Day 2: To Nanaimo

July 1, 2007

Today is Canada Day, a big holiday. The weather was perfect when I got on the road at 9:40AM - sunny, about 20C. I backtracked 7 km to Stewart Road, climbed a 180m hill, then turned on Cusheon Lake road to Beddis Park. I read that it's a spectacular beach but I wasn't impressed.

Then I backtracked to Ganges, the main town on the island. I walked around the downtown park and ate lunch on the patio at a Mexican Cafe facing the park.

Saltspring Cinema has a low-tech chalkboard marquee.

After lunch I continued north to the Vesuvius ferry. I arrived 1 minute before the ferry started loading, so didn't have time to see nearby Vesuvius beach. The crossing took 30 minutes and the ferry was mostly empty.

Vesuvius to Crofton ferry, back to Vancouver island.

I got off the ferry in an industrial area north of Duncan. I rode north mostly on low-traffic roads but occasionally the only road was the busy Trans Canada Highway. It has a shoulder but the traffic is very loud. It was mostly industrial all the way from Duncan to Nanaimo.

Sawmill and floating logs in the industrial region between Duncan and Nanaimo.

I was starting to feel tired and my left ankle hurt a bit. A stop in Chemainus to see the murals was a nice diversion.

At 6 PM I arrived at Living Forest Campground on the southern edge of Nanaimo at the mouth of the Nanaimo river. It's a large commercial "resort" campground. They have a nice beach area 5 minutes walk from my campsite. The facilities are good but the sites are small and noisy children were all around.

Living Forest campground south of Nanaimo.

Beach at Living Forest campground south of Nanaimo.

Distance: 79.8 km / 49.9 mi

Climbing: 754 m / 2490 ft

Average speed: 14.6 km/h / 9.1 mph

Maximum speed: 65.9 km/h / 41.2 mph

Today's ride: 80 km (50 miles)
Total: 131 km (81 miles)

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