walking

Wednesday I cycled 13km in Langford, BC. Rather than haul my Norco out there, I rented an Evo from Oak Bay Bikes (OBB) in West Shore Centre Mall for an hour.

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This morning's newspaper stated a new route linking Sooke Road and Langford Parkway opens today. The middle section of the West Shore Parkway will be open to traffic starting today at 10 a.m., the City of Langford has announced. The middle 1.6-kilometre section of the West Shore Parkway connects Highway 14 (Sooke Road) to Langford Parkway.

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From OBB to Sooke Rd. one way is five kilometres so after this 30-minute ride I went out the Galloping Goose Regional Trail (GGT) to meet Sooke Rd. again but this time where Glen Lake Rd. joins it.

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On the inbound leg, I took a picture at Glen Lake.

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N.B. The whole idea of this exercise was to record the ride on my GoPro but I did not check to see if it was operational and rode the entire distance with the video camera OFF. What an idiot! Live and learn? Probably not.

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Labels: cycled, langford, sooke

We're talkin' anthropogenic global warming here -- not the natural kind.

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Labels: anthropogenic

Sunday we walked up thru Finnerty Gardens and back home

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Labels: finnerty, walked

Today I cycled 26½km along the Lochside Trail from Lochside Park to Tulista Park.

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Labels: cycled, lochside, sidney

Newest Section of Westshore Parkway This will be a new residential area in the City of Langford but will complete a much-anticipated, direct connection at Goldstream between Langford and Hwy-1 (Malahat Drive).
 Happy BC Day, eh?

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Labels: langford, walked

 . . . find this and you'll find the trail.
 Galloping Goose to Great Trail
 Great Trail to Wolf Hill

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Cadboro Bay Ride Leisurely ride down thru UVic but not so much coming up Cadboro Bay Road hill.

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Labels: cadboro, cycled, saanich

This morning I cycled 17½km (11miles) roundtrip from Oak Bay Bike Shop (OBB) in Westshore Mall to the Wolf Hill rest stop along the Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail(aka The Great Trail). It's 4km from OBB to the trailhead at Mt. Wells Park parking (Humpback Reservoir). It's another 4600m (4.6km) to Wolf Hill rest area (and restrooms) from Humpback Reservoir.

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What an amazing ride! I rented an Evo electric-assist (e-bike) bicycle and rode the whole way there and back. The only time I dismounted was on one downhill (DH) section. Going up the steep hills is no problem on an e-bike the the DH on the loose gravel could end up smarting a bit. I didn't want to find out. A couple of DH switchback have signs stating to dismount but these were not as treacherous as the one where I chose to dismount (and which, BTW, had no sign). We already walked this section of trail so knew where the hot spots were.

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Once over the suspension bridge northbound, the trail pretty much heads straight up. I timed the climb from my GPS track and it's over seven minutes at 10km/hr. Now that's a hill.

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When this trail first opened, it was touted as "a 13km connector" between the Galloping Goose Regional Trail (GGT) in Langford to the Trans Canada Trail at Shawnigan Lake. According to my GPS tracks it's closer to 20km. So for those of us who plan on whipping up there to ride it out and back, we may want to re-think that plan. Unless you're exceptionally fit and can do 40km up hill in a day -- then go for it. There are several access points from Goldstream Heights Road so doing it in increments is an option.

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Before I go, let me say what a professional, helpful staff Dan Scott has at Oak Bay Bikes in Westshore Mall. Dan had my ride ready the night before and Misha and Pete got me out the door by 10:30 this morning.

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Labels: cycled, Great Trail, sooke