Ride new trails every week
Collect wildlife icons
Gravel / Cyclocross / All Road / MTB – fun times await!
The Winter GravelQuest — Dec 8th 2025 – Jan 25th Feb 1st Feb 8th 2026! (I can’t do calendars apparently!)
Welcome to the all-new Winter GravelQuest, featuring 8 weeks of gravel adventures!
Each week we’ll post two new segments, ride at your leisure, and collect our unique Vancouver Island wildlife icons over the season!
Sign-up form is now active, scroll down to the next section!
How It Works
In a nutshell, two segments are featured every week for eight weeks, and riders can go ride them as fast or slow as they want. The main goal is to (hopefully!) check out some new gravel paths, trails and routes. For each segment you complete, you’ll be awarded a nifty wildlife icon on the scoreboard – try to collect 3-of-a-kind, or all 10 for bonus points!
Occasionally select segments will also be timed – give them a go for some bonus points. Your results and scores are collected here, and will be tracked and updated each week, along with a weekly write-up. You do need a Strava account, but doesn’t matter if it’s free or paid, all are welcome. And jump in any time – join the fun part way through!
If you’ve done our Segment Challenge, or GRAVEL EDITION, this is very similar but with a few fun twists!
Also check out the FAQ, scroll to the bottom of the page to check it out!
Past Seasons (aka Archives!)
The GravelQuest evolved from the Segment Challenge GRAVEL EDITION! If you’re looking for more places to ride, check these out!
- Segment Challenge GRAVEL EDITION Season 3
- Segment Challenge GRAVEL EDITION Season 6
- Segment Challenge GRAVEL EDITION Season 9
UPDATE: Week #3 will run two weeks for the holidays, so the series has been extended to Feb 1st!
Safety is a huge priority of course, and all efforts are made to select quiet paths and trails that are low traffic, but please do not take any unnecessary risks, this is just for fun!
Defending Vancouver Island Wildlife
The Island is a unique place, and the wildlife communities we find here are our original residents, and are in need of our protection! From cutting down forests, to housing encroaching on wilderness areas to climate change, things are pretty rough for them.
This event I’d like to highlight The Fur-Bearers, one of Canada’s oldest wildlife protection charities, that advocates for wildlife on the Island and across all of Canada.
As well each week our email update will include a short section from them, highlighting some neat info on fur-bearers, wildlife and peaceful co-existence.
Six of the species featured in our Wildlife Icons are considered fur-bearers, and make up our Categories for the event. The Fur-Bearers works to protect fur-bearing animals through conservation, advocacy, research and education. Part of the ‘chip-ins’ will go towards them, and consider becoming a member to support their work as well!
GravelQuest Wildlife Icon Credit
A huge thank-you to Segment Challenge speedster and artist (who’s also contributed some of the coolest prizes we’ve had with offers to draw portraits) Louis Fernet-Leclair who generously created the icons for the series – thank you Louis!!
Winter GravelQuest – Rules & Sign-Up
A few rules to try to keep things fun for all:
- Be sure to join the AboutTheRide Strava group if you haven’t already (see button below)
- There’s a full week to complete segments, ride any time you wish, as many times as you wish, if it’s a TIMED segment your fastest result on Strava will be the one that counts.
- Most segments will be NON-TIMED SEGMENTS, and will not feature a time, and all will receive the same number of points (1pt). There will be a few TIMED SEGMENTS – these will be ‘competitive’ and the times tracked, and a few bonus points awarded for the top times (5pts, 4pts, etc..)
- Make sure your ride(s) is ‘public’ on Strava so I can see it in the segment list.
- The hard cut-off is 6pm Sunday each week when I pull the results from the segments, if you upload after that, tough luck!
- The TIMED SEGMENTS are to be SOLO efforts! You are not allowed help! Cannot draft another rider during any portion of a segment. Any riders found to be cheating will be removed from the competition. (It’s fine being side-by-side with a friend however, since there is no drafting benefit.)
