We got up at the crack of dawn to roll down to the start/finish line out front of the legislature buildings in downtown Victoria. Our team photographer was there to snap our bright shining faces before all the torture:
courtesy of John Maysmith
Then we lined up amongst the hundreds of cyclists -- approximately 700 -- for the start of the 140km. Some famous faces that joined us: Ryder Hesjedal, Simon Whitfield, and hockey star Trevor Linden. It was a bit of a testosterone-fest, but there were actually a good number of chickas too!
The front of the group crossing the Johnson St. bridge (Ryder is farthest left):
The first 25km we were sandwiched in with the peloton, and when the road undulated we could see how far our group stretched. It reminded me of the Tour de France, since this is all I could see:
The first big hill on Lagoon Road split the group apart. I was thankful because it was getting sketchy with so many people!
Cam and I hunkered down and worked our way through Metchosin. Cyclists were strung out for kilometres, all in groups of 20 or less. A guy in a blue jacket joined us and we pacelined to save energy.
We joined a group of 20 when we reached the hills of the Highlands, and it was great fun conquering all the climbs.
Cam working his way up one of the steepest sections of the Highlands:
And of course he had to rock the euro look with the unzipped jersey and gold chain...
I'm on the far right, churning the pedals!
For those who don't know, the Highlands are a lot of this:
Narrow roads, rolling hills and lots of forest!
We were feeling pretty good coming out of the highlands... that is until the rains hit and the temperatures dropped. We were freezing all through Sidney and down the penninsula. But we soldiered through -- Cam fighting leg cramps, and me trying to spin my legs hard to keep warm! We felt like Navy SEALS in hell week.
This is the lead pack hitting the rainy section:
There was no better feeling when we reached the waterfront in Victoria and sunshine returned. The homestretch was awesome, especially the crowds cheering us on as we crossed the finish line.
Can't wait til next year!!!
