Tour de Cowichan Valley ~ Revisited
Organizer's Report - April 7, 200 km
by Martin Williams

Most Organizers’ will understand the fears and trepidation that provide many with a restless night on the eve of a Brevet. When things go well we’d like to think that it was good planning. As realists we also know that success needs a lot of factors to gel together with a healthy portion of good fortune thrown into the occasion. Good fortune and willing volunteers were certainly on my side.

Good Memories
• The Volunteers; Graham Fishlock, Don Munro, Neil Stuart, Cathy Ringham, Melissa Haynes, Cheryl Lynch & Dave MacMurchie. –all readily offered their services. No volun-tolds! (Dave on his fourth event this year, others on multiple events.) Thanks folks, without you brevets become just another day in the saddle. It’s your participation that turns them into live events.
• The weather – despite a cool start and very chilly climb into Cowichan Lake the sun eventually came out to provide a day befitting an Easter Weekend.
• Rider acceptance and appreciation of the new route. Great to see that change can be embraced.
• Welcoming a new Randonneur, Keith Kendal, to the fold.
• Watching Kristy Mighton improve on her previous/first brevet time, on the original TdeCV course, by almost 2,½ hrs.
• Melissa’s caffeine laced brownies at the Kinsol Trestle Control – well she said it was caffeine!
• Most importantly for me, the social interaction(s) that occurred both at the Controls & the Finish – something we don’t always get to enjoy enough of.

Honourable Mentions
• A course record that will perhaps stand in perpetuity! No, seriously Nigel & Ryan’s tandem time of 6hrs 35 mins was impressive by any standard. Congratulations guys.
• Vik, fuelled by the aforesaid brownies, surging away from the control thereby failing to hold onto the lanterne rouge baton he won last year.
• Most talked about ‘arrivals’ at the start; Val from Vancouver by Nordic Tug, directly into Chemainus Harbour (surely a Rando first) and Luke for getting up at 0200 hrs cycling from Victoria only to become a DNS!
• Poor Ed having been delayed at the start by a ‘wardrobe malfunction’ then completed his misery by breaking spokes just after the first control and had to DNF. Thanks to Cathy for being his transportation angel!

Then, Oh no …..
• David contacted me just as things were winding down at the finish saying how much he was looking forward to Sunday’s brevet … how do you respond!
• I’ll let the debate rage-on about the actual elevation gain. Suffice to say I subscribe to Susan’s logic – slower riders climb the most!

Thanks to the many riders making the effort to attend this early season brevet, especially those who made the journey across from the mainland. It was great to see you all.

Organizers’ are just volunteers with a different name. If you haven’t tried either yet think about putting your name forward. It’s truly rewarding. We set out to have way more fun than the riders, never DNF and rarely bonk!

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April 11, 2012