CYCLING THE COWICHAN VALLEY TRAIL

After a bit of a mess up with our initial plan (read the Sooke Hills Trail post for details), my family (husband and nine-year-old twins) found ourselves at the access point to the Cowichan Valley Trail near the McGee Creek Trestle, deciding whether we should go north towards the iconic Kinsol Trestle or south towards Victoria.

We chose south, biking as far as the trailhead at Sooke Lake Road, just south of Shawnigan Lake.

The trail was a gradual uphill the entire way, which made for a fun (and quick) return to the van. Which worked out nicely, because it started to rain pretty hard on our way back.

But if you can’t have fun in the rain, then the west coast isn’t the place for you—although, usually there isn’t quite this much rain in July.

I used to mountain bike on the technically challenging and steep trails on Mount Work. But after I flew over my handlebars and broke my elbow, I shied away from mountain biking for quite a while. Riding on the Cowichan Valley Trail was a different kind of mountain biking, and it was fun. The trail wasn’t technical, and it was just at the right angle for the descent to be exhilarating without having to be constantly on the brakes to keep the speed under control—no fear of another broken elbow!

And the view was something NOT to be missed. Despite the fact that there are properties that run along the east side of the trail, it still felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.

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There were fields of daisies, that were just begging for some lovers to explore their passions while their bikes lay abandoned beside the trail—the perfect scene for a West Coast Romance novel. And I can’t wait to discover which one of my characters is going to get the pleasure.

The Cowichan Valley Trail is about 122 kms (75 miles) long, so there is a ton more of this trail for us to explore, including the Kinsol Trestle, which is much more impressive than the tiny McGee Creek Trestle.

While none of my books, published or in progress, feature this trail, it’s only a matter of time before it appears in a story. The trail is just too romantic to ignore.

I will wander this trail again,

This adventure took place on 3 July 2020.