Staring
in Oak Bay (SE tip of peninsula) heading through
Victoria out to Langford for the start of the official
ride. Then up the Malahat to Mill Bay. There
was supposed to be a loop further north around Duncan,
but our group leader missed the turn so we didn't get to
that part.
Then
back down the Malahat, back to the central core and up
to Sidney via West Saanich Road, which is a pretty fun
road too. Then the festivities in Sidney were
followed by a ride straight down 17 although once we got
to town we veered off for the coastline to ride that
home, but then found we needed to gas up, so detoured
over to the local station.
My
biggest ride BY FAR so far. My previous biggest
ride was all done on surface streets up to the north
part of the peninsula above Sidney on my little scooter
(hence the surface roads only) and this was much much
longer and more challenging than that had been,
obviously.
Many
drivers find The Malahat a challenge in their cars, so
to do it on a bike is quite an accomplishment. I
feel very proud of myself for this ride and I know I got
some very much needed experience that I can draw on for
my future in riding. This ride went by really fast
because we basically did the high concentration parts and skipped
the easy, relaxing, fun part up north of Mill Bay.
Hopefully I will be doing that portion of the ride
separately without much procrastination.
Any
great ride gives to the rider in ways that can't be
taken away. The experience, the fun, the
camaraderie if you're lucky enough to have great friends
to ride with, the knowledge that you can do it, you have
the skills, you have the gear, you can do it, you can do
it safely and you can do it again, any time you want,
it's all right there outside your door here on the
island. Take advantage!!
