Victoria Cycling Adventures Club (VCAC) was created as an umbrella society for this meetup group in order that we be able to provide you with ride liability insurance.

You are covered on your first ride with us. unless specified by the organizer: "the ride is for members only", after a first rides, you must join VCAC to attend. The annual fee is $20, payable at your next ride. Visit the VCAC website to find out all about it and to become a member: VCAC.net.

JOINING THE VCAC IS DONE ONLINE ONLY. CLICK TO JOIN VCAC.

We hold several rides a week, year round, for fit adults (19+) . Our rides are for recreation, fitness, nature appreciation and education and just plain fun. In the summer we offer "Bike & Hike" and "Bike & Camp" events as well as the occasional night ride.

Each of our rides is described by 4 icons for Pace, Distance, Hilliness and Terrain to help you decide if a ride is right for you.

Ride Icons Explained

If you aren't sure where you fit in, try a Pace 2 ride first. Or join us for our occasional "Find Your Pace" or "Multi-Pace" rides.

IMPORTANT FOR FIRST TIME RIDERS WITH Victoria Cycling Adventures:

By attending this ride, I declare that I have completed the general Cycling Safety Quiz and the Meetup Procedures Quiz.

By attending this ride, I declare that I have read, understood and agree to the contents of Victoria Cycling Adventures Waiver. If this is your first ride with us, please read the Waiver.

IMPORTANT FOR ALL RIDERS WITH Victoria Cycling Adventures:

By attending this ride, I declare that I have read, understood and agree to the following ride procedures and policies:

• Obey all traffic laws.

• When you hear the rider leader's bell ringing repeatedly, give the ride leader your full attention - some important information is about to be imparted. In return for your attention, ride leaders will keep their speeches concise and infrequent.

• Repeat any signals performed by the person in front of you for the person behind you. e.g. Left Turn, Right Turn, Stopping, Hazard. When turning at an intersection, all riders should signal in order to let cars know that all of us are turning.

• Turn your head to the side and shout "stopping" so that the person behind can hear you if you need to stop unexpectedly or if the person in front of you indicates the group is stopping.

• Always stay behind the ride leader and in front of the sweep. This is the only way we can know that we have not lost anyone.

• It is okay to pass the leader on a hill, so that you don't lose your momentum, but if you do, stop at the top of the hill and resume your place behind the leader.

• Any time you are overtaking members of the ride group (or anyone else for that matter) announce yourself by shouting “passing on your left” and ringing your bell if you have one - you don’t want to cause a crash if the rider in front of you suddenly moves to the left.

• When we stop for any reason, move your bike (and yourself) completely off the road or trail.

• The front of the ride will always stop on the other side of an intersection to wait for everyone to safely get through the light or stop sign. Do not ever compromise safety by riding through a red light, or a stop sign without looking. Just because the rider in front thinks it is safe to go through an intersection does not mean it is safe for you. Make your own decision to cross intersections - DO NOT call out to others “it’s safe to go” or "clear".

• A “pointer” will always be left at any turn off the current road, so don’t worry if we get stretched out, just keep going on the current road until you see the pointer.

• Always ride single file on busy roads.

• Always leave a safe stopping distance between you and the rider in front of you. This will vary depending on terrain, hilliness, speed, weather, traffic...

• Leave a gap of 1.5 meters (5 feet) when passing parked cars to avoid getting doored.

• Always do a shoulder check and signal when moving laterally -, someone may be overtaking you.

•  If you would like to stop for any reason (add or remove clothing, water break, rest stop, bike problems, take a picture, pick some blackberries...) ask the person in front or behind you to pass your request up to the ride leader or back to the sweep.

• If you are leaving the ride prematurely, let the leader or sweep know or we may think you are lost and waste time looking or waiting for you.

• Ride safe and have fun!

Embrace The Rain

In case of bad weather, we may reschedule this ride and substitute an Embrace The Rain Ride in its place. Hey - we live in a rain forest, its gonna rain! Let's learn to enjoy it. This will be a short ride in town with a stop to warm up and dry out.

Feedback

If you have any comments about this or any other rides, you may send us a comment anonymously. Constructive criticism is welcome.