Great ride today!

We had a great turn out for the 'First Day of the Tour' ride and Prologue.

It was great to watch the newer riders learning from the experienced riders and by the end, everyone was performing great hand signals and riding predictably. Thanks to everyone who came out, we'll try to schedule more of these types of rides. Now we just have to convince the weather to always cooperate.

Just over the Old Banff Coach Road Hill. Note the single file!

Everyone's times for the Prologue.

Trev writing everyone's name down for the Start List

Up the hill of Airport Road!

STC celebrates the TdF with a big group ride, a prologue, and a coffee. The perfect day?

Club, the Tour is very close! In fact it starts THIS Saturday !!

Obligatory picture of Jens.

You've already booked three weeks of mornings off so you can watch the Tour live. You've already joined the TdF pool. Now, ... let's go on a massive group ride on June 29th after the coverage is over!

Most Tours start with a Prologue, which is a very short Time Trial essentially to 'introduce' the players to the audience and establish an order to the racers so that someone gets to wear the Yellow Jersey. The Prologue is usually between 5 - 8 km long.

Let's have a fun NO DROP ride out to a 'Downhill, tailwind, straight 7km TT', gather again, and then a NO DROP ride back to a coffee shop. I would love to meet all the club mates I haven't met yet.

Here's the plan:

Everyone meets where the Wheelers ride starts, but an hour later, so at 10am. Everyone meet at the Tim Hortons on the corner of 85th Street and 9th Ave. SW at 10am.

We all ride down Old Banff Coach Road, across the highway, to Airport Road. We'll all ride to the end and have a 7km Prologue.

After, we'll all gather up and casually ride the same route back and have coffee at the Starbucks beside the Tim Hortons.

You should come. This is a NO DROP ride with a fun event inside it. It doesn't matter if you have never doen something like this before. It is meant to be a time we can all meet each other and celebrate the Tour, the weather, the end of the flooding, and riding bikes. Bring your road bike not your TT rig.

I would love to see all of you at 10am THIS Saturday. If you have missed Harley's excellent 'Skills Nights' and have training, tactics, cycling related questions, I will be happy to chat with you about them!  I hope we get quite a few Cat 4,3,2's out for this ride to spend some time with the new members and answer questions and teach skills.

We will time the 7km TT for those that want it. I am going to go all out. Marilyn wants Tomo to come out and get a crushing. It would be cool if two people came out to volunteer. If you want to just ride and not do the TT, let me know at the beginning and I will get you to time.

This group ride / Prologue is open to all friends of STC, so it would be fun to see some other clubs there as well!

Trev

Tour de France Pool !! It's local and it's fun.

Kyle Marcotte has hosted his TdF Pool every year for like the last 8 years. It is fun and is quite simple to participate. It looks like there is a lot to do, but it is actually really easy.

For me, it is extremely easy because I choose Jens Voigt to win every stage. I also choose him to come second and third in the same stages. He is THAT good.

I usually put two teams in, one for me and one for Marilyn. I spend a lot of time carefully analyzing my picks for my team and then choose the high odds team for Marilyn. Both of them usually finish very close to the back of the pack!?

Below are the details copied from Kyle's site. I encourage you to put your hat in the ring and put in a team or two. It makes the Tour and July even more fun.

This pool is for ANYBODY, not just Kyle's friends, or STC members, or cyclists. Several people put in teams on behalf of their dogs. No one has ever put in a team for a cat though. The proceeds go to Blaine's MitoCanada charity which is a great reason to enter multiple teams.

_____________________________________________________________

2013 Tour de France Pool

This contest used to be run to raise money for the endowment fund for the Jason Lapierre Scholarship. Since we have reached our endowment fund goal we are looking for a new organization to raise funds for. 100% of the entry fees will still be going towards MitoCanada. Previous TdF pool winner James Davison is picking up the rains and running the pool this year.  I'll be helping out where I can.


Rules: 
Simple rules (from the spreadsheet entry form)...
-Submit your excel spreadsheet with picks to James Davison (jsdaviso at gmail.com) before 8:59am Saturday June 29th.
-You can enter multiple teams (Cost is $20 for your first team, $15 for your second, $10 for your third, $10 for 4th, 5th 6th... per household) 
-Results are final after each stage (so no drug overturn of results). Points schedule is listed below. Ties are divided by the number of stage wins, then stage points, then a coin toss.
-Trash talking is encouraged. 

