Well that was just a little uphill this week! Hope those of you that made it out enjoyed these fun little climbs!

We've got more climbs coming up this week, more on that shortly.

And I'm happy to see we've got some new faces this week as well, and some are already battling for podium spots which is really cool, so let's get on with it!

HOUSEKEEPING

Notes for the week:

As mentioned last week, we've moved Marc and Matt up to B, and welcomed Rani to the Female C's category, so there were a few changes in results after the email went out.

But that's about it for now!

01 <- THIS MANY WEEKS WITHOUT AN ERROR 🤣

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

SPONSORS AD

This week's sponsor is SplatterGrambook Social - a brand new social media site that really leans into some of the emerging trends. Let's take a look!

First, all users pay. A lot. It's $500 per character. But we let you have 285 characters per post, more than some of our competitors!

Second, legitimate news site also pay, but double. ('News' sites with fringe views are free.)

Third, you can only view 14 Splats a week. Be careful not to click on your own profile, because your own Splats count as well. (Or what are we talking about, YOU can't afford to post any Splats!)

Why should social media harvest your data for free? That's what we've been asking ourselves. Users should be paying for the privilege of getting endless ads on something you accidentally clicked on 8 years ago.

Join the fastest growing social media site today! Use #TheSplatOfTheMatter for an extra 20% off your first character!

SOUNDTRACK NOTES

Tonight I've got the Beach Boys on rotation, specifically their Pet Sounds album. A classic. All fantastic tunes. A desert island disc. Is it the greatest album of all time? Better than the Beatles? I think they've got my vote! 🎶

THIS WEEK IN RIDES

The A's

It's still rather quiet in A-ville, but no shortages of amazing efforts!

The Squaremeat is back to compete with our speediest female riders, but had her sights on the 'full' Neild segment this week, so her (still very fast) time was part of a longer effort, but K :) was zoned in, and only one of five riders to crack 8mins on Walfred, and the fourth fastest time overall on Neild. Dang. 🔥

Julian was the only Open A to hit the segments this week, but crushed them once again! He nearly cracked 6mins on Walfred, and his 3:17 earned him the KOM on the Neild segment. This guy is on fire!!

The B's

Once again only two of the B ladies made it out, but happy to see Laura B is back! She took both top times, but Jenn R is now sitting on a healthy lead in the Overall.

The Open B field grew by 6 this week, including two newcomers!

On Walfred, Tyler Venn rode into the top step of the podium, and Spencer wasn't far behind to earn 2nd, and Logan was the final rider to crack 8mins. Neild earned Travis Field his first win of Season 2, but newcomer Colin Daniels was just a second behind, and I'm surprised to find myself on the final podium step on Neild! (Again, I'd have predicted a more favourable time on the technical Walfred segment, go figure!)

The C's

Happy to see four ladies out in the C field this week! Kathy had a pretty good lead on Walfred, with Suzy and Wendy on her heels. But Neild saw a change in positions, and Suzy edged out Kathy by 9 seconds, and Wendy once again in third, with Lani not far behind (and lots of segments to go!) 😊

With Matt and Marc in the B's, the C times were much closer, and Mikael swept the podium this week, tho Tyler G and David B weren't far behind on Walfred, and their positions reversed on Neild. Kit's off to a good start as well, and I'm sure we'll see him keeping these others honest!

BONUSES & CURSES

As mentioned, Julian claimed another KOM, so 5pts for him! Adam W was the Early Bird, but he also claimed the LL status, so those points cancelled out. John MacDonald, last season's Early Bird record-holder, claimed LL on Neild so lost 5pts there. The Secret Times were 7:10 and 5:59, which I didn't see. And Logan aka @totaloutdoorsbc on IG posted a fun video, and he gets the 5pts this week for the Socialite award.

PRIZES!

This week's prizes are the items from Fairfield Bicycles, with a fun array of items!

Looking at the group numbers, I've drawn 4 names, 1x A rider, 2x B's and 1x C, and our lucky peeps are:

Julian Cameron

Travis Orr
John Lee

Suzy Sylvester

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

For Week #4, more prizes from Cycles West will be up for grabs!

Thanks again to all our supporters, check out that huge prize list!!

https://abouttheride.ca/victoria-segment-challenge-season-2-prize-list/

Week #3 - July 3rd - 9th - The Battle of Boulderwood

This week we return to Broadmead, touching briefly on fan favourite Amblewood, and we end up climbing both sides of Boulderwood. Smoother roads this week, one segment is simple and the other twisty and challenging, this should be another fun week of climbs!

Segment 3A Name: Amblewood Lap - Just the Hard Part
Deets: 1.01km, 55m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Lori McLaren with a 3:11, KOM is Samuel Hogman with a 2:21, LL is Jack Screen with 5 effort.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/6553541

Not too much to this one, a flat run into a right turn and then it's all climb! Not too steep, but it'll be a few minutes of grinding.

Segment 3B Name: Sidestreet Wind-up to Boulderwood
Deets: 1.21km, 69m elevation gain.
This is a new segment, QOM could be you! KOM is Benoit Detering with a 4:20, there is no LL.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/34731482

I created this one to have some fun twists and snakes up to Boulderwood, and I'm surprised only 4 others have ever tracked riding this way! So I'm guessing both the KOM and QOM will be claimed on this one. 🏆 Be sure to memorize the route, it'll be easy to turn the wrong way. And as a cautionary note, there are two left hand turns, but the first is on a very quiet street at pretty low speed, and the second is wide open, and also likely at a slower speed, so should be safe for all. It's a little Twist And Shout!

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

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

Walfred was a brute to climb...

....and even 'descend' with a climb on the way 'down'!

The finish line on the Neild segment,
a welcome sight after all this climbing!

Some cool news - Hurricane Ridge is open to bikes again, for those who like long, long climbs!

Just FYI, I post updates like these on the @AboutTheRideCA social channels, so be sure to give a follow if this sort of thing is of interest, and your banter is always welcome there! 😁

That's it for this week, hope you enjoy the segments that are coming up! (Up being the operative word. 😂)

Safe and speedy riding all! 🚲

- Dave

Join the @AboutTheRideCA social media accounts
for an informative range of local cycling updates!