Cycling Vancouver Island

by John Crouch

Overview

Featuring over 40 routes, each trip includes a map, information on local history, topography, aesthetics, places of interest, type of road, general route condition, level of difficulty, start and end points, checkpoints and colour photographs.

With the understanding that cyclists are not going to cycle the Island all in one go, the book is divided into sections that roughly correspond to the Island’s geographic and population regions:

Victoria and area

Duncan and Cowichan Valley

Nanaimo and area

Port Alberni

Courtenay and area

Campbell River

Port Hardy

Complete with detailed information for all travellers, John Crouch’s latest guidebook is the perfect resource for cyclists heading to Vancouver Island.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771605625
Publisher:	Rocky Mountain Books
Publication date:	06/14/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
File size:	262 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

John Crouch is a well-known athlete and writer who has published four successful guidebooks: Bike Victoria, Walk Victoria, Hike Victoria, and Cycling the Islands, along with a memoir, Six Highways to Home: A Cycling Journey from Whitehorse to Victoria. For ten years he was the editor of a professional medical journal, the BC Massage Practitioner, and was founding editor of Island Runner magazine. He has also worked with CBC Radio promoting walking and hiking in the Victoria area. John’s physical and athletic pursuits embrace a number of disciplines. As a hiker and climber he has summited Mount Rainier, Mount Whitney, Mount Baker and Vancouver Island’s highest peak, the Golden Hinde. As an athlete John has competed in 16 marathons and countless shorter races. His accomplishments include winning the World Endurance Duathlon Championship in the 60+ age category in Holland in 2001 and coming second in the 2007 event in Richmond, Virginia; winning the 60+ category in the American Masters Marathon Championship in Napa, California, in 2004; and was on the podium in his category in his first Ironman Canada in 2005. He lives with his wife, Lorinda, in Victoria, British Columbia.

Table of Contents

Introduction 10

Getting to the Island 14

Climate 16

How to use this guide 17

1 Victoria 22

1 Tour of Victoria - loop 25

47km/29mi Easy to moderate

2 Coastline Cruise - loop 31

28km/17.5mi to 56km/35mi Moderate

3 Tour of the Highlands - loop 37

36km/22mi Strenuous

4 Tour of the Saanich Peninsula - loop 41

66km/41mi Moderate

5 Galloping Goose/Lochside regional trails 47

Various lengths Easy

6 E & N Trail/Royal Roads U./Galloping Goose Trail - loop 55

35km/22mi Easy to moderate

7 Highlands/Humpback/Galloping Goose - loop 63

38km/24mi Moderate to strenuous

8 Metchosin/East Sooke - loop 69

43km/27mi Moderate to strenuous

9 Sooke/Otter Point - loop 75

111km/67mi Strenuous

10 Victoria to Jordan River - out-and-back 81

146km/91mi Moderate to strenuous

11 Victoria to Shawnigan Lake - out-and-back 85

92km/57mi Strenuous

2 Duncan and Cowichan Valley 90

12 Shawnigan Lake/Cameron Taggart - loop 93

32km/2omi; 22km/13.5mi Moderate

13 Three Ferries Loop 97

113km/7omi Moderate to strenuous

14 Mill Bay Ferry Terminal to Genoa Bay - out-and-back 105

82km/5imi Moderate to strenuous

15 Kinsol Trestle/Lake Cowichan/Duncan - loop 109

84km/52mi Easy to moderate

16 Tour of Duncan - Combined loop 115

58km/36mi Moderate

17 Tour of Duncan - South loop 117

32km/20mi Moderate

18 Tour of Duncan - North loop 123

29km/18mi Moderate

19 Tour of Duncan - West loop 127

34km/21mi Moderate

20 Duncan/Crofton/Chemainus - loop 131

50km/31mi Moderate

21 Cowichan Valley Trail - out-and-back 137

60km/37mi Easy

22 Cowichan Valley Winery Tour - loop 141

41km/25.5mi Easy to moderate

23 Chemainus to Ladysmith - out-and-back 149

27km/17mi Moderate

3 Nanaimo 153

24 Nanaimo - Southwest loop 155

32km/20mi Moderate

25 Nanaimo - Southeast loop 161

48km/30mi Moderate

26 Nanaimo - North loop 167

44km/27mi Moderate to strenuous

27 Lantzville/Nanoose Bay - loop 173

47km/29mi Moderate to strenuous

28 Parksville/Errington/Coombs/Qualicum Beach - loop 179

36km/22mi Moderate

4 Port Alberni 184

29 Cherry Creek/Beaver Creek - loop 187

24km/15mi Easy to moderate

30 Port Alberni South - loop 191

12km/7.5mi Moderate to strenuous

31 McCoy Lake - loop 195

26km/16mi Moderate to strenuous

5 Comox Valley 199

32 Comox Valley Tour - loop 201

58km/36mi Easy to moderate

33 Courtenay Riverway Trail-Cumberland-Courtenay - loop 207

26km/16mi Easy to moderate

34 Courtenay West - loop 211

17km/11mi Easy

35 Strathcona Parkway to Paradise Meadows - out-and-back 215

35km/22mi Strenuous

6 Campbell River 219

36 Oyster River/Miracle Beach - loop 221

31km/19mi Easy to moderate

37 Tour of Campbell River - loop 225

38km/23.5mi Moderate to strenuous

38 Campbell River - West loop 229

21km/13mi Moderate

39 Campbell River - North loop 233

23km/14mi Easy to moderate

7 Gold River 237

40 Campbell River to Gold River - out-and-back 239

87km/54mi Strenuous

8 Fort Alice 243

41 Port Hardy to Port Alice - out-and-back 245

52km/32mi Moderate to strenuous

9 Selected Longer Routes 249

42 Victoria/Port Renfrew/Victoria (three stages) 249

250km/155mi Moderate to strenuous

43 Victoria to Port Hardy (six stages) 261

524km/325mi Easy to strenuous

44 Cross-Island Tour: Parksville to Tofino/Ucluelet (5 stages) 287

172km/107mi (Tofino); 147km/91mi (Ucluelet) Easy to strenuous

45 Tour of the Sunshine Coast (three stages) 301

314km/195mi Moderate to strenuous

Ferry and Airport Access Routes 313

A Swartz Bay ferry terminal to Victoria 313

B Victoria to Brentwood Bay/Mill Bay ferry terminal 315

C Brentwood Bay ferry terminal to Victoria 318

D Departure Bay ferry terminal to Nanaimo/North Island 321

E Victoria International Airport to Victoria 323

Index of Routes 325

About the Author 329