Missed It By That Much

After four wonderful days, and five equally wonderful nights, this morning began with the realization that all this wonderfulosity (SO not a word) was about to officially move into the past tense as the time had come to leave not only Jan and Rick, but Vancouver too.

It was a morning of mixed emotions. My stay with Jan and Rick was more than I could have imagined (and I can imagine quite a bit) so it was sad to have to say goodbye. On the flip side, I was also very eager to start the next phase of my journey. Having never travelled along the U.S. west coast, the prospect of such a trip is very exciting.

And so, after a quick photo with Jan and Rick (plus a hug from Jan) I set off for the ferry terminal in Tsawwassen. My goal for the day was Victoria where another Warm Showers host, Anne, had offered me accommodation for the night. With the ride to Victoria being only about 85 km (excluding kilometres travelled on the ferry), I figured there would be time for a couple of planned stops along the way. There was. It was the unplanned stops that had a slight impact on my day.

My first unschedule stop occurred after I left North Vancouver via the Lion’s Gate Bridge. Actually, it was after I crossed the Burrard Bridge where I noticed a “Welcome To Vancouver” sign which had eluded me for the past four days. And there was even a good spot to put my mini-tripod. I probably spent more time there than I should have, trying to get the perfect picture. Much like the sign, the perfect picture also eluded me. But I managed to get a couple of good shots.

From there I resumed my ride towards my first scheduled stop. Progress was a bit slow as I worked my way through the city and more than a few stop lights and stop signs. On the upside, most of the route was off the main roads so traffic was minimal. Before long I had made my way out to the airport. No, I wasn’t about to fly anywhere – although, based on my Philadelphia experiment, it wouldn’t have been out of the realm of possibility. While I wasn’t flying anywhere today, I made my second unscheduled stop to take a couple of pictures of planes as they passed directly above me.

With the somewhat slow progress and two photo stops, I was now a bit behind schedule. My first scheduled stop was still about 10 km away and I was supposed to be there in 10 minutes. I put my camera away and focused on the task at hand.

The task at hand was to get to Steveston as close to 11:00 as possible. That ended up being about 11:30. Better late than never, right? My first scheduled stop was actually a two-for-one stop. The location was Pajo’s, a Fish & Chips restaurant on the wharf which I fondly remembered from the days when I lived out here. Plus, I was meeting a friend with whom I used to work – also when I lived out here 18 years ago.

When I arrived at Pajo’s, two things were clear. Chris was already there and Pajo’s looked just as I remembered it. And both were great to see again. Chris and I reminisced and caught up on what each other had been up to over the past two decades – and we did so while enjoying fish & chips served in a newspaper wrapping. As scheduled stops go, this was a good one.

The Tsawwassen Ferry terminal was the next major stop on today’s ride. However, in order to get there I needed to make a minor stop at the George Massey Tunnel. This was not an optional stop. Bicycles are not allowed in the George Massey Tunnel but fortunately there is a free shuttle that runs hourly.

My initial plan was to catch the 1:00 shuttle. I figured that would give me enough time to get to the ferry terminal to catch the 2:00 ferry. With my late arrival at Pajo’s and the good time I was having visiting with Chris, it became clear I wasn’t going to make the 1:00 shuttle. Or the 2:00 ferry. And I was fine with that. I bumped my schedule an hour and hung out with Chris a bit longer.

Eventually though, it was time to move on – the shuttle (and ferry) waits for no one! And so I said goodbye to Chris and Pajo’s and began the 10 km ride to the George Massey Tunnel. I arrived 15 minutes before the 2:00 shuttle which would’ve been ideal timing if not for the fact that there isn’t actually a 2:00 shuttle. It would seem I misread the schedule and the next shuttle wasn’t scheduled to depart until 3:00. Oops. I suddenly found myself with an hour to fill. I won’t lie, it wasn’t a particularly productive hour but at least I managed to take a few photos.

When the shuttle departed at 3:00, only one other cyclist was on it. His name was Kelly and he commutes between Tsawwassen and Vancouver by bike. Kelly was heading in the same direction as me and he was kind enough to escort me towards the ferry terminal. There wasn’t much traffic along the way so for much of the ride we were able to travel side by side and chat. Much of the talk centred around cycling but I also confirmed my suspicion that Kelly works in radio. As a video editor, I’ve listened to enough voice over talent to recognize a good voice when I hear it.

Kelly and I parted company about 9 km from the ferry terminal with Kelly giving me directions for the remainder of my route. The race was now on. We made good time to this point but I was going to have to get a move on if I was to catch the 4:00 ferry. And, unlike the shuttle, I knew I read the ferry schedule correctly.

I could write a long paragraph about the race to the ferry but this update is already running more than a bit long. Bottom line is that the story ends with me missing the 4:00 ferry. With about 2 km to go I heard the ferry’s horn blast and I knew the race was lost. Sigh. I feel like I barely missed the boat but in reality I probably needed to be there 15 minutes earlier. Between buying my ticket and navigating my way to the actual departure berth, it really wasn’t all that close. But it did mean that my arrival in Victoria was now going to be closer to 8:00 than the original plan of 6:00. Fortunately, WiFi access was available so I was able to update my Warm Showers host of my delay.

I officially left the mainland on the 5:00 ferry and waved a sad goodbye to Vancouver. Upon arriving at Swartz Bay, I was left with a 20 km ride to my Warm Showers host. The ride followed the Lochside Trail and it was a very scenic and enjoyable ride. Unfortunately, I was racing the sun and I really didn’t want to lose. As such, the ride wasn’t as leisurely as I would’ve liked.

I arrived at my destination before the sun disappeared and I met Anne. And Anne was great. She showed me to my accommodation for the night which was a Tiny House. Literally. And it was a Tiny House which built from scratch. Without plans. To say that I was incredibly impressed with the Tiny House would be a bit of an understatement. I’ll leave the details for the next update. Suffice it to say the house is tiny, cozy, and a great place to end the day. And this update.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 85.73 km
Ride time: 4:15:24
Average speed: 20.14 km/h
Maximum speed: 47.23 km/h