Below is an archive of each week’s segments, relive the suffering!

Week #1 – Jun 19th – Jun 25th – Whoops Around Granville & Hastings!

Let’s start Season 2 with some varied terrain; there’s some down, some up, some fast and some slow! Welcome back everyone, it’s everything, everywhere all at once! 😁

Segment 1A Name: Granville to Hastings Island style
Deets: 1.63km, 5m elevation gain. (Not correct! Probably over 30m.)
This is an existing segment, QOM is Lindsay Pedal with a 3:02, KOM is Andrew McCartney with a 2:32, LL is Glennon Rosenbloom with 3 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/3308351

Last season we went the other way on Granville, but this one starts off pretty quick on the Burnside end with a little whoop, then a right turn, and a big whoop, and then one of my least favourite hills in Victoria – this one is never fun! Plus a little bit after that, if you’ve got anything in the tank at that point. 🤢

Segment 1B Name: The “W” in Burnside W is for Whoop!
Deets: 1.52km, 17m elevation gain.
This is a new segment, QOM is Saskia K with a 2:88, KOM is Kyle Denny with a 2:02. LL is unclaimed!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/34683717

This is a another new one; there’s a similar segment that goes all the way to Helmcken, but wanted to focus on the Whoop factor! Again, we did part of this in the opposite direction in S1, but this time we’re headed down Burnside W to Prospect, but you get to carry that speed around the corner, on that fresh new tarmac, and carry on around the corner and up the other side. Very obvious start and finish points as well!

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

SUGGESTED ROUTING

I’d suggest taking the Goose to Burnside W past the hospital, and then you can run these two in a row, starting with the B segment, then recover down to Helmcken and back, and give it another go once you’re back on Granville. It’s a convenient downhill after that to Interurban which has numerous bus options. 😭😂

Week #2 – Jun 26th – Jul 2nd – Happy Valley Vertical

It’s week two, and it’s time to climb! We’re headed over to Colwood and a couple segments off Happy Valley Road. The first is a partial repeat of an earlier KOMpetition segment, and the second is just the start of Neild Road..many may have not done this climb, so this is just a friendly introduction.

Segment 2A Name: Full Wulfred
Deets: 2.243km, 160m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Holly Henry with a 7:32, KOM is Jackson Bocksnick with a 6:07, LL is Edwin Wong with 1 effort.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/5177806

I say ‘partial’ because the segment used previously started a bit earlier on the flat section, this one starts on the actual climb. Well, the first climb, there’s actually two-in-one! Halfway up there’s a downhill into a turn, be careful there with your speed (and enjoy a short recovery), but then it’s back to climbing to the end. And this one is particularly fun because you also have to ‘climb’ to get back to the bottom. 🤢 Oh, and don’t be fooled by the segment title, the actual road name is Walfred.

Segment 2B Name: Neild Rd – Hibbert to Wild Cherry
Deets: 1.31km, 97m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Mega Rath with a 4:14, KOM is Peter Disera with a 3:21 (just a month ago!) LL is Nic Patenaude Ⓥ.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/20721641

Ahh Neild Road, looks like about 1/3rd of this group has ridden up here. This segment is a little less than halfway up the “VCL” climb/segment, about 1/3rd of the way to the very top. Fortunately it spares the worst part of the climb, which is just after where the segment ends. Very clear start and finish points, enjoy a Victoria classic!

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

SUGGESTED ROUTING

If you’ve got fatter tires, just take the Goose to Happy Valley Road, and Walfred is just up the road from there, and Neild further down. On the road I’ve got a little backroad jiggle I do to get over there from the paved section of the Goose, you’ll have seen part of it to get to Mill Hill, feel free to give it a try!

Week #3 – July 3rd – 9th – The Battle on 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!! 🚵‍♀️

SUGGESTED ROUTING

Easiest is just to take Lochside straight out to Royal Oak, but if you’re not familiar, there’s a fun route you can take that goes along the northern end of Douglas and then along the lovely Emily Carr Drive. I usually use this route if leaving the Switch Bridge and heading towards Sidney. Great way to avoid making your bike extra dusty!

Week #4 – July 10th – 16th – Old West Shoot-Outs

This week we’re headed to the south… South end of Old West Saanich!

