To follow our bike tour from Day 1, click here - You're Doing What???
I think I am feeling more generous today....Smuggler's Cove got a bad rap from me, for sure, in our last post. There were some wonderful aspects about the park that I wanted to point out before I move along the Sunshine Coast to our next adventures.
The ride into the camp area was BEAUTIFUL and really FUN!! There was a trail (no signs for no biking, so we rode the trail) and it was through a swampy area - hence all the mosquitos - and there were long wooden walkways constructed. The girls did not trust us to ride over them without falling into the swamp so they ran ahead of us for those stretches. The sunset out over the water that evening was simply breathtaking. The girls were running, scrambling (and Alli was swimming) all over the place. The lighting was amazing and regardless of our crazy night of non-sleep, I am happy that we saw it. If I had a better camera I could have captured it better....as
Pictures are too important for my blog, I don't think anyone reads what I write anyway, HA!!!! (Just kidding, I know at least 5 people who read every word I write. You know who you are!!)
Day 26 - July 11th, my cousins turn 39 today... Happy Birthday Scot and Mat!!! Today we are not sure where we are headed. We have two choices - one is Katherine Lake, the other is Klein Lake. Both are out of the way, but Klein Lake is along the Suncoaster Trail that we planned to take so we could stay off the highway.
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| our apples inside the pannier...yes, that is a bunch of mouse poop also! |
Luckily we found a completely mashed banana (Shane has become quite fond of totally inedible bananas) and Alli had 1/2 a muffin left over from yesterday that the girls split. I tore apart a bunch of our bags and found a half eaten Kind Bar in Jill's backpack. This would have to be enough fuel to get us to a gas station - YES - we had to find food to eat at gas stations!!
Believe me, our tolerance of this type of "food" is becoming unbearable. I miss our strict Paleo days. Shane and I have had some serious tummy aches, and my skin is broken out just like in the days prior to us switching to Paleo. It is great motivation for sticking to a healthier diet (for us).
The 3 mile ride out was not too bad and once we got to the highway it was time to start looking for this mountain biking trail. We rode the highway for about 15 minutes and realized a few things, FIRST - there was no one out, hardly any cars passed us and NO trucks, so that was a great start to our day. SECOND - the trail was 2K off the highway, up a crazy steep gravel road....Shane and I decided instantly that we were sticking to the highway.
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Jill finally had another meltdown. Now, consider this...these girls have been going to bed at 9:30 (2.5 hours past their normal bedtime), eating GARBAGE that passes for food, cycling for 27 days spending 65 hours on a bike....I think she is entitled to her second meltdown. It is a DOOZY, too. The last meltdown happened because her balloon flew away, that was on Day 7, today is an even sillier reason - to an adult!
Today's meltdown: Shane and Alli passed us on the uphill. Jill started a mantra, "Alli's faster than me, I'm not strong. I cant pedal like Alli...." I tried to explain to her that it wasn't HER that was slowing us down. There is no way in the world I would ever be stronger than her Daddy, but she wasn't having any of that. I gave up rationalizing with her and just pedaled up the hills, counting over and over to 100 like I do when I climb hills, and Jill bawled her sweet little eyes out on the back. Poor thing. She did eventually calm down and start singing all her happy bike riding songs again, almost like it never happened. Sweet little bugaroo.
I cannot describe our happiness when we finally saw a sign for Madeira Park which would be our one and only grocery store from here to Powell River (3 days and 60 miles) and we could not get there fast enough!
We pull into the parking lot, trying to find somewhere to park our monstrous loads and an incredibly nice couple comes up and starts talking to us about all their trips with their children and how wonderful what we are doing is and how our children are going to remember these days forever.....Shane couldn't stand it, in a completely uncharacteristic move, he leaned his bike on something, smiled at them and walked away into the grocery store!!!
He needed food bad. I was way too polite. I stood there talking to them, in the blazing sun, feeling as if I would pass out any moment....but I just couldn't cut them off. They were so excited about our travels. Even the girls eventually walked away to find Shane as I chatted with them!! At one point the guy went to get a local map for me to show me where we could camp off the highway for free...then he was telling me about how steep the climb is to Klein Lake and that might be too much for our heavy loads... holy cow....I must have looked like the walking dead cuz the wife finally said, "Well, don't let us keep you....I bet you're pretty famished!!" We ate a LOT in the parking lot that day!
After becoming a whole new human being with some food in our tummies, we decided to check out the town. That took all of 8 minutes, so we found the visitor center to find out which lake we should stay at. There was a sweet little teenager working in there and the answer to every question was, "Hmmm...I'm not sure." Actually, no...when I asked her if the ride to Katherine Lake was hilly, she said, "No, not hilly at all. It's only a 10 minute drive." So I grabbed a few maps and we headed off, once again not having any idea where we were going to stay, and once again....we forget to fill our Osprey's with water.
