Standing nearly nine kilometres (5.6 miles) tall (even with the limp and languid swagger of a drunken sailor), this towering Christmas tree is undoubtedly the largest Vancouver Island has ever seen!

Maybe it was the gale force winds howling out of the east for the duration of my ride, but this Christmas tree’s left-leaning, loosey-goosey posture gives it a decidedly Dr. Seussical feel.

But it’s exactly as it was meant to be, as I simply pedalled where Victoria’s roads took me. Following one continuous route, this Christmassy doodle required 95.3 kilometres (59.2 miles) of cycling.

I’ve provided close-up views of the tree-topper and some of the ornaments. The topmost ornament is an apt feature on Victoria’s map – Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary!

All the while I was riding, the wind was gusting from 50 to 80 km/h, and at the 77-km point the skies opened up into an almighty downpour. Which, according to Rule #9,  elevates my status from GPS doodler to badass GPS doodler. Win!

See it on Strava *

* Note: The GPS points will render correctly only if you are logged in at Strava.com