Mount Maxwell!

August 6, 2020

It rained during the night, as forecast, and the new tent performed flawlessly! We stayed dry and no noticeable condensation.

I presented Al with two options for a ride today. We could do a loop around the north end of the island, which would mean riding through Ganges twice as there is no other route between the north and south parts of the island. Or we could ride up Mount Maxwell to reach the highest point on Salt Spring Island. Of course, he chose option 2.

The plan was to take relatively quiet roads as much as possible to our destination. I'd mapped a route that included only about 200 metres on the Fulford-Ganges road outbound, but about 10 km on that road on the return so we could get some groceries in Fulford Harbour. There was also the potential for an 800-metre detour to Salt Spring Island Ales to check out their tasting room and patio.

The first bit of gravel, on Blackburn Road. Not any rougher than some of the pavement on the island.

The road up Mount Maxwell is rough and steep and suggested for high clearance 4WD only. There was a section that was questionable even for that. Al rode all but that really nasty bit; I walked quite a bit. This part was mostly steep.

The road up leads first through Salt Spring Island's protected watershed, then skirts the Mount Maxwell Ecological Reserve, and only then does it enter the park proper, about 1 km from the top.

Looking southeast to Fulford Harbour from the top of Mount Maxwell.

It was actually quite chilly at the top so after we'd eaten our rather meagre snack, we mounted up for the ride down. I was pleased with Maple's performance here. I didn't get bounced off and my hands didn't get too sore braking all the way down.

By the time we reached the turnoff for Salt Spring Island Ales, we'd decided to just head straight for Fulford Harbour for a late lunch and pick up groceries for dinner.

Fulford Harbour is not a good place for either of those endeavours. There seemed to be a lot of people just hanging around and we didn't have locks for our bikes. There are a couple of places to eat, but only one had a place to sit where we could watch our bikes. Our fish sandwich for two was tasty but expensive, and they didn't serve tap water (!). Our bottles were empty but the ferry terminal washrooms have signs saying the water isn't potable, which didn't leave many options. Then, when I went into the grocery store to get supplies, I discovered that they don't carry much for easy camp cooking. Al wanted pasta, which uses a lot of fuel, but I figured we could get more methyl hydrate in Victoria. Lots of gluten-free options, but eggs only by the dozen, pasta only in 450-gram bags, and no small cans or jars of sauce. Al wanted pasta and I figured we could get more methyl hydrate in Victoria. I did remember to get some beer, but forgot a bag of chips to go with. No wine due to space and weight considerations.

Heart

Comment

Link

Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles)
Total: 75 km (47 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	6
Comment on this entry	Comment	0