The Bridges & Ferry Tour 1000 (pre-ride)
Ride date: August 6, 2022
by Murray Tough

This was my second attempt at a 1000 brevet. My first one was unsuccessful - I didn't have the strength for the hills or the stamina for the distance. Click here for that story. This time, I was stronger, fitter and well rested. I was ready.

Day 1
My wife and I are celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary today so I am only doing this with her permission. And what did we do for romance on this momentous occasion? She got up early to drive me to the Waddling Dog Inn for the 5:30 AM start. Now that's true love.

There are only two of us doing the pre-ride but Gord and Mark came to see us off. Gord very graciously offered to take our drop bags to Nanaimo. This meant that I could ride a lot lighter than I had on my first attempt at the 1000. Mark admonished me to take lots of pictures and do a writeup for the Newsletter.

Buddy and I left in the morning twilight heading for the Malahat. It didn't take long for me to realize that it was colder than I thought. There was a marked difference between the temperature on the hills and the temperature in the valleys. With no wind, a cold damp had settled on the valley floors. We've only just started and I am stopping to put on an extra layer.

At start of the Malahat, it is time to stop for a bathroom break and to remove some layers for the long climb ahead. I wasn't the least concerned about the climb. I had done much, much tougher climbs a few weeks ago on the SR-600. My big worry was the Malahat is a notorious road with a less than stellar safety record.

The lower, narrow section was the worst. In this section the highway is a narrow, winding, two lane, divided road. Which means each direction is a single lane that is constrained by a barrier in the middle of the highway. Traffic has nowhere to go to avoid a cyclist. This is not as bad as it sounds, there is a wide enough shoulder with rumble strips to keep the traffic from drifting onto the shoulder. But it does mean that bicycles must ride in whatever debris there is on the shoulder. And there was lots of debris. It was like riding in gravel. It would be alright if the gravel was free from glass, if not, a flat seemed inevitable but a flat was preferable to riding in the traffic lane.

Early Saturday morning traffic was light making the dreaded route quite pleasant. There are pretty glimpses of Finlayson Arm that are invisible from a car. The winding road makes the riding interesting and the grades are never hard. Before long the highway widens to four lanes, giving traffic the room to pass wide. The shoulder became wider and cleaner.

The view from the Summit Viewpoint is nice. It is our first control of the ride. I take pictures and look for anything that would make a good question to put on the control card. A short distance down the hill is the Split Rock Lookout. So named because a distinctive rock separates the highway from the Lookout. It is much smaller than the Summit Viewpoint and not part of the prescribed course but the views are breathtaking. I had to pull in for a photo. I had a very quick conversation with a couple who were also enjoying the view and lighting a bong. I don't know what they were about to smoke but I couldn't help but think that it was not likely to enhance their ability to drive.

In the blink of an eye, we are down the hill and exiting the highway. The quiet is soothing after the exhilaration of the descent. Now at sea level, we ride along the beach towards Mill Bay. Buddy decides to stop for a smoothie in Mill Bay. I press on knowing that Buddy will eventually catch me. I ride towards Shawnigan Lake at an easy pace, stopping to take photos of anything that amuses me.

The course circled a peaceful Shawnigan Lake before taking a short out and back leg to the magnificent Kinsol Trestle. In its day it was an essential piece of industrial infrastructure. Today it is a spectacular monument that has been fully restored as part of the Trans Canada Trail and the Cowichan Valley Trail. It is one of the largest wooden trestle bridges in the world.

Our course meandered through towns and villages, farmland, vineyards and woodlands on its way back to sea level at Cowichan Bay. I saw cows, horses, donkeys, sheep, goats and chickens. A rooster crowed proudly as I passed through Cobble Hill. After Cowichan Bay we headed for the Genoa Bay control. Genoa Bay Road was the highlight of the day.

At Maple Bay the road passes by marinas and once chic shoreside homes. The rocky shore quickly gives way to pastures. The road cuts across the Maple Bay Peninsula passing through bright, open meadows and dark forests where the overhead canopy blocks the sun. It clings to the contour lines as the approaching headland becomes a near vertical wall of stone and trees hundreds of meters above. There is a field of boulders, some the size of a small school bus. Their moss cover softening what must have been the annihilation of everything in their path as they exploded from the wall above. What ancient force set them loose? A final descent leads to the tree lined shores of Genoa Bay. The riding is as varied as the scenery with short, sharp ascents and fast, winding descents.

After returning to Maple Bay, we left the shoreline and rode to Duncan, where the climb to Cowichan Lake started in earnest. It's not a huge climb but by now it was getting hot. I watched a traffic jam of tubers on the Cowichan River, envying their cool flotilla. After the Gordon Bay Provincial Park control, I returned to the town of Lake Cowichan for a late lunch. It took some effort to leave the air conditioning and return to my bike for the hot ride Youbou.

