Saturday, May 4 - Great Trail Adventure 2019!

[Rolf]

Mark your calendar and start prepping your apology for getting home on May 4th at 4 p.m. and heading straight to the couch after one of the best Morning Rides you'll do all year.

I'm already tired and shagged out after all the effort it took to pick a day, so I'm going to mostly cut and paste the schedule from JT's 2018 post cuz nothing's much different, right down to Alan scuppering off half-way:

Schedule (barring flats, cougar wrestling's, ambushes, etc.)
0700: Optional coffee at Starbucks on Alpha Street (Mayfair)
0730: Roll-out
0830: Humpback Rd./Mt. Wells parking lot
0945: Great Trail summit
1100: Kinsol Trestle
1145: Lunch at Prima Strada in Cobble Hill
1240 Tearful goodbyes to Alan who ducks off to Thetis Island
1241: Depart Cobble Hill for Mill Bay Ferry
1320: Arrive Mill Bay Ferry Terminal
1350: Depart on Mill Bay Ferry
1415: Arrive Brentwood Bay; and you can figure the rest out you lazy SOB's.

• Last year's route.
• Last year’s ride video.
• Last year's photo/video gallery (password: "cawfee" spelled right.)

I'll leave all other pre-thinking and arrangering to JT and anyone else who knows helpful things and wants to share.

But I will say that last year was so good in part because we had Garth guide us seamlessly up and over the Great Trail and down into Shawnigan, where Dave A. took over and became our Cow Valley guru. Having someone up front who can lead without fingering their phone etc. makes things flow so well. So if "Navigator" appears on your resume, PLEASE sign up!



Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf

[wonger]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
38

[JTyre]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
38
JT

[schouten]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
38
JT
Ron

[Ann]

I'll leave all other pre-thinking and arrangering to JT and anyone else who knows helpful things and wants to share.

Unfortunately I can't make it that day, but I have two "helpful things" from last year:

1. Pizzeria Prima Strada in Cobble Hill was happy to see us but suggested that next time we make a reservation so that they know to expect us and can plan accordingly. Presumably they'd be ok to know that the arrival time would be +/- 30 min of the reservation.

2. I pre-purchased a bunch of ferry tickets for the Mill Bay - Brentwood Bay ferry. It works out to about half the cost of paying cash at the ferry, and avoids the need to stop at the Mill Bay Thrifty Foods to pre-purchase a ticket. I got them at the Broadmead Thrifty Foods location (Customer Service counter), but there are other locations (as listed on the BC Ferries website):

If you are travelling the Brentwood Bay-Mill Bay route, prepaid fares can be purchased at the following locations:

Thrifty Foods
Broadmead: 100-777 Royal Oak Drive, Victoria, BC V8X 4V1
Sidney: 9810 7th Street, Sidney, BC V8L 4W6
Central Saanich: 7860 Wallace Drive, Saanichton, BC V8M 2B3
Mill Bay: 50-2720 Mill Bay Road, Mill Bay, BC V0R 2P1

[Alan]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
38
JT
Ron
Alan (fingers crossed)

[Greg F]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
38
JT
Ron
Alan (fingers crossed)
Greg

[JTyre]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
38
JT
Ron
Alan (forcing dresses)
Greg

[NickLosier]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
38
JT
Ron
Alan (forcing dresses)
Greg
Nick

[JTyre]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
38
JT
Ron
Alan (dregs forensics)
Greg
Nick

[JTyre]

Pizzeria Prima Strada in Cobble Hill was happy to see us but suggested that next time we make a reservation so that they know to expect us and can plan accordingly. Presumably they'd be ok to know that the arrival time would be +/- 30 min of the reservation.

I am really sorry to hear you can't make it, Ann. You and your sweetie eskimo kissing near the summit was a highlight. .

Actually, I had made reservations for Prima Strada. Thing is, we were quite a bit late, numbers had swelled at the last minute, and we wanted the patio. I will reserve again. Not sure I can handle the ferry tickets though. That sounds like a good job for Rolf, who seems to think he can have all the high level fun while pawning off the details to his subunderlings.

John

[Greg F]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
38
JT
Ron
Alan (desires fiddling)
Greg
Nick

[Rolf]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
38
JT
Ron
Alan (freed crossings)
Greg
Nick

[Greg F]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
38
JT
Ron
Alan (foregoes couth)
Greg
Nick

[JTyre]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
38
JT
Ron
Alan
Greg (farty towels)
Nick

[Greg F]

(PS does anyone actually want to add their name to the list? )

[wonger]

Participating rider expressions of interest (for the cutting and the pasting below):
Rolf
JT
Ron
Alan
Greg (farty towels)
Nick

[Alan]

Sheesh, Greg and his farty, laundry-folding teddy bears.
Methinks this might not survive the censor monkeys, but what the hey...

[rduncan]

Rolf
JT
Ron
Alan
Greg (farty towels)
Nick
Rob (tentative)

[Greg F]

Rolf
JT
Ron
Alan
Greg (laundry is clean now)
Nick
Rob (tentative)
Tony