New for 2025:  All riders require a personal first aid kit (see website for details)

"Beaches & Stream" is a 100km gravel route highlighting some well known and some lesser known beaches around Victoria. All controls but one are at a beach. According to RideWithGPS, the route only has 34% of gravel (by distance) with 707m of climbing. Sounds pretty straight forward, right? But don't be misled. The actual time spent on gravel is closer to 60%, and the climbing is about 1500m.

You will most likely be averaging about 6km/h less than on a typical road ride. The first 62km are relatively gentle, with some intermixed road and gravel sections. After that the gravel gets a bit more "gravely". Expect to spend over an hour to conquer the next 15km. As a reward you will get a fast downhill after the Hartland parking lot and go past the Red Barn Market on West Saanich Road for a quick lunch stop. Finally, the last 24km to the finish line will lead you through a couple of challenging little climbs.

A bike computer or navigation app (like RideWithGPS) is recommended for this ride. It can be a bit difficult to navigate the turns on trails with only a cue sheet.

You should consider using at least 35mm gravel tires. Doing this ride with smooth 30mm road tires is not recommended.

One navigational hint: Take a look at the right turn onto a trail at km 58.9. This one is difficult to find. It looks like someone's driveway. But, look down the driveway, and you will see the white plastic trail marker.

Pre-ride update:  A good size log has fallen across the trail just after the Eagle Lake Control (#5).  Don't think you are off route.  Just lift your bike over the log and climb over it.  If this was a road ride, this would most likely be unacceptable.  But, in the spirit of a gravel ride, it is part of the challenge :-).