Sunshine Coast and Island Scooter Ride (Part 3)

Here's the last entry about my Sunshine Coast / Vancouver Island trip.


Comox - Nanaimo
Distance: 120 km
Time: Two and a half hours

I proceeded to the Powell River ferry terminal where I had a nice chat with a couple of motorcycle riders, one with a very comfortable, very big Harley and one with a very serious looking BMW complete with a built in GPS!

After getting on the ferry, I grabbed breakfast and then relaxed as the ferry took the 80 minute crossing to Comox.

Photo: http://www.milebymile.com/hwy_item_images/photo_CA_BC_19a_12621_1753.jpg

I left the ferry and headed along Highway 19A - the old coastal highway, also known as the old island highway or the Oceanside route. I was an excellent ride. The highway was not very busy, was very scenic, and actually went right by the ocean at many points.


This huge prop in Union Bay made a nice still life with my scooter.


I stopped in Fanny Bay while a scallop truck went to drop nets into the water.


Qualicum Beach was very nice and I was tempted to stop there for the day, not just get some gas.

I got into Parksville, a popular retirement city, and the wonderful Oceanside Route ran out! I had to join up with Highway 19 for 27 km until Nanaimo. The speed limit was 90 km while many cars and big trucks zoomed by. There wasn't really much scenery and I ended up in the breakdown lane most of the time.

It was during this harrowing time that I decided it would be silly to attempt to ride from Nanaimo to Victoria. The only way I can figure out how to get from Nanaimo to Victoria is Highway 1. Another couple hours of riding in the breakdown lane while traffic screamed by me was not my idea of fun.

At Nanaimo I headed to Departure Bay and took the ferry to Horseshoe Bay.

Horseshoe Bay - Maple Ridge Distance: 70 km Time: 2 hours


I was able to take Marine Drive again without having to go on the freeway - phew!



This time, I was not in a hurry so I was able to stop several times to take photos.


Not only were the views amazing, but there were incredible houses along the way. Definitely million dollar views.



Some vistas forced me to park in any scrap of dirt that was available, others I could only appreciate as I went by on my Vespa.


A great detour was Lighthouse Park. I stopped there and wandered around a few of the trails. The trail markers clearly showed the names of the trails but not the distances - how was I supposed to know how long the trail was? I finally went back to the parking lot and sheepishly noticed the stack of map guides at the entrance to the trails.


I saw this great view of Lions Gate Bridge as I approached West Vancouver.


I stopped in for a visit in West Vancouver at my brother-in-law's house. He has a spectacular view of Lions Gate Bridge as well.

I continued onto Maple Ridge, feeling that I had had another satisfying adventure on the scooter but still happy to return to my own bed. Now, to talk to my wife about that treehouse I want to build...

Cell Phone Retrieval Over Lions Gate

Yesterday, I went to a 50th birthday party for a dear friend (Happy Birthday, Stew) and prior to the party, went shopping at the Park Royal Mall in West Vancouver. I found, to my dismay, that I had last my cell phone in the mall - mind you, it didn't stop me from having an excellent time at the party....

When I returned home, there was a message on the answering machine saying that the phone had been found. Today, I retrieved the phone. Unfortunately, my camera is with my daughter who is on a band trip so the photos for today are from a variety of sources.

It was a perfect day - sunny, slight breeze and I had lots of time. I left Maple Ridge, went through Pitt Meadows and crossed the old Pitt River Bridge - the new one is being built so my crossings on the old swing bridge are numbered. I then went through Coquitlam, Port Moody and onto the Barnet Highway. It's always shady on the Barnet but it wasn't that chilly today. I then headed up Hastings through Burnaby into Vancouver.


I went through downtown and then approached my favourite bridge, the Lions Gate. Built by the Guinness family (yes, that Guinness family) in 1938, it is a beautiful bridge and has breath-taking views of Burrard Inlet, especially when you are sitting on a scooter. I looked around when I had the opportunity and enjoyed the fantastic view.


After picking up my cell phone at the mall I headed back over the bridge. At the Vancouver end of the bridge, I took a detour through Stanley Park, a huge treed park connected to downtown Vancouver. There is still considerable damage to the park caused by a huge windstorm in 2006. It was a slow, shady ride through green trees beside windy beaches and it was very good for my well being.


The way home was fairly uneventful until, in Burnaby, on Hastings, a motorist decided to change lanes into me. Luckily, I was able to maneuver out of the way but I didn't even have a chance to honk my horn (although I was able to flip the bird a minute later).

An unfortunate moment, but I didn't let it interfere with the extremely enjoyable day.

Summer's here!

Ahhh, summer... here at last.

A few days ago, we had a family luncheon in West Vancouver. The day was so nice that I thought I’d take the scoot and meet the family at my brother-in-law’s newly renovated house.

The ride was pleasant and warm from Maple Ridge to Vancouver. Once I was downtown, the traffic increased but was fine.

To get to West Vancouver, the road goes through a causeway in a huge park called Stanley Park. After the causeway is the famous Lions Gate Bridge which connects West Vancouver (part of the North Shore) to the city of Vancouver.

The causeway is three lanes so there was one going to West Van on the day I was riding. I was a bit worried about keeping up but the traffic was a bit congested so I had no problems.


The most exciting part was when I was on the Lions Gate Bridge. (Above picture from here) I’ve been on a few bridges already but not one so scenic and so high! It was a bit windy which was a bit scary but the thrill of being up on top of the world was amazing!


When I reached my brother-in-law Rob’s place, my little nieces and my year-old nephew were very excited by the Vespa. I didn’t take them for a ride but they had a blast posing on the seat.


Then I did what I always do when people admire my Vespa - I invited Rob to take it for a spin. He was gone for about 15 or 20 minutes (I was just a little bit nervous) and returned with a large smile on his face.


There were some beautiful views off of their deck. In the picture above, there is a great photo of the Lions Gate Bridge. Behind the bridge are the trees from Stanley Park. The city is beyond that.


After a great time,. I headed back through Vancouver, taking this photo of a couple of Vancouver’s tourist attractions, Christ Church Cathedral and a tour tram. Unfortunately, when putting away the camera in my pocket (as the light turned green) I jammed the lens and now my new camera from Japan (which isn’t covered by the warranty in Canada) is kaput. Oh well, at least summer’s here!