My fiancee and her brother and father drove down to southern Ontario for the 2nd Rawhide Rodeo at the U-Turn Ranch just outside Tavistock. The guys were competing in the team roping event on Saturday. Here is a photograph essay of the day....Enjoy!
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This is why my brothers and I, and various kids, family members, and buddies, go fishing in Algonquin Park in May! Nathan (in the red) and I have been doing this most springs starting in May 1999. Ben, our younger brother, comes when he is able to, and Darren, a great friend of ours, has made it every year but one since 2013. This big brook trout was 20 inches long with a 10 inch girth and would have easily weighed in at 4 pounds. He (it is a male because of the hooked lower jaw, called a kype) hammered a 2/3 oz blue/silver Cleo. I will let the photographs tell about the rest of our adventure this year...Enjoy, eh! I have been in Algonquin water earlier than May 12, perhaps even on the last day of April. But I have never been in water as cold as this was, the day after ice-out on this lake. It isn't a close argument, either! Three thoughts occurred to me when I was in the water, and I think halfway through that third thought, I was out of the water! Those thoughts? A) This is by far the coldest water I've ever been in! B) I'm glad my brother has a rope around me! C) I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE!!!
The exciting conclusion to the Vancouver Island & Sunshine Coast Bike 4 Bibles Tour of the Canadian Bible Society in August 2015...
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@ Gibsons Ferry from Daniel Loucks on Vimeo. ML
From the church in Gibsons out to the ferry terminal, it was an easy 5km ride, ending with a long, glorious descent to the ocean. As we did the previous day, we left town before the roosters crowed in order to catch the first boat into the city. This was the day that we roadies were perhaps most worried about because of logistics and rider's safety, but it turned out to be unwarranted, thankfully. In fact, the riders were split into four groups, each led by a cyclist who was familiar with the route through Vancouver, and had no trouble whatsoever, while at least two roadie crews made 'navigational errors'! Cyclists with us from Victoria also did the same thing for us through that gorgeous city on the first day of the trip.
The 45 minute ferry to the city was arguably the most spectacularly scenic of the four ferries that we took, despite being the shortest. The first three cruises were merely beautiful trips.
The trip through the City of Vancouver was very scenic, travelling along the incredible Marine Drive on the North Shore, across the spectacular Lion's Gate Bridge above Prospector's Point Lookout in iconic Stanley Park, past the international airport in Burnaby, and on into Richmond, on the Fraser River and home of The Tapestry Church (somewhere between the 'C' in "Richmond" and the 'O' in "Steveston" on the map above.)
The map above shows our route during the 2015 Canadian Bible Society's Bike 4 Bibles Vancouver Island and Sunshine Coast Ride. We took the ferry from Vancouver to Sidney, the starting point. Sooke, the nest destination, is on Hwy 14 on the extreme southwest edge of the island. Then Duncan via Port Renfrew, Courtenay, Campbell River, Powell River, and finally, Gibsons. I think this area of BC is, somehow, even more beautiful than the Rocky Mountains, but that is my personal opinion!
Thanks to Veronica Zhou for taking several of the photographs in the slideshow above.
The photographs in the gallery above, and this one of Liani, are from the final rest stop before we returned to the church where it all began just eight days earlier.
Before we knew it, we had arrived at the end of the route, at Tapestry Church in Richmond. This was where many of us had gathered eight days earlier, and where we ended off with a farewell luncheon and then continued along our separate paths. The end of the ride is always bittersweet. People return to their lives and only occasionally manage to remain in touch with new friends.
But what a wonderful week we had just participated in! There was one major injury, a fractured collarbone with bruised ribs and a rather serious road rash to Sharon. However, we were and are grateful because she could have easily been injured far worse. The short ride up to Campbell River from Courtenay was a brutal day thanks to the cold temperature and steady rain, and there was that chaotic morning through the Nanaimo area. Despite these proverbial bumps in the road, the scenery was fabulous, the weather generally so, the chemistry between the entire group was unusually strong and cohesive, and the week flew by much too quickly. Two years later, I fondly recall the experience, and have managed to stay in touch, at least nominally-thanks, Facebook!-with a number of people from that group. I look forward to more opportunities to participate in B4B in the years to come!
I owe many thanks to many people on this project: to my editors, Cindy Chan, who was a road-crew colleague, and Jane Loucks, both of whom put in many hours with ideas, adjustments, and encouragement!
Thank you to Bryson McEwen for his technical wizardry on several of my videos. Thank you to Amie Wiebe, who captained the Sunshine Coast Ride for B4B and did an awesome job! Thank you to Edna Rabago of the Canadian Bible Society, who gave me the green light to go ahead with this project. Thank you to the 4 dozen inspiring people who participated in this tour of southern British Columbia! They are AWESOME!
