A new teammate.

Guys! Just on a quick break while Marilyn and new little Taylor are sleeping.

I just wanted everyone to know that Mom and new little daughter are healthy! Taylor arrived into the world at 12:26 Fri morning. So she is truly an appocaliptic child, being born right at the end of the world! She came out looking like a little UFC fighter and has the quads of her Mom and is ready to hammer. She is 9lbs even, and looks like a three month old already.

I know a lot of you were thinking we'd name her Ryder or Vos or Boonen, and were hoping we didn't choose Schleck or Ullrich, so hopefully you'll be happy with Taylor Jilly Williams.

Thank you to everyone emailing and texting asking if we've had our daughter yet! We appreciate them all and now you know the answer!

Trev, Marilyn, Jaya, and Taylor.

Isaac and Marc are throwing a team party! Dec. 15th at 4pm

Big Beers and Christmas Cheers 15th Dec @ 16:00

All - Isaac Beall and Marc Enter are organizing "Christmas beers: a sprint training session" for whoever-wants-to-come-along Downstairs at Wurst Bar for Saturday the 15th of December at 16:00.

No need to RSVP but if you feel so inclined do so on here or to my email.

If you are concerned about not drinking even though its the off-season then look to Richie Porte for advice.

Also, feel free to invite others from the cycling community and bring friends!

 

If you are a little less awesome than Thomas and Marcy...

Just cause it's winter doesn't mean we stop riding!

...and find yourself hesitant to head out on the snow covered roads. Make sure to continue your training indoors! I have just updated the videos section of my website with last weekend's 8.2km cross country race in Okotoks. It was beautiful weather and the XC ski trails around the Strathcona-Tweedsmere school are perfect for racing. The footing was the most challenging it has been in several years, so you can liken it to riding on deep gravel while you're hammering inside. Do a warm up, then start the video and do 37min of continuous high intensity, then a cool down!

Here is the link to the videos!

Trev

Weekend Riding...

MTN Bike Descending Skills

Check out this video... you can probably skip till ~7:50... I'd be dead by the time it gets to ~8:03.

Video: A mind-blowing descent of the Sea of Rock in the Austrian Alps

The Kimpton Cruise

Marcy is leading a ride on Sunday in the beautiful weather. Cross bikes are strongly encouraged because she is going through Weaslehead.  She rides all winter, make sure to check the training forum to join her!

Fun racing videos from local XC events.

Guys, as many of you know, several members of the team use the local Calgary Road Runners Winter Cross Country Race Grand Prix Series to stay motivated over the 'non-outdoor bike racing' season. These races are more like a cyclocross event than a pure running race as the terrain is usually pretty extreme and couple that with occasional tough footing and it makes for a fun race!

Anyway, I have been filming these events using my dorky headcam for the last several years and they make for fun viewing if you want to watch racing through local parks while you are inside on your trainer.

Here is the link if you are interested!

I am the race director for the Nose Hill XC event coming up on Feb. 9th. If you would like to help me out with marshaling or timing, let me know!

Trev

DJ Mike and 'Polka-Dot' D at Tudor Rose -- Saturday, November 10: 6:30 pm

We're throwing this upon to y'all. Come on out to the Tudor Rose Pub (800 – 1110 Panatella Blvd NW) this Saturday at 6:30 for food and drinks. Mike's back from New Zealand, and I'm sure he's got stories to share. Some of them might even be true. No RSVP is 'required', but if you could comment that you're coming, we'll try to make sure we get a table big enough for all of us.

Get ready for winter riding!!!!

You had good intentions last year but just didn't get out for some winter adventures. This post will help you overcome any obstacles and get riding!!

So, what do you have to do to enjoy winter riding? It's easy.....be prepared and ready to go.

What you will need...

A cyclocross or mountain bike. (CX is much easier to ride in the snow).

Fenders! The good ones that cover the entire top half of your rear wheel and the part of your front wheel that can spit snow on you. This is an absolute must. Don't cheap out here. Fenders make Friends.

Lights-a blinky red one for the back and a white light for the front

To stay warm-light neck buff (trust me), good gloves, ideally winter riding boots (or your shoes with booties), base layer for top and bottom, jersey, vest, arm warmers, fleecy bibs, something to protect your quads from the wind. Start going out between +5 and -10 at first. Take note if you were too hot or too cold on your ride and add or remove layers next time.

