Cycling review of Cortes Island (BC, Canada)

The roads: Cortes Island roads have poor pavement. It's 100% chipseal, and
not well maintained. The roads are friable at the edges, and have unexpected
potholes. The roads generally are narrow: not only is there no shoulder, in
many places, considering that the edges have crumbled, there aren't really
two whole lanes. On the road from the ferry terminal to Manson's Landing,
there is a faded yellow stripe, that appears and disappears in a
half-hearted sort of way.

The roads are also incredibly steep in places. I believe that they do not
have the money to build or maintain bridges except in the direst of places,
so roads descend down terrible slopes and then swoop up again; whereas in
other places, maybe they'd just put a bridge across the gully.

The upside of Cortes, though, is that there is basically no traffic. I
probably would see, coming either direction, on the average of 10 cars/hour.
And it is so incredibly quiet on Cortes, you can hear a car coming for at
least 20 seconds before it appears, plenty of time to move to the side of
the road.

And the drivers that you do see on Cortes are the greatest. Everyone waves
to you - and with all five fingers! Everyone is patient. No one is in a
hurry, because, really, where is there to go to?

So, what you do is you aim your bike where the road surface is the best,
often right down the middle. When you come down one of these steep hills,
you're hanging on to your handlebars for dear life, as the vibration from
the chipseal and imperfections in the pavement keep shaking them out of your
hands. Then, you go swooping up the other side, pedalling like mad, hoping
you'll make it up some portion of the hill. Gravity only takes you so far,
though, and soon you're grinding your way up in the granniest of granny
gears.

I will now proudly state that I never dismounted and walked my bike up any
of the hills on the island. YMMV. I didn't know that I could bicycle at less
than 3.5 mph and still keep it upright - did you?

Another upside of Cortes is that there are no dogs. You can hear them
barking, but I never was chased down by a single dog. woohoo on that.

A big downside of Cortes is that there are very few services. I ran out of
water on my Whaletown ride. Oh well! If you're going to bike on Cortes,
bring food and water with you - do not think that the cafe marked on your
tourist map will be open (maybe just in the summer tourist high season?)

A cool thing about Cortes Island is that someone has planted daffodils along
the roadsides. So, as you cycle along, you often see these cheerful yellow
flowers. Sometimes they are planted in rotting trees stumps, so they are
quite visible, at eye level.

The Cortes Island website has more information about the island:
http://www.cortesisland.com/cgi-bin/.../show_home.cgi.

Specific destinations on Cortes:

CORTES BAY

What's he

- boat launch and mooring.
- sign with various warnings regarding marine safety.
- small rock in the middle of the bay with a light on it
- portion of an old-growth log that can be a make-shift bench or bicycle
parking facility.

Why go he
- moderately picturesque view

On the approach to Cortes Bay from the south, one encounters a sign that
says, "Steep Hill". This sign is most alarming; the island is made up almost
entirely of steep hills. What precipice are they going to send you down? The
reality is, it is no worse a hill than any other; it's just that it takes a
short jog to the left as you come down. Later, after talking to Cortes
resident, I found out that an elderly person missed the turn a few years
back and was killed - hence the sign.

MANSON'S LANDING

What's the Manson's Landing is the throbbing heart of Cortes Island. The
general store is located in "uptown Manson's Landing", a most humorous
description, as it implies a downtown Manson's Landing. The general store is
open seven days a week, and has a map posted on its wall if you're lost.
Also in Manson's Landing: a public library (open afternoons M W F); a cafe
(never saw it open); a small bookstore (ditto); a branch of the local credit
union, comprising the financial district; a portable labeled something like
North Island College; and the Community Hall.

Why go the there's more services here than anywhere else on the island.

SQUIRREL COVE

What's the

Just off of the main road, there's a general store. It has a basement,
intriguingly labeled "Hardware", but I did not check it out. There's also a
cafe (closed). Fuel for both marine and terrestrial vehicles are available
here. There's a boat launch. There's a small tourist information board about
the local shellfish industry, among the First Nations people, the European
invaders, and today.

