Well that was a real beaut of a day! Hope you all got to take advantage of it!

Batu the Brute is over, and there were more great times posted, very inspiring y'all!! 💪💪

A tip if going for a fast time and doing both the same day: play to your strength on the first go! This week I knew the B (fast) segment suited my strengths MUCH more than the climb, so I gave it a go first with fresher legs. Then crawled up Batu. 🤢

This week we're headed back to Royal Oak, with a new twist on a twisty segment from last year, and a reversal of another segment, but both trend uphill!

HOUSEKEEPING

Notes for the week:

I noticed a few riders had a time for one segment, but not another - 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! 😁

03 <- 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

I've had the Flaming Lips on repeat for the last few weeks, particularly their At War with the Mystics album, just seems like the right mood lately, and several of the tunes pump me up. Check it out if you haven't - yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! 🎶

THIS WEEK IN RIDES

The A's

Nice to see Sofia back, and she posted a couple zingers, claiming both QOMs and sitting in the T10 of all the times this week, not too shabby! Of particular note was having her catch me at the finish of Batu on our efforts. 😭 Kat was back again as well, tho Z2 pace again, hopefully we see her afterburners back in action soon!

The A guys left me thinking I might take home a KOM this week (on the fast segment!), but I got home from my ride today, and thankfully Julian had taken it from me, but an hour later Spencer topped that! On the B segment Nicky B also posted a very fast time to lock in 3rd. Up Batu, Julian was king by an incredible 24 seconds, with Vinko and Spencer separated by a couple seconds, and the rest of the A weren't far off - tight competition!!

The B's

Maria and Tania once again swap top podium spots, with Tania having an upper hand on the climb, and Maria with a speed advantage!

The B's on Batu weren't even close, with Peter B crushing the competition with an A-worthy time of 2:09 (second fastest of anyone!), Travis F also logged an incredibly fast time 10seconds back, and Tyler V was a couple seconds behind. On the speedy segment, I apparently also crushed it, and held the KOM until the final hours. Glenn and Peter also locked in fast times to round out the podium, with Tyler and Dave B tied in 4th.

The C's

Three C's rode both segments, and the order was the same for both! Suzy posted the fastest times, followed by Jane, and Lani this week, great to see you fit these in!

Once again Evan T took the hot seat on both segments for the C fellas! Peter S and Donnie were next fastest up Batu, and Kit and Tyler G both tied for 2nd up Bear Hill Rd, with Donnie rounding it out there.

Another week of fantastic racing this week!!

BONUSES & CURSES

Lots going on this week! Both QOMs went to Sofia, and Julian and Spencer both claimed a KOM!

• Early Bird was Jane!
• Once again no Secret Times this week!
• No Socialite points awarded as well (post a shot of your ride on IG or FB and tag @AboutTheRideCA for a chance for 5pts each week!)
• The Local Legend curse was claimed by Craig on 3A, and Nicky once again caught it on the B segment.

PRIZES!

Prizes this week are some goodies from Oak Bay Bikes!

We've got 7 items, and the split is 2x A's, 3x B's and 2x C's, and our lucky riders by random draw are:

Dan Blackwell
Adam Wadden 🇨🇦 🐺 

Travis Orr
Ryan Taylor
John Luton

Tyler Galts
Evan Thomas

Congrats! I'll email you all privately on Monday with details, note that the first to reply will get their top prize choices!

For Week #4, we'll be giving out the remaining items from Cycles West and Fairfield Bicycles!

As always a huge thanks to all our event supporters, check out the (growing) prize list here:

https://abouttheride.ca/victoria-segment-challenge-season-4-prize-list/

Week #4 – Mar 25th – Mar 31st – Twist & Shout!

This week we're returning to Royal Oak & Cordova, and we've got a longer climbers segment that has some fun twists and turns, and then a gradual climb that's got no twists or turns - just turn those pedals!

Segment 4A Name: If you have a hidden immunity idol, now would be the time to play it.
Deets: 1.52km, 79m elevation gain.
This is a NEW segment, QOM is none, KOM is Dave Shishkoff (doh!) & LL is no one with 0 attempts!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/36488883

We're back on one of my favourites - Amblewood! Using a similar route to the previous season, this one twists up from Lochside, but this time stretches things out more and goes all the way to the top by Grant Park. There's a few good kicks on this one, and it'll be longer than any other segments this season so far, so we'll see how everyone's endurance is doing. Study the turns carefully and be sure to save something for that last bit! I'm sure we'll see the KOM & QOM exchange hands a few times as well.

Segment 4B Name: Santa Clara Shuffle - South
Deets: 1.34km, 0m elevation gain. (Not correct, but it's a pretty shallow climb, maybe 10-15m!)
This is an existing segment, QOM is Laura Brown with a 2:23, KOM is Chuck Detheridge with a 1:50 & LL is Amos Scott Bouris with 7 efforts!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/13189808

Another reversal from last season, this time we start on Cordova, and is a straight shot ending at Claremont. It's a gentle climb, and I imagine most will average over 30kph on here! The TDV has come along a number of times, so it's going to be a pretty mean feat to claim a high spot overall, but let's give it a spin! The wind has been trending from the north a lot lately, that ought to help.

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

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

A junction for Batu,
and I'm sure we'll think differently
passing this section in the future! 😉

Can't believe we're already getting onto Week 4, but enjoy your time in Royal Oak, should be a couple fun ones!!

Safe and speedy riding all! 🚲

- Dave

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