Cumberland and Tofino

Upon returning from New Zealand, the first thing I had to do was go on a second vacation. So two weeks later, I was off to Cumberland to meet up with friends for mountain biking. It was a little optimistic to head to Cumberland this early in the season. Our first day found a touch of snow up high, but as we got better at navigating the area, it was easy to avoid.

Our first trail was named "Bucket of Blood." Surely this would be a trail suitable for a beginner right? Meghan disagreed.

"Crafty Butcher" had this wonderful series of teeter-totters. I wasn't sure I wanted to be up there. Sure enough, you can see my twisted hip and shoulder getting ready to jump sideways off the structure. Moments after this photo was taken, I was bounced from the landing teeter-totter off the side. Note to self, when riding up teeter-totters, it's easier to ride off the ramp at the end.

Though there was not much rain, we only had one day of proper sunshine on the trip. But oh how it was glorious when the sun shone.

Curiously there are no pictures of the fantastic beach house in Union Bay where we stayed. (Well, actually, I didn't take any photos at all. Luckily Meghan did take the great photos you're seeing now.) One highlight of the beach house was the abundance of oysters when the tide went out. It was very challenging to get the oyster safety report from the DFO website (the number of regions and the format of the report is quite bewildering), but in the end I concluded oysters from that area were safe to eat. Much slurping of raw and barbecued oysters ensued.

After suffering through a week of mountain biking, Meghan dragged me off to the coast for some surfing. Unlike my previous attempt 12 years ago, it was nice to actually go with someone who knows how to surf. I spent around 7 hours in the water over three days and stood on my board for a total of 10 seconds. It was fun! And the wetsuits with hoods, gloves, and boots keep you warm even in cold, rainy, miserable conditions. Thankfully. I may have to go back for a sunny surf trip to truly love the sport.