Pictures are in and ready to pick up.

If you ordered a picture from Mark Kay, they are in and now at Speed Theory. Just ask at the front and then look through the pile. There are some great shots !

Trev

Up, up and away!

I'm super stoked to finally be able to share that I have been picked up by Team H&R BLOCK for the 2011 race year!! It's so exciting to be moving up to race at this new level, with a bunch of crazy-strong dudes. A bitter-sweet part of the deal is that I will be racing out of Montreal: awesome racing, but I'm moving away from a lot of friends.

It has been a totally amazing experience to race with Speed Theory here in Calgary. From my first bike race ever, the Crankmasters' Moment Of Truth, when I met Trev and decided to join the team, to now, has been an awesome experience, and I want to thank every one of you with whom I raced, trained, got pumped up with, and hung out with...all that has been a huge part of why it's been so fun.

So many memories from the last three seasons of racing. A few standouts:
- Definitely seeing the ST crew for the first time at that Crankmasters TT, all cheering each other on, and thinking, I want to be part of that!
- Meeting Stephen on a cool-down ride after my second race. I was nervously riding in a double-paceline and he said "Buddy, you have to get used to riding close in a group" and he put his arm around my shoulders. I freaked out! haha He and I got in a three-man breakaway in the next race.
- Learning new pain thresholds at many Tuesday night crits and cross with German, Bayly, Carson, and lots of others
- C4 Wednesday night series races with Trev, Stephen and Alex (OMG, I'm in a break with cat 2 racers!)
- Lots of KOM battles with Wooley and Welchie, and the associated trash talk
- 300km randonneuring ride/race with Stephen and Trev in Tucson, and bonking with 100km to go
- Training camps in Victoria and Penticton (IMC course followed by Apex! Mt Baldy! Wheelers ride!)
- Epic rides with Stappie, Keith and other hard men...always involving at least 6 hours in the saddle and lots of gravel
- Banff bike fest - living and racing like a pro for 4 days, every year
- Nationals! with Trev, Godfrey, et al

And so many others.

Of course a big thanks to the Speed Theory gents, Jared and Paul, for both the direct support, and indirectly by providing the foundation for the team.

Far out - can't believe I'm trading the desk for the saddle next year! A solid winter of training, then off to Montreal late winter some time. Hopefully I'll learn French before I starve to death - although regardless, without my fat IT paycheck, I foresee lots of canned beans in my future... Lots of time to see you all before I leave, but after that, hopefully I'll catch up with a bunch of you at Nationals, or any time you're out east. And I'll be sure to get in touch when I am back in town down the road.

Pedal hard, and keep the rubber side down.

Ironman Canada Ripoff

Hey guys,

Today I got the following email from Ironman Canada (I'm sure many of you got, or will get it as well).

2011 Subaru Ironman Canada HST ADJUSTMENT Dear Subaru Ironman Canada Entrant, As many of you may be aware, effective July 1, 2010 British Columbia moved to a harmonized provincial and federal sales tax at a combined rate of 12%. This has been a controversial and confusing tax change but it is the law and therefore must be collected on all sale of goods and services. Unfortunately when your entry to the 2011 Subaru Ironman Canada was processed through Active, HST was not collected on the entry fee. This has recently been brought to our attention and we are obligated to collect that tax. To that end, the credit card that you used to enter the race will be charged $69, the amount of the HST on the entry fee. We will begin processing the charges on Monday, November 29th and these will be complete by December 10th. Should you wish to have this charge applied to a different credit card or if the one you used to enter has expired, please contact our athlete services center atadmin@nasports.com or 877-377-2373. We apologize for this error and any inconvenience it may cause. Ironman Canada Triathlon

My initial reaction to this was, WTF?!?!

These guys screw up and then 3 months later inform their customers that they will be charging their credit cards for the screw up? Imagine if Walmart made the same mistake. Does anyone believe that they would be hunting down their customers and telling them, "oops we screwed up, but since we have your credit card info we're going to fix it by charging your card"? All of this is beside the fact that they've already charged GST. We paid $603.75 entry fee. That includes $575 which included GST for the actual entry fee plus a $28.75 convenience fee (don't get me started on that boondoggle). HST is a tax that combines the GST and PST. By any rights, they should only be charging PST which works out to something like $38.50ish.

I've already sent them an email complaining about this and demanding explanations on both how they justify this from a "good business" perspective, as well as how their crack team of accountants came up with the $69 figure.

I encourage everyone who gets the above email from them, or anyone else who's interested, to reply with a complaint and let them know that this terrible business decision of theirs is losing them their customers.

Rant over,

Simon.