Turk Road, which is just off of the main road, leads to the Klahoose First
Nation settlement. The homes here are neatly maintained, in contrast to most
American Indian reservations I"ve been on. At the end of Turk Road is the
Klahoose community building; and an old white steepled church, built and now
abandoned by well-meaning missionaries.

Why go he the general store provides the only services in the area. The
hardware portion might have resources for you if you had a mechanical
problem with your bike. The overwhelming reason to go to Squirrel Cove,
though, is the beautiful views of Desolation Sound. I thought the view from
the Tribal Center to be one of the best in all of Cortes Island. Panoramic
360 view from the general store may be found he
http://www.eyeland.ca/Squirrel.html

WHALETOWN

The main reason to go to Whaletown is to get off or catch the ferry. There
isn't anything else here, other than some sanicans. The hills you have to
climb to get here (and leave) are enormously steep. While the view from the
ferry terminal itself is quite picturesque, the views along the way are
pretty much unremarkable, especially considering how beautiful the rest of
the island is. Gmap-pedometer link to the route from Whaletown to Hollyhock:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=880349


--
Warm Regards,


Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Claire Petersky wrote:
::
:: Another upside of Cortes is that there are no dogs. You can hear them
:: barking, but I never was chased down by a single dog. woohoo on that.
::

Sounds like luck to me!

I would suggest good treaded tires and suspension, brakes etc.

Carry some spare parts, be totally self sufficient, as you might not
see anyone.

Think about walking along the beach for short cuts. Some roads on
this island
are 20 times the distance up a hill of walking along the beach.

Also the ferry can be very buisy in the summer.



On Apr 22, 10:30 am, "Claire Petersky"
wrote:
The roads: Cortes Island roads have poor pavement. It's 100% chipseal, and
not well maintained. The roads are friable at the edges, and have unexpected
potholes. The roads generally are narrow: not only is there no shoulder, in
many places, considering that the edges have crumbled, there aren't really
two whole lanes. On the road from the ferry terminal to Manson's Landing,
there is a faded yellow stripe, that appears and disappears in a
half-hearted sort of way.

The roads are also incredibly steep in places. I believe that they do not
have the money to build or maintain bridges except in the direst of places,
so roads descend down terrible slopes and then swoop up again; whereas in
other places, maybe they'd just put a bridge across the gully.

The upside of Cortes, though, is that there is basically no traffic. I
probably would see, coming either direction, on the average of 10 cars/hour.
And it is so incredibly quiet on Cortes, you can hear a car coming for at
least 20 seconds before it appears, plenty of time to move to the side of
the road.

And the drivers that you do see on Cortes are the greatest. Everyone waves
to you - and with all five fingers! Everyone is patient. No one is in a
hurry, because, really, where is there to go to?

So, what you do is you aim your bike where the road surface is the best,
often right down the middle. When you come down one of these steep hills,
you're hanging on to your handlebars for dear life, as the vibration from
the chipseal and imperfections in the pavement keep shaking them out of your
hands. Then, you go swooping up the other side, pedalling like mad, hoping
you'll make it up some portion of the hill. Gravity only takes you so far,
though, and soon you're grinding your way up in the granniest of granny
gears.

I will now proudly state that I never dismounted and walked my bike up any
of the hills on the island. YMMV. I didn't know that I could bicycle at less
than 3.5 mph and still keep it upright - did you?

Another upside of Cortes is that there are no dogs. You can hear them
barking, but I never was chased down by a single dog. woohoo on that.

A big downside of Cortes is that there are very few services. I ran out of
water on my Whaletown ride. Oh well! If you're going to bike on Cortes,
bring food and water with you - do not think that the cafe marked on your
tourist map will be open (maybe just in the summer tourist high season?)

A cool thing about Cortes Island is that someone has planted daffodils along
the roadsides. So, as you cycle along, you often see these cheerful yellow
flowers. Sometimes they are planted in rotting trees stumps, so they are
quite visible, at eye level.

The Cortes Island website has more information about the island:http://www.cortesisland.com/cgi-bin/.../show_home.cgi.

Specific destinations on Cortes:

CORTES BAY

What's he

- boat launch and mooring.
- sign with various warnings regarding marine safety.
- small rock in the middle of the bay with a light on it
- portion of an old-growth log that can be a make-shift bench or bicycle
parking facility.

