Road Bike Party 3

Now... this guy's cheating a bit by not using clipless pedals, but I'll give him a pass because it's Christmas.

http://youtu.be/WjN2cjBKWO4

Club members doing great things.

Teammate Rebecca Morley was the successful Gala Chair and her sister Allison hosted the massively popular and important YWCA WhYWhisper Against Family Violence Against Women function over the weekend.

Read the story here.

Here is Rebecca with key-note speaker Erin Brockovich.

(photo from the Calgary Herald)

Speed Theory hosting a private Shop Night at the store for us and Kronos.

Guys, Speed Theory is hosting an evening on Dec. 4th where the STC club can access all their '12 days of Christmas' sales and other discounted items.  Mike Godfrey will be coaching his class in The Engine Room from 7pm - 8:20pm, so you can come and see him in action as well!

STC Season End Wrap up!

Great night! Thank you to Lisa and Erik for opening up their home for the party.

Here is a shot of Jenn being a great MC. The trivia game was super fun and hopefully will become a great tradition.

See most of you soon, and we'll get our clothing order going very soon for the new year!

Article about indoor cycling classes in the Calgary Herald

Featuring club president Trev Williams:

http://calgaryherald.com/health/diet-fitness/dont-hang-up-your-bike-just-yet

Nov. 29th is the STC Year End Party!! HOLD THE DATE.

Hello STC members!

Please put in your calenders that you are going to be busy on the evening of November 29th for STC's Annual Year End Wrap-Up party!

Lisa and Erik have so kindly offered up their amazing house again for the festivities. There will be tons of free finger food, beer and wine...yes, you read it right, FREE booze! Nothing excites a cyclist more than free beer and a strong tailwind. (Please bring a DD along to the party if you plan on drinking)

Come hang out, share racing stories and bring silly, stupid and/or sincere awards for your fellow teammates. In the past we have given out 'awards' for teammates, they can be in total fun or completely serious. 

Bring your significant other as well! They are all part of the STC family. 


Date: Nov. 29th
Time: 5:30 p.m.- 9:30 p.m (ish)
Location: Trev will email the address to the team.
Please RSVP either to this blog or the email Trev will be sending out.  

The Mount Lemmon 200k Brevet

A randonneur event is something every self-respecting road cyclist should have in their bucket list.

Behold the Mount Lemmon 200 km Brevet in Tucson, organized this past weekend by the Arizona Brevets and Randonnee Club. A mere 210 km and uh... 3000 metres of climbing on an out-and-back course:

I was a bit apprehensive, but the warm 26 C weather in Tucson beckoned. As a rando virgin, I was imagining something more spirited than a charity ride, but with more coffee breaks than a Cat 2 road race. It actually sounded like fun. It was time to dust off the bike box and join Stephen Kenny and Trev Williams on this epic adventure.

But you don't just put your bike together and show up at the brevet. Oh no. First, you do a 110 km warm-up ride the day before in the nearby rolling hills of Sonoita and Elgin wine country along with some sketchy sand/gravel sections thrown in for good measure. Teased by wineries but no time to sample the merchandise. And of course multiple uphill sprint sessions, because Trev can't resist a good uphill sprint.

With legs freshly stiffened from the warm-up ride, I was ready for the big day. Thankfully, the weather cooperated with partial clouds, lighter-than-usual winds and a forecast 12 C at the top of the mountain - no bulky clothes required for the ride down. The brevet start was a refreshingly casual affair. We assembled in a Safeway parking lot for a 7:00 am start time, and after a few pre-ride instructions, we were off. No commissaires and you ride in traffic like a regular bike, with checkpoints at various places along the way where you can get water and snacks.

The first 60 km was a traverse through Tucson to get to the base of Mount Lemmon. That isn't nearly as bad as it sounds - Tucson has an impressive cycling infrastructure where nearly all feeder roads have dedicated bike lanes with good distances between safe, well-marked intersections. I would estimate 95% of the distance through Tucson was on bike lanes. Trev was feeling frisky at the start of the race, so we rode tempo for 10 km up a false flat and shed about half of the riders. I was reminded (multiple times) that I needed to pay attention to my nutrition, but feeding on roads with traffic lights was a bit distracting, so I only got one bar and one gel pack in me before one of our fellow Canadian riders (Steve from Vancouver) got a flat at the 50 km mark. Trev and I stayed back to help while Stephen continued with the lead group to the start of the Mount Lemmon climb. After we fixed the flat, the three of us sprinted to bridge the 5-minute gap to Stephen, who btw is not a slow rider.

