Addition to the Junior Team

A new story is brewing...

Classy move from an STC club member in Squamish yesterday.

I just got an email from a BC rider who thanked someone from the team for lending him a wheel yesterday at the Squamish CX Provincials. It allowed him to complete the race. Cool. He said it was an STC cyclist, and not an ST cyclist from Vancouver, but didn't catch the name since he was delirious at the finish.

Anyway, thanks for being a great ambassador whoever you are!

Trev

The race between the races.

It was great to watch all the STC'ers out racing Beans and Barley yesterday. I got a hoarse voice yelling at everyone.

Just in case people had left, or were warming up for the next races, here is a shot of the next generation of competition! Here is Taylor crushing a set of barriers. Wait until she turns 3 !

Taylor making a move on the barriers.

Fundraising for The Alberta Childrens Hospital by Wayne Giles

Club member Wayne has asked me to post this for him!


The charity he is raising funds for is using an event called Extra Life.

Quick explanation.

·         What is Extra Life?

o   Extra Life is a charity is started by gamers to support the Children’s Miracle Network.

o   Participants pledge to play games (video, board, pen and paper it doesn’t matter) for 24 hours, typically on the game day which this year is November 7th.

·         Does my donation go to my local hospital?

o   Your donation will go to whatever hospital that the participant is supporting.  In my case that is the Alberta Children’s Hospital here in Calgary.

·         How much of donation goes to the hospital?

o   Your entire donation goes to the supported hospital.  Yes Extra Life has staff however they are paid through industry sponsorships.  Your entire donation will go to the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Link to my donation page:

http://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=146499

An important note is online donations are made in USD.  Extra Life notes the exchange rate on the day you donated, and then that is sent to the hospital after the event, so that the Canadian hospitals do not get hurt by fluctuating exchange rates.

 If you have any question feel free to ask by e-mailing me at LewsKinslayer0@gmail.com

Thank you, Wayne.

Midweek Mayhem Year End Party

Club... I just signed up for the year-end Midweek get-together and there are only about 4 other STC'ers on the list....  get your name on there!!

Trev

Richmond Report

I made it to Richmond for Worlds. It was an awesome experience. I watched the women's race on Saturday and the men's on Sunday, the forecast called for rain but it held off.

Libby Hill was the place to be

Spent my time on 23rd Street Hill

Boivin in the early break

Boonen and Greipel spent lots of time up front

Valverde in the mix

Kristoff is a big dude

Am I looking cool without my car?

Phinney had problems all day with his bike

Not sure why Tony and the Germans were blocking here

I stayed at the Holiday Inn, same place as Michal

Richmond did an excellent job, world class. The race was always unpredictable. Sagan was totally hidden and exploded on the 23rd street hill in the last lap.

Congratulations to Darcy! and a new direction for our club!

Club, the big news is that our VP and JLap Road Race Director landed himself a cool full time position as the General Manager and Sports Director of Alberta Biathlon. Congratulations Darcy!

What this means for the club:

When I heard word that Darcy had landed this job, all I heard was 'Darcy now has a big gun closet!'

So without further typing, I propose we take a slight direction change and position ourselves as the leading bike-athlon club in Alberta. Imagine a road race where you need to stop and shoot stuff in order to keep progressing through the course? The tactics would be a whole new level! You want to be in the peloton, but you just missed exploding the watermelon from 200 yards and have to reload ?!!?  Or.. if you are an excellent shot is it worth hitting all the targets right away and going off solo, or do you take a pee break?

I'll get some guns from Darcy this weekend and we'll try it out on the Fish Creek Pathways! Who's in!

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Well that worked! Remaining STC clothing.

OK, that was great, we put some great clothing to good use and got to go for beers. We will try to make a beer and wings night more regular so that we all recognize each other without helmets on!

Here is what is left in terms of clothing:

XXXL Men's Club Cut Jersey

I will leave out the bin for one more week if you want to come and grab any of these pieces.

Trev

Beer and wings after Midweek Mayhem THIS Wednesday night. 8pm. (UPDATE)

Club...  beer and wings 'on the club' Wednesday Sept 16th at 8pm at the Toad n' Turtle on Barlow and 27th.

