Cycle Touring - Victoria, British Columbia. Day 2 Victoria!! Part 2

PART 2

It's Monday now and I am a bit behind on this blog.  One of the experiments I wanted to try was to see if I can update my blogs nightly while I'm on my multi-day bike trips.  I have quickly found out that I can NoT.  Unfortunately, after a long day on the bike, you just want to sit down, rest and relax once you are at your campsite or your place of stay for the night.  Blogging really becomes a 'chore' at this time and you just want to wind down before going to sleep.  I don't know how other touring cyclists do it day in day out.  Kudos to them, they must type really fast and have already been blogging during the day but for me, I can't maintain that kind discipline.  So what we have here is a blog that is done when I have time and patience to do it.

Continuing from my EPIC day on Saturday, I had just finished visiting Rider's Cycles and headed back into the Lochside trail and onto the Galloping Goose trail.  There were so many cyclists of all sorts out that day that it was a great sight to see.  I can only compare it to Vancouver and it's Seawall with that many cyclists using the pathways.  It just goes to show that the saying 'if you build it, they will come' works when regarding separated bike lanes and greenways.  One thing that I noticed with the cyclists in Victoria, is that there are a LOT of 'roadies', cyclists who ride road 'race' bikes and wear road racing lycra and gear.  I am not sure if this is something fairly new to the area but I can only assume that the resurgent of roadies can be attributed to the recent success of Victoria's very own Ryder Hesjedal who won this year's Giro d'Italia, a feat never  before accomplished by a Canadian.  Good Luck to Ryder in this year's Summer Olympics.  We are all rooting for you!

Downtown Victoria - Oh what a beautiful city.  I have been here once before, but I was very young and I don't remember much.  I really think that WE as Canadian westcoasters are spoiled to have two of the most beautiful cities in the world.  We often take it for granted as we live here but through a tourist's eyes, it gives a whole new look of the place you live in.  And yes, I was such a big tourist this day.  And I was so happy that I was on my bicycle so I didn't have to fight with car traffic, worry about finding parking, and being able to go from tourist attractions to tourist attractions quickly and efficiently.  I did not envy those in cars and to an extent on foot as there were sooo many people out there.

So many people, so many tourists, I being one of them.

Soldiers Memorial Statue

British Columbia Parliament Buildings.  And me and my bike and trailer of course.

Two other must-see places of interests for me are Mile 0 at Beacon Hill Park, and Clover Point Park where the southernmost tip of Victoria is located.  Mile 0 is as the name suggests just that, the zeroth mile of the great Trans Canada Highway, the longest highway in the world.  Mile 0 is often used as a starting point of touring cyclists or any type of traveler that plan to cross the country of Canada.  So I wanted to see this for myself for that certain possibility in the future of (should I say it?) riding my bike across Canada. (GULP..)

Mile 0 of the great Trans Canada Highway.  Maybe one day this will be a starting point of my trip. gulp.

The Southernmost point of Victoria.  Look way way out as far as the eye can see, it's the US of A!

By around this time of the day I started thinking of my place to stay for the night.  My original plan was to check out Beacon Hill Park as I have read that it is now free to set up camp in this park.  Bonus! Free campground!  However, after talking with other cyclists, they warn me that the park isn't very safe and that it is full of transients and drug addicts at night.  So there go that idea, I certainly didn't want any problems at night.  My choice was to head back north and Google any campsites in the surrounding areas.  As I thought this through, I realize that there was still so much daylight left that I can easily make the 5 or 6 o'clock ferry and that I would camp over at Tsawwassen again for the night.  Brilliant idea!  I already have a free place in Tsawwassen and this way I won't have to pay for campground and I'll just use that money for the ferry ride!  Perfect plan, so off I go towards the ferry terminal.  I didn't rush going to the ferry as there are sailings every hour until 9pm.  I get to the terminal shortly after 5pm, it will not be until 6pm for the next sailing.  But to my surprise, the 5pm ferry was still docked.  The ticket lady suggested that I book it down to the ferry and see if I can still make it, sure enough I made it just in time before they closed off the docking bays. Woohoo!

A peaceful ride back to the ferry

I felt so special to be the first one in line to get off the ferry

Thank You City of Victoria for one of the best bike rides I've ever had!  I will certainly be back and explore some more of your surrounding areas.

Time on the saddle:  10 hours +/-
Distance traveled:  100 kms +/-

Some notable tweets during the day:
https://twitter.com/604Bluelight/status/229186103201107968
https://twitter.com/604Bluelight/status/229255222114017281
https://twitter.com/604Bluelight/status/229309621028917248