Day Three: Sidney to Victoria

July 13, 2017

The wonderful facilities at the Cedarwood again made it easy for us, as we used the kitchenette to whip up various short orders for breakfast. Then we took advantage of our location across the street from the beach to see what might be there in terms of collectibles. Amelia and Evee are big on shells, but this time they also scored a dead crab. Joe is content with filling containers with gravel.

Although nominally these kids live by water - the broad St. Lawrence River, the beach or even boating does not seem to play much of a role in the lives of most Montrealers. So the Salish Sea and the Pacific Coast really are something special for this crew. Even their Dad, Josh, who was born here, has been away nine years and appreciated the chance to skip a few stones.

Joshua returns to the Pacific Coast, where he was born.

A container of treasures. (Not likely to hold sandwiches again).

We hung out by the water until 11, before casually cruising off south along the Lochside. Even with a 30 pound child and 30 pound WeeHoo in tow, and with 20 pounds of gear and even a head wind, my bike seemed to glide effortlessly. That is a testimony to how flat the route is, but also maybe (just maybe!) I have not yet lost all conditioning from 4300 km of European pedalling.

The trailer came from general housewares and car parts store Canadian Tire, but the quality was extremely good. The maker, Everyday Bicycles, also has some nice logos and messaging. This says "Vous vous souvenez lorsque'une petite balade etait une grande aventure?, which means "Do you remember when a little trip was a big adventure?". Nice sentiment.

Could the pig get out of this mud if it wanted to?

No worries, this tractor is actually stopped, waiting for Dodie to pass.

Losing that conditioning got a boost as we soon rolled back up to Mitchell's farm, where we polished off a large quantity of raspberries, and on to Mattick's Farm, to see if they still had any ice cream left!

Before checking for ice cream we found that Mattick's had another treat in store. Victoria is home to several couples famous for European cycling blogs here on Crazyguy. Two of these are Keith and Kathy Classen and Carol and Ron Dunlop. What we noticed first was a troupe of cyclists all done up in red and white Canada 150 (this is Canada's 150th birthday year) gear, and this included Carol and Ron. Along with them was Keith. We did not have time to really catch what the event was, nor to chat with Carol and Ron and Keith. Still, no matter how briefly, it is always a thrill to encounter another Crazyguy blogger. We did speak to Keith long enough to learn that around when we are planning to bolt off for (maybe) London, he and Kathy may do the same toward Frankfurt. We will try to watch if they go and where they go!

Some of the Canada 150 group, at Mattick's Farm

Keith Classen, also well known to Crazyguy readers.

Turning then to ice cream, we replayed yesterday and found the scoop sizes to be just as big. However since then maybe our standards have changed, as Josh has located this alternative (need to cycle to Bankok for it, though):

As usual, the Internet is crawling with coverage of anything that seems new to us. So I guess I apologize for this bit of Facebook type SPAM, but hey, maybe somebody enjoyed the video. That no doubt includes the three grandkids!

Despite the availability of nice picnic tables, Amelia chose to enjoy her ice cream by "her" sign. It was actually a good choice, since that was a warm spot on a slightly cool day.

The next stop on this crazy-easy tour was a little trailside stand, Ashley's Cookies. We were glad to meet a lady coming out to restock the stand with cookies. We thought this could be Ashley, but it turned out to be her Mom. Mom pointed out to us what I suppose we already knew (but had forgotten). Ashley is the grand daughter of Farmer Roy, the man immortalized in the statue that stands on the trellis bridge just down the way. Ashley's Mom told us that Roy has been very well known in the area, often hosting school children for tours of the farm.

Amelia chose "her" sign as the spot to enjoy her next ice cream.

Another short hop brought us finally to Victoria, and Aunt Karyn and Uncle Erhard's house. The house is famous not only for Karyn but also for her wonderful gardens. More than anything, though, there is the giant rock in the back yard. For a kid, or even an adult, it can seem formidable to climb. In a few seconds, however, Joe and then all three were at the top. Never underestimate the monkey like skills of kids!

Karyn has a new dog, Sasha, who is actually a rescue from Iran! Very gentle with the kids, Sasha does not speak English just yet. Gardens, rocks, dogs, story books, ... make Karyn's a worthy cycle tour stop.

The last hop was by VW van - over to Grandma Darlene and Grandpa John. There we gratefully handed the Grandparents' baton to the fresh troops. It had been really a wonderful ride! Now we have a couple of weeks to get ourselves in order before setting off with Avi and Violet for cycling in Idaho. Watch for it!

Postscript

Aha, now I know more about those Canada 150 cyclists. Their trip has been blogged by Margaret Kavanagh, another Victoria - Europe cyclist, one who has even cycled up Mont Ventoux, in Provence:

Victoria has quite a few cyclists with experience in Europe. Here is Margaret Kavanagh in Provence

Today's ride: 23 km (14 miles)
Total: 50 km (31 miles)

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