We had a bit of a week there, lots of rain, tho I found a few dry periods during the week to sneak out (with a bit of a cold too!) The weekend was another story, gloriously sunny! I hit the segments on Saturday, and saw Lorne out there (I learned later), and just missed a few other riders - Strawberry Vale was poppin'! 😂

The Scrooge McDuck segment was a tricky one, and I love throwing these in. Pacing and strategy is huge on this one, and it's definitely not a 'just pedal hard as you can' kind of segment.

For those who may be curious, my strategy involved coasting as much as possible - I gave a little kick at the start to get my speed up, and coasted down the first hill in an aero tuck, then jammed it pretty hard up the first kick, around the corner, picked up my speed again, then was hoping to coast a bit more on the second descent, but the speed wasn't quite high enough, so was fairly light on the pedals, then a controlled effort up the second steep bit, saving just enough to be able to keep pushing around the corner and keep on the pedals up that final little riser.

Then it gets a bit ugly, as you're going slightly downhill for the final portion, but there you're just giving all you've got left. Being able to put out power at a wide range of cadences really paid off on this one.

There was a decent headwind that day, I thought I'd be fairly low down in the results, but somehow snagged 3rd! Definitely not the strongest out there (as Charlton demonstrated, and was more of a straight-up w/kg segment), but shows how pacing and smarts can work wonders on some of these, and despite not being the strongest, can still lock in a solid time.

Well, that's my 2c on it! 😁

If you're curious about getting the most out of your efforts, I wrote a blog post highlighting a ton of tips and tactics, you can find it here: https://abouttheride.ca/tips-to-pr-that-next-strava-segment/

In other news, for those who also enjoy gravel, Fort Rod Hill will be opening up its trails, and according to this piece, will also include cycling trails, which will open up some more fun stuff by RRU! https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/plan-in-works-for-new-urban-park-around-fort-rodd-hill-12024629

This week we've got a rematch from the 4th season (2yrs ago), returning to Robin Hill! And yup, for those unfamiliar, that means more climbs!

RACING NEWS

Note: expect spoilers!

Lots of action this weekend!

Tho first up, word on the street is the two Caleb Pike VCL races have been cancelled, please stay alert if you were planning to race these. (Apparently due to much higher traffic control expectations from the Highlands.)

There was more road racing on the mainland on Saturday, and in the women's race Abigail Drews from Vic (and part of the ATR organizing team) got 2nd, and our own Jen Ward, who by her own account started sprinting too early, finished 8th! 

There was some MTB action in the US, and local riders did pretty well there!

There was also the Pan Am Games in Columbia with a TT and road race the last few days, but not seeing any Canadians there.

And of course on Saturday was Milan-Sam Remo! Both races were pretty awesome, the best men's race this year for sure, maybe in a few years with that finish...!! Local pro Sarah Van Dam was spotted several times, and finished 26th with the chase group in the women's race. Check out both these races if you haven't already!

HOUSEKEEPING

Notes for the week:

• Dan Coulton hadn't updated privacy settings, so added in to the C's after sending out last week's update.
• Rizzi has also moved up to the A's!

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!

SPONSORS AD

Promotional consideration for this email is provided by the upcoming medical drama MAHAspital!

You'd be surprised what a cold plunge in blue jeans can cure!!

SNL outdid themselves again, enjoy: https://www.tiktok.com/@nbcsnl/video/7617361909783825695

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! 😊

There's a new U2 EP, bit of a protest album, tho seems a bit soft...but harkens back to their Atomic Bomb sound (well, I think, I never really listened to that album, but reminds me of it.) You may enjoy! 🎶

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.

The A's

Tina was away this week, so sadly no times in this category. I think she'll like next week tho - I can see a couple more QOMs in her collection! Any challengers? 😉

Graham set the bar high once again, only 4sec off on the Scrooge McDuck KOM time! But there's something in those genes, as his dad also finished 3rd on Charlton, and tied for 2nd on McDuck with Lorne! Lorne also finished 2nd on Charlton, and I was surprised to collect 3rd on McDuck. On Charlton Travis was only a few seconds away from 3rd, and I was a couple seconds off that. 6th-9th had only 6 seconds between them all!! On McDuck Travis earned 4th, and Evan snagged himself 5th by one second ahead of Jon B. Rizzi and Sam tied for 7th there as well.

John lost 5pts claiming the Local Legend curse on the Scrooge segment no less!

The B's

Great to have Sarah P back, who took top honours in both segments, tho Ann tied her on the A segment. Renata and Sarah DV were just a bit behind. The same order on Scrooge, and sadly no Ann, who's picked up one of those nasty bugs going around. Hopefully we'll see her back this week!

Less than 40 seconds seprated all the B's on the A segment, but fastest of all was Adam B! Hugo nipped Dan B to round out the podium, with Greg and Michael J just behind. Hugo took the top spot on the B segment, with Michael J and Adam B only seconds behind. Greg and Teddy just missed out on the podium there. Nice riding, exciting field!!

The C's

Happy to see Julia return! Kathryn wasn't having any of it tho, and claimed top spot in both segments this week, but only by 9sec on Charlton!

On the A segment, Early Bird winner Bicycle Dave also took top honours, ahead of the returning Hoffmeister, and Bill R just a few seconds back in 3rd. Derek and Tyler won 'close but no cigar'! Bill got the upper hand on the B segment tho, ahead of Dave and Mike. Derek just missed the podium again, along with David R. Great battles all around!!

BONUSES & CURSES

See the Scoring section of the Event Page for more details on how you can score extra points every week.

No KOM or QOM points this week.

• No KOMs or QOMS earned this week
• Early Bird was Bicycle Dave again
• No secret times, but several close!
• Evan gets the Socialite points with a vid on the segment!
  (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.)
• No Yellow Jersey curse
• And we got a Try Hard 'Local Legend' with John F!

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!

A huge thank you to Cycles West for the draw prizes this week, and we'll give away 6 of their goodies! The Google randomizer has decided the following are worthy of a draw prize this week:

Bill Ransford
Hugo Cossette
David Robertson 🇨🇦 🇺🇦
Evan Thomas
Sam Preshaw
Michael Jones, KoS

Congrats!! I'll email you on Monday with the details!

Our prize page is live on the site, we've got so many fantastic items, many are already listed, take a peek!

Week #3: Mar 23rd - 29th – Springtime on Robin Hill

Winter is officially over, and while I don't think many robins ever left Victoria, they're starting to appear across the rest of the country, signaling a change in seasons!

So this week we'll return to Robin Hill, which we visited in Season 4 a couple years ago. This hidden neighbourhood has a couple fun climbs, and apparently Bill Chimko lives around here! It's interesting to see what your time differences are - Julian's KOMs are almost identical on both sides (as are mine, 30 seconds slower tho!) Will be interesting to see how it plays out this time around.

These climbs are also a good spot for intervals, for those who like to work on these things. 😉

And just a funny note, same guy is the LL on the B segment as the first time we were there!

Segment 3A Name: Chimko’s Chilco Chopper
Deets: 0.75km, 48m elevation gain. (Suspect it’s actually a bit higher.)
This is an existing segment, QOM is Tania Johnson with a 2:41, KOM is Julian Cameron with a 1:29 & LL is Joe M with 15 attempt!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/7673028

This is the more nasty side, with a bit of a grind to the corner, then levels out a bit to the end, so save something for the last bit! Will you get a PB if you rode it a couple years ago?

Segment 3B Name: Why don’t you just Chilco out, dude!
Deets: 0.741km, 45m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Lauren Babineau with a 2:20, KOM is Julian Cameron with a 1:30 & LL is Bruce Elliot with 38 attempts!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/17643706

I think this is a more 'fun' segment, with some corners, and it varies quite a bit, rather than all-gas like the A segment. Start on the climb that suits your riding style! Also recommended is pre-riding this one so you have an idea of what to expect.

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

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

THE WEEK IN PHOTOS

The start of the segment on Hastings,
with that sweet, sweet descent!

Both segments finished around here,
how do you spell relief? 😂😭

This week is looking much better - hope to see a bunch more of you out working your way out to Robin Hill!

Even if you're not feeling fast or fit, just get out there and ride 'em. If there's anything I've learned, it's that there's a 99.9% chance I don't ever regret getting on my bike.

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

- Dave

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