Why go he
- moderately picturesque view

On the approach to Cortes Bay from the south, one encounters a sign that
says, "Steep Hill". This sign is most alarming; the island is made up almost
entirely of steep hills. What precipice are they going to send you down? The
reality is, it is no worse a hill than any other; it's just that it takes a
short jog to the left as you come down. Later, after talking to Cortes
resident, I found out that an elderly person missed the turn a few years
back and was killed - hence the sign.

MANSON'S LANDING

What's the Manson's Landing is the throbbing heart of Cortes Island. The
general store is located in "uptown Manson's Landing", a most humorous
description, as it implies a downtown Manson's Landing. The general store is
open seven days a week, and has a map posted on its wall if you're lost.
Also in Manson's Landing: a public library (open afternoons M W F); a cafe
(never saw it open); a small bookstore (ditto); a branch of the local credit
union, comprising the financial district; a portable labeled something like
North Island College; and the Community Hall.

Why go the there's more services here than anywhere else on the island.

SQUIRREL COVE

What's the

Just off of the main road, there's a general store. It has a basement,
intriguingly labeled "Hardware", but I did not check it out. There's also a
cafe (closed). Fuel for both marine and terrestrial vehicles are available
here. There's a boat launch. There's a small tourist information board about
the local shellfish industry, among the First Nations people, the European
invaders, and today.

Turk Road, which is just off of the main road, leads to the Klahoose First
Nation settlement. The homes here are neatly maintained, in contrast to most
American Indian reservations I"ve been on. At the end of Turk Road is the
Klahoose community building; and an old white steepled church, built and now
abandoned by well-meaning missionaries.

Why go he the general store provides the only services in the area. The
hardware portion might have resources for you if you had a mechanical
problem with your bike. The overwhelming reason to go to Squirrel Cove,
though, is the beautiful views of Desolation Sound. I thought the view from
the Tribal Center to be one of the best in all of Cortes Island. Panoramic
360 view from the general store may be found hehttp://www.eyeland.ca/Squirrel.html

WHALETOWN

The main reason to go to Whaletown is to get off or catch the ferry. There
isn't anything else here, other than some sanicans. The hills you have to
climb to get here (and leave) are enormously steep. While the view from the
ferry terminal itself is quite picturesque, the views along the way are
pretty much unremarkable, especially considering how beautiful the rest of
the island is. Gmap-pedometer link to the route from Whaletown to Hollyhock:http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=880349

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Peterskyhttp://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at:http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Claire Petersky wrote:
The roads: Cortes Island roads have poor pavement. It's 100% chipseal, and
not well maintained. The roads are friable at the edges, and have unexpected
potholes. The roads generally are narrow: not only is there no shoulder, in
many places, considering that the edges have crumbled, there aren't really
two whole lanes. On the road from the ferry terminal to Manson's Landing,
there is a faded yellow stripe, that appears and disappears in a
half-hearted sort of way.

The roads are also incredibly steep in places. I believe that they do not
have the money to build or maintain bridges except in the direst of places,
so roads descend down terrible slopes and then swoop up again; whereas in
other places, maybe they'd just put a bridge across the gully.

The upside of Cortes, though, is that there is basically no traffic. I
probably would see, coming either direction, on the average of 10 cars/hour.
And it is so incredibly quiet on Cortes, you can hear a car coming for at
least 20 seconds before it appears, plenty of time to move to the side of
the road.

And the drivers that you do see on Cortes are the greatest. Everyone waves
to you - and with all five fingers! Everyone is patient. No one is in a
hurry, because, really, where is there to go to?

It sounds like a cyclists heaven, pot holes or not.

So, what you do is you aim your bike where the road surface is the best,
often right down the middle. When you come down one of these steep hills,
you're hanging on to your handlebars for dear life, as the vibration from
the chipseal and imperfections in the pavement keep shaking them out of your
hands. Then, you go swooping up the other side, pedalling like mad, hoping
you'll make it up some portion of the hill. Gravity only takes you so far,
though, and soon you're grinding your way up in the granniest of granny
gears.

