Blair P., Kenji, and I are planning to do the following route on Sunday May 1.
https://www.strava.com/routes/4774042
It will be largely on gravel (Cowichan Valley Trail and forest roads).
We’ll depart 6am Alpha Starbucks, and proceed counter-clockwise, starting with a ride up the Malahat. I’m guessing rolling time will be around 8 hours (ignore the estimated time that Strava claims). Of course, inevitable mechanicals, stops for food/water, etc. will add to the total outing time.
Let us know if you’d like to join. This will obviously be a strenuous ride. It’s nearly 100 miles and 100 miles largely on gravel is harder than 100 miles on pavement. You’d want to make sure you have good nutrition, liquids, supplies, and equipment.
If anyone has thoughts on the route, let us know. Up around Shawnigan there are some alternative options for roads, so if you think I’ve made a bad call let me know.
Martin
May 1 Big Gravel
Moderator: mfarnham
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
The CRD just officially closed access to the Leech Watershed and your route goes smack through it. No idea if that means impassible gates yet or not but I'm guessing them big red gates are coming.
EDIT- On second look, it looks like you just skirt it, but access may still be tricky.
EDIT- On second look, it looks like you just skirt it, but access may still be tricky.
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
>The CRD just officially closed access to the Leech Watershed and your route goes smack through it...
Martin - make sure you wear either your Wheelers kit or your Club Zed kit.
Martin - make sure you wear either your Wheelers kit or your Club Zed kit.
"Talk - Action = Zero" - Joe Keithley
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
I was going to suggest not to forget to urinate profusely on any CRD property that isnt actually Sooke Lake... in your non-club kit of courseJohn D wrote:>The CRD just officially closed access to the Leech Watershed and your route goes smack through it...
Martin - make sure you wear either your Wheelers kit or your Club Zed kit.
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
John, we're going to wear our Paul Christopher Massage kit.
Owen, I checked the maps and it looks like we skirt west of the new closed area. Good catch though, as that closure was implemented about 5 days ago. I'll look into alternate routes, just in case we run into signs warning us away from West Jordan Main, but I think we should be fine.
Martin
Owen, I checked the maps and it looks like we skirt west of the new closed area. Good catch though, as that closure was implemented about 5 days ago. I'll look into alternate routes, just in case we run into signs warning us away from West Jordan Main, but I think we should be fine.
Martin
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
Say it with me John; "Hotel Zed". Part of the Accent Inns family and as such a sponsor of Tripleshot. No "Hands up, Baby, Hands up" theme song though.John D wrote:>
Martin - make sure you wear either your Wheelers kit or your Club Zed kit.
#38
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
>Say it with me John; "Hotel Zed".
Hence the winky face emoticon.
Hence the winky face emoticon.
"Talk - Action = Zero" - Joe Keithley
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
Are you doing that loop again? it looks awesome.
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
It certainly was an epic ride.
Here is the strava file, for those who are interested: https://www.strava.com/activities/562680814
Impressively we managed only one flat tire (me) with just 15kms to go on the Goose.
Not sure I would describe it as 'fun' per say, as there were many rough stretches on the fire roads that were rather sole (and bone) crushing.
But, we were treated some pretty amazing views, and the weather could not have been better.
This was the longest ride I have done (both distance and duration), and feeling pretty jacked what we accomplished.
Here is the strava file, for those who are interested: https://www.strava.com/activities/562680814
Impressively we managed only one flat tire (me) with just 15kms to go on the Goose.
Not sure I would describe it as 'fun' per say, as there were many rough stretches on the fire roads that were rather sole (and bone) crushing.
But, we were treated some pretty amazing views, and the weather could not have been better.
This was the longest ride I have done (both distance and duration), and feeling pretty jacked what we accomplished.
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Re: May 1 Big Gravel
Here’s a longer ride report (for those with patience!).
Ride Overview:
Here’s the Strava profile: https://www.strava.com/activities/562609901
This was about 165km with 2300m of climbing (according to Strava’s corrected elevation calculations, Blair's computer shows 1800m). Blair and I did this to prepare for the Leavenworth Gran Fondo. Kenji did it because he’s nuts. We were on CX-type bikes with CX tires.