It was during our sprint to the mountain base (and up the mountain) that I realized my fatal error: After three hours in the saddle, I had instinctively given myself enough nutrition for a typical 3.5 hour ABA flat-ish road race - but not nearly enough for another five hours and 2000 metres of climbing ahead of me. I fell back after bonking in spectacular fashion on the climb. Trev eventually caught up to Stephen and I met both of them at the top some 20 minutes later - over 5 hours into the ride. My punishment was not having the time to enjoy some of Stephen's fabulous cheesecake in Summerhaven at the top:

The ride down from Mount Lemmon is freaking awesome. First, you go through 5 climate zones that start in sub-alpine tundra and end in cactus fields. Second, the road pavement is excellent with engineered turns that do not require any brakes for the entire 25 mile (40 km) descent. Check out Stephen's race line:

The last 60 km were harder than expected. After descending from the mountain, the ride descends further into the town - followed by a gradual elevation increase to the finish point. Funny you don't notice that so much on the way out. With some good paceline work we were able to catch up to the remaining leaders and managed a Speed Theory sweep at the finish with a time of 8 hours, 14 minutes. It would have been under 8 hours if Stephen and Trev didn't have to wait for me multiple times. It was fun, but it wasn't exactly easy.

Day three consisted of a short 65 km recovery ride up A-Mountain (Sentinel Peak), Gates Pass and a nice stop at the Marriott Resort. Ok, I was able to handle this part... and my legs were grateful.

As Ferris Bueller would say... if you have the means, I would highly recommend it.

Farewell to Poon!

Clarence Poon is moving to Puerto Vallarta Mexico next week to join his wife and son who moved there earlier this year. I've organized good-bye beers at Wild Rose Brewery on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. to send him off. 

Farewell to Poon!
Date: Sat Nov. 8th
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Wild Rose Brewery, 4580 Quesnay Wood Dr S.W.

Hope you can come out and join us!

Cycle access at the bottom of 101 Street.

We are trying to generate traction on an issue of relevance to cyclists in Calgary.

When the new ring road is built through Springbank, the access from the bottom of 101st to HW 8 will be lost.

This means that if you should want to go west on HW 8 you will need to go onto the 4 lane HW and do a big loop  and vice versa, which is a pain and personally we don’t want to be anywhere near a 4 lane HW on our bikes.

We have been in contact with the City to ask for a bike access from the termination of 101st st though to HW 1, see responses below.

Could I ask you to email your representative and also to contact the planning dept at the email below.

Also we are planing to attend the meeting local to us but the more the merrier as they say.

Thanks in anticipation

Jerry and Cindy

_________________________________

From city:

Cindy,
I understand your concern and will discuss it internally with our group.  Generally, Alberta Transportation does not provide restrictive access to highways, such as, access for cyclists but not cars.  This policy is due to concerns of confusion for motorists, difficulties for signage, maintenance, etc.

As noted below, the existing 101st Street will remain open to just north of the proposed westbound Highway 8 roadway, but will not connect to Highway 8.

We have several information sessions scheduled for early November, locations and dates can be found on our web page at: http://www.transportation.alberta.ca/5791.htm

Alan Dixon <Alan.Dixon@gov.ab.ca>

Our club members on The Board at the ABA and Shawn Bunnin is our new President!

The ABA AGM was last Saturday. It was great to see club members Darcy Gullacher and Charles Bougie run for spots on the board and racing committee. Rob Armstrong of the Crankmasters also ran for a position on the board.  Congratulations to all for successfully being voted in.

Darcy Gullacher and Rob Armstrong are now on the Racing Committee
Charles Bougie is now a 'Member at Large' meaning he has voting rights directly on the board.

Another big change (the biggest change for the ABA) is that Deadgoat Shawn Bunnin has vacated his seat at VP of Racing and was named as President of the ABA. Congratulations Shawn for stepping up and accepting this position.

The club thanks all of you for your support of Alberta Cycling and your dedication to our sport.

'Cross After Dark

STCer's,

This Saturday night is probably THE coolest 'cross race on the calendar: the Dark Knight 'Cross put on by the fine folks at Cyclemeisters at Canada Olympic Park. Yes, the race is at night. Yes, it is dark. Yes, it will be the most memorable race you will do all year. No ABA points on the line, seed yourself, dress yourself and your bike up, and have a good time. Unfortunately, I've got a another commitment on Saturday, so I'll probably need to pass this year, but I hope a good number of STCer's show up to fly the flag.

Sunday morning is the Cadence 'Cross Classic, also at COP.

Start the roll call below!

STC at Cupcake Cross!

Tour of Alberta Prologue Photos

Hey everyone,
I was taking photos from the Speed Theory corner, just by the 300m sign. Here is the link of the gallery I posted in Flickr.

Prologue photos

Thanks,

Dan

Team discounts at Club Member's businesses.

Brent asked me about posting a note that his girlfriend would like to offer a discount of her services to club members. I thought it would be pretty cool if we had a page dedicated to this sort of thing.

So if you are a current club member and own or work for a business that would like to offer our club members a discount, then email speedtheoryteam@gmail.com and we'll post it here.

Here is the is first one:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stephanie Zacharuk, Brent's girlfriend.

10% Off all Physiotherapy and Chiropractic Services at Coach Hill Chiropractic and Sport Therapy

Stephanie graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with her Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology, followed by her Masters of Physical Therapy. Stephanie is a lifelong athlete with a passion for helping people, making physiotherapy a perfect fit for her lifestyle. Prior to finishing University, Stephanie played CIS volleyball with the U of S Huskies. Stephanie's interests include general orthopedics, sporting injuries, post-surgical rehabilitation, and injury prevention strategies, with a focus on returning people to an active, pain-free lifestyle. She enjoys the creative aspect of restoring movement and normal body function to people on an individual basis. As a dynamic, outgoing person, Stephanie can often be found skiing, running, rock climbing, ice climbing, or road biking.

