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So here it is, early September, and I’m on the BigpacificCycle (my Yamaha Virago 1100 – if you see me, say hi, and I’ll enter you into one of our many contests for local giveaway gifts… I’m wearing the red jacket with ‘Bigpacific.com’ on the back), headed up to Powell River on one of the best riding days of the year.

If you’re a motorcyclist then you know what I’m talking about: sunshine that’s not too hot and not too cold, beautiful shaded drives like Misery Mile (Kleindale) still dry and inviting, a dearth of cars competing for road space, and glorious curves all the way from Secret Cove to the ferry terminal at Earl’s Cove.

It’s been a while since I’ve been to Lund, as I always seem to get sidetracked in Powell River visiting with Tourism Powell River Executive Director Chris McNaughton, dropping in at the town offices of the Lund Hotel to say hi to Leah, shopping at the Town Centre Mall and taking in that fabulous and very affordable Thai food down by the ferry dock to Comox. But today I’m blowing right past PR and up to Lund, where I’ve heard huge changes have occurred around the hotel and boardwalk. I’ve always loved Lund, ever since boarding there for sailing trips up Desolation Sound and over to Cortes Island where I lived part-time for a few years… and back then it was the hotel and the end of the road sign for Hwy. 101 and that was it. Sleepy, anachronistic, finnish.

Fast forward to four hours later: mission accomplished. I just enjoyed one of the most relaxing and spectacularly beautiful coastal motorcycle rides to be had in British Columbia, the best waterfront casual meal in eons, and a sidetrack tangential error in direction that unveiled a gorgeous community I might otherwise have missed.

This is the time of year for motorcycling and leisurely drives in family sedans or vintage vehicles. The road stretched on into the horizon with nary a vehicle to be seen, despite every gas station and restaurant loaded with clientele. It was like being in a magic bubble. I felt like I had the entire highway to myself, and with that freedom I could take in the wide open views the highway from Saltery Bay into Powell River affords.

I think that would have to be a key difference between the route between Langdale and Earls Cove… for some reason the highway was built into the hillsides instead of down at the oceanfront, so views of the ocean – for a coastal highway – are remarkably few and far between. In fact the dearth of views from the highway leads to what I call the ‘Davis Bay Gasp’, where you trundle over the Chapman Creek bridge and swing into view of one of the most gorgeous views in BC in my books. It never fails to captivate and startle with its beauty… and then *poof* it’s back into the woods right until Sakinaw and Ruby Lakes. The winding drive makes up for the lack of vistas, but only just.

Once on the Powell River side the experience is one of openness: long stretches of developed land sloping away to the water, with views of Lasqueti, Texada and Vancouver Island beyond; gorgeous groves of thinned evergreens, slivered with afternoon light, like a magical forest; plateaus of farmland and parks that surprise as much as they delight.

The stretch from Powell River to Lund is mixed with oceanfrontage where you can literally stop and walk the beach, the old townsite with its character homes, leafy streets and ever-present mill (and one of the oldest working theatres in BC, the Patricia Theatre). Then it’s winding curves past Powell Lake and into the charmingly named communities of Wildwood and Cranberry before slowing for the Sliammon Band’s community centre. After that, it’s nothing but road to the Okeover Arm Park turnoff or beyond to Lund.

The road is not as kind beyond Sliammon – there are several cuts in the surface and loose gravel, and plenty of road repairs that make for a more bumpy and attention-requiring ride. I would not want to ride it on a hardtail, but that’s just me… no padding leads me to these kinds of statements.

Lund itself was different than the sleepy end-of-the-road I remembered from 10 years ago. The historic Lund Hotel is gorgeous and modernized and the outdoor western-facing patios were as popular today as ever, with plenty of tourists quaffing a beer and noshing on pub fare. There’s a new helicopter landing pad I hadn’t heard about, ideal for Coast Guard and BC Ambulance Services and perhaps also the occasional jet setter. But it’s the boardwalk that really brings to fore the changes in Lund: expanded (and full) parking lead to a charming flat, wheelchair accessible gravel walk that runs out to Nancy’s Bakery – now in a beautiful handcrafted wooden building, so different than the shack off the walkway of the Lund Hotel I remember – and beyond to an old-fashioned waterwheel and a stunning boardwalk with names etched on every board, the names of those who contributed financially or by their sweat in the building of the section running out to the southwest.

Out at the end I found the Boardwalk Restaurant, which should have been busier given the delicious beer-battered salmon and chips I enjoyed on the corner of the patio overtop the water and looking out on the entrance to the harbour. The salmon was done to perfection, steamy and supple inside the crunchy herbed and fried batter. The chips were piping hot and sweet, served with an above average English malt vinegar. An extensive wine, beer and cocktails list made me wish I was staying over.

Whether you’re on a motorcycle or in a car or hopping the Malaspina Coach, Lund is an excellent destination. Make a three day weekend of it, and stay at the Sunshine Coast Resort just 20 minutes before the Earl’s Cove ferry the first night, with a fun and grooving ride out to the Garden Bay Pub for dinner, hit Powell River, Lund and even Savary Island the next day with a stay overnight at the Lund Hotel, and head home on the third day. Fabulous!