Home to Duncan, BC - An Island Sojourn - CycleBlaze

September 15, 2024

Home to Duncan, BC

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And the Relive version.  https://www.relive.cc/view/vrqow7jEXKq

It’s not difficult to be first in line when you thought you were catching an earlier boat.
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Mike AylingLove to see a bike without a sloping top tube.
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2 months ago

Up at 0315 and on the road by 0345, car parked at 0700 and now for the ride out the causeway to the Tsawwassen ferry dock. Every thing according to plan and on schedule. Guy at the booth tells me I have plenty of time until the 0900 boat. 👀 What? Crap, I misread the schedule. The 0800 boat sails from the island. Well, at least the foot passenger waiting area has working electrical outlets under the seats. 

It’s a full boat with a lot of people outside taking selfies and other photos. The ride is quite scenic at times. 

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Debark and immediately the Google is getting confused but eventually I find the trail I need. Forgot to put water in my bottles while on the boat so I pull in to the first quickie mart I come to and discover I forgot to notify my bank that I’m traveling. Liquid will have to wait. Exiting, I see there are trail options on either side of a high speed road, the very road Google thinks is appropriate for bikes. Nope nope nope. 

Eventually I make my way to Brentwood 6 instead of the 1100 ferry I thought I would catch, because I messed up on the timing of the first boat I have to wait until 1315. It does give me time to go get a proper lunch, which I do at the Politano Cafe. 

Introductory French. Canadian French.
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Scott AndersonI’d call that a proper lunch alright. French cuisine is renowned.
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2 months ago

Down to the ferry and while I wait a couple of women ride up, one pulling a trailer with a baby. No electric assist.  They also are heading to the Kinsol Trestle. She gets the award for toughest rider. After an uneventful ride it’s off and up. And up. And rollers. And narrow roads, but the drivers are courteous. Eventually arriving at the trestle, it’s time for the Christmas card photo. Task accomplished, it’s on down the trail and to my accommodation for the night in Duncan. 

Definitely not a rent controlled community.
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This couple took about 20 minutes to lower that little boat into the water with their crane. lol silent to me, they were wearing radio headsets.
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Ain’t walking all the way down there.
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Steve Miller/GrampiesOnly worth the walk if you are having a picnic and need a place to have it.
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2 months ago
Not sure the photo was worth what I put myself through.
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But wait! There is still more to go wrong following my earlier screw up.  My map quit on me and there isn’t signal to get it back. Then I come to a road crossing and a sign that tells me the trail is closed ahead. I knew of one farther down, but this is a surprise. At least by this time I have enough signal to see where this road goes, so off I go with it. Up and down(mostly down), but the ups are killing me and the quads start cramping when I put in an effort. Trying to stretch them out doesn’t work because then my hamstrings start to cramp. All I can do is stand, rest, and walk the uphills. At one of my stops, a man and his son come along. The closure caught him by surprise as well. His wife is supposed to meet them on the other side of the closure. By this time there is enough signal that he can get a text out and off they go. I follow shortly after and eventually make it into Duncan where of course my Airbnb accommodation is uphill. 

On arrival, no one is home. I’ve miraculously arrived within the half hour window of my prediction and the host isn’t home. I hang out 30 minutes after the time window, no host. My only communication was through the Airbnb website, so I couldn’t text him. Called ABB and they wanted to give it another 30 minutes for the host to respond. I expressed my displeasure quite clearly and told them I wasn’t interested in another location. I just wanted the reservation cancelled and I was going to get a hotel room. There are some less expensive accommodations in Duncan, but in a sketchy area, so I ended up paying more to stay at the Best Western. It felt a bit overpriced, but that’s relative to the prices of other local hotels. The room was good and the bike had a safe place in the basement. 

The rack made for a good bike stand.
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The dinner of champions.
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Dinner was scrounged at a grocery, but where’s the beer? Oh, yeah, in BC you have to go to a liquor store for any alcohol.

Dinner, hydration and bed. I slept hard. 

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Steve Miller/GrampiesToo bad we didn't know your Plan earlier. We live south of Duncan, and even though we are not home (Europe) we could have had our farm sitter let you in. Warm showers without the host and very comfortable spot. Are you coming home the same way? We could try to arrange something for when you return if so.
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2 months ago
Bob KoreisTo Steve Miller/GrampiesThank you for the offer, but Wednesday it’s up to Duke Point to catch a ferry back to Tsawwassen and my car.
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2 months ago