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Fired up the GS400 on Monday morning and connected with Charlie, my able partner on this ride. He was riding his 1981 CB400 on his first trip out of the city. His bike has 50000kms+ on the clock and has been repainted with what I call ‘minivan burgundy’. After donning gear and talking about the route, we headed off at around 11 a.m.
The ride to the ferry terminal can be all highway if you want, but I know some sneaky ways through the scenic town of Ladner and its farmland. The route spits one out right near the long straight stretch just before the ferry to Swartz Bay. On the way there, however, one must pass through the Massey tunnel.
Have you watched the old Battlestar Gallactica?
Do you remember Starbuck and Appollo blasting out of the big ship in their small fighter ships through the launch tunnels? Its just like that and on a sunny day, you zoom in with sunglasses on, but eyes can’t adjust fast enough in the brief interludes between the lit areas, so you just focus on the taillights in front and hang on. It’s a trip indeed.
We boarded the ferry and were munching on burgers and fries, excited about the sunshine and beaches we were planning to hit on the other side.
Letting off in Swartz Bay, we blasted down the highway only as far as the first exit and took a tour around Saanich. I had written some directions from Google maps that should have allowed us to cut around Victoria to Sooke Road, but the directions were wrong and we ended up looping back almost to the ferry terminal. We were having fun and the roads were twisty so we decided to try again. Another loop, but wider out this time. Again, it was beautiful and the dappled light and the smell of the sea air was delicious. We stopped at a beach for some water and a rest and decided to try once more and if it didn’t work this time, we would just take the highway. We ended up gassing up in a little town called Brentwood Bay where I purchased some lube for the Honda handgrip and throttle cables as they were a little sticky. I asked the bike shop guy about a sneaky way to Sooke road and he gave me a priceless tip about a road….
We bombed off (in a new direction) and found the motorcycle holy road. We found the freshly blacktopped, one lane twisting snake that chicaned through cedars and arbutus climbing up and dipping down. Every corner was blind and squeezing by the few oncoming cars was a challenge. It was so tight, blind and twisty that speed was limited, but even at 20 or 30 kph I was thrilled and hooting in my helmet. That short road was a highlight.
At the other end of this ‘local traffic only’ route, we finally found our way onto Sooke road at about dinner time. A stop at the 17 Mile pub and liquor store provided sustenance (awesome prawn burger and rice bowl) and supplies for the night. For the last leg of the first day, we shot through the town of Sooke, passed the Tugwell Bay Meadery (that I keep meaning to stop at) and carried on up the way. A tiny town called Jordan River was the destination and to get there we leaned and smiled up the highway that was pretty much all ours. Right on the water, we set up hammocks above crashing waves and had a fire and some well-deserved beers while looking south to the Olympic Peninsula.
In the morning, we packed up and checked oil, then we split again, heading west. The twists parallel the shore and swing up above the rivers that feed into the wild ocean below. The asphalt is a little crummy between Jordan River and Port Renfrew, but there is construction that tries to rectify this. There are also some other killer beaches along this road but we did not visit them on this trip. We did see a fat, wet black bear on the hill and I watched a mouse dart in front of the Honda wheels, turn around and back again. Lucky little guy.
At Port Renfrew, we stopped for some excellent breakfast at the Coastal Kitchen Café where some of the ingredients are grown in the adjoining garden. Next was a few kilometres down the way at the BC Parks destination called Botanical Beach where we spent the day sleeping, swimming and exploring.
The way back that afternoon was adventurous. A small mishap on a gravel pullout that could have been tragic was avoided because of my partner’s quick leaping abilities and proper gear (leather jacket, padded pants). The Honda fared surprisingly well considering it went down hard on its left side. The windshield shattered and the clutch lever folded almost in half. We managed bend the lever back into shape with a BFR* and Charlie limped the bike home. He still had a blast in the twisties despite a small, but manageable offset in the bars. Easing back into Victoria, we had a great dinner at the Log House Pub (with motorcycle parking) and camped out at a friend’s house.
The third day was just a lazy morning and zoom back on the highway to the ferry, through the tunnel and home again.
