Mike, Dave, Brynne
Photo: Jim Runkel

Fun Filled 300
Island Spring 300 - April 25
by Mike Croy

Brynne and I had such a fun filled day. This ride was radically different from the 200km that we did previously. The conditions for the ride were virtually perfect except for a shower going up the malahat. The company was also great as we agreed to ride with Dave Mcmurchie as best everyone could.

Brynne and I measure our ride's success by the amount of animals we see(dead or alive) This ride proved to be no exception as we saw rabbits, ravens, deer and a dead racoon that almost took Mike out during the later part of the ride. The coolest thing we have ever seen was local pet celebrity Wendy the genetic freak whippet dog standing on the side of Martindale road.(seriously google it)

As the 3 of us pulled into most controls we caught the tail end of the tandem/Ringham express. At the Duncan control Steven who DNF'd had lunch with all of us and was convincing himself to quit but after having lunch with us and relaxing for awhile we rode him down to Sooke lake road. He still packed it in but thanked us for inspiring him to make this his longest ride ever and to get back over the hat. Steven also asked Brynne, Dave and I to sign his control card for his wall of recovery as he is still recovering from cancer. This was a major feather in his cap, we can expect to see him complete this season's 200km's on the island.

We were a touch apprehensive about riding the last leg of the brevet as we did not have a lot of night riding experience. However this turned out not to be problem as we left Sooke we all turned on our lighting systems. I observed that this must have seemed very bizarre to oncoming traffic to see a 3 bike pace line illuminated to a daylight bubble thanks to our Seca 700 and Dave's freakishly bright flash lights. Stopping for a "nature moment" on East Sooke Rd Brynne and I were absolutely struck by overwhelming silence.

All in all this was a super successful brevet mostly due to the amount fun we had and sights we saw along the route.

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April 27, 2009