Tour of Victoria

[JohnT]

I don't know how it ended, but at Wiilows Beach at about 10:40 am there was a leader (out ahead of the motorcycle), then a second lone rider, this one with a lead-out motorcycle, then a small group of about 14. One was in the green and brown TS kit. Sadly, I didn't notice who it was - great result! Then another group about the same size (didn't recognize anyone), then Kevin riding alone, then another group (again about 12 riders) with Anika and someone else who recognized me (Dylan?) and they were followed by Sig's group of, you guessed it, about 12 riders. each of these groups was about 2 minutes behind the one in front.

Thanks to Peter, Mike and Paul for the (surprisingly small) regular Sunday ride.

JT

[katew]

High point of my day: a cup of Coke at the Uplands gates, courtesy Geoff Wong.

Low point: probably the moment when the marshals in the chute ignored all my protests that I was fine, fine, fine, fine, took my bike away and stuffed me in a tent, force-fed me a bar of some sort, and wrapped me in a blanket while I sobbed and shivered uncontrollably.

*Now* the @(*@&! sun comes out. *sigh*

But! Hey! That sail down Dallas Road with a tail-gale was awesome.

[rhughes]

That was an interesting ride today! Probably the worst winds from Sidney in that I have ever experienced. Coming up Ashe it was right in your face--lots of folks (like me) doing the "paper boy" on the way up.

For you Sardinia types wind reminded me of Day 5.

Anybody else not get an actual time? I emailed the folks and I had no times for the Sidney TT and the finish (not that it's important!).

Anyway Strava says 4:25:09. Still nice to see an actual time.

Well done Anika!

Ritchie

[barton bourassa]

Well done everyone! Probably the worst conditions I have ridden in. I think the worst for me was the wall of wind we hit after climbing up Ash! I have hit the wall before. This was different!

Sure do wish I did not have the flat just past Bay St on the way out. Too bad about the the blown valve on the very quick change! Hey Dave, can I get a refund!!! Good thing I was only 500 m from home! A quick, 20 minute, change of wheels and tires and on my way, on my own!!! I finally caught the sweep vehicles half way up Lagoon Hill towards Metchosin Rd.

Too bad about the shoe cleat nearly falling off and no wrench! Too bad about the dropped chain half way up Lindholm! Oh, and let's not forget 4 and a half hours of rain. And the wind! From Sydney on in! "Riders on the Storm" and "This is the End" came to mind! Darn near got blown over at the Vic golf course!

All in all, one wild and crazy ride! I would do it again, in a heart beat! It was an amazing physical and mental challenge. I also challenged my dexterity as I tried to snag a glass of rum and coke from Geoff at the top of Caddy. Or was that just coke? All I managed to do was knock it out of Geoff's hand! Thanks anyway!!!

I really don't think any ride or run I do this winter will be anywhere near as tough as this ride. It was a great journey to get to this point. I managed to accomplish my most important goal, getting home to my family without having crashed! The rest is just a ride!!

Cheers Everyone!! See you Tuesday!

Oh ya, the strangest sight? Seeing Martin at the finish line fresh as a spring daisy all showered and combed and looking every so warm and dry!!

[mfarnham]

Barton, perhaps "No Surrender" should be your theme song.

Martin (aka "Daisy")

[barton bourassa]

I like that!! Martin, tell us about your ride! Your finish time was great!

[bradzarikoff]

Definitely one I'll remember. Doesn't sound like I had anywhere near the tech troubles as Barton (!), but a flat on the way up AND down Munns managed to put a damper on the start of the ride, especially as I only brought one spare (whoops). Huge shout out to Neil who nearly had me saying "what wind?" as we came out of Sydney.

Way to go TS!

[Fozzy]

Wow!!! What a great ride!!! Despite the rain and the strong winds, we all got back in one piece.
Many thanks to Brad for the assistance on the puncture on Wain, and for his company all the way back.
My bike is pretty good at dealing with the wind despite having a big lump of a man on top of it.

