Victoria cycling - biking tours

Victoria cycling - Gazebo B&B is well-situated as a base for biking tours on the Galloping Goose Trail, the Saanich Peninsula or for mountain biking. Tour around the beautiful scenery of southern Vancouver Island. Then afterwards, we have the facilities for you to relax here.

Victoria cycling

For the more serious Victoria cycling tours our central location on the Saanich Peninsula is convenient for the Lochside Trail and the Interurban Trail which both connect nearby with the 55km (34 miles) Galloping Goose Trail to Sooke.

The Lochside Trail is 29km (18 miles) connecting Swartz Bay (BC Ferries terminal) at the north of the Saanich Peninsula with the Galloping Goose Trail north of downtown Victoria. It runs on the line of a daily train service established in 1917 and is handily serviced at several points by BC Transit #70 buses with bike racks. A highlight of the Lochside Trail is the Blenkinsop Tresle crossing Blenkinsop Lake.

The Interurban Bike Trail runs north from the Galloping Goose and goes close to the Butchart Gardens through Saanichton and connects with the Lochside Trail in the north-west of the Peninsula. It too was a railway line - the BC Electric Railway from 1913 to 1924.

Biking tours

If you plan less rigorous and relaxing biking tours you can use the level path around nearby Elk Lake or ride around roads in the farmland of the Saanich Peninsula. Visit wineries, fruit-stands, beaches, lakes and local attractions such as Butchart Gardens, Butterfly Gardens and The Centre of the Universe. We can lend you Victoria area maps.

The Saanich Bicycle Touring Route passes within 100 yards of Gazebo Bed and Breakfast and includes parts of the Galloping Goose and Lochside trails.

Mountain biking

Nearby Mount Work - Hartland Road Mountain Bike Park is the only designated mountain bike area on Vancouver Island. Its many varied trails are maintained by the South Island Mountain Bike Society

Cyclists staying at the bed and breakfast

You can store bikes and equipment securely, soak in four bubbling whirlpool bathtubs, take a sauna session in the infra-red sauna, have a soothing massage and relax on the terrace and in the gardens. Laundry facilities are available here. In 2007 we welcomed a part of cyclists from the Mid-West whose leader TJ wrote about our accommodations for her party "This has been way beyond our expectations".

She also wrote: "I had arranged for us to stay at the Gazebo Bed & Breakfast in Victoria. Again, I wish I’d known more about Vancouver Island when I originally scheduled this trip. You could easily spend a week cycling Vancouver Island, which is about 300 miles long. We literally only touched the tip of the island, riding what they call “South Island”. The ferry from the States docks in Sidney [this is just one of the ferry terminals: editor] so we had to ride about 8 miles to central Saanich and our B&B. The nice thing about the ride though is the trail system. The Lochside trail starts at the ferry in Sidney and continues along the coast on a converted railbed all the way to Victoria where it intersects with the Galloping Goose Trail (the reason we’re here).

The Gazebo B&B was a great find as a five star B&B reasonably priced with an onsite sauna and a massage therapist available by appointment – a wonderful thing after days of riding! They have 3 rooms accommodating 6 adults. The gardens on the property are just lovely with a deck and patio area for relaxing in the evenings. We ordered in food and our hosts, Martin & Linda were just the best. Three local wineries within a mile was also a nice perk!"

Victoria cycling resources

Switch Bridge Tours, 800 Tyee Road, Victoria, BC, V9A 7J2 (1-866-383-1466) - offer cycling tours which include bike and helmet rental.
Cycle BC Rentals, 747 Douglas St, Victoria (1-866 380 2453) - rent touring and mountain bikes.
Sports Rent, 1950 Government St, Victoria (1-250 385-7368) - rent touring and mountain bikes and other sports equipment

Victoria's Country Retreat ... serenity near the Butchart Gardens

A cycle-friendly Victoria bed and breakfast