You can find more about me and the clinic here:  http://www.coachhillchiropractic.com/

Stephanie Zacharuk, MPT BSc. Kin
info@coachhillchiropractic.ca
403-249-4544


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tour of Alberta prologue spectating and cheering!

Erik and Darcy at today's Pro Ride w/ Garmin Sharp!

Jenn Turcott is going to stake out a place for us to watch! There are now 4 members of our team doing the 'Pre-Race' before the Pros. Dennis Bland, Erik Cramer, Matt Joss, and I.  Make sure to be screaming like crazy. The pre-race now starts at 4:30pm and riders go at 30sec intervals. So if you can get to the hill as early as possible, that will up your chances of getting a good spot to watch and being able to cheer.

Jenn is going to aim to be there by around 3pm, so the earlier you can get there, the more company she has.

Here is the email from Jenn:

Ok so I think the best spot to accommodate our team is on the second to last turn where the bobsled starts are. 

I rode the route this morning and that spot has the most shoulder space along the climb. I'm thinking if we stand on the east side of the road, you can see the riders coming up around the corner and the TV cameras are more likely to pick us up.

My friend on the local organizing committee said, from his understanding, there will be no barriers until the last 200m. 

TOA posted information about parking and probably good to post on our blog:

CALGARY, ALBERTA (August 29, 2014) – The 2014 Tour of Alberta’s race route for the SUBWAY Calgary Prologue will cause minor road closures and parking restrictions near Canada Olympic Park in Calgary on Tuesday, September 2, 2014.

Canada Olympic Park Drive SW will be closed and monitored by Calgary Police Services from 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM; motorists are to expect delays.

Further, half a kilometre of the west end of Paskapoo Drive SW will be closed by Calgary Police Services from 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM. Residents in this area will still have access via the eastern entrance of Cougar Ridge Manor SW.

Shuttle and Parking information for the SUBWAY Calgary Prologue:
Parking will be available in the west parking lot at Canada Olympic Park via Valley Ridge Drive.

Overflow parking is available at the Sunnyside Home and Garden Centre (3439 69 St NW). Shuttle services from the Sunnyside Home and Garden Centre to Canada Olympic Park will run every 15 minutes from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Spectators are also encouraged to take the LRT to the 69 St. station, where shuttles will also be running.

I'm aiming to be there by 3pm. I'm not sure if i'm going to drive there (easier to carry stuff plus, don't have to worry about where to leave my bike. If I go early enough I should be able to find parking. ​

--

Jenn Turcott

Crankmasters Team Time Trial Challenge

One of our teams from last year

Is anyone interested in forming a Speed Theory team for Monday's race?

The tech guide is here - some important details to read there.

I'm tired and out of shape but would be interested if anyone else is. Saturday midnight is the closing time. Post a comment if you are interested.

Group ride with the Garmin-Sharp team for the Tour of Alberta!

On Sunday, the entire roster of riders from Garmin-Sharp for the ToA will be signing autographs and then going on a mass group ride with fans!

The ride starts from Bow Cycle on Sunday at 11:30am.  They will be there from 11am on to sign autographs and then the ride starts at 11:30am.

It is scheduled to be a 1.5hour ride finishing up at Bow Cycle again.

This is your chance to attack Tom Danielson!

.

Midweek Mayhem is putting on a 'Learn to Cross' clinic.

If you are going to try Cross this year... email Brent NOW and do this clinic!

Details here!

.

Second Round of 2014Clothing. THIS WILL CLOSE ON AUG. 28th!!

The second round of clothing for 2014 ordering is open now. We will close it out fairly quickly so we get it early Oct in time for a lot of the CX season and still when the weather is sometimes favourable to outside riding.

We aren't changing the design for next year, so if you need something for indoor training over the winter and want it to be useful for the Spring, then you can be rest assured we won't change the design of the club kit.

Here is the link to the Clothing Order. This will close on Aug. 28th at midnight!

.

Cross Season is approaching! You need to register for the Wednesday night series soon!

Thank you Jared for the awesome race report. That is an accomplishment very few people can imagine. the dedication to your training leading up to this event has been remarkable to watch. Please don't forget to read the race report below.

The club that offers the Wednesday Night CX Series in town is called Midweek Mayhem and is run by Brent Topilko. It is an awesome resource for Calgary cyclists and I encourage you to give it a try if you have ever though CX racing looked cool. A good progression is to do the Midweek Mayhem series the first year, and then both the Mayhem and the ABA weekend races the next year.

Registration for the Midweek Mayhem starts Aug. 25th. Info here.
The CX schedule for the Wednesday nights is here.

If you have waited until now to join the club, we always offer a 'CX Membership' which allows you to race the ABA races as part of STC. Here is the link for STC CX Membership.