A passion for adventure. This is also a must as adventure is guaranteed!

Lastly, check the blog often and post lots and lots of rides yourself. If we keep going, eventually we will have a nice size group to ride with every weekend.

Email me if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing you out there having fun!!

Harley's Now Coaching!

Hello everyone, after many years of having to turning down fellow team mates and friends I have finally decided to start coaching. I have completed the NCCP Ready to Race Intro to Competition, Training Basics (Part A) and will be completin g Part B and NCCP Road Racing Skills & Tactics next year.

I am only able to coach a few athletes due to time restraints. I am looking to coach someone who is ambitious to prepare, participate or compete in a race or event of any level. Someone who wants to achieve more, doesn’t feel satisfied or simply wants to be better. Coaching will include bike maintenance, bike fitting, dry land training (weights/core), bike handling skills, racing tactics, posture, mentality, performance and a minimum of one day a month for personalized, one on one on the bike training.

In mid November, I will start training for the 2012 World Master Games Road Race in Torino Italy. I offer my athletes details of my training as I spend the next 7 months preparing for the most ambitious goal of my life.

I have a zero tolerance of banned performance enhancers.

Please reply here or email me at harleyborlee@gmail.com if you are interested or have questions. A Racing Profile can be provided upon request.

Ironman Florida Report

My triathlon focused season started a year ago with Phuket 70.3 and ended yesterday with Ironman Florida. No, Florida does not look like that, the photo is from Worlds in Vegas in September. This was my third time doing Ironman Florida, I love the race here, yea it's getting crowded, there were 3000 registered. The weather leading up to the race was dominated by superstorm Sandy, even though it passed a couple of hundred miles away. The gulf was wild all week, red flagged, race day was still fairly wild, big waves and swells, race organizers must go through some agonizing times allowing 3000 racers, probably 1000 first timers into the open water.

Swim time of 1:24 was about what I expected, thankfully uneventful. The T1 and T2 set up for this race involve a lengthy run through the hotel banquet rooms so an 8 or 9 minute transition is not so bad.

My excellent coach, Scott Curry and I had talked about a race plan, I wanted to try to beat my PR set here in 2007 of 11:50. With that in mind I went too hard at the beginning of the bike leg, by the end I was fairly toasted, 5:38 bike, decent time and kept me in line for my PR. One of the pros set a bike course record of 4:04 so conditions were great for racing. A little bit hot but not like Vegas.

Started the run with my PR in mind, 2 miles into the run I knew it was not to be. Found myself walking and needed to rethink my strategy, actually the strategy was now to run from aid station to aid station. So the next 5 hours or so was just that, I really did not have the run fitness. I used all of the awesome mental training that Scott had given me to get me through. End result was 12:45. Decent placing in my age group, 34th.

Big thanks to Scott for getting me through the year, helping me with things that happen to a 55 year old body and working through a couple of times where my motivation to train had gone away. 

Thats right, I'm going there now.

200KM Brevet - Base miles :)

The date is January 12th, 2013 hosted by the Arizona Randonneurs who do a great job at hosting an event.  Some of you may know that over the past few years a number of Speed Theorists have come down to participate in this event.  The event leaves from the Town of Casa Grande which is half way between Phoenix and Tucson.  We will grab hotel rooms there on the evening of the 11th.

This year there will be a no drop policy for the crew that comes down, team effort, plus learning how to ride a Brevet.  Interested riders are welcome to come down the week before or part thereof and stay at my home in Tucson.   I can't promise I can ride with you every day but I'll get you pointed in the right direction.

Don't be intimated by the distance,  trust me, all walks of life get this done.

Let me know via this post if your interested and we will firm up details as the date gets closer.  I have heard there are inexpensive flights into Phoenix right now.  If you can get to Phoenix I'll let you know the most efficient way to get to Tucson.

Stephen

Puncheur Cross

A great little video produced by Sheldon over at Bikeridr featuring Marcy and me!

Scott's almost brand new cross bike.