Please use the spreadsheet to fill out your entries (link below) as it makes organizing the contest a lot easier. 
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9ImPtwHE9VmZnMwRFNqbmFuX1U/edit
(click on the down arrow to download to excel)

Scoring:
-Individual stage points: 1st - 25 points 2nd - 20 points 3rd - 15 points
-Yellow Jersey points: 1st - 150 points 2nd - 100 points 3rd - 75 points
-Green Jersey points: 1st - 100 points 2nd - 75 points 3rd - 50 points
-Polka dot Jersey points: 1st - 50 points 2nd - 40 points 3rd - 30 points
-Team placing: 1st - 50 points 2nd - 40 points 3rd - 30 points
-Yelow, Green, Polka dot and Team points are only awarded once at the end of stage 21 (but they will be updated so that you can see the swing as the race progresses).
(see last year's table above as an example)

The points will be updated as much as possible (hopefully after each stage) and posted on: http://www.calgarytriandbike.blogspot.com// 

Again, all proceeds will be donated to MitoCanada.  The pool winner will be receiving a tax receipt for the entire amount donated.  More prizes will be given out as prizes become available (donated).

WNS Reminder

We are racing Wednesday evening! I need volunteers to make the race safe, please let me know if you can volunteer or bring a volunteer. Leave a message here or on the WNS blog. Thanks.

STC Devonstating in the north

Alan in the last 50 meters of the killer HC. 

What a great weekend for STC in Devon. Lawrence Zalasky blew out of Cat 5 with a bang winning the... well actually it would be easier to mention the events he didnt win. Needless to say he bagged the GC! But only after.... and get this... STC went 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the Road Race!!! When has that happened before? And before you ask - yes, there were other competitors in the race.. fully stacked teams no less!

The Cat 2's went into the crit in an attacking position needing to make up ground after the prologue. Trev worked like a plough horse and our resident tactician - Dave Holmes - shut down anything with a pulse. We managed to walk away with 2nd but got more time bonus' than the rest and went into the road race 2nd in the GC. For the RR the cat 2's were combined with the Cat 3's which was the cha-ching moment for us Cat 2 boys - our team just got 25% larger. (Trev was busy qualifying for World Masters Tri in Edmonton) Harley shut down some early breaks - ERTC's morning brief must have gone something like this... "Attack. Often." Dave Holmes bore the brunt of the work load throughout the race selectively shutting down anything of importance and more importantly leaving breaks doomed to fail, out there to cook themselves to a crisp. His efforts cost him on the final climb and left the bunch with his parting words to Reinier - "if I get separated here... cover all the breaks". Reinier later expressed his frustration at how so few words could impart such an onerous workload. Didnt matter. On the final 10k Reinier was imperative in securing what was to be a stage win and the overall GC for myself. Booyah!

Tom spinning up the last meters of the HC.

In some less nice news Michael Waldhuber was clean taken out in the Crit which cost him some bark and his collarbone. Fortunately he's in good spirits - maybe thats just the T3's doing their thing. All the best in your recovery Mike.

Cheers
Marc

[Editor:] It must be said that Lawrence, Alan, and Mark all will be racing Cat 4 next event! Great work guys!

[Editor:] Michael, from the points in the HC, moved up from Cat 3 to Cat 2!

Thursday Night Skills CANCELLED!!!

This weeks ride is in the training forum.  Please read as there is a new start time.

Wednesday Night Alternative

Racing is off, Heading to COP 7:00PM for Hill Repeats.  Rule 5 - HFU

Stephen K

WNS June 19 is Cancelled

due to the weather forecast.

Bike Bag

Sarah and I are off to Italy for the month of July but I am short a bike bag.  I need a larger one such as a EVOC as I have an integrated seat post.  If anyone has one they would be willing to loan out it would be greatly appreciated.  They may also be a nice bottle of wine from Italy in it for you! :)

Harley
403-880-7695

Great skills session last night, the WNS, and the club is in full swing!

We had a good turn out for the skills session last night in North Glenmore park. The mosquitos had also heard  of the meeting and were out in force. This may not have been a bad thing though, as it limited me from talking to much and got us riding right away! It was great to meet some new members and touch base with others I hadn't seen in awhile.

I had a good question this morning from a new club mate that was at the skills session and excited to keep progressing. He wants to get his feet wet in an event, but do it gradually. My answer to this question is almost always, 'Try out the Wednesday Night Series'. It is full of supportive cyclists that want nothing other than to have an evening filled with a safe fun training session. The only thing the WNS doesn't have is a mandatory beer stop for the group at a pub on the way home. I am still lobbying for that. (Wildrose Brewery, time to make a comment here !!)

If you are a veteran of the WNS, please ensure you approach any new faces and make them feel welcome and answer any questions they have. Cycling can be a somewhat intimidating sport to crack into (especially if you roll to a stop in the shade of one of Tom Kenny's quads) so do your sport and your club a service and ensure anyone that has enough guts to show up feels welcome.

