Bugs and Bear Country

I wasn’t able to pack my bear suit that I conveniently wear in the summer months as a way to consume vast quantities of beer, so I’m not going to fit in with the locals here in the woods at all. I’m now heading into the uninhabited areas of Vancouver Island, right at the edge of Campbell River in a BC Park named Miracle Beach. There is a staggering amount of campsites available (I counted 200) and they have showers! I’ll partake in the free flow of water before I head out tomorrow.

After some crossed wires in communication and some reference checks on where my head was at, tonight’s original destination of Courtenay didn’t happen. Because of that, I won’t be catching a flight tomorrow either. I suppose you could call this a deviation of my deviation. I’m not gonna let it wear on me, I could have put more effort into staying in Courtenay, but something in my head said keep going. I did some adjustments tonight to my plan and depending on how I fare tomorrow in the woods from here to Sayward, meaning that I make it at a decent time, and I can fare the upcoming steep climbs effectively, I will put the push on to make it into Port Hardy by Tuesday, instead of my original Friday date. Yes, it’s rushing, however the bugs are taking chunks out of me, it is bear country – and they are just waking up and hungry from their winter slumber – and I have the opportunity to catch a Wednesday ferry, hopping off at 1am on Thursday morning and roaming around the VERY small island of Bella Bella in the Discovery Passage. The next ferry comes by on Sunday at 2am, and I would hop on that and take my originally planned boat up to Prince Rupert. I think this opportunity only comes once again so I’m gonna push for it.

I do plan on spending some time tomorrow before the big climb to Elk Falls, a large waterfall in a secluded park outside of Campbell River. I’ll do the photo-op thing and maybe dunk myself in it, if the weather gives me what it’s been giving me for the past day again. Riding has been getting easier, my legs no longer hurt, I’ve built routines for pedalling, shifting, and remembering old tricks I used to play with myself on previous tours and setting internal alarms to check “business” to ensure I’m not just pedalling for nothing or daydreaming in a high gear. The bike is starting to take alot of dirt, took a huge scuff falling over against a brick wall, and has a slight wobble to it. Bella Bella will be bike fixing time. Preventative Maintenance now means no surprise breakdowns on a hill later.

I’ve heard reports of the upcoming route up to Port Hardy is filled with wildlife, and as mentioned before, the bears are out in full force, on the highways, roaming around, just being.. well… bears. As a reminder, here’s some bear safety:

Here’s how to be Bear Aware:

• Keep a clean and tidy camping site, leaving an extra chair out will show that you are inviting them to come chat.
• All food and garbage must be stored in well sealed containers. When they steal it to take it back to their den, you don’t want to anger them by having a container break open and have them lose the sauce for their pasta.
• Considering your feet are essential for pedalling, putting the bag of food in your tent by your feet is the quickest way to introduce bears to human toenails.
• Never leave cooking utensils, coolers or grease, or dishwater lying around your campsite. Bears don’t use headlamps and could trip and poke, or soak themselves with your mess.
• Use bear-proof garbage containers located throughout the campground, if you can fit in there, sleep in there as well.
• Cook and eat well away from your tent.
• Avoid getting food odours and scented products on clothes and sleeping bags. You’d be the equivalent of a spice rack.
• Never feed or approach bears. They like a fine mix of plants, shoots, leaves, berries.Trail mix is none of that.
• That bear bell you bought is not a gift for them. You are supposed to wear it, dummy.
• Never get too close to bears. They have been known to get extremely attached in short order, to your arm.
• Be noisy when using hiking trails, you know, like May long weekend hooliganism style loudness.

If a Bear Approaches You:

• Talk softly to the bear so it knows what you are.
• Do NOT give it beer, no matter how hard it looks sad, shrugs its shoulders, or makes child voices.
• Leave slowly – always face the bear, but don’t stare directly at him. They be seeing tunnel vision.
• If the bear follows you or starts to circle you, slowly but calmly keep backing up. They want to dance, but will certainly step on your foot.

Yesterday, I felt like royalty after leaving Chemainus – an easy ride on Highway 1. The shoulder’s generally good, although covered in glass and a failed attempt at a bike lane in Ladysmith, far too many bumps, and when it was time to cut into intersections, it wasn’t a smooth meeting to the street, resulting in me nearly losing a couple panniers. I opted for the road for the rest of the trip into Nanaimo, pedaling faster than I originally intended through areas which seemed to have fallen apart that much further since I lived in the area 14 years ago. I thought to myself, wow – I’ve lived in some pretty slummy towns in my life, this one included. I stopped off and talked to Hank, the owner of his Bicycle Repair store on Bowen road, in business for 47 years. We talked about leather saddles, how people write them off and go for the fluffier padded ones now a days, not knowing what they are missing, and he showed me a stack of letters from a couple from Germany in the early 90′s who broke their frame in the area, he set them up with a new one and they continued to postcard him all throughout their tour. Far out!

I stopped off at the Pizza Hut Buffet, and ate 19 slices of pizza, nearly erupting trying to leave. I wasn’t trying to set a record, I was just hungry and trying to get as much food in me as possible. Oh, and I had a salad. Strangely enough, I was able to pedal in a straight line, not throw up or scream from digestive pains on the remaining 30km into Parksville, where a friend let me know they had booked a hotel room for me and was coming up island to see me! I felt like a million bucks, my body thanked me, my finger nails cheered with joy, and everyone around me didn’t wrinkle their nose at my essence.

Sometime yesterday as well I put a classified ad on Crazyguyonabike.com – A bike touring enthusiast site where many others post journals, news, and for sale ads for related journeys on my upcoming tour to Africa. I’ve been told politely, begged by some, and flat out threatened a loss of friendship if I go and complete that tour out of safety issues. I’m with them on the safety front, it’s a scary place, but I need to do this. I’ll be going with stripped equipment lists, no technology with the exception of say a cyclometer, camera, and tonnes of sd cards for photos., but still need to go through with this part of the journey. Have received a few responses so far, and will follow through with them and see if they are legit – this could just be the way that it becomes possible.

Minimal photos were taken today, its the same route I took with someone in Phase-1, but in reverse. I reetched these memories into my head, yet the photos in the gallery still look the same

There seems to be a racetrack beside this park, and they’ve quieted down for the night at 8:47pm, which is my cue to catch some z’s as well if I’m going to be up  and on the road by 9. Great weekend so far!

• The Velvet Rut