Life is a wonderful adventure. The more you nudge outside of your comfort zone, the more you think, “why didn’t I do this before?”
Our three day bike trip was spectacular in every way imaginable and it never rained on us. We had all brought rain gear, water proof gloves, spats and hand warmers expecting the worse, but some how the clouds always parted and we got sunshine and warm weather.
I did weeks of research on biking in this area as I had never been. I plotted all the waypoints on my GSP until my eyes turned red, trying to figure out all the logistics late into the night. As such, all three bike rides went without a hitch.
A fellow cyclist recommended we stay in the Best Western hotel in Chemainus and not Duncan and that advice was wonderful as the hotel had hot tub, swimming pool and all you can eat hot buffet breakfast. The rooms were quiet, spacious with living room, dining area and full kitchen. Plus it was a stone throw from the cutest town, a tasty Thai restaurant and live theatre (I heard it costs $200 per person including dinner).
Day 1 Cowichan Valley Trail (CVT) Crossover bike ride 80 km:
We left one car in Duncan at 10 am and biked gently uphill for 14.5 km on bullet proof gravel. Then we descended to Cowichan Lake, the largest fresh water lake on the island and had lunch on a picnic table next to the lake and WC.
From there, we continued downhill to see the Trestle bridges, such as the Holt and Kinsol. The west sun was shining on the 7 degree curved Kinsol trestle and gave it a golden glow (great photographer’s moment). It is one of the world’s largest wood trestle bridge. Absolutely beautiful and an engineering wonder. Construction started in 1909 by local farmers with a structural engineer. It went into disuse in 1979, but is now restored for recreational proposes.
Along the way, we saw a herd of 20 magnificent elk running away from us. Nothing short of “wow!”
We also passed by black and white horned goats and work horses that were clearing the trail from fallen trees. Yes, we probably had 10 fallen trees on the trail and lifting the bikes over and under were a challenge. Big thanks to Mark for the heavy lifting!
We also passed a very strong toxic smell and I had no idea what it was. A dog walker said the CVT was closed last week due to a forest fire and we were lucky that the CVT was reopened.
We biked down to Shawnigan lake at about 5 pm (65 km). Then we biked on the road for 15 km, which was a relief after biking on the bumpy gravel road for 40 km. We reached our other car at exactly 5:57 pm at the Park and Ride on Hwy 1. Even though we were all tired (no e-bikes on this ride), everyone was happy and thrilled with the crossover.
We all looked forward to a well deserved hot tub waiting for us back at the hotel.
Day 2 Chemainus to Ladysmith along the CVT
Chemainus is a town with 52 murals and you can follow the painted footsteps to see all these works of art. The architecture is uniquely whimsical and colourful. The style is hard to figure out? Maybe Russian influences?
This is a 30 km return trip between the ocean’s edge and verdant farm land on the well marked CVT. Along the way, we stopped at a Hectic’s Bike hospital/hostel shop. One can stay over night if their bike needs a full transplant. Accommodations cost $55 for 26″ wheels and $40 for 20″ wheels.
Once in Ladysmith, we had lunch at the transfer beach amphitheatre over looking the ocean. This black beach use to be an industrial park and the locals transformed it to a park. The name Ladysmith derives from the Boer war when the siege of the town Ladysmith ended and the town founder Dunsmuir named it in honour of this South African town.
From there we biked into town and to the 49th parallel! First avenue has the famous Old Town Bakery. They won the island competition for the best cinnamon bun. The line up goes out the door and people drive from Victoria to get these sweet buns.
The town has Edwardian and Boomtown architecture with the false fronts and cornices. Even the lucky Sanskrit swastika can be seen at the 1913 Traveler’s Hotel brick work.
In the late afternoon, we went to Crofton to walk the boardwalk and we discovered the beautiful black sandy beach was the result of toxic sludge left over from the mining days. The glass slivers can irritate the skin.
Day 3 Loop around Duncan and the totem poles along the CVT
Another dry day for our 10 km bike ride that took 1.75 hours to do. It had a lot of twist and turns and I discovered my group could only remember two directional instructions before they got lost. Consequently, we had to go pretty slow as I had to look up each way point on my GPS. Duncan is known for the plethora of totem poles in the town. Some chose to tour the totem poles while I choose to go to Cowichan Bay as I had heard it was quaint with many shops and restaurants. When we arrived, the town was packed with tourists. We could hear a cacophony of barking and went to the end of the street to figure out where it was coming from.We saw 300+/- Stellar and California Sea lions on the Marina dock. We heard from locals that they come here from California every year for 6 week to feed on the salmon. They bark all night and locals cannot sleep. A 2000 pound Stellar will jump onto a moored boat and another will follow. With 4000 pounds on a small boat, the boat will tip over and be destroyed. They are both a delight and a curse for the locals.
All in all, Vancouver Island is a gem of a place to explore… “why didn’t I do this before?”
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