2023 Black Forest Ride

                                  2023 Black Forest Adventure:

The weather forecast turned from possible rain to nothing but sunshine. A pure sweet golden sound to a cyclist's ears.

No time was lost packing the bikes!

Fredy cycled from the east, myself from the west, then caught up in the middle, in Stuehlingen at the southern edge of the Black Forest.

Rhein River

Pumpkins, almost ready to eat 

The infrastructure for cycling exceeded my expectations. Only on very few routes the pavement had to be shared with motorized vehicles and all accommodations provided safe storage for our two-wheelers.

Gasthaus zum Kreuz, Stuehlingen

Relaxing, at times somewhat strenuous ride to the Titisee followed.

Titisee

Downhill to Titisee

The beauty of the Titisee had to be shared with hoards of other people, who flocked in on tourist buses.

Fredy

A more peaceful view away from crowds

Around the Schluchsee, it was somewhat more peaceful with fewer crowds.

A speedy downhill ride to Sankt Blasien followed.

Downtown Sankt Blasien

Dom of St. Blasien

Nothing in the Black Forest is flat and riding was a continuous workout, but it promoted appetite and thirst for the evening.

😅

Lovely Calories...

More Lovely Calories...

At times I thought we had taken a wrong turn...

Riding through the country side and farm villages, the biggest challenge, was finding a restaurant open for business during the day. Germans do have short work weeks, but never anticipated those extended closures and surviving on water on German soil!! (daylight hours)

Some places to revisit.

Meal and Brew is a Must!

Waldhaus Brewery

After one final night out in Tiengen, we continued in the opposite direction, heading toward our original starting points.

Thanks Fredy for this Adventure

Relaxing Ride Home

       On the way home, I just couldn't bypass Wittnau, a small                 village in Fricktal to visit some OLD friends and stopped                 in for a cup of coffee.

       Note: The brewed beverage was served in a bottle                             though!

My Favorite Twins!

      Thanks, and perhaps on the next visit we can enjoy an                      extended brew session. 

      BTW, Thanks for all your North American Trayon Tour pics. 

2023 British Columbia Brewery Adventure

        2023 British Columbia Brewery Adventure:

The weather forecast promised no rain in the coming week, which was all we needed to hear, to load up the bikes.

My friend Wayne felt sorry for me drinking by myself on this trip and decided to join in on this small adventure.

Although I think, he just likes the idea of beer tasting!!

Route Map

A tranquil ride from downtown Vancouver along Marine Drive got us to Horseshoe Bay, where we caught up with Somee and Kristie, who joined us by bus on this first day. From here we transferred onto a BC ferry to Langdale, for a short rest.

Horseshoe Bay

The sun was out now in full force, as British Columbia was experiencing a mini heat wave.

After 2.5 hours or so of sweating along the Sunshine Coast, we arrived in Sechelt, to taste our well-deserved first brew at Batch 44 Brewery.

Batch 44 Brewery in Sechelt

As there was no camping on this trip, we stayed in a motel next to the Buccaneers Pub, which served Persephone Beer from another local brewery.

Buccaneers Pub

An early start (9am), some coffee and the wheels were turning again, after a quick farewell from Somee and Kristie who took the bus - ferry back to Vancouver again.

 It was a hilly ride to Earls Cove from where we ferried over to Saltery Bay.

Nobody was going to mess with my bike!

From Earls Cove, the ferry took us over to Saltery Bay.

Saltery Bay Ferry

After some more hills and heat, we ended up in Powell River, home of the Townsite Brewing Inc.

Sipping a Townsite Brew

Whale watching from the comfort of a bar stool and not just the Mural... 😃

A pleasant ride through an outdoor museum, where the past logging history is on display.

Logging equipment left from the past

As the weatherman promised, the sun kept on shining and the journey continued on another ferry to Comox on Victoria Island. The road now was rather flat, along the coast and with a slight breeze. Riding into a headwind actually felt nice for a change, never thought I would say this!

Ferry to Comox on Victoria Island

Wood carvings near Campbell River

 

Soon, Campbell River greeted us with their Beach Fire Brewing Co.

The road to Courtenay was busy, but had a good shoulder to ride on. The view and smell of the ocean made up for the slight discomfort.

Trying to live a balanced life!!

In Courtenay we had to stop twice! The Gladstone Brewery and the Ace Brewing Co.

The ride to Qualicom Beach along Fanny Bay and Qualicom Bay was the most picturesque.

Qualicom Bay

Wayne

Qualicom Beach

Qualicom Beach is home of the Fern & Cedar Brewing Company.

The road to Parksville was rather busy again. Soon after town we took a less traveled road to Nanoose Bay, where the Rusted Rake Brewery Pub was waiting for us.

 As we were supposed to meet Somee and Kristie by the Nanaimo Ferry Terminal that afternoon, we soon started pedaling again, with one more stop at the Longwood Brew Pub.

After connecting at Carlos O'Bryan's Pub for lunch, we headed to our accommodation and took the ferry back to Horseshoe Bay the following day.

Our support group! 😊

Horseshoe Bay

Now we only had to ride back to Vancouver, where the Yaletown Brewery is always a welcomed sight! 

Our local watering hole

Until the next Adventure further down the road. 🍻🍻