THIS EVENT WILL NOT HAPPEN IN CASE OF SNOW

Qualicum Beach to Willow Point (Campbell River) mostly along the old highway. This is a relatively flat route near the ocean, so has the best chance to be ice free in early December.

End the calendar year with a bang.

Pre ride report: We started under clear skies, with wet roads turning to frost. The views over the straits showed blue--the steely blue of winter skies, with a pink tinge on distant clouds. It was cold through the alleys of trees to Union Bay, where we finally started to feel the effects of the sun, and temperatures climbed to 4degC and the roads dried. The last views of Baynes Sound as we headed to Courtenay showed glass flat water. Be cautious crossing the river on the old highway bridge--it's narrow, so take the lane. Climbing the hill out of Courtenay we speculated that we might need sunglasses on the return. Yes, we shouldn't have cursed the ride with idle chatter. The ride from Control #1 just north of Courtenay into Willow Point was fast--just 1h10m for 32km, so we arrived at Serious Coffee looking forward to lunch. Soup, bagel, and coffee consumed, we headed back south under dark skies at 7degC, our temperature for the rest of the ride. Just before Control #3, we found a new road with a new bridge over the river, and the old road (on our route) closed. Construction was just finishing, so hopefully there will be a full shoulder for the brevet. This new Piercy Rd bridge is a nice improvement and opens up opportunites for other rides. We spent a little time exploring alternate routes through Courtenay, looking for quieter roads, but in the end, we just had to include 3 blocks of the old highway past the mall traffic. Leaving Royston we noticed that the wind was picking up, and when we got back to Union Bay, Baynes Sound had a good ripple. LIghts on at the rest area, and back on damp roads. We stopped at Cook Ck to put on some rain gear as a very heavy shower hit us. By the time we were ready to ride, it had stopped raining. (And yes, we stopped on the next hill to take it all off.) We didn't get anymore rain, but the roads were soaked, and the shoulders were covered in tree debris. The last 90 minutes were quite dark--night, dark skies, wet roads, but the traffic was reasonble. For late November, a very nice ride.