Guys, teammate Scott Bratt picked up this awesome cross bike so he could race the Midweek Mayhems while his new Felt cross bike from Speed Theory was coming in. His new Felt is in and he needs a place to hang it in his garage. I am putting this on the front page since it is a crazy price and I wanted to award the awesomeness of getting an interim race bike to hit more races! Below is the email I got from Scott:

Just wondering if anyone from the team may have any interest in a 2012 Ridleys X-Fire CX bike I bought this fall (from Ridley's bike shop in Kensington) and rode 4 times (once in Nose Hill and 3 races) - I needed a bike on short notice until the one I ordered from Speed Theory came in (which just happened last week). Officially I think its a 56cm frame but the seat tube is just as long as my new 57 cm Felt (though the top tube on the Ridley is one inch shorter than the Felt - I measured it). It has Shimano 105 deraillers, FSA crank, Shimano wheel set, Tektro brakes. Original retail list price was $2499 but it was on sale for $2099 (with GST I paid $2205). Hoping to sell it for $1700!! or whatever you think is reasonable (I deducted $125 per ride!). You can take it and ride it to see if it fits.

Here's a review:
http://cyclingmagazine.ca/2011/11/sections/gear-reviews/bikesframes/ridley-x-fire/

Cheers, Scott.     Scottbratt  at   me   dot  com

STC weekend racing round-up.

Dan after completing Worlds

Mike, Bob, and Slayer competed in New Zealand at the Age-Group World Championships. I haven't heard from any of them, but it looks like all had good races, with Mike even snagging fastest Canadian in his age-group. Results here.

Thomas at the Lion's Den Cross on Sat.

Thomas and Marcy competed up in Edmonton at the Lion's Den and Puncheur Cross races on Sat and Sun respectively. They only have 4 more Cross races to go before completing every single ABA Cross race of the season, which is no easy feat! That is 11 races so far out of 15. Add to that 3 midweek mayhem races each and they have concentrated A LOT of racing in a short period of time. Results here.

Sat also was the Spray Drag 7.3km Uphill 'Run' out in Canmore. The most stacked and hardest race I have done since..... my last Cross race :) Teammates Rebecca Morley and Erik Cramer joined me in the sufferfest. Here is the Garmin from my race. 411m of elevation in 7km?? OUCH! Results here.

Mark finishing leg 2 of 3.

Tomo about to cross the 2nd of 2 creek crossings!

Sunday was the Confederation Park Relay hosted by the CalgaryRoadRunners. This is the second stop in the 10 race XC series that spans the winter. I love these races as they are super for keeping motivation up over the winter and are perfect for cyclists since they definitely benefit cycling progression as well. A few extremely high quality cyclists of the likes of Dustin Andrews and Bailey McKnight also did this (the secret of these awesome races is getting out). Teammates Kyle Marcotte, Ryan Murray, Rebecca Morley, Tomo Tsuchida, Jenn Joss, Carl Miiller, Mark and Marie Michalski, Fast-Legs-Frank, and me all raced hard. Results here.

Holy lots of racing still going on !!  Anything else?

Age Group Doping

Trev's (joking) prediction of 93 age group dopers in Darryl's division in Kona might be a bit of a stretch but I read today about Kevin Moats. He is in my age group and had signed up for my upcoming Ironman Florida. Moats always finishes first or second in M55-59 depending on if Joe Bonness is on form or not. Anyway:

 October 18, 2012 (Tampa, Fla.) — Today, World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) announced that an independent three member American Arbitration Association (AAA) panel issued its decision that American age group athlete Kevin Moats committed a doping violation. Moats has received a one-year period of ineligibility for the offense, effective January 30, 2012, and has been provisionally suspended from WTC competition since notice of the adverse finding.
.
WTF is going on? At that age you would think some maturity would set in.
.

DJ Mike, Slayer Dan, and Bob in NZ

Hey everyone,

Slayer, Mike, and Bob in there Canada kit!

I got an e-mail from Mike G. yesterday. Mike, Dan, and Bob all arrived in NZ safe and sound and are busy prepping for this weekend.

[Update by Trev]  Just got this photo in my email this morning!

Mike, Bob, and Slayer in NZ

You Gotta Watch This

This is what I won't be working on during the off season, because I'm not magic.

Watch The Best Road Bike Video Ever

Awards night, awesome Thomas, the NZ contingent, and Kona update.

