A bike ride to the end of Highway 101 for brunch
Nancy’s Bakery on a sunny day
This weekend, my brother Jordan and I strapped our road bikes on the back of my little Volkswagen, and hopped the two ferries to get to Powell River from Vancouver.
We were in town for a few days, and knew we wanted to get a big bike ride in. Thursday evening, we had decided that our destination in the morning was to be Lund, and to grab some coffee and brunch at Nancy’s Bakery.
Lund – 28km
Well, Friday morning came around, and it was raining cats and dogs. We waited it out, and left the house while the roads were still wet. It was a little bit misty out, but not too bad.
I have never ridden a road bike in Powell River, and somehow completely forgot about the Wildwood hill, while focusing all my energy first on getting up the hill by the old dump. I have to say, after the third turn up to Wildwood, I was starting to think this was a bad idea. But I persevered, and Jordan pushed me along with encouragement. After that it was mostly flat, until we passed Southview Road, and then there were rolling hills until we reached our destination.
Just as we careened into Lund Harbour, the rain started up again, and soaked us just before we got off the bikes at Nancy’s Bakery. Luckily, we were able to sip on some piping hot lattes to warm up. I ordered a breakfast burrito, and Jordan ordered the smoked salmon eggs benedict. While my breakfast was delicious, and exactly what I needed to fuel up again, Jordan could not stop raving about his eggs!
Mile 0 – The end of Highway 101 in Lund, BC
We let our gear dry out, and popped in to check out some Pollen sweaters, snagged a quick pic at the Mile 0 sign, then got back in the saddle to make the 30km ride home to Westview. It was a bit chilly, and I just about cried when the rain started again–but it didn’t last too long. By the time we reached the Townsite, the sun was shining and we were toasty warm and feeling confident about the last little stretch we had left to ride.
The route map – Westview to Lund.
There were definitely some tired legs (mine, not Jordan’s), but I am pretty impressed with myself for completing the 60km ride to Lund and back. I highly recommend doing it–on a warm, dry day!
Next time… Saltery Bay?
Janis Behan