Blog: I Think It's This Way » Road Ride – Lower Saanich – If There Is Such a Thing as Lower Saanich

Road Ride – Lower Saanich – If There Is Such a Thing as Lower Saanich

Kris — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 01:57:29 +0000

Wow it’s been a while without any blogging, exercise, photos, or other cool stuff. These last couple months of house hunting, research, and buying have been a bit of a drag. That’s not to say I didn’t appreciate the challenge that came with various fixit projects, like changing a toilet etc., but there’s pretty much no way I’d prefer doing that sort of stuff over bike riding.

Time to get back to a more active lifestyle… I don’t really have any good excuses to for not doing so, so I shall ‘do’ rather than ‘do not’… thanks recently viewed Yoda quote.

GPS Data: 45.1km – 1h47m – Garmin Website | GPX (right click to download)

Another trip down Martindale Road on the road bike on a wet coast day with the smell of pumpkin and cabbage decomposition in the air.

Curious Christmas arrangement on West Wallace Drive. Good luck with that Santa.

Lake Cowichan Get-Away – Day 1

Kris — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 06:19:15 +0000

Michelle and I headed up to Lake Cowichan again this weekend with Sheena and Gurbir. Day 1 started out with a bike ride near the town of Lake Cowichan. Actually it was a loop that started and ended in Lake Cowichan and included a decent chunk of time on the Cowichan Valley Trail / Trans-Canada Trail. Saw some slugs, trashed cars, someone’s underwear hanging of a bridge, Cowichan River tubers, Skutz Falls… I guess that’s probably enough of a list, I’ll stop now.

After the ride, it was up to the cabin for some lunch, a swim, a sail on the Hobie Cat, and a tasty sausage fest dinner. Did I just say ‘sausage fest’? Oops, not that kind of sausage fest.

GPS Data: 21.4km – 1h50m – Garmin Website | GPX (right click to download)

Michelle heading towards Duncan on the Cowichan Valley Trail.

Sheena and Gurbir on the Cowichan Valley Trail.

Michelle, Gurbir, and Sheena on Mayo Road near Lake Cowichan.

The Cowichan River near Skutz Falls. Did a whitewater kayak lesson here a while back.

Cowichan River tubers.

Sheena and Gurbir on a bridge near Skutz Falls on the Cowichan River.

Michelle on a bridge near Skutz Falls.

Part of Skutz Falls I think.

Cowichan River shrapnel and a rather substantial looking fish ladder installation.

Bridge to the darkside on the Cowichan Valley Trail.

We're sailing after a somewhat shady start.

Token wave at the camera shot.

Bike Ride – Thetis Island, BC

Kris — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 06:46:24 +0000

Sunday mini road trip to Thetis Island was fun. The day started out at the crack of dawn with a drive from Victoria out to Lake Cowichan to pick up Michelle… she was on an African lion safari or something (Zoodles jingle?). After that it was off to Chemainus to catch the ferry to Penelakut Island and then Thetis Island. I’m usually agreeable to ferry rides since I don’t do them that often; this one was particularly good with great views over calm water. After arrival at Thetis Island and some tinkering with bikes, it was off to Pilkey Point on the north end. The ride was excellent, with nice green tree cover the whole way. The ride was not particularly long, but there was a 15% climb that needed doing twice since the route was of the out and back variety.

It seemed like our time on the island was going to be all quiet and relaxing like, except for the death hill as Sheena described it, but as departure time approached a rather large number of dudes appeared, seemingly out of no where. Turns out there was a Christian mens’ conference going on… made for a cramped return trip on the ferry.

GPS Data: 15.7km – 2h04m – Garmin Website | GPX (right click to download)

Leaving the Chemainus ferry terminal; destination Thetis Island.

Gurbir, Sheena, Michelle, and some strangers at the front of the boat.

Ferry instructions for those who may be lacking common sense.

That looks a lot like Bruno Gerussi's ride a la Beachcombers.

First stop on the way to Thetis Island, Penelakut Island, previously referred to as Kuper Island.

Control room of the M.V. Kuper.

Fire suppression nozzle on the M.V. Kuper.

Assortment of boaters on a sunny Sunday morning near Thetis Island.

