It all began at 11:30 in the beautiful Puntledge River Campground.  Various tents and people were set up to register the 140 participants of the event.  That has to be some kind of record I think.  The registration was very well organized and after receiving a package of information we  proceeded to the next tent to sign up for rides.  The rides were numbered 1 to 21 with most of them being repeated on other days.  They were graded easy, moderate, fast and one was OMG!! (The Death Climb of Mount Washington). The registration went on to 1:30 as the temperature was climbing.  A mechanic (thank you Angus) was on hand to make sure everyone’s ride was ship shape. 

Very hot day and lots of complaints.  I think Canada may be the only country in the world where people will complain of hot weather and cold weather in the same week.  After the registration was over most people headed home to freshen up for the evenings festivities.   

Day 1. 

At 2:00 a ride left to climb Mt Washington.  18 km of up, more up and UP!  The thermometer was now at 33 degrees and climbing.  I was going to go but I decided not to, because I didn’t want to. 

Mt. Washington ride

The club also offered a series of “get to know our town” rides to show people the important parts of Courtney. Pubs, coffee shops and the like.  There were four of these and they were fairly well attended. 

That evening we repaired to the Springdale Golf Course for a catered Salmon BBQ dinner.  The salmon was caught by club members and the rest was catered by the golf club.  Cost was 20.00 per person I think but whatever it was, it was worth it.  A great evening with door prizes and everything.   

Day 2. 

All participants met at the campground to rally up for a 9:30 departure.  Each leader had a sign with the number of their ride.  That was great organization.  Everyone formed up with their ride leaders and headed off at 9:30.  Each ride had a leader and two sweeps which allowed the rides to split in two if required.  I went on the Comox Lake ride which went through Cumberland.  The ride leader Glenn Ord told me he wanted to call it “the Good, the Bad and the Ugly”.  The good was the quiet and beautiful country roads, the bad was riding on the side of the Island Highway (not that bad actually) and the ugly was the road from Cumberland down to Comox Lake.  Pothole city. 

It was a beautiful ride in spite of the heat and was just over 60 km as were most of the moderate rides.  We had lunch in Cumberland which is one of those mining towns frozen in time because there were no changes after the mine closed.  Very cool town. 

 Backwoods to the pub

Day 3. 

Wednesday morning and it was feeling a bit cooler so that was a relief.  Once again the rides rallied up at 9:30 and a shotgun start went off without a hitch.  My ride that day was the FBI ride (Fanny Bay Inn).  Leader Wilf Craats provided excellent leadership and the sweeps lost no one.  We made many stops to talk about historical sites such as Union Bay and got a short lecture on the Oyster fishery in Fanny Bay, one of the largest of its kind in the world.  After talking about oysters we retired to the Fanny Bay Inn to eat some.  Unfortunately a red tide warning was posted so I had seafood chowder instead and boy was it good.  It was so good I tasted it all the way home. Note to self…don’t eat rich food when facing a 30km ride in the heat.  Anyway it was a beautiful alfresco lunch and if you are ever in the area I highly recommend this historic restaurant. 

In the evening some got together in rented kayaks and paddle boards for some paddling in the inlet.  I talked to a few people who did it and it sounded like a lot of fun.  My friends and I decided to have a three course Italian al fresco dinner in the shade with the appropriate amount of wine which did not involve any paddling . 

 Fanny Bay Inn ride 

Day 4.

More of the same in much cooler weather.  Beautiful back roads and spectacular scenery. 

In the evening we had a big Bratwurst on homemade buns BBQ.  It was well attended and after the food was cleared away Bruce Daykin started playing and the music and sing along began.  A lovely evening. 

 Gardens and winery tour 

Day 5. 

A short 33km ride to Comox airport for coffee and then everyone packed up and headed home. 

Overview. 

This event was extremely well organized and my hat is off to the volunteers who staged this event. On behalf of the Greater Victoria chapter of the CCCTS thank you all for a job well done.  All leaders and sweeps acted above and beyond the call of duty. 

Special thanks to Lawrence Vea and Rob Haigh for all their work.  Great job guys.. 

 The rides for the most part were conducted as advertised and some of then split into a faster and slower ride with everyone arriving within a few minutes of each other which was fine.   

In addition to the rides down the backroads and byways (and highways) of the Comox valley, rides on Denman and Hornby island were included.  These required transportation to and from the Denman ferry and by all accounts were a great success. 

My wife and I  look forward to the next chance we have to ride in this area. 

by Alex Laird