May 31, 2025
Sequim to Victoria, BC; Canada is beckoning…
29,687.9 miles and it is raining
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
After we arrived in Victoria, we got a text from Kelly Iniguez asking if we were tired after today’s ride, seeing that we rode over 26,000 miles.
Here is what we really rode, pretty much entirely in the rain. After all, we are headed to Canada, where we always get rained on.
Breakfast was a typical free hotel breakfast. There was a pancake robot, which I always find amusing.
The weather radar appeared to show us that we would be riding directly into the organized but narrow front moving in. Our timing though, was predicated on the ferry schedule so we could not stall.
It was drizzling as we left the hotel, all of us in full rain gear. We followed the Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT) as it wound through Sequim and into the countryside beyond. By the time we had ridden 5 miles, it was raining steadily. Needless to say we did not take any pictures along the way. Which is too bad because this trail is truly spectacular, even in the rain. At times we rode through farmland, or through forests. We descended down steep embankments for stream crossings then ascended equally steep slopes out of them. The e-assist was invaluable navigating these. About 4 miles from Port Angeles, we broke out of the forest onto to the coastline of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, (part of the Salish Sea per Wickipedia.) We stayed on the coast all the rest of the way to the Ferry Terminal.
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Rich and the truck were already in line to board the ferry and Amber joined him. Jim and I picked up our tickets and customs forms and headed to the walk-on waiting room, where we soon struck up conversations with a local woman traveling to Victoria to visit family and a couple of Canadian cycle tourists heading home to Sidney.
Once we boarded, we tied our bikes to the bike racks on the ship’s bow. Since there were only 4 bikes, (us and the Canadians,) we each used an edge of the 2 racks since that made it easier to secure the bikes. Then we went inside where it was warm and dry and got some hot drinks to warm up our hands.
The ferry ride was moderately bumpy but uneventful. Along the way, the front passed through and the sun was shining in Victoria.
After disembarking, Customs took about 10 minutes and our hotel was just around the block. We checked in and were greeted by a rather snippy woman who told us we could not take the bikes into the elevator because “ it was too small and they might scratch it.”She did move us from the 4th floor to the 2nd floor, but it was still a grunt to heft the bikes up 2 flights. We went to a nearby pub for a late lunch. (When we took the elevator down, we noted it was actually very large and appeared to be brand new.) Then we checked out the neighborhood.
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 1 | Link |
2 days ago
We finished off the day with a very nice dinner at the Harbour House, almost next door to our hotel. Their motto is “We dress up so you don’t have to” yet it is quite a fancy restaurant. We definitely did not dress up and received impeccable service and we were the last party to leave. The food was also very good.
Tomorrow is the first of two sight-seeing days in Victoria. The British Columbia Museum is on the list for tomorrow.
Today's ride: 21 miles (34 km)
Total: 80 miles (129 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 4 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |