Skookumchuck Narrows, Sunshine Coast BC Mini-holiday

We took a mini-holiday, basically a staycation, as we did not leave the Sunshine Coast, but drove an hour up the coast to the West Coast Wilderness Lodge. That's a fantastic place for a little R & R, with one of the most beautiful dining areas I've ever seen out on their patio. We had some bicycle trail adventures before checking into the lodge, then relaxed and dined.

The next day we had thought of exploring further on our bikes, but there was some drizzle coming down, and so we decided to revisit the world famous Skookumchuck Narrows. This is a place where the land narrows, and the tides rush through like a crazy river. We happened to hit it at one of the more fantastic viewing times (there are published times for viewing at its best). Although I've visited perhaps half a dozen times over the years, it never, ever fails to impress.

The Tide Ripping Through the Skookumchuck

It's an easy, mostly level, 40 minute stroll into the furthest viewing point. Just before arriving back at the car, there is a very good bakery nestled in the woods where we got delicious treats and drinks. Then the drizzle had ceased, so we got a bit of biking after all. The only just slightly disappointing part of the whole mini-vacation is that the so called Suncoaster bike trail is not at all what it is written up to be. After approximately 6 kilometres, one section was completely closed, and going back on another section was so rough, and steep, we had to walk a lot of it. Trying the start of the trail the next day, the first few hundred metres were great, and then back to extremely rough, and steep. Nope, not a bike trail unless you perhaps are into extreme mountain biking.

Bicycle Riding, New Passion

Specialized Turbo Vado, New Passion

It's been a very long time since I've ridden a bike. As a child and teenager, I lived on my bikes. Then I had a pretty terrible accident on the way to school, and never really felt like getting back in the saddle.

Moving to the Sunshine Coast, BC, my wife REALLY enjoys biking around, and has frequently urged me to join her. We have hills here, A LOT of hills, and narrow roads, and well... I did not feel like doing that at all, with memories of my bad crash still haunting me, too.

But then I looked into e-bikes. I do love technology. In fact, my love of technology, and the thought of effortlessly defeating our local steep hills, lead me to getting my e-bike. Never looking back (well, I do have a rearview mirror!), as I quickly discovered it is a lot of fun to explore on a bike.

Above, reaching my destination on an early morning ride. It turns out early morning is a great time to ride, before there is much traffic on the roads. My one gripe is that the Sunshine Coast is very poor, as far as road biking. If there happens to be a bike lane, it is narrow, and generally full of gravel, branches, trash. Most often, there is no special bike lane, and the secondary roads tend to be curvy and narrow-- not ideal. I'm pretty cautious (yes, memories of that accident...), and hope to enjoy this new hobby without incident. The bright green swimming noodle on the back of my bike is an idea stollen from a cyclists in Toronto: it makes me more visible, and encourages cars to keep some distance when passing. I do notice a significant improvement since attaching it.

My Early Morning Route from Yesterday