Horne Lake Caves - Sunshine Coast Loop

On Tuesday September 2, we crossed over from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo and rode north on the Inland Island Highway to Qualicum Bay Resort where we rented a 'camper' cabin for two nights. This would act as our home base while we visited nearby Qualicum Beach the next day and took a 3-hour guided tour of the Horne Lake Caves. The cave exploration was a focal point for this half of our trip and turned out to be an educational and fun recreational experience.

Early Thursday morning, we were up and riding north to Comox to get the ferry across to Powell River. Meeting and chatting with other bikers while waiting for the ferry at the front of the line is something I look forward to while touring. On this sailing, we talked with a couple from Victoria each riding their own bikes to Gibsons to visit an old friend. The guy confessed that he had just been stopped for speeding that morning and then surprised us by pointing out some recent damage to his bike and helmet following a flip-over about two weeks previously.
He had forcefully and suddenly applied his front brake to avoid a deer and was flung forward. While it was good to know he and the deer survived intact, he was now in shoes with a damaged helmet riding a bike that may not be mechanically safe and getting scolded by a police officer for speeding on a highway!

When we landed in Powell River, we had a few hours before our next ferry crossing from Saltery Bay to Earl's Cove so we turned left on the 101 and rode to the end to the old fishing village of Lund for lunch at the Boardwalk Restaurant. The mussels, fish tacos and white wine were a perfect accompaniment to a beautiful ocean-view setting.

The ride from Lund along the 101 through Powell River to Saltery Bay was a biker's dream, relaxing and captivating at the same time.

We arrived at Ruby Lake Resort around 5 pm and checked in for our two night stay in a 'safari tent.' Friday we rode to the West Coast Wilderness Lodge in Egmont for a delicious breakfast and then parked our bikes at the Skookumchuck Narrows trailhead parking lot nearby. The hike down to the 'narrows' was an easy 5 KM, the sun was shining, fish were jumping and we stayed long enough to see the calm waters begin to stir into rapids with the tide which is what makes this area so famous and intriguing.

Back at Ruby Lake later that afternoon, we changed into our swimwear and walked down to the resort dock to try paddle-boarding for the first and probably last time. The board would rock from side to side and was very hard on the ankles. I struggled hard to balance standing, but John quickly resigned himself to a sitting position after several failed attempts.  A lesson with an expert really would have helped but that was not included in the resort package. A dinner at the resort restaurant, however, was so that evening was topped off with a refreshing pitcher of sangria, fresh trout and salad and a genuine espresso with a shared light chocolate cake dessert.

Saturday morning  we left Ruby Lake for the ferry back to Horseshoe Bay from the Langdale terminal. Again, we had plenty of time to just sit and wait, but it was sunny and we were a little tired as is often the case at the end of a touring vacation. While waiting for the ferry to arrive and unload, another guy parked his BMW F800 GS beside us and was willing to talk about his bike and riding experiences. His bike attracted my attention because it looked so much like my Triumph Tiger 800.

The similarities are amazing, but there are a few subtle differences one might only notice by reading a detailed review of each or test riding both of them on and off road. I am happy with my Tiger and having reviewed a couple comparisons, I would also say that I made the right decision. My Tiger appears to have a little more torque, horsepower and fuel capacity and is about 15% or so less expensive. For an objective video comparison review of the 2011 models, go to Cycle Canada at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjWSYCWXQz0 .