We haven't had a beer and wings night for a bit. Tomorrow night is perfect this a ton of the club will be up at DeerFoot Park doing MidWeek Mayhem until about 7:40pm.

CX has been cancelled due to standing water in DeerFoot Park.


Beer and wings are provided by the club.  You get one or two beer if you are driving, and unlimited if you have a DD.  Let's all egg Darcy on to eat a pound of the hottest wings they have!


See you all there!

Trev

Extra STC clothing... donate to the beer fund and grab something.

Club... I have a tupperware of STC clothing from years past that is all brand new. It may have been ordered in error, or never picked up, or whatever. It's time for me to pass it on.

I have the tupperware at the front of my studio inside Speed Theory Calgary. In it is mainly jerseys, but there are women's bib shorts, and leg warmers, and random stuff.

Come in, grab something that works for you, your spouse, or your kids, and leave a donation to the beer fund in the envelope....  and it is yours.

I will leave the tupperware there for about a week.

Speed Theory Calgary is having a big Fall sale this Saturday Sept. 12th

Guys, Speed Theory is having their annual Fall Blow-Out sale this Sat.  This weekend the Cross racing is in Edmonton, so if you are not up there, then you can ride down to Speed Theory to check out what they have.

We will be having a big STC big wrap up party in Mid-November after Cross season and we'll probably do it down at the store, but don't wait to go in there until then!

STC at Marmot Basin Hill Climb Challenge

Dennis and I went up to watch the Stage 4 of the Tour of Alberta. We ran into Jenn up there too, which was great to see her enjoying the racing as well.

Dennis and I were able to compete in the Marmot Basin Hill Climb Challenge due to dB Performance sponsoring the Tour of Alberta. It was a mass start 11km event that finished through the actual finish line that the pros would be using about 2 hours after we finished. So the pros would race 150km, then hit the hill, while we got to just do the hill! One of the other competitors in the Hill Climb was the Edmonton Oilers Team Captain, Andrew Ferrence. His speed up the hill shows that a pro is a pro. He spends a large portion of his off-season on his bike and it shows!

It was a fun event and we appreciated being able to take part in the action, then watch the real riders crush the hill WAY faster than any of us did!

After the event, my daughter Jaya and I descended the 11km from the ski hill to the highway. Talk about a view!

The Gypsy 107

The Gypsy 107

Sunday, September 13.  9:30 am start

Saddle up for one of the last road rides of the season.  A fund raiser for Shelter Box Canada and an opportunity to hang out and ride your bike. Ride as hard or as easy as you want.  There's no official start time but I hope everyone is on the road by 10:00 am.

The ride is 107km starting and ending in Rosebud Alberta (about 40 minutes drive time).  The ride goes through Drumheller then south to highway 564 and back to Rosebud.  The scenery is excellent. Refuel in Drumheller and enjoy a beer in Rosebud after the ride.

Route details are here
More information is here
Donations can be made here

Hope to see you out there

Late Season STC Cross membership is live.

Some STC'ers skip the road season and wait for the Cross season. We have a discounted STC membership for those that just race Midweek Mayhem and the ABA Cross Events.

Here is the link to become a late season CX Member.

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Results for the 2015 dB Performance Jason Lapierre Memorial Road Race.

Just in case you haven't checked Zone4 already.

Race results for all categories.

Thank you to all the volunteers and racers for making it another successful event.

Jay Lap Volunteers --A BIG Thank You!

To all the volunteers who helped out with the race today, we want to say a huge thank you! Races can't happen without all of your dedication and hard work. Thanks so much for spending a fine Sunday morning helping out.

Darcy and Joelle

Jason Lapieirre Dogpound Road Race -- Amended Prize Money

If you think you get top 3 in your race on Sunday. Stick around and Joelle is in charge of distributing the cash. This year we are giving out the cash about 10 minutes after your Cat's results are posted and any disputes are settled. Stick around or your cash may be donated to the volunteer / club beer fund... which would be a good thing anyway! Seriously, make it easy on everyone and grab your cash before you leave.


