Victoria BC - Rest Day

On this trip I allowed an extra "rest day" in Victoria, but I did so much walking around the city that I was more tired at the end of the day than I had been after riding 65 miles on the Galloping Goose Trail.

At right is the Legislative Building. Canadian official decorative motifs are much more interesting than American ones.

Craigdarroch Castle

Finally, I got to see the inside of Craigdarroch Castle. The house was built by coal baron Robert Dunsmuir, who unluckily died just before construction was finished in 1890. His widow, Joan, moved in, but traveled all over Europe and America in search of art and furnishings for the house, including exotic wood work, and stained and leaded glass windows. The house is full of beautiful parquet floors, wood trim and panelling, with brilliant stained glass at every window - lovely to see in person, but unfortunately that made it difficult to get good interior photos.

The tower room at the top of
Craigdarroch Castle

The tour proceeds up stairways on one side of the house to a small tower room at the top, then down the stairs on the other side. One of the upper floors which was used as a ballroom was roped off when I visited because the floor's supports had deteriorated so that it would not bear weight. A display case held souvenirs, fans, dance cards and programs from social events, and mannequins displayed suits or dresses from the late 1800's. I was surprised at how small they were: the women must have been less than five feet tall, with tiny wasp waists, and the men looked to be only about five and a half feet tall.

Tile flooring in the tower

Bikers in the family

After the deaths of Robert and Joan Dunsmuir, the family became mired in disputes over inheritances and division of property. Some of their children and grandchildren apparently grew up to be very colorful and bohemian: one young woman became fascinated with the actress Tallulah Bankhead, joining her entourage and following her around Europe, to New York and Hollywood, according to displays of photos and tabloid stories. I believe she eventually died on the Titanic, but I might be confused.

The house is partly restored with original furnishings, but some rooms that were used as a convalescent hospital for WWII soldiers will be restored to that state, to commemorate the history of the house. Later it was taken over by Victoria College, and was crowded with returning veterans after WWII. The Victoria Conservatory of Music operated there until the late 1970's, when it was taken over by the Society for Preservation & Maintenance of Craigdarroch Castle.

Just like home

After coffee and a scone at the castle gift shop, I walked a few blocks to Government House and rambled in the garden there, then left the grounds to explore the city neighborhoods. I had a city map but kept getting enticed down interesting-looking side streets until I got a bit lost. At last I happened upon a Starbucks on Cook Street. The afternoon was getting hot, time for an iced coffee break.

I walked to Beacon Hill Park, enjoying the water views from the bluff, then walked down a steep staircase to the beach for a rest, before walking back to the hostel by way of the waterfront.

For dinner I found a funky little Mexican place with a tiny seating area, where I ordered the fish tacos. They were OK, smothered in salsa and chipotle, but made with frozen breaded fish filets. Disappointing compared to the dinner I had in Swartz Bay at the end of last summer. It's never as good as the first time.

Next morning I started out early, riding back to Sidney on the Lochside Trail, aiming to catch the noon ferry back to Anacortes. Arriving with an hour and a half to spare, I locked my bike up to a fence and walked a few blocks in to Sidney to get coffee and ice cream, and idle around the shops and Sidney waterfront. I walked through the US border control station with my bike, but then had to line up in the car lanes to wait to board the ferry. I left my bike at the fence for a few minutes to take a bathroom break, which might have raised official suspicions, because when the line started moving, an officer called me inside a little office (to the left in the photo) where I had to show my passport again and answer a few questions. But they let me go and I boarded the by-now familiar old Washington State ferry to Anacortes.

Remembering Summer

At long last, here are the promised photos of my ride on the Galloping Goose Trail the summer of 2018.

By-the-Sea B&B, Sidney BC

The place for maps in Sidney BC

On this trip, I caught an afternoon ferry in Anacortes, arriving in Sidney BC at 5pm, staying overnight at the By-the-Sea B&B, an elegant antique-filled Art Deco ( or Bauhaus?) house with a sleek curving stairway to the comfy second-floor rooms. It is located along the bike trail a bit south of Sidney, about a 40-minute walk back to town for dinner. But a generous breakfast in the morning, more than I could finish. (No donuts, though.)

Big 10-inch donuts

McNeill Bay  from Harling Point, a former indigenous village called Chikawich, meaning "big hips".
This viewpoint is at the top of a short but memorably steep bump in the road that made me regret my big hips.