I wish I could say that the highway stayed just as good after our lunch break, but it doesn't. Our first mistake is cycling in 85 degree weather without any water. Our second mistake is assuming there has to be some downhill somewhere. Our third mistake is assuming that the shoulder would remain 6 feet wide (it drops to about 1 foot from this point on). Our fourth mistake is not eating enough food...you just cannot catch up once you fall behind on calories. Our fifth mistake was thinking we should cycle the Sunshine Coast with 2 kids and a TON of gear. Just kidding, I wouldn't trade this trip for anything. (uh-oh.....huge Jen soapbox moment here...)
Life is not lived by taking the easy route.
Do you really get what I am saying? If not - I will try again...When you think about your life and who you are and how you have come to be the person you are....is it from all the easy, calm, relaxing days you have lived or is it from all the challenging, uncertain, maybe even scary moments you have lived? Maybe for some, but for me, I need to take these challenges in life. It is through dreaming, planning, and DOING things like this that I know I can overcome anything I set my mind to. That is something I want our girls to learn, too. I think they are heading that direction!!
Actually, this Semi-Rad speaks exactly to what I am saying - feel comfortable, being un-comfortable. Read his article here - The Benefits of Discomfort
I know for a FACT that the 4 of us are stronger, more resilient, more persistent, have more faith in what we are capable of, happier, more optimistic and healthier than if we had said, "You know, this seems like a crazy idea...let's just do some camping like we always do!"
We easily could have backed out of this trip, it did seem scary to think about cycling 1000 miles with children. However, our lives have been improved in so many ways by having this adventure together. We have 7 weeks of memories that none of us will ever forget. I am glad we went even though lots of people told us we were insane!!
(ahem....stepping down)
Anyway...we are cycling up more mountains, no end in sight, no water on our backs, hot sun beating down on us...and then a multiple-yurt gallery appears out of nowhere. It was almost like a mirage, it was so perfectly placed. As we pull up to this woman's place, she is actually filling up her own water containers in this beautiful outdoor sink and I think I am actually going to die from the beauty of it all. I have never needed water so badly.
Then, if that is not fantastic enough....there are 2 gorgeous golden
We continue cycling on our dangerous 1 foot shoulder, in the full sun, with lots more cars on the road, but we have food in our bellies and water on our backs and we are just trekking on. It is still torturous and we still do not really know where we are going, but we just keep moving our legs. I know where the intersection is for Katherine Lake and there is a Petro-Can at the corner where we can take stock of the nasty gas station food we will need to live on for 3 days if we choose to stay here! (there is a little private campground right on the highway, across from the gas station).
By the time we make it there, Shane has grown a full set up horns. This has been a tough day for all of us, but the heat is just killing him, especially. Katherine Lake is about 3 miles out of the way, Shane doesn't want to go out of the way again he doesn't want to stay at the dump of a campground on the highway and he doesn't want to go any further. For a minute, I think he might throw a full blown Jillbug style tantrum!!
A young family pulls up in a VW Bus and starts talking to us. I immediately ask them what we should do. The woman tells us that Katherine Lake is GREAT for the kids, playground, sandy beach, warm swimming lake with docks to jump off. The husband tells us, no way, that place is a ZOO. Klein lake - still 9 more miles - will be peaceful and relaxing. We ask the dreaded, "Is it hilly out to Katherine Lake?" and get our second, VERY INACCURATE answer from a driver - "No, Not at all!!"
Klein Lake on the other hand is at the top of a WICKED hill, not to mention the highway there just continues the uphill battle we have been facing all day. Shane is sold, we will go to the Zoo campground. We don't have reservations, but we figure - Who is going to turn away a family biking all this way?
I probably don't even need to mention this, but I will just incase you didn't figure it out on your own. The 3 miles was INSANELY hilly. As a driver, hills are just tiny areas where you might have to push the pedal down a little harder. For a cyclist - ESPECIALLY because we are dragging so much weight - any hill requires immense increase in the amount of energy we have to exert. We were EXHAUSTED by the time we got there.
We were riding up the gravel road as a van passed us. The guy driving leans out the window and says, "Yay!!! You guys made it! We saw you riding up the highway from Sechelt!" It is always nice to have our egos stroked a bit at the end of a ANYDAY, but it is incredibly wonderful at the end of an exhausting day. He kept going on and on about how awesome we were and telling the girls how hard core they are....I ask him about the campground and he tells us they were just there for the day, but there was PLENTY of camping spots available!
I love to hear that. We rode the rest of the way in and saw plenty of empty spots. We dropped our bikes into a spot and walked up to find the campground hosts. The girls were gone instantly, yes....this was going to be a slice of heaven for the girls. The lake was warm, there was a huge sandy beach and TONS of kids. Shane and I found Sean, the host and he tells us - WE ARE ALL SOLD OUT!
Oh, you have to be kidding me, I am thinking to myself. But I can tell by the look on his face there is no way he is turning us away. We tell him, "We have two small children, also!" because we know that will get us way more sympathy points!! He calls his wife over and she says - "There was one cancellation in the RV section!!"
It turned out to be the spot right next to where we dropped our bikes. One MILLION pounds of relief is lifted off our shoulders. I tell Shane to get his book and relax down by the girls and I go back to camp and set up everything on my own. We will be here for 2 nights. Our muscles need a serious rest after the chaos of today!