The ride to Port Renfrew is one of the best I have been on. The road is fun and fast and the curves are successively more challenging the further you go. The beaches along the way are great and each has a different character, but they are all pretty extreme as they are on the edge of the Pacific.
*Big F’n Rock
The ride to the ferry terminal can be all highway if you want, but I know some sneaky ways through the scenic town of Ladner and its farmland. The route spits one out right near the long straight stretch just before the ferry to Swartz Bay. On the way there, however, one must pass through the Massey tunnel.
Have you watched the old Battlestar Gallactica?
Do you remember Starbuck and Appollo blasting out of the big ship in their small fighter ships through the launch tunnels? Its just like that and on a sunny day, you zoom in with sunglasses on, but eyes can’t adjust fast enough in the brief interludes between the lit areas, so you just focus on the taillights in front and hang on. It’s a trip indeed.
We boarded the ferry and were munching on burgers and fries, excited about the sunshine and beaches we were planning to hit on the other side.
Letting off in Swartz Bay, we blasted down the highway only as far as the first exit and took a tour around Saanich. I had written some directions from Google maps that should have allowed us to cut around Victoria to Sooke Road, but the directions were wrong and we ended up looping back almost to the ferry terminal. We were having fun and the roads were twisty so we decided to try again. Another loop, but wider out this time. Again, it was beautiful and the dappled light and the smell of the sea air was delicious. We stopped at a beach for some water and a rest and decided to try once more and if it didn’t work this time, we would just take the highway. We ended up gassing up in a little town called Brentwood Bay where I purchased some lube for the Honda handgrip and throttle cables as they were a little sticky. I asked the bike shop guy about a sneaky way to Sooke road and he gave me a priceless tip about a road….
We bombed off (in a new direction) and found the motorcycle holy road. We found the freshly blacktopped, one lane twisting snake that chicaned through cedars and arbutus climbing up and dipping down. Every corner was blind and squeezing by the few oncoming cars was a challenge. It was so tight, blind and twisty that speed was limited, but even at 20 or 30 kph I was thrilled and hooting in my helmet. That short road was a highlight.
At the other end of this ‘local traffic only’ route, we finally found our way onto Sooke road at about dinner time. A stop at the 17 Mile pub and liquor store provided sustenance (awesome prawn burger and rice bowl) and supplies for the night. For the last leg of the first day, we shot through the town of Sooke, passed the Tugwell Bay Meadery (that I keep meaning to stop at) and carried on up the way. A tiny town called Jordan River was the destination and to get there we leaned and smiled up the highway that was pretty much all ours. Right on the water, we set up hammocks above crashing waves and had a fire and some well-deserved beers while looking south to the Olympic Peninsula.
In the morning, we packed up and checked oil, then we split again, heading west. The twists parallel the shore and swing up above the rivers that feed into the wild ocean below. The asphalt is a little crummy between Jordan River and Port Renfrew, but there is construction that tries to rectify this. There are also some other killer beaches along this road but we did not visit them on this trip. We did see a fat, wet black bear on the hill and I watched a mouse dart in front of the Honda wheels, turn around and back again. Lucky little guy.
At Port Renfrew, we stopped for some excellent breakfast at the Coastal Kitchen Café where some of the ingredients are grown in the adjoining garden. Next was a few kilometres down the way at the BC Parks destination called Botanical Beach where we spent the day sleeping, swimming and exploring.
The way back that afternoon was adventurous. A small mishap on a gravel pullout that could have been tragic was avoided because of my partner’s quick leaping abilities and proper gear (leather jacket, padded pants). The Honda fared surprisingly well considering it went down hard on its left side. The windshield shattered and the clutch lever folded almost in half. We managed bend the lever back into shape with a BFR* and Charlie limped the bike home. He still had a blast in the twisties despite a small, but manageable offset in the bars. Easing back into Victoria, we had a great dinner at the Log House Pub (with motorcycle parking) and camped out at a friend’s house.
The third day was just a lazy morning and zoom back on the highway to the ferry, through the tunnel and home again.
The ride to Port Renfrew is one of the best I have been on. The road is fun and fast and the curves are successively more challenging the further you go. The beaches along the way are great and each has a different character, but they are all pretty extreme as they are on the edge of the Pacific.
*Big F’n Rock
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