Apparently, we have a problem with sitting still.
We've been in Victoria for a few weeks now, and somewhere between work meetings and trips to the gym we've managed to ride bikes to a rib festival, climb a mountain, break a bike, spot a humpback whale, drink fancy tea, watch a goat stampede, wander around a castle, visit a market with goats living on the roof, and spend a weekend riding some of the best mountain bike trails we've ever experienced.
So yeah.
Victoria has been going pretty well.
When we arrived, we had a long list of things we wanted to see and do. But like most places we've lived over the past year, some of our favorite experiences haven't necessarily been the things on the list.
They've been the random discoveries.
The beach trail 20 minutes from the house that we keep going back to.
The roadside attraction that makes you say, "Wait… they have goats on a roof?"
Standing on a rocky shoreline and suddenly seeing a whale surface.
Or discovering that watching a herd of tiny goats sprint through a city park is apparently wildly entertaining.
Victoria has delivered plenty of those moments.
And with only 11 days left, somehow it already feels like we're running out of time.
Finding Our Place
Our first stop after arriving was Butchart Gardens, which I covered in the last post. We were lucky enough to catch the dahlias in full bloom, and it was a pretty spectacular way to kick off our month on Vancouver Island.
But after that, it was time to start exploring.
We discovered the trail around Langford Lake and started poking around the parks and trails practically in our backyard. We joined a gym, figured out where to grocery shop, and settled into our usual routine of working during the day and then looking at each other around 4:00 and asking:
"So…what should we do tonight?"
Sometimes that means doing something responsible.
Most of the time, it doesn't.
One evening becomes a hike. Another becomes a bike ride. And before long, we're filling every available hour with somewhere new to explore.
The Best Way to Explore a City Might Be on Two Wheels
One of our first weekend adventures was hopping on the gravel bikes and riding down toward Esquimalt Ribfest.
Our motivation was pretty simple.
There was barbecue at the end.
We rode through neighborhoods, connected into the bike paths and made our way toward Esquimalt for an afternoon of food and live music. It was one of those outings that made us realize just how easy it is to get around this area without jumping in the truck.
A few days later, we explored Victoria in a completely different way.
This time we left the bikes behind and did a proper walking tour through downtown, wandering around the Inner Harbour, exploring the streets and taking our time actually looking around instead of simply trying to get somewhere.
Those two outings gave us very different views of the city.
The bike ride helped us understand how everything connects.
The walking tour helped us actually notice it.
And we’ve found that’s one of the best ways to get to know a new place—explore it more than once, and do it differently each time.
Of course, there was only so much pavement I could take.
Eventually, I needed dirt.
And Then I Started Breaking Things
Victoria has a ridiculous amount of mountain biking. I started at Hartland, where I got my first real introduction to Vancouver Island riding. Roots, rocks, technical terrain. Basically all the things I love.
We also hiked Mt. Finlayson, which manages to pack a surprising amount of climbing into a relatively short hike and rewards you with some pretty spectacular views from the top.
Then I discovered Jordie Lunn Bike Park. This place is purpose-built for mountain biking, with trails and features that make it very easy to spend an afternoon saying: "Okay, one more lap." Which is generally when something bad happens.
And it did.
First, my dropper post stopped working. Annoying, but fixable. Then my rear hub decided it no longer wanted to participate in the whole "making the bike move forward" part of mountain biking.
That's slightly more important.
So there I was, a couple weeks into living in Canada, already standing in a bike shop trying to explain how I'd managed to break multiple parts of my bike.
Fortunately, the dropper was repaired. The hub was not. A new rear wheel was purchased. Problem solved.
There are probably cheaper hobbies. I'm just not interested in any of them.
Then We Found Our Spot
As much as we've enjoyed the biking, one of our favorite discoveries here wasn't on two wheels at all.
It was East Sooke Regional Park.
We originally went out there because we'd heard it was a good place to potentially see whales from shore. That sounded like a good enough reason. But the first thing we discovered was that we didn't actually need the whales.
East Sooke is gorgeous.
The forest runs right down to this rugged, rocky coastline where little coves open up between the trees and trails follow the water for miles. And it's only about 20 minutes from our house.
So we came back.
On one of those trips, we were standing along the coast doing what we've increasingly found ourselves doing here:
Staring at the ocean. Looking for something to move. A seal. A sea lion. A fin. Anything. And then it happened.
A humpback surfaced.
We saw a whale!
From shore! No tour boat. No guide pointing toward it. No scheduled whale-watching excursion.
Just us, standing on the edge of Vancouver Island, watching a humpback surface offshore.