2011 Team Membership is up!

Guys, I have opened up Team Membership for 2011. Remember that your current membership ends as of Dec. 31st 2010, and with that any ABA insurance. By registering before the new year, you ensure there are no hiccups in coverage. Also, it gives us a good indication of our team numbers for next year. We will try to get in a clothing order very early this year, as Thomas has a much more efficient way of doing it up his sleeve. I am looking forward to this!

This year we are making sure to return to our roots and focus on grass roots rider development and TEAM development. I hope to host several clinics on training/racing safety and etiquette. I would like to see the women's team evolve into a cohesive unit that can draw on each other for support and motivation. I also plan on introducing a weekly ride similar to the 'Wheelers Ride' in Victoria, that starts every week at the same place, follows the same route, and has a dedicated warm up section, fun section, then spin-it-home section. This ride would be open to all those with ABA licenses and we can use this as a launching pad for experienced racers to help up-and-comers (regardless of team). I learned to ride and race by showing up for the Wheeler's Ride in Victoria every weekend until a year later I completed it with the group !! It was a great resource and was constructive for all those involved, from experienced racer right down to novice. I would like the team to contribute to a resource like that in Calgary.

We are successful because of our unique team atmosphere, I want to continue to foster that while we adapt with the growing numbers. I am confident this can be accomplished with the amazing people we already have in our club.

We are currently applying to host the Prairie-Roubaix and the JayLap Memorial. These will be our only big races. The PR will not be sanctioned and I hope will have the same 'Pure Race' feel as last year. We will contribute to the Wednesday night race series as I see these as another super resource for all levels of cyclist.

The link to sign up for your 2011 membership is here. You do not need to be a current team member or have to get a hold of me to sign up. But you DO need to be motivated to get on your bike!

Thanks, Trev

Spin a Thon this Sat. for Janelle Morrison

There was going to be a Spin-a-Thon this Sat to help support two local athletes with their pro careers, however, one of them, Janelle Morrison, who was driving to Calgary for this event from Penticton was involved in a serious car accident. The Spin-a-Thon is now an event to help her in her recovery. Details here. Press release here.

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Spin for Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer participants, Sun Nov. 28th.

Hey guys, I would like to help out the cyclists (and non-cyclists) who are registering for the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. I realize a lot of them are 'in the dark' as to what to do to start preparing for the ride. I hope to be putting together some articles to make the whole process much easier for them, take the stress out of it, and show them how to enjoy themselves while preparing and participating in such a great event.

The first thing I would like to do is host a spin class that I will video that will go over some of the basics but provide a solid workout at the same time.

I was hoping I could get a small group from the team together this Sunday night and we could do a solid spin session (thus benefiting you!) and I could film it. The plan will be that it will then be available on Enbridge's site (if they like the idea) for people who have registered for the Ride.

So THIS Sunday, Nov. 28th at 6pm - 7:20pm.... who's in?

Thanks,

Trev

Morning Spin Class spots starting in Jan. (UPDATE: Sold out)

I have 3 spots open for spin starting up in Jan. for the Tues/Thurs morning class. This class has proven to be very popular and is a great group of people. We start up right at 6am since most spinners need to be at work as soon as the session is over. It has been working out very well.

Visit here to have a look at the spin philosophy and time available and then email me if you are interested. I usually post it here for people reading this website first, and then will make it more public in about a week if the spots aren't taken.

UPDATE: THESE HAVE SOLD OUT, however I have made another class available on Mon and Wed mornings, please see my website.

Trev

Eworthy XC run

Here is a fun video of the race on Sat. The skyline is fantastic and the terrain is brutal, great for filming! Two different tactics in the video. Fun to watch the difference.

Video here.

Results here.

Trev

Congrats to Fast Legs !!

Frank just laid down a 1:13:49 half marathon in California today !! WOW !!

Congratulations dude, that was a consistent summer of great racing and it culminated in a super awesome time!

Race results here. Looks like Frank was the first non-seeded runner!

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Cyclocross National Championships Weekend – Toronto, ON

This past weekend around 18 Albertans flew to Toronto for back to back cyclocross races Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was the main event, Canadian National Championships. Alberta had a great showing, and had at least one racer in every single category. Not only that, but we also had at least one or two racers in the top 10 in every single category. Way to go Alberta!