Leadville Trail 100 Race Report (yes, a running report)

Leadville Trail 100 mile running race

August 16, 2014, Leadville, Colorado

 

My alarm went off at 2:30am.  After a quick shower and some oatmeal I was dressed and ready to roll.  Tanya and Ian loaded up the gear for a massive day(s) crewing for Chris and I.

 

We arrived at the start line at 3:45am and lined up around 5th row.  The energy of the field was incredible.  4am and the shotgun went off.  The first few km's are downhill as we exited town.  I took the time to look back and saw a snake of headlamps stretched out in the dark.  Up ahead I could see the leading lights up the road.  It was an incredible feeling to have this race actually starting.  Chris and I had planned on running together for the first half.  We averaged ~5min km's for the first half hour.  With the downslope it was a good starting pace.  In no time we were at the dam and turning right up a short, steep rocky slope.  I was passed by about 10 guys up this slope.  The  hill ended and we entered the trail surrounding Turquoise lake.  I cruised along with a group of about 10 guys doing just over 9 min miles.  The pace felt good, I was eating well, the sky was still dark, the single track was fun (lots of little ups and downs)... All was going well.

The sky started to lighten up as we ran into the May Queen aid station (1:58, 13.5 miles, and 43 place). Tanya and Ian were waiting for us with fresh fluids.  I filled up, gave Tanya my headlamp and we were off towards Sugarloaf pass.  Almost immediately after leaving May Queen we turned onto the Colorado trail.  It is an amazing bit of trail that totally reminded me of running in Canmore.  There were roots, rocks, twists, turns... loads of fun.  We popped out of that trail after a few miles and started climbing a gravel road which then turned off onto a steeper, rocky fire road.  The slope was steep enough that we power walked.  There were a few guys running, but not us.  Eventually we rounded the top at a bit over 11,000 feet.  Down Power line trail we went.  At first it wasn't too steep, but by the last couple km's it was a nasty downhill with tons of washout.  The mountain bike race went down this trail last week; I was much happier doing it on foot.  A guy watching said we were 62 and 63 place.  We chuckled at this info so early in the day.

After a short jaunt on a paved road we made it to Outward bound aid (aka a Fish a Hatchery) (4:04, 24.5 miles and 60 place).  Tanya and Ian were again there with smiles, fluids and good vibes.  After a refill and a porta-poti stop we were off.  The next 2 km were through a cow pasture.  The grass was cut, but the footing was, well, like running through a cow pasture.  I was happy to have that end.  I had picked up a peanut butter and banana sandwich at the Outward bound aid.  The thing took me almost an hour to eat.  It was like paste in my mouth and almost impossible to swallow.  Not good.  The course follows a paved road for a few miles, then follows a pipeline right of way, the whole time going slightly uphill.  Chris and I trudged along.  We slowed for a few walk breaks, but kept plugging forward.

Eventually we hit the Half pipe aid (5:02, 31 miles, and 51 place).  There is no crewing here, but we did have drop bags.  A volunteer helped my re-fill my hydration pack and we were off again.  By this point I had eaten 3/4 of a pb sandwich plus about 1 gel and 1 bag of stinger blocks per hour.  Not bad for food, but I had wanted a bit more in me... Ahh well.  After Half pipe, the trail keeps going up, but not crazy steep.  However it was steep enough that we had to power walk a fair amount.  Mentally, this part was very hard.  We had already covered a lot of distance, but we still had a ton to go.  I was feeling tired.  While there was never a question of stopping, I was becoming very scared of what I still had to do.  Eventually we hit the top of this part (Elbert).  The trail turned into a beautiful flowy single track which was a ton of fun.  It took us down around 1,000 feet into Twin Lakes.

Twin Lakes is a beautiful town and the aid station was my favourite on the course ( 6:49, 39.5 miles and 52 place).  You make a grandeur entrance to the station via a steep rocky trail.  Tanya was there with my fluids and food.  I had planned on eating a bagel w/ Nutella, however after the previous pb sandwich debacle, I only took gels, stinger blocks and a snickers bar.  Some more sunblock and we were off.  Immediately upon leaving Twin you have to cross a grassland area with a bunch of bogs and a river.  The bogs were almost knee deep in places and there was no avoiding soaked shoes.  You finish off this part with the river crossing.  There was a safety rope which was very necessary as the water was knee height and flowing pretty fast.  The water was also refreshingly cold.  I splashed a bunch over my head.

After the river the trail turns upwards. With wet feet we started the climb up to Hope pass.  Twin lakes is 9,200 ft while the pass is 12,600. The trail is steep.  The air is thin.  The trail is steep.  Chris and I trudged up the trail at a steady pace, but not blistering fast.  A couple guys with hiking poles went by.  I was envious.  I doubt poles would be any better for me, but anything looked good at that point.  I decided it was time for some serious fuel and opened the snickers bar.  I took a bite which proceeded to turn into a Carmel paste in mouth.  I couldn't swallow the damn thing.  I spat it out and gave up on that pleasure.  Heading up Hope was as I expected.  It was steep and hard.  However, I found myself really enjoying it.  I felt strong and my legs felt good.  I mitigated the lack of real food with more gels and stinger blocks.