I will now proudly state that I never dismounted and walked my bike up any
of the hills on the island. YMMV. I didn't know that I could bicycle at less
than 3.5 mph and still keep it upright - did you?

Are you standing in granny gear? The last few times I have hit roads
that steep and tried to granny my way up I have wheelied over backwards.
Both times I had a back pack and squished my food and both times were on
the same hill, which I have since given up trying to pedal up. About 2
MPH is the balance limit for me. Way back when I was a motorcycle type
and hung out with the same we would sometimes get together with other
groups, even some real Hell's Angels, and have a slow race. The guy who
could ride the slowest and not fall off got the prize. Usually a cold
beer, but it was fun.

Another upside of Cortes is that there are no dogs. You can hear them
barking, but I never was chased down by a single dog. woohoo on that.

Big plus on that count.

A big downside of Cortes is that there are very few services. I ran out of
water on my Whaletown ride. Oh well! If you're going to bike on Cortes,
bring food and water with you - do not think that the cafe marked on your
tourist map will be open (maybe just in the summer tourist high season?)

A cool thing about Cortes Island is that someone has planted daffodils along
the roadsides. So, as you cycle along, you often see these cheerful yellow
flowers. Sometimes they are planted in rotting trees stumps, so they are
quite visible, at eye level.

The Cortes Island website has more information about the island:
http://www.cortesisland.com/cgi-bin/.../show_home.cgi.

Specific destinations on Cortes:

CORTES BAY

What's he

- boat launch and mooring.
- sign with various warnings regarding marine safety.
- small rock in the middle of the bay with a light on it
- portion of an old-growth log that can be a make-shift bench or bicycle
parking facility.

Why go he
- moderately picturesque view

On the approach to Cortes Bay from the south, one encounters a sign that
says, "Steep Hill". This sign is most alarming; the island is made up almost
entirely of steep hills. What precipice are they going to send you down? The
reality is, it is no worse a hill than any other; it's just that it takes a
short jog to the left as you come down. Later, after talking to Cortes
resident, I found out that an elderly person missed the turn a few years
back and was killed - hence the sign.

How fast do you get going at the bottom??

MANSON'S LANDING

What's the Manson's Landing is the throbbing heart of Cortes Island. The
general store is located in "uptown Manson's Landing", a most humorous
description, as it implies a downtown Manson's Landing. The general store is
open seven days a week, and has a map posted on its wall if you're lost.
Also in Manson's Landing: a public library (open afternoons M W F); a cafe
(never saw it open); a small bookstore (ditto); a branch of the local credit
union, comprising the financial district; a portable labeled something like
North Island College; and the Community Hall.

Why go the there's more services here than anywhere else on the island.

SQUIRREL COVE

What's the

Just off of the main road, there's a general store. It has a basement,
intriguingly labeled "Hardware", but I did not check it out. There's also a
cafe (closed). Fuel for both marine and terrestrial vehicles are available
here. There's a boat launch. There's a small tourist information board about
the local shellfish industry, among the First Nations people, the European
invaders, and today.

Turk Road, which is just off of the main road, leads to the Klahoose First
Nation settlement. The homes here are neatly maintained, in contrast to most
American Indian reservations I"ve been on. At the end of Turk Road is the
Klahoose community building; and an old white steepled church, built and now
abandoned by well-meaning missionaries.

Why go he the general store provides the only services in the area. The
hardware portion might have resources for you if you had a mechanical
problem with your bike. The overwhelming reason to go to Squirrel Cove,
though, is the beautiful views of Desolation Sound. I thought the view from
the Tribal Center to be one of the best in all of Cortes Island. Panoramic
360 view from the general store may be found he
http://www.eyeland.ca/Squirrel.html

WHALETOWN

The main reason to go to Whaletown is to get off or catch the ferry. There
isn't anything else here, other than some sanicans. The hills you have to
climb to get here (and leave) are enormously steep. While the view from the
ferry terminal itself is quite picturesque, the views along the way are
pretty much unremarkable, especially considering how beautiful the rest of
the island is. Gmap-pedometer link to the route from Whaletown to Hollyhock:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=880349


Duly noted for my next trip up that way, car, by necessity.
Bill Baka

Claire,

Thanks for the report! Cortes Island is one of my favorite places.

