Tour de Victoria 2023

Today was the annual (barring pandemics) riding event. It started in 2015 and continues: Ian and I rode the Tour de Victoria. After riding the 100 km last year, this year he stepped up to the 140 km ride. It’s not an easy ride: the course has so many short, steep climbs. It adds up to three times the amount of climbing as in the Badlands Gran Fondo.

It’s a 7 am start: so we were up before the dawn. Tammy, Ian and I went down to the start. Tammy was there to see us off and cheer us back. In between, she walked all around Victoria: 25,000 steps!

The start was in front of the Empress this year. There was construction on the steps of the Parliament Buildings, I suppose that was the reason. The weather was promising: mid-teens to start and mid-twenties for the finish. The skies were going to be clear, but with a high layer of smoke.

The ride went well. The highlights:

• This was “Tigger’s” first Tour de Victoria. I think it’s more stable and confidence-inspiring than the Roubaix. I definitely felt better on the sharp descents.
• Ian was feeling good at the start. I had to tell him to cool it a bit: when you live at 1,200 metres, coming to sea level can make you feel like Superman. But it’s a tease: you feel great until your legs fall off. As the ride wore on, he started to suffer a bit but made it to the end.
• We managed to see Stephanie and the fam this morning. The timing worked out great.

• It was a bit stressful when the fast 160 km riders caught us. The 160 km route adds an extra 20 km loop out in Metchosin / East Sooke, meaning that the fastest riders are in the lead, but then have to catch up to the 140 km riders. This year, they caught Ian and I as we were going up the Highlands KOM. The road is narrow and steep, and we were catching the slower 100 km riders at the time. There were fast riders, medium riders and slow riders all at the same place at the same time. It all ended okay, but it was stressful.
• Lot of Bow Cyclists out there: I saw Keith, Dave, Curtis and John on the course. Perry rode the 160 km and did a great job. His wife Assunta rode 100 but I didn’t see her until afterwards.

We rolled across the finish at around 12:30. A perfectly respectable time, considering we stopped at almost all the aid stations. Ian thanked me for not burying him on the final time trial along Beach Drive / Dallas Road.

It was a great day. Tired now. Fish and chips for supper helped. Dad rode his new scooter and we walked to Salty’s.