We've also watched sea lions playing in the water there, and East Sooke has quickly become one of those places we keep finding excuses to return to. There are more famous attractions around Victoria.
But I think East Sooke might be our place.
We Clean Up Occasionally
Of course, we've also done our share of proper Victoria sightseeing.
We drove up the peninsula to Sidney, a small waterfront town that made for a perfect lazy afternoon. We walked along the beach, wandered through a bookstore and found a local coffee shop for a chai.
No mountain to climb. No bike parts were broken. We're learning to appreciate those days too.
We also explored Beacon Hill Park, expecting a nice city park and discovering incredible gardens and landscaping that honestly rival parts of Butchart.
Another highlight there was the Goat Stampede.
Twice a day, the goats at the Beacon Hill Children's Farm move between their barn and daytime area.
They come charging through in a tiny, furry stampede while a crowd of adults stands around laughing and filming them. We didn't know we needed this in our lives.
Apparently we did.
We also wandered the grounds of Hatley Castle, where peacocks casually stroll around like they own the place and raccoons pop out of the landscaping.
We also got our fall on at the Metchosin Fall Witches Market.
And one afternoon, we even traded hiking clothes and bike helmets for something slightly more respectable and went to afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress.
Tiny sandwiches, scones, desserts, fancy tea, the whole thing. It's not exactly our normal Saturday afternoon. Which is precisely why we loved it.
That's becoming one of my favorite parts of this lifestyle.
We don't have to decide whether we're "mountain bike people" or "afternoon tea people."
Apparently we can be both.
And Then Cumberland Happened
Just when we thought we'd found some pretty incredible mountain biking around Victoria, we decided to spend a weekend in Cumberland.
The drive north was supposed to be fairly straightforward.
Then we found out about a quaint little roadside market in Coombs, GOATS ON ROOF. Obviously, we stopped in.
The Old Country Market might be the perfect example of why road trips are better when you aren't in a hurry.
Yes, there were actual goats walking around on the roof.
But there was also an incredible little doughnut shop, a huge market filled with imported foods, random treasures and all kinds of stuff we didn't know we needed.
It's quirky, it's ridiculous, and it's exactly the kind of place we probably would have driven right past a few years ago because we had somewhere else to be.
Now?
We stop for the goats.
Eventually, we did make it to Cumberland.
And then Cumberland ruined mountain biking for us.
This Is How Trails Should Work
Cumberland is a tiny town where it seems like everyone owns a mountain bike.
Probably because there doesn't appear to be much reason not to.
The daily schedule is pretty straightforward:
- Wake up.
- Ride bikes.
- Eat.
- Ride more bikes.
We fit right in.
But what really got me was how well the trail system works.
Getting uphill doesn't need to be complicated.
There are mellow logging roads and purpose-built climbing trails that efficiently get you where you need to go.
And once you're up there?
Pick your poison.
- Want something fast and flowy? Go for it.
- Technical? Plenty.
- Steep? Yep.
Want to make increasingly questionable decisions until you're standing at the top of something thinking, "Well, I guess I'm committed now"?
Cumberland has you covered.
It wasn't just that the trails were good.
The entire place is built around riding.
And after a weekend there, I came away thinking:
This is how mountain bike towns should work.
And Somehow This Became Normal Life
Sunday night, we drove back to our house in Langford.
We unpacked. Did some laundry. Got ready for work.
Monday morning, the laptops opened and we were back to normal life.
And that's when it hit me.
This IS normal life now.
- Work during the week.
- Gym three days.
- Sneak out for a hike or adventure after work.
- Go stare at the ocean looking for whales.
- Spend the weekend in a mountain bike town.
- Come home.
- Do laundry.
- Repeat.
There are still bills to pay and groceries to buy. There are still work meetings and workouts we don't really feel like doing.
It's not a vacation.
But it’s a lot of fun figuring out how to build adventure into the daily routine.
Which brings me back to those 11 days.
That's all we have left here.
And that feels completely ridiculous. Because there are still trails we haven't ridden. Beaches we haven't explored. Restaurants we haven't tried. And whales we haven't seen. Well, one particular kind of whale. We've seen the humpback. We've watched the sea lions. We've stared at a LOT of ocean.
But somewhere out there are some orcas that have thus far refused to cooperate.
So this week, we'll be heading back toward the beaches and keeping an eye on the water.
Eleven days.
Plenty of time.
Although there's one other minor detail we should probably start thinking about.
We should probably figure out where we're living next.
Eh. We'll get to that.
First, we have some whales to find.
