Vancouver Island Day Trips

[Tropic-Of-Canada]

The days before Christmas I went out and explored up in the hills on the west side of Shawnigan, and found that there was a lot more riding out there than I realized! I didn't have my camera out for that ride, but knew I'd be back again to explore some more territory.

New Years Eve Eve, I went out again. I stumbled across an apparent Trials club grounds. I'd Love to get into this, I did Bicycle Trials for years, and have always had moto trials in the back of the mind. How can I do this without a truck though? I'm betting people probably don't lend out trials bikes too often. Lending was always a bit touchy with bicycle trials! Smashed derailleurs, rims, tubes, broken frames, It's a pricey sport to learn!



The DRZ is a bit big for this kind of riding in my opinion. It can be done, but its a workout! I'd still like to try some lower gearing sometime though.





An underground stream shows itself.

[Tropic-Of-Canada]

This was where I came last week. lots of country to explore!



Looking at Shawnigan Lake



I just picked up this bag for $35 at a Harrisons surplus store in View Royal! It was a new bag, a military knock-off. I'm loving it so far, and there's a few ways I could mount it. Of course there's the belt loops too, which could be convenient I guess.

[Tropic-Of-Canada]

And Here was the main attraction! I was stopped for a while in this clear cut, when I saw some mysterious shape milling about in the distance, coming my way. I thought it might have been a deer, but there are also cougars about, so I made some noises to see what it would do. It bounced up the hill, and then I saw its silouette as he crested the hill!





This is the first Coastal Wolf I have ever seen! I saw them living up north, but never on the Island! We don't have coyotes here though. It must have wandered in from Port Renfrew. I'm quite surprised to see one here.



I didn't see him for another 5 or 10 minutes, and Then he re-appeared a bit farther over, still checking me out, and milling around. Where are the rest of them?



I admit it looks a lot like a husky, but I'm doubtful that it was a family dog, by the way it acted. He seemed incredibly agile, and had an ere of cautiousness combined with curiosity. It was a pretty cool sight!

I better get out of here before they drag me off in the dark!

[Mercenary]

Originally Posted by Tropic-Of-Canada

LOL.....I wonder what a 'Helment' is....

[Nikolya]

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing!

[Tropic-Of-Canada]

Originally Posted by Mercenary

LOL.....I wonder what a 'Helment' is....

See? The hicks in the south can't spell any better than the hicks in the north!

[Motojournalism]

Man, I'm jealous of the year-round Island riding!

Super cool about that wolf.

Ah yeah, no bump start or compression braking, can't pop the clutch to lift the front wheel either. I keep tellin' ya about that damn clutch!

[Tropic-Of-Canada]

Originally Posted by Motojournalism

Man, I'm jealous of the year-round Island riding!

Super cool about that wolf.

Ah yeah, no bump start or compression braking, can't pop the clutch to lift the front wheel either. I keep tellin' ya about that damn clutch!

Compression braking works!

[Tropic-Of-Canada]

Originally Posted by Motojournalism

Man, I'm jealous of the year-round Island riding!

Well........ I might still go riding tomorrow, could be interesting!

[Tropic-Of-Canada]

This is where I......Might ride tomorrow if it stays clear enough!! Maybe I should catch up with the rest of the report in the meantime...I'm still over two weeks late catching up on it! No point getting up too early i guess.



And this, is what I got up to today instead of riding! 4 litres of airtight, lockable storage! Cost: $14!

[Tropic-Of-Canada]

2 weekends ago, I headed up to Gordon River, South of Honeymoon Bay, to try and find an old wreck site of a 2 engined WW2 Reconnaisance Airplane. I had heard of this wreck since I was a kid living in Lake Cowichan, but wasn't exackly sure where it was. Well, on another blog, I managed to find some directions. Wether I can get up there or not this time of year, is another question.



Not 10 minutes in, and I already find snow!







It's always fun and interesting finding pavement grown over in the bush! It must be what was left of Gordon River Logging Camp. I'm not sure if it was a dryland sort or what.



I used to see the odd logging truck roll thru town carrying a log this size, I wonder if trees this big are still being cut these days?

[Tropic-Of-Canada]

Right around here somewhere there are supposed to be some caves... Its starting to rain, so I don't really feel like
bush wacking right now!



Looks like i went on a bit of a tengent, I passed the turnoff 15km ago! its a noce spot though, I'd like to see it again on a nice day.







Now, THIS looks more like a mountain road! What am I getting myself into? Well, Here we go



Okay, fine so far, Now here's the first steep section.



Aaaand, nope! 50 feet to clear dirt, I lost it! It's really starting to rain on this snow now, making things nice and slick! There is a 9 foot deep slope to the right, which I try hard not to slide backwards into trying to turn around!



Damn! Almost did the turnaround without dumping! I just couldn't get on without the bike sliding out from under me!



Well, I admit defeat on this one, I'll have to try in a month or two, if the snow clears. This is only the foot of the mountain, so it might be a while before there is any airplane to see.



I am starting to get pretty wet by this point, but I'm nice and warm at least! Avoiding cotton clothing in the wet is key.( the old adage "cotton kills") Wool or synthetics are the way to go for sure.



Saw an eagle on the way out



And dried out at my buddy randy's house in Lake Cowichan! I was real happy he had a fire going which helped me drip dry.



Meet Arlo. nice warm, dry, friendly kitty.



I stopped off to visit my grandma quickly on the way out, and headed back to Vic in the Rain, and the dark..... Well, I'm getting pretty used to the wet finally, now that I figured out my layers.

If I get a sunny day, I'm gonna try that mountain again!

[NewHampWoodsRider]

Good reporting!
Ive been enjoying the installments!

Looks like you have quite the playground to explore!
Do you carry a firearm for self protection in the woods?
Cougers + Wolves Vs. Solo moto rider=??

Looking forward to the next installment!

[Tropic-Of-Canada]

Originally Posted by NewHampWoodsRider

Good reporting!
Ive been enjoying the installments!

Looks like you have quite the playground to explore!
Do you carry a firearm for self protection in the woods?
Cougers + Wolves Vs. Solo moto rider=??

Looking forward to the next installment!

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy it!

My only firearm is Bear Spray, though I still feel people are more of a threat!
I thought about getting a compound bow at some point for a backwoods hobby, if I can find one small and tough enough.

[mbr440]

Great photos... We should get together for a ride one day..