The ride will start at 2290 Cooperidge at 5 am. There is lots of street parking available but please don’t disturb the neighbours.

As we both had commitments for the long weekend Mark and I set off to do the pre-ride on Wednesday and Thursday.

Traffic out to Sooke was quite heavy, but I would expect Saturday to be a lot lighter. We stopped for breakfast at the A and W in Sooke. They appear to be open at 6:30 and served a pretty good breakfast. There is very little in the way of supplies until Port Renfrew.

From Victoria out we had headwinds and this got worse once we passed Sooke. This knocked our speed down considerably and we ended up in Port Renfrew about two hours later than we expected. The new gas station is open and we have made this the control point. You can also continue into town and use a different spot if you wish. Make sure you stock up here as it is another 60 km before there is anywhere to get supplies.

After you reach Cowichan Lake the ride is very straight forward for quite a while. The control at Roberts Memorial Park I on the large brown parks sign.

Highway 19A through Nanaimo is pretty much a gravel pit. There is a narrow strip of clear road between the fog line and the accumulated aggregate. You are welcome to use the bike path on the other side of the street, just be cautious at intersections.

Englishman River Falls Park is your next Information Control and we tried to make it easy. If you have any problems just bring me a selfie of yourself in front of the sign.

When you get back to 19A at Qualicum it may be a good time to stock up again. It is 60 km to Courtenay and you probably won’t find anything open. At the Shell you may have to go to the service window and tell them what you want. They are open all night but they don’t always let people on the store at night.

On Courtenay we stayed at the Travelodge. It was reasonably priced and included a basic but decent continental breakfast. The night staff who checked us in was extremely friendly and helpful.

The ride south is straightforward and follows established routes through Nanaimo. Again, feel free to use the bike path to avoid the gravel on 19A through downtown Nanaimo.

From Parksville south you will be riding in increasingly heavy traffic. Please take care, and watch out for rednecks.

From the last control to the ferry is a short ride and a great way to avoid the Malahat nightmare.