The Comox Valley Chapter welcomes new members!  The Chapter has 51 enthusiastic members as of January 22, 2024.  

The Chapter runs a weekly “Open Ride” every Friday, weather permitting, from approximately mid-March to mid-October. There are quite a variety of routes including local ones in and around Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland as well as a number of out-of-town options that start and end somewhere within a hour’s drive or so from Courtenay.  Examples are Denman, Hornby and Quadra Islands, Qualicum Beach, Parksville and “The Gold River Highway”.

These Friday rides are typically “road” rides almost completely on paved surfaces.  The club does conduct several “mixed surface” rides per season as well.  These routes require fatter tires and/or suspension forks (for comfort) and encompass dirt trails, gravel forest service roads and single/doubletrack mountain biking trails.

To get a picture (pun intended) of the type of fun the Chapter members have on their bikes, check out the all the posts below this one which span the 2016 – 2019 ride seasons.   From 2020 to the present, photo memories reside in Google Photos Albums. Check out the following…

CCCTS Comox Valley Chapter – 2022 Ride Season – Google Photos Album

CCCTS Comox Valley Chapter – 2021 Ride Season – Google Photos Album

CCCTS Comox Valley Chapter – 2020 Ride Season – Google Photos Album

For the latest goings-on in Comox Valley please see the Comox Valley Chapter Notes page.

February 22, 2025

Weekly Open Ride Program

2024

The 2024 season ran from March 15 to October 18.  There were a total of 35 weekly Friday road rides scheduled with 1 rainout.  Volunteer Coordinators led 11 rides and the remainder self-organized at the start location.

The total number of rides exceeded the number of weeks because there were 2 out-of-town rides and on those days a local option was available as well. A second, local option, was also availble on days when more advanced long rides were on the schedule.

The season also included a number of volunteer-organized gravel and mixed-surface rides.

In 2024 the concept of “Pace Groups” introduced on a trial basis the previous year, was dropped. The Chapter Executive decided to return to the traditional “Touring” ride speed format.

2025

The weekly Open Ride program for 2025 will kick-off  Friday March 14.   Check out all the details in the 2025 Ride Schedule or on the Open Rides page of the Comox Valley Chapter website (both available to Comox Valley Chapter members only).  Read about the website below.

Volunteer Coordinators

The Chapter Executive continues to encourage seasoned members to step up and volunteer to coordinate one or more rides per season so that every ride has someone who

1. ensures that no one is left behind by appointing a sweep that is familiar with the day’s route and that will accompany new and/or slower riders
2. welcomes new members and sees that everyone is introduced and made to feel included

The success of the Chapter’s ride program depends on these volunteers.

If you are a Comox Valley Chapter member PLEASE VOLUNTEER to coordinate one or more of our Friday rides.  Links to the Coordinator Handbook and Volunteer Coordinator Signup sheet are in the Quick Links section at the bottom of this post.

Dedicated Website for Comox Valley Chapter Members Only

The Comox Valley Chapter Website went live in 2022. It is restricted to Comox Valley Chapter members.  Note too, that it is separate and distinct from the CCCTS website you are currently reading this on. It’s purpose is to provide access to much more information and links to resources specific to the Comox Valley Chapter than is available here in the Local Chapters section of the CCCTS website.

For example, the About page has short bios of the Comox Valley Executive Team and links to past Chapter reports and meeting minutes.

 The Open Rides page explains the weekly Open Ride Program. It has a “Quick View” of upcoming weekly rides and access to the more detailed 2025 Ride Schedule.

The Photo Gallery page provides access to a number of Google Photos albums compiled over the last few years.  The most recent is the Comox Valley Chapter – 2024 Ride Season. New albums for 2025 and the upcoming Hub & Spoke are coming soon.  And there are links to Weekly Ride Posts from 2016 – 2019.  The source of these posts is the website you are currently on but the links mentioned provide the ability to find and view posts from every ride more easily and directly.

Another page on the site provides direct access to the Comox Valley Route Catalogue – a document that summarizes dozens of routes in and around the Comox Valley for road, gravel and mixed surfaces.  As well as providing summary statistics on each route, there are also links to Ride With GPS for even more detail.  This is an invaluable resource for organizers of rides to select a route or for individuals to source a route for personal riding.

The home page of the website provides a direct link to the CCCTS Comox Valley Riders Google Group online communication forum.

New information pertinent to the Comox Valley is added regularly.

Technical details:  The site was developed using “Google Sites” and as such, site security is maintained by ensuring that only Comox Valley Chapter members with a Google Account can access it.  If you are a Chapter member with a Google account and are having problems accessing the site,  send an email to the Comox Valley Ride Coordinator describing your issue. If you do not have a Google account, see the Quick Links section below for a link on how to create one.

Photo Sharing:

The Chapter encourages all its members to share their cycling experiences through photos.  There are Google Photos Albums for every ride season from 2020 to 2024. 

The Comox Valley Chapter – 2025 Ride Season album is  now open for photo uploads and COMMENTS. This album is like a diary and regular commentary will be added by the Ride Coordinator. The photos are in chronological order. Follow the link, then “Join” to be notified when there is new activity. 

Similar “diary style” albums exist for the 2020 to 2024 ride seasons.  These albums are closed for uploads but users can still comment on photos.

Comox Valley Chapter – 2024 Ride Season

Comox Valley Chapter – 2023 Ride Season

Comox Valley Chapter – 2022 Ride Season

Comox Valley Chapter – 2021 Ride Season

Comox Valley Chapter – 2020 Ride Season

The final album is comprised of all photos dating from 2018 and includes photos of the 2018 and 2022 Hub & Spokes.  This album is in a “latest photos first” format.  There is no diary commentary and photos cannot be uploaded to this album.

