The bane of my ride home from downtown in my Capitol Hill days.

Oh … and a new chain tensioner too.

Yep. I remember that kind of dumbassery well.

Sounds like a great trip. You can totally do Vancouver Island (and the Gulf Islands) without a car. Cheaper, less hassle, more fun.

If you need someone to ride with you, let me know :)

Another option is to head south through Van to Richmond and take the Garden City cycle track to Westminster Hwy (which is partly paint lane and mostly separated infra) to the Alex Fraser Bridge, then take either of the Delta options, mentioned above.

Coming from downtown Van, I take the BC Parkway or Central Valley Greenway to the Queensborough and Alex Fraser bridges, then 1) head SW on River Rd and through Delta to the Causeway or 2) take the Delta Greenway south to the Mud Bay Dyke trail (longer, but scenic!).