2009-07-05 49 -125

Location

Side of Inland Island Hwy, near Courtenay

Participants

Elbie
Rhonda
Xore, whose bike is not in any shape for riding (and who isn't ready for 200km anyway)

Planning

Probably the same as my last Courtenay attempt, unless somebody with a car volunteers.

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.

If somebody has a 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)

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.

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)


Sun 5 Jul 2009 in 49,-125: 49.3518423, -125.1062209 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox