G is for Galloping Goose
The Galloping Goose is a 60 kilometer (36 mile) rails-to-trails conversion on Vancouver Island in BC, Canada, named after a gawky and noisy gas rail-car which carried passengers between Victoria and Sooke in the 1920’s. The conversion to a multi-use trail used by hikers, cyclists, inline skaters, and horseback riders came in the 1980s.
The trail runs past lakes, farms, rocky outcroppings, waterfalls, and into urban parts of Victoria itself, where Goose riders have the right-of-way through intersections with city streets.
You might wonder why I mention it on my blog, and it’s all because of the novel I’m currently writing set in Victoria, where my male lead is an avid cyclist and rides the Goose both for fun and for stress relief throughout the story. I’ve never ridden on this trail myself, but I’d love to sometime (except, perhaps, for the part with Todd Trestle).
It wouldn’t bother Tristan, though. He’s more concerned with traffic not yielding to cyclists within city limits. And then there’s the moment he meets the heroine–when the guy following her runs into the street and rams straight into Tristan, knocking him and his bike flying.
How about you? Are there any cool rail-to-trail conversions where you live? Where do you like to go cycling?