About 800 ft shy of the top of Hope there is an aid station (8:47, 45.1 miles and 38 place).  The food and drink is carried up to the aid station via llamas.  Those were incredibly strong animals as they carried a ton of stuff up there.  At this aid I grabbed a glass of water and a cup of soup broth.  In and out quickly we continued the final bit up.  This part was tough.  There were some rock stairs which were gruelling and the grade continued to be steep.  However, like everything in this race, you eventually make it over.  The next part of the course is a 3,000 ft drop down the south side of hope pass.  I took this section very slowly, mainly due to a) a goal to conserve my quads and b) I am not a great descender.  It took about 10 feet into the downslope before Chris started to pull away.  We would be going solo now.  We made in almost 70 km together.  I wasn't too far into the descent when the race leaders were coming back up.  I gave each one a "good job" and every single one gave an encouragement comment back to me.  What an amazing group of competitors.  After dropping 3,000 feet the trail  turns off into a single track which takes you into Winfield.  I really struggled at this point.  I was tired and had some twingy calf cramping.

The Winfield aid station is the half way point (10:05, 50 miles and 41 place).  The first thing you do is weigh in.  I was down 5 pounds on the day.  They said no problem.  The guy beside me was 15 pounds down.  They took him to a special area to make him get his fluids back up.  I spent a much longer time at this aid.  I ate a cup of soup broth, a cup of Ichiban and drank three cups of coke (mmmm, my secret weapon).  I refilled my fluids from my drop bag and started my trip back.  I made in about 20 meters before I remembered I needed gels.  They were worth turning around.  After a good fuelling I was back onto the lower single track.  I was running better and had more energy.  The best part was that my legs felt great.  I had not beaten them up at all yet.  Once the trail turned back up Hope I felt I was in a groove.  I was moving well, passing a few people and saying good job to everyone coming down the trail on their outbound voyage.  I was able to re-catch some of the people who had passed me going down this hill.  This time I was not feeling jealous of anyone's hiking poles.  I liked the choices I had made.  One other item to note here is that runners are allowed (actually encouraged) to have a "Pacer" run with them for the second 50 miles of the race.  Being as  Chris and I only had Tanya and Ian down with us, we had to forgo the Pacer until the final aid station. 

After 4km of climbing and ~3,600 ft of elevation gain I hit the top of Hope (again).  Over the top and down the 800 ft to the next aid I went.  I tried to be more aggressive going down, but it wasn't working very well.

At the Hope aid (11:53, 54.9 miles, place unknown as the timing mat missed some people) I had another cup of soup and two cups of coke.  From there I continued my descent.  Wow, it was ugly.  I was slow, clumsy and slow.  It felt like a parade of people passing me the entire way down.  Even though I was frustrated with my running, the trail itself was gorgeous.  At the bottom of Hope I hit the river and bogs again.  Feet are now soaked and muddy.

Right after the bogs is Twin Lakes aid (13:35, 60.5 miles, and 44 place).  Tanya had the perfect set up for me.  She sat me down on a lawn chair, swapped out my wet shoes/socks for dry ones.  What an incredible feeling.  My pinky toes both had big blisters, but we left them to pop on their own.  Tanya had pizza and a huge coke for me.  I devoured them both.  

  

 

Off I went with a full pack of fluids and gels.  The trail goes up and up from Twin.  The first few km are hiking speed only, but it then tapers off a bit.  With the food in my belly I am feeling good.  And, the best part, my legs are still not hurting at all.  Up over Elbert and then it was a nice easy downhill grade.  What was a tough grind on the way out has turned into an amazing section coming back.  I ran the entire way through Half-pipe aid (15`33, 69 miles, and 43 place), through the pipeline right of way and almost back to Outward Bound (fish hatchery).  Only the cow pasture and the fading light slowed me to walk those 2km.

I entered outward bound aid (16:42, 75.5 miles, and 42 place) and was happy to see Tanya and Ian.  They told me Chris was still doing great and left looking strong.  At this aid Tanya dressed me for the night.  Despite my protests she made me put on a warm top plus my running jacket and gloves.  I thought it was overkill...  an hour later I realized that Tanya was right.  After more pizza and another bottle of coke I was off. I had been waffling all week as to what headlamp to use.  A uber lightweight one or the one that can light up the entire bloody mountain.  Being as I was still going solo I took the big boy, and I loved it.  After a couple km on a road the trail turned back to the Powerline climb.  I was feeling really good thanks to the pizza and coke and pushed it up the 1,000 foot climb.  I caught a few runners with their pacers.  Again the cheering and support that all of the racers gave each other was amazing.  At the top of Powerline I had the good fortune of catching two guys who were good going downhill.  I followed their path down the steeper rocky section down Sugarloaf pass until we hit the gravel road.  They stopped for a breather, but  I kept running.  The final part of this descent felt like home.  I was able to run the technical singletrack at a good pace and was loving the trail.  It was pitch black, my headlamp lit up the trail, the roots and rocks seemed to be perfectly placed for me... I was having a blast and flying through the trail!  Best of all, I was about to get my pacer.

