Starting the newsletter with a photo this week:

I hope Greg doesn't mind I stole his shot, but I absolutely LOVE this.

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

Rainy day, and this crew is out riding and coming together and challenging and cheering each other over segments.

I've made a bunch of friends this way as well, and it's super fun when you get a group out.

And on top of that, this was on Saturday....they went back and topped all their times on Sunday, believing they could do better.

Just awesome. Hope that helps inspire some of you as well!!!

Carrying on with the regular bid'ness - record week for the season with 36 riders logging times!!! Four more joined us this week as well, great to have you returning, or joining us for the first time! Joel Wheeler and Joel Crocker are back, and we've got Pippa Kolking repping the UVic club, and Ben Fast also joining us - Ben might win the 'best name' category in the Segment Challenge awards ceremony. 😂

Seems like most enjoyed, and they were pretty fun segments this week, plus a good excuse to visit the new overpass!

I've got a couple more good'uns this week - we've got a much longer one (most won't crack 5mins) but it's mostly flat, plus another sprint!

Hope to see your names all over these again!!

Once again thanks to everyone who's chipped in to support the series and website!! 🥰 

ATR Club Updates

As mentioned last week, our first formal race will be another Royal Bay Crit, utilizing a brand new loop as well! It'll be Sunday, May 10th, so hope you'll come out and race, cheer, or volunteer!

We're also looking into potentially offering a Youth and Women's race - in addition to our regular A, B & C. I'll be adding a sign-up this week, and sending out a special note, so please watch for that!

We're also working on a mid-week crit series hopefully in July, and aim to put together an event for Cross on the Rock in the fall.

And all the regular ATR series will be happening as well of course, after the Spring Segment Challenge, we'll have the return of So You Think You Can Climb! Details are already updated on the site, will try and get the sign-up form live this week as well. Woohoo, busy-town!

Aaaand we're still looking for a laser printer, ideally colour, but B&W would be welcome, if anyone happens to have one kicking around they want to give away (or sell cheap!)

RACING NEWS

⚠Note: expect spoilers!⚠

Lot's going on this week!

There was another Island Cup XC race in Cumberland today, but I don't see any results for it yet. There was also the first gravel race in Campbell River, and you can find results here, a number of our GravelQuest friends on there: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=427759

The Itzulia wrapped up on Saturday, and it's been the best stage race of the year so far, tons of action and drama!

And of course today was the 'big one' - Paris-Roubaix! Probably the most popular single-day race in the world!

On the men's side, it mostly broke down to how we'd expect...bummer MVDP flatted and couldn't get back to the front..and it was Tadej and Wout going into the velodrome together.....and while I wanted to see history with Tadej winning (his first Roubaix, and a chance at winning all the Classics in one year), Wout took the sprint!!

The women's race wasn't as spicy as I'd expected, some of the earlier races were just awesome, with the leaders so close...but a big group held together until the closing kilometers, and Prevot, Vos, Vas and Koch broke away and ended up dropping Vas. Part of me was hoping Vos would take it, she's got 2nd previously (P-R has only been a women's race for a few years), but Koch was looking indomitable...and beat her in the sprint.

So here's the cool connection with Victoria: our own Riley Pickrell is dating Franzi Koch!! I sort of forgot until after the finish, when I see some dude smooching her, and I'm like 'wait, that's Riley'!! Here's some of the footage, love seeing this: 

https://x.com/letour_de/status/2043367134579802424?s=61

HOUSEKEEPING

Notes for the week:

• Belated Birthday Bonus point for Bicycle Dave last week!
• Welcome again to four new riders this week!

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!

4 <- THIS MANY WEEKS WITHOUT AN ERROR 🤣

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

SPONSORS AD

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Some people get upset because 'a bike lane is empty'. And not congested and backed up like the traffic lanes.

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We aim for compassion and understanding for people plagued by this crippling condition, although deep down we also believe they're just dipshits who have so little going on in their lives that somehow this is an 'issue'.

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Please visit our website and donate today to help us with our work, and hopefully some day with your help we can eradicate CDS.

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! 😊

Sorry, no tunes to highlight this week, was pretty occupied with writing this newsletter tonight!🎶

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

The A field is getting pretty crowded, which is FANTASTIC! Serpentine Climb didn't see anyone crack 3mins, but newcomer Joel Wheeler was very close with 3:03! Travis O flew up as well, 5 seconds back, and somehow I made it on the podium as well, a further 5 seconds off. Dave B, as well as Jon B and Justin were mere seconds off the podium!! On the sprint, John F was the only one to crack 30sec hitting 29!! Three of us tied at 30sec, being Dave B, Josh and myself! Rizzi was one second off earning 3rd. Evan, Joel W and and Travis were just off the mark as well.