We started at 6:15am, rode up the Malahat, got off at Shawnigan Lake Road, then took Sooke Lake Road to the south end of the Cowichan Valley Trail. We rode up that to the Kinsol Trestle (to have a peek), then cut back a couple km on the CVT to Renfrew Road and headed west. Renfrew Road quickly becomes gravel and merges into Kapoor Main. We rode west up Kapoor Main (skirting north of the closed watershed area) to the intersection with West Jordan Main, then turned South and followed it (skirting west of the watershed) until it turned into Butler Main, and took Butler Main south (and east) to Sooke. From there we followed the Goose home. Our rolling time was just over 7 hours. We arrived in town just before 3.
Ride Details:
The Malahat was straightforward, with less than usual debris in the bike lane. It was cold descending Shawnigan Lake Road. The CVT is a nice path, though not as groomed as the Goose. There are sandy patches and occasional patches of thick gravel that are worth looking out for. In the future I’d like to follow it all the way up to Cowichan Lake. The Kinsol Trestle is scenic and impressive and worth a visit. You can ride right over it. Someone should create a Strava segment.
Renfrew Road is very pretty. It’s surrounded by forest and the Koksilah River is the platonic ideal of a sun-dappled forest stream. The only downside—especially once Renfrew turned to gravel—was the parade of pickup trucks carrying motorbikes out to various riding spots on forest company land. We basically started the gravel part of the ride in a continuous dust cloud. I was glad I hadn’t worn contacts. We have no idea where they went. Once we got a couple kms into Kapoor Main, we only saw 2 other vehicles over the next 60km.
Kapoor Main climbs significantly coming out of Shawnigan. It’s a pretty smooth road though (see my recommendation on route direction below) cutting through large swathes of clearcut. I’d forgotten our cue sheet so we weren’t exactly sure how far it was to our intersection. But it was about 15km up from the end of Renfrew Road. It was exciting to get there because we’d already ridden the Butler Main-West Jordan Main combination up to that intersection from Sooke a couple weeks back. The unknown part of the ride was over and suddenly it felt like we’d actually finish.
Even though we’d done the logging roads ahead of us before, I think we all forgot exactly how gruelling they were. West Jordan Main—at the top end near the Kapoor intersection—is mostly packed dirt with some wet spots and is basically pleasant to ride on. But as you work further south it turns to cobbly hardpan and gravel and is bone jarring to descend on. Back, neck, arms, shoulders, and hands take a beating absorbing the shocks. It’s easy to get tense gripping the handlebars that the bumps threaten to rip out of your hands. It’s hard to eat and drink because you feel the need to keep your hands firmly on the bars, so we stopped occasionally to refuel.
Eventually we reached the Jordan River, which currently has some active logging around it. Big slashpiles sit by the road along with piles of logs and logging equipment and a not-very-confidence-inspiring old white van labeled “Ambulance”. Beyond the active logging zone (which seems to be quiet on Sundays) Butler Main smoothes out a fair bit compared to the cobbles of West Jordan Main. We stopped to check out the top of East Main FSR, which connects down to Jordan River (the town). We’ve hoped to ride this at some point, but the top is blocked by a gate, large boulders, a creek, and a pile of dirt. We interpreted this as a recommendation not to ride down it (it looks quite overgrown and possibly impassable even beyond the barricades—probably most safely explored by riding up from Jordan River).
Butler Main heading toward Sooke cuts east after the Jordan River crossing, across the top of Bear Creek Reservoir. Again, lots of clearcut, but also some nice views over the reservoir. The road goes up and down several times before more or less plunging into Sooke over the last 10km. The road gets rough again (cobbly, gravelly) at the south end. The ascents are tough but the descents are tougher. It’s nerve-wracking when something is steep enough that your disc brakes are engaged to the point of your tires nearly breaking traction and yet you’re still going uncomfortably fast so that the handlebars feel like they’re going to be ripped from your hands. Kenji and Blair were much more comfortable with letting go and bombing down the descents than I was—and even they seemed a bit stressed by it all. A front tire blowout on one of those descents would be scary. Oh—and I forgot to mention the giant potholes, which can be hard to spot on the sun-dappled road. It pays to have a good bunny hop in your repertoire.