Two brand new segments which are once again very close to each other on quiet side streets. Both are short efforts, not too steep, one will be familiar to long-time KOMppers, and the other has a fun little twist at the start… I expect we’ll see new KOMs and QOMs on both!

Segment 4A Name: Spin it up Linnet
Deets: 0.85km, 26m elevation gain.
This is a new segment, QOM is Caieigh Filmer with a 2:25, KOM is Ross Johnson with a 1:39, there is no LL.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/34800325

This one was a bit controversial, as we bombed down Linnet, but there was an S-bend that made for a blind corner, which wasn’t great at speed..! But this time we’re going up, it rolls a bit but ought to be over before you know it.

Segment 4B Name: Strava’s Darlings of Starling
Deets: 0.5km, 26m elevation gain.
This is a new segment, QOM is Tijana Fazlagic with a 2:38, KOM is Scott Mitchell with a 1:44, there is no LL.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/34800259

I see 5 of us have been on Starling including newcomer Tijana Fazlagic who’s the current QOM! This is right next door to Linnet, shorter, and has a twist at the start, literally.

Since there’s a distance limit to creating segments, my options on here were to end it around the corner, or make it a hair-pin turn at the start….so we’re going with the latter! Basically you’re going to want to roll to the end of the road (it’s a downhill) and make a 180 turn at the end and head back up, with valuable seconds to be made in how well you can make that turn. There’s a good kick pretty much right away, but then levels out, so save a bit for the end. Who’s going to end up the top Darlings of Starling? 🤩

UPDATE: Looking at the rides that have times on the segment, it appears no ‘turn around’ is actually required as part of the segment. All the rides I looked at appear to be ‘straight line’ rides back up the road, so I believe you can just ride to the end past the start point, turn around at your convenience, then gun it back up the hill. =)

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

SUGGESTED ROUTING

Old West is in a bit of an awkward spot, and you’re going to have to climb a bit to get to the segments no matter what, so I’d just take Interurban out, jam across Quayle, and shimmy up West Saanich, and then you’re on track! You can also come in from the other direction, off Oldfield or around Elk Lake.

Week #5 – July 17th – 23rd – No Rest for the Wicked

It’s Rest Week, which means no times are tracked, but we’ve still got two segments for you to enjoy – simply ride for 50pts each, you’ll all feel like you’re #1! They’re not close to each other, so get out and enjoy a couple rides on some less-commonly trodden roads this week!

Segment 5A Name: Liberty to “The Good” Climb
Deets: 2.85km, 89m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, no other details relevant this week!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/29855034

This one is a bit of a hike to get to, but it’s such a lovely road! Quiet, fun ups and downs, smooth surface…. It’s an out-and-back, and I challenge you to find a better one!

Segment 5B Name: Old West Saanich N
Deets: 3.02km, 52m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, no other details relevant this week!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/3782572

I send you all out along the south side of Old West last week, this week enjoy the other end! This is another quiet, rolling road takes you through some lovely wooded areas, enjoy!

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

SUGGESTED ROUTING

Getting out to La Bonne is a bit of a trek, I usually take Happy Valley to Lindholm and across to Barrow which becomes one end of La Bonne, and continue up. You can take Kangaroo off Rocky Pt, but I really don’t feel like you save much in the way of elevation! When you’re done La Bonne, turn down Liberty, which takes you to Rocky Pt, and enjoy a pretty long descent! For Old West, it’s easy to access off Spartan, or come up Oldfield after a ride around Elk Lake!

Week #6 – July 24th – 30th – The Fast & The Curious

This week we’ve got some fun segments for you; the first will be a fast one on a road you’ve probably never even noticed. The second is a road you’ve all ridden by, and some of you have been up and down (especially the gravel inclined), but I think it’s a fantastic side-road and I’ve created a neat little ‘technical time trial’ segment based on this, with some fun ups and downs and turns, and both are just off Interurban near Camosun!

