Ok, I’m supposed to be doing a 320km ride from Seattle to Portland on July 17. Based on today’s road ride of about 130km, I’m left thinking that 320km is going to be a damn long day in the saddle. More long rides on the way I guess.
Great day for a ride today, finally I was able to expose my pasty white arms and legs to the world. Actually, such exposure does not rank very high on my list of things to do, but it is nice to ride with out being covered up in cold weather gear.
After 90km yesterday I set out today with mixed feelings about trying to do a longer ride again today. In the first fifteen minutes or so I made the decision to go for it since the weather looked good and I wasn’t feeling too bad. The ride started out with a trip along the waterfront (Dallas Road) and then headed out through Esquimalt, View Royal, and Colwood on the way to Metchosin. The furthest west I got was Happy Valley Road – note to self, find out who came up with this name. After an exciting-as-always trip through the thriving/driving metropolis of Langford it was into the Highlands via Millstream Road and the winding, hilly, entertaining Millstream Lake Road / Ross-Durrance Road. By this point I was starting to think about how far I still had to go (about 65km) – not a good sign, but I stuck with it and despite feeling pretty beat at the end I made it around the remaining Saanich Peninsula.
GPS Data: 126.4km – 4h25m – 28.6km/h – GPS route
A 126km road bike ride - Metchosin / Saanich Peninsula. Click on the map to see details on the Garmin website.
Metchosin countryside. Pretty, but hilly.
Millstream Lake Road is fun to ride, but may cause pain depending on your level of fitness. There was some pain for me today on the climbs.
Finally some relatively flat road for a while. This was taken while heading north on West Saanich Road.
