Had a window of sunshine and relatively warm weather, so I took advantage.
This ride served a few purposes. Number one, I wanted to try out some ideas for the Dirtbag Cycles Rambler, more on that later. Secondly, I haven’t gotten out on anything bigger than a 20 km ride in quite a while. With spring finally poking its head out, I thought I’d go for it.
The route was from my place in downtown Courtenay, along the riverfront trail system and then across towards Cumberland. I found a great little free book library out in the boonies that I’ll be stopping by again.
In Cumberland, I dipped into the trail system to avoid the road, then headed up to the lake. I could hear gunshots from across the lake as I had snacks at the end of the line. There’s a shooting range over there, and you can hear the shots all through the summer. I then headed back into town to go over to the other side of the lake. I climbed up a segment called “The Forest Moon,” which is a great throwback to a fave film, and made me feel like I was riding a speeder bike rather than a rando bike.
At the top of the trail I turned back onto the road and headed back down. I passed a crew of people waving the national flag over the overpass shouting about freedom or something. Not my scene, so I ignored them and pressed on. A nice smooth descent into Courtenay finished the ride off.
Oh and I had a nice Blood Orange Kefir Water as hydration through the ride. Good call.
Details:
Total distance: 50.58 km
Elevation Gain: 356 m
Rolling Time: 2h 56m