2013 Coulee Crusier MTB #1

The first official ABA race of the season is this Saturday in Lethbridge. Headwinds Cycling Club is putting on the Coulee Cruiser Mountain Bike Race. It's supposed to be 17 degrees on Saturday! Marcy and I will be there.

Tech Guide
Registration (closes Thursday)

 Photo: USA Cycling/Robin Wilmott

Velocity stage race in Edmonton May 11-12... anybody going?

Registration is now up on the Velocity club website:

http://www.velocitycyclingclub.ca

The stage race consists of an individual time trial sprint, criterium and road race over two days. The road course is completely flat and typically has strong crosswinds, seemingly from every direction. It's a great sufferfest to whip you into shape and it's the only ABA road race before the provincial road race in Pigeon Lake two weeks later.

Signup appears to be capped to 50 riders per ability category, so if you are in Cat 5 or 4 and are planning to race, you should sign up early to avoid disappointment. I'll be there unless it's snowing.

CAUTION: This race is the same weekend as Mother's Day

New (Non-Bike Related) Bling

Since rumours are starting to get out amongst the club, I thought a quick post to confirm the truth of the story is in order. Joelle and I are engaged to be married this summer!

I know some ST members may want to hear the story of know it happened. Joelle tells the story much better than I do: http://prettymomentsbyjoelle.blogspot.ca/2013/04/the-beginning-of-our-love-story.html

Your Favorite Hill

I'm thinking of organizing an "All Hills, Nothing but Hills" night.  The idea is that we hammer up a hill, hurl, cruise/recover to the next hill, hammer, hurl and so-on. Cat 1/2/3 riders might have to ride the hill twice so we can ride as a team. Conceptually we would have a loop that would bring us back the start.  I'm looking for your favorite gravity challenged roadway that we could incorporate into the "All Hills" evening.  No restrictions. It could be short and steep or long and full of suffering. Whatever you consider a MOFO hill is fine.

I'll start:
101st Hill
85 st Hill
Old Banff Coach Road
Spring Bank Road
Escarpment Drive
COP (too busy these days for my taste)
Edworthy
Road to Nepal
Leighton Center

With a completed list I'll map it all out and see how we can link a string of them together.
Tom

Sunday April 28th is the rescheduled Airdrie Andrenalin 20km ITT

The details of the Airdrie 20km ITT are up on the Cranky site. This is a great opportunity to test out yourself against the clock early in the season.

Go here for details.

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Moose Jaw Spring Classic - May 4/5

For those interested in a little driving to get the race season started, on May 4/5 Moose Ja hosts the Red Goat Fitness Centre Spring Classic. This stage race starts off with a hill climb (and you might scoff, but this climb is steep...), an evening crit, and a Sunday morning road race. Details and registration are at http://reg.ccnbikes.com/index.php/event/red-goat-fitness-centre-moose-jaw-spring-classic.

Even though I'll be just west of Moose Jaw for the week following this race, I can't make the race due to commitments here that weekend. Bummer.

Women's only heat in the Tues night Crits, hosted by Midweek Mayhem.

Brent has asked my to ensure that all our women membership have a read of the proposed change they are contemplating making in the weekly Crit series.

They tentatively plan on having a Women's only field with a focus on 'learning to crit race' over actually tooth and nail competing. The plan will be to have rolling ambassadors giving guidance and advice during the events.

Midweek Mayhem would love if our STC women weighed in with some feedback on the issue and whether this would make it more appealing and may get you to come out to the Tues Night events. Previously, the women raced in whichever Cat they could handle with the men.

Please go to the Midweek Mayhem site and let them know your opinion and whether you would be tempted enough by this change to participate.

Thanks to Midweek Mayhem for providing an excellent yearly series giving us the opportunity to race. This is the same club that hosts the totally awesome Cross series in fall which I already can't wait for!

Trev

Penticton 2013 - Update (Day 6 and 7)

Day 6
(Long) Apex, Yellow Lake, Carmi, Greyback Mountain (138km) - Map
(Short) Apex, Carmi, Greyback Mountain (100km) - Map
"Mine's bigger than yours " (175km) - Map

Start: Denny's in the Sandman hotel (939 Burnaby Avenue W)
When: Ride will roll out at 9:00 am

Did someone say climbing?... Today we are on some familiar roads just in reverse direction. The group will start climbing right out of Penticton on Green Mountain Rd. The road meanders upward, rolling for 22kms to the base of Apex, then prepare for another assault on that beast. From there the short ride will descend back down to Penticton and take on Carmi and Greyback, then go for lunch and laugh at everyone who are on the long ride. The long ride will descend down the south side of Green Mountain Rd. and hang a left for the climb up to Yellow Lake. From here the long ride will continue on the 3A to the 97 and down into Okanagan Falls for Mclean Creek, then back to Penticton for Carmi and Greyback.

The "Mine's bigger than yours" ride will take a right after Yellow Lake where the long ride goes straight. This group will wind down White Lake Rd to Area 51 and back up to the 97 just outside of Okanagan Falls. From here the silly fools who attempt this ride will do an out and back to the Wall for giggles, then enter uncharted territories of the category 2 Commercial Rd. climb south of Okanagan Falls (turn around when the pavement ends). Since you are probably still fresh, head back down to OK Falls and up Mclean Creek, then limp back into Penticton for a Carmi and Greyback Mountain face slap. Good luck.


Day 7
Naramata Bench, KVR to Chute Lake (93km) - Map

Start: Denny's in the Sandman hotel (939 Burnaby Avenue W)
When: Ride will roll out at 10:00 am

Well it has come to that time, the end of a great week of cycling. But wait, it's not over just yet! For our last day the group will cruise along the Naramata Bench taking in the hillside and lake views. No doubt we may lose some to the "call of the winery" as they are plenty here. But for those that continue on we'll wind our way up to the cattle guard and the end of pavement. In years past we slogged up the 10% avg grade gravel road to the Chute Lake Resort, but this year we will take the KVR trail and it's long winding switchbacks. Lots of history on this old rail trail and should have some cool sights like Rock Oven Provincial Park, the Adra Tunnel and more... For those that are not interested in riding up to Chute Lake they will return to Penticton along Naramata and begin to soak in the successful week of riding.

Crankmasters 2013 Niklas Group Wednesday Night Series starts May 8

Hello everyone. There is a link at the top of this page to the WNS blog. The blog now has details about the new look WNS which is being sponsored by Niklas Group for 2013. The race series will have excellent prizes including trips to Mexico!

Another big change is the series is now sanctioned by ABA. We need to be a bit better organized for this to happen. Crankmasters will direct the first 5 races, Speed Theory the second 5 and Niklas Group team the last series.

In past years we have been great at organizing and volunteering, I'm sure this year will be no different. One change is that we need a certified First Aid person at each race. That person can't race. So a question to you all - does any Speed Theory member have First Aid certification and can volunteer in June/July? Please let me know. We can't have the race series if we don't provide one. If you know of someone outside Speed Theory who might volunteer (maybe we can compensate?) let me know.

The first race is in 2 weeks - a time trial on the Woodland course. Anybody in race shape?
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Banff Bike Fest Hotel stay deal on now.

Team, a lot of us usually stay at the Ptarmigan Inn during Banff Bike Fest since it is basically on the Crit course and is very central. It also includes a free breakfast which is convenient. There is a deal on right now. Thomas and I are booked already.

Go to bestofbanff.com
and enter the promo code:  SUNNYDAY

The rooms should be around $92 a night plus tax.

Trev

Prairie-Roubaix 2013 CANCELLED

It is with extreme reluctance that we have decided to CANCEL this weekend's race due to a dismal and unsafe forecast.  There has been a lot of work already put into this event and it was not an easy decision. Our committee is unanimous in recommending the event be re-scheduled rather than face the risks of an unsafe venue.

As a club we take pride in hosting multiple high-quality unique events every year. We have an amazing group of cyclists willing to volunteer their time to make Alberta Race Cycling a better place. Unfortunately mother nature has forced us to consider another time frame for this excellent event.

