Day 1 - Tofino to Ucluelet

Tere, hello all,

50 km.
overcast, light rain, some light (yet cool) wind, 5-7 degrees.

Today was the first day of the bike trip, so that was special. I like biking.

The morning started off with some surfing. The waves were nice at first, but petered out halfway through the lesson. It was around that time my triceps were getting to be a bit weak from all those “pop-ups” (lying on your belly on the board, paddle quickly, then do a push-up to get up onto the board). Most of the time, I just fell in the water. I did manage to finally get it and ride the wave for a good five to 10 seconds until I fell (or the wave lost steam as it came close to shore). Fun time, I'll definitely do that again one day. I like surfing.

After lunch, I prepared to head out. I found a store where they were able to pump up my tires with a floor pump (my portable pump can not go as high as I want, and nowhere near here sells the air cartridges that i like so much). It was a very cool and damp day, so I bought some fleece gloves to keep my hands warm during the bike. I like warm hands.

Bike time. Things felt good, felt right. The plan was to stop by at two different trails at the Pacific Rim National Park along the way so I can hike in some rain forest trails. It was nice, even in the rain. Some big trees there, and some as old as 800 years. Most of the trails were all boardwalk, some stairs, and many 6 inch rises/drops. I couldn't stop thinking how fun it would be to mountain bike these boardwalks. It would be a surreal experience with the rainforest all around. Gees, biking, is that all I think about?

Got into town near supper time. Some of the restaurants that The Rough Guide to Canada recommended were either closed or not in business. I did my groceries for the next 2 days, and decided to head to the campsite in town. Since the price was high ($27) for a night, and no attendants were there, I headed out of town where I saw a sign for another camp site. Great move – 22 bucks total, plus sauna, hot showers, and hot tub. I like hot tubs.

The beer streak stops tonight. I didn't want to carry beer for me on the ride tomorrow, and I didn't bother buying a beer for tonight. Too bad, oh well.

As promissed, food reviews from Tofino.
Great place to eat – Sobo. Excellent. Perfect place for a date. Unfortunately, I was alone. On the menu for me that night: soup – roasted yam with peanuts and coconut milk. Very tasty. Main course – Spring salmon with spring vegetables and legumes. Excellent as well. The salmon was almost hard to eat – you just look at it and it would just “melt” before you. So tender. Mmmmmm. I actually skipped desert as I was too full (good size portions). Apparently, the chocolate bomb cake is very good.

Breakers, in town, has some nice little sandwiches (wraps, burritos, etc). It was my spot for breakfast. The mediteranean breakfast burrito is great. The chicken mole burrito was also quite tasty. I had my eyes set on the wasabi salmon and pineapple wrap on Wednesday, but had previous plans to eat somewhere else. When I returned the next day, they had a different sandwich, so I missed out.

Tough Guy Sushi restaurant. Guess what they had? The maki platter is pretty good. The sea-shell could be a bit better, but overall, it was quite good. I'd go for seconds.

Beer. The Okanagan Spring IPA was delicious. The Hermann's Dark Ale was also very enjoyable. There was another beer I had at Tough Guy Sushi, but I dont remember the name. We'll see.

My gastronomic adventures in Tofino were quite enjoyable. I like food and beer.

My bike, as MT was asking. Dzie. A Cramerotti, 10 years old. Deddachi tubing (similar to Reynolds 953 I believe) – imported tubes from Italy, build in Toronto. I heard it used to be the bike for the Ontario provincial cycling team years ago. This frame is more of a criterium bike, with a bit of slack geometry. I converted it into a touring bike by adding a pannier (with clamps, as it doesn't come with bult-in rack screws – whatever they are called).

Some specs – 25c in front, 28c in rear (I am trying this approach to see how well it handles the 45-50 lbs I have, as the 25c tires were sometimes taking a beating, well, too many flats). I also decreased some weight in the back by taping some tools (which I hope I dont need them) to the top tube in the front – chain whip, spokes, etc). But, what I saved in weight this year, I added with a mini lap-top, and a few books. Oddly enough, I feel I have less weight than last year when I toured with Tanya and Atilla (excluding the food).

Enough about the boring talk, right?

It seems my rear is a bit soft. When I pedal, I can occasionally feel the back end shake a bit - there's some junk in the trunk, I guess.

Well, time for bed soon. Apparently, in this camp site, there is frequent spottings of black bears. I wonder how well I will sleep knowing this. Only one way to find out.

Have a good night. Or, enjoy your day. Tere paevast, paikesepaiste.

Ciao,

Pierre