Day T-1

Seventy-five kilometres. Looking back, that shakedown ride with Shayne was exactly what we needed to settle the final 'pre-launch' jitters. I still remember the sheer explosion of color as we pedaled—oranges, reds, blues, and purples of the local flowers seemed to be everywhere. We even came across a tree so massive that four people would have struggled to stretch their arms around the trunk.

After a quiet lunch at Matheson Lake, we headed back to Victoria, where we were treated to an incredible surprise. Our hosts, Melissa and Phil—who turned out to be the Food and Beverage Manager and Head Chef of one of the city's finest restaurants—treated us to dinner. It was spectacular: swordfish in a citrus salad marinade, followed by a Thai sauté and crème brûlée to finish. It confirmed my feeling: Victoria is truly wonderful.

This morning, Blue and I are going for a bike ride - with panniers but no trailers - while Wendy and Melissa wait for her friend to arrive. Blue and I leave at 9:15a and end up seeing him arrive at the bus station.

We continue along the Galloping Goose trail, heading west out of Victoria. The trail is double-track and is either paved or hard-packed gravel with very slight grade - very nice riding. We see some interesting wildlife: a bald eagle being chased by a crow, a duck with her five ducklings waddling through the grass, and a big, fat, tan coloured rabbit sitting in the middle of the trail watching us slowly bike by. We came across a marker for a family that had taken the Oregon Trail and there is a copious amount of wildflowers surrounding the trail.

We make it as far as Matheson Lake where we break for lunch. We get back to Melissa's around 4:00p having made a 75km trip. This evening we go out for a fancy dinner with Melissa and Phil. Melissa and Phil convince Wendy to order crab. Afterwards, we repack our gear to be ready for tomorrow.