Got another quicker update for you, had another Cross on the Rock today out at the Jordie Lunn park, it was a pretty tough (and rough!) course perhaps a bit more suited to mountain bikes..!

Congrats to all our riders who were out, some fantastic results by so many of you!! 💪💪

Numbers were on the low side for the seggies again this week, but appreciate all who made the effort! I did notice a number of people didn't register a result for the 'A' segment, not sure if it's being skipped or what, but if I figure this far in, and due to the non-complex nature of the segment, if it's not registered, no points for you! If this is in error, let me know...but there were a few who got 'B' times, but didn't appear on the 'A' segment list, just FYI!

The B segment was a bit 'special', as we hit it on our road bikes in Season 1 - my own experience is not quite what I would have predicted. Despite holding more power, I was actually about 11s slower on my gravel bike. I thought that I'd make it up on the gravel section - I was able to hold 400-500w with the gravel tires, where on the road bike I was spinning out at 300w which was my limiting factor there....however the speed on the road seemed to make the difference - I hit the segment at nearly 50kph on the road, where I was under 40kph on the gravel bike. (I also paced it so I was holding closer to 500w on the road, and 300w on the gravel.) Checking out the 'Comparison' feature on Strava also showed that the road was where the time was made:

Sorry if nerding out on this is boring for you! 🤣

Spencer appears to have had a similar experience, he claimed the KOM on the road with a 1:34, but his gravel time was 1:43, 9s slower. Share your experience in the comments!!

Coming up this week - a couple little loops that I like to refer to as the Royal Bay Gems - hopefully you'll enjoy them as much as I do! There's a full route link as well if you're looking for some guidance to ride these.

HOUSEKEEPING

Notes for the week:

Paging David Karn - you're in the group and I've got a time for you this week, but you haven't signed up on the website, please do asap so I know what category you're in, and to confirm your interest to participate, thank you! 😊

03 <- THIS MANY WEEKS WITHOUT AN ERROR 🤣

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

SPONSORS AD

I'll go with the professionals this week - if you follow US politics it's been somewhat hilarious what George Santos has been doing, and when I saw the stunt he did with the baby, I immediately thought that'd make for a funny bit....and Colbert's writers knocked it off with this ad for the Santos Diversion Baby:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD3xbgqa03s

Damn it, Sandy, my yogurt! 🤣

SOUNDTRACK NOTES

No soundtrack tonight, been playing the Super Prestige CX racing - the men's race was pretty freaking exciting, check it out if you can!

THIS WEEK IN RIDES

Below are my summaries, and you can always view the full results on the main Segment Challenge page:

https://abouttheride.ca/victoria-segment-challenge/

The A's

We got a surprise winner in the A field with Sam taking the top step by a second! Kat cruised to 2nd, and is now just a few points behind Sofia who was away this week. Their scores are quite close now, so could be interesting to see how things play out the next couple weeks!

Julian continued his winning streak, and just 1s short of the KOM dropped the top time. Only 6s separated Calum and Dan, our other A riders. On the overall it's been very close between Julian and Calum, but with Julian taking the Early Bird, and Calum missing the 'A' segment, a gap has opened...but we've still got 2 weeks!

The B's

Once again three of our female B's made it out, and Kathy M edge out Tania by just a few seconds, and it's good to see Maria back out, rounding out the podium.

Over with the guys, predictably segment KOM took the top step by nearly 20s (but coming short of the KOM cost him 5pts for the rare Yellow Jersey Curse!) Dave B continues to ride strong, taking 2nd and Kevin T makes his first podium appearance as well!

The C's

Lani was our sole C lady out, so full points for her! Hope to see more of you this week!

Chris continued his winning streak (tying my own time! Methinks Chris may be more of a B than a C😉), Josh also had a strong time, and Donnie gave it a second go and got himself up to 3rd, but it was bittersweet as that also cost him 5pts for claiming the Local Legend title!

BONUSES & CURSES

As mentioned Julian got the Early Bird this week, but no QOM or KOM claimed.

1:22 was the Secret Time but no luck there.  Kathy M claimed the Socialite points, and Donnie's second effort earned Local Legend curse. And points were lost by Spencer for being the KOM, but not topping his previous time!

PRIZES!

This week we've got 4x $20 Gift Cards from the very generous Goldstream Bikes, combining the A's & C's we have about the same number as total B's, so that's the draw split with 2x going to each group, and our winners this week are:

Donnie Kendrick
Dan Blackwell

Travis Field
Tania Johnson

I'll send a note privately to you on Monday, congrats!

Week #7 – Oct 23rd – 29th – Royal Bay Gems

If you've been following me on Strava, you'll have seen this loop more than a few times! I've including routing that features the two segments - two fun little trails you probably won't have noticed in Colwood. This week has no timed/competitive segments, so just enjoy the trails!

Segment 7A Name: Sweet Havenwood Singletrack
Deets: 0.54km, 12m elevation gain.
This is a new segment, QOM, KOM & LL are irrelevant!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/35705283

It's quite easy to ride right by this trail, but it's worth the detour! It's mostly buff singletrack, with a bit of a rocky rooty section at the very end. Maps seem to show a bunch of trails in this area, but other than a few 'exists', it should be pretty straightforward, just stick to the main trail. Otherwise enjoy some slight up and down through a lovely wooded section of Havenwood.

Segment 7B Name: A loop around the Promenade...park that is.
Deets: 0.49km, 6m elevation gain.
This is a new segment, QOM, KOM & LL are irrelevant!
Link: https://www.strava.com/segments/35705293

Another hidden gem, watch for the green electrical box on the boulevard for the entry point, otherwise it's a simple loop, and there's a nice spot with a view to stop at around the loop!

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

SUGGESTED ROUTING

I've whipped up some routing, it starts at the south-east corner of Royal Roads (see previous segments for routing for this if unfamiliar, a previous segment takes you straight there!), and takes you over to Royal Bay Beach via a bit of a steep descent, then up Latoria (sorry, not the most pleasant) to a fun little trail on the right. The route takes you to both Gems, and then carries on with some more fun gravel, taking you back to RRU. As an alternative, you can drop straight down the road and walk the beach as well.

Here's the route: https://www.strava.com/routes/3150991410010290114

Happy riding!! 🚵‍♀️

Updated on the site: New Hints, and as always Routing for this week, plus a tip for saving Segments as Routes: https://abouttheride.ca/victoria-segment-challenge/

Where the fun begins
on Crystalview.🤣

Thanks for tuning in, this is the penultimate week for Season 3, hope to see your name on the lists!! 😊

Safe and speedy riding all! 🚲

- Dave

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