Nov 24th - Along The Tracks

[Mike Frankenberger]

Just to confirm...
Fairbucks is the starbucks on Fairfield Road were the normal Sunday 7:30 road meeting place is?

[schouten]

Correct Mike. Fairbucks = Fairfield Plaza Starbucks.

Let's stick to the originally proposed route (minus Mill Hill).

[Claire]

I'm in for the ride, out for coffee (got a hot date for brunch). See you somewhere either before or at Janion.

What's the ETR?

[schouten]

I would budget 4 hours. Mechanicals not included. Understanding brunch date recommended.

[mashby]

That's four "beard" hours. They're not the same as statutory hours.

[Rolf]

Well, my legs weren't up for Ron's Goldstream exploration yesterday. But I did enjoy a sunny, mellow ride through Royal Roads and past a bunch of lakes with L3 and Lackner—followed by a swift ride home on the Goose with Rob D. Thanks guys! (Especially Wayne for lending me his thumb to fix a flat.)

Here's an aide-mémoire ride video, accompanied by Kiwi, wannabe-royal, Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor.

Only six more days until the next Sunday gravel adventure!

[Claire]

Thanks, Ron, for the boldness to try something new. I actually found the trackside riding a little meditative—but not quite strenuous enough to warm me up before the sunshiny spots. Sorry I had to deke out early. (Even sorrier is that my pockets were still laden with precisely the right number of cookies upon my return home! I’ll have to share them earlier in the ride next time.) I enjoyed my solo cruise and Thetis outskirts, though, and wasn’t unhappy with the day’s mileage.

I see you were intending to try to find the Stewart connection back into Thetis but I’m guessing that out & back you did off Millstream Lake was an unsuccessful stab?

I’ll likely post something for two Sundays hence... If the scheduling and weather gods cooperate, I’d love to lead a mountain-biker route over some Hartland (and nearby) gnarliness for those who are into that sort of thing.

[schouten]

Yes, the absence of promised cookies was noted Claire. I think we'll forgive you though

You noticed correct that we tried to connect into Thetis through Stewart Mountain Rd. There was some confusion over the correct route and we ended up at the front door of someone's cabin (Oops!). Rather than waste a bunch of time trying to find the right trails we aborted and took the always fun Millhouse (Martin: no near-death experiences were observed). Finlayson Arm was a good climb but I think I'll try to find the rideable trails that Andy B mentioned to get to the Goldstream Campground from the trestle and then into trails leading into Bear Mountain. One day. Not too soon.

I'm usually up for Gnarl and 2 weeks from now might work. But with Christmas I find I get caught off guard by family commitments so I apologize for any last minute ditching. I won't be riding this Sunday (Christmas recital!) but hope to go full Gnarl on Saturday if there are any takers. I'm thinking of riding every single trail in Thetis!

[Claire]

Interestingly, the place(s) to access the campground trails appear about 1/8 of the way into our trackside trudge.

[Rolf]

At least your exploration off Millstream Lake Rd. found a cabin, Ron. If you're ever lost out that way again, now you know where you could hunker down and wait out the winter snows!

When we came out of that trail the other way last week, there was quite a steep drop at the end, just as we hit Millstream Lake Rd. I looked back and thought "that's going to be tough to pick out going south." But the segment had a couple uphill hikes that would be way more fun headed south towards SMR...

I recently enjoyed a hike on some trails around the Goldstream campground. While many of them looked darned tasty for riding, and the forest there is stunning, I noted the entire park is off-limits to cycling, save the Visitor Centre Trail you guys hit on Sunday, and the enticing "Bicycle Playground". I guess one could always transit through the campground roads, if necessary.

Here's a slightly augmented trail map to illustrate: