I was breathless. Only a few metres away, the massive killer whale rolled over and shot me a glance. Within that brief moment, as I stood surrounded by a pod of the majestic animals, it felt as though we had connected. Whale watching had been an item on my bucket list for a very long time, and now, overwhelmed by the experience, I realized that the wait had been worth it. Scratch one off the list.
How I had ended up in a Zodiac off Vancouver Island’s west coast was simple. I had been in the middle of a business trip and did what everyone should do – I booked a few days off to check out the local landscape. The resulting trip around Vancouver Island was the essence of my most basic credo: Never pass up an opportunity to ride in a great place on a new motorcycle. My ultimate destination for this particular trip was Tofino, a tiny fishing village with 1500 residents located on the west coast of the island. I had often heard and read about Tofino since my university days, and knew of its reputation as a destination for surfers, mountain bikers and outdoor enthusiasts in general. It certainly sounded like my kind of place, and I was eager to pay a visit to the town.
My journey started in Victoria at Savage Cycle, where Mike Backen and Alex Bolz provided me with a 2011 Triumph Tiger 800 for my ride. The guys also kindly supplied me with excellent road maps and one key instruction: Don’t speed on the Island. The map, which was designed with riders in mind, was all I needed to explore Vancouver Island. Not only did it show the main roads, but also the many dual sport– friendly logging roads that lace the island’s backcountry. However tempting fire and logging roads for me, I didn’t want to risk damaging the cast wheels that are fitted to the base Tiger 800, and I decided to stick to pavement for my ride.
The first day of the trip began from Sooke, just west of Victoria. I chose the touristy 240 km loop called the Pacific Marine Circle Route, which follows the Pacific shoreline and offers a picturesque ride through Jordan River and Port Renfrew before heading inland to Lake Cowichan and the Trans-Canada Highway. Motorcycle trips are truly a joy when the road you are on and the bike you are riding seem to be made for each other. The Pacific Marine Circle Route is a gnarly and bumpy former logging road that consists of patchwork pavement and some chip seal in various spots to make things really interesting. Whoever built the road was most likely old school, and probably had little more than a bulldozer, which was used to follow the path of least resistance through the landscape. The route’s combination of corners, which come up quickly, and its poor surface really test a bike’s suspension. After a twenty-minute, dust-off-the-cobwebs start, I stopped for lunch at a serene patio that overlooked an inlet in Jordan River.
After a good meal and a few more kilometres, I felt at ease on the Tiger and noted that it inspired confidence. My first impression of the mid-displacement adventure-tourer was that Triumph’s product planners had a crystal-clear vision of what their engineering department should build. The Tiger seemed to be a perfect bike for the situation I was in, exploring an unfamiliar region on less-than-ideal roads. I immediately appreciated the bike’s light feel and the way its 19-inch front wheel provided intimate feedback to the handlebars. The three-cylinder engine had a raspy personality, and its slightly naughty edge made me want to rip it up. The chassis is an example of the symbiotic relationship that can exist between the design process and its execution in metal; the bike’s Showa suspension, its chassis geometry and riding position all contributed to what I call a happy adventure motorcycle. Having ridden a number of different Triumph models over the years, I believe the brand does a good job of injecting character into their machines. Appealing to my nostalgic side, Triumphs are the product of a storied history – it helps, too, that their fit and finish is typically robust – they simply look well built and have a solid, substantial feel to them. The Tiger is bolted together with hefty fasteners, uses massive castings and exudes a sense of permanence. I like that. Once I caught on to the pattern of the roads I was travelling, it was a blast to let the Tiger have its head and discover this part of our great country at a spirited speed, keeping in mind the entire time the warnings people had given me about the heavy-handedness of the local police. When Highway 18 hit the Trans-Canada in Duncan, I vectored north on the mostly four-lane road, which was busy until I had passed Nanaimo. Between Qualicum Beach and Port Alberni, I stopped at Cathedral Grove, where some of the oldest and largest Douglas Fir trees grow. Incredibly, some of these trees are more than 800 years old, and the forest walk I enjoyed was a perfectly timed diversion that allowed me to stretch my legs. The break also gave me a chance to reflect on how precious the natural world really is, and that a motorcycle is not only an efficient way to transport you to these wonders, but it also allows you to appreciate them that much more.
