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 /
The Segment Challenge is done until March 2025!
It was another awesome season, check the blog for the Season 6 final report!
And new for November 2024 – the Highland Gravel EndurUPtor!!
You have the full month to ride three big climbs!
Season 6 — THE GRAVEL EDITION — Sept 2nd – Oct 27th, 2024!
This season we’re back on trails for 8 weeks of gravel!
Sign-up form is now active, scroll down to the next section!
If new to the series, be sure to check out our Season 3 Archives – with a fun selection of trails and connectors mostly in the West Shore! Lots of great spots to ride (and ways to connect the trails) to fill the days when you don’t have Season 6 segments to ride! 😉
How It Works
In a nutshell, every week for 8 weeks we feature two segments, and riders can go ride them as fast or slow as they want. The main goal for the is to (hopefully!) check out some new road and routes. Segments times are tracked, and if you’re feeling competitive, give it a go. I collect results and scores, and there’s a ton of awesome draw prizes each week thanks to our supporters (see below)! 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!
NEW: A FAQ has been added, scroll to the bottom of the page to check it out!
Safety is a huge priority of course, and all efforts are made to select quiet roads/trails that are low traffic, but please do not take any unnecessary risks, this is just for fun!
Victoria Segment Challenge – GRAVEL EDITION – Rules & Sign-Up
A few rules to try to keep things fun for all:
- There’s a full week to complete segments, ride any time you wish, as many times as you wish, if a TIMED segment your fastest result will be the one that counts.
- There will be a few TIMED SEGMENTS – these will be ‘competitive’ and the times tracked, typically one every two weeks. The remainder will be NON-TIMED SEGMENTS, and will not feature a time, and all will receive the same number of points (30pts – new for 2024, 2023 was 50pts).
- 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 NON-TIMED SEGMENTS can be ridden any old way you want!
- Bikes: since they are on trails, anything goes! 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 fine 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 Female and Open categories, and you can select A, B or C. A typically are pretty fit folk, C’s are definitely on the more casual end of the spectrum, or just planning to ride the segments as a fun destination or goal each week!
- A’s should know who you are! For Open A, if your 1hr FTP has been over 4w/kg, this is for you. For Female A, above 3.6w/kg. Strava-wise, you probably have a collection of KOMs, and fairly regularly find yourself in the T10 for segments when going full-out.
- Open C’s should be below 3w/kg, Female C’s under 2.6w/kg for 1hr FTP.
- B’s should find themselves in-between these.
- If unfamiliar, or unsure, just add a note. I will move riders around if necessary. Riders can upgrade during the ‘season’, but will lose half their points.
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!)
To join the Victoria Segment Challenge:
Step 1: Sign-Up Form (Google Docs form)
Step 2: Join our Strava Group (This makes it easy for me to sort our riders out on each segment.)
Sorry, but failure to follow these two steps will likely result in omission from weekly results.
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. 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.
Season 6 Archives – if you missed a week, you can check them all out 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 #8 – Oct 21st – Nov 3rd – Circumnavigating Mount Work
It’s our final week for the Gravel Segment Challenge! We do one last pass through Hartland, and also have our final Timed/Challenge segment that’s a solid challenge, but not nearly as epic as last year. (Tho it’s a decent grunt to get there!)
As usual for the final segments, there are TWO weeks to complete them, extending the series until Nov 3rd. Ride either week, I’ll collect times from each!
Segment 8A Name: 17A To Ross DURRANCE rd via hartLAND gravel grind RR
Deets: 3.94km, 107m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM & KOM are irrelevant!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/28134997
It’s not the most thrilling route, but it helps get us to where we need to go, and sure beats the road! We’re back in Hartland and climbing up the Regional Trail’s main ascent, and continuing on down to the parking lot on Ross-Durrance. It’s a good downhill (a bit rocky and steep to start), and looks like there’s a decent number of riders that haven’t been down this route, so hopefully new trails for a bunch of you!
The starting point may be a bit tricky, I activated it going up Skull Trail, but might want to stick to Pooh Corner to be safe. I think this is part of the XTERRA route! And a reminder this isn’t a timed/challenge segment, so take your time, there’s lot more to come!
Segment 8B Name: 3:10 to Munns
Deets: 1.87km, 46m elevation gain.