The B's

Another close one, and Renata took the climb by 2 seconds over newcomer Pippa! Sarah D rounded out the podium, ahead of a tired Sarah P. Sarah D won the sprint by a second over Pippa, and Renata originally logged over 40sec, but on her second effort hit 37sec!! Awesome to see riders putting in the effort, and making solid gains!

Greg was fastest on the climb this week, with Dan B taking Silver, and tied for Bronze were Joel C and Teddy! Ryan T and Michael Jones trailed. On the sprint, it was Teddy who also hit 30sec, Greg was 1sec back, and Joel another second off. Ryan T was the best of the rest, and Dan B and Michael also tied, so 6 seconds separated the whole field!

The C's

Julia is picking up steam, and her time on Serpentine would have placed her in 2nd in the B's in that second between Renata and Pippa! The sprint was hers as well, but Kathryn has a few more weeks to rally, you can do it!!

With our guys, Bicycle Dave earned the top spot again on the A segment, ahead of Derek and Kit. Bill and Tyler were closest to the podium! On the B sprint, Bill had the upper hand, two seconds ahead of Kit, and Derek just trailed there. David R and Bicycle Dave just missed the podium, and lots more great efforts by the rest of the C's!

BONUSES & CURSES

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

• No QOMs or KOMs this week
• Early Bird was Bicycle Dave again
• No secret times, but many were close!
• Awarding Socialite points to Ben Fast, as well as Evan who expressed frustration over a bike computer than led him astray 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 no Try Hard 'Local Legend' cursees.

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!

Big up to Oak Bay Bikes for the draw prizes this week, and we've got another 6 names to pull! The Google randomizer has decided the following are worthy of a draw prize this week:

Ryan Taylor
Sarah DeVries
Joel Wheeler
James Wright
John Fletcher
Ken Trudgeon

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, most are now listed, take a peek!

Week #6: Apr 13th – 19th - Speedy Greig and the enDurrance Test!

This week we're Wallace-adjacent, with two rematches! First up is a TT-style climb, with a solid amount of flat ground, then a nice little hump to get over. Pacing will be critical on this one, and it's a fair bit longer. And few will crack 5mins!

Our second rematch actually goes back to the KOMpetition, the original series that inspired the Segment Challenge! Back in May 2020 a bunch of us found ourselves zipping along Greig Avenue! Where's that you ask?

It's also just off Wallace, kind of parallel to Benvenuto. When I did it originally, there happened to be a party at the house at the end of the segment, and they'd cheer as we zipped by, pretty hilarious. 😂

Oh, and the irony that the Local Legend of the Greig segment is....someone named Gregg!!! Tempted to give any other Greg's bonus points this week!

Segment 6A Name: Willing yourself to Glen Nevis
Deets: 2.72km, 53m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is The Squaremeat with a 5:19, KOM is Andrew McCartney with a 4:34 & LL is Vojtech Urban with 1 ride!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/34196293

I made up this segment in 2023 to give flatlander and endurance riders a bit more of a chance. It starts off fairly fast at the intersection of Willis Pt, and is mostly flat. The climbing is about 400m of the entire segment, but it's a good kick up Durrance Rd; I'd advise giving the climb a preview! When you get to the top, make a right onto West Saanich (be careful!), then it drops a bit and finishes at Glen Nevis Rd.

Again, pacing is critical on this one for an optimal time!

Segment 6B Name: Greig the Romantic
Deets: 0.592km, 2m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is k kit with 42s, KOM is Samuel Hogman with 36s & LL is Gregg Scheirer with 2 rides!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/23991100

This is a bit of a funny one, also be sure to preview it so you know what to expect! There's a chance there may be farm vehicles on the road, so do watch out.

Ideally you'll want to start along Greig Ave on the west end, there's a few humps as you cross over, but once you get around the final corner and it starts to straighten out, you'll have some free speed from the descent, then it's full gas, with one very slight rise. Carry as much speed as you can until the end, which is by the far end of the driveway. There's just enough road at the end to slow down!

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

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

THE WEEK IN PHOTOS

A new bridge!

The finish of Serpentine Climb - wish I'd got
a better shot of the actual climb, but was going
too hard! Just noticed that light on the pole as well.. 🤔

The finish of the sprint was handily marked
as well, nice when that happens!

Thanks for always as tuning in! Speaking of tuning, be sure to also tune into the ATR social channels, I post occasional updated on IG and FB, see below for the links, hope you join us there as well!

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

- Dave

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