Part 2: Four Day Mini-Cycle Tour of Vancouver Island

The second instalment of our 4 day cycle tour trip report.

Juan de Fuca (Sombria Beach) to Lake Cowichan (Sunday March 31, 2013)

Sombio Beach campsite in the morning.

Looking toward the Olympic Penninsula from Juan de Fuca. There were surfers out there!

It was a slow start to this day. In our defense, there was coffee to be drunk, a dozen eggs to be eaten, obligatory basking in the sun, and of course we may have been avoiding the steep gravel ascent back to the Pacific Marine Highway. At noon we finally starting pushing the bikes up up and away from our ocean-side campsite. 

Leaving Port Renfrew.

The verdict is still out on whether this tour is easier clock-wise our counter-clockwise, but the descent into Port Renfrew was loooooooonnng, at times steep, and chilly. I much prefer the down. We hit the ocean, turned right, and were on our way inland to Lake Cowichan.  

We stopped at Lizard Lake to refill our waterbottles and were greeted by an interesting assortment of characters also enjoying what was described to me by a man in the know as "the warmest lake on the island".

Lizard Lake, the warmest lake on Vancouver Island

After head dips and bottle fills we got back on the bikes and started the climbing that would go on… and on…. and on… At times flat(ish), and times steep(ish), but always up. Somehow, it was suddenly 5:30PM… And suddenly, it became very apparent that we should have eaten lunch hours earlier. Well, apparent to everyone but Dawn, who seemed impervious to the hills or low blood glucose. Alas, we stopped.

Refuelled we hit the road and zoomed into Lake Cowichan. We really did zoom. Well, I zoomed… drafting behind Jenn. We could hardly pass up the A&W in Lake Cowichan, so we got Root Beer floats and enjoyed the setting sun. Please note, 'the setting sun', and lack of a campsite… We found the Cowichan Trail, and thought we would soon find the Cowichan River Campsite. But, we kept riding… and it kept not appearing. As true darkness descended we gave up on the campsite and headed down a FSR and randomly camped somewhere. The subsequent hunt for a tree suitable for food slinging was sort-of funny. Sort-a. Kind-a.

Distance: ~90KM, Ride Time: ~?, Avg Speed: ?

Pacific Marine Circle Tour!

Lake Cowichan to Vancouver (April 1st, 2013)
Today is the day that I remember as three days. It was that long. We woke at 7AM ish, made breakfast, and were on our way by 9AM. In the light of day we realized that we'd taken a wrong turn somewhere, and we spent 2 hours getting back on track. GPS? Yes Please. We found the right Cowichan Trail, the one with all the trestles, and rode on. The Cowichan trail was not as smooth as the Galloping Goose Trail. It was much rockier, more overgrown, had a more remote feeling, and was less well maintained in parts. More than once we were confronted by massive fallen trees blocking the trail, which we had to climb over. At this point we discovered that front panniers make a loaded bike much easier to lift and carry. Around 2PM we found the Kinsol Trestle, described as the "longest wooden trestle in the Commonwealth" (read: there are probably some freaky large trestles in Asia somewhere).

Madalene and Dawn portaging over fallen trees on the Cowichan Trail.

Dawn and Jenn chillin on the Kinsol Trestle, longest in the Commonwealth.

She says pattern, I say texture. She may be right this time.

We cycled around the north end of Shawnigan Lake and made it to the Mill Bay Ferry in time for the 4PM sailing. On the other side we decided it was time for some well-earned beer. Let me just say, drinking beers as a cycle tourist is a cheap affair. You really dont need very much to get very loopy. I'm not sure what time we left the pub, but it was late enough to miss the 7PM sailing for Vancouver from Swartz Bay. That said, the ride from the pub was one of laughter (borderline hysterical) and concentration ("hold the line!"). We idled away the time at the ferry terminal and got on the 9PM sailing. We were back at the car for ~11PM and home for midnight.  

Distance: ~100KM, Ride Time: ~?, Avg Speed: ?

That'll do Poppet, that'll do.

Post-tour thoughts, ideas, and improvements await another post!

Four Day Mini-Cycle Tour of Vancouver Island: Part 1

This trio headed out on a 4 day cycle tour of Vancouver Island, BC over the Easter long weekend, practice for our Rather Long 10 month ride starting in August. Our route, better known as the Pacific Marine Circle Route, featured the Galloping Goose Trail, the newly paved Pacific Marine Rd from Port Renfrew to Cowichan Lake, and the Cowichan Trail (adorning trestles and all). This was our very first loaded and overnight tour together. Giv'r 


Vancouver to Victoria (Friday March 29, 2013)

All good bike trips begin with mechanical failures, and this trip was no exception.  But I swear, it wasn't my fault. Dawn and I got up for 8AM and threw our loaded touring bikes into the back of our moving van (we moved the day before, our mistake?).  At 9AM we dropped off the van and cycled to Jenn's house. Not 200 metres out I noticed a strange creaking… which quickly evolved into an irregular knocking. I dismissed it, thinking there must be a buckle flapping somewhere...
At 9:30 we arrived at Jenn's, greeted by our 4-days of food spread out on the floor in all its tasty glory. We packed the food in panniers, the bikes in the car, and away we went. 