Thanks to all those that came out to our big Friday night party. We had about 12 people at the velodrome pre-party and we were treated to super weather and fun riding. We will use this resource way more next year now that I know we can rent it quite easily and inexpensively. I will bring this up at the AGM and propose how we can use this facility for skills and tactics development as well as training. Everyone had a great time and Mark Enter awed us all by his standing start kilo time!

The party itself was a great time. Lots of stories shared by people and Brad had to make an additional beer run which always indicates the evening is going well. Another thanks to Lesley Kenny for hosting.

On the 'Psycho-Cross' front, Thomas raked in 2 more 2nd places this weekend to earn the criteria needed to be upgraded to 'Elite', the highest step until he is picked up by a trade team. Congrats Thomas!

We have three club mates (Mike, Slayer, and Bob) currently in transit or possibly just having arrived in New Zealand. We will attempt to keep you updated on their races this coming weekend. All are competing in the Age-Group World Championships for Olympic Distance Triathlon.

Darryl Parry competed in the Ironman World Championships this past weekend and posted an 11:49 time. He got 94th in his age-group, but the USADA has open a case file on the 93 competitors ahead of him, so we expect him to take the win!

Greetings from Kona

Well, I'm sorry that I'll be missing the festivities on Friday night. So's Pam - she finds the event entertaining and ... enlightening. I've missed more than my fair share of  STC things this year. The only race I managed to get to was Pigeon, where I characteristically frightened my only teammate in cat 4 by jumping too early down the right side and being absolutely no help at all in the finale. I did cramp magnificently afterwards, so that's something. 

The rest of my year revolved around long time trials, preceded by a swim and followed by a nice cool down run (LTT,PBAS,FBACDR - just to keep it simple). The whole point was to try to qualify for the World Championship  LTT,PBAS,FBACDR. It's held here in Kailua-Kona, where the concept of a cool down run is entirely conceptual.

We (the Parry's) are making a wee vacation of things. My 16-year-old daughter is doing about 4 hours of homework a day and my 13-year-old boy is pretending to do about half an hour of homework a day. I thundered into the sand pretty good while boogie boarding yesterday, so that's off the menu until at least Sunday.

Right now I'm filling my time with short effort swimming, BIKING and running. Also checking out the competition, who are all skinnier, fitter and more well acclimatised than I am. Of course I did pass Mirinda Carfrae and Dirk Bockel (they're professionals at the LTT,PBAS,FBACDR thing for the uninitiated) while out for my morning bike ride this morning, so maybe I'll be okay. Anyone who's a cool cat knows that it really only matters 1) who has the biggest chain ring and 2) who gets off the bike first. Of course the winner is the one who finishes the cool down run first, but that's just what The Man says.

I vacillate. Some times I'm really keen to get out there and rip this thing apart, but mostly I keep telling myself that the hard part is over. I qualified, this is the celebration. Given what it feels like to run through the lava fields in 30 degree heat with no shade and the humidex set at 38, it's going to be a strange kind of celebration.

So, have an excellent party. Thank your hostess profusely. Don't throw up on her furnishings. Come Saturday morning, while you're nursing your well deserved hangovers, spare a thought for those of us who aren't quite finished their season yet. We'll be thinking of you (incoherently, while hallucinating about snowfall and pleasant, cool English country gardens).

This Friday ! I hope you're coming to STC's Main Event!

I hope most of the team is able to make it to this Friday's year-end story telling evening and awards night.

Please email Lesley here if you haven't already to tell her you (and partner possibly) are coming.

For the awards night, it is great when people bring stories of teammates to share with everyone. They can be funny, inspiring, or just plain cool.

The club has rented the Velodrome for some fun cycling from the hours 4:00pm - 6:30pm. Come out and give the track a try if you never have and we'll have some fun casual events lined up.

The weather is looking like it is going to cooperate!  See a lot of you Friday.

Trev

ps: Daryl's excuse for missing the STC Night is about the only one acceptable.  :)  Good luck Daryl.

Wishing Darryl best of luck at Ironman Hawaii

Darryl win be racing Ironman Hawaii this coming Saturday in Kona. You can follow Darryl live on www.ironman.com

Go Darryl!

Congrats Shelley !!

Teammate Shelley just smoked a 3:24:46 final time at the Kelowna Marathon !!  Simon ran with her to log the same time.

Congratulations Shelley, we all know how much work you've put into this and it is absolutely great to see the plan come together. I have been smiling ever since I saw the result!