Because of lower than expected registration, here is the amended prize list for Sunday's race:

	1st	2nd	3rd
Cat 1/2	100	80	60
Cat 3	70	60	40
Cat 4	70	60	40
Cat 5	70	60	40
W1/2/3	100	80	N/A
W3/4/5	70	60	40

Cat 5 Racer needs a ride to the race on Sunday.

Can anyone give a dude living in the Killarny / Glenbrook area a ride to the race on Sunday?

Comment here if you can and I will hook you two up.

Hammer Nutrition at the Jay Lap Road Race

Hammer Nutrition will be at the Jay Lap this Sunday for all your post-recovery needs. Look for the 43 foot long truck (it will be fairly easy to see...) in the parking lot.

Many thanks to Ryan Correy and the Hammer Team!

Jason Lapierre Road Race, Sunday, August 9 -- Volunteer Needs

First of all, a huge congrats to everyone for big performances at this year's Tour de Bowness! Taking both the Cat 4 and Cat 5 crits is impressive!

Now it's our time to give back to the local race scene. If you haven't yet signed up for a volunteer slot (or convinced a spouse, son or daughter, old college roommate, or that guy who says he "owes you one" to volunteer), please consider doing so. WE ARE IN SERIOUS NEED OF COMM/WHEEL CARS AND MORE COURSE MARSHALLS.

Volunteer obligations will start at around 9:00 am and should be done no later than 4:00 pm

Volunteer sign-up is here.

19 Club Members in Tour be Bowness!

We've got a lot of Speed Theorists racing in the Road Race, Hill Climb, and Criterium this weekend! The best events to go watch are the Hill Climb at COP since you can bring the kids and hike up the road and cheer like mad and then the best opportunity is the Criterium as it is coupled with a big Bowness Street Festival so it is really family friendly and extremely fun to attend.

Good luck everyone!

And we'll be seeing all our club members out next weekend either volunteering or racing at the JayLap Road Race. Please see the post below to sign up for volunteering!

2015 dB Performance Jason Lapierre Memorial Road Race.

The preliminary version of the tech guide is now available and the registration is now live.

Please take a look at the tech guide 2 days before the event just in case start times have been modified by the ABA Tech. Rep.

Here is the first version of the tech guide.

Here is the link to register. The ABA has capped it at 66 riders per Cat. so register early!

Here is the link to volunteer for the race. We are in serious need of drivers and course marshals.

UPDATE:  Hammer Nutrition is bringing it's 'Big Rig' out to the event on Sunday! It is a really cool travelling product van, so expect some samples and some info pre and post race!

Assuming 160 racers, here is the prize list for Sunday's race:

	1st	2nd	3rd
Cat 1/2	150	100	50
Cat 3	100	80	40
Cat 4	100	80	40
Cat 5	100	80	40
W1/2/3	150	100	50
W3/4/5	100	80	40

Amended for 105 racers, here is the prize list for Sunday's race:

	1st	2nd	3rd
Cat 1/2	100	80	60
Cat 3	70	60	40
Cat 4	70	60	40
Cat 5	70	60	40
W1/2/3	100	80	N/A
W3/4/5	70	60	40

Jason Lapierre Memorial Dog Pound Road Race -- Volunteer Sign Up

SPOTS ARE STARTING TO FILL UP. A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE VOLUNTEERS. THERE IS STILL A BIG, BIG NEED FOR DRIVERS. 

STC folks,

Here's the link to the Volunteer sign up page for the Dog Pound Road Race on Sunday, August 9: http://speedtheoryteam.ivolunteer.com/event_004

Races don't happen without volunteers. PLEASE CONSIDER EITHER VOLUNTEERING OR PROVIDING A VOLUNTEER. Here's a brief summary of what each role does:

Picking up food: Pretty straightforward. Head to the local Tim Hortons or Costco, pick up food, and bring it to the hall. We'll give you a list, a budget, and reimburse you the costs.

