Day 1: Cobble Hill to Ganges

June 30, 2019

Much More Than We Expected

Very quickly out of our driveway we entered cycling territory that we do not often frequent. The reason is that we turned down toward the water, to the little community of Cowichan Bay. Cowichan Bay is at the bottom of a moderately long 12%-15% grade, and that has been enough to keep us from venturing there much. This is despite the fact that the hamlet boasts a creditable bakery, a cheese shop, several restaurants, and picuresque float homes and moored boats.

Our route to the ferry is the green line on the east side.

Goin' down, to Cowichan Bay. After two months off the bikes, it's good to be back.

Cowichan Bay offers several marine activities. Whale watching may be endangered now, as regulations seek to protect the dwindling population.

Image not found :( — The True Grain bakery, and a "share the road: sign.

This place has really good fish and chips. But your diet must be able to withstand a 2000-3000 calorie hit!

The road out of Cowichan Bay is Tsouhalem Road, which heads loosely toward Mount Tsouhalem. Tsouhalem was a prominent chief of the Quamichan tribe of the Cowichan people, in the mid 1850's. He is known, for example, for attacking Fort Victoria in 1844. He was banished to live alone on the mountain in 1859 by his own people.

The road runs through territory of the Cowichan people, crossing the estuary of the Cowichan River. At one point there is a long house, and today it was the source of much intense drumming and chanting. I wanted to go see what was up, but Dodie wisely nixed it. "If it were a church, would we go?", I mused. "Well, no" was the accurate reply. It's true, we are curious about religious buildings, but seldom would intrude on a service in progress.

Thimble berries are quite edible, but not so yummy as raspberries.

The "Rotary Route" corresponds to the green line on our map. We are not sure who really plotted this originally, but it is quite reasonable.

The South Cowichan lawn tennis club features the oldest grass courts in western Canada. It was founded in 1887, not so long after the modern game of tennis came into being.

Just before Duncan, our route veered off onto Maple Bay Road. Tsouhalem Road had been shoulderless, but quiet, and Maple Bay had a shoulder, and was also quiet. We had to admit that our dismissal of local cycling for no bike paths and too many pickup trucks may have been unwarranted.

St Ann's church seemed directed towards the native people.

What's more, we soon came to a large cluster of parked cars, and miscellaneous cyclists milling about them. We stopped to ask what all the action was about, and found that we were at one entrance of the Maple Mountain forest reserve and mountain bike park. This has sixteen trails of varying difficulty in one section, and a further thirty three in another section! Cyclists nearby told us this park attracts enthusiasts from around the world! Who knew?

Down to the Crofton ferry terminal, we found beautiful marine scenes, and a shoreline boardwalk, with covered benches ideal for a little snack. By the benches stood a totem pole, representing a mythical "salmon watchman", and embodying the concepts of attachment to the earth, holding to the salmon at the centre, and using the Thunderbird for guidance above. Similar themes inform the logo of the Quamichan.

Lots of cyclists headed for Saltspring, including one Harley

The ferry was a little larger than expected, and disgorged an impressive number of cars before we could board. We were joined by quite a few cyclists, and one Harley biker, who got relegated to parking with us "lesser" specimens. Despite the leather, tattoos, and skeletons on everything, he seemed a nice fellow. I liked the various slogan he had on his helmet. Some were reasonably philosophical, but right now all I can remember is "Horn broken, watch for finger".

The short road from Vesuvius to Ganges was to be sure a bit uphill, but ok. Again, no shoulder and a little curvy, but the drivers were few, and courteous. Finding the Wisteria Guest House, in walking distance of Ganges centre, was easy, except that the sign faced one way only and we missed it on the first go round. The place itself is surrounded by gardens, and inside is characterized by a sort of cluttered elegance. That is, lots of comfy sofas, chairs, and beds, and antique tables and furniture, with many books, dishes, and artifacts like cast iron ware. With classical music playing softly in the background, the whole place exuded for us a sense of meditative restfulness.

Maybe it was the warm (not too warm) and sunny day, the water and boats, or the Guest House, but Ganges made a super good impression on us. We walked to the harbour, spotted an otter on the dock, and did the rounds of the many restaurants and shops. One of note was Mouat's hardware and dry goods. This is run by a family that first came to the area 150 years ago, and has an old time charm. It features corridors lined with historic photos, that give a real sense of the history of this place.

In circulating among the restaurants, we found prices to be significantly high. For example, $30 for weiner schnitzel. But once we realized that this was the level at most places, we were able to say what the hell, and just chose what looked good. For Dodie this was a Thai chicken salad and for me Rosemary Chicken with prawns, wild mushrooms, brussels sprouts, and cream sauce. These were from a place called the Oystercatcher. Both dishes were really out of this world. Mine featured several strong, pleasing, and harmonious flavours that had me wondering how they had been achieved. I suspect parmesan cheese, lemon, and garlic in there, at least.

Further wandering turned up good ice cream in a chocolate dipped waffle cone, high quality chocolates, and more gelato and ice cream choices, that of course we could not try (yet). We even came across a bagel baker claiming to be Polish and downplaying Montreal bakeries as johnny-come-latelys. And there was a guy making smoked meat, also supposedly superior to that in Montreal. He was closed, or we certainly would have tested that one!

The Ganges, one of the last sailing ships in this area

Overall, today has been glorious. With ocean, forest, and mountains, pleasant cycling, and top quality food and accommodation, we are almost wondering what was supposed to be so great about Germany? But tomorrow we will leave town and circle the northern part of the island. One thing is for sure, we are not going to run into any castles or cathedrals. But, we'll see what does turn up.

Today's ride: 38 km (24 miles)
Total: 38 km (24 miles)

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Scott AndersonGreat to see this is working for you. We considered biking through Saltspring in our way to the mainland, but decided on Nanaimo and Tsawwassen because the logistics just seemed easier. It certainly looks like we should come this way some year though.
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5 years ago

Marilyn DennisonAfter reading this page I am ready to schedule a trip to this area. It would be a pleasant change from this area.

Ed and I are still active.

Thanks for all your efforts in producing the posts. I enjoy traveling with you.

Marilyn
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4 years ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Marilyn DennisonGood idea! As long as we are not away cycling (or maybe even if we are) there is always our place to stay at. It would make a good home base!
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4 years ago