In preparation for the Victoria 1/2 Ironman this weekend, I took a day trip to Victoria a couple of weekends ago to ride the course.
Ellen, who is always up for cycling fun, was excited for the adventure.
We took a 7am ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay. Parking at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, we rode on the ferry. This is a cheaper option than brining the car over and much more fun. It does, however, require a bit more planning.
Waiting for the ferry in the holding pen. Yay, no rain!
We paid the extra $12 to sit in the SeaWest Lounge. Quiet environment, comfy chairs, unlimited Starbucks coffee, yogurt, fruit and cheese! Well worth the extra money.
View from the lounge.
I had the map for the route loaded in my phone but forgot the paper map. My concern was my iPhone running out of juice before we were done. A BC InfoCentre popped up at the perfect time on the Pat Bay Hwy so we stopped in for some info. After grabbing a map, we were on our way. We still managed to get off course more than a few times but most of the area looked familiar so I am confident in our ride.
I remembered Victoria being hilly but was pleasantly surprised it was not as hilly as I remembered. I will give St. George 70.3 credit for that. After that race, I should never be afraid of hills around here.
Here is our route: Garmin http://connect.garmin.com/activity/321383124# or Strava http://app.strava.com/activities/57713554
Strava screenshot of the route. We circled a few times to make almost 90kms.
Our day started at 4:45am by getting ready and being at the ferry for a 7am sailing. The sailing time is about an hour and a half. Around 9:30am we were in Swartz Bay and riding off the ferry. By 1:20pm we were done and back at the ferry terminal to go home. Too bad there wasn't a 2pm sailing. We got the 3pm sailing and were back at the car in Tsawwassen by 5pm. Not bad for a day of adventure.
Post ride recovery with Starbuck and Chocolate Milk (of course). #pbchocolatemilk
Happy Training!
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