Course Marshalls: You'll be at a corner helping to make sure all racers make the corner safely. One corner on this course is very fast, so we're hoping to have at least three people there. Hopefully you'll be able to work on your tan.

Drivers: This is a big need. Comm cars will have a you and an official in your car, and you'll be following the race making sure everyone follows the rules and plays nice, this is a cool perspective of the race. Wheel cars will carry spare wheels for racers that flat, you don't have to do anything but stop for someone that needs a tire, no experience necessary. Two cars per category.

Course Set-Up/Tear Down: Head out and help set up the course with cones, message boards, the tent for the finish line, etc. You can do this and race.

Hall Set-Up/Tear Down: Get the hall ready and clean up at the end of the day. Many hands make light work...

Registration Help: Help the ABA Technical Delegate hand out race numbers and make sure everyone signs on on race day. You could still race if you help out here!

And I'm sure I'll come up with more tasks...

Our last WNS race THIS Wednesday.

Club, it is our last Wednesday Night Series event THIS week July 15th before Peloton take over the last 5 races. Alan would like to hold a fun event that would involve an Australian Pursuit, but needs a few more volunteers than normal. Please consider lending a couple hours if you raced Rundle Mountain and aren't quite ready to race again, or maybe bring a partner and get them to help out for 2 hours. It is a very easy volunteer commitment.

Alan has devised a cool course but it has a few more corners than normal. So come out and lend a hand. More info on the course here. Please email Alan here to throw your volunteer hat in the ring.

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Speed Theory Cycling hits up the BiciSport TT!

We had quite a few club members pedaling hard at the Bici Time Trial on Saturday. Thank you to Masa Higuchi for taking these and some other great shots. His whole album is here.

Sara Foster

Ernie Cosman

Stephen Kenny

Suffer Like a Dog(Pound) ITT and Stampede Road Race

Reminder that the registration for these two races close TOMORROW, July 2. Register at http://www.albertabicycle.ab.ca/events.

Dog Pound Road Race - Sunday, August 9 - Volunteers

STCer's,

Plans are well underway for the annual Jason Lapierre Memorial Cycling Weekend. Here's what you need to know:

- The road race has been moved from Bergen to Dogpound. It's a lot closer to Calgary, and shouldn't mean such a long day for everyone.

- Please consider volunteering or providing a volunteer on race day. We'll especially need drivers for the comm and wheel cars, as well as corner marshalls. Start talking to your significant other now... =)

- Unfortunately, there's now some significant building construction on the Downtown Crit course, so the crit will be on hiatus for this year. Bummer.

Stay tuned for the Volunteer sign-up link and Tech Guide.

Road Cycling: The New Golf

NOTE: See Carl's comment below. Glad to hear he's in good spirits. Speedy recovery, Carl!

Our very own Trev Williams is featured on the CBC Calgary article "Road Cycling the new golf for business networking". Trev's doing some great work introducing people to cycling and building up their confidence on the road. Hopefully we'll see more of them our for WNS and ABA races in the near future!

Interview on the Calgary Eyeopener here.

Carl Miiller's condition after crash at Wheeler's ride this morning.

One of our club members, Carl, unfortunately crashed this morning while enjoying the Wheelers ride. Here is an update of his condition:

UPDATE:   I went to see Carl in the hospital and brought him a smoothie in a Banff Bike Fest water bottle to get him pumped for when he'll be back on the bike. The doctors right now are saying they'll probably keep him in the hospital a couple days just to make sure his lung on the broken rib side isn't compromised. He looks like the Terminator with staples in his head and stitches in his lip. When I visited him, he was still in his bike shorts, so since we all know 'All chamois time is training time' he essentially got the best training effect from the Wheelers today.

The story is that there was a small paceline going north toward Cochrane on the 22 and it has just passed another cyclist. All the cyclists in the paceline moved right after passing the cyclist, but at that moment the lead cyclist noticed something sticking out on to the shoulder and drifted left. The next two were able to drift left but Carl was still coming right and took an extra second to start drifting left and saw the obstruction so tried going right but still hit it. It turns out it was a fence post sticking out so quite long, high, and solid. Bad luck.

