90-sec. VIDEO Cycle Lake Cowichan to Duncan BC Canada
Tuesday, July 5, 2011, I cycled 32km from Lake Cowichan (The Foot) to Duncan, BC. Bernice and her friend, Betty, drove me and my ride to the Foot and then they returned to Duncan to shop-the-day-away. Summer has hit the valley (that be: Cowichan Valley) with a vengeance so the weather was severe clear with balmy temperatures around 25*C.
After departing the Foot at 11:00 a.m., I arrived in downtown Duncan three hours later. It took 90-minutes to cover the first 17km to Paldi on the all-new, Cowichan Valley Trail. Again, the shade of the gazebo beside the Paldi Sikh Temple invited me to sit there and reflect upon the life of one Rajindi Mayo while enjoying my soon-to-be-world-famous, egg-salad sandwich.
Upon crossing Sherman Rd at the end of the trail, the main objective became where to find the trailhead for the soon-to-be-completed, Duncan-commons Trail. This trail -- which is completed in sections -- primarily follows the E&N Railway tracks to join the City of Duncan with one of Vancouver Island's largest shopping complexes: Duncan Commons Mall.
Cycling eastward on Lane Road brought me to Averill Creek Park. This park is adjacent to The Commons and is roughly at the site of the former, Hayward Junction.
Hayward Junction was the eastern terminus of the railline just cycled: the 18.4-mile, E&N Cowichan subdivision. Hayward Junction derived its name it part as it was the junction of the E&N Mainline (Esquimalt to Nanaimo) and the newly built line to Lake Cowichan in 1925.
The locals did not seem to know as much about the new Duncan Commons Trail as I did. Most of half-dozen persons queried had never heard of it. Go figure. After cycling the E&N mainline toward Duncan for a while (we are familiar with this section of rail as we've walked it in the past),
I happened upon a survey crew who were (guess what?) surveying for the new trail! They knew exactly where and how I could pickup the new trail heading into Duncan.
My wife and I both have cellular phones so she knew her shopping trip was over and the cycling journey had been completed successfully. What a great ride! What a great trail!
90-sec. VIDEO Cycle Lake Cowichan to Duncan BC Canada
Tuesday, July 5, 2011, I cycled 32km from Lake Cowichan (The Foot) to Duncan, BC. Bernice and her friend, Betty, drove me and my ride to the Foot and then they returned to Duncan to shop-the-day-away. Summer has hit the valley (that be: Cowichan Valley) with a vengeance so the weather was severe clear with balmy temperatures around 25*C.
After departing the Foot at 11:00 a.m., I arrived in downtown Duncan three hours later. It took 90-minutes to cover the first 17km to Paldi on the all-new, Cowichan Valley Trail. Again, the shade of the gazebo beside the Paldi Sikh Temple invited me to sit there and reflect upon the life of one Rajindi Mayo while enjoying my soon-to-be-world-famous, egg-salad sandwich.
Upon crossing Sherman Rd at the end of the trail, the main objective became where to find the trailhead for the soon-to-be-completed, Duncan-commons Trail. This trail -- which is completed in sections -- primarily follows the E&N Railway tracks to join the City of Duncan with one of Vancouver Island's largest shopping complexes: Duncan Commons Mall.
Cycling eastward on Lane Road brought me to Averill Creek Park. This park is adjacent to The Commons and is roughly at the site of the former, Hayward Junction.
Hayward Junction was the eastern terminus of the railline just cycled: the 18.4-mile, E&N Cowichan subdivision. Hayward Junction derived its name it part as it was the junction of the E&N Mainline (Esquimalt to Nanaimo) and the newly built line to Lake Cowichan in 1925.
The locals did not seem to know as much about the new Duncan Commons Trail as I did. Most of half-dozen persons queried had never heard of it. Go figure. After cycling the E&N mainline toward Duncan for a while (we are familiar with this section of rail as we've walked it in the past),
I happened upon a survey crew who were (guess what?) surveying for the new trail! They knew exactly where and how I could pickup the new trail heading into Duncan.
My wife and I both have cellular phones so she knew her shopping trip was over and the cycling journey had been completed successfully. What a great ride! What a great trail!