After I set camp up, I join our family down at the lake. Now, Shane and I are the greatest parents in the world because we would NEVER camp here if we were alone. It is an absolute CIRCUS show. There are so many kids, it is hard to keep an eye on the girls but they are having the greatest time of their LIVES and that is what this trip is all about. We all get a little of what we need. Shane and I love being active and outside and a few down times to relax, and the girls need warm lakes and sandy beaches and lots of kids to play with. At the end of every day, we go to bed with smiles on our faces!
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| Jill jumping from the dock |
We do not move for HOURS, until our bellies just wont stop
Our after dinner entertainment pulls in just in time. I do not really
We spend some more time down at the water and get back to camp just in time to hear the dad of the Huge Beast say, "Gram and Gramps will be here any minute....I'll have to help them get set up!" Now we have some evening entertainment coming. Little did we realize we were about to be SQUASHED like a tiny little bug on a windshield....(picture up at the top)
Gram and Gramps come pulling up the gravel road in a 60 foot RV. Now, I might sound like a snotty cyclist who doesn't appreciate that everyone has their right to how they "camp", but think about my perspective for just a moment. We have been gone for nearly 4 weeks, living off the essentials that we can carry on our bikes, and we get overtaken by the largest RV I have ever seen in my life, and it gets worse.
They pull in next to us, about 5 feet from our picnic table and the son says, "How far do you want the pull outs to come out?" and the mom says, "As far as they go, I'm sure those people have plenty of room." Those people would be US, if you weren't sure. And we did not have plenty of room actually, we had a huge looming house dangling over us, so much so that the girls were watching FROZEN through their window. Then, they took over our water spigot. Tough times for the Johnston's in the RV camping area!! Maybe we just need some healthy food!
Day 28 - July 12th. Guess what - I think this is the laziest day of our trip EVER...(I am writing this on Day 45 and it still qualifies as the laziest day!) In the morning I ride into the marina general store to get a few food items and coffee for Shane and I. It is a pretty easy 2 mile ride, with just one large uphill on the way back. I am the best wife ever because I cycle the ENTIRE 2 miles back with only one hand so I can hold Shane's coffee in the other. I lose a bit of coffee on the gravel road into camp, but Shane's smile when I get there is worth the trouble. However, there is total and complete disappointment at the food selection I come back with, but there is just NOTHING I can do about the marina grocery selection. We spend hours upon hours upon hours, just sitting by the water while the girls play in the sand and in the water and on the docks. I spend the entire day making friendship bracelets and anklets. That is literally all I did for about 5 hours. I feel LAZY but also GOOD! Finally, we come to the sad conclusion that we do not have enough food to get through the day. Jill decides to come on a ride with me back to the General Store.
I give in and just buy horrible, terrible, nasty, awful food.We will pretend for the day that we don't have any standards for the food we
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| Marina food supply! Can you believe we are eating this! |
We are SO LUCKY, on the way back, we see a huge black bear crossing the road. Also, while Jill and I are at the store, Shane and Alli go swimming. Shane, forgetting that he has contacts in, opens his eyes under water and loses BOTH contacts instantly! He is not happy about this when we get back from the store. We have only brought one spare (he has the same prescription in both eyes).
He cant wear his sunglasses, riding in glasses is going to be sweaty and uncomfortable...but there are solutions. We can have my dad mail his contacts to the people we are staying with in Comox or Courtenay or even mail them to the campground on Hornby Island....OR we can find an optometrist and just get some new contacts here. Something will work out.
We go on a little hike together right before dinner and the trail leads to this rock outcrop where everyone has been leaping into the water from. All of us want to jump in so we check the water to be sure it is clear. The girls jump from a rock about 5' up and Shane and I jump from about 15' up. SO fun! Alli wants to jump from the top but I wont let her. There are some rocks you have to clear by jumping out far enough and I just done want to risk her not making it. She is pretty annoyed with me, but I do have to have some limits for these girls, right?
Then, instead of walking back on the trial, the girls want to swim to the shore. You can see in the picture below how far it was. We were in that back right alcove and swam to the shore.
Packing up that night I cannot find Jill's shirt (remember, we are limited on clothing, so this is her ONE non-cycling shirt). When I ask her about it she says, "I buried it because I didn't want anyone to take it." Hmmm, good idea I guess....we go back to the beach and of course we cannot find it anywhere. Later, I walk up to the office to look around and don't see it up their either. I still needed to pay and Sean and Kathy (the hosts) get home just as I am looking around for Jill's shirt. Wouldn't you know...Sean had seen it poking out the night before and it was just buried in the Lost and Found pile.
They are another really cool couple that we could relate to in more ways than one. They love travel, simple things, healthy food, camping, homeschooling, etc....we ended up chatting with them until about 9:30 and then realized we had no idea where the kids were so we had to leave, but I hope they make it down to California and come visit us. They are amazing people.
The girls had been playing with the neighbor kids having a grand time. We put them to bed around 10, and climbed in
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| Jill is so tired, she is digging in the sand laying down |