- The rest of the NON-TIMED SEGMENTS can be ridden any old way you want, best with friends!
- Bikes: since we’re on trails, anything goes! All-road bikes may work for some segments, but you’re better off on a gravel or cyclocross bike, but MTBs (hardtails or full-suspension) are welcome as well!
- For each segment completed, you’ll be awarded one of our 10 Wildlife Icons at random. (So usually two per week.) Each is worth 1pt. If you collect 3-of-a-kind, you’ll get a bonus 3pts, and if you collect one of each, 5pts will be awarded as well.
- Do not edit your Strava ride files. Do not crop your ride files to the segments. There must be a ‘substantial’ amount of time and distance before and after each segment, so it’s part of a ‘ride’, and not an edited/cropped file of only the segment. This is supposed to be a fun cycling challenge, not a hack-a-thon.
- Safety safety safety – please follow the rules of the road!
There are six different categories, and they don’t correlate to anything! 😂
And yes, it’s totally free!
The segments will be a rich variety of trails – there will be climbs, and some flatter or faster trails. Some will be short, and some may end up rather long efforts! Most will be within 20-60mins riding distance from the Switch Bridge. The segments themselves will normally be nearby each other as well, so reasonable to do in one ride (but not always!)
That’s it, welcome to the series! Note the sign-up form is a GoogleDocs form.
Sorry, but failure to follow these two steps will likely result in omission from weekly results.
** Can you collect all 10? **
Weekly Updates: Each week on Sunday evening I’ll send out an email and post in the Strava group an update with the weekly results and upcoming segments! Sign-up for emails is at the bottom of the page if you didn’t select this option on sign-up. Note: the upcoming segments WILL be updated each Sunday night for sure, so check in the evening if you tend to ride them on Mondays.
GravelQuest Archives – if you missed a week, you can still find all the segments here! The full email Newsletter Archive can be found here as well!
Any questions? Hopefully most questions are answered, but feel free to send a note!
And for those keen on past segments, check the blog posts for previous Season Reports, there’s an archive of all the segments there!
Our Strava Group Stats!
🔥🔥🔥😲🤯🔥🔥🔥
Week #7: Jan 26th – Feb 1st – AKA Wallace to Wallace?
For our second-to-last week we’re headed the furthest north we’ve gone with gravel segments, featuring a fun mix of surfaces near Brentwood Bay with a handy gravel shortcut, plus a fun trail that runs parallel to Benvenuto.
Segment 7A Name: Stelly’s to Benvenuto – a la groade
Deets: 2.34km, 24m elevation gain.
This is a new segment, QOM is Cristin Schlossberger with a 5:56 & KOM is Rob Britton with a 5:27, and the LL is none! (Reminder these really don’t matter.)
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/40835340
Some may already be familiar with the first part of this segment, I believe it’s been in the TS Cross Fondo, or if you’ve ridden gravel out this way, may have hit it. We extend it a bit with an extra little bit of ‘groad’.
Things start on Willow Way, which is off Wallace just across from Stelly’s school, and head straight south then west to W Saanich, and across to another little gravel section that cuts over to Benvenuto. Benvenuto is one of my least favourite roads, but at least somewhat tolerable on a gravel bike!
Segment 7B Name: Benvenuto Bypass
Deets: 0.58km, 15m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Cass Purdon with a 51s & KOM is Colin Fowlow with a 53s, and the LL is Steve Young with 6 efforts!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/36067157
As mentioned, Benvenuto is a pretty gross road, but thankfully there’s a lovely little trail running parallel to the road that’s surprisingly fun!
Getting here is easy, after 7A just make a right on Benvenuto up the hill a bit, and watch for that first road on the right.
Suggested Routing
It’s a bit of a haul getting out here; my recommendation to make it a loop would be something like taking Lochside out to Island View, then jump on the road and cruise up to Stelly’s, and carry on over to Wallace and you’re there!
