Victoria, BC to Portland, Oregon

I crossed from Victoria, BC to the US by ferry.  I landed in the town of Port Angeles in the US which is on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. The Olympic Discovery Trail took me all along the northern coast of the peninsula. 

A 'free produce' exchange along the Discovery Trail.

 I met a lovely elderly lady called Sandy who was out riding her bike on the trail. She explained to me how each 3 mile section of the trail has been adopted by a local family who take care of it. This involves cutting back the bushes/trees and keeping it free from litter. She was on her way to her Tai Chi class 10 miles away so we cycled together and chatted. She was really proud of the trail and said she moved to this area 12 years previously because of it. I made sure to compliment her on her 3 mile section that she and her husband had taken care of for the last 12 years! She told me she was a member of a national organization called Rails to Trails working to convert old rail tracks into bike trails. It made me wonder how networked such groups are at home in Ireland.

Not quite sure what this is, but found at a farmers market
on the Discovery Trail.

While on the trail I stopped at a farmers market called Sunny Farms. A lady approached me and asked all about my bike and my trip. She was American but originally from Hungary and had biked all through Europe when she was younger. She insisted on paying for my groceries. $11.46. She remembered being shown all sorts of kindness while on the road herself and wanted to pay something back. I had been in the USA for all of about 4 hours when this happened. A lovely gesture of welcome to America. 

It's coming into Halloween season.

As the trail finished I turned south along the Hood Canal in the direction of Portland.

The journey from Victoria BC, Canada to Portland, Oregan, US was a total of about 400 miles. I decided to do what the Romans do when in Rome and switch my bike speedometer to miles. It’s painfully slow compared to cycling in kilometers, but I guessed that it made more sense as all the signs here are in miles.

Lou and his wife Amelia were my first Warm Showers hosts. Lou found me a little stranded on the road as night was falling and so gave me a lift up the steep 1 mile driveway to his house. The following morning I had to get to work fixing my first puncture. One puncture after one day of cycling. Hmmmm.

WS host Lou had recently biked on his rather unusual
recumbent bicycle 4500 miles across the US.

WS host Amelia and the dog, Mr. Bear

The Hood Canal also provided the first opportunity for some wild camping. September seems like a really nice time to camp in Washington. The days are long and sunny and the nights are cool but not cold.

Beautiful spot along the Hood Canal.
Slept, cooked, swam.

Chaz was my second Warm Showers host on this route. A planned one night stay turned into a two night stay due to an invite to go flying. I kid you not. He took me up to about 8000ft and I saw Washington State with its forests and waterways unfold beneath me. We even flew over Bill Gates’ house/compound in Union. What a treat.

WS host Chaz takes me flying in a Vans RV-9/9A

A view over Washington State.

First proper campsite. Pitches were beautifully located
in the forest.

From Olympia to Portland Google maps took me on lovely back roads which intertwined around the I5 (interstate highway). I camped for 2 nights right by the highway in ‘proper’ campsites. But at $25 per night I won’t be doing that too often. I hear that campsites along the Oregon and California coasts are a lot cheaper.

Highlights:

• Going flying of course
• Finding my penknife. It was in my tent. I knew I couldn't have left it in Navan
• Oh and also fixing a puncture for the first time in my life

This week I learned that:

Both whipped butter and a Washington craft beer called Irish Death – are gorgeous!

 

Whipped butter. Light and fluffy.

Irish Death. A Washington State delicious dark ale craft beer. 

I’m reading:

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

I watched:

Virgin Galactic Spaceship One flight on YouTube (thanks to Chaz, the Warm Showers host who was nuts about flying).

I’m listening to:

RTE Documentary On One – The Irish refugees of Glenstall Abbey.

Vancouver, BC to Victoria, BC

Downtown Vancouver. What a good idea.
To paint cement silos to make them look more attractive. Cute.

I left my aunt and uncle's house in Vancouver on Friday morning Sept 16^th and headed for about 40kms along to coast to the ferry port in Twassessen. Ferries run every couple of hours from the Canadian mainland to Vancouver island.

Leaving Kieran and Mindy - Mile 0

I wanted to visit my cousin and his wife (Justin and Amie) and a friend and co-founder of VAA (Matt) and his wife (Astrid) who all lived in Victoria which is the capital of Vancouver Island – before hitting the high road to California.

Nora with her dad Justin about to take a pic of me.

