Vancouver island

There's really only three ways to go from Victoria although each is fantastic as a road ride/tour.
If you go north out the Saanich peninsula (towards the ferry to Vancouver) you can easily do a 100km
ride all on quiet country roads and along side the ocean - those routes a pretty flat. If you go
northwest on highway 1 up towards Duncan/Nanaimo you go forever (600km). This is an out and back and
you'll cross the Malahat which is the biggest hill around there and I think is about 1000' and is
about 10km up each side. the other option is to go out west towards Sooke. This is another out and
back and the roads are fairly quiet as long as you avoid morning and afternoon rush hour. Victoria
has a decent randonneur club that rides quite frequently, you should look them up on the web. Hope
that helps and that you avoid the rain!

"sewnsurg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anyone have recommendations for bicycling on Vancouver Island? Am

thinking

Quoted message said:

of multiple day trips out of Victoria. How hilly is the terrain within 40 miles of Victoria in
various directions?

Sandy Hilton said:

There's really only three ways to go from Victoria although each is fantastic as a road ride/tour.
If you go north out the Saanich peninsula (towards the ferry to Vancouver) you can easily do a
100km ride all on quiet country roads and along side the ocean - those routes a pretty flat. If
you go northwest on highway 1 up towards Duncan/Nanaimo you go forever (600km). This is an out and
back and you'll cross the Malahat which is the biggest hill around there and I think is about
1000' and is about 10km up each side. the other option is to go out west towards Sooke. This is
another out and back and the roads are fairly quiet as long as you avoid morning and afternoon
rush hour. Victoria has a decent randonneur club that rides quite frequently, you should look them
up on the web. Hope that helps and that you avoid the rain!

You might for a start wish to check the BC Randonneurs route archive at
randonneurs.bc.carout arc.htmlOpen ↗. You'll find rides from 200-600 km in length that
could easily be split into multiday tours.

Trent

Quoted message said:

"sewnsurg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message -"]news:[email hidden]-
kc.rr.com...

Quoted message said:

Anyone have recommendations for bicycling on Vancouver Island? Am

thinking

Quoted message said:

of multiple day trips out of Victoria. How hilly is the terrain within 40 miles of Victoria in
various directions?

Quoted message said:

"sewnsurg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Anyone have recommendations for bicycling on Vancouver Island? Am thinking of multiple day trips
out of Victoria.

I'm interested in this too. However, I won't have time for longer rides -- 2-3 hour ones at the
most. So I'm looking for local loops around Victoria, Campbell River, and Nanaimo.

Sandy Hilton said:

There's really only three ways to go from Victoria although each is fantastic as a road ride/tour.
If you go north out the Saanich peninsula (towards the ferry to Vancouver) you can easily do a
100km ride all on quiet country roads and along side the ocean - those routes a pretty flat.

This seems like a good option -- ride to Sidney, have lunch at a cafe, then ride back. Wouldn't that
be about 40 miles round trip?

I'm also interested in heading out west -- Sooke Harbor, etc. Any ideas? Specific roads? Regular
club routes?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

How hilly is the terrain within 40 miles of Victoria in various directions?

Quoted message said:

If you go northwest on highway 1 up towards Duncan/Nanaimo you go forever (600km). This is an out
and back and you'll cross the Malahat which is the biggest hill around there and I think is about
1000' and is about 10km up each side.

Where is this, exactly?

Quoted message said:

the other option is to go out west towards Sooke. This is another out and back and the roads are
fairly quiet as long as you avoid morning and afternoon rush hour. Victoria has a decent
randonneur club that rides quite frequently, you should look them up on the web. Hope that helps
and that you avoid the rain!

Most of the roads around Victoria seem pretty busy, but I've only been on the main ones. I'm sure
there are quieter alternatives. ???

Again, I'm looking for Nanaimo and Campbell River rides too. I'm very familiar with Campbell River,
so I could put together some good rides myself. But I'd love to know what the locals do (besides
ride mountain bikes off cliffs).

Matt O.

Hi. Here are a few answer in CAPS (sorry - I'm not
yelling, honest!)

Quoted message said:

I'm also interested in heading out west -- Sooke Harbor,
etc. Any ideas? Specific roads? Regular club routes?

THERE ARE CLUB RIDES EVERY SAT & SUN YEAR-ROUND. THEY CAN BE
QUITE FAST AND COMPETITIVE, SO YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HANG
ON IF YOU'RE NOT REALLY FIT. SUNDAYS ARE A LITTLE TAMER, BUT
NOT NECESSARILY EASY. RIDES LEAVE AT 9:30 FROM THE STRIP-
MALL ACROSS THE STREET FROM TILLICUM MALL (BURNSIDE PLAZA).
THE ROUTE IS ALWAYS THE SAME - OUT TO THE FERRIES & BACK,
ALONG COUNTRY ROADS WITH MINIMAL TRAFFIC AND LIGHTS.

THIS IS A GREAT ROUTE THAT YOU CAN PROBABLY FIND ON YOUR
OWN. LOOK AT A MAP AND FOLLOW THE SHORE OF THE SAANICH
PENINSULA AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE. MAIN ROADS INCLUDE WEST
SAANICH, WALLACE, EAST SAANICH (AIRPORT AREA), LANDS END,
THROUGH SIDNEY, LOCHSIDE DRIVE, ETC...