I've spent the last 7 summers floating around BC on a sailboat.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to bring my bike, but I've lots of
walking on many of the islands from the San Juans to the Broughtons.

One thing that strikes me about Cortes is how different the weather is
from Campbell River, less than 10 miles away. Campbell River is often
chilly and windy, even in summer, while Cortes is almost always warm (even
hot) and pleasant. I've heard that nearby Mittelnatch Island is
officially the warmest, driest place in Canada.

About traffic -- Cortes is two ferries away from anything, so there aren't
many off-island commuters in a hurry to get somewhere. On some other
islands, there are waves of insane traffic as each ferry comes and goes.

Some other neat stuff: the tiny but excellent restaurant at the Gorge
Harbour marina, people catching big salmon right off the docks at Gorge
Harbour, the "gorge" at Gorge Harbour, the island's parks and hiking
trails (camping available), the farmers' market at Whaletown, the tiny
floating bakery in Squirrel Cove that serves boaters, the amazing
blackberries growing everywhere, and the funky, artistic culture.

I encourage anyone to explore these islands by bike. Many have 30-50
miles (or more) of roads to explore, with beautiful scenery, pleasant
weather, and unique culture.

For some reason I see a lot of people bringing bikes to Montague Island.
I wonder what the attraction is, compared to nearby islands.

Matt O.


On Sun, 22 Apr 2007 14:30:25 +0000, Claire Petersky wrote:

The roads: Cortes Island roads have poor pavement. It's 100% chipseal,
and not well maintained. The roads are friable at the edges, and have
unexpected potholes. The roads generally are narrow: not only is there
no shoulder, in many places, considering that the edges have crumbled,
there aren't really two whole lanes. On the road from the ferry terminal
to Manson's Landing, there is a faded yellow stripe, that appears and
disappears in a half-hearted sort of way.

The roads are also incredibly steep in places. I believe that they do
not have the money to build or maintain bridges except in the direst of
places, so roads descend down terrible slopes and then swoop up again;
whereas in other places, maybe they'd just put a bridge across the
gully.

The upside of Cortes, though, is that there is basically no traffic. I
probably would see, coming either direction, on the average of 10
cars/hour. And it is so incredibly quiet on Cortes, you can hear a car
coming for at least 20 seconds before it appears, plenty of time to move
to the side of the road.

And the drivers that you do see on Cortes are the greatest. Everyone
waves to you - and with all five fingers! Everyone is patient. No one is
in a hurry, because, really, where is there to go to?

So, what you do is you aim your bike where the road surface is the best,
often right down the middle. When you come down one of these steep
hills, you're hanging on to your handlebars for dear life, as the
vibration from the chipseal and imperfections in the pavement keep
shaking them out of your hands. Then, you go swooping up the other side,
pedalling like mad, hoping you'll make it up some portion of the hill.
Gravity only takes you so far, though, and soon you're grinding your way
up in the granniest of granny gears.

I will now proudly state that I never dismounted and walked my bike up
any of the hills on the island. YMMV. I didn't know that I could bicycle
at less than 3.5 mph and still keep it upright - did you?

Another upside of Cortes is that there are no dogs. You can hear them
barking, but I never was chased down by a single dog. woohoo on that.

A big downside of Cortes is that there are very few services. I ran out
of water on my Whaletown ride. Oh well! If you're going to bike on
Cortes, bring food and water with you - do not think that the cafe
marked on your tourist map will be open (maybe just in the summer
tourist high season?)

A cool thing about Cortes Island is that someone has planted daffodils
along the roadsides. So, as you cycle along, you often see these
cheerful yellow flowers. Sometimes they are planted in rotting trees
stumps, so they are quite visible, at eye level.

The Cortes Island website has more information about the island:
http://www.cortesisland.com/cgi-bin/.../show_home.cgi.

Specific destinations on Cortes:

CORTES BAY

What's he

- boat launch and mooring.
- sign with various warnings regarding marine safety. - small rock in
the middle of the bay with a light on it - portion of an old-growth log
that can be a make-shift bench or bicycle parking facility.

