Hitting a Very Scenic Wall - Day 2 - 40 miles

Having been so worried about sleeping in the woods alone last night I had a surprisingly good night's sleep. After dark the birds settled down for the night there wasn't a single noise. It is the most peaceful place I have ever slept. Having said that, I was certainly pleased when the darkness gave way to a dim morning light allowing me to leave the tent without fear. I left my tent and walked to the small beach just a moment away. This is my favourite part of camping in the wild. Quiet moments of serenity on your doorstep first thing in the morning. My breakfast was less than satisfactory. I'd not been able to find any porridge oats or powdered milk yet – the key ingredients for my now world-famous Fruity Porridge. I ate 2 mashed and bruised bananas and grudgingly forced down a black coffee. It took me over an hour to pack up my camp and load the bike. I must get this down to something more like 20 minutes. I left the camp ground and headed back to the highway. Today I would be following this road all the way north to Saltery Bay so navigation was not a concern.

Before long I came up against my first serious climb of the trip. I put my head down and methodically pushed my seriously heavy load toward the summit. A friendly Canadian lady on a mountain bike came up alongside me and said hello. 'Friendly' seems to be a superfluous adjective for describing Canadians. They all seem so at ease with themselves and others. We chatted for a bit about where we going and then after a while she overtook me. I'm of the opinion that if you overtake somebody you should be fairly confident that subsequently you will be able to cycle faster than them. This wasn't the case here. I didn't want to appear cocky but I couldn't continue uphill at the pace she was setting so I apologetically overtook. Further down the road I stopped to put on my sunglasses and she overtook again. She told me about a nearby lake where I could cool down. I wasn't really sure if she was suggesting a swim or just a break by the water. I found the lake and stopped to take some pictures. I saw her again heading in the other direction. 'Enjoy Canada!', she shouted across the road. People here are justifiably proud of their country.

Another 10 miles passed and I began to feel weak and a little shaky. I was suffering as a result of my insubstantial breakfast. According to my guide book the next town was another 10 miles. I kept pedaling in the hope I'd see something before then. A few miles on I saw a sign for a restaurant so I turned off to find it. It was a kind of country club, the sort of place where they might have a man playing piano in the corner. It was not somewhere I would've felt comfortable dining drenched in sweat and wearing Lycra. I continued down to a small cove and unloaded everything from my bike in order to get at my food supplies. I ate the entire contents of a large bag of trail mix and instantly started to feel better. I watched a couple kayaking incompetently around the cove for a bit and then headed back to the main road. Nearly an hour later I reached Madeira Village. It was like an oasis in a desert of food availability. A single street lined with cafes, a supermarket and a strange shop selling old lady's coats. I was in love with this place. I found a nice looking cafe. Upon entering I found an array of vegetarian friendly, high-calorie foods. I ordered a large pasta salad, vegetable roll, muffin, coffee and a lemonade. In the queue a man with a funny accent asked me where I was headed. It turned out he was from Pontefract but had been living in Canada since the sixties.

I sat outside with my coffee and a few minutes later the man I'd met in the queue came over and joined me. He told me how he had cycled from Yorkshire to Cornwall when he was 14. As a teenager he'd raced to a near-professional standard until he discovered girls and gave it all up. He seemed a little regretful about this. I moved the conversation onto bears and found further confirmation that I was unlikely to see any Grizzlies until later in the year. It was the cougars that I should watch for according to him. 'They chase cyclists you know?', he told me. He also seemed convinced that Canada was a terrible place to cycle and that the motorists try to run cyclists off the road. I told him I'd had nothing but courtesy from Canadian motorists. The more I talked with him the more I started to think that all this talk was to convince himself that he'd done the right thing in giving up cycling.

I didn't want to leave the cafe and noticing they had Internet access I took the opportunity to check my email and update the blog. An elderly gentlemen came over and asked me where the rear view mirror was on my bike. I told him I don't have one, I just look over my shoulder. He suggested I get one like he used to have. 'It's a small mirror that you attach to your glasses', he explained with a mime. I said it sounded like a good idea. Little did he know that in my bag I have such a mirror, given to me as a joke leaving present. This maybe the kind of place where you can go 3 hours without seeing a shop but I still have my dignity. I will continue without a head-mounted mirror.

After a couple of hours I'd started to build a new life for myself in the cafe. I didn't want to leave but I had another 15 miles to go and it was getting late. On the way out of the village I visited the store and found all the ingredients for Fruity Porridge which filled me with delight. I got talking to the cashier and another customer about Mexico. I think they thought I was a little ambitious. The customer told me he'd driven down the part of Mexico I'm riding and it had taken him a week. I plan to do it in 4.

The next 10 miles became gradually more scenic with some amazing winding descents. The road so far had snaked though high thick forest, rarely giving a glimpse of the nearby coast. Now the trees frequently parted and several times I jammed on the brakes to stop and take in the views of spectacular inlets surrounded by thickly-forested mountains. I reached Earls Cove ferry terminal. The timetable showed a 2 hour wait for the next ferry. Back in my normal life something like this would drive me crazy. Today I was completely indifferent about the wait. I took a seat, drank a Pepsi and looked out to sea for a bit, not a problem. The ferry ride was even better than the one yesterday. Retired people pay a lot of money to go on cruise boats that take in sights like this. This ferry was free and it took me somewhere I needed to go. The ferry docked. It's quite exciting cycling off of a ferry. As a cyclist you are allowed off first. Only a minute later you know that all the vehicles will be allowed to drive away. I like to imagine I'm in a race - me against 200 cars and trucks. Today I lost but there's always tomorrow.

Shortly after the ferry dropped me off I arrived at Saltery Bay camp ground, my home for tonight. It's set amongst a rainforest. I was pleased to find a few more people than at Porpoise Bay last night. I took a while to choose my spot next to as many other campers as I could find. It was already getting dark so I set up camp quickly and made a surprisingly delicious rice dinner. It's amazing how good terrible meals can taste after a hard day in the saddle. I put my food away in a bear cache - I felt like an old pro tonight. Once packed away I got into my tent to settle down for the night. Not long after the ranger came visiting to collect my fee for the night. He said it's going to rain tomorrow. Roll on Mexico.