Comox Valley Chapter – Photo Album (Latest First)

Quick Links:

1. CCCTS Comox Valley Riders  This is a Google Group that is used for email communication between group members. The link provided here is to the Group web page where users can easily send new messages to the rest of the group or refer back to previous email threads on topics of interest. 
2. Comox Valley Chapter Website. Read about it above.
3. Comox Valley Rides – 2025 Schedule  (Under development.)
4. Comox Valley Rides – Open Ride Program  An outline of the Open Ride Program.
5. Comox Valley Rides – Volunteer Coordinator Handbook  Describes the roles and responsibilites of Volunteer Coordinators.
6. Comox Valley Rides – Volunteer Coordinator Signup A Google Sheet for Volunteer Coordinators to sign up to coordinate a Pace Group for a weekly ride.
7. Comox Valley Route Catalogue A summary of routes to assist in choosing a route to ride. It can also be accessed via the website mentioned above.
8. Comox Valley Rides – Limited Capacity Ride Signup A Google Sheet for riders to sign up for Limited Capacity Rides.
9. How to set up notifications in Google Sheets (instructions on how to be notified when a new ride is posted for example)
10. How to create a free Google account A Google account is needed by Comox Valley Members to access the website mentioned above as well as to edit the signup form.
11. Getting to Google Sheets on your PC (one of many ways to go to Google Sheets on a PC.  On a mobile device simply download the Google Sheets app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store)
12. CCCTS Communicable Illnesses Policy

2019 Summary

• 30 official rides took place with 629 riders participating for an average of 21 riders per day.
• The most we had any day was 38.
• 59 riders participated in “Choose a Rides”
• 6 Mixed Surface Rides with 34 riders, ~ 6 per day
• 5 additional rides into November

BONUS RIDE #2…City Country Loop

Nov. 8….and another decent day! Sixteen cyclists showed up for a ride. We went through town to 19 via Lake Trail and the connector. Rhonda had a flat and could not get her tire off. The last we heard was Eamon had to ride home and get the truck and come back to get her. We continued down the highway to Piercy, Headquaters, Rennison, Huband, etc to the airport for coffee.

BONUS RIDE…City Country Loop

Another nice day to finish off a sunny week.  A little chilly but not too bad.  A trip up Piercy, Dove Creek , Farnham, Tsolum Bridges, 19a with a stop at the Country Market.

LAST RIDE OF THE SEASON…City Country Loop

Last official ride of the season and another “iffy” day…..but it turned out to be just fine. 14 members rode up Dove Creek, down Farnham, then Merville Rd, Coleman, Bates, Waveland, Eleanor, Little River to the airport for coffee.  Hopefully we are able to fit in a few more rides if the weather cooperates.

City Country Loop

A rather chilly start to the sunny day saw 15 riders meet at the Filberg for a ride up Piercy to 19, down Dove Creek to Headquarters then up to Smith and down 19A to the Courtenay Country Market for coffee and to help Steve FA celebrate his 70th.  Stella also rode to this   social gathering.  After eating, not unexpectedly, talk began of challenging some nearby hills, specifically Grieve….and sure enough, 6 people picked up the challenge and completed Grieve & Hardy and took the Coleman/Waveland route back home.  Thanks to Sherry for coordinating.

Baynes Sound – Mixed Surface

6 riders participated in the gruelling (see photo!) Baynes Sound View trail ride.  A cloudy day  with a few drops of rain but a good time was had by all (again, see photo! )  Oh, and yes, they actually did climb a hill….though it appears like a flat ride out towards Tree Island.  Thanks to Andrea for coordinating.  

City Country Loop

Another one of those “iffy” days with rain overnight and into the morning.  It did, however, stop before 9 so we rescheduled to a “Choose a Ride” and 3 hearty souls (all female I might add) showed up….Cathy, Sharon & Marilynn.  They decided to cycle Dove Creek, Farnham, Merville, & Coleman where they met up with James & Jane going the other way.  All 5 then cycled to the Airport for coffee as the roads got drier & drier.  Hopefully we get a drier October compared to the past September, so we can perhaps cycle into November like we did last year.

Miracle Beach

A group of 20 riders met on a coolish, windy day to check out the ice cream at the Mini-Golf Course.  Our leader,  Glenn  aka “Rabbit Hole” gave us a couple of possibilities for routes including one very few people had ever been on.  13 of the 20 riders took up the challenge and made their way up from the end of Burns Road to Highway 19.  The ~ 100 m trail passed over a creek and through a “gate” cut strategically through a wire fence.  After meeting up with the other 7 riders at Dove Creek Road we headed straight into the very brisk, challenging wind for 13 km to Hamm Road.  Part way down Hamm Road, “Rabbit Hole” lead many through another “long cut” which eventually took everyone to the Mini-Golf Course where, as always, we would be treated to some fabulous ice cream!  Alas, the owners had determined that summer was over, and had closed up shop!  As a result we headed back south on 19 A, now with the wind following us!  Some stopped at Black Creek General Store while others made their way down Headquarters to the Climate Change rally in Simms Park and a few even participated in the march up 5th & 4th.   All in all, an interesting, well-rounded day!

Comox Airport

A healthy group of 35 riders participated in a short ride to the Airport today to attend the opening ceremonies of the new Bike Station.  Free coffee and muffins were the big attraction, as was the opportunity to look good in the new CCCTS jersey. A few nice photos including the group shot….and one less than satisfactory one of the lone cyclist!  Next week we are off to Black Creek.