One of the great things about our time in Campbell River was being able to relax. It was a short day for the riders and the roadies, but it was also a very difficult day for them because of the lousy weather on the way up from Courtenay, and the route, which was along a major highway, albeit with a wide paved shoulder. 

I made two navigational errors. One added quite a few kilometers to the day for several riders. The second one caused only a minor headache for myself. So I was pretty glad to arrive at the church and just chill out.

Jose Bautista had hit a grand slam for the Toronto Blue Jays that day, and it was early on in their incredible run to the post-season, and the sun had come out from the clouds again. With a parking lot view like the opening photograph, and the sun bursting out, how could one not be cheered up? Not to mention the wonderful hospitality from the people of the large Baptist Church in town.

Lenny, our Dutch speedster, offered to take some photographs (below) of the road crew as we met to regroup and encourage each other after a couple of taxing days. Chris Bergquist did a fabulous job of leading the Road Crew for a couple days earlier in the tour when Roger Balser left to attend to  an urgent matter.  When he came back, we had a meeting in Campbell River to sketch out the final day of the ride, through the metropolis of Vancouver.   Yours truly is in the green striped shirt.  

Sunset in Campbell River, British Columbia...

This was a foray deep into the coastal mountains of central Vancouver Island by two cyclists, with yours truly as the 'support' guy.  I had it easy, these 2 riders didn't need anyone's support...

I had the opportunity to 'support' two of our very ambitious cyclists who wanted to do an extra 30km on the day we went from Courtenay, past Campbell River to Rippling Rock, and back to the River. Rick is one of the Island contingent, while Lenny is from the Netherlands and has participated in the BC week-long rides for a few years now. They decided to bike 15 km further out from Rippling Rock deep into the central Vancouver Island Ranges. It was a steady, cold rain and about 12 degrees out. The fog was also rolling in with thick blankets.  

Once Lenny took off again, a young couple swung into the roadside where we had done the interview to fill their water jugs, so I did the same, and drank some very tasty and refreshing mountain water. Vancouver Island mountain water is very good!

On the way back from the 15 km marker, we stopped in for a hot coffee at a little cafe in the middle of nowhere and I conducted an interview with Rick and Lenny that can be viewed below. The questions are not exactly original, but the guys bailed me out with their answers! Hopefully, these interviews give an idea of how tough the day was for our riders. After that, we headed back into Campbell River, but I missed my turnoff and ended up back on the highway south of town, with nowhere to turn around for a few minutes. Earlier in the day, I had missed another turn, so I was very glad to finally roll into the church and relax. By then the sun was out, and we had a good time that evening. We always enjoyed our time at the destination church, but this was the end of three very tough days physically for the riders and four emotionally tough days (a major injury happened on the first day) for everyone. We could regroup and look forward to a smooth back end of the week.