Photo: Stephen Hinde

The Once Over 300
Ride date: April 25,2015
by Steve Mahovlic

With an elevation of + 3951 / - 3943 meters I am very impressed with the caliber of riders that showed up for the Once Over 300. Every rider faced down the dreaded climb out of Port Renfrew to make for a 100% completion rate on event day.

Tenacity and teamwork to overcome flats, derailleur cable issues, shifter failures, and other mechanical issues. Weathering everything from heavy rain to light hail then strong headwinds on the Renfrew descent in the early parts of the ride, they were rewarded with sunshine and tailwinds going home.

A Sow with cub held up Deirdre, Bob, Francis and Mark on the Coastal return. I'll leave it to the riders to share their tales of the road.

Dan? managed to finish within an hour of Craig?. Ken Bonner rounded out the top three. The real battle was for "Lanterne Rouge"; Josh and Steve took on the worst of the morning weather, dragged their heels throughout the ride, dealt with flats, overcame mechanicals and set up a challenge few would dare to risk. In the end Josh managed to arrive seconds later than Steve, cementing infamy on his blue Marinoni. A fitting tribute to "Fire in the Frame".

April 27, 2015