
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.
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.
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!

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!