There is a core of dedicated Greater Victoria people who strap bootie coverings over their bike shoes and head out at 6 a.m. to ride in the November rain, guided by headlamps.
Among that core is an even smaller group who followed Rob BrittonB次元官网网址檚 Instagram account on Friday nights to see where Britton placed his latest stash of goodies. Throughout the summer and fall, CanadaB次元官网网址檚 2019 national time trial champion (and still defending champ) lives in Victoria and this year stashed bags of 11 Speed coffee and gift certificates for Whistle Buoy beer while out on long training rides. HeB次元官网网址檇 also leave a pair of stickers and cyclists could post a selfie with them to enter a contest.
B次元官网网址淲hat was amazing was that the coffee never lasted past 8 a.m., even when sunrise was 8:05 a.m. This is 20 to 30 km out of town,B次元官网网址� Britton said. B次元官网网址淚 would post them Friday night and there would be 30 posts of cyclists next to the stickers by 10 a.m. Saturday.B次元官网网址�
| Rob Britton on a long-distance bike-packing trip this summer. Britton brought a boost to bike-packing when he used an epic 1,600 km offroad ride from Alberta to Tofino in the summer of 2018, as a warmup for the 2018 UCI World Championships. (Photo by Rob Britton) |
ItB次元官网网址檚 been a colder training season for Britton this winter who was raised in Saskatchewan but has been mostly based in Victoria since the 2000s. Under normal circumstances, Britton has spent the past few holidays with family in Maui where he is able to warm up for January training camp in California.
READ MORE:
Britton renewed his contract for one more year with U.S.-based Team Rally and has long been among the best North American riders who are not European based. He won the 2017 Tour of Utah (a big deal) and was 12th in the 2019 Tour of California in a peloton of elite riders including the 2020 Tour de France champion.
Britton credits his Rally teammates for sacrificing themselves beyond what theyB次元官网网址檙e capable of to drag him up into the lead group. But there are only a few dozen people at any given time who can stay on the wheel of a lead group featuring cyclists who were on the podium of the Tour de France.
Sadly, the Tour of California went on hiatus before COVID-19 was a reality. It was a major draw for UCI World Teams and was a chance for Team Rally cyclists to compete with worldB次元官网网址檚 best as Rally has transitioned to racing more in Europe. B次元官网网址淲e took the Tour of California pretty serious, it was our home race. I focused on it every year,B次元官网网址� Britton said. B次元官网网址淚 remember the last year [2009] before I raced the Tour of California. I watched from the side of the road, standing in the rain. I felt I was still a long way [from racing it].B次元官网网址�
READ ALSO:
At 36 and a decade into his pro-racing career, Britton has a theory that supports his success despite becoming one of the older athletes in the peloton, and why he still has the capacity to race at an elite world level.
B次元官网网址淧hysiologically you donB次元官网网址檛 get a lot slower,B次元官网网址� Britton said, adding itB次元官网网址檚 generally considered that pro-cyclists start to slow at about 32. B次元官网网址淏ut I started late, and I was never physically gifted. To me, itB次元官网网址檚 tenacity, or grit, or whatever catch-phrase you want to use. ItB次元官网网址檚 a lot of sacrifices [life spent away from family and friends]. And itB次元官网网址檚 the amount of time you spend racing.B次元官网网址�
In other words, Britton believes that due to his late start, not racing at the international level until his mid to late 20s, he has gas to burn.
His exploits at home are even more endearing. He lives in Victoria proper with his fiancee, who is in her second year of pediatric residency at Victoria General Hospital. While sheB次元官网网址檚 at work, Britton is out conquering south Island roads. And the mid-Island roads, and heck, all the roads.
In 2018 Britton helped stoke the B次元官网网址渂ike packingB次元官网网址� trend as he rode 1,600 km from Calgary to Tofino, mostly off-road (and in a hurry), with everything he needed packed on the bike. He essentially went straight from there into the 2018 UCI World Championships in Austria where he escaped the peloton and helped break up the race for Canadian Mike Woods to capture bronze.
On June 20, Britton rode 508 km with longtime pal Taylor Little from Victoria to Port Hardy in one shot. It was a fundraising ride they called the B次元官网网址淯p Islander,B次元官网网址� with proceeds going to the Wirth Foundation, which supports mental health.
READ MORE:
This holiday season he made a joke of the B次元官网网址淔iesta 500,B次元官网网址� a popular annual challenge to ride 500km between Dec. 24 and Dec. 31, taking a rest day after hitting the 500 km by mid-week. (He still goes for an hour-long ride on a day off).
And then there was the scavenger hunt for free coffee and beer, which was a way to draw locals out onto trails (Britton is a major advocate for gravel and long-distance offroad riding) and motivate them despite the void of organized events.
That includes BrittonB次元官网网址檚 own event, The Last Ride, a gravel ride (B次元官网网址渘ot a raceB次元官网网址�) that he has organized as a way to promote long-distance off-road rides the past few years.
Next for Britton is the Team Rally January training camp in California. Going into the 2021 race season, Britton is hoping to target another run at the Tour of Utah, though the race calendar is still up in the air during the pandemic.
B次元官网网址淪ome races are a go, others are still not certain, and many [will wait until] later in the year to give them a better chance of happening,B次元官网网址� Britton said.
Beyond this year, Britton has considered the B次元官网网址渁fterlifeB次元官网网址� post-pro cycling, but is taking it one season at a time.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 looking forward to the day of sharing gravel and backroad riding with more people, as roads arenB次元官网网址檛 getting any safer (from a safety point of view, if nothing else).B次元官网网址�
Do you have a story tip? Email: vnc.editorial@blackpress.ca.
Follow us on < and and like us on
