This past Saturday - this is why we pay the big bucks to live here, what a glorious day!! Seemingly not the best week for segment riding, with numbers down a bit, but still some fantastic rides, and a couple local pros getting a little notification, which is always cool to be able to do!

I hope those that couldn't make the Old Mossy segment check it out some time, it may be my favourite for the season so far, excellent mix of climbing, a speedy section, and a bit different to keep the intensity up that long.

This week we have two more climbs...but they're short. (Not sure if that's better?!) Read on!

HOUSEKEEPING

Notes for the week:

Sadly I had to issue a disqualification (DSQ) for unsporting conduct this week. A rider unhappy with the result on Strava took issues into their hands and cropped the file for a more favourable time, despite admitting they finished on the wrong side of the road at the end, and rolled slowly around to the actual finish, adding several seconds. I offered the rider the opportunity to re-ride the segment, delete the file for a DNS or simply re-upload the original and avoid all this, but none of these options were accepted. My belief in fairness makes it impossible for me to overlook or ignore this.

Sh!t like this makes organizing events like this suck. And I totally get that it would put people off trying to make stuff like this happen. I hope through my transparency I set a good example, and despite the grief, frustration and hurt, I hope others considering roles like this can overcome these challenges and pursue their passions.

A new rule has been added to the the event page; to clarify there is no 'file editing' allowed. There must be a 'substantial' portion of time/distance before and after each segment, so it's clearly a part of a ride and not a collection of the most favourable data points, which is not in the intended spirit of this event. Keep it real. We all make mistakes, I've had my share of goof-ups, and that's part of the series. (And there may be legitimate issues that come up - please message me if so, I'm more than happy to try and resolve the issue best we can. Another rider's GPS failed to track properly this week, but we were able to determine a reasonable approximation to apply to their segments.)

On a lighter note I think this is three weeks without any errors reported! 😎

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

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SOUNDTRACK NOTES

Another oldie but a good tonight, got Canadian rock legends Sloan on the boom box, who remembers Smeared?! Underwhelmed gets some flack, but come on, it's catchy as heck, and is still a perfect anthem for 2023, funny how some things don't change. Take It In!

THIS WEEK IN RIDES

The A's

This week I had the pleasure of joining The Squaremeat and K :) on a ride Tuesday, sadly we couldn't complete Old Mossy due to a road closure, but they demolished the B segment, with The Squaremeat logging a blistering 5:19 (6th fastest of all times!) 

For the fellas we saw four riders, though Dan is still recovering. Damian claimed top times on both, including the KOM on Mossy, tho Andrew's original time on Glen Nevis is almost other-worldly! Louis and Rich finished incredibly close on both, 2nd and 3rd respectively. Impressive times!

The B's

Sadly we were missing several Female riders this week, but K :) put on a clinic on Old Mossy, riding a 10:25, which snagged her the QOM, and the 9th fastest time overall! Laura B had set the early benchmark, and Maria nabbed 3rd, and over on Durrance Laura and Jill shared the podium, although it was also close for all three.

In the Open B's, Travis was back on top, claiming the hot seat fairly early, and holding it, with times starting to approach the A's, cracking 6mins on Durrance! Jon and I trailed there, and another second for myself on Mossy, and Adam Wadden makes his first podium appearance!

The C's

Not the best week for the Female C's, no starters there, hopefully we'll see them back this week!

For the gents, Tyler Venn was back on top in both segments, Matt was a second behind on Durrance and claimed both 2nds, and 3rd place was shared by Allen and Marc.

The Secret Times this week were 6:12 and 12:00, and again lots of close calls, but no hits. John MacDonald is taking advantage of the bonus points opportunities and claimed both the Early Bird and Socialite (really nice photo on IG!!), and Louis had the misfortune of collecting both Local Legends local legend titles, and was deducted 10pts.

OVERALL!

A quick summary of the overall, since there's only two weeks left!

