8th – 9th Aug 2018

Brentwood Bay to Victoria 25kms

No shade, and a warm sun again, had us out of the tent early. It was really nice though, as we got to chat some more to Nancy and Mike, and would you believe, have our complimentary coffees and our breakfast delivered by Scott and Janet. Woweee, this is so special. A quiet and peaceful setting, home made waffles, scrambled eggs and a few fellow cyclists to enjoy it all with. None of us wanted to get going. This is definitely a winning combination.

Gardenside Acres Website

Eventually, Mike and Nancy headed off, they were on their way home, and next, solo Mike departed on the route we arrived on yesterday, leaving just us to make our way east to a dedicated cycleway called the Lochside Trail. It was once a railway line, so we knew it would be reasonably flat and enjoyable. It was! Not always paved, but beautiful wide track, weaving through the outskirts of Victoria, and some very nice neighbourhoods. Billions of cyclists, all saying hello, and smiling, and a great ride. It didn’t take us long to do 20kms, and reach the city limits.

A beautiful day, a beautiful trail, and we had a great ride.

We passed an older man and his wife, with a short hello, then he caught up to us for a bit of a chat while riding. We all crossed a road or two, and then as we were coming to the end of the Lochside trail, and turning onto the Galloping Goose, heading downtown, he caught us again, and asked if we would like to join them for a coffee at Starbucks. Oh sure, why not, we’ve learned this lesson. Don’t deny people the opportunity to share, and you never know what might happen. Well Doug and Jan bought us a coffee, and we sat and chatted with them for ages. Such a wonderful couple with some fun and interesting experiences. I felt like we were old friends, and it was lovely of them to share with us. 

Eventually, we all went our separate ways, and we continued on the Galloping Goose trail right into downtown, and then a few blocks more to our hotel. The Island Travellers Inn. It is not fancy, nor is it cheap, but it was the best we could do. Hostels all full, and this was the next best option. But it is well located, and has what we need to prepare for our next section in USA. When I was checking in, I asked if there was somewhere secure for our bicycles, “oh, yes, there is a bike rack just near the entrance.” Nope, that won’t do, these are our lives for the next four months man, what else you got? Can we put them in our room? Nope, he wasn’t happy with that, but did mumble some other option in the car park below. Right o, let’s go down and check it out. Luckily, it was a locked room, in the secure car parking below. Phew, the kids will be okay.

Victoria – USA Prep Day

After a spa (oh so good) bath, and a few too many boutique brews, a delicious traditional Canadian dinner of Poutine and the best Crispy fried squid ever, we slept like logs and woke up late. Doesn’t matter, we have just got a lot of blogging, researching and washing to do. Finally some adequate Wifi, and a comfortable place to do it. I made a few enquiries about the ferry, and it will be pretty simple for us. It is a ten minute cycle to the terminal, buy a ticket, get on. Cyclists don’t have to book. Yay. We are still unsure of our route from Port Angeles, but at this stage will probably head West to the coast. I think we are ready, as ready as we’ll ever be. Maybe just have one more spa, hey?

The morning was spent blogging and completing chores, we even skipped breakfast because we were too busy. So at “brunch” time, we went for a walk around to see what was available. A few blocks away, on Pandora street, we found a small little cafe, called Mole. We stepped in, and it was full. Bugger. The waitress said it was only about a ten minute wait, so we could just squeeze up at the bar. Oh, okay, I guess that’s alright. Just as we’d made ourselves comfortable, she found us a table. Cool. It was a very funky little place, and cheap too. We enjoyed a leisurely brunch, and then went in search of a grocery store. Unfortunately we struggled to find one. Eventually we found a sort of minimart that had bugger all. Oh well, we’ll just have to eat our remaining perishable foods, and restock in Port Angeles tomorrow.

Victoria is actually quite small, and beautiful city. Lots a great areas, Chinatown, gardens and funky artwork.

The rest of the day was enjoyed in the spa, and relaxing in our room, thinking about getting into the USA. Wow, it has already been one month on the road.