VicPop Pre-ride Report and Info
by Dave Macmurchie, ride organizer

March 18 saw six intrepid volunteers defy the forecast of snow showers and after-effects of St. Patrick’s Day, and enjoy a mixed sun and cloud inspection tour of the two routes for next weekend’s Victoria Populaire. The routes were pronounced fun and satisfying, with a couple of caveats: deer and detritus in the Gordon Head area.

There seems to be an especially large ungulate population in Gordon Head these days, and they seem to be even worse than human pedestrians at staying out of a cyclist’s path – maybe we should have stuck with bunnies. In any case, there’s not much we can do about them, but do keep your eyes peeled so your skin isn’t. If you’ve seen the YouTube video of the African bike race, you know what we mean.

The other thing is blown down branches and other debris on the road shoulder, especially in the Mt Douglas park area. I have been in touch with the Saanich road maintenance folks and asked them if they can address this, but there are no guarantees. In some places there are 3” branches on the shoulder, so if they don’t get cleaned up by the 25th, you’ll need to take care along Cordova Bay Road. We know we’re entitled to ride on the roadway, but suddenly swerving out there to avoid an obstacle is risky, so situational awareness is especially important.

The highlight of the pre-ride was the unexpected appearance of Gary Moser, who showed up on his bike and asked, “Is there a ride today?” I told him this was the pre-ride for the Vic Pop, but if he wanted to volunteer next weekend, he was welcome to join us. To my amazement, he said, “Sounds good” so he’s now a paid-up club member and will be manning a control on the 25th – now that’s the kind of guy we need more of!

Unfortunately the disorganized organizer left his camera in his car, so no photos, but take my word for it, the cherry blossoms were lovely, just like the poster shows. The forecast for next weekend is great, so come on out and enjoy the ride.

Go to: Victoria Populaire Home

March 19, 2012