At 9am sharp this Saturday, the regular club ride departed from Oak Bay Bikes and wove its way down along the E & N Trai, across the footbridge over the Millstone River and then down to Victoria Road and into Cedar. Eight started the ride but Regis Chapman, with very few miles in his legs, found the going a bit fast and after being paced back by the Pres. on his scooter a couple of times , decided to call it a day and rode back down to Cassidy.

For those who are still working on fitness level or who like a more sedate ride, the Monday rides, with 6.30pm  starts alternating between the Aquatic Centre and OBB, are a little slower and the group always waits for dropped riders.

Thanks to Bryan Rehill for sharing his Garmin output from last night's time trial, here. As you can see, there is quite a climb to the turn. Bryan almost did 40kph for the distance - quite the ride and an improvement on his previous best. Perhaps a brown bear on the course might have inspired Bryan to break the 40kph barrier

MIVA 20KM I.T.T. Nanaimo River Road

May 17th.

Another fast night. The wind dropped quite a bit just after the start and nearly everyone improved on their 2012 times for the distance. Don Gillmore rode a 15km so he does not figure in the 20km results. However, if his 15km time is extrapolated to 20km and an allowance taken off for the acceleration from the start, it would work out to around 28' 50".

Shawn Boyd and Brian Rehill both did personal bests for the distance as did Charles Hamer and Iain Hay. In the women's category all finishers did P.B's and in the youth division, both Brodie Hay and Mykelti Berg beat their previous bests, Brodie beating his mom by almost two minutes!

The turnout of seventeen was impressive, but if all those who have ridden one or more time trials this year were to come out there would be twenty seven on the start sheet.

Thanks to Regis Chapman for doing an excellent job as holder, especially as he was wearing road cycling shoes. Good to see you back in Nanaimo Regis.

MIVA BOXWOOD CRITERIUM, MAY 15TH. 2012 Weather perfect, wind - challenging, spectators - one.

Fifteen riders started tonight - eleven seniors, one youth and one woman. The first few laps before prime #1 were quiet Rob Bau took the flag and then the action heated up. The next lap, Rob kept up the pace at the front of the pack, followed by Menno Jongsma, Ian Smith and the rest of the pack. Within another lap, Mark Wieler (Arrowsmith) , Shawn Boyd and Phil Birrer were driving the pace and then it was Shawn again, with Paul Thompson, Mike Sevcov (Everti) and Phil still near the front.

After a quiet lap 13, Ian Smith came to the front again with Iain Hay and Kyle Waring. The rest of the pack were five seconds back strung out in single file. The two Ia(i)n's and Kyle, together with two others, maintained the small gap but eased again just before the bell for the second prime. As the riders came round the bend into the finish straight, Ian Smith had opened a gap on his own and easily took the second sprint.

From then on the first category rider gained five seconds a lap until the last prime with three laps to go, which he won easily. Then he increased his speed a couple of notches and took ten seconds from the pack for each of the last two laps. Meanwhile, the pack had not been able to organise a decent chase and seemed content to wait for the final sprint for second place which was taken by Rob Bau, with Paul Thompson, Iain Hay, and the ever-present Mike Sevcov in the next three places.

Glenda Harling and Brodie Hay stayed with the seniors for the first five laps and then the out-of-corner accelerations left them off the back, where they rode together for the next eight laps. Glenda then pulled slowly ahead of Brodie and time trialled for the rest of the race. Brodie did manage to stay with the pack when he was caught and is showing a real improvement over the weeks.

Thanks to the Hay father and son team for setting out the course and to the other good souls who helped with tent erection and take down.

Starting next week, there will be points awarded for the first three over the line in the primes.

MID ISLAND CUP, RACE #4 120513 Boxwood Circuit

Mothers' Day was wonderfully sunny and the three performance category races went off without a hitch. One really disappointing thing was the absence of most of the youth riders. They had possibly been given the word - "You stay around for our Mothers' Day celebration or else...!"

"C" Race, 30 minutes plus 5 laps

The C started off quite slowly and the pace didn't change much throughout the race. It was obvious that the result would come down to a sprint finish and, sure enough, as the bunch came round the final bend, about three hundred metres from the line, the pace picked up. James Grant, Cycle U won the sprint from MIVA's Brodie Hay and Triple Shot's Jen Ericksen. It was one of the few races the club has held where there were more women than men.

"B" Race 40 minutes plus 5 laps

The B event was considerably faster than the C with constant attacks. The strong wind worked against breakaways so the pack regrouped repeatedly. The starters included a mix of older, experienced riders a couple of much younger competitors and a token woman. Soon after the start, Andrew Grant, Cycle U, and Iain Hay, MIVA, gained about 5 seconds but were soon brought back. On Lap 10, Menno Jonsma, MIVA, was joined by Hay and Malcolm Faulkner, O2, but again, they were soon caught. .On lap 20, Andrew Grant crashed and retired. Steve Grant, who had stopped to check on his son, was given a free lap and rejoined the group. Mark Wieler, Arrowsmith, also abandoned about this time. Iain tried once more to cruise off the front but was soon back in the fold. As in the B race, the result came down to a bunch finish, with crafty Iain Hay handily beating Faulkner, with Menno Jonsma placing third.

A Event, 45 minutes plus 5 laps

The A event was the most exciting, with nineteen starters, including a couple of the top provincial riders. Right from the start, the pace was high and within a couple of laps, there were constant attacks. The high speed resulted in a few of the less fit riders getting dropped. On lap three Mike Korb, Russ Hayes, and Jeff Sparling, Pro City Racing, had opened a small gap and within a lap, they were joined by Hugh Trenchard, Dr. Walker. This trio contained three of the strongest riders and they got down to business, increasing their advantage by about five seconds a lap. With eleven laps left, Ian Smith, MIVA, and Alex Hui, Pro City Racing, formed a chase group and for the next five laps attempted to reduce the break's advantage but they were eventually caught by the pack. Then Raphael Lalumiere, Russ Hays/Accent Inns, made a lone attempt to ride away from the pack, and with one lap to go, Josh Erickson, Pro City Racing also left the pack. The break had almost lapped the bunch and took the top three places, with Sparling first, Korb second and Trenchard third. The bunch sprint for fourth place was taken by Geordie Morrison, Pro City Racing from Ian Smith, MIVA, and Ryan Clarke, Pro City Racing. On a point of interest, among the starters were Normon Thibault and wife Wendy Simms who had taken time out from looking after the kids.

Thanks to the MIVA volunteers for course set up, registration and take down.