MIVA DEPARTURE BAY ROAD HILL CLIMB 120823

MIVA HILL CLIMB NO. 1 12 08 23 Departure Bay Road / Uplands Road, Nanaimo

Cloudy skies, a touch of sun, a stiff wind , and 19 deg. C. temperature greeted the starters in the club's first hill climb of the season. This hill usually attracts a good entry and tonight was no exception, with a record number of sixteen participants. It was great to see three juniors among the riders. The MIVA hill climbs attract a large age spread, tonight drawing contestants from eleven to seventy-two!

Eleven of the entrants were newcomers to this hill with five return riders showing up, among them both the men's and women's record holders.

These latter had the advantage of knowing how to tackle the changing gradients and the sharp twelve percent section towards the top so their times were generally faster.

Of particular note, apart from the two record rides, were the times posted by Andrew Willmott, Mykelti Berg and Dave Kenny. Andrew was an elite rower and triathlete but this is possibly his first cycling event; an excellent ride, Andrew. Ykelti has only started racing this year but is already showuing considerable promise. Her sub eleven minute time underlines her continued progress. Dave Kenny was a national level cyclist in years gone by but in the past few years has just ridden for fun with a few forays into masters' racing. His age-corrected time would have given him third place overall.

Thanks to Phil Birrer for acting as starting timekeeper so soon after his cross-Canada holiday. On an associated note: the club events depend on volunteers for their success but the offers of help from the majority of the ninety-five members are non existent. If the organisers don't start getting considerably more assistance, The club may see its yearly total of fifty-plus events cut in half.