Psychologically, Youbou was an important turning point. From here it was mostly downhill back to sea level and cooler air. On the way down, I stopped to refill my bottles. With the heat, my water consumption was about double my normal.

We passed through Crofton, saw a few of the murals in Chemainus before reaching the highway at Ladysmith. I was happy that I was completing this short highway stint well before nightfall. The road to Elliot's Beach Park was new to me. The twilight views of Ladysmith on the opposite shore of the inlet were gorgeous. I dawdled a little at the control to take in the fading light before starting the final leg of the day to my motel in Nanaimo. I left the final control feeling strong and confident. I would arrive at my hotel well before midnight.

I was nearing the turnoff to Cedar when I became aware of a vehicle behind me. My mind went immediately to how visible I would be to a motorist. I had checked my front and back lights at the control. I had put on a high visibility vest, I was wearing ankle reflectors, my bike has long strips of reflective tape. I had no doubt that the driver would be able to see me. And then I was tumbling through the air. My mind in instant disbelief. I had been hit.

After the Crash
I was lying in middle of the lane. There was no-one to be seen. No receding lights. It was a hit and run. Had I lost consciousness? I tried getting up, nothing appeared broken. Initially my balance was off, which made it difficult to pick up my bicycle. Once I got my bike righted, I walked for a short distance to regain my balance. My right brake lever was pushed in but aside from that, the bike was rideable. With my balance restored, I went to turn on my helmet light so that I could find my first aid supplies. It was gone. I walked back to where I had gone down to see if I could find it. I didn't find it but I saw one of my water bottles on the opposite side of the road. I didn't know I had lost it. It was the only one with any water left.

I got back on my bike and started pedalling. My back muscles were a bit sore but otherwise riding was going to be fine. Should I go to the ER? I decided against that because I knew I would spend the rest of the night in a waiting room. The sooner I could give my road rash a really good clean, the faster it would heal. I needed sleep to heal. What if I have a head injury? The issue with balance was gone, I was not experiencing headaches, nausea or dizziness. I thought a head injury was unlikely. I also knew that I would be having conversations with Buddy at the hotel. I guessed he would be an hour behind me. If there was anything amiss with my coherence, I expected he would recognize it. Should I call the police? What would I say? A car that I never saw just hit me? I did not want to spend any more time on the side of that dark road so I decided not to call them. When I did call them, they could not create a file because there was nothing to go on but they would have preferred that I had called them at the time of the crash.

I was only 30 km from my motel. I hoped that riding would prevent my body from seizing up. I arrived at the motel just before midnight. I had a coherent conversation with Gord and told him what had happened. I decided not to call my wife. There was nothing she could do tonight so why not let her have a good night's sleep. I had coherent conversations with Buddy somewhere around 2:00 and again at 5:00.

Day 2
My body is sore, I am experiencing muscle spasm in my back. My ride is over. I rest until 7:00 then call home to tell my wife what happened.

Healing and Recovery
I am riding the Granite Anvil 1200 on August 25th. My non-fundable fees are paid. My event jersey is purchased. My non-refundable flights are booked. I have 18 days to heal and a great deal of motivation to do whatever it takes to get back on my bike quickly. I decided immediately to hit this with everything I could. I booked physiotherapy, massage and chiropractic. But it is August and none of my regular practitioners have appointments this week so taking time to heal is the order for this week. My chiropractor emailed me from his vacation. He will fit me in on Monday. He recommended alternating heat and ice, which I have been doing diligently. I was a little surprised when he said do NOT do any stretching.

I believe that the mind plays a pivotal role in healing. To that end, I started planning for the Granite Anvil, I poured over maps, pictured my journey and built a spreadsheet to predict my time at each food location, and where I could expect to be riding in darkness. Any one of those activities would have been my happy place. Combined, I was engrossed. It was telling my body that recovery wasn't optional. I needed to be back on my bike with strength and stamina, two hours before dawn on Aug 25th.

I am fortunate to have a family Dr. who squeezed me into her hectic schedule. She looked at my wounds, examined the range of motion in multiple joints and asked me lots of questions. When she asked if I had had any trouble concentrating, I thought back to my previous evening with maps and spreadsheets and smiled when I said, "No, no problems concentrating." She inquired about damage to my helmet. I told her about the missing light but other than that, it didn't have a scratch. Either way, I would replace it. She declared that nothing was broken or torn but wouldn't rule out a rib fracture. She gave me a tetanus shot and sent me on my way.

I gave my helmet one more inspection before going to the bike store to replace it. The outer shell was without a scratch but I was horrified to find a large crack in the inner layer. My helmet had done its job and saved me from a head injury.

Epilogue
One week on, my road rash is healing nicely. Some of my muscle pain is gone but my back and rib cage are still painful.

I realize how lucky I am to be alive. This could have been so much worse.

August 25, 2022