There’s the Centennial Trail you can take all the way to Wallace as well, and then double back a bit, or you can cruise out to Beaver/Elk Lake, and that little Bear Hill cut-through, and Oldfield across to Seabrook to Stelly’s (there’s a little gravel cut-through between those roads), and head left there. There’s a few options!
Once finished, cruise Wallace over to the Centennial Trail and gravel your way back that way, or of course there’s the Caldecote trail (where you hit W Saanich, see this one, but reverse the direction: https://www.strava.com/segments/8861466), that’ll take you over to Beaver/Elk Lake via Old West Saanich and Brookhaven. If unfamiliar, there’s a bit of road in there, but not for too far!
Happy riding!! 🚵♀️
Extra Tip: Strava for some dumb reason doesn’t let you save Segments as Routes. But here’s a website where you can enter the segment, and download the GPX file so you can ride it as a route: https://www.doogal.co.uk/SegmentExplorer (Thanks Spencer for the tip!!) Also, if you’re ever trying to find out when you rode a specific road, Find That Ride is an amazing website: https://www.findthatride.com/activitymap
WINTER GRAVELQUEST – Week #8 – Hints
Note: full details will be posted Sunday evening! Hints may change as well..
Segment 8A: Nothing too exciting, but will help get us to 8B.
Segment 8B: Something new..! Most won’t have ridden this trail, so you won’t want to miss the final week!
ISLAND WILDLIFE CORNER
Each week we’ll feature a little highlight about island wildlife, thanks to The Fur-Bearers! Consider becoming a member and supporting their work, and check out their socials for lots of great posts about wildlife, advocacy and peaceful co-existence.
Week 7 – Three Facts About Harbour Seals!
Whose little face pops up now and then in the water off the coast? It’s likely a harbour seal.
1 Harbour seals live year round on Vancouver Island.
There are about 18 seal species that can be found all over the globe, but it is the harbour seal that is most commonly found in the waters around Vancouver Island.
2. Harbour seals can “feel” fish moving through the water.
Their long whiskers aren’t just for show! They are extremely sensitive and help detect fish, even when their visibility is poor.
3. Abandoned seal pups may not need ‘saving’
If you find a seal pup alone on the beach, don’t panic. Oftentimes their mother’s are getting food, leaving them temporarily alone. Never touch or try to pick up a seal pup. Always keep your distance. If the pup is injured or in danger, keep people and dogs away and call the Marine Mammal Rescue Society (MMRS) – 604-258-SEAL (7325).
Results!
Below you’ll soon find our results! Note the tabs at the bottom to flip between overall and individual weeks. Please contact me if there are any errors. If a PDF is preferred, simply click here! Here is the full link to the GoogleDoc. (You can view the Notes each week for the Bonus and Curse details, which doesn’t show up in the table below.)
We’ve got a few snazzy draw prizes for the season, thanks to our generous event supporters!
Goldstream Bicycles
Thanks so much to Goldstream Bicycles for donating 10x $20 Gift Cards!
5x remaining (Winners so far: Mark B, Rich L, Joel C, Dave B, Josh D)
Fairfield Bikes
Vegan Supply
Thanks so much to Vegan Supply for donating 2x $25 Gift Cards!
Scoring
NOTE: For those who’ve done the Segment Challenge, there are some changes for the WINTER GRAVELQUEST!
Scoring is geared towards rewarding the consistent. Try to make it out every week!
For NON-TIMED segments, 2pts will be awarded to each rider who complete each segment.
For the TIMED segments, points will be awarded this way for each Category for all who complete the segment that week:
1st – 5pts
2nd – 4pts
3rd – 3pts
4th – 2pts
5th – 1pt (and beyond, 1pt for all!)
Vancouver Island Wildlife Icons
These will be awarded for each segment, and you’ll get 2pts for each, plus if you collect 3-of-a-kind you’ll get a bonus 3pts, and if you collect all 10, 5pts!
