After two nights at pops’ place enjoying family time in Chemainus, it was time to work my way back home. Leaving just after 10am, I planned to skip West Bush Main, which was a stretch of unmaintained gravel road mostly used by dirt bikers, but still take the remaining off-the-beaten-path connections I took on the way in. I was especially looking forward to descending the old moto trails just south of Colvilletown which I had only ever pushed up before – they are so steep in sections that I was barely able to push up them too.
Rolling out of Chemainus is very pleasant – within a couple blocks from my dad’s I was on a gravel rail trail for the next 8 or so km. I can only dream of being able to go anywhere on this kind of surface!
At the 10km mark I had reached the edge of Ladysmith, where Bayview Brewing is located. Since they are a popular lunch spot, they open early; 11am. It was 11:05am as I rolled up; perfect!
It also turned out to be their anniversary party today so my 12oz pour of Czech style dark lager was five bucks. Pretty good, too. They do good food but I hadn’t yet worked up an appetite. As I sipped my beer, I noticed the sky start to darken. It was blue skies before this with no hint of something else coming, but when I left I saw the dark grey looming overhead and that inspired me to keep the pace up as I rolled out of Ladysmith and northward. Thankfully, I outran the cloud system before any precipitation.
Avoiding West Bush Main meant taking about 7km of highway, but a wide shoulder made it not too unpleasant beyond the noise. It was consistently peppered with gravel though. Once an alternative was available I hopped off the highway and onto quiet rural roads where I saw an assortment of farm animals and some lovely trees.
Descending the old moto trails meant climbing the paved side, which was steep enough for one stretch that I opted to walk. The egg stand above was along this push. The huge arbutus tree, above right, is in the first section of trail along the flat plateau. I’d love to know how old it is, since I rarely see Arbutus with such a thick trunk.
Above are two more photos from this stretch of trail, and above right is along the parkway that parallels the highway just outside Nanaimo.
I had some extra time once I’d reached Colliery Dam park on the edge of Nanaimo, so I explored some of the trail network in the woods (above). Below is the beach, which was busy on Sunday but dead quiet in the middle of a Tuesday, unsurprisingly.
From there, I skipped Buttertubs park that I’d taken on the way out but still passed through a section of Bowen park, including the Rhodo garden which was starting to bloom up.
The ferry was uneventful but sunny and warm on the upper deck. I hung out in the dog area, where a total of three dogs passed through. Mid-day Tuesday in April is a quiet time on the ferry.
Once on the mainland again, I opted to take the rail trail to a push up to the upper bike route, rather than take the more popular Marine Drive. While it certainly means more climbing, it’s quiet and pleasant. I also stopped for a second beer at Beva and marvelled at how far from Bayview Brewing I was on the same ride, under my own power.
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