Victoria has some very nice road rides but expect hills everywhere except the Galloping Goose/Lochside trails. These trails can be ridden on anything short of a full race bike (all of the routes on the NWTR were at least partly on one of these trails). Both trails start in downtown Victoria at the blue bridge leading to Esquimalt. A shared, mostly paved trail goes to the Switch Bridge over the main highway out of Victoria. The Lochside trail branches to the right, about 35 km on paved and hardpacked gravel trail and quiet streets to the ferry terminal just north of Sidney.

The Galloping Goose trail goes left from the Switch Bridge towards Sooke. Paved for the first 5 km or so then hard packed gravel for 50 km to a spot on the map called Leechtown (nothing there).

From downtown Victoria you can follow the coast using Dallas Road and Beach Drive for a 30 km or so loop (watch for a couple of very steep, but short, hills).

Langford and Metchosin have some nice road rides on Metchosin Road and Happy Valley Road (access right where the Galloping Goose crosses Sooke Road) and West Saanich Road and Wallace Drive will get you the the already mentioned Butchart Gardens. Continue on to the ferry on West Saanich Road and come back to Victoria on the Lochside Trail.

The route maps from the NWTR on still available on their site. You won't go too wrong by following one of them.

Rick,
Victoria, BC