.<\/p>\n

\"lake\"Nimpkish Lake, named for the Namgis First Nation, looked good. The book promised a stellar (and free) camping site. When we turned off the highway, the road was loose gravel and dirt once again. As the camping spot was several kilometres in from the highway, I scouted each section ahead, and then rode back to report on just how easy the next section was (I\u2019m such a liar). And that steep downhill section with the Y junction and a sharp hook right at the bottom with potholes and sections of deep gravel would be nothing for a fully loaded Suzuki 1250 Bandit with street tires. Being the Scottish trouper that she is, Fx would not back away from a challenge, especially when I lied so extravagantly about how easy it all was.
\nWe arrived at a spectacular setting on the shore of the lake and snagged the best spot, right at the end of the road. We had our own beach and no one near to bother us. Many kilometres long and at least a couple across, the lake and setting were deep-sigh beautiful, and I think this was the best of all the camping spots I\u2019d experience on this trip to Vancouver Island.<\/p>\n

Time for a Bath<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"boats\"Once we had established camp, there was a hint of rain in the forecast, so Fx displayed her extraordinary origami-like tarping skills, manufacturing quite a spacious two-tarp area for us between the tents to wander and cogitate while cooking and eating and reciting sections from our favourite Motorcycle Mojo editorials.<\/p>\n

It was about this point each evening that we would have a little debate about hygiene. Fx is a staunch advocate of actually bathing each day. I, on the other hand, believe in all things in moderation, especially hygiene while camping. The previous night, while Fx donned her bathing costume to refresh herself in McCreight Lake, I stayed back to guard the camp at great personal risk due to wildlife, and because the water was freaking cold. Tonight, after the verbal abuse I had taken the evening before, I was determined to brave the lovely looking waters of Nimpkish. I too donned my bathing costume and set out, all hearty-like, for the shore in my riding boots. (Try not to picture this in your mind, as it will only cause you discomfort.) At any rate, let\u2019s just say the water was quite refreshing. And as Fx splashed and swam and laughed like a madwoman, I made it all the way out from shore to my . . . crotchal area. One moment there was long enough to convince me that people who swim in lakes such as these must be women or eunuchs, and I ran for shore, screaming like a little girl. But my legs were clean. And a bluish colour. The next morning, day four of the four-day trip, we finally made the push down the coast of the Island to Comox and the ferry to Powell River, mere spitting distance to Lund and our original destination of Mile Zero! Nailed it! Except for the rain. The day we arrived in Lund, the entire purpose of this trip and when I was to begin taking photos, it rained. In fact, it had rained for the trip to Lund, as well, so we had arrived wet. But, there was the Mile Zero marker!<\/p>\n

The Start of a Beautiful Journey<\/strong><\/p>\n

Built in 2009 from locally sourced stone by Al McKenzie, a self-taught local stoneworker, and clad around the base with hand-painted commemorative tiles, the monument comes complete with a time capsule inside, should the tower ever be disassembled. Now, I have to be honest, whoever determined that this road is the same road as the one that ends in Chile 15,202 km away is a mystery to me. But to stand there, and think that you could just hop on your bike with a credit card and end up in Chile in a month or so just by sticking to this road is a bit of a rider\u2019s dream. In fact, the tower has become a bit of a magnet for touring motorcyclists since being built. As proof, when I arrived, there was a bike parked inside the fencing that surrounds the monument.<\/p>\n

A passing stranger asked me whether that was my bike, once he identified that my hi-viz riding gear wasn\u2019t actually a Power Ranger suit. \u201cNot mine,\u201d I replied. \u201cHunh,\u201d said he. \u201cIt\u2019s been there for about four days and nobody knows who it belongs to.\u201d Then he wandered off. This had me thinking two things: One, someone should maybe look into where the missing rider is, but not me. Two, they don\u2019t get really excited about parking illegally by the monument in Lund. So, I took pictures of the monument. We rode our bikes right out onto the edge of the pier and parked them to take more pictures, and rescued a couple of Americans whose rather large boat was trapped by another rather large boat, but nobody knew who the offending boat belonged to either, so we just untied it, let the Americans out, and then tried to re-tie the offending boat while the Americans motored happily away.<\/p>\n

I hope the boat was still there when the owner returned. I am not a sailor. Having soaked up all we could of Lund, and facing the fact that we weren\u2019t going to make it home that night, we searched out another charming campsite in the rain. I participated in more tarping extravagance, and Fx chose to bathe again. I was already wet enough. Do You Need Eagle Pictures? The next day dawned, and now a day past our allotted total trip time, it was obvious this ride was not working to plan, but what the heck? On down to Powell River and sun! This struck me as a photo op, and I acted accordingly. There was a nice stretch of the highway right along the beach, and I had the idea to have Fx ride back and forth while I attempted an artsy image of her blurred bike with the beach and water in focus in the background. I set up my tripod and camera on the side of the road away from the beach and lined up my shot. She started riding by, back and forth, as I\u2019d told her I\u2019d signal when I had enough shots. I\u2019m not sure she\u2019ll do that again. Just then, a black Ford F-150 pulled onto the shoulder close to where I was set up. It was Santa.<\/p>\n

