Blog: I Think It's This Way » Mountain Bike Ride – Mt. Tzouhalem – Duncan, BC

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.

Hike – Mt. Tzouhalem – Duncan, BC

Kris — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 03:52:27 +0000

A weekend of hiking it has been; about 20km in total. I figure this level of activity should not be abnormal, but lately I have been coming up a bit short. Both of the hikes this weekend were great, yesterday East Sooke and today Mt. Tzouhalem in Duncan. Mt. Tzouhalem is a popular mountain biking spot, but it’s also damn good for hiking, with the best part being the view of Cowichan Bay from the 500m summit (about 1600ft).

GPS Data: 9.7km – 2h45m – GPS route

A 10km hike at Mt. Tzouhalem in Duncan, BC. Click on the map to see details on the Garmin website.

Looking towards Cowichan Bay from the top of Mt. Tzouhalem.

There's lots of green amongst the shadows at Mt. Tzouhalem.

Looking towards the Cowichan Valley and Mt. Prevost from the top of Mt. Tzouhalem.

There are some big leaves on the forest floor these days.

Even the little leaves are turning orange.

Oh yeah, it's also mushroom season out here.

XC Ride – Duncan, BC – Mt. Tzouhalem

Kris — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:56:31 +0000

XC = cross-country mountain biking if you are wondering. DH = downhill mountain biking, which you are unlikely to see in this blog since my move to Victoria from Kelowna some number of years ago has effectively removed that portion of my brain responsible for DH processing. A glance into the magic eight-ball reveals “Maybe” I will be DH capable again in the future.

Weather is fickle, thankfully. Today was a vast improvement over yesterday; no precipitation that I noticed here in Victoria or in Duncan, where I spent the morning doing an XC ride with Dan.

Mt. Tzouhalem is a pretty cool riding spot. Climb to top, admire view, ride down, and repeat as necessary. Today was a one-repeat day due to time constraints, but that was fine, it was a great ride on a beeeautiful day in late October.

On a culinary note, I enjoyed a sushi brunch after the ride at One More Sushi in Duncan on the recommendation of one of my co-workers. Asparagus Roll and Emerald Roll are excellent sushi brunch items.

GPS Data: XC Ride – Duncan, BC – Mt. Tzouhalem

Route map for our XC ride at Mt. Tzouhalem in Duncan, BC.

On the way to Duncan this morning. Looking north / north-east towards Finlayson Arm from a lookout on the Malahat.

On the way to Duncan this morning. Looking north-east towards Finlayson Arm from a lookout on the Malahat.

According to Garmin: about 6km to the top of Mt. Tzouhalem where the elevation is about 500m ASL.

View from the top of Mt. Tzouhalem looking west / north-west towards Duncan and the Cowichan Valley.

View from the top of Mt. Tzouhalem looking west towards the top of Cowichan Bay.

View from the top of Mt. Tzouhalem looking west / south-west towards the village of Cowichan Bay.

View from the top of Mt. Tzouhalem looking west / south-west towards the village of Cowichan Bay. The Olympic mountain range in Washington State is just barely visible.

Inukshuk village on the way down from the top of Mt. Tzouhalem.

Mmmmm... Emerald Roll (tempura salmon, cucumber, avocado, roe), which of course looked better in person than in this cell phone photo.