1993 Vancouver to San Francisco by bike
In 1993, I attended an environmental conference near San Francisco, California and decided to add a bike trip afterwards. Originally, I planned to bike north to Vancouver, but after reading the one and only guide book on this route, I understood that the prevailing winds blow from the North to South, so no one rides north. Uh oh…..
….. Having booked my plane ticket already, I devised a brilliant plan to send my bike to friends in Vancouver, attend the conference in California, take a 24-hour bus north to Vancouver to meet my bike, and then bike back to catch my plane in San Francisco…. It all made sense from my apartment in Ottawa.
Of course, once I reached Vancouver, I decided to head North along the Sunshine Coast before crossing over to Vancouver Island. I then biked down the island to Victoria, caught the ferry to Port Angeles, Washington, and biked down Highway 101 through Oregon and California.
The entire trip took about 5 weeks, and I averaged about 80 km / day. Along the way, I ended up travelling with two other Canadians and two Australians, with whom I shared campsites, meals and company.
The photos below were shot on a small compact film camera that I carried in my front bag. This is one of the most stunning coastlines that I’ve seen, and still a popular bike touring route.
