Talk:2009-07-05 49 -125

Planning

Moving some of the planning talk here, to clear up the expedition page.

By bike

Highly approximate times.

• 3:30 - leave UBC by bike to Horseshoe Bay
• 6:20 - ferry to Departure Bay
• 8:00 - bike from Nanaimo to hashpoint (about 100 km)
• 14:00 - briefly celebrate
• 15:00 - bike back to Nanaimo (another 100 km)
• 21:05 - penultimate ferry to Horseshoe Bay [1]
• 23:00 - bike home and collapse on bed sometime well past midnight.

By car

Entirely subject to what the driver feels is most convenient for them. And Elbie will pay gas.

• 9:00 - pick up whoever is coming at seabus north terminal (8:45 departure from downtown)
• 10:40 - ferry to Departure Bay - plan to arrive at ticket booth ~9:30
• 12:20 - drive from Nanaimo to hashpoint
• 13:30 - arrive at hashpoint, celebrate leisurely
• 15:30 - drive back to Nanaimo
• 17:20 - ferry to Horseshoe Bay - plan to arrive at ticket booth ~16:30 [2] (note this is expected to be busy - there may be a sailing wait)
•  ? - drive back to Vancouver, (maybe) get home for dinner

Looks like a good schedule. Rhonda & Xore might make a side trip to Victoria on the way back. If that's the case, we can drop Elbie off at the Nanaimo ferry and she might make the 16:40 ferry as a walk on passenger. Taking the car on the ferry is cheaper (with 3 people) than taking the greyhound to Courtenay and back, too! -- Rhonda 17:43, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Sounds good to me. How many seats does that leave in the car? We should prolly try to fill them to futher distribute the ferry toll. I can send out a message to the interested-in-geohashing mailing list. - Elbie 20:24, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

There are 5 seatbelts total, so with the 3 of us that leaves 2 seats open. If anonymous is Robyn, one or both of those might be taken soon...

The anonymous edits earlier today were me, sorry - didn't realise my login had expired. I'll go post on the list now. - Elbie 20:58, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Another car/bike option

We can combine the biking and the driving -- bike to the point, then to Courtenay/Comox and rent a car and put the bikes in the back, drive it to Nanaimo, and then bring the bikes on the ferry or somesuch. Would this be at all cheaper than splitting a ferry toll for a car? 128.189.245.49 19:16, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

I've sent an email to Budget car rentals asking about the cost of renting something big enough for 3 people/3 bikes (probably a pickup truck, maybe a minivan if the seats fold right down) for a one-way rental (always extra fees for one-way rentals). The online booking thing I tried for another company refused to give me a quote for Sunday afternoon pickup and told me to choose a later pickup date. That was after I managed to find a drop off location in Nanaimo that was still open at 5 on a Sunday (airport).

Also, this excludes Xore with the currently-unrideable bike. -- Rhonda 19:37, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Found another car rental place that would give me a quote; for SUV/minivan sized vehicles, looks like about $130-$170 per day (after taxes). -- Rhonda 19:57, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Alright, sounds like it's not a good option, then. 128.189.233.179 20:14, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

By Public Transit

Doesn't appear doable solely by bus.

• Translink bus to Horseshoe Bay
• Nanaimo Route 90 goes from Nanaimo to Parksville [3]
• the 89 goes from Parksville to Qualicum Beach [4]
• how to get from Qualicum to Buckley Bay? About 45 km.
• Comox Valley Route 10 goes from Buckley Bay to Comox [5]
• Route 2 goes to Cumberland, which gets pretty close to the hashpoint [6]

or: Greyhound from Nanaimo to Courtenay. But that's a ca.$50 round trip ticket.

Report

If I've made a mistake it's because I remembered it wrong; don't leave comments, just fix it. I was kind of concentrating on driving. -- Rhonda 22:32, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

I enjoy making comments from the peanut gallery :-) -- Xore 23:21, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

Peanut Gallery

This looks a lot more fun than standing in a ditch. Wish I could be there. Juventas 01:50, 4 July 2009 (UTC)

Regrets

I drove right past this hashpoint on July 4th, and had even considered extending my Campbell River visit to get the point on the way home, but in the end didn't go. I didn't look and see that you were all going, or I would have come along. -Robyn 18:26, 9 July 2009 (UTC)