Segment 6A Name: Liberto loophole
Deets: 1.06km, 15m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Deborah LeBlanc with a 2:17, KOM is benjamin moore with a 1:50, Local Legend is Vegan Dave Shishkoff, with 1 effort. (And according to Strava only 9 people in the group have ridden this segment!)
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/17303330

I’m sure many have enjoyed the Conway/Hector detour loop (check it out if you haven’t), but I’ve ridden by Liberto every time, until recently…and it’s a fun little stretch! Apparently the opposite direction has been featured in the Tour de Vic, but I like this direction (off Hector) because you carry a fair bit of speed. Pretty sure we’ll see the QOM & KOM change hands a few times, and be sure to enjoy the ‘whoop’ near the end!

Segment 6B Name: Logan’s Run – a Viaduct ITT
Deets: 3.17km, 82m elevation gain.
This is a new segment, QOM is none, KOM is Vegan Dave Shishkoff with an 8:40, Local Legend is none.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/34913826

I think this will be a fun one with more technical elements. I wanted to use much more of Viaduct (start further back, and end much further down Viaduct), but I think there’s just a bit too much chance to catch a vehicle (and a few blind corners!), but this is still plenty of road!

Currently only 4 people have ever ridden this routing, and even tho I was cruising pretty slowly when I made the segment, I still ended up with the KOM (I’ll be losing 5pts for the Yellow Jersey curse, I’m certain of that!) It starts right by the park sign, then you swing right, and it’s a pretty cool climb upwards, at the top is a turn-around, and then you get to bomb back down (watch the left turn, but there’s good sight lines, and next to no traffic), and continue on to the end of Viaduct, then a hairpin u-turn, and back to where you started. Will be neat to see how fast people can do on here!

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

SUGGESTED ROUTING

You’re just heading to Interurban Camosun, so pick your poison, but Interurban off the Goose will probably be good for most people. Not the most pleasant roadway, but a nice bike lane the whole way.

Week #7 – July 31st – Aug 6th – One Hill Too Many

We’re back to climbing hills this week, and unfortunately one of the hills is after one of the biggest hills…..also this is one of the rare weeks where the segments aren’t terribly close.

Segment 7A Name: Petworth bottom to top
Deets: 1.06km, ~84m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is k kit with a 3:46, KOM is Jordan Landolt with a 2:43, Local Legend is Rob Blackie with 2 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/11634296

This is another one you’ve probably ridden by many times, if out on Prospect Lake Rd. There’s usually an amusing message on the produce sign as well! But the amusement ends quickly once you roll around that corner…this starts off as another wall! Fortunately it mellows out for the end, but you gotta get there first! Note the elevation is off on this particular segment, and is likely around 84m of elevation. And if you really want a kick in the pants, on the way back down make a left and go to the end of Kerryview. Woof.

Segment 7B Name: Davies Road Climb
Deets: 1.01km, ~81m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Claire Townsend with a 4:15, KOM is Jordan Landolt with a 2:31, Local Legend is Travis Field with 5 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/6813188

There are three ways to get to this one – Millstream Rd, Ross-Durrance, or Munn. Pick your poison! I haven’t actually ridden up this road, I’ve been at the top a few times on gravel rides (there’s an exit from Thetis that leads to another trail), but this will be my first time up this one as well! Our own Travis Field is the Local Legend however, so he’ll have an edge, and if you’re looking for someone to blame, please direct your grief to The Squaremeat, as this segment was her request. 😂😂😂

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

SUGGESTED ROUTING

Not too many exciting options this week…. To get to Petsworth, you’ve got to ride Prospect Lake, so just pick your end! Davies has a few options, I’m not a fan of Millstream (lots of traffic), so it’ll be Munn for me most likely, at least it’s a good warmup! 😬

Week #8 – Aug 7th – 13th – Ups & Downs of School

It’s our penultimate week, and time to go back to school! But just for a few minutes, as we’re out by Royal Roads University this week. One segment is flat and short, for some it’ll be the easiest segment ever…for others going for a fast time, it’s still 100%! And we’ll take it easy on you with just a short but pretty climb at RRU for the second segment.

Segment 8A Name: Colwood Lake Sprint
Deets: 0.42km, 0m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Samantha Hoft with 32s, KOM is Vinko Poldrugovac with 26s, Local Legend is John MacDonald 󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣 with 34 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/7992910

We’ve finally got a proper sprint! Under 500m, on a pretty flat and quiet road..this should be interesting! This was our other ‘request’, thanks to Katja, aka K 🙂 – I’m definitely looking forward to it! W/KG mean much less than pure watts here, I expect we’ll see some different names atop the leaderboards.