Races started early on Saturday morning, with the Master Women and Master C men starting at 9am. It was cool, dark and frosty which did nothing for motivation just to do the warm up! But it was the day we had all been waiting for, so it was time to find some. By the time the race started, the ground became soupy, adding some technical factors into the race course, which makes it my kind of course! Most people had watched the You Tube video of the course, and most were disappointed with what we thought would be handed to us on race day. Much to our surprise, it was nothing like the video and ended up being better than expected. It was still not nearly as fun as the courses we are used to, but I think this goes to show why Alberta did so well out there. Ours are definitely tougher. There was one section in particular that had a ton of twists and turns that went up or down the slope. When looking at it from a distance, you could see that ZM Cycle & Fitness (the race organizers) had incorporated their logo into the course, and it was the shape of the Z and the M. They only used blue tape in this section and yellow on the rest of the course, so it was quite clear that this was what they did! People struggled in this section with all the steep ups and downs with twists and turns, which made it my favorite part of the course. There were also a couple steep hills that people either had to run or ride, depending on the time of day and if it was greasy or tacky. My race was shorter than the normal 40 minutes, and was 35 minutes which meant going even harder than normal. It was a large field of around 17 women at the start line, and not knowing who you were lining up with made it even more exciting, which made it even more important not to miss your call up. I am so glad I didn’t miss mine, as the start was fast, uphill and fairly narrow. My goal for Nationals was a Top 5 finish, and I achieved that goal with 4th place. Keith B and Charles B were in the next group at 10am and they had strong races as well in a large field of 55 racers at the start line! We were then able to enjoy the rest of the day in the sunshine watching the rest of the races, and cheering for Alberta.

Sunday was a regular Ontario race, same venue and course, called Nationals Revenge. The energy was pretty low, as everyone was coming off of a Nationals high from the day before. Alberta still managed to get revenge and saw many back in the top 10 and on the podium. The women had a smaller field of 7 racers, and I got my podium finish of 2nd place, and a really cool Silver medal. I also got my choice of a prize…a bike pump or a light fixture (??????) It was almost like they realized last minute they didn’t have enough prizes and stopped at Home Depot on their way to the race that morning. Results can be found here

Great finish to the cyclocross season! I have no actual race pictures yet, still waiting for the photographer to upload them to his website. However, we all know what it looks like for Speed Theory racers to suffer, so how about what it looks like for us to have fun after a hard season of racing!

Sunday Cyclcross Race Report from Keith Bayly

Bike Fit at Speed Theory by Speed Matrix. (UPDATE: postponed)

I figured I better educate myself on different bike fitting techniques a little more rigorously and figured the best way to start was go through one of the processes myself. SpeedMatrix follows the Retul guidelines and procedures. I will be going there at 3pm and getting an official fit on my TT bike. If anyone wants to drop by and watch or ask questions, this would be a great time. I will be there until the start of spin at 6pm.

UPDATE: I got sick last night and can't even think about doing this right now. I will post when the fitting is on again.

Trev

Cool Cyclo Cross Video

Cross Crusade #6 Astoria - Chapter 2 from Burk Webb on Vimeo.

XTERRA Canada MTB Race at COP Saturday

From the organizer: XTERRA Canada would like to invite all readers to compete in possibly the last mountain bike event of the Year. On November 13th, COP will host a race in the Eastern Lands. Cost is 25.00 and includes food after the event. Sign up is 9am at COP! The race course will likely be the classic trails but may depends on what is dry on race weekend. The course will be 15-18km in length and likely 2-3 laps. All abilities welcome. Spread the word… Link here

Cyclocross Nationals results

Just got word that Shawna raced to an amazing 4th place at the National Cyclocross Championships in the masters women division!! Way to go, Shawna!!

Podium results from Pedal magazine here

Halloween Cross

Darryl did a great job at reporting Saturday’s race, and most of Sunday’s race, so I’ll report the remainder of the day.

I have to say this was by far the best race of the season, just because of the energy and fun that was buzzing at Shaganappi Park on Halloween Day. Terrascape Racing did a fantastic job at organizing another fun race, which seems to be getting bigger each year. It was so cool to see so many costumes out, the women’s field in particular. I think it’s safe to say that if you weren’t dressed up, you felt out of place. Which is funny since I worried I would feel out of my place by dressing up. Lucky for me I didn’t worry too much, as my Strawberry Shortcake costume got me best dressed in the Women’s category, and a $25 gift card to a local shop. With 21 women at the start line, it was the largest number of women I have seen yet a cross race. Thankfully, my points in the series earned me my first ‘call up’ on both days so I didn’t have to work my way through the large field of women on either day. Marcy was dressed up as a zombie, as was Thomas. Jennifer R was Wonder Woman, and Tanya H was a Cross racer in a skin suit. Tanya earned the special 11th place jersey which had special meaning to Jeff Neilsen of Terrascape, and saw that the 11th place finishers in each category received their jersey.