We drove to Tsawwassen, parked, and rode down the spit to Swartz Bay ferry.  For once, we got to the ferry terminal with plenty of time... time to idle, and chat with curious onlookers. (You're doing what? You're carrying what? Why?)

After a relatively uneventful ferry ride (next time cards/games/book) we got rolling at 3PM. We couldn't have travelled 2 km before my rear wheel started to implode. We pulled over to investigate and found a broken spoke. No problem, I pulled out my FibreFix, except… well, we had to figure out how to use it. Worse, wrestling my aging tire off the rim was an exhausting and exceeding dirty ordeal. Good reasons to keep a bike clean? 

Fast forward two hours: suffice to say we attracted the attention of several well-meaning passersby, got the temporary spoke in, fixed multiple flats, and were otherwise ready to go. But, but, but… it didn't solve the problem that my wheel was far from true, and I didn't have the skills or tools for roadside wheel truing. We considered our options, and opted for the "Call-a-Friend" option. Not an hour later we were treated to a roadside rescue from Dawn's friend, Carla. We were transported, bikes and all (amazing), to Victoria and stayed the night with Carla and family (Hello's to Jett and Jade).

Luckily, we just happened to be carrying a bottle of Gonzalez Alfonso Sherry for just this sort of occasion... go figure. Drinks!  Merriment (slightly hysterical)! Vows to solve all of our problems tomorrow!

Today's Ride Statistics
Distance: ~15KM
Ride Time: ~1hr
Avg Speed: ?     










Victoria to Juan de Fuca (Sombria Beach) (Saturday March 30, 2013)

Today's Objectives
1) Get a new spoke and true my wheel
2) Get a rope for slinging food
3) Cycle

1) Spoke and True: a mini-play
Players: Jenn, Mad, Shop boy. Where: Marty's Mountain Cycle. When: 9AM

Jenn and Mad enter bike shop, technically before it's even open, and b-line for the register area where Shop Boy looks busy preparing for the day.
Mad: I have a broken spoke and my wheel is now quite wobbly. Can you fix it?
Shop Boy: Ohhh… that sucks (a la teenager). We can't fix it until… late today, or tomorrow. We're swamped. 
Mad: Oh. Huh. *Pause*. Well, can you sell me just the spoke? I can't wait that long. We'll try to fix it ourselves.
Shop Boy: What spoke length do you neeed?
Mad: I have no idea! Can you tell me?
Jenn: Once we've got the spoke, we can use the Android/Youtube to figure it out how to fix everything (or something along those lines).
Shop Boy: A look of confusion, concern, bemusement, incredulity. Shop Boy disappears with wheel into 'the back'. 
Five minutes pass.  Shop Boy returns. 
Shop Boy: The mechanic is just going to fix it now. 
Jenn and Madalene rejoice.  The end. 

It's very possible Shop Boy rightly perceived our general inepitutde and took pity on us. Eitherway, thumbs up to Marty's Mountain Cycle for keeping us rolling with minor revisions. Turns out it was the mechanics birthday. In true Canadian fashion, we gave him 20 Timbits for all his trouble.
We hit up MEC for some rope, found the Galloping Goose Trail, and were on our way by 12PM. The Galloping Goose turned out to be 55KM of lovely, unpaved but smooth, riding wonder. 

Blue skies.  

No wind. 

Warm sun (even sunscreen!). 

No real climbs. 

Simon Whitfield sightings. Lycra glad roadies mixed with CCM stocked families. Views were a mix of fields, woods, ocean, and of course… urbanity. 

We were sad when we hit Sooke the trail ended. Wanting to make up time and distance, we aimed for Sombrio Beach (~60 KM down the road), even though it was ~4PM when we left Sooke. 

From Sooke to Sombrio Beach Hwy 14 was hilly, but thankfully remained picturesque, nicely paved, and low on cars. After a of couple missed turns (one leading to 40 minutes of off-roading on loaded touring bikes)… we descended down down down into Sombrio Beach. We pitched the tents in the dark to the sound of crashing waves and inhaled our dinner. Views wait for morning.

Ride Statistics
Distance: ~110KM
Ride Time: ~6hr
Avg Speed: ?