Saturday May 31, 140 K

[barton bourassa]

I'll be leaving Disco Coffee on Menzies near Michigan at 7 AM. I hope to see many familiar face and new faces! Here is a link to the map of the route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/429266408 Copy and paste into the address bar thing. I hope it works.

We'll leave coffee and head to Dallas down Menzies and follow the water to 10 Mile Pt.
R onto Seaview
R Tudor
R McNally Around to Phyllis to the little trail that takes us to Arbutus then off to Queenswood
R back onto Arbutus then usual Sunday to Ferndale
R on Vantreight
L on Leynes then back to Ferndale all the way thru to Royal Oak
R W Saanich
L Interurban
Quick R Goward
L Prospect
R Munn
R Millstream/Durrance
LEFT on Willis down to the waterfront
Back up and down to Wallace
L Wallace
L W Saanich
R Mt Newton
L Thompson up and around to E Saanich
R Wallace
R Mt Newton
L W Saanich to Old W Saanich to Sparton
Across to Prospect Lk Rd
Up and over Munn again!
R on Willis
R on Wallace to W Saanich
R on Interurban
L on the Goose to Fantastico!

I hope I got all my left and rights correct!

What could possibly be more fun! Again, be careful with your nutrition. We should be out for about 5 1/2 hours so nutrition and hydration will be key. We will stop in the Central Saanich Wallace area for a quick stop to replenish food and fuel, at about 85 K.

Like before, the idea is a solid steady pace, keeping the legs rotating and the wheels moving, working the hills and practicing cresting the hill with some momentum. A number of the faster riders during the last week's ride came back down from the hill tops for us slower folk and we all seemed to be able to roll over the hill tops without having to stop much. What tends to happen without you really knowing it when you rest at the top of the hill waiting and waiting for the rest of us is that you are well rested by the time we get there then when we go, sometimes the rested ones really go! Come back, climb some more and we can all go together off to the next hill!

[Mark C]

the link works but we need to join the map thing to see it so not sure if you can change it to a public setting rather than private? also I think it should be R on the first Munn Rd? but with that said I think I might turn left at that point and head home.

See you at Disco

[katew]

+1

I think you mean, R Munn, R Millstream/Durrance, and please for to make that ride public.

Alsotoo, you are insane.

[barton bourassa]

Ain't it Great to Be Crazy!

I think I have my lefts and rights correct now. I have a new link that I hope is publicly accessable. I am sure you will let me know!

[Mark C]

I just looked at the map Oh Crap Now I wish you had left it private........

[Mark C]

Change of plan I won't be joining you tomorrow so have a great ride

Cheers Mark

[sherritran]

When do you think you guys will be finishing up? Won't be able to join for the start....but maybe can try to rendez vous with you guys later.

[barton bourassa]

Mark, did I scare you off?!!

We should be a Cafe Fantastico at Dockside by 12:30.

Sherritran, who might you be?

[sherritran]

Oh we've ridden together before, although briefly.

Met you guys on the goose heading towards Disc coffee maybe 1 month and a half ago or when you and some others were coming back from Willis Pt.

[barton bourassa]

Well, that was fun, for most of us! Six started out; Kenji, Peter (not Lawless, the other Peter!), Dave S, neighbour Ian, newish Andrew, and me! Kenji, Andrew and Peter set a pretty quick pace for the first hour then we hit the hills of Prospect and Munn and we all settled in to climb! We picked up Alan Boden before the fun really began and Steve along the way as well. by the time we hit Prospect for the second round of Prospect/Munn et al, we were down to Peter, Dave, Alan and me! So off we went to climb Munn again. The second time was much tougher than the first! Go figure! We reached Munn and Prospect with just under 110 K and nearly 4 hours of riding. We did it! All the little rollers along Millstream/Durrance were very painful! We were very glad to see the top of Willis with the beautiful long downhill and reasonable flatness of W Saanich and the journey home.

We saw a group of TS riders coming the other on our second ascent of Munn. I think I saw Mark C in that group. Have you abandoned us Mark?!?!

Along Interurban we picked up a couple of fellows who we did not know. We were riding along ever so nicely down the Goose. I was on the front with less than 2 K to the coffee shop when I heard a horrific crash. We stopped, turned around and there was Alan on the asphalt clearly in agony. He had looked right just for a moment. In that very brief time, he miscalculated and slammed almost dead center into the middle metal pole on the Goose. One of the other fellows we picked up was also on the ground, bruised and battered but other wise ok to ride home.

We could see right away that Alan's right shoulder was not in it's usual position. There were police right there supervising some graffiti removal. They call an ambulance for Alan. We have not heard yet what the damage is to his body.

You may well be wondering the question we almost always ask first, "How is his bike?"!! Well, not good. The first thing I noticed was a broken fork then I saw the cross bar was severed, then the tube from the seat to the pedals show obvious damage. His poor bike was broken in two!

Alan, let us know how you are doing!

I must say my wife was very surprise then very pleased that it was not me! I do really wish it had not been anybody.

[Fozzy]

Bloody Hell!! Hope Alan has a speedy recovery!

[AJ Neale]

Yikes ... so close to the end! I hope Allan gets patched up and is able to get back on his (new?) bike asap. Thanks for the route Barton.... even though I missed the last 20km.

Andrew

[katew]

Oh, dear.

Well, that explains a lot. I came back in from my own ride and hit Fol Epi right on 12:30.

I decided to get a mocha and wait for you all, but never a soul (except for the rest of Greater Victoria.)

Alan, I hope you feel much better soon.

[Rolf]

Awful to hear. I've often thought along the Goose finale that we're vulnerable to just this kind of crash. There is so much less room to manoeuvre and a tendency to relax and start thinking about coffee. Keep pointing out those poles!

Really hope you get better soon, Alan.

[Albee]

Thanks to my riding partners Peter, Dave & Barton for the on site support. You guys were fantastic at taking care of things. Lucky to have you guys there, and just lucky in general. The EMT remarked on the trip to the Jubilee that he was surprised they weren't carting me off on a back board and neck brace. I have to be thankful, I lost a nice bike frame, but was still able to walk to and from the ambulance. The requisite 2 1/2 hour wait and an x-ray ultimately revealed an AC separation - no dislocation, though it looked like it at the crash. Hopefully I will be out of this sling and back for our annual Silly Summer Solstice Century.

[Albee]

Photo of the bike also found in "bike banter"