Phew - there were some soggy days there, and around 32 riders made it out this week (that were signed up AND recorded their segments), so a great start to the new series, nicely done all y'all! There's over 60 signed up as well, so hopefully we'll see more of you in the upcoming weeks!

The Strawberry Knoll trail was a bit mucky, but those of us used to cyclocross ought to have had found the terrain familiar.

The Categories are totally new (and unique!) this season, and looking at the rider numbers from the first week, to balance things out, I've combined the following Categories:

• Raccoons & Cougars
• Seals & Wolves
• Bears & Otters

Will be interesting to see how things play out, so far looks like they're fairly well balanced. The results are now live, and everyone has their first critters, pretty exciting stuff!! Check it out on the event page:

https://abouttheride.ca/gravelquest/

Another big thanks to Louis for these icons, helping define the new series!! 🔥🔥🔥

(If you don't see your name in the results and rode the segments, please do check in with me and we'll figure out what's up!)

Also, I'm thinking of having a break for 'Week 3, Dec 22-28', since many may be away, or doing the Festive 500. Hit reply, or comment on the Strava post if you have a preference - appreciate your input! (We'd still run 8 weeks, and extend into February.)

And we'll have a prize this week, but just sorting some things out for the new series, but most likely at least one person will get a Goldstream Bicycles $20 Gift Card, will email directly later on and share the details in the update next week.

Finally, if anyone was looking especially closely, I've updated some of the scoring, mainly that each week riders receive 2pts per segment, instead of 1pt.

Coming up this week we're headed back into Thetis, with a very common segment, and a (hopefully!) fun new route for many of you!

RACING NEWS

Note: expect spoilers!

In the news, it's cool to see there's now full parity at the Olympics for men's and women's cycling (which also has the 3rd most medals available of any sport), read more here: https://www.bikeradar.com/news/equal-number-of-womens-and-mens-starts-in-cycling-at-2028-olympics

Also Isabella Holmgren will be skipping the cross season this year unfortunately, focusing on road and MTB for 2026: https://www.cyclingnews.com/pro-cycling/womens-cycling/i-already-miss-it-why-isabella-holmgren-is-setting-cyclocross-aside-for-the-season/

Two big group rides this weekend with TLR and the Buttcat Solstice ride (yes, you read that correctly!😂) Gonna have to take a closer look at TLR routes, might be some more good'uns in there...!

There was an Exact Cross race on Saturday which I haven't had the pleasure of watching yet, but I did see the two CX World Cups today, and they were both bangers! Brand's dominance continues, and even with a flat, she was untouchable. This was also the first race with van der Poel, and on lap 4 he had an endo, and was basically back with the chasing group, but simply rolled away from them, and caught back to the front..wowwee.. He eventually attacked, and Nys was the only one to go with him, but a mistake by Nys allowed MVDP to gain a few more seconds, which he held to the end. Interesting to see this was more of a 'bunch race' than an out-and-out win!

There were two Canadians in the Men's race, with local rider Liam Sargent finishing 48th, and Rhett Bates 50th, both down a lap (and teammates on the Broad St team).

Sidney McGill spent most of the race in the T20, but finished 21st, 5'25 down, and Rochette seemed to have a rough start, but moved up to 23rd at 6'08. Dorothee Perron was also in the race (new name for me!), and was lapped and finished 47th.

There are several Broad St Cycles riders over for the next month or so (including Segment Challenge alum Katja Verkerk), and will be fun to try and spot them in the races!

HOUSEKEEPING

Notes for the week:

Not much, but I think we'll have some results added/updated as there were a few names that rode that didn't sign up...if that's you, sign up ASAP and I'll include your results!

Reminder if your time didn't record (this week or any), please either tag me in your ride, comment on the Strava group post, or send me an email -- if you rode it, I can usually figure out a 'manual' time for you, but you need to let me know!

1 <- THIS MANY WEEKS WITHOUT AN ERROR 🤣

If there are any errors, omissions, issues, concerns, or anything else, feel free to hit reply!

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SOUNDTRACK NOTES

Note: 'back in my day' people talked about music, albums, etc.. Doesn't really seem to happen much these days, so I'm carrying on the tradition here! 😊

A little boring, but been listening to the new (well, 2022) Sloan album most of the week, starting to like it quite a bit more, FWIW! 🎶

THIS WEEK IN RIDES

For those new to the series, results are tabulated each week, and the event page has all the results updated each Sunday night! To see the weekly results, hit the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet.

Cougars & Raccoons

haha - the categories crack me up a bit. This week everyone collects 4 points except....

Bears & Otters

...Markus K, who collects the Early Bird points! He takes an early lead over everyone with 6pts!

Funnily the Otters have the most people signed up (fully 30% with 20 people), but most did not seem keen on the wet weather., with only 7 riding this week. 😂

Seals & Wolves

Our 3rd category, the Wolves were actually the 2nd most popular category until today, and seems the Raccoons have wiled their way into 2nd for the most sign-ups.