The final aid was May Queen (19:32, 86.5 miles, and 31 place).  I arrived here about 30 min ahead of my fastest estimate.  My amazing crew was ready for me nonetheless.  Tanya had another bottle of Pepsi and a cup of soup for me to eat there.  She reloaded my pack with fluids and then changed roles to pace me in for the final 13.5 miles.  For the first 4 miles I led through the single track around the lake.  I hiked the up hills and ran the rest.  Tanya`s presence and company skyrocketed my emotions.  Once we came to the boat launch Tanya could sense I was getting quiet.  She stuffed some licorice into me and then moved to the front.  For the next 4k I simply stared at her shoes.  I don't remember much, but she kept the pace high and we burned through the distance.  Once you leave the lake it feels like you should be done.  But you are not.  What was effortless downhill 22 hour ago is now a never ending uphill grade.  Tanya would only let us slow down if it got really steep and we ran almost all of it.  About 3 km from the finish we caught up to a familiar gate.  Chris and Ian were grinding up the final climb as well.  What an incredible way to finish the race.  Chris and I have run and biked countless km's together over the past three years and here we were back together within a spitting distance of the finish.  I couldn`t have asked for a better ending.

The finish line was beyond words.  I had a stupid grin that I couldn`t get off my face.

22:09`23, 100 miles, and 27 place. 

Words cannot express my gratitude to Tanya for everything she did during this race for me.  Chris had an amazing race which I am super proud of.  This 100 mile voyage wouldn`t have even started if not for inspiration from Ian`s Dad, Don Watts who raced Western States 100 in 1986.  I was honored to have Ian with us.

 

 

Now its time to get back on the bike.

Leadville 100 Mile Trail Run

Team member Jared Green and Chris Hooper just completed the Leadville 100 trail race in 22:09 and 22:12 respectively and placing 27th and 28th overall. Yes running, not riding! Congratulations you guys, have a beer!

JayLap Crit Primes and Omnium prizes and cash.

I have received a few email questions asking how and when the prize money will be awarded for the Omnium and the Crit Primes. I plan to do this soon, but the first priority is spending some time with my family which were very supportive of the countless hours volunteering for this great event our entire club hosts, and getting my real work under control which was neglected in the weeks leading up to the race. The Omnium cash and Crit cash primes will be eTransfered to you using the email address you registered with through Zone4. Look for an email with the password on the same day the eTransfer is sent.

For the Crit Primes, if your name is Jay Keddy, Erik Loewen, Rory Winder, or Superman Bailey then you will be receiving cash for your Crit prime. Congratulations on your sprints! If your name is 'Eat my' Dustin Andrews or Adam Boyko, you won a Professional Bike Fit and your Certificate Package can be picked up at SpeedTheory during Store hours. Your prize is transferable so you can give it to someone who may not be as 'dialed-in' as you two.

Upgrade for Marie... and successful surgery for Emily.

Congrats to Marie for upgrading to Women's Cat 3 over the weekend. She got 2nd in the ITT, 4th in the Crit, and 2nd in the Road Race. Her consistent performances lead her to the Omnium win in the Women 3/4/5 Category.

Unfortunately Emily suffered a crash in the Ride to Conquer Cancer charity event on Sat and broke her elbow. So make sure to be sending healing vibes her way. She has reported she has had surgery and it went well, so she is now in the healing phase. Take it easy Emily, our thoughts are with you.

.

Race season still going strong!

Before you think of partying too much, there is still lots of racing with WNS. Three more races including an awesome 40 k TT this coming Wednesday. Have you ever wanted to establish your best time in a 40 k TT? Looking to go under 60 minutes?

Maybe draw some inspiration from the Jay Lap Cat 1/2 Road Race with our man Trev on a solo breakaway for over one lap before being joined by 2 other riders. This is the view from the commie car.

I have to go out of town next week so we need someone to organize and run the race on Aug 20. It would be nice to have one race up in the NW, if anyone can do it please let me know.

The link to WNS is above and here.

A big thank you to the whole STC Club and the Crankys! Now let's party!

This year, as usual, the outpouring of support and help from the STC community was fantastic. Together with our like-minded club, the Crankmasters, we offered Alberta racing cyclists an opportunity to compete in 3 events.

From Randy, Rob, Darcy, Marie, Joelle, Dennis, Tom and I, thank you to all our club mates for helping host a memorable weekend....

... and what is a hard weekend without the opportunity to have a party after?

Mark your calendars, let's all cheer on the Tour of Alberta pros on the COP hill on Sept 2nd, then walk over to Mark and Marie's for a BBQ and party!

Sept. 2nd. is the date. I will post more info on the time when we should all meet and walk to the COP course together. For now, block that evening off (like is wasn't blocked off already, Sagan may be back!). The Prologue would typically run from like 5pm-ish to 7pm-ish, so we'll watch that, then head over to Mark and Marie's which is like 400m away.

STC Girls, TdB 2014.  Courtesy: Cochrane Eagle

To All The Jay Lap Volunteers...