Bonus Points
There are a few opportunities to score extra points! Since these are awarded to ‘one’ person each week, the rider may be in any Category. Some are random, some you can actually go for.
- New QOM/KOM – (TIMED SEGMENTS ONLY) if a new QOM or KOM is set on the segment, that rider gets an extra 2pts.
- Time Bonus – (TIMED SEGMENTS ONLY) a time will be secretly pre-selected for each segment, any who happen to ride that exact time will be awarded 2pts.
- The Early Bird – the earliest locked-in effort for the ‘A’ segment will get 2pts. (Eg: someone might preview the segment on Monday, and be the ‘first’, but if they ride it again and their final result tops that one, then the second is what counts – sorry, I just don’t want to have to refresh the segment pages constantly! 😉 )
- The Socialite – tag @AboutTheRideCA on Twitter, FB or IG in a post relating to the competition, and my favourite post each week will get 2pts.
- Birthday Bonus – if you ‘lock in’ one of the weekly segments on your birthday, and let me know, and you’ll get bonus points equal to 1/20th your new age! (Note: you have to email me before 6pm Sunday that week so I know.)
- Bonus Segments – some weeks there may be a bonus challenge, it won’t be scored like the others, but a declared number of points will be awarded to all who simply complete that segment.
Help Get Word Out!
Ain’t this more fun with more people? Help get word out! Follow our social channels, and share posts, mention what you’re doing on your Strava rides, invite friends to sign up and join you, get your clubs and bike shops to get word out!
Anything Confusing?
Fire over a note on the contact page if you’ve got any questions, ideas, suggestions, etc!
Winter GravelQuest FAQ
The GravelQuest is a new version of our Segment Challenge GRAVEL EDITION, and will likely replace it moving forward.
The Segment Challenge started on the road, but we also had a gravel edition in the fall for three years as well!
Do I Have to Ride Every Week?
Nope, ride any week or segment that’s convenient for you!
It does make it a bit easier for me scoring if people ride all the segments, but it’s not required.
Is It Free?
Yup, it’s totally free!
On sign-up you can check a box if you want to ‘chip in’ to the series, but it’s 100% optional, and there’s no difference in scoring, prizing, etc..
Is It On Road or Offroad?
Since it’s the GravelQuest, it’ll be offroad! Most trail selections will be fairly tame and not too technical.
What If I Don't Want To 'Race' The Segments?
A big focus of this series is simply exploring new trails. There’s requirement to ‘race’ or give it 100%, tho that’s a fun element for many!
If you just want to join in and cruise each week, please do!
How Long Does The Series Run?
Each season should run 8 weeks, and typically there will be 2 segments a week, but sometimes you might find a bonus segment as well!
Where Can I Find Out About Segments From Past Seasons? (AKA Series Archive!)
Here’s our series history!
Feel free to relive each season, it’s especially fun for the Gravel seasons if unfamiliar with local trails.
- Season 1 – our first season ran 12 weeks, February 27th thru May 22nd, 2023! Here’s a the write-up for the season!
- Season 2 – our second season of 9 weeks, ran June 19th thru August 20th, 2023! Here’s our Season 2 Final Report!
- Season 3 – this was our first GRAVEL Edition! 8 weeks, ran September 11th thru November 5th, 2023! Here’s the Season 3 Final Report!
- Season 4 – back on the road for the spring, March 4th thru May 12th, 2024! Here’s the Season Finale Report!
- Season 5 – the theme was RIDER’S CHOICE! It was awesome, ran June 10th thru August 4th, 2024, and here’s the Season 5 Final Report!
Sign Up for Email Updates!
Sign up for our updates! There are a few different options, select the one(s) you're interested in.
'Main' is our main update list, with the occasional update, and the other lists are more specific, tied to events or recurring topics.
And of course your privacy is respected, and your email address will never be sold, 'loaned out' or shared with any other party.