7/14/22

Woke up at 5am to get ready to ride to the BC Ferry terminal by 6am for a 7:30am ferry to Port Hardy, Vancouver Island. The bike cranks up but it sounds a bit weak. It's been a little weak two days ago on the way to Prince Rupert. I thought that maybe since it was a long travel day and the heated grips were on the whole day the battery was just a bit overworked. I hope to get on the island and find a Bunk-a-Biker host that has a battery tender.

The terminal is just five minutes away from my motel so I hope it'll make it there. There was a already a line of cars waiting to get on the ferry when I got there a few minutes past 6am. I put the bike in neutral and coast it down the street as each car ahead of me get waved on. The bike was idling a little weak too. Once it was my turn at the ticket booth, they told me to line up with the other bikes at one of the departure lanes. There were about a dozen bikes waiting to get on the ferry. I pull up, park behind the other bikes and turn off the ignition. I hope it starts up again.

I get off the bike and chat with a few of the other riders. I figured we had an hour to kill but fifteen minutes later they start to check our boarding passes and wave us onto the ferry. I hope on the bike and it cranks up right away. Phew!

I get waved on to board:

Bike is on the ferry. They tied it down with heavy duty ratchet straps across the seat. They also use these step blocks jammed under the right side of the bike to keep the bike from leaning to the right when the ferry travels through the water.

I go upstairs to the passenger deck and check in with the office to see if I can get on a wait list for a cabin. I bought an upgraded recliner seat for $40 more but with it being a 16 hour ride, it would be nice to have a cabin to lay down and just have a bit of a private space. As I stand in line, one of the riders I was chatting with earlier lines up next to me. He's Theo and he's from Whitehorse, Yukon. We chat a bit about Whitehorse and his new ride, a KTM Adventure 1190. Turns out he's looking to get on a wait list for a upgraded recliner. After I get on the list, I go into the special viewing room with the recliners at the bow of the ship.

With 16 hours to kill, I walk around, get some coffee and breakfast and look out the window at the view. This is the type of ferry that I'm on.

About 30 minutes into the ride, my name gets called out over the intercom. I go back to the office and they tell me they do have a cabin for me. It's a bit pricey but well worth it. On my way to the cabin, I see Theo asleep on one of the seats. I tap him on the shoulder and offer to give him my key card to the special lounge since I no longer need it. He looked happy and surprised. He offers to give me some money for it but I decline. I tell him that so many people been so generous an helpful to me on this trip that I'm just passing it on. I give him the card and go look for my cabin.

I managed to find my cabin and it is surprising nice!

I chose a windowed cabin and it has two single beds and a full bathroom with a shower along with a wall mounted TV. However this ferry does not have wifi, which a few of the other passengers have made a stink about. Since I got up so early, I managed to get a bit of a morning nap.

A few hours later, I head to the cafeteria for lunch. It's a long line as this small cafeteria is serving the entire ferry. As I wait in line, I see Theo. He's already eaten and we chat a bit before he leaves. I get a salad and a bowl of chili. I go to the cashier to pay, she taps on the screen and says "your lunch has been taken care of." I look at her confused and thought maybe the payment system was down and she's just letting me go. Then I ask, "who do I have to thank for this?" She says, " a fellow passenger." It took me a second then I laugh out loud. I did see Theo circle back to the dining area. I guess that's when he paid for my lunch with the cashier.

There's not much to do for the remainder of the ride. I write on the blog a bit, watched a bit of TV, walked all around the ferry and went on deck a bit but it was windy and raining so that didn't last long. Hours go by and then it was dinner time. It's rinse and repeat. Go back to the same cafeteria, wait in the same line, the menu is basically the same. I see Theo, sit down at his table and thanked him for lunch. Over dinner, I learned that he was a chef by profession, worked for the government, but he's now retired with a pension. This is his first big trip on a bike. He's going to ride to Victoria on the island where he has some family and then he'll take the ferry to Vancouver and ride thru BC and then back home to Yukon.

After dinner, I go back to my cabin and I'm so glad that I upgraded to this because portions of this ride was a bit choppy. It was helpful to be able to lay down on the bed with the lights off and drift off to a semi-nauseous sleep. Eventually it was just about midnight and the intercom calls for all vehicle owners to board their vehicles. I grab my stuff and walk down to the belly of the ferry. Everyone else is there already getting ready. I put on my gear, mount the bike and wait for the doors to open and ramp to lower.

This part actually takes a while. Eventually the ferry to secure and the ramp starts to lower. Everyone starts their bikes. Engines roar alive. I turn my key and press the start button - and nothing. I hit it again. Nothing. The dash is now completely dead. My worst fear is now reality. I turn to the only person I know, Theo, who is just a couple spots away from me. I tell him my bike won't start. His eyes widen and then he says he'll get someone. He goes off to find a crew member. I feel like an asshole potentially holding everyone up from getting off the ferry. About five minutes later, two crew members come up to me and says we will bump start it.

The bikes at the front are waved forward to disembark. When there is enough room on the ramp, I put the bike in second gear, the two guys push me down the ramp and one of them yell "Now!" I let go of the clutch and roll on the throttle a bit. The lights come on for a split second and then die. Nothing. That one guy tells me to put it in third gear and they try again. "Now!" I release the clutch, roll the throttle, lights come on a split second again and again nothing. He says he's never not been able to bump start a bike ever.

At this point, they just push me and the bike all the way off the ferry and into the parking section so the other vehicles are disembark. I do the only thing I can think off which is the remove the top panel of the body and use my jump pack. It's now half past midnight and I'm digging thru all my gear in my side case to find the proper hex tool to screw the bolts. Theo is waiting patiently for me and says he can give me ride on his bike to my hotel in the worst case scenario. Eventually I get the panel off, I take out my jump pack, attach the clamps to the battery and hope for the best. With the jump back powered on, I put the key in the ignition, turn the key to the On position, and hit the start button. The engine cranks over with that magical sound! I am instantly relieved.

I shove all my crap back in the luggage, put my gear back on and tap in the address of my hotel into the GPS. Theo says he'll follow me down the road until he has to split off to his hotel. About a mile away from the terminal, the road comes to a stop sign. Theo rolls up next to me. I thank him profusely and wish him a safe trip. We wave and I turn left and he turns right. About 10 minutes later I arrive at my hotel past 1am. I check in and unload all my stuff into a room on the second floor. Feeling completely defeated, somehow I manage to fall asleep.

The next morning, I go down to the bike, put key in and start the bike. Nothing. I feel completely defeated. From the very first day where I snapped my clutch cable, to getting a new tire back in Calgary because the tire I left home with got worn out thousands of miles ahead of schedule to this, a dead battery from potential recharging issues on the bike. I call the only person I know that might be able to help, Mr, Beemer, my mechanic back home. I explain the situation and he says the battery might be dead. But it's a brand new battery just a few months old that I bought in preparation for this trip. He suggests to make sure the terminals are tight. I take off that top panel again and twists the bolts on the battery - they're tight. He says to wiggle the actually terminal ring and wires to make sure those are tight. I wiggle those cables and the negative wire has just a tiny play to it - maybe a quarter inch. I wiggle it back and forth a few times. Surely this tiny play can't cause the issue. I turn the key to on and hit the start button - the engine roars to life!

This tiny looseness in the negative terminal was the culprit of last night's embarrassing debacle. I take out my screwdriver tool and make sure that negative screw is down tight and the cable is snugged down completely with zero play. I test the ignition again. The bike starts with zero hesitation. From feeling defeated just an hour ago, now I feel a rejuvenation of hope that maybe I can finish this trip and get myself home. I load up the bike and head towards the town of Campbell River.