What sun?

The forecast for today, January 6, 2015 was for fog, no rain with the sun putting in an appearance mid-morning. Two out of three ain't bad. The sun that Norm promised did not come through the fog whilst we were on the trail. 

Four hardy souls [Jim, David, Tom & Norm L] had an enjoyable ride going at a reasonable clip.

The ride started at Hatley Memorial Gardens following the Goose to Mechosin. There were concerns that the trail would be water-logged or even flooded given the amount of rain we have endured in recent days. However, the CRD has done a superb job of trail maintenance - the Trail was in excellent condition - it was firm and eminently cyclable - no need for mud tires! There were only two or three spots where there were puddles, but they were no more than 2 square meters. 

Over coffee, there some discussion on doing sections of the Tour de Victoria route over the next few weeks, but there are challenges to doing that given the nature of some of the roads. Clearly, this will need further discussion.

Coffee stop today

A brand new year

The first ride of the new year started at Mile Zero and proceeded along the coast to Starbucks at Cady Bay for coffee.  The weather was threatening in the beginning but the rain held off until most of us reached home after the ride. The result was an uneventful ride at a moderate pace by the usual suspects.

    At coffee the discussion initially centered around the increasing price for a round of golf, even on municipal courses. The consensus was that by the time you added a box of balls (required by most of us), and adult beverage(sss), the total rapidly approaches $200. The requirement for so many balls was based on the course having unforgiving rough which prevented retrieving any errant balls. Other hazards referenced included venturing into the rough where rattlesnakes or crocodiles might be encountered. 

    From these hazards, we moved on to discussing the proper places to camp in the habitat of saltwater crocodiles. The story of a family camping on the banks of a river north of the Cairns area of Queensland was recounted.  It seems that in the night a large croc grabbed hold of the father and dragged him out of the tent towards the water at which point the wife took off her shoes climbed on the back of the croc and continually beat it on the head until it released her husband. Within a few days, T-shirts appeared with a picture of the croc and the wife swinging her shoe above, with the words “Don’t mess with my wife”  

All agreed that is always good advice.

By the end of coffee, the Peloton had a visitor.

Prepared by John C.

The Peloton with the uninvited guest!

Hogmanay Ride

Because of the current cold snap resulting from the Arctic Outflow, we ;eft Fol Epi 30 minutes later than normal, thus reducing the risk of encountering frost on the Goose and Lochside, especially on the trestles.

As it turned out, there was only a light frost which was not a factor in the ride. Some puddles on the Lochside, however were still frozen on the return trip.

The brightness of the sun proved to be a far greater hazard - there were many occasions when the sun blinded us, forcing us to slow down to avoid a collision. There was one small spill, fortunately not resulting in a serious injury.

Since it was such a nice day, we sat outside for coffee, looking out on the golf course where a few people were enjoying a round on the second last day of the year!!!

A great ride to finish 2014

Enjoying the sun while solving the issue of falling oil prices

A Wet One - December 23, 2014

Finally, only 3 hardy souls departed from the warmth of Fol Epi in light rain after a brief discussion to go/ not go. Hans, Doug and Norm T. The rain ramped up to "medium" and we arrived at RRU pretty well drenched. We don't want to say the guys who bailed made the right call but...

Good coffee break in empty cafeteria where we were able to solve some of the world's most pressing problems. Slightly less rain on the way back. We logged 28 km together and approx 10 km+ more each to and from home. A soggy ride!.

The Peloton Annual Pub Lunch at Swan's

Safe to say, everyone had a good time - jus look at the photograph gallery!

If anyone would like to see captions added to a photo, please let me know! Use the left/right arrows to navigate through the photographs

There is a record of what we thought the price of a barrel of oil would be in. . . . . . . And someone's dessert.

To see Hans' new Aeyo toy go to Aeyo and for some interesting videos go here and here

Also my custom bike has pride of place below our Christmas Tree.

A ride of less than 43km!

