This day was the second early start in a row, the back end of twin 100 mile (165 km) days for the riders. The so-called century ride is spoken of with great reverence among cyclists. I have only done it once in the 17 years that I have been riding. I have come close a couple times, like ten years ago with the B4B Centennial Ride, when I rode 155 km or so on consecutive days through the high Rocky Mountain passes called Rogers Pass and Kicking Horse Pass.  





Even on a long, flat ride like today's with good weather, and good if not excellent fitness, a 100 mile ride will kick your butt! But it will also leave you with a terrific sense of accomplishment and achievement. So kudos to every cyclist on the B4B Vancouver Island & Sunshine Coast tour, because you did  two 100 mile rides on consecutive days; not only that, but the first day also included a couple thousand feet of climbing!

I started out Day 3 as a driver, with Judith and Cindy as my side-kicks. However, at one of the first stops, Cindy said to me, "Daniel, since you are the photographer why don't you sit in the back seat and Judith can be my navigator."  I replied , "Oh sure, that's just a polite way of kicking the only male in the vehicle into the back!"  But I said it with a grin, because I was happy to sit in the back and shoot photographs all day.

Despite the early morning that comes with a 165 km day, the three of us were in good spirits going through the sleepy, pretty fishing town of the Chemainus, and unaware of the events that were about to unfold over the next few hours...

Today started off well  but  descended into chaos as we approached the City of Nanaimo. Cindy and Judith dropped me off at a scheduled turn off of the highway with some signs and water and food to replenish the bikers and then headed into town to get some supplies. After realizing that there was an error on our maps, they returned to retrieve yours truly. By this point we had not seen a single cyclist, or the other roadies for that matter, for quite some time. This was about 45 km into the day's tour.  We continued up the highway to Nanaimo and found the next scheduled stop, a rest stop at a mall just off the highway, and settled in to wait for the peloton to fly by. I would get them off the highway, and then Cindy would flag them at the first intersection into the mall parking lot.

This was the turn-off into Nanaimo for a scheduled rest stop. I set up shop at this intersection to await the cyclists.

At 9:30 in the morning, the temperature was climbing beyond 25°C. I took a seat on this little island and stretched out to bake while waiting for everyone. (Note to self:  don't take a seat on the island of a busy highway!)

After a long period of  time, I was slowly realizing that I should wait in the meager shade of two little trees across the off-ramp, but I had not yet acted on this thought since I was pondering what was delaying the bicyclists.

Suddenly, I noticed blue smoke hanging out above the white line of the ramp and heard a loud tire-squealing, and there was a beat-up black compact vehicle in the off-lane already to my left. An  SUV  had just gone through but had not yet merged with the traffic into town, and the car swerved right to avoid the SUV, onto the curb of the roadside, hitting a small tree. He bounced off, did a 360 around the tree and sped off into Nanaimo. A few seconds later, by which time I was on my feet and still processing the scene, a police cruiser came flying into the corner at nearly the same speed, saw me and slowed down to open his window and ask which way the car went. I pointed into town and off he went. The officer had his vehicle under total control, even though he came down the ramp at nearly the same speed.  

Two items of note here: A)  common sense dictated that I should have been hanging out under one of two little trees on the roadside. B)  the riders should have been coming down this stretch of highway and making this corner and continuing on to a nearby scheduled rest stop during the time of this incident. Instead, they were scattered around the area of Nanaimo. Regarding point A, I don't know which of the two trees I would have been hanging out by, and I doubt that my reflexes were fast enough to jump out of the way of the car as it came over the curb and hit the tree.

Regarding point B, according to one of our long-time riders, this was the first time in the 7 years that he has been riding with this group that a rest stop for the riders had been missed. If everything had gone according to plan, they would have been travelling the highway while a high-speed car chase was happening and then any number of things could have happened of which none of them was good. I like to call experiences such as these a 'supernatural coincidence,' because I believe that God turned a frustrating situation into a  potentially life-saving diversion, and not for the first or last time either.

Monday was a day that could easily be split into two parts: the morning ride along the Island's west coast rainforest in a cold rain, and the climb up and over the interior mountains through Cowichan Lake into Duncan under sunny, warm skies. The mountains that we passed through is known as the Seymour Range, part of the Vancouver Island Mountain Ranges.  (1)   

This was a complete transformation weatherwise, and everyone was, of course, happy to see the sun. About two-thirds of the week's climbing took place this particular morning, with most of the remainder on Friday between Powell River and Gibsons.  