Why go he
- moderately picturesque view

On the approach to Cortes Bay from the south, one encounters a sign that
says, "Steep Hill". This sign is most alarming; the island is made up
almost entirely of steep hills. What precipice are they going to send
you down? The reality is, it is no worse a hill than any other; it's
just that it takes a short jog to the left as you come down. Later,
after talking to Cortes resident, I found out that an elderly person
missed the turn a few years back and was killed - hence the sign.

MANSON'S LANDING

What's the Manson's Landing is the throbbing heart of Cortes Island.
The general store is located in "uptown Manson's Landing", a most
humorous description, as it implies a downtown Manson's Landing. The
general store is open seven days a week, and has a map posted on its
wall if you're lost. Also in Manson's Landing: a public library (open
afternoons M W F); a cafe (never saw it open); a small bookstore
(ditto); a branch of the local credit union, comprising the financial
district; a portable labeled something like North Island College; and
the Community Hall.

Why go the there's more services here than anywhere else on the
island.

SQUIRREL COVE

What's the

Just off of the main road, there's a general store. It has a basement,
intriguingly labeled "Hardware", but I did not check it out. There's
also a cafe (closed). Fuel for both marine and terrestrial vehicles are
available here. There's a boat launch. There's a small tourist
information board about the local shellfish industry, among the First
Nations people, the European invaders, and today.

Turk Road, which is just off of the main road, leads to the Klahoose
First Nation settlement. The homes here are neatly maintained, in
contrast to most American Indian reservations I"ve been on. At the end
of Turk Road is the Klahoose community building; and an old white
steepled church, built and now abandoned by well-meaning missionaries.

Why go he the general store provides the only services in the area.
The hardware portion might have resources for you if you had a
mechanical problem with your bike. The overwhelming reason to go to
Squirrel Cove, though, is the beautiful views of Desolation Sound. I
thought the view from the Tribal Center to be one of the best in all of
Cortes Island. Panoramic 360 view from the general store may be found
he http://www.eyeland.ca/Squirrel.html

WHALETOWN

The main reason to go to Whaletown is to get off or catch the ferry.
There isn't anything else here, other than some sanicans. The hills you
have to climb to get here (and leave) are enormously steep. While the
view from the ferry terminal itself is quite picturesque, the views
along the way are pretty much unremarkable, especially considering how
beautiful the rest of the island is. Gmap-pedometer link to the route
from Whaletown to Hollyhock: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=880349

On Sun, 22 Apr 2007 14:30:25 +0000, Claire Petersky wrote:

I will now proudly state that I never dismounted and walked my bike up any
of the hills on the island. YMMV. I didn't know that I could bicycle at less
than 3.5 mph and still keep it upright - did you?

Many people (like me) are doing about that on the last climb of our
Mountains of Misery ride in May. The last 5 miles are over 10% grade with
parts up to 16%. This is after having done 100 miles (or 123 miles) and
several thousand feet of climbing already.

www.cyclingdoubleheader.com

Hope you don't mind my shameless plug!

Matt O.

"Matt O'Toole" wrote in message
news
One thing that strikes me about Cortes is how different the weather is
from Campbell River, less than 10 miles away. Campbell River is often
chilly and windy, even in summer, while Cortes is almost always warm (even
hot) and pleasant.

Interesting. We had a big storm when I was there on the island, and the one
day I didn't ride the rain was coming in horizontally. The other days were
either perfectly sunny and breezy, with one day with a brief rain shower
while I was on the bike.

About traffic -- Cortes is two ferries away from anything, so there aren't
many off-island commuters in a hurry to get somewhere. On some other
islands, there are waves of insane traffic as each ferry comes and goes.

The ferry from Quadra to Cortes does not run that often and doesn't carry
that many cars. My rides were timed between the arrival of the 1:50 ferry
and the arrival of the 3:50 ferry, leaving the south end of the island
around 1:30 and coming back before 4:00. I could see how an island served by
a larger ferry would have a lot more traffic to cope with. My experience
just riding on local islands here in the Seattle area demonstrate that.