There is a ton going on with the club now:  Thomas' Fat Tire Tues tonight, Mike Healy's deviously crafted mini-Giro for the WNS on Wed, and Harley's super popular Thursday Night Skills. This is all before the Devon Grand Prix this weekend.

As always, if you don't see something that appeals to you, or that is convenient for you to attend, POST YOUR OWN RIDE!!

Trev

Devon GP Accommodation

Hey:

Photo courtesy of Bob McKerrell Photography

  Encouraged by my success at the ITTs in Banff*, I've decided to spend next weekend on my bike in and around Devon. Tom and Alan are staying at the Executive Royal Inn in Nisku, and so am I. I've booked a room for Friday and Saturday nights and am looking for a roomie. The usual restrictions apply: no spooning, no snoring, no banjo playing after 10:30. Let me know if you want to share and what restrictions you might want to put in place.

Darryl

[Editor:] Here are some more shots of the team courtesy of Bob McKerrell Photography. I culled his big gallery here, down to just STC members here.

* only the first one was supposed to be an ITT. They called the second one a crit - what do they know?

Monday Night Skills night.

Guys, I will host a Monday Night Skills night in Lakeview (north Glenmore park) at 7pm on June 17th.

Clarification: This is for beginner level through intermediate level club mates. We will work on cornering, some climbing skills, pacelining for training, and gearing for long rides. I can also tailor the session to what the group wants when we all get there. So bring questions and things you want to work on!

We will meet here on North Glenmore Park Road at 7pm and do big loops practicing skills and maybe incorporate some intervals at the end of the night for those that want to try an interval session.

If it is raining hard, check here before you head out to Lakeview just in case we have to make it another night.

Trev

What the what? STC crushing the crits in Banff !!

It's a super weekend so far of racing. Lots of STC club mates going hard! Photos will be up soon!

Tonight in the criterium Lawrence Zalasky WON the Cat5 crit with Mark Michalski getting 4th!!  Super results.

Another phenomenal result is Marc Enter getting 2nd in the Cat1/2 criterium. This is such an amazing feat! Marc is now high on GC in the Cat1/2 stage race. It is up to the rest of his team (us) to support him through the road race tomorrow. We will do everything we can to help him out and maintain his position.

I will post my Garmin files as soon as I stop shaking from the crit!

Trev

Tonight's club get together in Banff. LOCATION CHANGE!!

I went to Boston Pizza to tell them we were coming and they are out of business !!  We will meet at Earls Restaurant instead. It is just around the corner on Wolf St.   See you there at 6pm!  They are going to try to accommodate us but we may have to sit at a few big tables.

The team is doing well generally. The Cat3/4 pack is huge at over 70 racers. Unfortunately Isaac was caught in a pile up just before the finish while the team was leading him out. He was given the same time as the front pack though since it was in the last 3km.

The Cat1/2 pack is 81 racers strong and it made for a really tight and fast road race along the 1A today. The had to neutralize the race for about 6min as we rolled by a few bears as the tourist cars were stacked up on the road making for unsafe racing.  Here is the Garmin file from today. The average was 37km/hr even with the 6min rolling slowly in neutral and 8min after the race I was too tired to remember to turn it off!

You can follow the results day to day on www.zone4.ca or you can just ask us when you come watch the club Sat night!

If you aren't racing in Banff, post a training ride!

Club, with a lot of the cyclists that regularly post training rides in the forum in Banff this weekend, it is up to our new members to keep the training forum alive. If you plan to head out for some riding/training/chatting/remote coffeeing then post it and you may get some company!  Any club member can post. It doesn't matter what type of ride it is, but get yourself some company!

Follow your teammates with results and bring your kids on Saturday afternoon!

Hopefully we'll see most of you out that have kids for the Kid's Crit on Sat afternoon in Banff.

I will be posting links to the results as they are posted.

Thursday evening is the Hill Climb Prologue   Here is the start list.
Friday morning is the 72km Road Race from Lake Louise along the 1A and back.
Sat morning is the 21km Lake Minnewanke ITT
Sat afternoon at 3pm is the Kids Criterium!! Just show up around 2:15pm in downtown Banff and sign your kid up!
Sat evening in downtown Banff is the funnest spectator event of the weekend; the Criteriums! Come watch!
Sun morning is the Tunnel Mountain Road Race.  whew!

Below is a fun video of the Kids Crit, bring your children!



Below is an ad for the Bike Fest. It is as good as they say.

No Thursday Night Skills This week.

Sorry everyone no ride this Thursday as many of us will be at Banff Bike Fest this weekend.  If you looking for something to do be sure to come out and watch!

Harley.

Race wheels and Race Kit for Banff's Saturday Time Trial.