 It really was a dramatic change from just an hour earlier. The road was only a secondary road, and in certain places it seemed to be just an old logging road. The magnificent scenery definitely made up for the road conditions. We climbed steadily to the little pass where we had lunch, and then it was generally long, sweeping descents to Cowichan, and relatively flat from there out to Duncan, where a fabulous barbecue was being provided by New Life Church.

This photo, and the gallery below, provides a good idea of how rugged the center of Vancouver Island really is.

The team at New Life was a fabulous example of the wonderful and generous people that host Bike for Bibles events throughout Canada. They are enthusiastic, skilled chefs and grill maestros and happy to have dozens of tired people stay over for the night! We are always very, very grateful to their dedication, friendliness, and last but absolutely not the least, their ability to provide tasty meals!

In this case, for myself, that meal included one incredible barbecued salmon burger!

    RESOURCES:    
            1.    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Range

This was the first of three insanely early get-aways on the trip. Having slept like a log outside on a ThermaRest inside a cozy sleeping bag, it was nice to wake up to an ocean view and a fabulous home-spun breakfast!

Coffee seems to have a universal appeal to travellers, for good reason.  This cozy little cafe, and one outside of Campbell River that I stopped at a few days later, is literally on a highway in the middle of nowhere! Unfortunately, it was not open yet, but it was a good rest-stop as the riders were in the middle of a big climb shortly out of Sooke.  One of the riders said the mountain to that point was a 14% gradient.  

Driving out of Sooke was an awesome experience because we were going through the coastal rainforest that is part of the Juan De Fuca (JDF) Trail and JDF Provincial Park. Giant Hemlock, Douglas Fir and Red Cedar fill the land from Sooke north to Port Renfrew and further, and make Ontario's trees seem small by comparison.    

Fog, drizzle, rugged terrain, and slippery roads all added to the challenge for our intrepid cyclists, while also providing challenging conditions for the group photographer-me!

These are some of the incredible trees that we encountered at our rest stop by Juan De Fuca Provincial Park.

I had set up shop on a hill-side just above the highway for the photo-shoot in the slideshow above. This was at the pinnacle of a long 8% grade climb, and I would have been able to see the Pacific Ocean if it were not so foggy.

When the last riders came by I scrambled back down to the road. As I was doing this, my wallet, which contained some cash, fell out, but thankfully I noticed almost immediately, and retrieved it, money and all.  

Soon we came into Port Renfrew, which is the finish of the Juan De Fuca hiking trail and the start of the famous West Coast Trail.  A quick break, and we continued on into the interior, over the mountains, which included a vicious 3 km long switchback ascent. By the time we reached our lunch break, it felt like another day and another world: the sun was now out in full strength, and the coastal rainforest was miles behind us (and to the cyclists it undoubtedly felt like miles below them!).

After lunch on the Victoria coastal Spit, the cyclists tackled a huge and very steep hill. I was slightly jealous because I love the challenge of climbing.

We headed west along the southern edge of Vancouver Island, and Andrew, my roadie partner, dropped me off in the middle of nowhere with my camera, water bottle, and a sign to direct the riders. He continued about 5 km up the road to the next corner, while I would get a lift with Chris, in the sweep vehicle, for the rest of the day.  

I think the ocean was over the proverbial next hill, because there was a bald eagle flying around, and a sign for a nearby harbour, plus a number of trucks towing fishing boats.  

Anyway, I was at the bottom of a hill at a tight curve, and I was able to get some pretty good shots of the riders as they sped past. A couple of the younger ones flew by at a very high speed, taking the curve at perhaps 40 or 45 km per hour.

Just after this curve, the road became a series of tight curves and short, steep hills. It was on one of these that Sharon suffered a serious crash, breaking her collarbone and fracturing a few ribs, and suffering some pretty bad road rash. Chris, Maris and I came over the hill to see Barry waving his arms like a windmill on the hilltop in the middle of the two-lane road to slow drivers down, because of the accident. We parked below the scene. I figured the only useful thing that I could do was take one of our roadie signs and hike up past Barry to do the same thing he was doing because two people cautioning traffic would be better than one.  

The group of riders with Sharon was an experienced group and seemed to have everything under control, as far as possible in that situation.  Thankfully a young woman named Bonnie came by after a few minutes and took Sharon to her house at a nearby marina where a landline was available since cell phone reception is unreliable in that area. Sharon was able to wait in relative comfort until the local volunteer fire squad and ambulance arrived.  