Some other neat stuff: the tiny but excellent restaurant at the Gorge
Harbour marina, people catching big salmon right off the docks at Gorge
Harbour, the "gorge" at Gorge Harbour,

I did not go down to the marina. I hear this is the place for starting your
kayaking trip, if that was your thing.

the amazing blackberries growing everywhere,

Maybe in August; I think I got those made up by going in April with the
daffodils.

and the funky, artistic culture.

I was sort of wondering about the relationship between the funky artistic
types vs. the more traditional farming/fishing types, vs. the First Nation
folks.

I encourage anyone to explore these islands by bike. Many have 30-50
miles (or more) of roads to explore, with beautiful scenery, pleasant
weather, and unique culture.

I'd think if you were into riding a lot of miles every day, these islands
(like the San Juans) would not be your thing, as they aren't that big. All
of Cortes Island's paved roads, including little spurs, can't total more
than 50 miles, if that. But if you wanted to, in addition to riding, as you
noted, a little camping, a little hiking, maybe go to the farmer's market,
then riding some place like Cortes would make a lot of sense.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

"Bill" wrote in message
. net...

It sounds like a cyclists heaven, pot holes or not.

I think during the summer it would be even better, as more things would be
open.

I didn't know that I could bicycle at less than 3.5 mph and still keep it
upright - did you?

Are you standing in granny gear?

I usually don't stand unless I have one gear left. My tactic is to go as
long as I can in the penultimate gear, then shift to the final granny and
sit.

On the approach to Cortes Bay from the south, one encounters a sign that
says, "Steep Hill". This sign is most alarming; the island is made up
almost entirely of steep hills. What precipice are they going to send you
down? The reality is, it is no worse a hill than any other; it's just
that it takes a short jog to the left as you come down. Later, after
talking to Cortes resident, I found out that an elderly person missed the
turn a few years back and was killed - hence the sign.

How fast do you get going at the bottom??

You know, I have no idea. My eyes were 100% plastered on the road bed,
because there's too many hazards to dodge as you go down. I never thought of
looking at the spedometer once.

Duly noted for my next trip up that way, car, by necessity.

It's pretty remote. Other islands between the BC mainland and Vancouver
Island are more accessible.

As Marian mentioned, when you're traveling, you have a tendency to stop in
at the LBS. When I was driving back from Campbell River to Nanaimo, I
stopped in Cumberland for lunch. On the main street of this small town
(which I thought looked vital and interesting, without being twee or
touristy), there was a bike shop, so of course I stopped in. Mountain biking
is the big thing around there. The fellow running it was a really nice guy,
and found and fixed the little click in the bottom bracket that I heard all
the time I was riding around Cortes. It made me feel like, if I were to live
in a smallish town on Vancouver Island, I'd sure consider Cumberland.

Bill, if you go up that way, there's an adjacent hostel to the bike shop --
see: http://www.ridingfool.com/. The cafe there was decent for lunch, too.
They had their own version of a Nanaimo bar (a "Tarbell Bar") that was to
die for.

--
Warm Regards,


Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

On Mon, 23 Apr 2007 04:38:10 +0000, Claire Petersky wrote:

I'd think if you were into riding a lot of miles every day, these
islands (like the San Juans) would not be your thing, as they aren't
that big.

This is true, but on some of them the hills could well make up for the
miles!

Anyone interested in a "big" island ride should check out the Wildlife 100
century, hosted by Wildlife Cycles on Orcas. Mileage is split among
Orcas, San Juan, and Lopez Islands, with short ferry rides in between. I
think it's the first week of August. Riding in the San Juans is great if
you don't mind the traffic.

The traffic is a lot more tolerable on the Canadian side though. There's
not as much of it, but I find Canadian drivers a lot more respectful of
cyclists and pedestrians.

Matt O.

Claire Petersky wrote:
Bill, if you go up that way, there's an adjacent hostel to the bike shop --
see: http://www.ridingfool.com/. The cafe there was decent for lunch, too.
They had their own version of a Nanaimo bar (a "Tarbell Bar") that was to
die for.

It sounds like something to plan for this summer. Also sounds like a
good place to have a mountain bike with the rugged roads described.
I'm copying myself so I don't forget.
This is the kind of input I like to see and not the flame wars.
Bill Baka