Su-Laine cycling on Salt Spring Island:
“Three things to know about this trip: 1) New and stupid ticketing procedures can make it difficult or impossible for foot passengers to make a quick ferry transfer at Swartz Bay, so allow up to two extra hours in each direction. 2) The Easter long weekend is cold and wet for bicycle camping. This is a time of year for bed and breakfast travel, we now think. If you camp in this weather, bring warm clothes and try to persuade some of the superb campfire engineers from this group to join you. Ruckle Park had very few other campers, however one of the neighbouring groups thought their site was some kind of party venue. The noise from these idiots made for some bad nights’ sleep for some of us. 3) Having the chance to hike up Mount Maxwell on a clear spring day makes it all worthwhile. We took about 4.5 hours to do a highly satisfying loop from sea level. No snow, no mud, just hours of views and beautiful forest.”
Su-Laine cycling on the Trans-Canada Trail in Burnaby:
“Vlad, John, and I loved this ride. Highlights were seeing the snow-covered Lions from under the Second Narrows Bridge, getting lost in Burnaby and ending up on a beach that none of us knew existed, a bald eagle flying over to check us out, and enough hills for a good but not too tiring early-season workout. East Burnaby and Burnaby Mountain gave us plenty of what-were-they-thinking public art and architecture to gawk at. The Portside bike route in east Vancouver and the Trans Canada trail in northwest Burnaby are gorgeous on a clear day.”
Dana slow-food cycling around Pemberton:
“My hiking/biking overnighter ended up being a day trip, which made for a long but wonderful day. Ulrike, Haseena, Paula and I enjoyed Pemberton’s Slow Food Cycle Sunday on a very hot day covering 52 km of riding. (Having never done the event, I thought it was 26 km and it was, one way that is!) To start the day, our teamwork helped to get Paula’s bike on the bike rack, vertically, as it didn’t have a cross bar. Early morning was cloudy and it rained lightly at the beginning of our ride, but the day turned out to be incredibly warm. Picking up the event map at the Pemberton Community Centre, we then rode along and stopped at all of the designated farm stops and rested and enjoyed such fare as fair-trade coffee, potato rosti with smoked salmon (from an executive chef from a Whistler restaurant!), natural beef burgers, iced tea, strawberry coffee cake, and more. I bought some potatoes and zucchini to bring home. It was neat to see how many people took place in this free event, including families. The `course’ followed the flat Pemberton Meadows Road and the milky-looking Lillooet River. After the long ride, grimy and sweaty, we cooled off with a swim in Whistler’s Alta Lake before heading to Squamish for a cold beer and dinner and, finally, home. A truly wonderful day with great company and an event I’d highly recommend! A special `Good on ya!’ to Aussie Paula who hadn’t been on a bike in many years and did awesome! Look for upcoming photos from the trip on Flickr.”
Markus cycling on Pender Island:
“Five of us enjoyed a beautiful sunny day on Pender Island. It was hillier than I remember it and the quaint pub and marina at Poets Cove is now a resort and spa. We still enjoyed a nice patio lunch and then spent some time exploring the island. We ended up taking the evening ferry back and enjoyed a beautiful sunset while on the trip back to Tsawwassen. A good time was had by all.”