Congratulations for ex-STC member James Curran for winning overall in a time of 2:51:05!

If there is anyone else I have missed, please let me know.

Trev

Mt. Graham Hill Climb

I'm not trying to compete with Darcy and Harley on the hill climb post, both harder men.  Mt Graham is 2 hours east of Tucson, basically in the middle of nowhere Arizona.  Trev and I heard about this race late summer, lots of badass talk about how tough it was and true too form when Trev "heard bad-ass tough" he wanted to "Crush It".  By the end of August I was done with the bike, it had been a long season starting in January with 200KM Brevets and finishing trying to get back in race shape to help the team at the end of the race season.  Didn't quite get there but had fun competing and meeting many of the new team members.  Basketball, gym workouts, scotch and moderate riding were now the norm.   I was out and Trev started to realize he had time constraints so we would look into it another time.

Now I'm down in Tucson at the local bike shop a week before this race, its also the Arizona Sate Hill Climb Championship and the trash talk is so thick you're choking on it before you're a foot in the door; Nasty, hardcore, suffer-fest, killer, 7- 14% grades, rated HC and then "Relentless", fuc*..it, I'm in.  I'll go and participate, recon for when you guys come down; Brevets, Mt. Lemmon general pre-season training.  Perhaps we should add it to the bucket list of suffering.  It just so happens I'm in the shop having an 11-28 put on my 6-pound training wheel, after the race I had that 28 blessed at a church.

This is a mass start race, all categories, which makes me a little nervous even though it hits a 5% grade right off the bat.  For the first time in my life I enter my masters age category, starts me at the back of pack and keeps me away from the young studs where I have a bad tendency to want to try and keep up. Start easy, find a comfortable pace, cruise up, no pain and low on the suffering that was the plan and I actually executed on that.  After getting harassed at the start, all in fun, for wanting to drag my rear light and Rando size tool bag I'm set to go.

After 1 KM I'm right at the back and I can see the guns off in the distance.  By KM 8 I'm in a groove spinning the 28, I now think I can hold this effort forever from a cardio perspective and my legs would be the problem.  Now the one thing about a mass start is that you can start to hunt, riders up the road become targets you know the feeling.  I pick up a group on my wheel and I start reeling in other groups, just a tad little effort and three riders are rolled up, I don't sit in just stay at my tempo and roll by, typically the guys on my wheel would stay with the new group and a couple of riders from the caught group would jump on to my wheel.  This goes on all the way up.  Of course most riders I'm never going to catch but no one goes by me, ok until the end, that parts coming.   I'm steady all the way up, it is steep and unforgiving, the switchbacks remind me of the mountain stages in the Grande Tours in Europe and there is no relief until the last 2 kilometers.  The climb goes up 6000ft in 20 miles climbing to 9100ft with mostly 6-9% grades hitting 11-14% in sections.  The scenery is spectacular, although I stop talking to riders on the way up, it didn't seem appreciated once we hit 20km.  With 8KM to go I have two riders with me, they sound like two steam engines behind me their breathing so hard.  One guy attacks often and he is in the big chain ring the whole time, freaks me out, no way these two guys are going to last, they are way over the rivet.  I keep bridging the attacks dragging the other guy with me.  1000 meters and these guys are still there; 100 meters and they both pass and beat me to the line.  A race within the race, tons of fun.  Here's the good part, the thing that gives me hope, both those guys were in the 60 + category.  They had snot all over them, sweat dripping of their bikes and partial lungs coughed up resting on the front of their jerseys.  The next time when someone asks me "Stephen why do you keep doing it?"  I'll smile and think of those two dudes. I was 1:47 getting up, very happy with that time as I thought it would take me 2:15

Yep put it on your bucket list.

Stephen

Road Warrior Gala... don't forget to RSVP !!

Team, please RSVP to Lesley according to the invitation if you are planning on coming. It would be a shame if we didn't buy enough beer and food ?!?!

Also, we always like to present some serious, but mostly fun awards to some attendees and if you let us know you are coming, then it really makes it easier for us.

Also, now that it is October, it is time to start thinking of fun stories or gathering silly little 'awards' for your team mates to present to them with a funny story.

