July 4, 2007
Day 5: To Sayward Junction
I got up at 8 and walked to the beach to take a few pictures. Visibility was good.
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I got on the road at 10:15 and was pleased to see that the road stays close to the coast for a while. Riding was easy and scenic to Campbell River where I ate lunch, bought groceries, and got cash. I'm spending cash at a MUCH faster rate than I do on most tours. Canada is expensive for Americans.
Campbell River is a large sprawling and prosperous town. There is a bike path in some sections.
I frequently saw the Coast Range mountains across the water on the mainland. The spine of Vancouver island is also tall mountains but I almost never saw them. My only view of Vancouver Island mountains was at this one spot in Campbell River. Nearby tall trees and hills obstructed the view everywhere else.
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There are many wood products industries north of Campbell River. An hour's ride north of Campbell River I was past the factories and in a very sparsely populated area. The road turns inland into mountainous terrain. The highest hill topped out at 310 m above sea level. The paved shoulder ends after the little town of Roberts Lake. That's not much of a problem because there is very little traffic. Towns are few and far between now.
I camped at a commercial campground at Sayward Junction, arriving at 8:45 PM. The campground had many mosquitoes and I used my headnet for the first time on this trip. It was dark (10:30) by the time I finished eating dinner. I spoke briefly with two other solo bike tourists in the campground. One from the Netherlands and one (60+ year old man) from Victoria.
Today was sunny all day with a high of about 25C (77F). Warmest day of the trip so far...
Distance: 99.5 km / 62.2mi
Climbing: 614 m / 2030ft
Average speed: 14.3 km/h / 8.9 mph
Maximum speed: 64.7 km/h / 40.4 mph
Today's ride: 100 km (62 miles)
Total: 383 km (238 miles)
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