Bonnie, the young woman who helped us out when Sharon took that terrible fall, was very kind and hospitable, along with her colleagues. They provided their facility to several riders and three roadies while waiting for the fire and ambulance crews. The rescue squad quickly and efficiently treated Sharon.  Our hosts were Americans helping the local First Nations people develop their economy, and the facility is perched above the most spectacular marina that I have ever been to, nestled deep in a cove , a small fjord, among high cliffs lined with tall coniferous trees.  
Chris had parked the big sweep van down below in the marina,  which was very busy with salmon sport fishing boats coming and going. On my way up to the house our injured cyclist was in, I overheard one exchange between a group going out and one returning from a day on the ocean:
                                        "Any luck?"
                                        "Oh, just a couple of 18-pounder (salmon)!"  

 That's a ho-hum day of fishing in BC, I guess, just a couple of 18-pound fish! 

Sooke is home to some of the most beautiful sunsets that I have ever seen. I've only seen one there, but that is enough to go by! There is a gorgeous boardwalk, the Ed MacGregor Park & Boardwalk, along the waterfront. A number of us went down there to chill out, literally, thanks to a nasty wind!  We spotted a harbour seal, but no orcas. This was a good opportunity to start getting to know my subjects, and see the ocean.  

Sooke provided an excellent opportunity to test out my new winterized sleeping bag, because the temperature dipped down to 12 or 13 degrees with a cold breeze coming off the Pacific. I slept on the back porch of the little church without any issues about warmth, so I was therefore ready to go canoe tripping for trout back home in Ontario's cottage country at the end of April!    ...Ummm, trout pan-fried over an open fire....    

I ended up sleeping under the stars for four of the six nights of the trip, along with several other people. It was a pretty nice way to camp.  The bugs were non-existent, the temperatures ideal, and no rain, although I would have moved inside if it had rained!  

Resources:  http://sooke.org/parks/

Sunday, August 2nd, 2015, dawned bright and warm on the southeast corner of Vancouver Island. After the wonderful hospitality of St. Andrew's Anglican Church, the route for the day would take three dozen cyclists through Saanich into Victoria for lunch at the Spit on the Pacific Ocean, and into Sooke, on the extreme southwest corner of the Island. All said, a short 85 km or so through a rather scenic country. Of course, if you are in the province of British Columbia, you are in a scenic spot! Hence the old provincial license plate motto, 
"Super. Natural. British Columbia."  

Going through Victoria was pretty cool. The cyclists were split into four groups to ride through the city. They used a trail called the Galloping Goose Trail. There was a nice bridge on this trail that I tried to get to for a vantage point, but the riders were upon it before I was able to photograph.

 I spent a day in this city ten years ago as a member of the B4B Centennial Ride. We had an off day before the start of the ride, so I rode up one of the steepest hills in the city with a couple of other Centennial Riders. In 2015, our group of athletes conquered another crazy steep climb-right after lunch with full bellies!

We had lunch on Ocean Boulevard, opposite of the Canadian Force Base (CFB) Esquimalt. On the other side of the Boulevard is the Esquimalt Lagoon Migratory Bird Sanctuary. I spotted the first of many bald eagles here, soaring over the Lagoon, and in the shallows in front of the Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse were several great blue herons of the vulnerable west coast race.  We also saw one or two large ships, likely ferries plying the Port Angeles, WA-Victoria Route.  

 Just after my thirtieth birthday, in July 2006, I bicycled across British Columbia with the Canadian Bible Society's Bike for Bibles program. It was an incredible week of fellowship, scenery created by the Master Artist, and testing the capabilities of my body and mind, capped with back-to-back 155 km rides over Kicking Horse Pass and Rogers Pass. I finished my ride out west in Canmore, Alberta. Ever since then, I wanted to return to British Columbia, and in August, 2015 I finally made it back, to serve as a photographer and roadie for the BC B4B tour.

I am very grateful and blessed to have a friend named Chris Kloetstra, who was crazy enough to rap on my apartment window at two on an August Saturday morning to get me to Pearson International Airport in Toronto for a 6:30 AM flight to Vancouver. Chris was the first person that I talked to when I came to Country Hills Church in Kitchener a decade ago, and he has a wonderful young family. So now Chris considers me to be a good enough friend to do a three hour round-trip in the middle of the night. Thanks Chris! (I am also very grateful to my friends Lise and Mike, who battled summer weekend traffic to pick me up from Pearson International Airport at the end of my trip.)

Eight smooth hours later, I was standing outside the Vancouver Airport waiting for a fellow whom I had never met to pick me up. Dave and Lily Louie are fabulous people! When Dave and I arrived at their house near the airport, there were platters of fruit and muffins and other wonderful foods set out for lunch, and a baking sheet sized fillet of fresh Pacific salmon that was about to go into the oven. I thought I'd arrived in foodie heaven: I mean, I'd been off the plane for two hours and I was about to dig into a perfectly cooked salmon on the west coast, with fresh fruit and other goodies!

