Why read a Cue Sheet!
by Martin Williams

In my youth I often gave very comprehensive answers to exam question. The facts were never incorrect but many times I received zero marks. In such cases my transcripts were notated with the remark “read the question, boy”. Jim & Phil could rightly paraphrase the quote in my reading of their excellent Cue Sheet for the Spring Islander 200 Brevet.

Sans reading glasses I relied on my Garmin. It worked well, initially. When a certain young knowledgeable lady said “straight over, stay on the trail” the Garmin knew better but remained silent. We collectively corrected the error, much to Garmin’s inner satisfaction.

Sometime around the 100+ mark I took a wrong turn. A while later my sixth sense told me something was amiss. My gut feel was correct but Garmin said we were OK. I soldiered on, she had proven herself correct earlier on. Too late I realized that my faithful friend had recalibrated the route, calculated against my original error, to her not Phil & Jim’s logic.

I could have re-traced my steps which would have added some 26kms to the route. I chose to find the Moka House … Do you know how many folks on Cook St don’t know where Cook St Village is!

It was not to be my day. Not only did I DNF, I was met with 2” of a snow/ice mix immediately after cresting the Malahat. Cars everywhere & which way, together with a plethora of blue-flashing lights. Mayhem! I had left Victoria in sun & 12C, go figure!

Confession is good for the soul!

Ride date: April 2
Go to: Results - Photos

April 3, 2011