This is an existing segment, QOM is Lindsay Pedal with a 6:51 & KOM is Rob Britton with a 4:32, LL is Robin Willard with 3 efforts.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/17833864
To get to 7B, head up Ross-Durrance to Corry Rd (pretty much near the top) and it starts a few meters in. It kinda looks like private property, but I promise it’s the regular access point to this trail!
Reminder: this is our final Timed/Challenge segment! 🔥
The path eases into the climb, which isn’t too bad, tho there is one rocky/washed out section that may be faster to walk/run through. I’ve ridden through it a few times (and seemingly easier climbing this way than descending!) A few hundred meters after that section it starts to level off, and gently descend, taking you to Munn!
This segment ends just down from where the Gravel Finale concluded last season, and feel free to head back down that way to get your revenge on that nasty climb!
Suggested Routing
We’ve been into Hartland a couple times already this Season, so I’ll refer everyone to previous segments to finding your way out here!
If you come back out this way another time, make the first left and it takes you to a neat little cabin that’s worth checking out (you can go inside!)
When done 8B, you of course have different options, but Kallie’s Trail (which seems to be renamed Mt Work Connector) is a fun way back into Thetis. I’d suggest taking the first main right-hander, which diverts from where we actually came up in Season 3, and is less technical and a bit more fun to ride. Here’s a segment for that as well: https://www.strava.com/segments/32279983 – just stick to the wider/main trail, and it’s mostly a descent to Westoby Rd, or stick to the trails and take Bellamy/Phelps for a more epic day on the bike.
Finally, for when you’re thinking of places to ride, keep in mind you can do these in reverse too! So if you start in Thetis with the ‘epic’ finale segment last year, then descend 8B, and head back in via 8A. It’s a great loop in either direction.
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 #1 – Hints – SEASON 7 – 2025!!
Note: full details will be posted Sunday evening! Hints may change as well.. Now featuring the “CR” (Course Record) time estimate, scale to your riding ability.
Segment 1A: We’re back on the road in the spring of 2025!! Make sure you’re on the email list so you don’t miss out!
Segment 1B: Also be sure to follow the Instagram and Facebook accounts for lots of neat updates over the winter.
Results!
Below are our Season 6 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.)
A massive thank-you to the businesses below for contributing to our Season 6 draw prizes – here’s what we have so far, more to come!
Season 6 Prize List! (So much great swag!)
Each week we’ll be giving away a bunch of this awesome swag by random draw!
Note: limit of 2 draw wins per person, until all names have been drawn!
@MortgageCyclist
Scoring
NOTE: For those who’ve done Season 1 or Season 2, there are some changes for the GRAVEL EDITION!
Scoring is geared towards rewarding the consistent!
For NON-TIMED segments, 30pts will be awarded to each rider who complete each segment. (NOTE: Changed for Season 6, Season 3 was 50pts.)
For the TIMED segments, points will be awarded this way for the A, B & C fields for all who complete the segment that week:
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 – (TIMED SEGMENTS ONLY) if a new QOM or KOM is set on the segment, that rider gets an extra 5pts.
- 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 5pts.
- The Early Bird – the earliest locked-in effort for the ‘A’ 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.
- 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 1/10th 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.
Curses
But it’s not all roses – there are also a few ways to lose points each segment!
- Yellow Jersey Curse – (TIMED SEGMENTS ONLY) 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 – (TIMED SEGMENTS ONLY) 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 most 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!
NEW! Segment Challenge FAQ
Where Did This Event Come From?
The Segment Challenge is inspired by the KOMpetition challenge that came about during the COVID lockdowns.
It was a way for riders to compete safely, without coming into contact with others. Perfect for introverts as well. 🤣
Shout out to Dirtious J Dirt for the OG season in 2020, and Dan Blackwell who took it on in 2021. Here’s the original Strava group as well.
In 2023 I volunteered to continue the series, as I found it to be a really great format, and super accessible to a wide range of riders, and really should be a regular thing.
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?
Both!
Typically there are three ‘Seasons’ each year.
The first two, Spring and Summer, are on the road, and the Fall edition is gravel.
What If I Don't Want To 'Race' Segments?
A big focus of this series is simply exploring new roads or 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, simply join the ‘C’ group, and the more serious ones there will duke it out for best times!
How Long Does The Series Run?
Typically each Season runs 8-10 weeks.
Usually the Spring is 10 weeks, Summer is 8 weeks, and 8 weeks for the Fall 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!
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!)