In the coming weeks, we will let the Alberta scene know if we were successful in re-scheduling the race.

The deadlines to cancel the Porta-Potties and the Ambulance are early-afternoon today before we incur a significant cost. This is not the only deciding factor, it is more the volunteer time commitment.

Special thanks to Darcy Gullacher who put all the work securing all the permissions from multiple authorities required to host this race.

Trev

Prairie-Roubaix, I am currently talking with our race committee

Everyone, please keep an eye on this website. I have been receiving some consultation from our race committee and with the current forecast, we are having to make some tough decisions. No decisions have been made yet, but the weather forecast for Sat night and Sun morning have have only gotten worse as we close in on the event.

Trev

Prairie-Roubaix IV, time to start collectively crossing our fingers for the weather.

The weather forecast is not looking super at the moment. Get your cold weather riding gear together and put it in a pile in your bike room NOW, so on Sunday morning you don't have an excuse not to make it to the race.

Trev

In light of what happened in Boston...

Not exactly a cycling event, but in light of what happened in Boston yesterday, I thought I'd post this...

Run for Boston (Calgary)

Way to close to home. The Boston bombings.

Team, we had three teammates down for the Boston marathon. Rebecca Morley and Corran  Hockey were running the event, while Allison was watching and cheering for her sister. Nick Haddow, whom I see almost every day since he works at the store was running, and Jeremy Deere and Ryan Twa both of who I raced last week at the Icebreaker 10km were racing as well. Blaine Penny, the founder of the extremely relevant and local charities MitoCanada was there, along with many of his friends, including Jody Draude and Kyle McLaughlin.  I know several runners that are there from the Calgary Road Runners which makes me sick thinking they could have been caught up in such a brutal act of violence.

Scary.

I heard from Corran, he is OK.

Trev

Prairie-Roubaix IV, the weather forecast as of Monday morning and VOLUNTEERING

Well, the long term forecast is looking positive.

To clarify our race cancellation policy. The race will 'go' unless it is unsafe. If it is simply raining, or cold out, the race is 'on'. If is it icy or there snow accumulated ON the roads, then we will be forced to pull the plug. But assume it is 'on'. The porta-potties and Ambulance are locked in, let's race.

We still need several positions filled for volunteering. Please, if you are spectating for a family member, please consider holding a 'SLOW' sign while doing so! Please go here to fill up the volunteer spots.

Thanks guys! See you all soon!

Trev

Penticton - 1 month away! - Insurance

Penticton is only 1 month away! By now you have been able to peruse the first 5 days of riding planned for the week. The last 2 days will be posted soon. I hope all of you have booked your time off and your accommodations for the week. If you're looking for a roommate(s) post something in the Penticton Forum.

If you are traveling with a spouse or riding partner for the week that are not STC members and they would like to join in on the STC organized rides then they will need to sign up for our STC Temporary Club Membership. You can register for this here.

Are we excited yet? :) Who's going?

Prairie-Roubaix IV. Tech Guide, Parking, and Details

The iconic Spring Classic is back for a fourth time!

Volunteer website here!

Video of the course here.

If you are NOT part of STC or Crankmasters, you MUST have a valid 2013 ABA racing license. If you do not, you cannot race. The ABA will send us a list the day before the event, if you are not on it, you do not race.

OK, here are some details about a wicked Alberta Spring Classic Monument.

Women: As part of our ongoing initiative to encourage women to get out and race. We are going to offer free admission. Sure this doesn't save you a ton, but we want it to indicate that we are thinking about you and will continue to give you perks to come out and race. You still need to register and get a number though! Now get out and race!

You may park in the spots indicated. Notice NO PARKING inside or along race loop.

Parking: As we all have encountered on many occasions, for some reason farmers are the most stressed out when it comes to people on 'their' public roads. Please park somewhere AWAY from the race course and ride the couple km's into the sign-on. We will have a tent there for people to put theirs jacket's/bottles/etc for after the race. All you need to race is $20 and ID/ABA license/UCI license. Use the ride in as warm-up. The registration for this race is going to be super casual, so no need to stress about being early. The less cars on Glendale the better the chances we hold this again. PLEASE DO NOT PARK INSIDE OR ON THE RACE LOOP !!

