Remembrance Day Ride
Vancouver Island Remembrance Day 200
Ride Date: November 11, 2024
by Murray Tough

I didn’t sleep in but somehow I was running late. When I arrived the other riders were already assembled. I still had to get my bike out and put on my shoes, warm clothes and rain gear. I was still doing all that when the riders started. I was only four minutes late but it was windy and l would not enjoy the benefit of drafting with the group. There was no hope of catching the front riders. Fortunately I was only half a kilometre into the ride when I realized I had left my water bottles in the car.

The rain stopped soon after I started. It wasn’t long before I had to stop and take off some layers. I enjoyed a quiet, solo ride on the Lochside trail, through Mt. Doug park, through Gordon Head and around the base of the mountain—it’s really just a hill—before rejoining the Lochside Trail. I had just caught up with Deidre, Manfred, Alard and Rob by the time I reached the toilets at Blenkinsop. I was desperate so I stopped while they continued on. I didn’t catch up to them again until we rode past the Graving Dock in Esquimalt. BC Ferry’s “Coastal Renaissance” was in the dry dock.

The first control was at God’s Acre. God’s Acre is a peaceful, tree-lined, military cemetery and chapel nestled in the heart of the Gorge Vale golf course. We had to move cautiously through the crowds of pedestrians who were making their way to the Remembrance Day observances on the narrow, one-lane road. There were three choices on the control card for the year the chapel was consecrated. None of them matched the sign on the chapel. I proposed that there should be a 5-minute credit for the incorrect control card but others in the group thought it should be 20. At the finish, I teased Mark about the error; he didn’t hesitate to throw his assistant under the bus.

I waited with the group at God’s Acre while they took washroom breaks. It gave me a chance to have some food. I enjoyed the camaraderie of riding with the group but before long, I picked up the pace and moved away.

From God’s Acre, we followed the E&N trail into downtown Victoria, with its protected bike lanes, around the waterfront to the next control—a memorial to the crew of HMCS Galiano. HMCS Galiano went down in a storm in Queen Charlotte Sound in 1918. All 40 lives were lost.

We continued along the waterfront through Oak Bay before turning inland to our next control at St. Luke’s on Cedar Hill Road. We meandered through Saanich, Oak Bay and Victoria towards Esquimalt. Our course went through a “tunnel” at the Royal jubilee Hospital. I will admit that it was confusing but it wouldn’t be a Mark Payten course without cut throughs and connectors. I later learned that many riders complained about it but I think it is part of the charm of riding one of Mark’s courses.

As I approached downtown Victoria the Royal Canadian Air Force fly-past roared above me. The ride through both Victoria and Esquimalt was punctuated by gun salutes and cannon fire.

We looped through Esquimalt to a control at St. Peter and St. Paul’s church. We followed the E&N trail to the Galloping Goose Trail. The Goose is pleasant riding but, after Wale Road, it is slow going. It is neither the gravel nor the grade that slows things down. It is the countless road crossings that create endless stops and starts. The turnaround was at the bleak and deserted entrance to the Rocky Point Ammunition Depot. Ok it wasn’t completely deserted. Mark was there with much appreciated bananas and water. Shortly after I arrived, a fire engine parked in the turnaround. It had a long ramp for the company dog to get up to the cab! No, it wasn’t a Dalmatian; that would have been too much.

The return was on country roads. It promised to be faster riding but only after completing the big climb on Rocky Point Road. From there it was a long stretch up the Peninsula to the next control. There is a left turn off West Saanich Road onto Wallace Drive. Every cycling course goes this way. But I was in the zone, well really, I was zoned out and rode right past it. I was halfway up the hill before I heeded the “off course” warning on my GPS.

I reached the control at Holy Trinity Cemetery in failing light. Mark was there to offer encouragement. It was starting to rain. I feared a deluge like I had endured the last time I rode this course. I vividly remember being cold and wet when I left Brentwood Bay. But that’s not what happened. It was mostly drizzle and the occasional light shower but never enough to warrant stopping to put on rain gear.

One last control at Brentwood Bay, in the dark, before turning north towards Lands End. As I rode past Tsehum Harbour, the moon was trying desperately to make an appearance. It’s hazy light reflected off the inlet with trees in the background and boats in the foreground. A most satisfying way to end the ride.

Cool, windy and mostly dry. Better than expected for a November ride.

A pleasant course with many interesting sites…and sights.