Segment 8B Name: RR Climb
Deets: 0.91km, 57m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Bonnie Emery with a 2:54, KOM is Daniel Damian with a 1:53, Local Legend is Kyle Kl with 28 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/9780683

This is a fairly quick climb, with a pretty boring title! There’s a more popular segment on Strava, but it ends further up, where the road gets busy, so I’ve opted for this shorter one that I came across, ending right before W Campus Rd. Take the long way down to the bottom as well, and enjoy a little time in Royal Roads!

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

SUGGESTED ROUTING

Pretty easy to get here, you can take the Goose all the way to the entrance of Royal Roads if you don’t mind a little dust! The sprint is just across the road at the lights, and as mentioned, you can take the ‘long way’ down to the bottom (X-Men University!) which is quite nice, or just bomb down the hill. Can’t believe the season is nearly done!

Week #9 – Aug 14th – 20th – One Last Hurrah!

It’s the end of Season 2, and the end of our road segments! This week we’re back to upper Cordova Bay, and feature a Haliburton climb, but probably not the one you’re thinking of! And we wrap things up with a bit of a coaster – you could probably ride it without even pedalling, but for those still in the game, it’s a fun fast road!

Segment 9A Name: Climbing that cherry tree to Bossi
Deets: 1.14km, 47m elevation gain.
This is a new segment, QOM is Amanda G with a 3:41, KOM is Eugene Hahn with a 3:12, Local Legend is no one currently.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/35090064

This one is a rough start – straight uphill on the backside of Haliburton, but you’ve got a nice separated bike lane at least! It levels out, a right hander, and then you’ve got a final kick up Bossi. Since this is a new segment, I expect we’ll see a new QOM & KOM! Will it be you?

Segment 9B Name: Santa Clarita
Deets: 1.30km, 0m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Steph Martinek with a 1:49, KOM is Chuck Detheridge with a 1:35, Local Legend is Lucy Choi with 25 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/14298081

It’s the final road segment! Coast it or go for a fast time, it’ll be over before you know it, just like Season 2 of the Segment Challenge! The end point is a bit close to Cordova, so be mindful of the corner there, but enjoy some higher speeds!

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

SUGGESTED ROUTING

We’ve been up this way a few times, Lochside gets you in the right spot, just gotta pick your poison how you want to get up top, Amblewood is my preference. Once you’re done, carry along Alderley to Sayward, and can come back around Elk Lake, or drop down and loop back along Lochside.

Scoring

Scoring is geared towards rewarding the consistent!

For each segment completed, points will be awarded this way for the A, B & C fields:

1st – 50pts
2nd – 47pts
3rd – 45pts
4th – 43pts
5th – 41pts
6th – 40pts (and one point spread beyond 6th, to 30pts, which all below this will receive.)

Bonus Points

There are a few opportunities to score extra points! Since these are awarded to ‘one’ person each week, the rider may be Open or Female, A, B or C. Some are random, some you can actually go for.

• New QOM/KOM – if a new QOM or KOM is set on the segment, that rider gets an extra 5pts.
• Time Bonus – a time will be secretly pre-selected for each segment, any who happen to ride that exact time will be awarded 5pts.
• The Early Bird – the earliest locked-in effort for each segment will get 5pts. (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 5pts.
• 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.

Curses

But it’s not all roses – there are also a few ways to lose points each segment!

• Yellow Jersey Curse – if a rider in the competition holds the QOM/KOM at the start, and they fail to defend it, they lose 5pts.
• Try-Hard Penalty – if a rider becomes the Local Legend during the week of the segment, they lose 5pts. (If they go into it already as the LL, then this will be ignored.)

There’s a few surprises to keep you on your toes! (Also note that in fairness Dave the organizer will be omitted from winning any bonuses, but can collect the curses!)

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!

Chip In & Get Tips Back!

I’m organizing this as a labour of love, but it does take up quite a bit of time! If you’d like to chip in a few dollars, you can send an e-transfer to dave at abouttheride.ca – as a thank-you I’ll add you to a secret email list with tips for getting the fastest time on each segment – like here’s my blog post covering the basics for getting PRs. =)