We finally hit the gate at the end of Butler Main and were back on buttery smooth pavement. We rode Otter Point Road into Sooke, stocked up on food and liquids at the grocery store, and headed home. Ironically (miraculously?) Blair experienced our first and only flat of the trip in Langford on the Goose. Our last time up on those logging roads we got four flats between the three of us over half the distance that we rode yesterday. Higher tire pressure this time was probably part of the reason we did better at avoiding flats.
Ride Recommendations:
Descending Butler Main into Sooke is nerve-wracking. Kapoor Main headed into Shawnigan, by contrast, is comparably smooth. Kenji and Blair both noted that it would be more pleasant to do this route in reverse. The downside is descending the Malahat into Victoria in the afternoon, though the Mill Bay Ferry is always an option (bring cash). Kenji seemed to cope with rim brakes, though I was very pleased to be using disc brakes. We all had 32 or 33mm knobby CX tires. I’d probably go with more of a summer tire next time, and a good Kevlar tire would probably be wise, given all the sharp rocks. Going tubeless would be nice to allow lower pressures, but I’d be worried about how to deal with a sidewall tear or rolled tire while out in the sticks. Speaking of sticks, there’s no cell phone service between Shawnigan and Sooke, so plan to be self sufficient. It's hard for cars to get past gates in places, so don't expect someone to easily drive up and pluck you out. I wouldn’t recommend doing it with fewer than 3 people. This strikes me as a route that would be difficult in the wet. West Jordan Main can get very muddy and it looks like a horrible slick rutted concrete in places. We carried a spare tire, about 3 spare tubes each, some warm clothes, some rudimentary first aid, and lots of food and liquids. A camelback is a good idea for keeping hydrated hands free on the rough roads. If you were to do this on a weekday, you might find yourself blocked by an active logging zone. Don’t know whether you could negotiate your way past the industrial activity. Play nice with the logging folks if you go—we want their trucks to brake for us. Get off the road fast if you see a truck headed your way.
I would describe this ride as more challenging than enjoyable. If you want an adventure, have at. If you want fun, you can probably do better than this route!
Martin
Ride Overview:
Here’s the Strava profile: https://www.strava.com/activities/562609901
This was about 165km with 2300m of climbing (according to Strava’s corrected elevation calculations, Blair's computer shows 1800m). Blair and I did this to prepare for the Leavenworth Gran Fondo. Kenji did it because he’s nuts. We were on CX-type bikes with CX tires.
We started at 6:15am, rode up the Malahat, got off at Shawnigan Lake Road, then took Sooke Lake Road to the south end of the Cowichan Valley Trail. We rode up that to the Kinsol Trestle (to have a peek), then cut back a couple km on the CVT to Renfrew Road and headed west. Renfrew Road quickly becomes gravel and merges into Kapoor Main. We rode west up Kapoor Main (skirting north of the closed watershed area) to the intersection with West Jordan Main, then turned South and followed it (skirting west of the watershed) until it turned into Butler Main, and took Butler Main south (and east) to Sooke. From there we followed the Goose home. Our rolling time was just over 7 hours. We arrived in town just before 3.
Ride Details:
The Malahat was straightforward, with less than usual debris in the bike lane. It was cold descending Shawnigan Lake Road. The CVT is a nice path, though not as groomed as the Goose. There are sandy patches and occasional patches of thick gravel that are worth looking out for. In the future I’d like to follow it all the way up to Cowichan Lake. The Kinsol Trestle is scenic and impressive and worth a visit. You can ride right over it. Someone should create a Strava segment.
Renfrew Road is very pretty. It’s surrounded by forest and the Koksilah River is the platonic ideal of a sun-dappled forest stream. The only downside—especially once Renfrew turned to gravel—was the parade of pickup trucks carrying motorbikes out to various riding spots on forest company land. We basically started the gravel part of the ride in a continuous dust cloud. I was glad I hadn’t worn contacts. We have no idea where they went. Once we got a couple kms into Kapoor Main, we only saw 2 other vehicles over the next 60km.
