Well, I’m here. I tell you I was not to sure whether I would get here – at least not on the bicycle. The first day was not too bad. Okay, I had difficulties to go up the last few hills on the way to Jordan River but I mad it. Especially tough was the on just before Sherly. As I right remember told Tina and Chris that there would by a good place to eat, a shed along the road, so I saved all my hunger and hoped for something to eat, but there was no shed, just a nice looking restaurant and a closed community hall. Probably I would had have to go somewhere in a back road but for that I was to tiered or not hungry enough. However, Jordan River was just about an other hour down the road – with some hills between. Arriving in Jordan River I dumped my bicycle and all the stuff in the site where I would camp and went to have something to eat. The burger with fries – I know, the typical meal – tasted by fare not as good as the once I had at Tina’s and Chris’s place the night before, but it was something to eat.

After a good night sleep I went in the morning for an other burger with fries – well I needed some energy for the day – but this time it tasted even less then the night before – hunger helps to make things taste good I tell you. With a burger in my stomach I hit the road again, up and down it went along the coast and more then one time I got of the bike and pushed it up the hill (might this be the reason a bicycle is also called push bike?!?). I also envied all the people on there motorbikes and I started to ask myself ‘Why I’m doing this? Would it not also be fun to travel by motorbike or care?’ Well, here I was, sitting on bicycle pedaling up an other hill knowing that it will take some time till I’m in shape again – I gave myself two weeks – and therefore probably starting enjoying cycling more.

That night I camped on Lizard Lake and just on the last few kilometers before the lake I remembered that Tina was telling me about this lake – and she was right – it is beautiful spot to be. After a bath in the lake all the torture I had during the day where forgotten.

The next two days I followed logging roads going from the west coast of the island to the interior town of Port Alberni. My doubts about doing the right thing did not get smaller. I even asked persons about how much a used care and insures would be. The idea about traveling by care was very appealing to me but somehow I knew that I have to try it a bit longer. The first time I sort of enjoyed to be on the bicycle was at the day a had a head over fall, the logging trucks covered me in dust and my back rack broke. No, it’s not because of these things that I enjoyed it but although all this happened.

After a day rest and organizing of a new back rack I left Port Alberni. I followed the logging road towards Courteny. As always it went up and down and every time I went down I was surprised that I had gone so far up before – I had not realized it. At some point I was not sure any more which of the gravel roads I had to follow. I got of the bike and a look at all the signs around the ‘intersection’. The most where for the loggers and had now meaning for my or pointed to places I didn’t liked to go. Because I couldn’t find a sign, I was just going to drive down the most promising road, as I finally saw the sign. Well, I saw it all the time but I did not realize it. Sometime you just can’t see the forest because of all the trees – or in my case – can’t see the sign because of all the trees.

Click me!!!The next days were normal riding; beside of the hills I had now also some rain. Because I was now on more populated side of the island, the road was paved and I made good progress. By a check in the morning I realized that my back wheel had 4 broken spokes. I had spare spokes and so I started to take the back wheel out to replace them. I realized then that I have to take the cassette away as well, bit for that I had no tool. The mechanic in Victoria and me were both wrong. We thought that it is possible to replace spokes on the not cassette side without having to take the cassette of – well we were wrong. Fortunately I meet the ‘Ditch Pigs’ from Victoria who had the right tools. So together we managed to replace the spokes – thank you guys!!

After replacing 6 other spokes along the way, I family made it to Port Hardy. From here I will take the ferry to Price Rupert and from there an other ferry to Haines in Southeast Alaska. There my actual Alaska bicycling trip starts.

By now I pedaled for 8 days, spent 46 hors and 18 minutes on the bicycle and covered 729 km (452 miles) from Victoria to Port Hardy, saw 5 black bears (4 of them where just sitting on the other side of the road as I passed), had one head over fall, had to replace 10 spokes on my back wheel, get a new back rack and killed my side stand.