Apparently, he hangs around that area in the off-season and drives his pickup while wearing plaid shirts and suspenders. As he approached, I tried not to make it obvious that I was in the presence of a celebrity. \u201cWhatcha doin\u2019?\u201d he asked with a cheery grin. I explained that I was working on a story for a motorcycle magazine and was taking some photos of a friend I had riding back and forth for the story. \u201cHunh,\u201d said Santa, and proceeded to chat about the town, the scenery and life in general as Fx continued to ride back and forth. Finally he said, \u201cDo you need some pictures of eagles? You can get some great pictures of eagles.\u201d And he proceeded to tell me where I could get some really great pictures of eagles. I thanked him, and explained that I\u2019d better get back to work. Fx was looking dehydrated, even through her full-face helmet. I lined up my shot as Santa drove off, and \u2013 \u201cWhatcha doin\u2019?\u201d I turned to find a fellow, at least in his 90s, complete with cane, plaid shirt and suspenders, but much slimmer than Santa. I went through my explanation again, trying to convey a sense of urgency as Fx rode by again, glaring at me through her visor. \u201cHunh,\u201d said the old-timer. \u201cYou know, you can get some great pictures of eagles right near here. Do you need any pictures of eagles?\u201d and on he went. He finally wrapped it up by saying, \u201cYou know, if you need some pictures of eagles, I\u2019ve got lots. I could send you some. I\u2019ll tell you what, just give me your business card, and I\u2019ll send you some pictures of eagles.\u201d Fx had to stop for gas. Friendly Locals Now, when you\u2019re on what\u2019s called the \u201cSunshine Coast,\u201d which is where Lund and Powell River are, you\u2019re on the mainland, but to get to the Lower Mainland, as in North Vancouver, where Williams HQ is, you actually have to take a couple of short ferry hops, because no one thought to build a bridge or a chunnel or something, and they already have a lot of ferries out there.<\/p>\n

Thus, we arrived at Saltery Bay for the first hop. But as we pulled up at the office with the mechanical arm that rises to let you into the loading area, we discovered that the office didn\u2019t open for another hour. Fortunately, like pretty much everywhere else north of Vancouver, there were some cheerful and relaxed employees inside who came out in the heat to talk to us, told us to just leave the bikes right there at the gate (blocking the entrance) and to just take a stroll up the road a piece to the caf\u00e9 and have some lunch. \u201cDon\u2019t worry about the bikes. We\u2019ll keep an eye on them.\u201d And they did. While dining at a picnic table, an affable young man whom we\u2019d never seen before decided to join us for lunch and tell us about all the hunting and fishing in the area, his work, his car, the guys he worked with, etc. Travelling around B.C., outside the large urban areas, is utterly charming. And you can camp for free! After ferry number one, it was on to the town of Gibsons, home of The Beachcombers television series, and another short ferry ride back to Horseshoe Bay, then a quick ride back to North Vancouver.<\/p>\n

As I was putting the story together in my head after our five-day adventure, I began to realize that this story isn\u2019t really about Mile Zero. It\u2019s about what happens when you\u2019re out there on the road and the people you meet and the places you find. \u201cI should really write about that,\u201d I thought, \u201cand not tell Editor Roberts, because he\u2019ll kill me when he sees how long this is, and that I didn\u2019t even really write about what I was supposed to.\u201d I didn\u2019t really get enough photos of the first part of the trip, so I should really go back to the Island and do the trip again by myself and get more photos. So I did. But I can\u2019t tell you about that because it will take several more pages and I\u2019d have to tell you about how I went to Victoria and rode up the west side to Port Renfrew, and how that Cowichan Lake road is a real corker (because I decided to ride across the island this time, too), and about saving the grandmother, and my bike blowing over from the extreme wind in Port Hardy, breaking my front brake lever and having to fix my luggage by beating it with my dad\u2019s hatchet and how there\u2019s another Mile Zero in Port Hardy, but it\u2019s for a different road, and about Lasqueti Island, where the American draft dodgers used to hide and now they don\u2019t like visitors and it\u2019s completely off the grid, and there\u2019s a house made of pop bottles and some people just live in tents year-round and . . . Well, maybe I\u2019ll tell you about that another time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Continuing (Mis)adventures of a Knucklehead, The Second Chapter Previously, David Williams and his mysterious riding partner, Fx, embarked on a four-day ride, but owing to poor planning and being easily distracted, the pair find themselves nowhere near their destination of Lund, British Columbia, so technically, the story hasn\u2019t even started yet With little left […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1031,228],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nTravel \u2013 British Columbia - Motorcycle Mojo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/2016\/03\/travel-british-columbia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Travel \u2013 British Columbia - 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