Kapoor Main climbs significantly coming out of Shawnigan. It’s a pretty smooth road though (see my recommendation on route direction below) cutting through large swathes of clearcut. I’d forgotten our cue sheet so we weren’t exactly sure how far it was to our intersection. But it was about 15km up from the end of Renfrew Road. It was exciting to get there because we’d already ridden the Butler Main-West Jordan Main combination up to that intersection from Sooke a couple weeks back. The unknown part of the ride was over and suddenly it felt like we’d actually finish.
Even though we’d done the logging roads ahead of us before, I think we all forgot exactly how gruelling they were. West Jordan Main—at the top end near the Kapoor intersection—is mostly packed dirt with some wet spots and is basically pleasant to ride on. But as you work further south it turns to cobbly hardpan and gravel and is bone jarring to descend on. Back, neck, arms, shoulders, and hands take a beating absorbing the shocks. It’s easy to get tense gripping the handlebars that the bumps threaten to rip out of your hands. It’s hard to eat and drink because you feel the need to keep your hands firmly on the bars, so we stopped occasionally to refuel.
Eventually we reached the Jordan River, which currently has some active logging around it. Big slashpiles sit by the road along with piles of logs and logging equipment and a not-very-confidence-inspiring old white van labeled “Ambulance”. Beyond the active logging zone (which seems to be quiet on Sundays) Butler Main smoothes out a fair bit compared to the cobbles of West Jordan Main. We stopped to check out the top of East Main FSR, which connects down to Jordan River (the town). We’ve hoped to ride this at some point, but the top is blocked by a gate, large boulders, a creek, and a pile of dirt. We interpreted this as a recommendation not to ride down it (it looks quite overgrown and possibly impassable even beyond the barricades—probably most safely explored by riding up from Jordan River).
Butler Main heading toward Sooke cuts east after the Jordan River crossing, across the top of Bear Creek Reservoir. Again, lots of clearcut, but also some nice views over the reservoir. The road goes up and down several times before more or less plunging into Sooke over the last 10km. The road gets rough again (cobbly, gravelly) at the south end. The ascents are tough but the descents are tougher. It’s nerve-wracking when something is steep enough that your disc brakes are engaged to the point of your tires nearly breaking traction and yet you’re still going uncomfortably fast so that the handlebars feel like they’re going to be ripped from your hands. Kenji and Blair were much more comfortable with letting go and bombing down the descents than I was—and even they seemed a bit stressed by it all. A front tire blowout on one of those descents would be scary. Oh—and I forgot to mention the giant potholes, which can be hard to spot on the sun-dappled road. It pays to have a good bunny hop in your repertoire.
We finally hit the gate at the end of Butler Main and were back on buttery smooth pavement. We rode Otter Point Road into Sooke, stocked up on food and liquids at the grocery store, and headed home. Ironically (miraculously?) Blair experienced our first and only flat of the trip in Langford on the Goose. Our last time up on those logging roads we got four flats between the three of us over half the distance that we rode yesterday. Higher tire pressure this time was probably part of the reason we did better at avoiding flats.
Ride Recommendations:
Descending Butler Main into Sooke is nerve-wracking. Kapoor Main headed into Shawnigan, by contrast, is comparably smooth. Kenji and Blair both noted that it would be more pleasant to do this route in reverse. The downside is descending the Malahat into Victoria in the afternoon, though the Mill Bay Ferry is always an option (bring cash). Kenji seemed to cope with rim brakes, though I was very pleased to be using disc brakes. We all had 32 or 33mm knobby CX tires. I’d probably go with more of a summer tire next time, and a good Kevlar tire would probably be wise, given all the sharp rocks. Going tubeless would be nice to allow lower pressures, but I’d be worried about how to deal with a sidewall tear or rolled tire while out in the sticks. Speaking of sticks, there’s no cell phone service between Shawnigan and Sooke, so plan to be self sufficient. It's hard for cars to get past gates in places, so don't expect someone to easily drive up and pluck you out. I wouldn’t recommend doing it with fewer than 3 people. This strikes me as a route that would be difficult in the wet. West Jordan Main can get very muddy and it looks like a horrible slick rutted concrete in places. We carried a spare tire, about 3 spare tubes each, some warm clothes, some rudimentary first aid, and lots of food and liquids. A camelback is a good idea for keeping hydrated hands free on the rough roads. If you were to do this on a weekday, you might find yourself blocked by an active logging zone. Don’t know whether you could negotiate your way past the industrial activity. Play nice with the logging folks if you go—we want their trucks to brake for us. Get off the road fast if you see a truck headed your way.
