A 400 km is a long ride. I started with the line from Robert Frost’s poem in on my mind:
And miles to go before I can sleep
Aside from its length, the two things that stand out about this ride are the scenery and the hills. Both were relentless!
I was doing the pre-ride with Dave. It was pitch dark when we started but the downtown streetlights made it bright. By the time we reached the unlit sections of the Galloping Goose trail, the sky had already changed from black to dark grey. We reached the Malahat at sunrise. At first there were wisps of fog but by the time we reached the summit, the fog had dissipated and the views were spectacular.
We rode along the coast to Mill Bay. It was still cool but the early morning sunshine was pleasant. We passed farms with cows and sheep and vineyards, still dormant. We were both looking forward to Genoa Bay Rd. It is a lovely cycle with twists and turns and ups and downs. Along this short stretch of road, you can appreciate just about every kind of scenery the Island has to offer. It starts and ends with maritime coastal views. In between you pass by through open pastures and farms, dark coniferous forests, verdant deciduous forests and a forest with massive, moss-covered boulders on both sides of the road.
From the coast we headed inland and started an on and off climb that would eventually get us to the highest point of the ride on the road between Lake Cowichan and Port Renfrew. Along the way we rode on quiet country roads. We passed pastures, farms, orchards and vineyards. We crossed rivers and rode beside streams. Halfway up, we stopped in Lake Cowichan for sandwiches, water and chocolate milk. Ahead was a long stretch of road with no services before Port Renfrew.
The climb out of Port Renfrew isn’t the highest or the longest climb of the trip but it is probably the hardest. The reward at the top is a panoramic view across the Juan de Fuca Strait to the Olympic Mountains. The West Coast Road rolls along at elevation sometimes dipping down to cross a stream at others looping 180 degrees as it follows the contours. Eventually it plunges back down to sea level at Jordan River before climbing back up through Shirley.
We stop at the grocery store in Sooke to resupply. Our course meandered through East Sooke, Metchosin and Langford then turned north to Lands End at the end of the Saanich Peninsula. As we head north, I am feeling very tired. I would like nothing more than a sleep but, like Robert Frost, I still have miles to go before I can sleep. We are noticeably slower from all the climbing.
I didn’t really notice when it got dark but by the time we reached Lands End, all the threads of dusk were gone. Suddenly it was very cold. Without any wind to move the air around, the valleys were uncomfortably cold but the hill tops were still tolerable.
With about 40 km to go, I stopped at a water fountain to fill my bottles for the last time. By the time I was done, I was cold. All thoughts of weariness were gone. We needed to ride fast to get warmed up again. Early in the ride, we passed the Robert Service Memorial Park that commemorates the “Bard of the Yukon”. As I set off on the final 40k I could suddenly hear the words of his Sam McGee:
It’s the cursèd cold, and it’s got right hold till I’m chilled clean through to the bone.
Perhaps we could write a Randonneurs version:
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By riders mad for distance;