Club, read the post below first. In addition to that, I have several club skinsuits for the Time Trial for club members and lots of jerseys. We have 3 skinsuits to loan out so you look a little cooler at the race. If you are new to the club and don't have a jersey or skinsuit to race in, I am sure we can get one for you for the race. Just leave a comment here and I will arrange it.

I will bring all my race wheels for Saturday morning and we will have the Speed Theory tent up. Bring your trainer and your bike to warm up under and around the tent. I will have a ton of race wheels there for members if they want to try them. I don't race until the Cat2's go so I can even lend the one's I am using out to a Cat5 since they will be done before I start.

So, if you are new to the club, try to make it out for Friday night's get together, but if you can't, come to the race start on Saturday morning and look for the Speed Theory tent. Bring your bike trainer and hook up your bike and start warming up. I will ask the Cat3's and the Cat2's to give you a hand preparing and helping with mounting race wheels.

Trev

Banff Bike Fest is almost here !!

STC group in the Crit!

Team, this coming weekend is one of the biggest in terms of Alberta cycling! Hopefully a lot of you have registered for several of the races. I really encourage you to at least register for the Time Trial on Sat.  The City of Banff does a great job of this event. The 'Queen Stage' of this event is the Criterium on Saturday evening. The City closes down a two block course completely right in downtown Banff and races go all evening.

Jenn Joss powering out of a corner

There is a really fun kids event before the adults take over the streets and I really encourage parents to bring out their kids and put them in at 3:00pm for the event. It is like $5 and crazy fun for the little riders. Jaya (my daughter) did it last year on training wheels and had a blast.

If you are not planning on racing, for sure plan to come Sat evening to cheer on your clubmates. Even if you don't know a lot of cyclist in the club, the race is VERY spectator friendly and exciting. Our own Mike Godfrey is announcing, so it will have a high quailty commentary broadcast through the streets so you can learn the rules and understand the excitement.

Thomas looking cool under fire!

Last year we had a big club get together in one of the local restaurants where the club covered drinks and appetizers for everyone and their partners. Let's do that again! I would love to meet a bunch of you I haven't met yet. Friday evening at Boston Pizza at 6pm.  Beer and Appetizers are on the club for all members and their partners!! Meet here at 6pm.  If you are coming to Banff to cheer on the club and are not racing, make sure to come to this as well. This is NOT a racer only event. Kids are welcome as well, but we're not buying them beer!

Alan Oickle Saved My Life

When Tom and Alan caught up to me, I'd just finished repairing my first flat of the day. As per normal, I'd reduced my available CO2 cartridges to zero. I had one tube left. Alan insisted on giving me a CO2 cartridge "just in case". I had my second flat just ahead of Alan Bill Pond and watched Tom and Alan speed away into the distance trying to outrun the rain. 
While fixing flat number two the rain started, soon to be followed by the hail. I became quite familiar with the bulletin board at the pond (stocked with Rainbows, although they also claim Brookies). It (the bulletin board) is covered by a (roughly) 1m2 roof. I got a bit damp. When the hail hit, the temperature dropped about 7°. By the time I started riding again I was shivering enough that I was mostly a blur as I ploughed through drifts of small hailstones. 
I got back to the Cinnamon Spoon for espresso just as I felt the shivering stop. It was the wrong direction though - this was the occasion when shivering stops as you move into the second stage of hypothermia. It makes it easier to stay on your bike, but more likely that you'll eventually fall off as you succumb to dreams of warmth. The espresso and the coffee shop got me back to shivering and out the right side of not shivering. 
I made it home a little late, but coherent and functioning.
Thanks Alan. I owe you a beer. Not a crap beer either. Something fancy.

WNS Series 2 Hosted by Speed Theory

Hi, I posted the schedule for the next five WNS races on the WNS blog, link above and repeated below. As the series is ABA sanctioned and we need to be diligent in getting the results right because of the serious prizes at stake, we need to make sure we have adequate volunteers. Please consider sitting out one race and being a volunteer or bring a volunteer. Maybe you will get more points that way, works for me! Anyone with First Aid certificate is most welcome and I will be bringing first aid kits. Leave a comment or email me at mikehealy at shaw dot ca indicating which Wednesday you can volunteer.

Here is the plan for Series 2:

June 12 - Woodland 16 k Merckx style TT - penalties for aero equipment
June 19 - Mini Giro around Leighton centre, thinking about adding 1 k of gravel to each loop
June 26 - Team Road Race at Priddis meeting spot
July 3 - 40 k TT Springbank area
July 10 - TBD

Details will be posted soon, I also need to recon the routes first to see if there is construction etc. Suggestions welcome.
.

Thursday Night Skills night June 6th

Hello everyone,

Same as last weeks attempt (read last weeks post for more info).   Meet at Bears Paw Lions Club 6:30, just say hi and have some fun on the bikes!!

Harley
403-880-7695