Ryder Hatzic Hill is back, this time with a start at Riley Park and a finish a Portland Craft. The Riley Park start means the trip out to Buntsen Lake after the Barnet Hwy has been excised. This has the effect of lopping off a decent chunk of elevation gain, down to a manageable 2600m for the pre-ride. The routing has not been reversed from previous editions given the first 2 brevets in the Lower Mainland have come back to town on the Barnet and the preponderance of hills are better to remain in the first half of the ride. The "meat" of the ride remains much the same with Stave Lake hills, Sumas Mtn and Ryder Lake featuring. Ryder Lake will once again host a fully catered contrôle. The route back takes you through historic Fort Langley and over the Golden Ears Bridge. Extensive and never ending construction means the usual United Blvd, Winston St section is avoided with a straight shot on the much loved Lougheed hwy until Gilmore Ave brings you back home via the Central Valley Greenway/ 10th Ave Bikeway. Portland Craft on Main St is the finish and is open until 2am. See you there!

Notes from the Pre-ride:

The start is at Riley Park, Breka on the same block of Main St is open 24hrs if you want to grab something before the ride start. There is various street parking available in the area but note restrictions especially on Ontario St for the Farmers Market weekend. The shoulders on many of the roads are in pretty rough shape, lots of gravel etc. Past Golden Ears Way there are signs for construction but nothing actively going on during the Pre-ride. There is a bike path on the North side of the street along this stretch. It is less busy on the weekend but at certain points of the road the shoulder disappears altogether. The bike path is a good option. The rollers along the Stave Lake section should be taken cautiously especially in the wet. This applies to Sumas Mtn and Ryder Lake descents as well. In addition to tight bends on steep grades there is some poor pavement and chance of gravel strewn onto the roadway. Mission bridge path was actually better than normal in terms of road debris. The diagonal RR tracks on 96Ave past Fort Langley are nasty as always. The whole mess of United Blvd/Government/Winston are avoided by following the bike path to Hwy 7 after the Mary Hill Bypass. There are pylons on the short stretch of Gilmour to get to the Central Valley Greenway but nothing that impedes flow. It's probably worthwhile to check out the map of Central Valley Greenway portion on the way in if you are not familiar with it. Portland Craft has an excellent beer selection and decent post ride food options.