 There were also two cyclists from Alberta, Jim and Ralph, who had been on the Alberta Triangle Ride the previous week with Dave and Lily. They had all returned to Vancouver the previous night. It was a long trip made even longer by a serious crash up in the mountains. Jim and Ralph were taking a day to rest between the week long rides among the Rockies and the Pacific Coast. I should also mention that Jim and Ralph are both  over two decades older than this 40 year old author! A few other riders were doing the same thing, participating in both tours back to back.

BC Ferries operates several large ferries, and by large I mean 184' longer than Ontario's Chi-Cheemaun (1) that runs across Lake Huron from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island! The largest ships, the 547' Spirit Class vessels (2), ply the waters of the Salish Sea from the Vancouver Port of Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay at Sydney, just north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. These two ships pull a terrific move making a dog-leg turn in close quarters within hailing distance of each other through a small strait between Galiano and Mayne Islands.

What can I say about Bike for Bible roadies that hasn't already been said? The road crews at every B4B event rise well before dawn and some of them hit the hay well after the last cyclist is sound asleep to ensure that each day goes smoothly. Inevitably, some of them are as exhausted as the participants by the end of the trip.  
To be a roadie on a B4B trip, it helps if one is a) extroverted & enthusiastic;  b) a coffee fiend;  c, d, & e) patient;  f) friendly;  and g) adaptable.  

Having never been a support crew member on my previous B4B trips, I was nonetheless aware of the crucial fact that a ride simply cannot happen and function without a solid squad working 'behind the scenes'. Most breakfasts and lunches are provided by the road crew, including some dinners.  So every night there are people in the church kitchen prepping the next day's meals, and most  mornings the kitchen is alive with our people prepping coffee and breakfast.  
    

This year, the following people were roadies for this event, in no particular order:  Wilma, Judith, Maris, Patience, Cathy, Cindy, Liani, and Amie.  Also, Chris, Andrew, yours truly, and Roger, our crew's Captain. Like the bicyclists, we were (are) a diverse lot. Also like the riders, we meshed well together pretty quickly. Chris stepped in to lead rather commendably for the couple of days that we were shorthanded when Roger and Maris were away.

Adaptability was #7 on my list of personality traits necessary to be a B4B road crew member. Whether it is adjusting plans on the fly, like Roger, Judith and Cindy are doing here. Or finding a good location to set up shop for a rest stop, like Wilma, and then Andrew, and Patience did with the supply truck. Being adaptable is really just as important as the previous items on my list.

The churches that host a B4B group overnight provide a wonderful and very important ministry. When a group of four dozen people needs a place to stay, even the smallest churches and congregations are happy to help. (Although, after we leave they may be wondering what just happened...In 2006, on the cross country ride I was one of about 80 riders, with 15 or more roadies, going through BC, and we landed in Hope at the tiny Baptist Church. Those poor Baptists were making us breakfast by 4:30 in the morning, and might have thought we were like a swarm of locusts, but more pleasant, eating everything in sight!)

We were provided barbecue meals at the Anglican Church in Sydney, and New Life Church in Duncan, and terrific hot meals in the other towns. Since we were on the west coast, salmon was on the menu more often than not, and always done to perfection!  

Obviously there is more to hosting a large group overnight than just providing meals. Often, the host church provides volunteers to help drive everyone to the local rec centre to clean up, and the usual tasks of opening and closing the building, providing space, making sure the kitchen is fine for us to use in the mornings.  Sometimes there are people within these congregations who make it their ministry to provide a meal for the groups that come through their area. They do so with incredible enthusiasm and friendliness, and you can tell that this is important to them.
​    

At Campbell River and Gibsons, we held meetings for the road crew to go over plans for the next few days, specifically plans to get our cyclists safely through Vancouver. There was a lot of laughter during these meetings, as well as the usual updates and modifications to our routines. What went well, what could we do better, that sort of thing.  (The 3 photos above were taken by Lenny Van der Lugt.)

Often, cyclists would jump in to help with food prep or clean-up, like Veronica is doing here in Courtenay. On the last day we had a few extra roadies going through Vancouver who were done riding for the week for various reasons. Ralph examined his bike with another cyclist and a fine-tooth comb in Gibsons and discovered a structural problem in his frame, which could have led to serious problems on the descent out of town down to the ferry.  

One of my mottos when I go fishing is 'the more the merrier!' (i.e. more fish to eat!). And the same can be said for roadies on a B4B ride. Things generally go much smoother with more support crew, and besides, I think the cyclists are always happy to see a friendly face with a big smile encouraging them during the day, especially on tough long, hot or wet days.