A huge, huge, thank you. Words can't express how grateful I am to each and every one of you for all the help you provided this weekend. I won't even begin to try to name everyone, but rest assured that if you helped out with the Bouncy Castle, stood on a corner with a sign, drove a car behind a pack, brought food, or did any one of the other tasks to numerous to mention, you are now in the Speed Theory Book of Awesome. Without you, this race weekend could not have happened.

Road Race Results. Omnium to follow.

Here are the results to today's Bergen Boiler Road Race.

Perfect weather, great scenery, and super racing (except the Cat 4's :) who got passed by the Cat 5's)

Results here.

.

Omnium Results after Crit.

Here is the latest Omnium update. This does not include the Road Race.

Results here.

.

Crit Results!

What a great night! We started with a super turn out for the Kids Crit and then enjoyed some great racing.

Thank you to Kris Dahl for helping inspire the little budding cyclings by leading out all the little kids in each wave.

Results are here.

.

Here is the Criterium start list...

...but you don't really need this since you will be down on the course by 4pm to cheer on the little cyclists!

Crit start list.

.

Results to Friday night's ITT.

Here are the results posted to Zone4.

See everyone tonight at the Crit!!

Crit and RR Volunteer Needs - Don't Make Us Beg

Hey folks,

It's crit and road race time, and we could still use some volunteer course marshalls for tonight and tomorrow. I know two or three more for the road race would be really helpful, and we could use everyone possible for the crit. The registration link is closed up now, so if you're able to volunteer for tonight or tomorrow or both, just comment below.

I'm begging you: please don't make us beg. =) =)

Start list for tonight's Pedalhead 20km ITT.

.

Friday night PedalHead ITT START LIST HERE !!

Thank you everyone for the great turnout this weekend. All three events are very well attended, making all the effort from the race organizers worth it!

Jay Lap Weekend - Volunteer Needs

STC folks,

The big Jay Lap weekend is coming, and it's our time to shine as a club. Many, many thanks to all those who have volunteered for both the crit and the road race, but we could always use more. In particular, we really need:

- Course marshalls for both the crit and the road race. Bring a friend, bring a lawn chair, bring a book. Heck, bring a portable bbq and tailgate. The weather looks promising.

- A couple of volunteer "floaters" for the road race. I'll probably designate you as the ABA technical delegate's helper for the day, and you'll be probably running results from the finish to the community hall, helping hand out numbers at registration, and whatever else Gillian needs you to do.

- Another person or two to help Tom with hall clean-up would be awesome.

Head to http://speedtheoryteam.ivolunteer.com/event_002 to volunteer. You'll be in our good books forever (or, at least until next year, when we'll ask again...)

A safety moment I would like to share with you...

Lord knows I have had my fair share of crashes.  2 of them in criteriums and yes, one crash at the top of a hill climb - all in the same week.  Thus I share this, not to poke fun at the gentlemen in the video but, for everyone's learning...

The lesson:  Ensure you remain focused during each lap of a criterium race... including the victory lap"

http://gfycat.com/QuaintAmusedAmmonite

A special thanks to Emily for sharing this...

OK everyone !! Time to register for the Jason Lapierre Weekend!

Please don't give all the race organizers added stress, please register now!

REGISTER HERE!

and bring your kids down to the Kid's Event on Sat !!

All three races contribute to your ABA upgrade points.

Unless you are traveling up to Fort McMurray, this is your LAST road event of the season. Don't miss out.

2014 dB Performance Jason Lapierre Memorial 3 day Omnium is a 'go' !! Aug. 8 - 10.

The Tech Guide is now live! Available here. The road race on Aug. 10th has been scheduled due to everyone's overwhelming positive feedback from our survey.

Aug.  8th evening:  PedalHead Crankmaster 20km TT in Airdrie.
Aug.  9th evening: Downtown Calgary Kids Event and Criterium.
Aug. 10th mid-morning: Bergen Hills Road Race near Sundre.

Registration is live right now here.

Volunteer sign up. Please volunteer for as many roles as possible. If you plan on racing, there are a lot of positions where you can lend a hand and still race. There are also several positions that your spouse or friends wouldn't mind helping out with since they are exciting, like marshaling for the Crit or helping out at the Bouncy Castle!

JayLap Kids '6 and Under' wave in 2013

On a damp July 21st 2014 morning, Trev met with the City of Calgary for a final time
this year to sign a mass amount of Contracts.... but STC has all the permits in place! Let's race!

Wheeler's ride tomorrow morning.

I am hoping to make the Wheeler's ride in the morning and have heard of at least 3 others trying to make it, so if you're looking for a good ride in the morning, see you at 9am !

Trev

WNS Mid Season Update

In a couple of weeks we will be taking over the running of WNS for the third series of five races. I am trying to do my part in making this a very safe and fun race series for everyone. One of the best ways to make these events safe is to have plenty of volunteers and that is the main purpose of this post. We need on average 4 volunteers for each race. Please start thinking about which races you can volunteer for, or race and bring a volunteer. There are lots of series points for volunteering and bringing volunteers.