I would describe this ride as more challenging than enjoyable. If you want an adventure, have at. If you want fun, you can probably do better than this route!
Martin
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
Very good summary and description of the events.
While not 'street cool' amongst the youth of today, bringing a backpack was a good call.
It is a delayed enjoyment.
I'd be interested in doing something similar only with a different series of logging roads.
While not 'street cool' amongst the youth of today, bringing a backpack was a good call.
It is a delayed enjoyment.
I'd be interested in doing something similar only with a different series of logging roads.
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Stéphane Tran
- Posts: 620
- Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 9:24 pm
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
Great report Martin. Vancouver Island really is a cycling paradise.
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
Awesome = challenging FYI (if you're talking to me) I'm into challenges. If you are doing any other rides please message me.
Last edited by Julie on Mon May 02, 2016 7:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
Thanks to both Blair and Martin for posting their respective accounts of the ride. With all the talk of hardship, preparation and routes, it should be noted that for several hours on end there is nothing but the wonderful sound of gravel under tires and nothing else but local nature in the background. Rest stops are always followed by a slight pause and appreciation for the moment.
After two of the Butler Main descents our group was far more prepared for the task, however tiring. Half of this ride could be done with near stock cx bikes but a riders skills would have to be up for the challenge. It was a long day in the saddle but one of the most enjoyable yet, probably helped by the groups shared enthusiasm.
After two of the Butler Main descents our group was far more prepared for the task, however tiring. Half of this ride could be done with near stock cx bikes but a riders skills would have to be up for the challenge. It was a long day in the saddle but one of the most enjoyable yet, probably helped by the groups shared enthusiasm.
Kenji Jackson
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
4K of climbing over 90km distance sounds pretty rough - so when do we go?
Highway 20 out of Bella Coola looks like an interesting option before it gets paved, http://www.timescolonist.com/news/b-c/h ... -1.2245068
"Tourists who have driven to Bella Coola from Williams Lake have been known to refuse to drive back and have had to be taken out by boat or float plane"
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Kenji Jackson
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
Sounds punishing, yet oddly enticing...
Kenji, you'd have to stay for a beer this time.
Kenji, you'd have to stay for a beer this time.
Re: May 1 Big Gravel
Rode down from Youbou this afternoon. You can connect to the Trans Canada Trail in Cowichan Lake and work your way either close to the Lake Cowichan Road (newer decommisioned rail bed) dropping to Skutz Falls or take the older rail trail from town directly on the south side of the river connecting at Skutz. The newer line is in better condition in terms of surface. From there you ride south east on the TCT ( CVT) to the Kinsol, and Renfrew Road. There you can choose your route through to Victoria. So riding the opposite way is a breeze. Sorry no Strava due to the Garmin being located in Victoria.mfarnham wrote:Here’s a longer ride report (for those with patience!).
The CVT is a nice path, though not as groomed as the Goose. There are sandy patches and occasional patches of thick gravel that are worth looking out for. In the future I’d like to follow it all the way up to Cowichan Lake. The Kinsol Trestle is scenic and impressive and worth a visit. You can ride right over it. Someone should create a Strava segment.
Martin
The trails are all old rail bed, and vary in condition. Road width for the most part, but some stretches narrow down to single track (albeit the luxury version. Bit of mud, mostly gravel. Lots of false flat. Close to the Kinsol some well meaning people made the decision to resurface the trail with fine gravel chip material which felt more like sand than road.
All in all a great ride. And no 4-wheelers.
Tutto il rosa della vita