After breakfast I headed out on the Lochside and Seaside Routes to Victoria BC. The Seaside Touring Route branches off from the Lochside Route at (more or less) Bay Road near the Cordova Bay Golf Course. It's kind of a real estate tour for much of the way but there are some stunning water views here and there. The distance between Sidney and Victoria is only about 20-25 miles, depending on your route, side-trips or detours, and exact start and end points. I usually ride it in two or three hours. After idling at the viewpoints, parks and along the Victoria BC waterfront for a couple of hours, I checked in at Ocean Island Inn, the same hostel where I stayed last summer. In the morning, after another luscious Nutella-on-toast breakfast, I headed out for the trail.

OceanIsland Inn, Pandora St., Victoria BC

The route start in Victoria BC

I got another bear warning along the way, but this one was a little more plausible. A retiree-couple who lived by the trail stopped me, to say they had seen a black bear in an apple tree a little further on. They pointed down the trail, and I could see a tree shaking wildly beside the way. On second look, though, the tree seemed a little small to bear the weight of a bear, so I decided to risk it, riding as close as possible to the opposite edge of the trail, and got by safely. I'm not sure whether it was a prank, or NIMBY's trying to scare off tourists, or maybe they just wanted to chat.

Mechtosin Valley farm from trailside

Seeking a closer view of Lake Matheson, I left my bike leaning against a tree and followed a footpath to the edge of the bluff, where I walked up and down a bit, then sat on a rock for a rest break. When I turned to go back to the trail, I didn't recognize the break in the bushes where I'd come out. Since all paths only went one way, I just chose the biggest opening, but coming back from the opposite direction the rocks and fallen trees on the way didn't look familiar and I was a little worried for a moment that I could get lost when barely out of sight of the rail-trail. Embarrassing, but I guess it was a good reminder to check for landmarks.

Views of Lake Matheson from the trail.


















And here is a bad photo of the notoriously bad road crossing near Green Man Bicycle Shop, which was improved this summer. The old route followed the path on the right, leading to a Y-intersection with fast, heavy car traffic and no marked crossing. Now the trail branches to the left around the triangle-shaped building, coming out at a T-shaped three way intersection with a stop-light and crosswalk with a signal. Simple solution, but not quite perfect. For one thing, the Green Man Bike Shop is set pretty close to the street edge, which is convenient in a way, but riders who don't want to visit there have to make a sharp right turn to get back to the trail. More important, when the crossing light changed and I stepped into the crosswalk, three drivers making left turns passed in front of me without stopping, giving me that "what are you doing on my road?" stare.

I had stopped at a grocery store in the town of Colton to buy some lunch, so I was able to ride past Gillespie Road this time. The trail drops down sharply and I had to walk my bike a bit near Rocky Bay, but then I got on to the stretch of trail I had missed the summer before. I'm glad I made the return trip: the water views along Sooke Inlet are gorgeous, easy to admire from the wide, flat rail trail.

End of the trail

In the end I was frustrated again, though: the trestle bridge at Todd Creek was closed for repair. A detour required carrying bikes up a steep, rough dirt trail, and it was already mid-afternoon when I got there, with a 33 mile ride to get back to the city. Time to turn back. A better plan would be to ride a trail bike capable of carrying camping stuff to stay overnight at the regional park camping ground at the far end of the trail. That way I'd have time to explore and find some of the famous Sooke Potholes. I would also like to see a live Sitka Spruce . . . another summer.

Last Summer (2018)

What's left of the old Georgia Pacific plant, summer 2018

Smith Rd. & Northwest Rd.

The wise Kurt Vonnegut, once said "Never forget that we were put on Earth to fart around." And I did a lot of that last summer, along with working (where I don't fart around much, strangely).

Near the end of August Whatcom County had a spell of hot weather, along with smoke from wild fires in the North Cascades, Olympic Mountains and lower BC. The haze from the fires smothered the county for several days, making me feel sick and sluggish. A lot of people I know were putting off biking, running, hiking and other outdoor activities because of worry about the health effects of the smoke. A few rainy spells in September dampened the fires and cleared the smoke a bit. When the weather turned mild and sunny again I decided to take a last chance vacation and return to Vancouver Island, to finish what I started last summer, and ride the complete Galloping Goose Trail. It was the last week of September, exactly one year from my previous trip.