Ferry wake with some Gulf Islands in the background.

Beautiful morning on the water near Thetis Island.

Sailboats moored off of Thetis Island.

Capernwray Harbour at Thetis Island.

Gardens, boats, etc. at Capernwray Harbour on Thetis Island.

A view to the south from a high point on Pilkey Point Road on Thetis Island.

A moment of pause near a warning sign on the way to Pilkey Point, Thetis Island.

Arrival at the scenic Pilkey Point on Thetis Island.

The Frontier Queen near Pilkey Point, Thetis Island.

Sandstone and crab bits at Pilkey Point.

The hills to the west of Chemainus and Ladysmith viewed from Pilkey Point on Thetis Island.

A little island near Pilkey Point.

Thetis Island sandstone.

Pilkey Point tide pool vegetation and sea life.

Pilkey Point is a rather nice spot for a break to chill by the ocean.

A view between the sandstone formations at Pilkey Point on Thetis Island.

This sandstone hollow probably makes interesting noises during storms, or not.

Mint condition old school scooter on Thetis Island.

Telegraph Harbour on Thetis Island.

Telegraph Harbour flowers.

Thetis Island moo at Capernwray Harbour.

Dock at Capernwray Harbour on Thetis Island.

Seals are funny.

Telegraph Harbour at Thetis Island.

A seagull checking its blindspot near Thetis Island.

End of the trip back near the ferry terminal in Chemainus looking north.

Rusty barge in the Chemainus Harbour.

Bike Ride – Lochside Trail to Blenkinsop Lake – Victoria, BC

Kris — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 05:43:01 +0000

Went out for a relaxing evening bike ride up the Lochside Trail here in Victoria with Sheena tonight. We made it as far as Blenkinsop Lake before turning around due to fading light. Bike and foot traffic was pretty light on the trail tonight, not counting a reasonable number of roadies moving at various rates of speed. The ride ended up being a good 35km outing for me and about 20km for Sheena.

Paddling by one or two squashed cars on the Gorge Waterway.

Modern office building, crushed cars, kayaks, and late day sun.

A quiet evening on Blenkinsop Lake.

Roy at Blenkinsop Lake looking unperturbed by Sheena's lack of camera manners.

Roy at Blenkinsop Lake.

The trusty steeds resting at Blenkinsop Lake.

Obsolete building bits at the Quadra Street bottle depot.

XC Ride – Cumberland, BC

Kris — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 23:52:10 +0000

Left Victoria at about 7:30pm yesterday to head up to Cumberland for a weekend of mountain bike riding and other stuff. Thankful to have not had to do any evasive maneuvers to avoid deer on the highway. Somewhat sad to report that there was evidence that some deer had not been successfully maneuvered around by earlier travellers. This morning after a quick and tasty breakfast at the Old House Restaurant, it was off to Cumberland for some cross-country mountain biking.

It’s somewhat surprising how much the trail situation can change in an area where there is active logging. Ok, maybe the trail situation hasn’t changed much, but the feel of the trails like Blue Collar, which was previously a very nice densely treed, gradual downhill trail, has become a wide open dusty cut block. I know logging is an important industry, but I also know that I prefer green, treed trails. All things considered, the riding today was pretty good and we (Michelle, Liz, Kari, Bryan, and I) managed to ride some new / reclaimed old trail sort of southeast of the town (50:1 trail, Double Pumper, and some others).

GPS Data: 19.6km – 3h16m – Garmin Website | GPX (right click to download)

Heading to breakfast at the Old House Restaurant.

Flowers in the garden at the Old House Resort and Spa.

Bryan prepping the electrical tape GPS bike mount.

Liz and Bryan heading towards some Cumberland trails and excruciating uphill.

Tis thistle season in Cumberland.

A rare smooth section of trail in Cumberland... too short though.

The trance controls en route to some Cumberland trails.

Kari and Bryan doin the walk on the excruciating climb.

Cleared land and some regrowth in the hills above Cumberland.

Break time at the start of Bear Buns.

Quiet day on this mini-lake above Cumberland.

Michelle doin it old skool near Sykes Bridge.

Michelle, Bryan, and Liz at Sykes Bridge on the trails near Cumberland.

