We've got a new QOM and KOM this week, HIGHLANDERRRRR!!!

There can only be one.

(Ahhh 90's TV. And a remake coming!)

30 made it out to Finlayson Arm and Millstream Rd, and we've got four new names on the scoring as well, welcome!!

As a side note, I was out with Dave B riding the segments on Tuesday, and also saw Kirsty and Ross, as well as Bill and David R - all the Daves were on the segment at the same time! 😂

And an extra kudo this week to Sarah P, newcomer Matt and Kit, who all rode on Saturday!! According to reports, it was the rainiest, or 2nd rainiest June 21st on record, and we had 20 days without rain prior.

A few more segments have been submitted, thank you - we may have enough submissions to avoid Petsworth....but maybe send in a few more to be safe. 😉

If anyone's interested in a gravel clinic (focusing on skills like riding/hopping up curbs and small logs, roots, cornering, and other technical riding), hit reply - there may be something in the works!

Also I'm aiming to make a Royal Bay Crit happen on Sat, July 12th, so pencil that in as well.

This week we're headed well into Saanich with a couple seggies up Mt. Newton, it's quite pretty out there on Mt Newton X-Road, hope you enjoy!

Racing News

Today was the Hartland Island Cup MTB race, which also doubled as the Provincial XC Champs! Looked like a great turnout, and I got out there for a little cheering, great to see so many out! You can find the results here, congrats to all our new champs!

There was also pro MTB action on Val di Sole in Italy this weekend, on the men's side, Carter Woods (from Comox) had an exceptional short track race, top Canadian finishing 8th! He started with the front in the XC, but drifted back to 30th in the end. Jenn Jackson also had a fantastic short track, finishing 5th (a new high?) And 6th in the XC, which should also be a career best, amazing!! I haven't watched this one yet, but the time splits look like it was entertaining.. It didn't look great for Emilly Johnston (also from Comox), finishing around 30th in both events.

On the road there was lots of action in the Tour de Suisse and Baloise Belgium Tour, as well as the Copenhagen Sprint, but not so much in the way of Canadian results. But some incredible efforts and finishes...phew!

The next week feature the National Championships for many countries, including Canada - wishing the best to our own Julian who's headed to Quebec to vie for the U23 title!!

HOUSEKEEPING

Notes for the week:

* Hannah C added to the Female C category later in the week, so Week #2 results updated

* Awarded Julian a time of 5:30 on the A segment, manual timing, he rode it fully, but GPS went off a bit (a few others stopped too early, sorry, can't give a time for that)

* Ross Hooker, great to have you back, but please sign up!

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!

2 <- 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! 😊

Once again too busy watching bike racing, but looking forward to checking out the new Pixies album! 🎶

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

Once again no A's, everyone do your A Segment Dance, hopefully we'll see some next week! 😁

Ethan came out on top again this week on Finlayson Arm, and also claimed the KOM!! Rich was only 6 seconds off, and Dave B had a few seconds over Julian (who was clearly taking it easy on us) and Dan. Rich was fastest up Millstream however, with Dave B in second again, and somehow I finished just a few seconds ahead of Ethan, as well as Julian and newcomer Sterling who had the same time.

The B's

Just three B's out, with newcomer Leah topping the group on Finlayson Arm, as well as earning the QOM! Renata was just a bit behind, followed by Sarah P in the rain. Renata was also fastest up Millstream, with Sarah P in 2nd.

Todd continued his winning streak, and also claimed the Early Bird for top points this week! Mark D was Best of the Rest, but only two seconds ahead of Jamie. Josh and newcomer Matt P were just seconds off. On Millstream Jamie took silver against Matt P, and Teddy P and Josh were super close as well. Just 2mins separated all B riders!

The C's

Just two of our ladies in C rode this week as well, and Kathryn posted the fastest times on both, with Kirsty H as 'close, but no cigar'!

Hobbers once again had a clean sweep, and was fully 2.5mins faster than Tyler G! We welcome back to Ross H who took 3rd, ahead of Mike J and Kit. Hobbers time on Millstream would have put him in 2nd in B, so putting out an invitation to upgrade! Another two minutes back on Millstream was Tyler G, and Bill R is back and worn his speedy spandex! Ross and Mike J were just off the podium, and a shout out to David R who put in some solid times.

BONUSES & CURSES

See the Scoring section of the Event Page for more details!

Ethan and Leah are our KOM and QOM this week!

• Early Bird was Todd R!
• No secret times this week.
• No Socialite points to award.
  (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.)
• The Local Legend curse was unclaimed.
• No Yellow Jersey curse as usual.

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!

We've got some nifty goodies from Fairfield Bicycles this week (as well as some leftover items from Cycles West.) The Google randomizer has decided the following are worthy of a draw prize this week:

Kathryn TGreat
Matt Pucsek
Renata Troc
Todd Rooker
Ross Hooker
Julian Cameron

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

Our prize page is live on the site, more to come, but for now take a peek!

Week #4 - June 23rd - June 29th - New Times on Newton

We're going with another Rider's Choice, big thanks to Jamie C for suggesting the Thomson Place climb, which takes us up Mt Newton (if that's your real name!) There's another segment that heads up from the other side as well, so let's make it a double this week on Newton! Both are about 110m of elevation, the first covers it in 1km, and the other over 2km.

Segment 4A Name: Thomson Place
Deets: 1.00km, 112m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Sarah NeeRogers with a 3:43 & KOM is Jackson Bocksnick with a 2:54, and the LL is Mark Carter with 12 efforts!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/669489

Our second Rider's Choice, and we've done a similar segment back in 2021, not sure if this exact one. It's a bit of a grind, but should be over before you know it!

Segment 4B Name: Not as fun as Thomson
Deets: 2.06km, 107m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Claire Townsend with a 6:43 & KOM is Chuck Detheridge with a 4:55, and LL is Ethan Swain with with 1 effort.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/4234650

Very creative segment title! Not a lot have ridden it, so very good chance we'll see a new QOM & KOM. You get to enjoy the climb portion of the Mt Newton 'hilly crit' VCL course, and then carry on to Thomson Place, and ends pretty much where the other segment does! (Good place to stash your bottles and heavy bits!)

Note there are two left turns on this segment, both are at slower speeds, and it's a pretty quiet road, so unlikely to encounter traffic, but please exercise caution as always.

Happy riding!! 

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

Here's the end of the Finlayson Arm
segment, did anyone else meet
Harvey the dog? 😁

Not the most thrilling photo, here at the beginning
of the Millstream segment, but it was pretty
neat seeing the end of the road!

And a silly one from my ride today with
Kenzie, if you know the Caldicot cut-through,
it's usually a bit overgrown, but
this was pretty ridiculous!

Hope everyone's enjoying the warmer weather, my legs are definitely a LOT happier when it's above 20C, tho not everyone seems to appreciate the *cough* 'heat'!

Reminder to check out @AboutTheRideCA on both FB & IG, I try to post helpful updates there fairly regularly!

Thanks as always for taking a peek at my ramblings, safe and speedy riding all! 🚲

- Dave

Join the @AboutTheRideCA social media accounts
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If you ever have any questions,
feel free to simply hit reply!