I have successfully booked the Velodrome from 3pm - 7pm!! So we will get more details up on when to be there. Keep our collective fingers crossed for good weather! We will make this a family friendly event before you get the babysitter for the gala part of the evening.

Trev

Sometimes, Losing Pays Off

First of all, I have an announcement to make. I am proud to say that as of right now, I am the worst male cyclocross racer in Alberta. Today was the Collective Cross, put together at the last minute by the fine folks at Midweek Mayhem and Veloplzen. Now, as most of you know, my 'cross skills are a little, um, lacking (and that's probably an understatement), so I managed to over-brake in all the corners, screw up all the left turns, and poorly remount to a 30th place finish. Out of 30 finishers. In the Sport class.

But, much to my surprise, my "efforts" did not go unrewarded. A DFL prize in the form of liquid medicine can make a lot of embarrassment go away.

Secondly, a word of advice: don't challenge Marcy to a duel. She may appear all sweet and unassuming on the outside, but on the inside, the competitive fire burns and burns hot. Here's the context.

Saturday was the now-famous Dark Knight Cross, put on by Cyclemeisters, and if you missed it, you missed the funnest race of the year. Now, Marcy and me have gone head to head at Midweek Mayhem a couple of times, and we were in the same category for the DK. Just before the race began, I announced my goal for the race: stay ahead of Marcy. Bad mistake. Marcy proceeded to work me over the entire race. It wasn't even close. Kudos to Marcy.

In amendment to Darcy post above, the photo below sums up my experience at the Dark Knight Cross. [Thomas]

Revelstoke Hill Climb: 2012 Edition

This post is a little late in coming, but I was licking my wounds for awhile. Back on September 9th Harley and me traveled out to Revelstoke for the annual Mt. Revelstoke Steamer Hill Climb. This is a 26 km long climb up the Meadows in the Sky Parkway in Mt. Revelstoke National Park.

Those who were at the 2011 STC Gala will know I threw down a little smack talk at Harley. I had full intentions of beating Harley up the climb this year. However, it was not to be. Harley had a great ride, but I did not...

Harley's time: 1:21.48 (15th Overall)
Darcy's time: 1:29.47 (32nd Overall)

I guess that candle is heading my way...

It's that time of year...

...when the darkness falls upon us earlier every day.

That means Thursday Night Dark Rides (TNDR) are back in action. Here's the details from Joel:

This Thursday we will kick things off at 8:00 PM. Meet outside OJ's (map [blue marker not the red one]). We will do one easy lap to get everyone used to the loop the reconvene back outside OJ's and then do 3 hard laps. The hard laps will start at around 8:20 PM. You can check out the ride I did last week which maps out the course http://tinyurl.com/9rfx7gf

I created a few different segments which can be the sprint points. 

You need to have a light and a flasher. Ride smart. Ride easy across the river bridge and the pathway system. Call out any pedestrians and slow down if need be. The hammer can come out on Sifton, the KOM from the river and the sprint up 20th. These are the "safe" zones. Don't sprint or overtake on the pathways or in traffic. Keep it safe but fast and fun.

here is the facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/events/367666756648837/

BikeCat Cycling Tours Wine & Cheese

I wanted to extend an invitation to all STC Team members to attend a very casual Wine & Cheese event on Tuesday October 9th.  For anyone interested in European bike tours, it should be a must (though I am admittedly biased).  The owner of Girona based BikeCat Cycling Tours (http://www.bikecat.com/), and a close friend to those of us who have been on BikeCat cycling tours, will be in town and will be giving a short presentation on cycling in the various regions of Catalonia.  This is a perfect opportunity to learn from a local about the incredible riding in the region.  We have done four incredible cycling trips with BikeCat and referred many other groups and individuals, all of whom have come back with glowing reports of their adventures.

 

Event Details:

Date: Tuesday October 9, 2012 (note: the Midweek Mayhem CX is Wednesday that week)

Time: 6:00pm to 8:00pm

Location: Ridley’s Cycle (223 10^th Street NW)

If you cannot make it but are interested in learning more, you will get another opportunity to meet and chat to Jaume at the STC Road Warriors Gala on Friday, October 12.

