I’ve never done an actual ride on Salt Spring Island. In fact, the only time I’ve been there was for a camping trip I did with one of my ex’s on my track bike. I had a backback full of camping gear, and we hit Ruckle Park for a weekend and did acid so yeah, not much of a ride really, not at all.
My day started early. I grabbed $40 and got ready at 6am — an early morning start to my birthday day. I ate some food and left around 7am, riding out to Swartz Bay Ferry terminal, still feeling sick from a cold I got the day before. I caught the 9 o’clock boat to Salt Spring hoping I would feel better by the time I got there.
The ferry took about 40 min. I hated the wait but it had a cool view, and I was blasting Danny Brown so it was alright. By the time I got to Salt Spring it was already warm. Riding out of Fulford Harbour with an instant climb got me stoked, so my arm warmers/gloves came off. I took the wrong turn up Fulford Ganges and didn’t realize until 7 km later. I turned around and went up Mt. Tuam, possibly the coolest climb/road I’ve ever done — really steep at some points (around 18-20%). The view from the top was really good, but what was coming up on my ride was even better.
I started descending Anna’s drive, which turns into Dubois road and eventually Musgrave road. I turned left at Fulford Ganges road going towards Mt. Maxwell. Parker had told me to take Blackburn road, which I did (a somewhat annoying-to-ride gravel road) and rode up Cranberry road, which eventually turned into Mt. Maxwell road. Gravel, here, and lots of it. It was pretty stressful riding up a gravel mountain on a road bike but it was “fun” (I shouldn’t hate on it). It was an awesome climb with some good lines to choose from, and the view from the top made me scream with happiness; a crazy view of the islands + water was possibly the best I could ask for my birthday.
Descending was nuts. I was honestly on the brakes 90% of the time, hoping to not get a flat. I made it, rode into town, stopped for 2 slices of pizza and a can of coke, filled up my empty water bottles, got bananas and cliff bars and headed northeast of Salt Spring.
Walkers Hook road had an awesome view along the ocean, and it turned into North End road, which eventually connects with Vesuvius bay.
I ended up back in town and filled up my water bottles, took Beddis road heading southeast island, which threw me to an awesome climb up Stewart road, and eventually to a right onto Beaver Point road (which I remembered quite clearly from my previous camping trip). The descent to the ferry terminal was awesome, I had an IPA at the Salt Spring Island brewery restaurant, and felt immediately drunk while waiting for the ferry.
When I got into Swartz Bay I took the highway home with a nice tail wind. I made it home safe with no flats, had a shower, got a ticket for Rifflandia festival, got drunk and saw Danny Brown at Phillips Brewery. The best birthday I’ve ever had (so far…).