Porta-potties: There will be 3 toilets at registration. They are predominately there for the women (and they will be pink!), but are open to everyone.

Registration:  This will be done when you RIDE up to the race start between 8:00 - 8:30am. You will drop your jacket and leggies under the tent and sign on. You will show us your VALID ABA race license, sign the waiver, slide over $20, and get ready to hammer at 9am!! (No ABA race license required for STC or Crankmaster members)

Littering: Of course no littering. We will leave the race course exactly how we found it.

Locals: We are hoping the locals will be accommodating to us. Please be courteous and friendly. Having ridden this loop hard a few times now and held this event once, it would be great if we could use this course year over year, it is totally awesome.

Ambulance: We have hired a full ambulance for this race. Aaron Paramedical Services. It will be parked on the SE corner of the course. Tell your spectators where it is located please.

Spectating: The best place to watch this event would be on Willow Way as it is slightly uphill, twisty, almost cobble quality road, and has the feel of a spring classic. Please bring out flags, air horns, face paint and take pictures. Let's show those Belgians who REALLY likes cycling more! If you can get some totally awesome photos of some awesome action, SpeedTheory Cycling will reward you.

Categories: We have intentionally made these Cats dissimilar to the ABA Cats for two reasons. The first is to ensure no one thinks upgrading points will be awarded. The second is to let you race where you want. If you are a Cat4 that wants to see if you can keep up, then race CatA. If you are a Cat2 that is out of shape, race CatA or we will call 'sandbagger'.

Distances:  Cat C will race 3 laps at around 43km, Cat B will 4 laps at around 58km, Cat A will race 5 laps at around 72km. The women have typically competed in the Cat C heat, but there is nothing stopping you from trying out higher Cat's. The finish line will be packed up approx. 15min after the first place finisher of the Cat A race raises his/her arms in victory.

Jerseys: This is pretty early in the year to expect everyone to have their team jerseys. Don't worry about having a proper team jersey for this event.

Body Numbers: Don't wear your ABA body numbers or number plates. We will have our own numbers for you to pin on.

Bikes: I am racing on my road race bike with 25's. No other modifications. I have heard some people wonder if CX bikes are going to be used. You can, but they will be slower than your road race bike. In the video, I had 23's on and was able to hammer as hard as I could on the gravel. The only reason I am going to 25's is so I can lower my psi for Willow Way. Last year, guys pretty well raced their full race kit, including Zipps and full carbon everything.

Awards and Results: Awards will be based on bragging rights. Last year we had amazing little trophies made by Mike Godfrey that we themed like Paris-Roubaix and has actual gravel from the course incorporated into it. These MAY be done again. Imagine being able to say to your kids you podiumed at Prairie-Roubaix, that is priceless. As for results; you will know if you are top 5, if you are not, be pumped you finished and thank all the volunteers on your cool down then set your sights on Velocity Stage Race, forget about results.

Volunteering: If you cannot race, or want to watch the action instead, please consider volunteering. I have set up a really slick sign up sheet. Please use an email that works as this is how I will communicate with you pre-event. Go to volunteer site here.

Get pumped: We are less than 2 weeks away!

Paris-Roubaix: Bringing It Old School Style

Sunday morning brings us another edition of Paris-Roubaix, the "Hell of the North". To get you prepared, enjoy this sweet CBS Sports broadcast of the 1988 race, when frames were steel, wheels had a 32 spoke count, helmets were optional, and Phil had hair. You'll also get to groove some nice '80s electro-pop courtesy of John Tesh. Yes, this was all we had back in the day.

One week before the Prairie-Roubaix is the Airdrie Adrenalin 20km ITT

This event is hosted by the Calgary Crank Masters and is a great casual event. I highly recommend these as an introduction to pure bike racing if you haven't done one before. This would be a great prep for Prairie-Roubaix and would give you a base to know how fast you can cover 20km in spring.