Continuing toward Port Alberni, I stopped in Coombs at a restaurant called Goats on the Roof. Sadly, there weren’t any goats to be found; however, Goats on the Roof did turn out to be a good place for a peckish rider to fuel up. I found the Tiger’s luggage easy to use and large enough to carry ample supplies for an extended trip. However, for my two-day side trip, I was travelling light – really light. With not much more than a pair of jeans, my camera and a toothbrush, I was caught unprepared by a cool rain, which forced me to stop at the Mark’s Work Wearhouse in Port Alberni for an extra fleece to stuff under my rain suit. At one point, the colour-matched panniers on my Tiger were practically empty, because I was wearing everything I had. The sight of the bike’s power outlet caused me to curse as I thought about my electric jacket liner, safely hanging in my shop back home, in no danger of wearing out. I tanked up for the ride out to the coast, and then headed west on Highway 4. Civilization quickly disappeared from my rearview mirrors, and this section of my trip turned out to be a 124 km romp on a remote mountain road with virtually no service or support until Tofino. The route has to be one of the best riding roads in the world, with its major elevation changes and jaw-dropping views of dense rainforests and towering mountains. The further west I went, the more challenging the road became. If you end up there one day, you should be warned that it does narrow and can become choked with lumbering motor homes – but on the Tiger, I barely noticed them; a quick downshift, and the Triumph made passing easy on the short straights that linked the road’s many corners.
As I reached the coast, the smell of sea air was immediately evident; in fact, the entire island is a kaleidoscope of scents, from pine to cedar to fresh poplar. Tofino turned out to be a busy little haven for surfers, both of the local and visiting variety. The wave junkies intermingled around the small town, which is also known as the Pacific terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. Sport and commercial fishing, kayaking, surfing, hiking and whale watching are all main activities in Tofino, which I was surprised to learn attracts more than one million visitors annually. After checking into the Schooner Motel, I walked across the parking lot for a much-anticipated dinner. The next morning, I visited the quaint town centre and picturesque beach area, and had a nice breakfast at the local bakery. Too soon it was time to saddle up, and even though it was July, a grey sky and fog bank that had rolled in overnight caused a definite coolness to prevail. I rode around town for a while, trying to calculate if there was enough time to go whale watching and still make it back to Victoria to return the Tiger before Savage Cycle closed for the day. Even though it was around a five-hour ride, I decided in the end to err on the side of opportunity, and I jumped aboard a Zodiac that zipped me out into the fog to find the whales. I wasn’t disappointed. We saw grey and humpback whales before being fortunate enough to spend more than an hour among a pod of about 15 orca – also known as killer whales – that were feeding two kilometres offshore. It was the thrill of a lifetime and well worth gambling with my time constraints. Blasting back to Victoria, I concluded that the Tiger 800 would be a good choice for weekend touring or even riders who wanted to use their bike to commute or arc through some nice turns on a hot summer evening. It would also serve well for that annual two-week trip. I was impressed with the bike’s versatility, its ease of use and its visually striking appearance; the shape of its bodywork, combined with the details of its trellis frame, was like artwork. I also found the Tiger’s ergonomics to be a comfortable fit, but then again, I tend to stop a lot during longer trips. My only peeve was that I could have used a taller windshield – and a lot more time to explore the beauty of Vancouver Island. As I continued to wing my way eastward, I couldn’t help but think I had chosen the ideal motorcycle for this quick, but epic ride to Tofino and back. The next item on my bucket list – Rajasthan, India, on a Royal Enfield – is going to take a little more planning and a lot more gear.
