Twelve hardy souls departed Bucky's on Douglas at 6am yesterday. We stayed together until, predictably, the Malahat broke the group up somewhat. I'm not sure how far behind I was, but let's just say that by the time I rolled in to Serious Coffee in Mill Bay, Alan was 2/3rds of the way through an Americano! After coffee, three riders had to head back to town, while the remaining nine headed out and stayed together through Shawnigan Village and along the lake.
As we began the long climb up Goldstream Heights a few of us fell behind again. Having missed the final turnoff onto Goldstream Ridge the last time, I was determined not to miss it this time. I'd heard it was steep, but it turned out to be more than I'd bargained for. After about 200m I packed it in and decided to just wait for the rest of the group to come back down. Had a banana. Had a drink. Took a pee. Had a gel. Then along comes Dave saying, "Right...c'mon, up you go." When I protested, he told me that they'd sent him back to get me and that they weren't coming down until I went up. Hmm...this takes the TS "no drop policy" to a new level. Anyhow, by riding diagonally back and forth across the road, I managed to follow Dave up the last 500m. The view was worth it.
On the way back, we spent an exciting 10 minutes huddled against a vertical rock face in the ditch on a blind corner in Goldstream while Dave changed a flat. Quite possibly the worst place for a mechanical on the Island.
All in all, a great morning and a great ride. Thanks to the rest of the group for all the encouragement!
John
Hilly Saturday - June 11
Moderator: mfarnham
Hilly Saturday - June 11
"Talk - Action = Zero" - Joe Keithley
Re: Hilly Saturday - June 11
Great report john, had to bail my head was saying yes go but my legs were a different story before that ride I had done 400 k plus that week anyway good to hear that it went smoothly maybe next time for myself.