Marg V

Run to the West Coast

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Saturday, May 12, 2012

The day dawned with not a cloud in the sky.  This is what living on the coast is all about.  After meeting a few ride companions at The Break Pad, we set out at 9:40am.  It was a bit chilly this morning, although no hard frost like in some previous mornings.  Chilly enough to contemplate plugging in – and glad to do so once we hit the Sutton Pass Summit.  There was still snow on the ground at the top, but remarkably little gravel on the road as we made our way West. The highway to the West Coast is notorious for its cracked, crumbly and hazardous pavement, so we took our time and watched our road very carefully.  We were lucky though in the fact that the only bad spots proved to be on the road from Tofino to Ucluelet.  With the whole group in single file we didn’t hit any “in-your-throat” moments until we got to the stretch of Highway bordering Kennedy Lake.  With a sheer drop and baracades on our right, we encountered a stalled vehicle in the oncoming lane on the hill around a blind corner.  That equates to – vehicles trying to pass into our lane,due to their side of the road having a sheer cliff up with no room for error.

After that “pucker” moment things when smoothly.  We stopped at the Junction Visitor Information Centre for a bit of a Butt Break before turning right at the Junction and heading into Tofino for a bite to eat at the Schooner Cafe.  Good Fish Tacos!  And reasonably priced.  After a gab and a bit, we headed down the road to Ucluelet until we got the the Amphitrite Point Lighthouse and the Coast Guard station. We spent time watching the waves and enjoying the hot sunny afternoon.  Then saddled up and headed East again.  The road trip home was uneventful (thankfully) and we enjoyed a bit of a stop at Taylor Arm Rest Stop.  With a bit of horsing around in the snow, then saddled up and headed off East again.  Some of the group broke off in Port Alberni, while others continued on to Nanaimo and Parksville.  All in all a great day.

 

For more photos of a trip along Hwy 4 – the link below is an excellent photo blog of the road

http://www.nanaimoinformation.com/forum/showthread.php?5778-Road-trip-on-Highway-4-from-Tofino-to-Nanaimo-a-photo-essay

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Published by Marg V

Welcome to my blog. As a bit of a background ~ I am a senior aged woman who lives on Vancouver Island, Canada. But first and foremost, I am a motorcycle enthusiast. Here on the coast, even though we are Canadian, there is an opportunity to ride all year round (although some days during the winter are "iffy"). I used to ride a relatively 'small' cruiser as defined in today's market - a Canadian Anniversary Edition 2008 Vstar 650 Silverado which was a bike I truly fell in love with. Although it was a smaller bike, to be honest I'm a smaller woman. I stand 5' 2" in my stocking feet and only have a 27" inseam, which rules out quite a few of the bikes out there. In 2013 I had the opportunity to upgrade to a monster cruiser - a 2009 Harley Davidson Electra Glide Classic. From there it was a 2016 Harley Davidson Heritage Soft tail. Come 2023 I lucked in to a 2022 Heritage which a friend promptly told me needed to be named Yaahl (Haida for Raven). Anyways - as we travel along this road we call life I'll reveal a bit more about myself (at some points it might prove to be too much). Come along with me.

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