Edna Rabago has been publishing this series, in condensed form, parallel to my own blog. Here is the direct link to the last chapter on the Bible Society's Bike4Bibles website:
http://bike4bibles.ca/2017/05/18/b4b-2015-day7-finally-vancouver/ This post about the Canadian Bible Society's Bike4Bibles 2015 tour across Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast takes place in Gibsons, the last destination of the tour before Vancouver... There are many terrific waterfronts on the BC coast, but three of my favourites are in the towns of Sooke, Powell River, and Gibsons. We had some downtime upon arrival in Gibsons, the final evening of the 2015 Bike 4 Bibles BC trip, so it was off to the Pacific Ocean! And I'm hard-pressed to recall such an abundance of incredible blue tones! This town is perched somewhat precariously on very steep hills, and most of them lead (straight) down to the ocean-some roads are 20% grades! I had read that the bakeries of the Sunshine Coast were not to be missed. And I can happily testify that idea to be true. Just look at the carrot cake below! Out of all the groups that I have participated in, this particular group had as strong a bond as any that I've ever been in, which is even more remarkable given it's large size (roughly four dozen people). I think that the defining moment, as a group, came on Tuesday night in Courtenay as we gathered in the sanctuary of the host United Church. That was the second century mile day in a row for the riders. And while there was a fraction of the amount of vertical climbing compared to the previous day's century mile (160 km) journey over the mountains of Vancouver Island, the weather was hot, and there was no refueling stop for the first 60 km or so. (A scheduled rest stop in Nanaimo was mixed up, which was a supernatural coincidence; you can read about that adventure here: http://www.thelilydipper.com/uncle-travelling-dan/b4b15-day-3a-duncan-nanaimo) Anyways, the scene above was a special moment, because it was near the end of an eventful, emotional, but ultimately very successful Bike for Bibles event. Nico, one of the ride leaders, had us sit in a circle, and we were to say something positive about another person whose name we had drawn from a hat earlier in the week. Among the many nice moments were some very special, heartfelt ones, including one that I was involved in. Chemistry is a difficult thing to describe, involving personalities, beliefs, and other things. And it can be thrown off balance very easily. So when it really works, it is a wonderful thing. The final night of camp, or a bicycling tour, or a church retreat, is always bittersweet, and this last night was no exception. It was a time to relax, a time for heartfelt conversation, for thanking God for such awesome fellowship, and for reminiscing about the adventures, mostly good, and the favourite legs of the ride. Had I participated as a cyclist instead of a photographer I think my favourite rides would have been those that had challenging climbs-Monday's ride over the interior mountains of Vancouver Island (http://www.thelilydipper.com/uncle-travelling-dan/b4b15-day-2a-the-remote-west-coast) , and today's tour along the Sunshine Coast, especially if I met those challenges -which is one reason, among many, why I rode with the same organization across the Rockies ten years ago.
This post about the Canadian Bible Society's Bike4Bibles 2015 tour across Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast is during the ferry passage from Saltery Bay to Earls Cove...
We arrived at Saltery Bay for the hour long passage to Earls Cove on the Gibson's side of the Sunshine Coast. To say it is a scenic ride is a dramatic understatement. I will let the photographs tell their tale here....
As you can see, the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia is a phenomenal place! The photos above and the two short videos below were taken between Earl's Cove and and our destination at Gibsons. We saw a few individual cyclists on this highway, and we gladly provided many smiles of encouragement and fuel (water and food) for the road to them, happy to encounter like-minded people: crazy-this highway has some pretty big hills to climb!-ambitious, and friendly.
This is what we found at the destination of our second-last day of the tour....crazy deep shades of blues and greens...
The start of Day 6 of the 2015 Canadian Bible Society's Vancouver Island & Sunshine Coast Bike4Bibles fundraising tour. I had the privilege to be the ride's photographer...
These photographs were taken not far out of Powell River, just before the riders entered a stretch of relentless climbs and plunging hair-raising descents. I thought that the little bit of ocean in the background would create a unique backdrop, but it appears that I did not have the settings properly adjusted on my camera. Still, there are some interesting photographs among this bunch. This seemed like a pretty good place to hang out and wait for the cyclists to show up! We encountered a number of independent bicyclists during this morning and we were more than happy to provide water and food for them, but more importantly, encouraging smiles and a little friendly conversation as well. The Sunshine Coast between Powell River and Gibsons seems to be a popular route among cyclists, and I can't blame them: challenging climbs, thrilling descents, fabulous scenery, pretty towns, and delicious baked goodies!
The latest chapter in my series about the Canadian Bible Society's 2015 Bike4Bibles tour of Vancouver Island & the Sunshine Coast. Special thanks to Bryson McEwen for his technical wizardry for the video 'Powell River Cornering.'
