Windsor and Mill Bay info

Just a quick reminder of the 2021 VCL Summer Season – see below.

We have a double header coming up this weekend, with the Windsor Park crit on Saturday, and Mill Bay RR on Sunday.

Spread the word, and we hope to see you all this weekend.

The Windsor race kicks-off 8:30 for the C-Race, 9:30 for the B-Race and 10:30 for the A-Race – if sufficient nbrs of mini-humans around, there could be a kid-race between the B and A events.

The race costs $20, and will have on-site registration only.

Juniors and Wheelers are free.

For Sunday, race registration for Mill Bay can be done online at CCNbikes.com – https://ccnbikes.com/#!/events/12577-mill-bay-road-race – click link for all details.

If you haver any issues, there will be on-site registration also.

Season Schedule

– July 14 – Wed – Newton Heights – Wheelers
– July 18 – Sun – Cherry Point RR – VBCC
– July 24 – Sat – Windsor Park – Oak Bay Bikes / Wheelers
– July 25 – Sun – Mill Bay RR – Sidney Velo
– July 27 – Tues – Speedway – Tripleshot
– July 28 – Wed – Newton Heights – Wheelers
– Aug 11 – Wed – Caleb – Broad Street VBCC
– Aug 17 – Tues – Speedway – Tripleshot
– Aug 22 – Sun – Metchosin RR – VBCC
– Aug 25 – Wed – North Saanich – Wheelers (new course)
– Aug 29 – Sun – Windsor Park – OBB/Wheelers
– Aug 31 – Tues – Speedway – Tripleshot

VCL 2021 – Race #1 Newton Heights

Without further adieu, and with an ample dose of short notice, here are the details on tomorrow evening’s race.

Newton Heights, Sign-On/Nbr pick-up is at 6:00, and racing starts at 6:30.

Registration is done online, via Webscorer, https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=247511 (if the link doesn’t work, copy and paste the address into your browser and hit enter). Failing that, search the Race ID #247511

Race results will be done via timing chip, there is no charge for the chips this year, HOWEVER, they must be returned after each race. Given that this is the first race in a year and a half, please arrive with plenty of time (before the 6:30 start). Expect a few delays, as we work out the bugs on a race plan that was pulled together very quickly.

Each of the races this year are one-offs, there will be no full season standings. There are a number of reasons for this, including things like: COVID, technical difficulties, short notice, among other things.

SAFETY NOTICE – people are going to be nervous, and there is no prize money or life-changing accolades, so, your primary goals is to stay upright, to keep your race-mates upright, and to have fun.

Bring your cycling BC license to sign-on, you will need either a UCI or Provincial Race License, or a Cycling for All Cycling BC Membership.

More information is available on the VCL Facebook page, and more information will be added to this site in due course. https://www.facebook.com/VicCyclingLeague/

Observatory Closure/Access

Subject: Dominion Astrophysical Observatory closure during the COVID-19 pandemic

In March 2020, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) made the difficult decision to temporarily close public access to the site, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under normal circumstances, we at the DAO are happy to welcome hikers to enjoy our trails, the cycling community to train on our hill and, through the Friends of the DAO, welcome the public to our historic site to share our knowledge and passion for astronomy. Our staff, who are all part of the Greater Victoria community, are proud to be able to share our site and our interests with the community.

When the pandemic began, we reduced our presence onsite and asked our employees to work remotely to do our part to support physical distancing and the fight against COVID-19. Only essential staff are onsite to allow our research operations to continue.

We have an important responsibility to care for this property and the people who use it, and to protect our employees and our community. As a research institution, and with a limited onsite presence, the DAO is not in a position to ensure safe public access to our site during the pandemic.

We recognize the disappointment this has caused within the communities of cyclists, hikers, nature and astronomy enthusiasts who enjoy our site. We ask for and appreciate your patience and support as we strive to continue to focus our efforts on supporting Canadian research under these unprecedented circumstances.

We sincerely look forward to welcoming you back and re-opening the site to our community and public outreach activities once again, as soon as it is safe to do so.

Clear skies,

Luc Simard,

Director General, Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Centre

Dominion Astrophysical Observatory

National Research Council of Canada

2020 Season Delay

FYI – with the guidance of Cycling BC, and following the footsteps of Cycling Canada and other bodies, we are postponing the 2020 race season, with all event between now and May 1st being on hold. We will reassess in a few weeks, and provide further information as it becomes available.

Maple Bay – Cancelled

Unfortunately the Maple Bay Road July 27th is cancelled. The principle organizers and many of the volunteers from both teams are away. We have explored many options for other to take the lead and to find volunteers, but simply don’t have the manpower to put in the race.

Remaining Races

It has just been noted that this Wednesday’s Velodrome VCL (July 24th) is missing from the Schedule posted on this site (although, it does properly show on the IRC site). Registration an open-track starts of 6:00PM, with racing starting around 6:30.

Saturday’s Maple Bay RR is still uncertain – final status will be conveyed by tomorrow evening, we apologize for the late notice and confusion.

Lastly, Sunday marks the return of the Observatory Hill Climb – come out and test your legs against the relatively inoffensive grade. It would be great to have a huge turnout for the return of this popular cycling training location. Come out and show your respects and appreciation for the venue operators!!

Results and Season Standings

All Race Results and Season Standings have now been added to the IRC page – click here.

The 2019 VCL race season is quickly drawing to a close, with only one weekend remaining. We are still holding our breath that organization of Saturday’s fantastic Maple Bay Road Race will come together in the next few days (stay tuned), and on Sunday we have the long-lost Observatory Hill Climb. This last venue has been absent from the calendar for many years, and we are super excited to have it back, so, we are hoping to have a really strong turn-out!!!!! Cheap, painful, disgusting, and oh so much fun – let’s see you all out there.

Results – Newton Heights – July 3, 2019

Thanks to everyone who came out, and to Marcel and the other volunteers!! We really appreciate you enabling us all in our collective search for torturous bliss!!! Race results have been tabulated, and are available here.

T

Results – Windsor Park June 30, 2019, etc

Results for Sunday’s race have been posted here. Thanks to Karl, and Oak Bay Bikes for putting on such a great race, and thanks to all the volunteers that make the whole thing possible!

Additionally, results for the previous few races are also available on the IRC site – click here. I am having some technical issues, so, full results for Metchosin and Mount Doug may show as incomplete – we are working on correcting the issue.

CANCELLED – Air Force Crit – CANCELLED

FYI – there has been a change in base command, and unfortunately the crit that was scheduled for July 6th has been cancelled. Thanks so much to Arin (Fort Street Cycle) and his cohorts for all the work they did to get it approved with previous command – we were all REALLY looking forward to this new venue.