In the A's, Claire's lead will be insurmountable, but Lindsay is back on the bike and hopefully will challenge The Squaremeat for that 2nd place spot! Damian is holding the top seat firmly, and Louis has moved up to 2nd. Dan keeps moving up, now in 4th nipping on Harley's heels who's still holding 3rd, and Julian still sits 5th.

In the B's Laura is holding solid in 1st, but 2nd-4th is getting tight, Jill is holding onto 2nd, but K :)'s moving up rapidly and now in 3rd, and Maria is right there in 4th, and hopefully we see more of Justine who's solidly in 5th.

Over on the Open B's, Travis continues to build his lead over myself, Jon is pretty firmly in 3rd, and Amir, Kirk, John, Ryan, Bruno and Kevin are all ones to watch out for. Sadly Peter is off for the rest of the season, but his surgery seems to have gone well!

Wendy may have an insurmountable lead on the Female side, and over with the fellas Mikael continues to hold 1st, Dan Shaw is getting very close however! Kit, Tyler, Matt and Marc definitely will be duking it out for 3rd in this heated field, with most of these guys riding every week, it's gonna be close!

PRIZES!

This week's prizes are the remaining items from Fairfield Bikes and Oak Bay Bikes, plus a chocolate sample from Drop Naked!

There are 6 items, and distribution will be 1x A, 4x B, and 1x C, and the lucky people are:

Louis FL

Vegan Dave Shishkoff (doesn't count, next!)
Juan C. Sanchez-Arias
David Taylor
K :)
Bruno Gonz Jones

Kit St. John

Congrats! I'll email you all privately later tonight with details, note that the first to reply will get their top prize choices! (Well this week doesn't matter!)

For Week #10, we'll be giving away Gift Cards to Cinnaholic, Nice Shoes, Vegan Supply and Yates Coffee Bar - to be entered to win, you need to ride at least one segment this coming week.

ALSO: there's going to be a bonus giveaway this week, if you fit XL clothing, please keep an eye out, and we've secured a pretty nifty commemorative prize for all Podium (1st-3rd overall) places, as well as for other positions (as the prizes allow) - more details in the next day or two!

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

https://abouttheride.ca/vsc-s1-prizelist/

Week #10 - May 1 - 7 - All Hill No Mill

Sorry folks, this week is going to be a rough one! Ever been up to the Mill Hill neighbourhood? You haven't if you know what's good for you; 'up' is the operative word! Just around the corner from Crystalview, we've got a couple more climbs lined up, and as long as you love twisty climbs and straight climbs, this week will be for you! For the non-climbers like me, well, at least they're short. 😭

Segment 10A Name: Kingsview Ridge Climb
Deets: 0.79km, 81m Elevation
This is an existing segment, QOM is Brianna Brandon with a 3:04, KOM is Riley Pickrell with a 2:09, Bruce More is LL with 1 effort.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/2488610

I was actually kind of amazed when I rode up this. Really neat road, it's all switchbacks, and pretty darn steep. Kind of wild they built houses along here, but at least we got this nifty road.

Segment 10B Name: Langvista Hill Climb
Deets: 0.87km, 11m* Elevation (this CANNOT be correct, likely ~80m)
This is an existing segment, QOM is Rhonda Callender with a 3:40, KOM is Elijah Buffalo with a 2:24, there is no LL.
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/2184826

This one is gonna leave a mark. It's just a straight grind pretty much all the way. Maybe don't sprint at the start of this one!

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

Updated on the site: Week #11 Hints, and Routing for this week: https://abouttheride.ca/victoria-segment-challenge/

Denied Old Mossy! K :) on the left went back and claimed the QOM, and The Squaremeat will be trying it on a future date!

Phew, there's another week for ya! I'm waiting for my Lotus Pond restaurant delivery, sadly today is their last day, the family wants to retire and couldn't find a buyer that would continue their legacy (as I understand it). Will miss those incredible turnip cakes!

Safe and speedy riding all! 🚲

- Dave

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