It was really nice to meet up with my cousin Justin again. I had last seen him in 2002 and since then he had moved to the island, got married, bought a house and had 2 kids. I had never met his wife Amie, nor his 2 hilarious children Ewan and big sis Nora. We had a lovely time together and I spent the afternoon with Amie and the kids at the Vancouver Island aquarium in Sydney. This guy was my favourite.

I know Matt (from Texas but living in Dublin at the time) since about 2008. Matt, myself and Conall sat in the Mont Clare hotel in Dublin city one evening and mapped out the bones of what would become the Irish NGO, Value Added in Africa literally on the back of a beer mat. At the time Matt and Astrid, his wife, were living in No 3 Longford Terrace in Monkstown. Right beside a friend of mine Dee Walsh – Ireland is such a small world. Pretty soon after Matt and Astrid moved to Canada. But I either saw or heard Matt every month since then, when he Skyped into the VAA bi-monthly board of director meetings. It was really nice to stay with them for two nights and meet Thomas. Thanks for a lovely time.

Matt and Astrid live in the foothills of Mt. Douglas. So on Sunday morning we

literally walked into their back garden and found a trail through the forest to Mt Douglas. Autumn is just beginning here so it was a beautiful stroll. From the top we had a 360 degree view of Victoria and the surrounding area. A mixture of forest and sea for as far as the eye could see.

Me and Thomas and Matt at the top of Mount Douglas on Vancouver Island

A selfie at The Local where my cousin Justin works. Pity it was his day off.

Victoria has two main bike trails. I rode the Lockside Trail all the way from the ferry port near Sydney into downtown Victoria. And I rode a mix of that trail plus the Galloping Goose trail to get to Matt and Astrid’s house. Both trails were full of walkers and joggers and people riding all sorts of bikes. I even saw a tandem with 3 seats. Does anyone know what that is called. I’ve never seen a bike like that before. A dad rode on the front and two kids (probably on their way to school) on the middle seat and the back seat. Just like Vancouver a totally bike friendly city.

I was the 1510'th cyclist to pass this counter that day. Love the way the yearly target is plotted.

Thought this was cute. Lots of these little green men were outside houses in housing estates in Vancouver asking cars to slow down.

Highlights of the week:

1. Realising at US Customs in Victoria that my ESTA visa from my 2014 Christmas trip to Colombia was still valid. So I didn’t have to buy a new US visa. (I met an Austrian cyclist at the Victoria ferry terminal who had spent the last year cycling through New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and then from Alaska to Vancouver. He was planning to cycle to Argentina but they didn’t let him board my boat. I suddenly felt very lucky to have entered into the US so easily.)

2. Receiving this photo of my nieces Keeva and Emily at Legoland in Germany. I think it's brilliant. It makes me laugh. Thanks Fi for sending.

Keeva and Emily having fun at Legoland

Lowlights of the week:

1. Realising that I had left my penknife in Navan. I popped into the Salvation Army store in Victoria on the way to the ferry and found a sharp little bread knife for the grand sum of 50c.

2. Hearing that the Munich-based Spanish mafia were all going to Oktoberfest without me! Hope it was fun.

What I'm reading: 'We are completely beside ourselves' by Karen Joy Fowler (a recommendation from the young miss McMahon!)

What I'm listening to: BBC4 Desert Island Discs - Enjoyed interview with Stephen Fry

Vancouver

It's such a lovely feeling, arriving into a major city with a bike in a bike box, to start a big adventure, knowing there is someone there to pick you up at the airport. Thanks Kevin. Much appreciated.
My bike box has been lost on the previous 3 bike trips (Germany, Colombia and Morocco) but voila, there it was at the oversized baggage carousel in Vancouver airport.
I was spending the weekend with my cousin Kevin and his wife of one year, Helen. I had never met Helen and hadn't seen Kevin for about 14 years we guessed.
Thanks guys for the warm welcome and the 5 star hotel service.

My cousin Kevin and his wife hosted me in their city centre pad.

After building up the bike (Sherpa) which went surprisingly smoothly. I headed off to explore the 3rd most liveable city in the world (according to The Economist Index 2015). I did need Kevin and his trusty toolbox to help with the front pannier racks, which I had never used before. (Thanks Kev).

A spot of sea kayaking before work in downtown Vancouver.

Mindy hard at work laminating my US map. Thanks!!

Great to have a big room to sort out 'my mess'. 

Hard to leave... but I need to get this show on the road.