Airdrie Adrenalin 20km ITT WhenSun, April 14, 11:00am – 12:30pm WhereAirdrie, AB (map) DescriptionStart time is 11 AM sharp so plan on being at the meeting location no later than 10:30 AM MDT to allow for registration and a warm up. This race is another 20 Km ITT on the service road between Airdrie and Crossfield on the east side of Highway 2. The course begins at the first corner of the service road. The turnaround is at 10 km which is just before highway 72. Start times will be one minute apart. Park on road West of the Costco Distribution Centre. After the race meet at the Airdrie Tim Hortons for coffee and to review the results.

STC Clothing has been sorted and is ready!

Team, we had a great turn out Wed night for help with sorting the massive order of clothing.

If you ordered clothing in Feb. (our first round in 2013) your bag is ready to be picked up at Speed Theory. The guys at Speed Theory have offered to let us use the store so the clothing is central and available during business hours. Please be courteous if they are dealing with customers when you come in to grab your gear.

See most of you soon, and thanks to all the great volunteers last night, it made a brutal job easy,
Trev

Penticton 2013 - Update (Day 3, 4 and 5 routes)

Day 3
(Long) Mt. Baldy (195km) - Map
(Short) Mt. Baldy (up to the gravel) (127km) - Map
(Long Alt.) Ironman, Apex (180km) - Map

Start: Denny's in the Sandman hotel (939 Burnaby Avenue W)
When: Ride will roll out at 8:00 am

Day 3 is a special day, why you may ask? Because we have 3 options! The classic Mt. Baldy route is not for the faint of heart at 195km with 35km of gravel. The gravel section also includes a category 2 climb up to the Mt. Baldy ski hill. Bring at least 3 bottles of water for this one. The short Mt. Baldy ride follows the same route up to where the gravel starts then returns back down. The climb up to the gravel is no slouch at 15km long and an avg grade of 5%, rated category 1 and is one of the most scenic roads in the area (if you can lift your head to look around). For those that don't want to ride gravel but want to get in a big ride the long alt. route is the area classic Ironman loop (with Apex for those that want even more).

Day 4 - RECOVERY DAY!
Giants Head, Camp Boyle (60 - 95km +) - Map

Start: Denny's in the Sandman hotel (939 Burnaby Avenue W)
When: Ride will roll out at 10:00 am

And with a sigh of relief...today is traditionally a "recovery day". The group will ride out to Summerland to do repeats of Giants Head. Then the remainder of the day is up to you, do more repeats, go for coffee, ride out to camp boyle, have lunch, check out some wineries. For those that are feeling adventurous I will be leading a group from Summerland back to Penticton on the Trans Canada Trail via the old Kettle Valley Railway (there will be dirt and gravel and maybe blood...).


Day 5
(Long) USA, Oroville, Loomis (220km) - Map
(Short) Seven Summits (145km) - Map

Start: Denny's in the Sandman hotel (939 Burnaby Avenue W)
When: Ride will roll out at 8:00 am 

Bring your passport!!  In order to do the Day 5 long ride you will need a valid passport because we will be entering the good ol' US of A. Washington bound via Oroville and Loomis the group will do a short loop down into the states and re-enter Canada via the Nighthawk border crossing just south of Richter on the Ironman course. This is a long ride in distance but not as much elevation gain as other days. The short ride will be a climbers delight with a selective route of ascents in the area. Starting with Carmi up to the Lost Moose Lodge and featuring the Wall, Maclean Creek, Seacrest and more.

Pizza is ordered from WithOut Papers pizza for tonight!

See a lot of you tonight for our clothing sorting session. Aryeh has ordered the pizza and will arrive at 8pm with it!  See a lot of you tonight. The more eyes and hands helping out the better.

You can also leave with your clothing order of course!

Trev

STC First Round Clothing! Sorting night is THIS Wed. at 8pm.

The two boxes of clothes are here!!

We will meet at 8pm at Speed Theory (735 10th Ave) and hammer this out.

Maria is bringing wine, I am bringing beer and we'll order pizza and sushi or something like that.

The more people the better. There is surprisingly a lot of varieties of clothing and the more eyes the better.

Trev