It's finals week!! Bummed to be at the end of the season, but I think it was a pretty good one, appreciate hearing from a bunch of you and how it's motivating to get you out riding, or finding new trails, that's what this is really all about, always thrilled to see and hear that!

Lots of wet rides the last couple weeks as well, it's no longer summer...but Victoria is still pretty darn great to ride over the winter, just need the right gear.

Really fun to have some of you join me on Saturday, hopefully everyone saw the Group notification on Strava? I'm not sure how that works...

If you want to relive the segments (or missed them), both Greg and Mark B whipped up some great vids, I awarded them both 5pts for Socialite postings:

• Greg: https://www.instagram.com/p/DB44vhmtEI5/
• Mark B: https://www.instagram.com/p/DB2swSeMJGs/

I'm not going to award prizes this email, although there are about 24 items left to give away, so everyone who rode the final week ought to get a chance to collect a goodie (as well as those who ended up in the Top 3 overall)!! Please take a look at the scores and get back to me by end of Monday, so if there are any mix-ups I can correct the results before doing the final draw.

I'm also putting together a special challenge for November, workshopping the name 'Highland Gravel EndurUPtor', or maybe 'Orudne'..haha (Thanks Sofia and Damian for help workshopping the name!)

It's basically a reverse enduro, so the climbs are timed! There'll be three climbs, and they have to be ridden the same day, but can be any time in November. Going to try and get the MTB folks in too, gravel vs mountain bikes!!

Feel free to reply or comment if interested so I know there's some interest! 😁

Racing News

Lots of CX this weekend!! On a local note, the BC Cyclocross Provincial Championships were on in Chilliwack. Looks like fairly low numbers and not too many Island racers went over...but unless there are two, our own Megan Thomas got a Bronze in the Masters 35-44, nicely done!!

It was also the CX Pan Am Championships, and Canadians had some great results! I won't spoil it, but there's a cool livestream you can watch here: https://montanacyclocross.com/pan-american-cyclocross-live-stream-2024/

It's mostly drone footage, so really cool views, but it's a bit odd, feels a bit distant, and like there's less 'action' than the typical racing footage.

And it was also the European CX Champs, haven't watched those yet, looking forward to them tomorrow!

HOUSEKEEPING

Notes for the week:

Nothing too exciting, Lani and Joel C's times on 8B didn't register, so I did a manual timing on Strava.

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!

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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! 😊

Haven't listed to the Pixies (or just Pixies if you're cool) for some time, so got the combo album Surfer Rosa & Come On Pilgrim spinning away. ED IS DEAD!

Fun fact - in 2002 I took on setting up the fan site FrankBlack.net and somewhat to my surprise it's still there! And looks the same way I designed it..haha.. I got to know Charles' manager pretty well, and even met the man himself when the Pixies got back together. It's arguable Victoria was on their tour list because of me! Ahhh...memories.. 🎶

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

Sofia smashed the timed segment once again, and claimed the 2nd fastest time of everyone! 💪💪

Unfortunately Julian was out of action this week, after a pretty nasty crash at the cross race last week. Thankfully he's mostly good, a bit bruised up and a bunch of annoying road rash. That left the door open for others, and Damian jumped back in and came within seconds of Rob Britton's KOM time, but he was riding his new belt-drive gravel bike, and changing gears is a bit more tricky so he was at a bit of a disadvantage. Also, new-to-town Matt Albee had a solid rip up Corry, just under a minute behind Damian. I was one second over a minute behind Damian to capture 3rd, ahead of Dave B.

The B's

Kenzie, who's been logging solid times, flatted on the segment, so ended up with one of the longer times...but that opened the door for Megan who took the top step this week, followed by Renata and Tania.

Markus K was on a mission, and dropped some serious watts to log a time just over 6mins. Josh wasn't too far back, and Mark D rounded out the podium. Again, Joel C had a manually-taken time, and always great to see Ryan in the mix!!

The C's

Once again Anne took the top step, with a B-worthy time, and Tanya and Lani logged great times to wrap up the season!!

Over with the guys, there's just three left fighting for that top spot, and Greg may actually be a B in C's clothing with his time this week! Mark B kept ahead of Gary P in our final category!!

BONUSES & CURSES

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

As usual, the QOM went to Sofia, and the KOM was not dethroned!

• Early Bird was Dave B!
• No Secret Time this week
• As mentioned Greg G and Mark B both get 5pts for their fantastic videos. (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 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!

All remaining prizes will be given out this week!

Please check the results, and let me know ASAP if there are any errors, as I'll be using these for drawing names!!

Please watch for an email Tuesday with more details, but basically everyone who rode the final segments will be in the draw and likely to win a pretty cool prize!

Check out all the prizes here: https://abouttheride.ca/victoria-segment-challenge-season-6-prize-list/

And be sure to let our supporters know you appreciate them contributing to the Victoria Segment Challenge!

Up the Regional Trail in Hartland
with Sofia...well, trying to keep up! 🤣😭

Blurry shot of the group on Saturday, near
the top of the Regional Trail! I'm much
better at forward-facing photos..haha

The infamous 'rocky river' section of the Corry
Crossover trail, did anyone ride it?

That's the end of the final segment,

thanks for being a part of Season 6!!!

So great having so many join in Season 6!! This season 60 signed up, and 51 rode at least one week, which is pretty cool.

Thanks once more to all who chipped in for the season, I really do appreciate that, and it really helps to raise the level of the series for everyone (I hope!!) as well as the rest of the ATR website. 🥰

The EndurUPtor should be a lot of fun as well, more on that very soon.

If anyone is interested in vegan food, you might be interested in another website I just updated: www.TheVictoriaVegan.ca! I've been running it since 2006, and just gave it a total overhaul, including a really fantastic brand new Vegan Venue Guide, highlighting all the vegan and plant-based restaurants in (and around) Victoria, take a peek!

Also, be sure to check out the ATR socials (FB & IG), I post other news and event updates, bike tips, and whatever else might be helpful to the community.

That's all for tonight, I'll be putting together a final report blog post once the results are confirmed.

That was another amazing season, thanks again everyone!

Safe and speedy riding all! 🚲

- Dave

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