Strava segment snipers rejoice,
the bane of coaches everywhere is back!
/ O P E R A T I O N / S E G M E N T E D / R E A L I T Y /
the bane of coaches everywhere is back!
/ O P E R A T I O N / S E G M E N T E D / R E A L I T Y /
Below is an archive of each week’s segments, re-live the suffering!
When done, we’ll have a season final report here as well!
And here are all our Weekly Newsletter Archives.
Week #1 – Mar 3rd – 9th – A Little Up And Down
We’re back! Can you believe this is our 3rd year? I’m starting us off fairly easily, shorter segments, one you could even coast the whole way!
Let’s get this party started!
Segment 1A Name: Island View Climb (Towards Beach)
Deets: 1.05km, 33m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Deborah LeBlanc with a 2:01 & KOM is Matthew Ney with a 1:31, LL is Eugene Hahn with 5 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/9435514
We’re headed out to Island View, I’m sure most have been down this road, if not, continue on down to the beach, it’s a popular spot!
I’m taking it fairly easy to start us off, it’s neither steep nor long, but I’m sure it’ll still sting a little. 😉 That way you know you’re doing it right!
Segment 1B Name: Island View Drop – Keepin’ the gas on
Deets: 1.42km, 34m elevation gain. (This can’t be right, likely -33m!)
This is an existing segment, QOM is Norma Jean with a 1:42 & KOM is Chris MacLeod with a 1:27, LL is Eugene Hahn with 5 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/9488346
It’s fun throwing in a ‘fast one’ right off the bat! If it was possible, I’d love to do a ‘coasting’ segment, but we can’t track how or where people pedal, so give it a rip, and hope your legspeed is up for it!
Tip: make sure before you start that if a car was ahead of you, you’ve given it enough time to get down the road, there’s a good chance you’ll catch vehicles on the descent, and might actually slow you down!
Suggested Routing
While this is a bit further out of town than I’d prefer to start the series, it’s super easy to get to, just take Lochside!
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
Week #2 – Mar 10th – 16th – Ambling Around Amblewood
If you’ve been with the Segment Challenge for a while, you know this is one of my favourite areas! Quiet, wide streets, and lots of fun up and down sections, here’s what’s on the dance card this week:
Segment 2A Name: Woodside-Amblewood 1k
Deets: 1.01km, 56m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is The Squaremeat with a 2:44 & KOM is Sam Garber with a 2:14, LL is Logan Kuzyk with 8 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/7220482
A classic if there ever was one, we’ve done this at least once – just the regular haul up Amblewood, finishing around the corner(s) at the very top. Pace yourself, you’ll want a bit in the tank for the last kicker!
Segment 2B Name: Boulderwood climb – Amblewood to Bearwood (summit)
Deets: 0.52km, 27m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Julie van Veelen with a 1:02 & KOM is Eugene Hahn with a 47s, LL is justin kobbero with 11 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/6426824
Here’s a new one – we’ve done part of this as a longer climb coming off Lochside, but this time we’re starting right at the beginning of Boulderwood, and carrying along the top for a while.
There’s a slow way and a fast way to get through this segment, hopefully you can figure it out! 😁
Suggested Routing
This is another easy one to get to, you can simply take Lochside to Royal Oak Dr, or stick to the road and go along Emily Carr, which is quite nice as well. If you haven’t been this way, check it out, starts at the Switch Bridge, heads up Lochside, and you turn off at the police station, here’s a route file: https://www.strava.com/routes/3110669815318424748
Bonus Route: Once you’re atop Amblewood, there’s actually a really nice route that stays up high in Broadmead and takes you to Sayward (where you can continue around Elk Lake, or drop down to Martindale or return on Lochside). Check it out: https://www.strava.com/routes/3239642508204530090
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
Week #3 – Mar 17th – 23rd – Two Fast Finishes!
Back to another one of my favourite areas: Granville & Hastings, aka Strawberry Vale. This is a regular detour for me, pretty little area, tho a bit lumpy! Of not familiar, you might start adding this into your rides, it’s also a bit of a shortcut between Interurban and the Goose over by Nest. There are some high speed portions on the segments this week, so do use caution where needed!
Segment 3A Name: Big Dog Charlie
Deets: 2.27km, 7m elevation gain. (Not correct! Probably closer to 50m.)
This is an existing segment, QOM is The Squaremeat with a 3:54 & KOM is Cole Guest with a 3:31, LL is Doug Tuck with 4 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/9008545
We’ve done a similar segment on Charlton in past seasons, but usually I go with the shorter segment that ends at the top, this time let’s keep it going and finish over at Hastings, which features a speedy finish! Please be extra careful on that right hand turn onto Granville, the road is pretty quiet and you have a good sight line, but it’s easy to pick up a lot of speed there!
Fun fact about this one: Laura aka The Squaremeat attained the QOM whilst kicking my butt on a ride a couple years ago.
Segment 3B Name: Funner than you think
Deets: 1.95km, 43m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Mega Rath with a 3:00 & KOM is Cody Canning with a 2:49, LL is Vegan Dave Shishkoff with 6 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/37389664
And now we turn around, and do the same thing in the opposite direction! This direction starts fast into a kicker that I’m just not a fan of…but then smooths out, and has a nice swoopy downhill finish. The pacing on this one will be interesting!
Suggested Routing
Another easy one to get to, you can cruise up Interurban off the Goose and turn up Hastings, or if you’re coming in from the West Shore, at Nest turn up Burnside Rd W, and you’ll be on Charlton in a jiffy!
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
A massive thank-you to the following businesses for contributing to our draw prizes!
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. =)
Newsletter & Email Updates
Sign up to the right for our periodic updates about clinics, events, and other notable activities! (Probably just a few emails a year, and you can unsubscribe with a click any time!)