Showing posts with label resting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resting. Show all posts

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Pressing "pause" on life's movie


Riding Fool sign
So I've been more-or-less on the road for almost six months now. To me that seems like quite a lot - especially for a self-avowed non-traveler. My pace has definitely slowed considerably since I left Ottawa back in April. I haven't really had a strong urge to move on and explore in the past several weeks; recent forays to Tofino and the Juan de Fuca Strait were done with company, which certainly kept the enthusiasm up. Admittedly some of the lethargy is due to a nagging (but healing!) injury that I received during some ill-advised antics in Golden, BC, but mostly I think I've seen all the scenery I can handle and just need to sit an process everything for a bit, as well as give myself an opportunity to figure out what to do next.

Riding Fool interior

The old Tarbell's Store
So where am I? To date I've spent over a week in Cumberland, BC, a small former coal mining town in Vancouver Island's Comox Valley. It's a cute little town with a very strong sense of history and many heritage buildings lining its main street. There's rivers and creeks and trails and mountains nearby, and the ocean is a short 15-minute drive away. Mountain biking is supposedly epic, and from the trails I've been able to walk it seems that the reputation is well-deserved. I've been staying at The Riding Fool Hostel, which is on the second floor of the old Tarbell's hardware store, the remainder of which now houses a bike shop and cafe. This is a nice hostel, with a fantastic common area, well-laid-out kitchen, and comfortable beds. The folks who run the place are awesome and I can get discounts for weekly stays. What's not to like about this place? :)

I figure I'll kick around here for a while, maybe find a place to live and work and return to "real life". In the meantime, I'll get caught up on some blogging since there's a bunch of hikes I did in the Rockies for which I've got notes and pics, but never got around to posting. Keep your eye on this space!


Perseverance Creek
Perseverance Creek