1043.9 kilometres later and a GINORMOUS fish

Sadly, all adventures come to an end, but on the bright side, there are always new adventures on the horizon, big ones and small ones!  Miss Scarlet all packed up and ready to roll down the highway towards home. She was coming home a little more blinged out than when she left, the Divine Ms. S spotted some saddlebags on a local internet site and snapped them up and gifted them to us. Miss Scarlet looks mighty fine with her new luggage bling, in fact almost grown up!  Thank you Ms. S, love you bunches!  

I left Courtenay happy beyond belief and the adventure bug quieted a little in my spirit (but not quite squashed yet). I think Ms. S and I will have to plan more moto adventures in the future and cause a little more Moto Mama ruckus and chaos here and there.  The weather was spectacular and I couldn't have timed it better.  It was a really good test to see what I needed to bring along on trips and how light I can pack, and that I can live without a curling iron and hairspray (ok I admit that's the diva in me).  In fact this is the lightest I have ever packed for a trip anywhere.

Being the intrepid blogger that I am, documenting my journey is a big part of riding for me.  Sometimes my hub finds it a little annoying, but as I said in a earlier post "without pics, it's just a story".  So with this in mind, it was all about riding at a leisurely pace and stopping when something struck my motoblogger fancy. Believe me, Vancouver Island is beautiful and I can take forever to get somewhere and run out of memory on my camera or phone due to the amount of pictures I take.

I know I posted this pic in a previous post, but I spotted this on our trip to Port Alberni the day before, but didn't stop and I was looking for it on the way home.

I decided to take the scenic Oceanside route highway 19A.  I didn't feel like riding down the Inland Hwy 19, it's just an asphalt slab the entire way with speed limit of 110-120kmh, with heavy traffic, and most cars ripping at least 20-40kmh above the speed limit it's really not that fun.  I am quite comfortable riding at 90kmh and seeing the scenery.

The roads were quiet and twisty, perfect for a meandering Moto Diva to get her picture fix and relaxing way to end a trip.

There is quite a bit of oyster farming here on the island and as you drive through Fanny Bay area you can smell the tang from the shucked oysters and see the stacks of shells.  

I love the camaraderie of the road, as I was pulled over and was fumbling for my phone and looking rather intense, a fella coming from the other direction on a bike slowed to ask if all was ok, I smiled and gave the thumbs up, and with a wave he was on his way.

Off I buzzed down the road to see what awaited after the next curve and I spotted this!  Kathy at Toad Mama blog would appreciate this. Check out her blog http://toadmama.com 

This was definitely worth the U-turn!  Moto fishing at it's finest! 

The people in the cafe that this was in front of were looking at me with curiosity as I whipped a u-turn, pulled up and positioned the bike just so I could get this pic.  From my perspective it was no weirder than eating in a cafe with a giant fish out front :)

Look closely at the fish, this definitely was not a case of catch and release!  Yup, I love roadside oddities!  

So remember this is highway 19A on Vancouver Island home of the ginormous fish.  This was between Bowser and Qualicum. I giggled like a school girl over this and was giddy with delight.

Time to get back onboard my land rocket and cruise to Parksville and find a coffee and snack.  I pulled into Starbucks and bought some goodies and was being surreptitiously gawked at by a few of the raisins (retirees) that lived in Parksville, not sure maybe they liked my pink coat or they weren't used to seeing a Moto Diva.

After I left Parksville I spotted a motorcycle shop and saw these babies!

Again, it was worth a stop and I'm glad I like to ride at a leisurely pace and take in the world! The rest of the journey was pretty monotonous because you end up on a regular traffic congested highway. I did meet-up with a nice couple on a Goldwing who shadowed me for most of the way home and they were leisurely moto tripping like I was.  His wife gave me a thumbs up as I passed them to get out of the traffic congestion. We did exchange pleasantries a few times at lights.  

I arrived home happy, safe, tired, and with 1043.9kms under my moto belt.  What an amazing three days! 

I have learned a few things, I don't think I will ever be an "Iron Butt" rider and I am happiest chilling and enjoying the places I ride through. I also think as I progress with more moto tripping, a spot tracker is going to be in the cards and possibly a newer bike with a tiny bit more cc's, maybe 750cc just for a little added zing on the highway, but not much more than that.  It will probably be more of an adventure touring bike that can handle gravel a bit better than a cruiser, but then again I am fickle when it comes to bikes.

I got the stuffing hugged out of me when I walked through the door by Scooterpie Jr and Miss Roo was stuck to me like glue for the night. Motorcycle Man wasn't home from work yet, but was happy I was home. This was the best part of the trip - coming home to being loved and missed.

Miss Scarlet resting after her hard work in the heat of riding 1043.9km! The next day she was treated to an oil change and new filter and is being fitted with saddlebag hardware and is awaiting her next adventure!  I can hardly wait! 

I have come to the conclusion that an 'epic' journey doesn't have to be long or lots of miles of road ridden, but more about how happy you are during the journey and how happy you are at the end of it.