People Cycling Rides

Victoria and the Gulf Islands.

This is a Approved Ride
Moderate
Ride Info
Join Us
Ride Leader
Marty Fink
Tour Dates
6/15/2025–6/24/2025
Start Location
Victoria, BC
End Location
Sidney, BC
Cost (est.)
$3000 (USD + $150.00 ride fee)
Deposit
$1000 (USD
Payment Due
4/1/2025
Avg. Distance
35 mi / 56 km
Avg. Elevation
2500 ft / 762 m
Ride Description

INTRODUCTION
If you love fixed-based tours, this one may be for you!   We start with a four-night stay in the city of Victoria, British Columbia, which is on southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast.  (In 2023 Condé Nast Traveler readers voted Victoria the number one city in the world!)  While we might want to stay longer in this amazing city, on day five we will get on our bikes for a short, pleasant ride to the village of Sidney by the Sea, where we will enjoy a five-night stay.  Sidney is not only a lovely town, but the take off point for ferries to the Canadian Gulf Islands.  While there are hundreds of islands sprinkled in this part of the sea (including the nearby American San Juan Islands), we will focus on four of the best islands to explore on our bikes:  Salt Spring Island, Pender Island, Mayne Island and Galiano Island.

HIGHLIGHTS IN VICTORIA
Some of the most popular sites to visit in Victoria:
     * World-class Royal BC Museum, consistently voted the number one museum in Canada
     * Majestic Craigdarroch Castle, designated as a National Historic Site of Canada
     * Butchart Gardens, named a National Historic Site of Canada in 2004.  For over 100 years, this 55-acre garden has wowed visitors with the Sunken Garden, Japanese Garden, Rose Garden and the Italian Garden, plus night Illumination… (Join People Cycling to read more)

Join People Cycling to read the full description, and even request to go on this ride (psst, it's free to join!)

People Cycling's Ride Rating

People Cycling has four categories for our rides – Easy, Moderate, Difficult, and Challenging. It should be somewhat obvious what these categories mean, but please become familiar with the elevations and distances that define them:

Easy
Easy rides are under 30mi/48km in average distance and 1600ft/500m in average elevation
Moderate
Moderate rides are over the Easy rating but under 50mi/80km and 2460ft/750m
Difficult
Difficult rides are as over the Moderate rating but under 75mi/120km and 3280/1000m
Challenging
Anything over the Difficult rating

NOTE: This is not a strict guideline. There could be rides that have a day or two where the average elevation or distance exceeds the values given above. These anomalies should be outlined in the ride description. It is recommended that you read it carefully.

About People Cycling

People Cycling is a bicycle touring club, which you can join for free. We offer Domestic and International Cycling Tours which are led by volunteer Ride Leaders. Our tours are made up of a small group of participants (typically 15-20 or so) who want to ride an average of 30 to 55 miles a day over a one or two week period in interesting regions of the world. Our tours range in price from frugal getaways to luxurious adventures. We travel road, gravel, or mountain bike styles, and all bicycle types – including e-bikes, recumbents, and tandems are typically allowed.

Our ride leaders are volunteers and do not financially profit on tours they lead. They are also given broad discretion on how to lead their tours, and we consider them our greatest asset.

People Cycling tours are operated at cost or at lower cost (as negotiated by our ride leaders) than individuals can obtain on commercial tours. Within the cost of a tour, there is a nominal fee to support club operations and provide tools to ride leaders to manage their rides.

What are you waiting for? Join today to see what bicycle adventure awaits you in our club.

A lifetime membership in People Cycling is absolutely FREE, so please join us and become one of us – we the people, cycling together.