Day 3 - Shawnigan Lake to Ladysmith, B.C

Day 3 - Shawnigan Lake to Ladysmith, BC

102 km

We woke up bright and early and reported to our Muster Station at 0700 for a hearty breakfast of eggs, waffles and sausage.  Our team captain Paul is a career military man, now retired.  Of course we all have the utmost respect for Paul and his impressive career, yet we relentlessly, playfully and tirelessly teased him any chance we could regarding his military precision.  I am afraid our team of "military misfits" would not do well at boot camp.  Clearly our expertise is all things TURTLE.

The morning route for the MS Ride was my favourite.  We circled Shawnigan Lake, managing to find yet more wineries to tour.

It was a beautiful ride around the lake and out to the historic Kinsol trestle.  Our team met at the trestle and cycled in the last few kilometres as a group, crossing the finish line together in all our glory.

To call the event a success is an understatement.  Our team raised over $5000 and the ride as a whole raised over $350,000.  Hopefully, the funds will help!

We enjoyed lunch together as a team and then it was time for farewells.  Rob and I were feeling anxious to get on our way.  We were really intrigued by the Kinsol Trestle and Cowichan Valley trail, part of the Trans Canada Trail system.  Karen and James had kindly done some scouting work earlier in the day and reported back that the trail would be good for our bikes.  Great advice!  We were aching to get off the roads and onto trail and enjoyed a long, relaxing ride through the valley towards Duncan.

We have learned over the years that "you can't beat local knowledge" especially with respect to routes and breaky spots!  Again, this proved true as Rob picked Mike and Lesley's brains for bike friendly routes toward Nanaimo.  They did not let us down, as they provided us with a gem of a ride from Duncan to Ladysmith along back roads and through Chemanius.

As we cycled along we were becoming increasingly concerned about air quality.  Sadly, we are in the middle of a very, long hot drought and our forests are on fire!  The sun is a blazing ball of bright orange, and there is a very thick haze due to the smoke.  We have heard through the grapevine that there is a large fire near Port Hardy and several families have been evacuated.  We will need to keep our eye on the fire status as Port Hardy is our next ferry stop.

We had been hoping to reach Nanaimo today, but after a long, hot ride we opted to crash in a motel in Ladysmith, just a few km short of our intended destination.  Coincidentally, the Women's FIFA World Cup final is on, and our motel has a TV.....a feature our tent is lacking.

Giggle of the day:

As we were riding towards the Kinsol Trestle we noticed a Budda statue nestled in the shrubbery on the side of the road.  Another good omen?