After consecutive century mile (bicycling 160 km {100 miles} in a single day) days for the riders, and a brief but cold and rainy ride into Campbell River, we headed south out of town to the ferry at Comox, with just a couple of turns and then an easy, straight run on the South Island Highway for about 40 km down the east coast of Vancouver Island. I needed an easy day myself. I left the big Baptist Church that we had stayed at and followed the road out of town to a t-bone intersection, where I was to point the bikers down the hill towards the ocean. It was a crisp, delightful morning, with a terrific sunrise to the east, and a laid-back 6 point buck a couple hundred yards to the west, who hung out there for about an hour.
This is the proverbial selfie, and yes, I know that is a funny hat! This farmland looks to be of very high quality, and those mountains in the background are, like the rest of the province, very picturesque.
In the background is the Beaufort Range (1) of the Vancouver Island Ranges (2). On Monday, we had come through the Seymour Range (3) on the way to Duncan. And this afternoon we would arrive in the heart of the Insular Mountains (4), which includes the Island Ranges and runs along the Sunshine Coast.
These two cyclists, Don and Sandy, met a few years ago during a B4B tour, and apparently hit it off rather well. They are now happily married!
They are certainly not the first couple to meet during a B4B event. I know of at least two other couples who have met this way in the ten years that I have been marginally involved with the program. Hopefully, this will remain a great place to meet future spouses!
The ferry across the Salish Sea to Powell River was pretty nice. What it lacked in scenery (not really lacking, but it is all relative in BC!), it made up for in camaraderie. We had meshed extraordinarily (supernaturally?) well, and we now our entire roster back together. Sharon, the cyclist who was injured on the the first day of the tour, and Maris rejoined us today as part of the road crew for the remainder of the trip.
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Powell River muley twins from Daniel Loucks on Vimeo.
Powell River is a pretty cool place. It has this laid-back vibe to it, and we were able to spend a good deal of the afternoon kibbitzing around town. The waterfront is really nice, with a park full of giant Douglas Fir and Red Cedar trees, much bigger than anything we have here in Ontario. Bald eagles are a common sight, unlike in southern Ontario. Harwood Island and Texada Island provide a magnificent backdrop for the ocean.
Some of us went down to the waterfront to explore the shops and parks. As we were walking out of a parking lot up the steep driveway Andrew put his very dry sense of humour on display: he started zigzagging his way up the hill. Unless you were a cyclist, you might have missed the joke, which is that he was imitating the way many cyclists on the road/touring bikes climb steep hills. Me being a mountain bike rider (with slick tires for roads, not trails), I could just power straight up the hill in the lowest, 'granny' gear. So I really enjoyed that particular joke.
References:
1. Beaufort Range. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 3, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_Range 2. Vancouver Island Ranges. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 3, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Island_Ranges 3. Seymour Range. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 3, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Range 4. Insular Mountains. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 3, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_Mountains This is the latest adventure in my Bike 4 Bibles series... 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.
Day 4 of the 2015 Bike 4 Bibles event was cold. And rainy. It was also short and scenic (as much as the fog allowed us to see, anyways!)
Special thanks to Bryson McEwen for his technical wizardry on the video "Rainy Campbell River."
Wednesday was a short day. But for the thirty or so bicyclists it was probably the toughest day of the entire trip because of the cold, rainy weather. It was also a rough day for me. (I'll expand that story later in this post.) Our workaholic roadies were up preparing breakfast before dawn, and then I provided the short inspirational message, about our collective experience the previous day going through Nanaimo. I told them about the high-speed car chase that happened in the same location and at the same time that the riders should have been passing me, but instead were scattered around the town. I said that this is a supernatural coincidence. (See the post "Duncan to Courtenay A".) Then I left immediately to get to my flagging station and promptly missed the sign, which was literally out of the church driveway that pointed us in the right direction. Oops.
I quickly realized my mistake and knew where to go, but before I could turn around I passed a few of our cyclists going the same direction. They saw my vehicle pass, with it's distinctive rear 3 bicycle carrier, and figured they were going in the right direction. Unfortunately, they did not see me turn around, and I did not think to flag them down and point them in the right direction. I got to my post, radioed Roger and Judith, who came out to talk to me, and then retrieved the wayward riders, by then several kilometers down the road. Roger has a big truck, so they all piled in, bikes in the back, and started again from my post a little out of Courtenay. These particular cyclists were very gracious to me later when I talked to them, and were also proud of the extra miles they had ridden, as well they should be.
Our trusty supply truckers, Andrew and Patience, found a spot to provide a refuelling break at the halfway mark. Most of the cyclists stopped just long enough to grab some food and took off again.
The riders then rode up to Rippling Rock, about 10 km past Campbell River but Andrew and Patience went straight to the big Baptist Church in Campbell River.
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Judith & Patience near Campbell River from Daniel Loucks on Vimeo. set custom HTML
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This day was also my toughest day because I got lost (yes, I will admit that!) not once, but twice! I will explain the second time in the next installment of this series about the Canadian Bible Society's Bike for Bibles
"Vancouver Island & the Sunshine Coast" ride. |
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