Another great ride.

Fairly long ride at 42.9 km, leaving from Lochside Park with 7 riders. Proceeded via Sidney to Tatlow Road, Lands End Road, Patricia Bay, etc. to the coffee stop on W. Saanich Road.

One flat tire (NT) slowed us by about 15 min. Proceeded back via airport and E. Saanich Road, a fairly long grind. It met the definition of what Ian calls "a real ride". A few of us were whining like whipped puppies at the end. All good, and great riding weather.

DECEMBER 16, 2014

After some rainy Tuesdays, it was good to be back in the saddle, even although it was overcast, but not too chilly.

Today, we started at the Terry Fox statue at Mile Zero and headed to Cadbury' Bay via the Ross Cemetery, Fairfield and Beach Road.

Lots of innuendo in the conversation over coffee - Green bananas etc. Ask Tom A to explain!!

James' son, Tom, visiting from Yellowknife joined us on today's ride.

The Lost Riders? December 2, 2014

6 Riders departed from Mile 0 and headed into a brisk, cool wind on Dallas Road. Very sunny and clear ocean views all the way to Cattle Point. A few early departures from there. This reporter is unsure if the remaining 5 had coffee at the same place. May have been a few at Olive Olio's and a few at Estevan Village. Gorgeous ride again, no incidents.

The Melinda Ride

The weather has been chilly for several days, but the sun was shining today, The bike trails were devoid of ice except in two small spots. The ride started at Mitchel’s Farm heading north to Beacon Road before crossing the Pat Bay Highway. Instead of the usual coffee stop at the Ocean Research Centre we tried a new coffee location today Melinda’s Biscotti Bakery Café near the airport. Those who opted for the cinnamon bun were in danger of having a glycemic reading that was off the scale. However, Jim tested things out when he got home and provided the accompanying reading.

In the interests of privacy the identities of these Pelotoneers have been masked!! Be sure to click the right/left arrows to see all the photographs.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, but enjoyable - while it was cold, the sun was shining and eminently cyclable. We took pity on friends back east who have been confronting some serious winter weather.

Brave souls November 28, 2014

Three brave souls (Doug, John and Jack) gathered at Royal Roads U with clearing skies and no rain. The track was full of puddles, mud and wet leaves but quite passable and all participants had good fenders to deflect spray from the wheels. The soft track made the ride more energetic than usual which slowed the speed somewhat. Issues of dealing with expensive (non revenue producing) projects in deep space, deep sea and high radiation fields were explored extensively over coffee at the broken paddle. It was determined that such expensive projects really are a lot of fun! The ride back was dry and uneventful – washing of cloths and bikes will be required.

The hardy [foolish?] and the not so hardy - November 25, 2014

Jim McN writes:

"I saw a weather report this morning that said "the rain will stop at 9:30".  It was so definite and so unusual that I thought it was worth the risk.  We had coffee at Foi Epi in case there were any late arrivals wanting to join the 3 of us and then headed out.  We arrived at Matticks fairly dry with just a steady light mist on the way out.  We had a fairly lengthy coffee break, and on the way back it was more of a light drizzle.  No incidents and no mechanicals so overall we had a good ride. "

And to prove they did the ride here is a link to the route:

The not so hardy [sensible? weak?] sought out the comfort of the Union Pacific for a coffee. We were on a different planet from the Hardy Boys - it was raining heavily when we arrived and still raining when we left almost an hour later, yet we were only a  kilometre  apart on the other side of the Upper Harbour

Weather for ducks not Pelotoneers! Friday November 21, 2014

A small field braved the wet conditions and road out to Royal Roads.  Sufficient to say that we saw only two other bikers - both on fixed wheel machines who over took us at great speed.  Those of us who came enjoyed the ride, but could not wait to get home and in a hot shower.....

The rest of us are proud of your tenacity!

And they are still smiling as they get ready for the ride back from Royal Roads U

Like a fish needs a bicycle.