  

About BikeCat Cycling Tours

BikeCat is based in Girona, Spain and specializes in custom cycling tours in and around Girona as well as throughout Catalonia. BikeCat tours are led by local guides who want to share their culture and knowledge of the region with their clients. BikeCat’s focus is on the individual experience and they strive to provide the highest quality service, whether for single-day or multi-day guided rides or all-inclusive week-long cycling tour. All of BikeCat’s tours and accompanying activities are custom designed and tailored to each client or group.

 
If you plan on attending please RSVP to me by return email (matthew.joss@palisade.ca) so we can keep track of numbers.

Crazy huge Cross races tomorrow and Sunday at Deerfoot Park!

Thomas crushing it.

The momentum has reached a fevered pitch and the action in Deerfoot park is going to be amazing!

The biggest category tomorrow will be the 'Sport' class and I think it will have about 60 people starting all at once and heading toward the tight corners all at once! This race starts at 11:00am and has quite a few STC members in it!  The next biggest is the race Thomas, Jared, and I are racing in, which starts at 1:30pm. The really fast crosstastic dudes start at 2:35.

This is a family friendly race environment with mass amounts of laps and tons of fun places to watch. So bring the family down and walk around the course cheering at the barriers, the steep hill, the fast single track, and the tight corners!

Derek playing with fire in his legs and lungs.

Here are all the details. There is also crazy racing on Sunday if you are busy tomorrow.


Trev

Last night's Battle Royale !

It was awesome to watch 'The Cyborg' VS. Darcy last night. Great racing guys !!

Some photos from Midweek Mayhem Race #3

Barriers!

Holy Quads !!

View from about 30seconds after the start. Cool to see it lined out!

Velodrome fun riding and/or races before the Gala?

Guys, I just found out we can rent the Velodrome to use for club instruction and fun. I am planning on renting the facility next year to have the Cat4/5 men and women in there with more experienced riders to have a controlled environment to teach cycling skills without having to contest the noise of traffic or have random BMW's trying to run us off the road.

I was thinking it may be super fun to rent the Velodrome for the few hours before the Gala on Oct. 12th to have some fun and/or silly races all on road bikes. Basically just having fun on bikes. Email me or leave a comment if you think that would be fun to do before we hit Tom's house for the Gala. People could even bring their kids to watch/play with their parents for bit before dropping them off at the babysitter and going to the Gala? If there is no snow, we could have a pick up soccer game for the kids in the in field?

Wheels in Cambodia

Happy End-of-Summer Everyone,

Whether you're a person who loves riding bikes, or you love someone who loves bikes, or you barely tolerate me when I start talking about bikes, I hope you'll find my version of "what I did on my summer vacation" interesting enough to read to the end.

I left for Cambodia on August 18th to work with an organization called the 88Bikes Foundation (check them out at88bikes.org or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/88bikes). Very simply, 88Bikes provides bikes to kids in developing countries who have been challenged by poverty, war, conflict, disease or other regional hardships. In the case of Cambodia, 88Bikes has partnered with the Somaly Mam Foundation (www.somaly.org) and AFESIP (www.afesip.org) to support women and girls rescued from sexual violence, slavery and human trafficking in three recovery centres in the country. I was the lucky volunteer that went to Cambodia on behalf of 88Bikes to deliver bikes to 300 young women and girls in these recovery centres, to teach them some simple bike maintenance skills, and to ride bikes with them. This was pretty much a perfect summer vacation!

The highlight of the trip was riding with 50+ teenaged girls from the recovery centre in Siem Reap to the temples at Angkor Wat and back. A few things I learned on this ride: 1) 50 teenaged girls make a lot of noise; 2) riding a beater bike in 44C heat at 85% humidity for 3 hours is much harder than Banff Bike Fest; 3) bikes make people happy.

Don't worry, I am not ending this posting by asking for a donation, but if you are interested in learning about 88Bikes, you should check out their website to learn about their other projects around the world and about one of its founders, Dan Austin. I got in touch with 88Bikes after reading about Dan's story at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in 2011. If you are motivated to learn more about modern day slavery and human trafficking, check out the Somaly Mam Foundation and/or read the book Half the Sky by Nicolas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.

I hope you are all having a great summer as well - Hope to catch up with most of you at spin class next week!

Lesley

 Me with the women who work in the Voice for Change program - survivors themselves, now working as advocates for women and children in communities throughout Cambodia.

 Bike Love! On the ride back from Angkor Wat.

A corral of bikes at the Kompong Cham recovery centre.