Tour de Victoria

[wonger]

Five of us met at S'buck's in James bay Sunday morning - Kenji, Brad Z, Chris M., Mandy and I. We had a great day out, better for some than others but generally rode the route together. The new route was great with a bunch of little variations that most of us haven't ridden before, something that would be a lot of fun to do with a group sometime.

- It was lumpy. Climbing up from the lagoon on Milburn and Hatley was the first indication that I might be in for a rough day.
- Lindholm - that descent is awesome! Only to be outdone by the backside of Munn road and the last bit of Millstream Lake road.
- Traffic control was exceptional - cops at every major intersection, volunteers and traffic control everywhere. I was never stopped, even at Sayward crossing the Pat Bay. They say the road is open but there was very little traffic the entire way. It wasn't without incident. Apparently a motorist got out of his truck, shoved one traffic control person out of the way, went over and shoved the other one out of the way, got back in his pick-up and drove away. They passed on the license number to the cops and that guy went straight to jail!
- Volunteers and people cheering the entire way around, even in weird places you wouldn't expect to see them.

The food at the finish was great, beer garden was great, the free massage was great - but let's face it, just sitting on the grass at that point was great. I think I ate about six of those honey stinger waffles sitting there. It was fantastic to see a cycling spectacle in Victoria that crowds of tourists were watching and riding in. Hopefully it continues to grow and bring people into our town.

[wonger]

A couple more photos...

[roadflasj]

Great post and even greater riding experience. Sorry about leaving Brad behind so close to the finish but I was too hurting to stop moving mid climb. Also thanks to Mandy for the killer pacing on the last waterfront miles into town. Anytime my legs were failing I saw her hammering on the front. Can't wait for next years event.

[Mickfly]

Thanks Jeff for pulling me along from Elk lake to the top of Ash. I think I went too hard at the start and probably didn't have enough to drink. At Esq Lagoon I looked down to see the Garmin tell me I was averaging 35.5 kmh. Too fast for this little black duck.

My legs almost ceased up that killer incline of Arbutus entering 10 Mile when Brad bailed to his cramping legs. It was a lonely ride back from that point. (Some 12 minutes behind you)

Oh. I did notice that your wife beat you by a second. Just putting it out there. Don't worry tho, My wife finished 1st female in the 45km on flat pedals. I'm not buying her clips-ins for Christmas. That's for sure.

Mick

[wonger]

I think this says it all...(with thanks to Michelle for the tiara and the booze).

[Fozzy]

Great pic!!

[Dave L]

Here they are prior to the start. As I drove one of the broom wagons, I was glad not to see any of them after the roll out.

Dave