Saanich Peninsula Loop, Slowly

Eleven friends, sixty-one parks, just-ripe blackberries, and a skateboarding bulldog – the fun we find by extending a popular half-day bike ride to a four-day nearcation. Are you, like us, chasing a Slowest Known Time (SLT) on a given route or trail? We have tips.

Saanich Peninsula Loop

Road cycling enthusiasts are fond of the Saanich Peninsula Loop, a 100-kilometre perimeter ride that features moderately-rolling hills and excellent views of water, islands, and mountains on southern Vancouver Island. It’s considered a three to five-hour bicycle ride, but with our Slow Travel state of mind, we extend the route to four days.  

The District of North Saanich is home to thirty-nine parks (district, regional, provincial, federal), while the Town of Sidney has twenty-six. Many of these parks we have never visited, although we have lived in nearby Victoria for almost forty years. Tulista Park we know well; it is our pit stop when riding to and from the Swartz Bay ferry terminal. Across the street from Tulista is Cedarwood Inn & Suites. Four days allows us to cycle the Saanich Peninsula Loop, with detours to most of the sixty-five parks, using one of Cedarwood’s original (1949) log cabins as our base.

Sidney Parks

Following the multi-use Lochside Regional Trail, it’s an easy twenty-seven kilometre ride from our home to the seaside town of Sidney by the Sea. To up the difficulty – and the reward – we cross Highway 17 for a detour to Silver Rill Farm, where several varieties of Super Sweet Corn are in season.

Sidney’s Waterfront Walkway is a 2.5-kilometre stroll, with nine pieces of public art to admire. Young at heart? Don’t miss the bronze skateboarding Ollie the Bull Dog.

Resthaven Linear Park, Reay Creek, and Rose Garden are examples of Sidney parks that are new to us. Resthaven Linear has views of marinas and a bird sanctuary. Reay Creek is a quiet, natural creekside trail under tall trees, while the Rose Garden is more formal, with colourful flower beds and a fountain.

A social day on the trail

Tuesday begins with a visit to cycling friends Bryn and Jill in their newly-renovated, pretty-as-a-picture waterfront home. Thank you, Bryn and Jill, for the coffee, bakery treats, and conversation.

At ÁU,WELN EW / John Dean Park, we lock our bikes and start up Slektain Trail, where we discover long-time Park Volunteer Jarrett at work. This is the first time we have met Jarrett in person, but his contribution to John Dean Park is well-known to us.

Of the many BC Parks, ÁU,WELN EW / John Dean is one of our all-time favourites, because it offers inspiring hiking trails that wind through old-growth Douglas Fir forests and Garry Oak meadows – and because of the love, care, and devotion shown by Jarrett and other Park Volunteers.

Surprise! Further along in our three-hour hike we encounter eight members of the Wednesday Wonderers. Doug is a retired member of this esteemed group who hike, regardless of their name, on Tuesdays.

Dismount and walk

Big views – and big houses – are found along the coastline at the top end of the Saanich Peninsula. North Saanich has an extensive network of parks and trails, many of which are interconnected. Some parks are tiny and in residential areas; you will need this map to find them all.

Clayton Trail is signed as multi-use, so cycling is permitted here, but you will need to hop off your bike at many other North Saanich trails, which were designed for walking and horse-riding.

Nymph Point Park is small but mighty pretty. A short forest trail leads to a lookout point on terraced granite rocks. Arbutus trees and a harbour view!

From FKT to SKT

A Fastest Known Time (FKT) is a speed record for a given route or trail, typically running, hiking, or cycling. The term FKT, coined in the year 2000, increased in popularity during the covid pandemic when regular competitive races were cancelled.

Slow Travel has been attracting increasing interest, too, and we predict that Slowest Known Times (SKT) will be the next big thing. There are guidelines and a verification process for FKTs. We have yet to discover any formal registration process for SKTs, so we submit a few of our SKTs below. Can you beat our slothful pace? Let us know.

Do we have the Slowest Known Time?

	Fastest Known Time	Our Time
CANOE ROUTES
Bowron Lake Circuit*	11hr 47min 58sec	15 days
Rideau Waterway (Kingston-Ottawa)*	23hr 48min 52sec	3 weeks
Yukon River (Whitehorse-Dawson City)*	44hr 13min 00sec	3 weeks
Lake Revelstoke (Mica Creek-Five Mile)*	“just over 11 hrs”	11 days
FOOT PATHS*
Wainwright’s Coast to Coast	39hr 18min 40sec	22 days
Pembrokeshire Coast Path	64hr 32min 00sec	17 days

Tips for achieving a Slowest Known Time

Retiring from work is the surest route to an SKT. Retired, you have no particular place to be, so you may as well extend your time outdoors. Why rush home to the rocking chair? Activity-specific tips:

Cycling

• Always use a cell phone for navigation. A paper map is much too easy. A cell phone is guaranteed to slow you down: setting up the mounting bracket, programming the route, stopping frequently to check whether the device is working (and re-setting when it isn’t).
• Eschew cycling shoes. Cycling shoes increase your power and speed, and being clipped in, you will be reluctant to dismount. Avoid spandex shorts and cycling jerseys, too; high-performance cycling apparel sets expectations for speed.
• Obey traffic laws. Stop – full-stop – at red lights and stop signs, walk your bike across crosswalks (unless a bike light or road markings indicate that cycling across is legal), and yield to pedestrians, horses, dogs, and anxious motorists (easy to spot). These behaviours are guaranteed to slow you down. Yes, other cyclists will shake their heads and laugh at you; get used to it.
• Pick berries, talk to strangers, read historical markers and information plaques, detour to an ice cream store… So many reasons to stop! You might make a new friend, learn something, or come home with enough berries for a pie.

Canoeing

• Trade your Kevlar canoe for a Pakboat (a brand of folding canoe). Pakboats have several selling features, but speed isn’t one of them. Add ten percent to your paddling time by switching to a Pakboat. Add at least thirty minutes (three hours the first time) for assembling/disassembling the Pakboat on the first and last day of your journey.
• Paddle only in the early morning hours, when winds are lighter and powerboaters are still asleep or recovering from hangovers. Afternoons can be used for swimming and erecting your tarp.

Hiking

• Resign from your hiking club. Hiking clubs are comprised of interesting individuals who appreciate the outdoors, but typically these groups are fit, motivated keeners who climb hills at a brisk and steady pace. Achieving Slowest Known Times is not part of their Ethos.
• Bring a tripod and a large camera bag. When climbing a hill, stop often, rummage through the camera bag, and pretend to take pictures while catching your breath.
• Stay in one place. On long-distance walks, incorporate two or three rest days each week. There’s certain to be a must-see castle or a pub nearby.