Great Trail wk4 Last Day

The last day of our trip is the worst day for me because of it ending. Fortunately, it was a very pleasant last day as we continued down the island from Duncan, taking a ferry from Mill Bay to Brentwood and then pedaling North to Swartz Bay to catch the ferry over to Vancouver.

Leaving Duncan was the first time I was happy to leave a place in BC. We had walked over a good portion of the town and had a pretty good feel for it. Unfortunately it did not feel too good. There were many similarities to our hometown. It wasn’t scary and it’s not the murder capital of the region like our lovely town but it was far below the standard of the many great places we had been in BC. Duncan had created a walking tour of many totem poles. That was interesting and worthwhile, especially since one of the totem poles had been created by a young man that had lived with Gloria’s family as a teenager.

From Duncan to Mill Bay was a beautiful ride with some excellent trail along the railroad for much of it and then we hugged the bay as we approached the ferry. Amazingly, despite a 47% chance of rain, the only water was in the ocean near us.

From Brentwood we crossed to the other side of the Swartz Peninsula. Officially and sadly, we did not enter Victoria. My excuse was Gloria’s broken bike and I feared going further put us at greater risk for a breakdown. I did however try to convince Gloria that this Garden was Butchart Gardens. My dad told me I had to take her there. I’m not sure she believed me but there were some beautiful gardens everywhere.

Continuing up the coast was amazing. We were on some nice trail as well as wide road with good shoulder. The town of Sidney looks out to the South and somewhere out there you can see the US although the border is middle of the water.

As we approached Swartz Bay and the ferry terminal I was again grateful to be on a bicycle. This is a massive operation with hundreds of cars. We pedaled right past them all and waited only a few minutes to board the ferry. Watcbing the cars load the ferry Gloria decided that it was surely going to sink with so many cars. It was quite impressive.

Again, the ferry was one of the best parts of the trip. It took us through some beautiful islands and open water. Again we never saw Shamu but the scenery was spectacular and a nice way to head back to the mainland. I spent a good portion of the time trying to convince Gloria that I had now taken her on a cruise.

Back on the mainland we weren’t quite finished. Our good friend Gordon Murray was more than kind by driving our car all the way from Calgary to Vancouver. He was coming from the East and we were coming from the West. Since he wasn’t quite to Vancouver yet, we began riding towards the hotel. Just before crossing the Fraser River one last time we were stopped by a trail closed sign and so we waited for Gordon to bring the car. It was great to see him but I was sad to get off my bike.

I’m already looking for next year’s Adventure so send your ideas my way.

Photos