Rubbing Saltspring In

Week 9: May 4-May 10

Bike: 134 km
Run: 32 km
Swim: 1500 m

After my Vancouver marathon weekend, I decided to test out the roads of Saltspring Island with a small bike tour. Of all the Gulf Islands I had chosen Saltspring for a very good reason - Saltspring Island Cheese. I figured that a place that made delicious cheese would be the perfect location for a long bike ride. Despite my great hope for biking and brie, my trip to the Islands was full of unexpected problems.

Problem #1 was getting my bike from Whitehorse to Vancouver. The solution, although somewhat easy, was also unfortunately expensive. We decided to buy a bike box from the local bike shop. I was hoping that the bike would just magically fit into the box without adjustment, this was not the case. Tony and I spent the better part of Friday night trying to figure out how to get the bike to fit in a box. Alexis helped by laying in the box and exclaiming it was her new garage bed and Starbuck helped by trying to make Alexis throw him a frisbee. Wow...who could ask for more helpful friends.

Problem #2 wasn't realized until after we had managed to get the bike safely into the box. We had forgotten to add the rack which would be able to carry panniers. There was no way we were taking the bike back out, so I decided my tour would have to be taken from a central place, instead of point-to-point. The only plan I had made was to start in Saltspring, so this small alteration in style of ride wasn't going to involve changing accommodations or anything else.

My bike tour started with a trip to the Tsawassen ferry terminal. The bus system is fabulous in Vancouver, and I was easily able to get my bike on a bus to Ladner. Once at Ladner (in Delta), I popped off the bus and rode the beautiful bike path through farm country to the ferry terminal. My Gulf Springs ferry was planning to take 3 Island stops before Saltspring, so I spent my morning enjoy a prolonged nap in the waiting area of the Princess of Something-or-other. I arrived in Saltspring at about 1:30 and rode my bike off the ferry and into Ganges to find a hotel room. I was able to quickly secure a room at Wisteria Guest House. I had grand hopes of finishing 100 km in my first day, so I dumped my stuff into my room and jumped on my bike to start my big ride.

The first thing I realized on my Gulf Island adventure is that Saltspring is not a flat island. The hills were frequent, but never too long or too hard. Easing the pain in my quadriceps was the beautiful scenery which included great ocean views:

And wonderful farmyard encounters:

As soon as I reached the furthest point from Ganges and Vesuvius, the two northern towns, something went terribly wrong. Problem #3 was a derailleur in my wheel:

Apparently Saltspring is the not the happy little hippie town it used to be. I spent the next hour and a half walking down the road with my bicycle. For the first 15 minutes I carried my bike because the back wheel didn't move at all (and I figured carrying my bike was a fairly obvious sign that I needed some assistance). After three Jaguars and a Lexus SUV passed me, I realized that I might as well remove my derailleur because no-one was going to stop and it was a LONG way to carry a bike to Vesuvius (which according to my map was about 10 km down the road). I made it to Vesuvius despite the heat and bad bike shoes, and a couple of nice men drove me and my mangled bike back to Ganges.

Once back in town, I stopped at the Ganges bike shop to see if there was hope, but there was nothing they could do to help. I saw my dreams of cycling slowly floating away. Worse still - I didn't make it to the cheese factory for my beloved goat cheese treat. Depressed, I went back to my room and took a long nap - figuring that there wasn't much else to do. I woke up at 7:00 pm, still upset, but also hungry. I headed into town where I realized, nothing in Saltspring was open past 6:00 pm, so it was going to have to be Clif Bars and Gatorade for dinner. So far, Saltspring was not my friend. I decided to phone Tony (mostly so I could whine) and he suggested converting my bike into a single speed using the handy dandy bike tool he'd stuck in my bag. I had never broken a chain, reconnected a chain, or used the odd tool that was apparently in the bottom of my bag, but with dreams of ash ripened camembert I decided to give it my best shot. It took me almost 2 hours, but in the end I had rechristened my bike the S.S Lucy (S.S for singlespeed) and was ready to try my luck again.

My goal on day 2 was significantly reduced - get to the cheese store only around 15 km away. My bike was clearly not pleased with its new single speed status, as it liked making a lot of odd noises, especially on big hills. My thighs were also a little upset - especially because overnight the island had not gotten any flatter. It took me a while, and I gained a new appreciation for one geared cycling, but in the end I reached my destination:

I got to enjoy a true biking lunch: banana, block of cheese, bread and coffee...yummmm

I set out from the cheese store with the thought that I might be able to make it to the second Saltspring cheese factory, but only 500 m from the gate, my chain busted and I had to get a ride back to Ganges. With nothing to do back in town, I decided that if I couldn't bike, I should at least go for a run. Unfortunately because I didn't have panniers for my bike I had done some minimalist packing and only had bike shorts and a bike jersey. I figured that it was a Tuesday and nobody would even notice, I was apparently wrong as it didn't take more than 15 minutes for someone to ask: "Is there a triathlon on today". Because it was Tuesday at 2:00 pm, I thought the answer should be obvious, but still replied "No, I just don't have other shorts."; I should have answered "Yes - I'm in the lead!". My run took me all the way up to the top of Ganges and then back down to a small point out in the Ocean. This was a special experience, as it is the only time I've ever had to be wary of seastars while running.

I finished my run just in time to zoom to my hotel room and grab my stuff for the ferry. Hopped on my re-repaired bicycle and headed out of time...but not before encountering a few familiar faces on the telephone poles in town.

The ferry took me back to Vancouver for a day of meetings before heading back to Whitehorse, a few kilometers shy of where I wanted to be on the bike, but a nice cycling trip none-the-less.

Sierra posted this on May 26, 2008 from the outside | | permanent link