But the categories are set now, let's see how this Island Wildlife Adventure plays out!!

BONUSES & CURSES

See the Scoring section of the Event Page for more details - note that there aren't any curses for the GravelQuest!

No KOM or QOM points this week.

• Early Bird (or should we call this 'Oyster Catcher'?) was Markus K
• Socialite points go to...no one this week!
  (Post a shot of your ride on IG or FB and tag @AboutTheRideCA for a chance for 5pts each week! If you've posted, but I haven't given you credit, or liked or commented on your post, please DM me directly, IG has been a bit finicky.)

PRIZES!

We've always got some sweet draw prizes every week! Watch our socials (Insta & Facebook) to see what we'll be giving away each week!

As mentioned, someone who rode this week should end up with a little goodie, check this space next week!

Week #2: Dec 15th - Dec 21st - The Many Trails of Thetis

We're back in Thetis this week, one segment pretty much everyone has done...but it gets us to a fun little route through the park that many many not have ridden before, taking us a little 'off the beaten path' once more. (And will hook up with some other treats in a future week!)

Segment 2A Name: Heading In
Deets: 0.55km, 27m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Lindsay Pedal with an 1:45 & KOM is Connor Leov with a 1:07, and the LL is Grant Perkins with 12 efforts! (Reminder these really don't matter.)
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/26084738

I'm not quite sure where this one begins and finishes, but pretty sure it's just before where Bellamy used to be really muddy, and leads up that mean old climb with the rock face, and finishes just as you start to descent and connect with Phelps. The main purpose of this segment this week is to get you to 2B. A token segment this week! 😁

Segment 2B Name: Outta Bellamy
Deets: 1.19km, 28m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Lara Lobo 🐺 with a 4:13 & KOM is Markus K with a 3:07, and the LL is Grant Perkins with 8 efforts! (Reminder these really don't matter.)
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/31923591

Here comes the fun stuff! This is a new segment/route option for me, and have only ridden it once, but it navigates nicely along pathways and light singletrack (shouldn't be any walking for anyone!)

After the 2A segment, typically you'd make a sharp left onto Phelps's, but instead go right a short way, and there you'll find access to the Fairedge trail, which connects with Lighthouse and concludes on Bellamy Rd at Gourman.

From there it looks like you can continue down Gourman and reconnect with Phelps (near the 'regular' end, then continue around the corner to somewhere like the Phelp's Connector). Or if you know my 'Paw Patrol' route, you can do it in reverse (we did this last season of the Gravel Segment Challenge as well) and enjoy the connectors across Millstream to Florence Lake to Langford Lake, if looking for a longer expedition. (See the Suggested Routing section for the segment for that.) Or simply reverse course and head back the way you came!

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

Updated on the site - as always Suggested Routing for this week: https://abouttheride.ca/gravelquest/

ISLAND WILDLIFE CORNER

Each week we'll feature a little highlight about island wildlife, thanks to The Fur-Bearers! Consider becoming a member and supporting their work, and check out their socials for lots of great posts about wildlife, advocacy and peaceful co-existence.

Week 2 - River Otters

Crafty creatures found on land and rivers and oceans!

Built to swim! Otters have small muscles around their nostrils and ears that act like natural seals. When they dive, these muscles tighten and close the openings, which keeps water out. When they surface, the muscles relax and the openings return to normal allowing breating.

They are indicators of healthy ecosystems. Otters rely on clean water and abundant fish. When otters are present, it is usually a good sign of a healthy environment!

Their families are highly social. Mothers raise their young in dens near the water. They teach pups how to swim, hunt, and slide. Play is a natural part of how otters learn and bond.

Otters use tools and teamwork. They can use stones to open shellfish and often hunt cooperatively.

Their whiskers do the work! They have whiskers so sensitive they can detect tiny movements made by fish in murky water.

Photo credit: Critter Care Wildlife Society

THE SEGMENTS IN PHOTOS

Here's a few snapshots of the segments this week!

Thanks to all the 'weather', a bit of a muddy
climb into Strawberry Knoll!
Did you clean it? 😁

It was a bit of a slip-n-slide
on the way out as well, with a fun
little rock face for a surprise!

And our B segment, a bit of a washed out start,
and a little bit of a hump to get to the end,
but from there, lots more choices!

TRAILEND

This wraps our first week, thanks all for joining in!

Next week should be fun as well, the early part of the week looks fairly wet again, but hopefully things improve later on. We'll see who gets the Early Bird award this time around!

Finally, I've done some fairly big updates to the website design, some pages will be a bit wonky until I get to them, but check out the front page and GravelQuest page, both have been improved, and the menu (especially on desktop) is also completely revamped!

That's all for now, safe and speedy riding all! 🚲

- Dave

Join the @AboutTheRideCA social media accounts
for an informative range of local cycling updates!

If you ever have any questions,
feel free to simply hit reply!