[Andrew L]

Great ride today, I excel in those conditions. I kept up with the lead group up Lagoon and through Metchosin and halfway up kangaroo where I got dropped and I could only see the back of Ritchie leaving me behind. Got in a second group with Martin and rode with them until the start of the timed Munns segment when Martin took off ahead as well. I then rode in a group of 20 or so riders most of the way around the Peninsula while picking up riders dropping back from the leading groups. I ended up catching Ritchie on Arbutus and we caught back up with Martin around Oak Bay marina.

On the timed segments I was 186 up Munns and but 38th and 36th on the Sidney and Waterfront timed sections respectively. Still need some work on those hills. Strava says I had a suffer score of 309-Epic with 218 points in the red.

[Dave L]

Well it sounds like I missed an awesome ride around the peninsula. Congratulations to all that finished.

I crashed on Happy Valley Road - the guy right in front of me hit the curb and there was no place to go except down. His nice Wilier Zero 7 seemed okay, but one of his carbon bottle cages ended up around my wrist! After a quick check, everything seemed okay-ish - sore hand, sore elbow, sore rib cage, calf cramp, but nothing too bad (thanks Hugh for coming back to check on things). The only damage on the bike seemed to be a bent derailleur hanger, so after finally finding a gear that wouldn't skip I set off again. I stopped at the 100km start to visit the mechanic, and he was able to straighten out the hanger and off I went again with twinging calf, a sore elbow, a sore rib and and a really sore hand. Munn Road was even less fun than usual as I couldn't grip the right hood to get any leverage and I couldn't find a position in the drops to make braking comfortable. I turned right at the bottom of Willis Point and called in my personal sag wagon.

Next year!

[mfarnham]

It was a fun ride, in kind of a miserable way. No mechanicals for me, fortunately. I briefly thought I was going to die on the Munns descent, but I just leaned over and hoped for the best, while braking just hard enough. I was lucky to emerge from Ross Durrance in a group of about 10 riders. We grew as large as maybe 14 at one point, and then gradually shrank. I probably did a little more than my share of pulling up Wallace and West Saanich, partly because I was hoping to notch up the tempo a bit. I lost feeling in my left hand by Sidney and had to upshift with the palm of my hand. I wasn't sure how well I was doing until I saw Ritchie in Sidney (I don't have a computer). Then I figured I must be making pretty good time.

In Sidney I kept wishing we would go a little faster. I didn't want to finish with gas in the tank. But when I hit Ash I realized I was running on empty. I've never gone so slowly up that hill. I thought I was going to tip over at one point, partly from the huge headwind but mostly from the lack of forward momentum. Yet no one passed me, so I guess we were all just limping up it.

I saw the coke on offer top of Caddy Bay, and wished I could reach it! I hadn't been eating as much as I should have. I held in pretty well until KGT, and then started to bonk and got dropped off the main (remaining) group. Found a couple more people to work with/cling onto. My vision started going a bit fluttery for the last couple km, but I managed to hold a wheel across the line. No sprint in me; no gas in the tank! That shower felt great.

Great to see all those Tripleshotters out there!
Martin

[Stéphane Tran]

I was watching the TdV at the top of KGT and got a few shots of Ritchie and Martin (I think). The conditions were more "Spring Classics" than "Tour de France", so well done to all you hardmen and hardwomen!

[Anika]

First off, great job everybody!! Second, where do you find the results for the timed sections?

[Andrew L]

You can find the time sections from this page http://racedaytiming.ca/raceday-results

[rhughes]

Good to see some TSers out there on the side of the road.

I don't think I showed my appreciation much--by even smiling--but I was grateful for the callouts.

Didn't even recognize Jeff, as he called out, I was probably wondering if I had to do another repeat Caddie Bay Hill at that point. I thought who is that guy? Looks like Ricky Fowler? I'm pretty sure that a pro golfer wouldn't be here though.

Saw Stepahne climbing Gonzales and I thought--wow is he ever tall and he's not in bike gear. If you look at the pic you can see that my only exposed skin--face and knees--is almost totally black. As well as I'm smiling, of course.

Note to self--learn to climb!

Ritchie

[Curran]

Bit of a slower time for me in the rain and bonking yet again, but rode with a few TSers along the way and felt great to get through those rainy/windy conditions. Getting blown back down Ash was definitely a new experience! Also enjoyed the familiar feeling of a paceline the last few km's with other TSers sporting fenders appropriate for the conditions.