Bryan in a holding pattern on Sykes Bridge in Cumberland.

Michelle and Kari on the way to Blue Collar Trail in Cumberland.

Bryan on what used to be part of Blue Collar in Cumberland.

Michelle on the former Blue Collar trail.

Crafty Butcher trail sign.

Bryan on a bridge / teeter-totter near the Double Pumper trail.

The latest in summer fashion by the Patch Big Store in Cumberland.

Road Ride – Hurricane Ridge – Port Angeles, WA

Kris — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 04:19:51 +0000

Took a midweek vacation day and headed over to do the Hurricane Ridge ride with Michelle and Alison. I was expecting some pain, since it’s a 30km long climb with over 5,000ft of elevation gain, but also because I don’t have a whole lot of mileage this year. The pain arrived fairly quickly into my 2 hour ascent and didn’t let up much except for stretch around the ranger station at about 8km. Michelle, Alison, and I ended up going at our own respective paces which is generally how these sorts of extended uphill rides go. I’m happy to report that everyone made it to the top. Aside from discomfort, it was a great day and ride.

This was my third Hurricane Ridge ride, and was the first time I’ve done it under partly cloudy / foggy conditions. This was a bit of a blessing for the first third of the climb, but made me worry a bit about a frigid descent later on. After we passed through the tunnels we had gained enough elevation to get above the clouds and the rest of the way was sunny and pretty much awesome. The coolness on the way down was there, but ended up being tolerable.

GPS Data: 31.9km – 2h09m bottom to top
(about 64km – 2h50m both ways; forgot to restart GPS on the way down so these are approximate)
Garmin Website | GPX (right click to download)

Downtown Victoria early on a Tuesday morning.

Coho getting ready to head to Port Angeles in the early am.

We were the only three cyclists on the Coho this morning.

Coho bell with the former Victoria Wax Museum in the background.

Victoria skyline at dawn.

Early morning Ogden Point fishing as viewed from the Coho.

Looking toward Washington State from the deck of the Coho.

Ogden Point at about 6am on an August morning.

2011-08-09-road-ride-hurricane-ridge-10

Looking east toward Trial Island from the Coho ferry.

Coho ferry life ring.

Fog on the lower reaches of the Hurricane Ridge climb.

Heading through the tunnels on the climb up to Hurricane Ridge.

Finally above the clouds on the Hurricane Ridge climb.

One of many excellent views on the way up to Hurricane Ridge.

Grass and flowers with the Olympic Mountains in the background (taken from the Hurricane Ridge lodge).

Olympic Mountains viewed from the Hurricane Ridge lodge.

Mountain meadow and the Olympic Mountains.

Purple flowers near the Hurricane Ridge lodge.

Hurricane Ridge vegetation with mountains in the background.

Resident Hurricane Ridge deer.

Ranger lecture at Hurricane Ridge.

Hurricane Ridge meadow and nearby mountains.

A wasp on some Hurricane Ridge vegetation.

Hurricane Ridge meadow with some slow moving valley cloud in the background.

Back in Victoria plus Coast Guard helicopter.

Victoria Inner Harbour from the deck of the Coho at the end of the journey.

XC Ride – Hartland – Victoria, BC

Kris — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 00:39:22 +0000

Apparently a fancy new bike is not enough to make up for a neglected bike engine, and by that I mean me. To put it bluntly the trails at Hartland have successfully destroyed me on my last three rides out there. Prior to that (this year) there hadn’t been many rides, which is a significant part of my problem. As an added bonus to the general feeling of utter destruction, my bike handling skills are leaving something to be desired… no crashes, but it is not the greatest feeling when your handlebar ends are catching multiple trees in one ride. Must get it together.

GPS Data: 48.0km – 2h37m – Garmin Website | GPX (right click to download)

On the way out to the dump on the road near Prospect Lake.

Approaching the bottom of the switchbacks at Hartland... uhhhggg.

If your engine is busted like mine you might have the opportunity stop and take photos. Switchback #1.

Part of the switchbacks climb at Hartland. The camera seems to add the appearance of easiness to something that is far from easy.

What another rest stop... my engine is really busted.