I didn't realize that Bono was one of us! But it is a salutary lesson to be careful while on the saddle given his accident in New York .

If you are wondering where the title of the blog comes from, you need to know the lyrics to one of U2 songs "Trying to throw your arms around the world."

Are you covered?

Could this happen here?

This is a link to a story about the collision between two cyclists that landed up with a massive insurance payout.

The ride for November 18 - to Leechtown and back

5 Riders started from Stckleback Eatery. James J encountered a recurring tire problem before leaving home. Fairly warm and dry day with a bit of sun coming out later in the ride. Lots of leaves on some parts of the trail, very quiet today. Approx. 36 KM. to Leechtown and back. We took snacks, etc as we found the Eatery is not open till 5 PM on Mon and Tue. Norm T. had a minor spill as a stick lodged into the front fender, essentially smoked the fender and put NT flat on the trail, as surprised as anyone. No injury. We removed the fender, had barely enough tools amognst us (reminder to add a few essentials). It is now in the Leechtown trash and will be replaced by a less troublesome or no fender system. We completed the ride without further drama and retreated to the 17 Mile Pub for lunch. A very interesting and historic venue. Married men were limited to 2 beers in the heyday.

The link to details of the ride is kindly supplied courtesy of Jim McN.

The ride for November 14, 2014

The ride today started at Matticks Farm and went around Victoria International Airport.

Here is a link provided by Jim Mc. for full details.

Another sunny, but cold day on the shores of Pat Bay

Who wants to start the Victoria franchise

You could own one of these??????? 

Velofix is a start up company in based in Vancouver - it was written up in today's Globe & Mail.

Interesting story - Simon Whitfield is one of their backers. Perhaps a member of the Peloton is interested in taking on the Victoria franchise?? What's holding you back?

Cycling Etiquette

MAMIL's cycling etiquette is being called into question in that other Victoria, the State in Australia. It seems that we older, or should I say "mature" age cyclists need to raise our game when cycling as a group.

Take a moment to read this article on the Australian Broadcasting website, and the specifics of the program on the Cycling Victoria website.

This is being taken seriously in "the other Victoria" - I'm not sure that such workshops are available here - the closest I could find is .

As always, your thoughts are welcomed. Feel free to leave a comment

Remembrance Day Ride

The ride for November 11 started at Mile Zero beside the statue of Terry Fox, a Canadian Hero. The first Terry Fox Day in BC will be on Sunday September 20, 2015. Under clear blue skies, but a brisk cold wind [cold for Victoria] the Peloton headed east along Dallas Road to Ross Bay Cemetery where we headed inland to avoid the headwinds. Cycling through Fairfield was less strenuous than had we stuck to Dallas Road. Once back on the shoreline at the Oak Bay Marina, it was north along Beach Drive and Uplands to Cadboro' Bay with the all important coffee stop at Olive Olio.

On the return trip, we stopped at the Oak Bay War Memorial at Cattle Point just in time for the 11.00 service to commemorate those other Canadian heroes from the wars and conflicts of the last 100 years.

The rest of the trip back to Mile Zero was uneventful, apart from Norm T's soft tire close to the end.

If you didn't check out the links on the role of bikes by Canadian, British and American troops in wars past, you may want to check these

The Canadians

The British

The Americans

November 7, 2014 - The Wally Ride

We met at the Cpt. James Cook statue across from the Empress. Prior to the ride, we conducted a thorough inspection of the Pacific Fleet from this vantage point, including a very interesting 121' "tender" moored in the inner harbour, reportedly for a Russian super yacht . Very sinister looking. If you want to know more click Wally 118.  

Posthaste, we proceeded around James Bay to Dallas Road, along to Beach Drive and finally Cadboro Bay. Coffee in fine sunshine at Olive Olio's. We had 10 riders and all appeared to be in fine spirits on a beautiful November day. Thanks to James J. for organising.

A Wally 118