We also need first aiders at each race. If you have first aid certification and can come to one or two of the races that will be a big help. I also need someone to take over organizing the Aug 20 race and I have suggested we go to the NW for that race.

Leave a comment here or contact me at mikehealy at shaw dot ca if you are able to help. As we get closer to the events I will be updating the WNS blog, link at top of page.

Date                    Race                       Location           Volunteers

July 30                 5k circuit                Springbank          3

Aug 6                  30k road race           Millarville           4

Aug 13                40k TT                    Springbank          4

Aug 20                TBA                        Crowchild/NW

Aug 27                Prolog & RR            Priddis                4

A few upgrades!

It isn't all about upgrading, or even racing, but when someone's hard work pays off with being able to race in a higher ability level, it is worth a big Congratulations!

Congrats to Mark Michalski for the upgrade to Cat3 and Adam Pugh for the upgrade to Cat 4!!

Rundle Mountain Stage Race - Women's Report

Well, what a gorgeous weekend to hang out in Canmore.
Saturday morning was the start of the RMSR, with a fun loop on the roller ski trails at the Nordic Centre.  No TT bikes allowed and only 4.8km made for a short suffer-fest of joy... or so the look on my teammate's face would imply!  Lisa loved every blood-filled-lung minute.  Right Lisa?  This is one not to be missed next year ladies and gents.  No seriously.  Get up early and get out there.

The kids race was a total blast.  My kids absolutely loved it. They had 4 categories to split up the age groups and handed out huge chocolate medals.  I was hoping the adult medals were chocolate too, but alas...

Next up was the Criterium in downtown Canmore.  This also served as "Provincials" and knowing this, I was feeling pretty intimidated as I had May and June off with an injury.  Wow, what a great way to test out the limpy-leg?!  Smart of me; I know.  I was the lone STC rep but there were a few other loners too.  In typical lady fashion, the onesies grouped together pretty quickly so that we stood a chance.
Things started off rather fast with Synergy and Crave working well together and pushing the limit out of the corners.  There was one lone Bicisport gal who I knew well enough to know that her wheel was the one to be on, so I hung on for dear life and let her close the attacks.  Crave had a good group out and were trying to work together but I think us loners kept getting in the way (wink wink.) Only one crash as a Synergy gal clipped a pedal right in front of the crowd (and the announcer - our very own talented Mike Godfrey.)  Repeat after me, "INSIDE PEDAL UP."
That Crit course is my new favorite as the S-turn corners work to my strengths by slowing everyone down, thank goodness.  Wait, that was supposed to be my quiet voice.
When I heard the bell I was so relieved to still be in the race.  That last lap was a doozy.  Everyone stepped it up 2 gears and I used every ounce of juice I had to hang on.  By the time we hit the sprint on the final straight, I waved good-bye and took a 3 sec loss to come in 7th.
I had Lisa and Rebecca cheering me on as well as my family which really, truly helps.  Thank you.

There was a fair amount of debate in the Michalski house last night as to whether or not we should beat ourselves up again today for the road race.  If you have never done an omnium event before (3 or more races in a row,) just know that when you show up for the last event with fresh legs... we hate you.
Kidding. We envy you.  If you are on our team, we LOVE you dearly and hope that you are willing to nurse us to the line.  Anyways... at 5:30am, Mark woke me up so I took that as a sign that it was time to see if all those lonely dark nights in the basement on the trainer have paid off.  After seeing the Cat 5 and 4 men off the women were ready to go.  Lisa, Rebecca, Jenn T, Emily, Erin and I were off.  The first lap was fast, and then things slowed down a bit.  I tried to stay within the top 5-6 riders so I wouldn't get dropped on the hills.  And this course was just all hill.  I lost track my ladies in red after the third hill repeat.  After the roundabout I saw that 4 of the 5 STC women had formed a chase group and were working well together.  Jenn was no where to be found and I later found out she had pulled out sick.  I figured I may as well test things out for realz and decided to go with every break.  I guess Crave was bored, because they put on 4-5 solid attacks.  Those breaks didn't last.  Finally on the 3rd lap, a super strong Crave rider put on a huge solo break, with her teammates creating a challenging wall for us to get around.  It stuck.  Darn.  At this point I was at the end of my matches and began to cramp.  Try stretching out your inner thigh on the bike.  Not pretty.  I figured at this point I was probably not safe to be around and pulled off.  3 cars (no kidding - I must have looked that bad) pulled over to offer me a ride.  Nope.  I waited for Rebecca and Emily to come by and pull me to the finish.  Ouch ouch ouch. So I think that I racked up a total of 5 whopping points this weekend.  I finished with a smile, well, grimace on my face and got to spend the weekend in the mountains.  Thanks ladies for coming out!  Here are the pics Mark took.
Next up, TdB...
Peace out ~ Marie Crampy-Quads Michalski

Marie taking a pull

Enthralled fans cheering on the STC Contingent

STC Contingent

Lisa & STC ladies crushing it!!!!

Emily crossing the finishing line

Rebecca crossing the finishing line

Lisa crossing the finishing line

Erin crossing the finishing line