Comparison Great

What a ride today. The weather was perfect, sunny, but not too hot, a slight breeze, but not a strong head wind. The only thing I should have changed was selecting my route ahead of time. Well, I had a general idea of where I wanted to go, but I should have planned it better to ensure that the distance I wanted to hit was doable with my route.

My main goal was to hit Munn’s Road for the first time this year. I went straight from my place out the Goose to the turn off to Munn’s. I made it up to the top without too much trouble which pleased me a lot. Sure the last pitch before the summit hurt and was slow, but I did it without stopping. Ross Durance Lake Road was easy in comparison. From there I went out Wallace until I hit West Saanich. Here is where better planning would have helped. I went left, changed my mind, and back tracked to Wallace until I crossed the highway. I knew that if I headed to town, my ride would be too short, so I went left towards Sidney for a quick out and back. It worked, but wasn’t the best option.

I passed MItchels Farm when I noticed that there was a large bird on top of a telephone pole. At first I thought it was a turkey vulture, but as I got close I realized it was a Bald Eagle. When it moved I saw that it had a rabbit in it’s talons. I stopped to try and take a picture, but before I could get my phone out and unwrapped, the bird flew away.

I continued on feeling pretty strong through Mount Doug, and up Ash. In fact I was feeling pretty strong the entire day so far. Past Willows, through Oak Bay, then up and over King George Terrace I went. I zipped through downtown, then over the bridge. As I was heading along Esquimalt Ave I noticed that I was pretty close to breaking 100K, so I took a slightly longer route than normal to eke out as much distance as possible.

View July 7, 2013 TdV in a larger map

View July 7, 2013 TdV in a larger map

Total distance: 102.97 km (64.0 mi)
Total time: 3:59:19
Moving time: 3:55:02
Average speed: 25.82 km/h (16.0 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 26.29 km/h (16.3 mi/h)
Max speed: 84.22 km/h (52.3 mi/h)
Average pace: 2.32 min/km (3.7 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 2.28 min/km (3.7 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 0.71 min/km (1.1 min/mi)
Max elevation: 300 m (984 ft)
Min elevation: -29 m (-94 ft)
Elevation gain: 2384 m (7820 ft)
Max grade: 41 %
Min grade: -52 %
Recorded: 7/7/2013 8:37AM

My bike computer recorded 99.3 KM, but my phone recorded more. Also, my phone says my max speed was 84 KM/H, but the bike computer recorded 62.8 KM/H. No idea where the difference came from.

At home I ate some lunch, had a coffee, and recovered a bit. Good challenge today, and this has left me feeling pretty good about the Tour de Victoria.

Next weekend I will be riding in Nanaimo, so we will see what kind of a ride I can string together.