Victoria Mixed-Terrain Buffet
Victoria, Canada
A buffet of every surface Victoria has: quiet pavement, rail trail, doubletrack, gravel, and a short, sharp helping of technical singletrack. Seven years of local tinkering distilled into the one loop to ride if you only have a day in town.
Every surface worth riding on a big-tired bike, folded into one city loop
Seven years of testing connectors, trimmed down to the core one-day version
Mosi at the halfway crossroads, with some of the best baked goods in the city
I have been creating this route for the past seven years, ever since I moved to Victoria. Adding to it, cutting bits out, testing connectors that went nowhere. By now, I have a hundred variations of it but this is the core. The version I would give someone if they only had one day in town.
It links up the big obvious routes everyone here knows and fills the gaps with the lesser known stuff. The whole idea is proper mixed surface riding: good road, real singletrack, some nice doubletrack, rail trail and gravel. Pretty much every surface you would want to be on with a big tired bike, all in one loop.
It changes character constantly
None of this route feels the same. You will be on quiet pavement and then you are in fast technical singletrack, sometimes climbing, and then you are back out on a road looking at the water. It flips like that through the whole ride, and parts of it get really, really quick.
Hit or skip the tech
A small percent of this loop is properly technical. Roots, rocks, fast singletrack, some of it while climbing. It is a small slice of the ride and it is my favourite part. If it is not yours, walk it. Hiking over that stuff is no problem and it is over quickly, so do not let it talk you out of the route. Stay inside your limits and you will still get the full experience.
I would not do this loop on anything under 40mm. I run 2.2” tubeless and leave the house around 30 psi, then drop to somewhere between 22 and 25 before the surface turns. Not lower than that, because you still have to get back.
Go counterclockwise
It works both ways, but I usually head north first. The main reason is where it puts Mosi, with a decent chunk of the loop behind you and the real work still ahead. Good time for a coffee and a minute to sit and contemplate some bad decisions before you drop into the dirt.
Heading north also starts you on the Lochside, which is flat and straight and lets you settle in. Keep an eye out to your right on the way up, because on a clear day the water opens and there can be stunning views of Mount Baker in Washington with the islands stacked in front of it. You cannot miss it.
Mosi is worth planning around
Mosi has some of the best baked goods in the city and it sits at a crossroads. The Mount Work mountain bike trails are just up the hill, so on a weekend you get road riders, gravel riders and mountain bikers all standing around outside at the same time checking each other out. It has been through renovations lately and the inside seating is gone, so it is all outdoors now, which on a nice day is no hardship.
Recyclistas is a bargain bin bike shop full of salvaged parts worth a stop whether you need mechanical help or not. Find its POI on the map.
Prospect Lake Road and Barker Road are a bonus
This route was never built around tarmac. But two pieces of it happen to land on the line, and they are the two best bits of road in Victoria. Both are the same kind of good. They roll, they climb, they bend through corners you cannot see the end of, and the trees close in tight so it all feels fast.
Both come with the same warning. There is no shoulder on either road. The curves are blind, the hills hide you, and there are cars. Take your lane where you need it and pay attention.
Treat it as a starting point
This is the version I ride most, but the reason it has lasted is that it never stayed the same. There are singletrack trailheads all over, longer ways round, shorter ways home.
If you are new here, ride the core once to get the shape of it. Then start pulling on threads. That is what it is for.
Bonus side quest: count the Canadian flags.