Of special note, Katy Curtis schooled the boys again in Expert with a 2nd place finish, and this time showing them that a skinsuit doesn’t always make you faster, but perhaps a Tim Horton’s uniform does. Pepper Harlton held them off as well with a 4th place finish. Also in the Expert category, there was a little tomfoolery with CP Walsh and Tim Brezsnyak putting on a performance for the spectators who were enjoying beer and chili on the sidelines. In the Elite field there were a few people dressed up as well, showing everyone that even the fast guys have a less serious side to them. We had an Elf, a non-breathable 3-piece suit, and the best costume of the day, was a robot made out of a cardboard box and miscellaneous items found at Home Depot. The fact he even raced in it earned him props, and not only did he get best costume, he also got the Big Air prize in that category.

Great way to wrap up the season of ABA races, and the last ABA race is the River Bend Cross Madness in Red Deer put on by CABC. Tech guide is found here: http://www.albertabicycle.ab.ca/uploads/files/Red%20Deer%20Cross%20-%20Tech%20Guide%20-%202010.pdf

Awesome photos courtesy of Bill Quinney can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bquinney/sets/72157625159133389/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bquinney/sets/72157625283387718/

This weekend Keith Bayly, Charles Bougie and I are Toronto bound for Cyclocross Nationals competing in the Masters categories on Saturday as well as Sunday’s UCI race. Stay tuned for a Nationals race report!

Cross Over

The 2010 Cyclocross season in Calgary is over. It was the second season I involved myself in this particular kind of fall foolishness and finishing off with the Brian Kullman Memorial and Beans ‘n Barley races this past weekend was, like, gnarly.

The lovely and talented Pam (tlatP) came and marshalled a corner for me Saturday morning while I raced Sport. Keith’s Montgomery Jr High course packs a tonne of tough into a very confined space. There are very few flowy parts, lots of tight, technical turns, sidehills transitioning into 120° uphill corners, the requisite barriers, a 3 kilometre long set of concrete stairs and The Hill. The Hill rises about 4 metres at an angle just under vertical. There is about 60 metres of flat in front of it to build momentum. I don’t think anyone rode it successfully until the Elite race, where about ¾ of the field made it up consistently. That’s just unfair. The Sport group got to race it all with a patchy layer of frost on the ground, just to add to the challenge. Memorable bits were when I nearly bunny-hopped the dude lying clipped in in the middle of the tight uphill corner on lap umpteen, Thomas upgrading to Expert with his strong race and Darcy body slamming in the flat near the pits. (I didn’t witness Darcy’s styin’ move, but I hear it was epic.)

I got to take over tlatP’s corner for the subsequent races and learned lots by observation. Katy Curtis (3^rd) and Pepper Harlton (4^th) did serious damage to many egos in the Expert race. Shawna (6^th), Jenn (9^th) and Marcy (14^th) flew the Speed Theory colours proudly in a sizeable women’s field. At least one of the women produced an expert and graceful snot rocket just after climbing The Hill. Were I not a happily married fella I would have lost my heart to her for that single demonstration of biking prowess. I later learned that I never want to race in a field that includes Shawn Bunnin. After the first lap, he rode away from a big number of strong Elite dudes and just kept adding to the gap throughout the race. Keith manfully held him off from lapping him at the end. His reward was another lap.

Saturday was such fun that Sunday could have easily been a letdown. It wasn’t though. Terrascape put on a great race in a cool little park in Shaganappi. This course was more of a power course with lots of wiggly/flowy straightish sections, the Big Air bump and most notably, the Knobby Gobbler. The Knobby Gobbler is a segment with a steep runup through pocket gopher bumps followed by an immediate remount and descent into a short section of singletrack uphill with a fine layering of pea gravel. I think this is where I did most of the crotch damage. On the upside, my style points for remount at the hill top increased with every lap. I lost about 10 placings on the first lap by overcooking a 180° corner and getting caught up in the barriers. Over the next 5 laps I managed to claw back about 5 placings before strategically overtaking my last competitor on the low side of a climb into the volleyball court. That felt good. Sadly I didn’t finish 11^th (special prize placing), but Harley did, so that’s cool, and I did finish ahead of one of my team mates so I have minor bragging rights.

I got to see the start of the Women’s race before having to head off to a hockey game (I hope someone enjoyed my beer and chilli). It was a spectacle. 21 women started, with about 18 of them in costume. Linda Green’s horse was neighing and bucking throughout the starter’s instructions and she wasn’t even shushed. I left during the second lap without observing any of the enticing behaviour I’d witnessed the day prior, more’s the pity. Can anyone report on the remainder of Sunday’s racing?

Cyclocross Racing from Back In the Day

I hear Keith is already looking at adding a crossing of the Bow River for the Tuesday Nighters next year.