East Coast Renfrew
Vancouver Island Summer 600
Ride dates: August 23-24, 2025
by Bob Koen

“If you aren’t living on the edge then you are taking up too much space” - Steven Hunt

I seem to have gotten a reputation for living on the edge with respect to control closing times. Gary Sparks could tell some stories. It’s not that I prefer it that way but as the Hell’s Angels like to say “Stuff happens“ (I am paraphrasing what they actually say).

This ride turned out to be my only chance to get a 600 for this year. I hadn’t managed to complete a 600 since 2022 due to the above mentioned Hell’s Angels motto. I really don’t like riding alone so I was thrilled when Jeff Mudrakoff signed up for this ride. The weather forecast a few days before the ride called for temps in the mid 20s with no rain. Perfect. Unfortunately the weather forecast the day before the ride called for temps in the mid 30s with no rain. Not so perfect.

The ride started well enough. We whizzed through the usual terrain from Nanaimo to Cowichan Lake and then up to the summit of the road between Cowichan Lake and Port Renfrew where we were met by Stephen and Carol with refreshments. Then down to the turnaround in Port Renfrew. All was going well to this point but the day was heating up rapidly. The ride back up to the summit was long, hot, and tiring. Again Stephen and Carol were there to provide support and encouragement. After that it was either hot or dark, neither of which are conditions conducive to putting time in the bank. When we finally got back to Nanaimo around 5 am we had about 1.5 hours on the clock. We desperately needed some sleep. Knowing that the second days ride up to Comox and back would be substantially easier than the first day we decided to shower, get 1.5 hours of sleep, and get a good feed at the Tim Hortons. This had us leaving Nanaimo about 2 hours behind the suggested control closing time. Not good. Before the rule change making intermediate control closing times informational only we would have been hooped.

We made good time up to the next control at Buckley Bay and almost pulled back the time that we needed. But we needed food and a break so we lost more time. Same situation at Comox. By now the day was getting very warm and Jeff was suffering badly from the heat. His stomach was revolting to the point where he couldn’t eat and really couldn’t drink either, not even water. We were looking at a full on sprint to get back to Nanaimo within the time limit so we booted it. It was an exhilarating ride for me and a descent into hell for Jeff. I managed to find a new gear that I hadn’t seen for years and set a blistering pace (for me) through Courtenay and down the old Island highway. But then an unexpected but greatly appreciated rest break appeared in the form of Rob Nygren waving us down with cokes and snacks near Union Bay. That put the number of supporters on the ride at one more than the number of riders. I predicted to Rob that if we managed to finish the ride the time would be 39h59.

From there we carried on at a brisk pace but Jeff was suffering badly and had to take a rest break in the shade north of Qualicum Beach. By the time we got to the penultimate control at the Shell station in Qualicum Beach we were at exactly the control closing time. But Jeff was done. His stomach was not only refusing any input but was actively trying to output the previous input. He told me that it wasn’t in the cards for him and that I should go on ahead. I don’t like to leave a rider in distress but Jeff is very capable and wasn’t in any danger. He just needed to find a way back to Nanaimo.

I finally took off with 47 kms to go and negative 20 minutes in the bank. This was gonna be close! And it was. I rode with a keen sense of determination and desperation. Any sort of mechanical would have put the kibosh to any hopes of finishing within the time limit. But nothing untoward happened and I got to the exit from the highway into Nanaimo with about 45 minutes remaining on the clock. Being unfamiliar with the cycle path into the city I wasn’t sure if I was in a good position at that point or not. It is a beautiful cycle path and much preferable to the old way of riding down the island hwy into the city with all those traffic lights and manic drivers. But it is long and convoluted in places. I finally made it to the closing control at 9:50 pm. To my incredible relief I had finished the ride with 10 minutes to spare. That beat my previous record of finishing the Cape Disappointment 1000 with 11 minutes to spare.

This wasn’t living on the edge. It was more like sailing off the edge into the unknown.

I rode back to the motel and had barely got there when Jeff showed up. He had ridden to Parkesville where he phoned Stephen Hinde. Stephen and Carol came and picked him up.

Many thanks to Stephen, Carol, and Rob for the thoughtful and much appreciated support. And to Stephen and Mark for putting the ride together.