Bike Ride – Cowichan Valley Trail – Duncan, BC

Kris — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 01:39:00 +0000

I think I brought rubberized death from above to more than one or two slugs today. Alison, Michelle, and I did kind of an out and back ride on the Cowichan Valley Trail today the poor, slimy bastards are sometimes difficult to spot as they lounge on the trail. I do not take pleasure in running over slugs, so I did my best to avoid doing so, but it was difficult in spots.

Our ride ended up being about 50km (Michelle and I); Alison rode from downtown Duncan so I imagine she netted 70-80km. We started from the end of Vaux Road and headed out to Lake Cowichan on the south portion of the Cowichan Valley Trail, which gradually gains elevation pretty much the whole way. Heading back toward Duncan from Lake Cowichan, we started out on the north portion of the trail, but deked down Mayo Road back to the south portion to finish up. I did the ride on my cyclocross bike, which proved to be an efficient slug killing machine, albeit somewhat bumpy to ride. Michelle and Alison seemed somewhat more comfortable on their mountain bikes. I struggle a bit with what to call this sort of ride… not really a road ride, but not a mountain bike ride either. Whatever, it was good.

Rain threatened today, but didn’t actually happen, which made for one of those misty west coast days where everything in the forest seems extra green. It didn’t hurt that most of the trail is in some pretty awesome rainforest. I like days like these.

GPS Data: 46km – 2h46m – GPS route

46km Cowichan Valley Trail ride. Click on the map to see details on the Garmin website.

Michelle and Alison heading toward Cowichan Lake on the Cowichan Valley Trail.

The Cowichan River south of Skutz Falls.

Alison and Michelle on one of the trestles on the way to Lake Cowichan.

Shadow man on the Cowichan Valley Trail.

This would have been better if it was a sasquatch.

Misty hills near Lake Cowichan.

The Cowichan River not far from Lake Cowichan.

Trans Canada Trail sign on the Cowichan Valley Trail.

Old rail bridge in the village of Lake Cowichan.

Lake Cowichan, home of cougars in trees.

Cowichan Valley Trail map.

Start of the return trip to Duncan aka Lake Cowichan.

Dead Volvo alongside the Cowichan Valley Trail.

Short stretch of Mayo Road between the north and south sections of the Cowichan Valley Trail.

Some well-formed water drops on trailside vegetation.

Trailside vegetation along the Cowichan Valley Trail.

Heading south on the Cowichan Valley Trail.

Goats heading into the bush after a morning lounging in a field with some horses.

Road Bike Ride – Saanich Peninsula – Victoria, BC

Kris — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 06:53:51 +0000

This afternoon turned out pretty well… good for a road bike ride, which ended up being my first Saanich Peninsula loop of the year. Today also marked the first ride of the year wearing shorts instead of the usual winter stuff. While this may seem like nothing special, it does feel pretty liberating. As usual, getting out on the peninsula means some decently long stretches of road at higher speed than what I usually see in town… it felt good.

Today’s special, courtesy of nature… thick, puffy clouds floating about while on the ride.

GPS Data: 88km – 3h00m – GPS route

An 80km road bike ride around the Saanich Peninsula. Click on the map to see GPS details on the Garmin website.

Farm near Brenwood Bay.

Sunset at Ogden Point (taken several hours after the ride).

Mountain Bike Ride – Mt. Tzouhalem – Duncan, BC

Kris — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:22:01 +0000

Went up to Duncan today for a mountain bike ride at Mt. Tzouhalem. Aside from cool temperatures, it was a pretty good day for a ride. Actually, it was a great day for a ride. It seemed like others thought so too… the parking lot at Mt. Tzouhalem was full. Will have to do it again soon.

GPS Data: 8.1km – 1h39m – GPS route

An 8km mountain bike ride at Mt. Tzouhalem in Duncan. Click on the map to see GPS details on the Garmin website.

Clock tower at city hall in Victoria enroute to Duncan. Not exactly an early start.

Snow in the hills near Duncan.

Convergence of mountain bikers after the first part of the slog up Mt. Tzouhalem.

Michelle on one of the Tzouhalem trails.

Michelle arriving at the top of a short but reasonably painful climb.

Yummm... mud puddle.

Some of the market offerings in Duncan.

Squash.