THERE ARE SOME NICE ROADS TOWARD SOOKE. YOU'LL NEED TO USE
THE SOOKE HWY TO SOME EXTENT (HWY 14), BUT AGAIN, LOOK AT A
MAP, AND YOU CAN DO A GREAT LOOP USING ROCKY POINT ROAD,
EAST SOOKE ROAD AND GILLESPIE. THE SOOKE HIGHWAY IS NICE
TERRAIN, BUT THERE'S VERY LITTLE SHOULDER AND LOTS OF
REDNECKS IN TRUCKS. THAT SAID, TONS OF CYCLISTS USE THIS
ROUTE ANYWAY.

IF YOU'RE COMFORTABLE RIDING ON A LITTLE GRAVEL, THE
GALLPING GOOSE REGIONAL TRAIL IS FANTASTIC. FROM
DOWNTOWN YOU CAN RIDE ABOUT 50K IN ONE DIRECTION. OR
RIDE ANY DISTANCE FROM 1-50, THEN TURN AROUND AND COME
BACK. MANY GREAT SPOTS TO STOP FOR PICNICS & RESTS, IF
THAT'S YOUR STYLE.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

How hilly is the terrain within 40 miles of Victoria in
various directions?

Quoted message said:

If you go northwest on highway 1 up towards
Duncan/Nanaimo you go forever (600km). This is an out
and back and you'll cross the Malahat which is the
biggest hill around there and I think is about 1000' and
is about 10km up each side.

Where is this, exactly?

THE "MALAHAT" IS A 350M ELEV. HILL ON HWY 1 AS YOU LEAVE
VICTORIA. YOU CANT MISS IT - YOU'LL START CLIMBING ABOUT
15KM OUTSIDE OF DOWNTOWN. IF YOU'RE UP FOR IT, THERE'S A
REALLY NICE LOOP THAT INCORPORATES THIS HILL. CLIMB THE HILL
FOR ABOUT 30MIN AND TURN LEFT AT THE "SOUTH SHAWNIGAN LAKE"
TURNOFF. GO DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, AND TURN LEFT AGAIN AT WEST
SHAWNIGAN LAKE ROAD. KEEP THE LAKE ON YOUR RIGHT AND YOU'LL
LOOP ALL THE WAY AROUND IT AND JOIN BACK ON THE ROAD YOU
TOOK IN AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT DOWNHILL. CLIMB BACK OUT ON
IT, AND YOU'LL BE BACK AT THE TOP OF THE MALAHAT. FROM
DOWNTOWN, THE WHOLE LOOP IS ABOUT 90-100KM.

Quoted message said:

Most of the roads around Victoria seem pretty busy, but
I've only been on the main ones. I'm sure there are
quieter alternatives. ???

YUP, LOTS OF COUNTRY TYPE ROADS - MOSTLY ON THE WAY OUT TO
THE FERRIES AT THE NORTH END OF THE SAANICH PENINSULA.
MOSTLY NICE & FLAT - POINT NORTH AND JUST EXPLORE!

LOCALS ALSO USE THE "WATERFRONT" LOOP RELIGIOUSLY, USUALLY
INCORPORATED INTO A LONGER RIDE. START DOWNTOWN, AND
FOLLOW THE LITTLE YELLOW "SEASIDE TOURING ROUTE" SIGNS,
JUST FOR BIKES. KEEP THE OCEAN ON YOUR RIGHT, AND YOU'LL
HAVE SEVERAL OPTIONS FOR MAKING ALONGER (HEADING NORTH,
TOWARDS SIDNEY & THE FERRIES) OR SHORTER RIDE. THE BONUS
WITH THIS ROUTE IS THE DEARTH OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS - THERE
ARE NEXT TO NONE. ON ITS OWN, OR COMBINED WITH THE
WATERFRONT OR THE FERRIES ROUTE, LOCHSIDE DRIVE AND
LOCHSIDE TRAIL ARE ALSO GREAT THEY ARE (ONE AND THE SAME,
IF YOU'RE OKAY ON A BIT OF DIRT/GRAVEL, AS IT'S A FORMER
RAIL BED - WHEN IT'S NOT A ROAD PROPER, IT'S BEEN
CONVERTED INTO A PATH - I'VE RIDDEN IT ON MY ROAD BIKE IN
THE SUMMER AND IT'S QUITE A NICE SURFACE)

Quoted message said:

Again, I'm looking for Nanaimo and Campbell River rides
too. I'm very familiar with Campbell River, so I could put
together some good rides myself. But I'd love to know what
the locals do (besides ride mountain bikes off cliffs).

YES, THE MOUNTAIN BIKING HERE IS ALSO FANTASTIC. IT'S NOT
"NORTH SHORE EXTREME" - IT'S MORE X-C ORIENTED, ALTHOUGH
THERE ARE SOME BUILT-UP RAMPS, ETC, IF YOU'RE INTO THAT ;-)