Sunday (June 25): Parked at the garage near the terminal and coasted the few blocks there with all our belongings. It was an easy check in process and we got there plenty early. I paid for prime seats which in retrospect wasn’t that important. Just being on the upper deck would have been enough. But it was still nice to be able to watch the shoreline as we left Puget Sound and identify all the Seattle sights. We had coffee and a few snacks at our disposal, but we still ordered breakfast sandwiches/wraps and Craig had a bloody mary. Entering the Victoria harbor on the Clipper felt different than forging in on the Coho so many years ago. We watched little water taxis racing around and admired lots of new hotels and condo complexes. The Empress looked almost small in comparison to some of them.
It took awhile to disembark, but we had no issues and enjoyed chatting with a young German couple who had been traveling around the States and now Canada with giant duffels and backpacks. We were lugging all our panniers until we got to our bikes and could load them and the day was already warming up. Then we dropped our bags at the Best Western only a few blocks away and mounted our bikes for a short tour of Oak Bay that I had already mapped out, 29 miles in total (or 47 km). A few trails, but mostly bike-friendly roads along the water or through nice, residential areas. The parks were full of families and people enjoying the water, volleyball, or just picnicking and hanging out. Once back in Victoria, we stopped for a beer (and fries, aka chips) at an Irish pub, while live music was coming to an end on the street near our table. When we finally meandered back to our hotel on the other side of the harbor, our room was ready, but they required us to lock our bikes downstairs instead of using the elevators (or we could carry our bikes up six flights) – very silly, since the elevators were plenty big, and I meant to send a note of complaint later but just realized I never did.
After showers and relaxing a bit with our partial view of the harbor, we walked back to Finn’s for a great seafood dinner. It was getting a bit breezy so we sat inside, but right next to a window. I had a Poke bowl and Craig had steelhead I believe.
On the way back to the hotel, we realized they were playing live music near the harbor and it was a free reggae and ska concert! We only saw one band play (My Son the Hurricane) but they were awesome, and it was a great spot to people watch. We decided to bail before the headline band (Ojo De Buey) since we had a longer day biking the next day.
Monday: Rose and had the typical BW breakfast (mini pancakes but no waffles though). Then we followed the route I had planned which almost immediately put us on the Galloping Goose trail downtown and over a beautiful, short bridge. The urban trail led us through commercial areas and across a pedestrian bridge in a park, and then it paralleled Canada Highway 1 for quite awhile before turning away and into forests. The path was mostly paved but often hard packed gravel, not unlike the SVT. We passed lots of people walking and biking until we got closer to the end and then they were more infrequent. We did stop at one bike store to try and replace the screw in one of my bike cleats. We ended up having to buy new cleats because they couldn’t find a loose one to fit, but at least it was an easy stop.
We biked over a cool train trestle and past a nice campground and followed the trail all the way to the end (people kept asking us if we went all the way to the red gate so we were able to say yes!). Then once we turned around we stopped at a nice spot along the Sooke River and lounged for awhile, putting our feet in the water but not quite tempted enough to swim. Then we sailed back down the trail and detoured from it to head to our bed and breakfast for the night, but not after stopping at the Liberty Kitchen in Langford where we shared some amazing crunchy cauliflower (a signature dish), Craig had an enormous chicken sandwich with fries, and I had a tofu bowl. Overall, a great meal! Then we slithered the last few miles to the Birds of a Feather B&B and checked into the honeymoon suite (the only one available and luckily reduced from two to one night requirement). We had a great view and lovely amenities (including kayaks which we never used) and the breakfast the next day was heavenly. The couple had been running it for decades and own a second home in Thailand, where she is from, and where they spend a few months of every year. Might be worth looking them up if/when we make that trip!
Tuesday: After the large breakfast, we peddled over to Hatley Castle and explored their gardens (walking our bikes). Then we made a loop around the little peninsula in the fog and headed back north to our next destination. What was supposed to be the easiest day (only 12 miles) ended up being the hardest day, as all the elevation was in the last few miles up Bear Mountain to the Westin at the top. We may have argued about which route to take as well, since the original route looked like a mountain bike trail and probably too rugged, and we ran into construction along the way as well. But it was hot and brutal and we were grateful when we made it to the top (and immediately had double margaritas, fish tacos, and a beer – vacation after all!).
When we crossed the street to the Westin, Craig stayed outside and chatted with the doormen and I check us in. I was informed we were their “guests of the day” and they had upgraded us to a better room with a view of the golf course and abounding forested hills (as well as a new hotel being constructed). Craig had befriended the doormen (Bernard and Christopher, we think) and they showed up at our hotel room door with a card offering us free Proseccos as well. So sweet! We even donned bathing suits and sat in the small hot tub for awhile.
Dinner that night at the hotel restaurant was fancy, but delicious, with great, personable service. Amazingly I don’t remember what we both ate, but I do know we had chocolate cake for dessert which I regretted because it overstuffed me! I also didn’t sleep well that night, but we still woke early and had a good (albeit expensive) breakfast at the hotel.
Wednesday: I changed the route the night before, because the hotel is not part of the golf course community and they wouldn’t allow us access to the trail on my route without paying an activity fee ($45 per person). Good grief! But I wasn’t sure it wasn’t another mountain bike trail anyway, so instead we headed down the other side of the mountain and then headed north toward Butchart Gardens. The backroads were well paved and very lightly trafficked, especially as we got further north. A little up and down, but nothing major – we loved it! Then we locked our bikes up to tour the gardens, trusting that no one would mess with our panniers and taking only the one with my laptop and our other electronics with us. Luckily I changed shoes, too, because we did a lot of walking! The Gardens were amazing; I can’t believe I never visited them all those years we lived across the straits. It didn’t seem crazy busy either, and the weather was beautiful.
Then it as a fairly direct route back to Victoria, mostly roads, and we had a beer at our Irish Pub again before getting back in line for the Clipper. We vowed we would try to make an annual trip, revisiting the Galloping Goose and some of our favorite stops, but also exploring further up the mainland and maybe returning via Vancouver. All in all a lovely trip!
Breit Bikes 