Victoria on a Bike

Ride 47 - 7 December 2019 Distance 22.2 km (Distance to date 1,507.6 km) Time 1hrs 54mins (Time to date 116hrs 1min) Hopefully, if all goes to plan, this was my penultimate ride!  Zipping up the gaps I have left on my map. The ride was pretty miserable, mainly because of the wet December weather. Fenders!!! I did finally ride past the Tartan Toque, probably my favourite place to eat in Victoria.  I'd always planned to stop here for a beer and a bowl of chicken wings when I finally rode past, but it didn't sound so appealing  at 11am!! Best Wings in Victoria (IMHO) My kind of art That crack was made by a dog's head Points of Interest..... No points of interest

OK, so the biggest news is actually a tragic story which broke all our hearts.  But page A6 of the Times Colonist is a much nicer story to read!!! The online version of the article is here: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/meet-the-cyclist-who-rode-every-victoria-street-often-twice-1.24039234

Ride 46 - 1 December 2019 Distance 33.9km (Distance to date 1,485.4 km) Time 2hrs 43mins (Time to date 114hrs 7mins) I was joined on this ride by a journalist from the Times Colonist !! Got to start somewhere Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of me and Roxanne exploring the east side of James Bay together, but I do have proof for the doubters........... https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/meet-the-cyclist-who-rode-every-victoria-street-often-twice-1.24039234 The stuff of nightmares Sadly the exploring was surprisingly bland, so not much to report.  I was expecting this area to be a little treasure trove.  Maybe I was just chatting too much Not as comfortable as it looks Points of Interest..... No points of interest

Ride 45 - 23 November 2019 Distance 31.3km (Distance to date 1451.5km) Time 2hrs 38mins (Time to date 111hrs 24mins) The end is firmly in sight! My rides tend to be pretty unplanned; I tend to head to an area, circle an area and then colour it in.  This lack of planning has now left me with an east west corridor!  The good news is, this corridor should be pretty simple to complete! Ride 44 to Date Ride 45 means I am now complete east of Shelborne, with downtown being the only sizeable chunk left to go.  I've not saved downtown until last (as many people have assumed), in fact, quite the opposite; I have been putting it off as I'm dreading it! The ride was pleasant, finishing off oak bay.  Sad to finish my last little bit of waterfront, as the waterfront rides are the ones I generally enjoy most. Deer command a lot more respect now they're 'tooled up' The 'Greatest Street Name in Victoria' award goes to............. The end o

Ride 44 - 11 November 2019 Distance 31.9km (Distance to date 1420.2km) Time 2hrs 31mins (Time to date 108hrs 46mins) A few weeks ago, I was discussing my challenge and progress with friend Blair.  In talking about my challenge, I told him my self imposed rules; anything with a street sign and a name on the map is a road that must be ridden..............then Blair said with a grin 'so you'll have to ride down Fan Tan Alley?'  Thanks Blair. For those of you who aren't familiar, Fan Tan Alley is Canada's narrowest street and is a popular tourist destination in Victoria.  A local claim to fame is that it was featured in Bird on a Wire featuring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn!!!** ** I sat through 10mins worth of You Tube clips to link to and failed to find the scene.  10mins I'll never get back. It's just under a meter wide and normally pretty busy with people and w alking a bike would not cut it (especially after I nearly killed myself up Mt Doug to avoid

Ride ** - 9 Nov 2019 Distance **.*km (Distance to date **.*km) Time *hrs **mins (Time to date **hrs **mins) So I think as the end is getting near, I'm losing focus a little!!  At this point, I have broke the back of my ride and completely taken my foot off the gas.  Admittedly I still have a few hours of riding left to do, but I have sufficient time and few plans in the next two months.  Job Done.  Right? Much of the ride was around industrial estate.  So on a saturday it's a little creepy ............I tried not to think why all the people I saw were hanging around there in skimpy outfits.   I got brave getting this close to a Seagull! One thing I did see lots of is murals.  It brightens up the area, but there's no disguising an industrial estate!  A selection of murals shown below Funny Story A few months ago I popped into a hardware store to ask if they sold foam for a cushion. After telling me they had no foam, the shop att