2004-09-03-Victoria-biking

Brenda very recently acquired a bike, and put it to use by organising a bike trip to Victoria. Cyn and Deb had free time, and the timing was good for me as it coincided with the start of my on-call period after the end of a project.

2004-09-03

On Friday night, we biked to Burrard Station and took the SkyTrain to Scott Road. From there Brenda took a bus while the three of us rode to her parent's house. Before we went to sleep, Brenda had to sort out all of her stuffed creatures that could be given away so her mom could get rid of them.

Cyn and hedgehog

What manner of bird is this?

Pile of stuffies

2004-09-04

Groggily, we got up early to give ourselves over an hour to catch the 10am ferry, biking along River Road. The ride was fairly flat and not that busy at that time of day, so it was easy going until we got to the spit beyond which the terminal is located. Not surprisingly, the headwind was very strong and it took quite a bit more effort to travel the last couple of kilometres.

Brenda's peach jam, bagels, and cookies

Brenda

Brenda

Brenda

We followed the Galloping Goose Trail to Victoria, stopping at various attractions along the way.

Horsey	Turtle visiting a farm	Oink	Bok bok
Brenda	Chicken and Cyn	Photographers	Chicken
Riding through the forest	Bird houses	Creature in a tree	Photographing duckies
Cyn's handiwork	Cyn looking off bridge	Turtle and Victoria harbour	Victoria station

Brenda booked us a room in a hostel downtown. After we checked in and stashed our bikes in the storage downstairs, we headed out for plaid miniskirts and dinner.

Brenda in PVC	Cyn looking innocent	Brenda and Cyn	Deb
Log carriers, perfect for camping!	Thai saluting in Market Square	Fondling the art	Creamy Bailey's Irish Cream
Fat Phege's Fudge Factory	Yam fries	Sangria?	Clams
Noodles	Jumbalaya	Oysters	Icing sugar man
You are here	Bicycle parking

Dinner was at Ferris' Oyster, and we ended the evening by checking out a play (The Hope Slide) at the Fringe Festival.

2004-09-05

As we pulled out our bikes to go find breakfast, Brenda discovered that she had a flat. So the food hunt became a open on Sunday bike shop hunt since we weren't too keen on spending the time fixing it ourselves. Fortunately, there was one just a few blocks away, and that gave us a chance to meal at the busy Blue Fox Cafe.

Brenda playing with chicken

Questionable pose

Pretty menu

Cyn and Deb

After brunch, we checked out the Government Street market, then went for a ride towards Oak Bay following the shore.

Grand opening with a lion dance	Felt hats	Chinatown gates	Chinatown convenience store
We ran into Phack and Mimi at the harbour.	Buoy	The cruise ship looks land locked.	Remote controlled boats
Helicopter	Deb at Holland Point Park	Bright	Brenda and Cyn
Trafalgar Park	Mighty Cyn at Walbran Park	Deb with McMicking Point in background	Steps up to plaqueless monument
Walbran Park	Strange ornament	Parasailors at Clover Point Park	Kite
Parasailing at sunset

We ate dinner at the Mexican place in Market Square; it was quite yummy.

Vending machine at hostel

Zig Zag slow burning cigarette paper

Trojan

No smoking in building (anything)

The room - bunk bed

The room - double bed

2004-09-06

The bike room in the basement was quite sizeable, but it was quite full; there mush have been 50 or 60 bikes in there. There were no free spaces when we returned last night, so my bike was just locked to Deb's against a wall. When we fetched them while checking out, our bikes had been moved to the other side of the room rather carelessly, breaking my rear view mirror. It's amazing how blind riding without it feels when I was used to being able to see that way. We had breakfast at La Demi Tasse just down Blanshard; the waiter there was very entertaining.

Our hostel	Fancy building	Mural	Roar!
Checking out	Belgian waffles	Brenda and breakfast	Group photo
Preparing for a group photo	What's she doing?	Funky bamboo	Synagogue church?
End of the line	Trainstopper	VIA Rail schedule	Stained glass in station
Loitering on the Johnson Street Bridge	Photographer at work	Rails	Slug
Counting out pennies to buy apples	Brenda riding on her pannier rack

The pigs at the farm on the trail were a bit more lively than two days earlier. They got even livelier when a father and son came with a bag of apples and started dropping them into the pen.

Resting peacefully	Oink bok bok	Apple time	Munch munch
Sows	Pig face	Electric fence

Pumpkins	Low flying aircraft	Michell Airpark	Snack time
Goofy people	Brenda getting ready for mad dash to bus stop

With a bit of a hurried sprint, we made the 5pm ferry which was key if we were to catch the shuttle throught he George Massey Tunnel; the last run north was scheduled for 7:30pm. This was also the last day of daily service before it became weekends only, although that did not affect us. The ride from the ferry terminal to the bus stop at highways 17 and 99 took us less than half an hour with the tailwind. Brenda elected to take the bus home, and so was very efficient leaving the ferry to beat the crowds that might be vying for one of the two bike spaces on the bus.

Deb and Pannierhead	Dusit's pannier does a Thai salute.	Bike shuttle	Turtle waiting to board
Filling up	Bikes loaded	George Massey Tunnel	Low light photography
Bunny	Blurry	Temple	Blurry

We took No. 5 Road through Richmond, which was a cornucopia of churches and temples of a variety of faiths and denominations.