Courtenay 200
Ride Date: September 6, 2025
by Gary Baker

What a ride, what a route!

I have ridden literally dozens and dozens of different 200 km brevets and the Courtenay 200 rates as one of the very best routes I have ever done. I'm hard pressed to identify a 200 route I liked better. This route follows a wonderful mix of wide residential streets, quiet country roads, forestry service roads ( all paved by the way), and highway riding with wide shoulders and great views along the Salish Sea.

The four registered riders ( Rob, Alard, Fred and Moi) did the ride together making for great comradery. No one was in a particular hurray, the pace was relaxed but steady. OK, there were a few instances where there were micro surges. As Rob was the organizer his presence simplified the route finding (just follow Rob). I do wonder if any of us would have noticed if he for the fun of it had lead us astray. A beginners mistake is to blindly follow the lead rider!

The route took us to Alard's seaside home where we stopped for refreshments and a ( not) so short break before the push up to Oyster Bay for another (not) so short break (pizza and ice cream). Our actual riding time for this event was under 9hrs. Leaving Oyster Bay there were no identifiable water stops along the route and it was a relatively hot day. I'm a bit of a camel, I carry lots of water and tend not to need much either. The others were getting low but Rob had the situation in hand (based on past experience). Why had he missed an obvious turn? It was because he had stashed a flat of 500ml H2O bottles behind a BC Hydro services box just past the designated turn..... brilliant, planning and support.

Randonneuring has been described as 'spirited' touring. IMO given the confining geography of the LM and the limited number of possible LM routes the touring aspects of the sport seems to have for the most part been lost or forgotten. BC is BIG and beautiful, a great place to cycle. What better way to truly discover and experience an area then to ride a Brevet on the Island, in the interior or in the Peace Zone.