Victoria Redux: Graveling BC

Day 9  We rode the top "dotted green line" today What a wonderful way to wrap up our bicycling adventure!   We really did save the best for the last.   Today we biked 47 kilometers round trip, from the Cowichan Lake Road Trailhead, just outside of Duncan, to the town of Lake Cowichan, and back again.   The surface was smooth packed gravel, and the trail was shaded and quiet (except when Diane was screaming – see later).   The rain threatened, and did mist us a bit toward the end of the ride, but never really followed through.   Another thing made this ride very special -- we experienced an epic creature encounter.   For about 100 meters, with various levels of intensity, we rode/walked through thousands of what we believe (after subsequent research) are BC Western toadlets, crossing the trail from an extensive wetland into the forest, which will be their new home.   Diane made loud screaming 911 noises, hoping they would scatter away f...

Day 8  It was a fun day!   Good breakfast at our hotel, then off to the trail head—same one we launched from yesterday.   But today we went the opposite direction, knowing we would go at least to the Kinsol Trestle, and that we would let the trail, weather, and our sensibilities as they developed, dictate how much further, it at all, we would cycle today. The trail was in good condition, albeit with a few rocky patches.   The 14 kilometers to the trestle was a steady gentle uphill grade.   The scenery was wonderful, and the weather perfect. Three crossings on rural roads and zero cars made for a leisurely carefree pace.   According to th e Cowichan Valley Regional District (o ne of 27 regional districts in British Columbia ) t he “Kinsol Trestle is one of eight trestles along the Cowichan Valley Trail route and by far the largest and most spectacular. The Kinsol Trestle is one of the tallest free-standing and most spectacular ti...

Day 7  Along the south branch of the Cowichan Valley Trail We had breakfast at the café corner in the local grocery store (non-chain).   It was nice and serviceable.   Then we packed up, checked out, and drove to the trail head.   We cycled 22 kilometers, mostly uphill, to Cowichan – two hours in the saddle, then we returned, at a somewhat faster pace, covering the 22 kms in 1 ½   hours. It was a beautiful ride on a beautiful day, but the trail was somewhat taxing.  It definitely required technical skills and know-how, to thread through rocks and mud.  The surface varied-- wide smooth packed gravel, needle-covered packed dirt, double track and single track, all very manageable.  There were several trestles and few road crossings.  In comparison to the Galloping Goose, this was a much more relaxing ride because we encountered no vehicles.  We count it a successful ride. Dinner was early and Thai (one of our favorite cui...

Day 6  Of course, we started our day with a delicious breakfast at The Ruby on Douglas!   We had really liked their coffee, so we picked up a package of it at the local roaster   – Tide Thief Discovery Coffee, roasted in Victoria, BC.   Yum. Then we packed up, checked out, and headed down to Clover Point Park – the southern-most tip of Vancouver Island.   We missed low tide, but there were still tide pools to explore, and we did see a few sea creatures.   Next we went further up the eastern shore to Cattle Point Dark Sky Urban Star Park, where we explored a few more tide pools.   Two interesting facts about this park:   (1)     Per the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada , “An Urban Star Park is an area in which artificial lighting is strictly controlled and active measures are in place to educate and promote the reduction of light pollution to the public and nearby municipalities. Sky glow from beyond the borders o...

Day 5 It's been fun. Planning a short ride, we slept in, and took a more leisurely breakfast (at you know where – The Ruby).   Great again!   We drove to the Rocky Point trail head, about six kms from where we ended yesterday’s ride, and cycled back toward that point, but stopped about two kms short of it because the trail became much less interesting.   It is remarkable how quickly an environmental niche can change.   The first four kms were gorgeous—the trail we hoped to see!   It was covered by a shady canopy of mixed conifer and deciduous trees, including Madrones.   Beautiful sword ferns covered the slopes, and there was mossy fallen deadwood reminiscent of old growth forests on the Olympic Peninsula.   The air was pleasantly cool and almost sweet smelling. But when we crossed a local road (not even a highway) there was a marked change in the look and feel of the trail environment.   It became much like what we traveled yest...

Day 4 Happy Anniversary Breakfast at Ruby's Another great day in BC!  Breakfast at the Ruby was, unsurprisingly, superb.  And then the ride began.  We started off as we had yesterday—30 meters from the hotel lobby we were back on the Galloping Goose, headed north.  After crossing the switch bridge over the Trans-Canadian Highway (BC 1), we hooked left where yesterday we had hooked right.  Soon we were in a trail construction zone that required a brief hike-a- bike, but the trail itself was in great condition.  We cycled about 20 kms before we headed back, taking a short snack/comfort break at Happy Valley Market.   The section of the Goose we rode today traverses suburban areas, so there were quite a few street crossings, which slows one’s pace, particularly when there are traffic lights.   Some of the crossings were straightforward – i.e., straight across two or four lanes of traffic.   Others were a little more techni...

Sydney, B.C. Ferry Day 3 We started our day with another great breakfast at The Ruby on Douglas.   Then we had a wonderful three-hour, 48.2 kilometers ride! That’s 30 miles, at about 10 mph.    We left the hotel, mounted our bikes, rode a few yards to the Galloping Goose Trail, and headed out.   A few kilometers later, the Goose heads west and the Lochside heads north.   The Trail (more aptly, “Route”) was as advertised, with a mixture of paved and gravel surfaces, both off-road and on.   Riding conditions were great.   Most of the on-road route had very light traffic.   The busier portions of the route were sufficiently wide with broad, well-marked bicycle lanes.   The weather was cool, but not at all uncomfortable.   The scenery was varied and interesting, and sometimes downright gorgeous.   We saw a hawk and a fawn that still had its spots; the vegetable row crops in the agricultural areas looked bountif...