Forgive the hiatus. Wasn’t planned, mostly the victim of inconsistent internet connections and lack of time.
Briefly: After Tofino, a few nights in Whistler, and some very nice day hikes along well designed multi-use trails; then to Bellingham, WA, Portland, OR, and now Eugene.
Whistler is mountain bike heaven. The place is loaded
with young people (almost exclusively) dressed in what looks like armor 
taking the chair lifts to breath taking downhill runs. Some people of all ages biked the multi-use trails, mostly on mountain bikes, although a few used road bikes. 
We walked… and walked… and walked. The weather was cool, partly cloudy with occasional sprinkles.
Whistler has a lot of money, on the order of Aspen or Vail perhaps, and is prospering even more since the Olympics, which among other things made getting there easy with major improvements in the highway leading there from Vancouver.
(Vancouver. Reminds me. Canadians don’t rely much on road signs. Going through Vancouver from Whistler to the U.S. border is a nightmare. The road signs are small, frequently absent or misleading. They also don’t believe too much in redundancy of signage. If you missed a turn, you’re out of luck. There will be no more signs with alternative routes, which we learned vividly when trying to get to the Nanaimo ferry to Horseshoe Bay. Okay. Now that’s off my chest. Back to the fun.)
Bellingham was a bicycling dream. We rode north from Fairhaven, a restored section of the city south of downtown, to a little town of Ferndale to the north, where we discovered a pioneer village made up of restored cedar log buildings. 
We were the only visitors and spent time talking with a woman docent dressed in pioneer-style dress and bonnet.
What more superlatives can be used to describe bicycling in Portland? We had two terrific rides, one along the Columbia River, and then south to Gresham, another north and west to the Saint John bridge followed by a ride along the Willamette River to Sellwood. Once the morning clouds burned off it was utterly perfect for riding.
We have a Portland bicycle map, and made up our ride along the Columbia. (The ride to Saint John’s was led by our son, Greg.)
The map was letter perfect and very detailed. Based on the map, I’d guess that you could fashion thirty thrity-mile rides in Portland without having to travel the same road twice.
The town is criss-crossed with dedicated bike trails, and almost every thoroughfare has a wide bike lane. Plus, Portland drivers tend to give you a wide berth, and stop patiently a crosswalks.
Portland deserves being thought of a Bicycle City USA.
Tomorrow and the next day we’ll pay a return visit to Eugene, and then take a turn touring some of the covered bridges east of Cottage Grove (if Dave Abrecht’s directions prove accurate). Stay tuned.
