The BC Ferries Experience™ Card is an electronic swipe card that can be loaded with money and used to pay for ferry travel on participating routes.

Participating routes are all but the BIG trips from Vancouver to Vancouver Island.

As is so typical of government programs, the actual benefits are confusing. And not explained well, not even in the FAQs.

But I can confirm fares are significantly reduced using this card island to island. And my bike is free. 🙂

You must put a minimum of C$65 on the card to start. There’s no expiry.

Cumbersome. But you must admit – a unique #hashtag.

I tented 4 nights cycling through the Gulf Islands before finally reaching a hot shower in Port Townsend. Tomorrow I’ll start back towards Canada through the San Juan Islands from Whidbey.

#CycleHikingSanJuans&GulfIslands

First stop on my (long promised) Gulf Island cycling tour was Tsawwassen. (It may be a peninsula. Or isthmus.)

Tsawwassen is a first nations word. Or perhaps Norwegian.

Anyway I’m soaking in the culture.

And eating local cuisine.

The Tsawwassen Beach Neighbourhood Nature Trail has some serious stairs. I did not try running them as they nearly killed this guy.

The view over to the ferry is pretty.

I did cycle the 12th Avenue Dyke Trail in Boundary Bay Regional Park. Did not see any Dykes.

And part of the Great Blue Heron Way. Saw plenty of Herons.

Next I caught the ferry to Galiano Island.

#CycleHikingSanJuans&GulfIslands

Ron and I loaded the bikes. Then cycled over the bridge to Stanley Park.

From there the busy but enjoyable False Creek trails to lunch at Granville Island.

Highly recommended.

Success. For 3 days I’ve been cycle touring near Banff. Camping out of paniers rather than backpack.

I rode 130km Canmore to Calgary today. Five hours in the saddle (with a good tailwind).

I’m hoping to get to the Kettle Valley Rail Trail this summer. Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. And more.

Thanks Kelly and Lexi for hosting me in Canmore. 🙂

Actually that’s Henry’s new Giant Talon. Durable. Seems an excellent bike to me.

Here’s my newly upgraded ride.

Ghost Panamao X 3 Bicycle (Unisex) – CAD$725 (US$582)

I added a rack with 2 MEC WORLD TOUR 30L PANNIERS.

I got that rig tricked out for some summer bike trail touring. Tomorrow I’ll test out my bike / camping system in Canmore, Banff, K Country.

Finally, I put new wheels on my OLD cheap K2 mountain bike.

Truth be told, it would be cheaper to buy a new inexpensive mountain bike every time your old bike breaks down. 🙂

Rio is a city where you can pick up and drop off bright orange bikes all over town. As is often the case, tourists can’t use those without a fairly complicated registration process. 😦

Instead it’s easy to rent for $3 / hour from independent companies.

Arriving first time I found a big chunk of Copacabana fenced off. Some Olympic installation will be put in there, but I’m not sure what. Something to do with Beach Volleyball, I assume.

Weather was lousy most of my tourists days.

Still, it was plenty warm enough to cycle.

Of course I immediately I headed in the direction of the fallen bridge. This was as far as I could go.

This 3.9km bike path opened January 17th at a cost of $44.7. It was built by a company called Concremat.

Fatal Bike Path Collapse Casts Shadow on Rio Games 😦

Now everyone is worried about all the other new Olympic construction. It’s not easy to build roads or bike trails in this rugged geography.

One upside of bad weather is that promenades and trails were much less busy than usual.

When the drizzle lets up, people returned quickly.

There’s plenty to do and see along the beaches. Here’s a glimpse.

I’m not much of a beach bum. But if you like this kind of thing, you’ll love Rio.

On a cloudy, windy day the 7.2km trail was near deserted. I circled it one and a half times on a rental bike then returned to the beach.

The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing sea water to enter by a canal …

The lagoon has several environmental problems, including water as well as land pollution. …

There is a concern about the health risks for athletes during the 2016 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Paralympics. In 2015, thirteen American paddlers had stomach problems after a competition in the lagoon, which was considered a test event for the Olympics; they suffered from vomiting and diarrhea. Further, it is recognized that there is no sufficient time to clean the lagoon effectively for the Olympics. …

It’s the Olympic venue for canoe sprint and rowing events for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Rowing events for the 2016 Summer Paralympics.