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Vancouver City Limits
A 200 km brevet

It starts in Vancouver... and stays in Vancouver

June 11 (Saturday), 2016 - 8 a.m. start

Start: 10th & Cambie (City Hall)
Finish: 17th & Cambie (BierCraft)

Results - Photos - Gary's VCL 200 Story

$15 entry
(Plus BC Randonneur annual membership $10 - membership sign-up on CCN)

Entry limited to the first 100 people who sign up.
Pre-register on RandoPony.

(Download)
(mapmyride)
(In Database)

Route Tips - Bottom of This Page - Highly Recommended
Added June 8

Many BC Randonneur (marathon cycling) rides start in Vancouver and then head to the Fraser Valley, northern Washington State, longer rides go to Lilloet, Merritt and beyond. This one sticks closer to home. Celebrate Velopalooza in Vancouver with this novelty 200 km route that explores Vancouver's many neighbourhoods and landmarks on bike routes, bike paths, greenways and city streets. This is an ACP (Audax Club Parisien) sanctioned brevet and so all the normal rules of randonneur cycling apply. (Go to Randonneur Rules.)

This is also a very slow route, so if you're looking for a fast time, forget it - this is not your ride. In fact we insist that you ride with extreme caution on shared paths and roadways where there are pedestrians, car traffic and other bikes. In short, it's a touring pace ride. You can't dither though - you still need to finish within the 13h30m time limit. There are a total of 30 controls, so you need to budget your time to accommodate this. There are many stop lights, and of course Vancouver is not without hills.

The route is a bit complicated, even convoluted. I strongly recommend that you study the route sheet and map before the ride. You are frequently going past or through parks, so there's no shortage of washrooms and water sources. Bathrooms at the start? There are 2 Starbucks within a block of Cambie and 10th (yes really), and a 24 hour Chevron at 16th and Cambie with a bathroom and gatorade etc.

I hope you enjoy this ride. Contact me with any questions.

Contact: Eric Fergusson 604-733-6657


Route tips:

Here are a few route notes for the Vancouver City Limits 200. Don’t underestimate the amount of time it will take you. It is not a given that all riders will finish within the time limit. The volunteer pre-ride team finished in 13:24, which is just 6 minutes from time limit disqualified. I have 4 tips:

1. Bank time early. Although the early part of the route does include the seawall and other bike paths, there are very few hills or stop lights. Take advantage of this to build up a time buffer. Later in the ride you will thanks yourself for having this time in hand.

2. Learn the route in advance. Have a good look at the route sheet and the map so that you won’t be spending time en route puzzling out route details.

3. Have your pen and control card easily accessible. There are a lot of question controls and you don’t want to be rummaging in your bag every time you need to answer a question. Keep these stops under a minute. 30 seconds is better.

4. Portable food. There are lots of parks along the route so you should have no trouble getting water. However, be careful about stopping for a sit-down meal or even a break at a convenience store. When I ride this route, I only eat bars and Boost which I carry with me.

Eric F

 

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