Staples?!?!

Trev

Clothing Order, Second Round! It is open from now until June 22nd.

We have opened the Store Front from Champion for the second round this year. Go to this link and enter the login:  speed  and the password: theory  You then create your own login so that Champion knows who the order is going toward.

The store front is a fair bit clunky and Champion is developing it, but it works. Here are some recommendations if you are ordering as a new club member and aren't sure what to get.

Choose the size you want by looking at their sizing charts here. THESE CLOTHES ARE MADE FOR YOU and we DON'T STOCK ANY CLOTHING!

CS Air Lite Jersey with full zip, with no Silicon or other upgrades. (For men and women)

Donna Forte Bella Jersey with full zip, with no other upgrades.

CS Pro Bib Shorts with Injection Grippers for men or women (but women don't typically like bib shorts)

Donna Forte Bella Short for women.

OK, go to the login here and make your orders!  THIS STORE FRONT CLOSES ON JUNE 22nd.

RACE REPORT - GHOST OF THE GRAVEL - About 113 intrepid riders left Sunday morning into the cold and wet. The Cat 4/5 pace was (as always for me), stupid fast as Jay and his fast group were determined to catch the 1/2/3 group that had left a minute before. A group of about 15 of us formed before we hit the first gravel/mud sector. We were a very Belgian looking group immediately. Through Water Valley where I saw Charles stopped with a mechanical which took him out of this day's epic. Next was the 55 Km gravel sector. After a gentlemanly pitstop we hit the long climbs. I said goodbye to this group and settled into my pace which included quick stops at both the 70Km and 90 Km stations. Was so looking forward to the long steady descent on Hwy 40 through the Hamlet of Waiprous, with that northwest wind blowing us - but as we rounded into that valley we were met with a strong east wind, driving rain and a touch of hail. This weather event passed as we turned to the Wildcat Hills and the last couple of gravel sectors to the finish.

Stats: 143.4 Km, with about 65 on gravel/dirt roads. 1750 metres of elevation. Trev won the Cat 1/2 with a SPRINT FINISH! - - - Yes, that was not a typo. See photo evidence. Jay Bachman won the Cat 5 with a fifth place overall by my calculation. Paul Anderson fifth Cat 5 - sporting the new gravel Argon 18 which of course he rode to the course and back home after for a few extra miles. Alan Oickle - seventh Cat 4. Dan Alboiu - eighth Cat 5. Paul Connolly, Scott Bratt, Mike Godfrey and myself all finished as well. A mixture of bikes were used with the consensus that the racing bike (most used 27's or 28's) was the faster choice. The gravel and dirt was soft with the rain and it was a tough slog. The racing bikes were in my observation clearly faster, and perhaps more stable, on the downhill sections (including the gravel) and on the pavement of course. It was a very well run event with plenty of marshalls - congrats to DeadGoat Racing! Rumour is for a new course next year.

STC WNS Starting this Week

Hey Everyone. The Speed Theory commitment to the Wednesday Night Series begins this June 17 and goes for five weeks. As you may know or not I'm taking over for Mike H as the race director this year. Of course it takes a team effort to pull this off, so please sign up to volunteer and/or bring race ideas/courses to the table as well. At this point I have a couple events lined up but we can certainly entertain alternatives especially new and innovative ones. The races will be posted on the WNS blog and there will be a volunteer link within each post. Thanks!

Reminder to sign up for The Ghost of the Gravel now... registration closes soon!

Registration for this new race closes in a few hours. Time to stop putting off signing up.

It would be great to see most Alberta cyclists support this event. Already Alberta cyclists lost the awesome Prairie-Roubaix because they didn't support it, are you going to let this happen to another event? It's time to step up and support race organizers that spend time to offer you events. Unique events like the Wildcat-Roubaix and this new Ghost of the Gravel are what it's all about! If you are hesitant because of the gravel component, then this is a perfect event to learn a new aspect of cycling you may end up really enjoying.

Register here.

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New awesome race announced! Ghost of the Gravel!

The Deadgoats have just announced what you will be doing next weekend! on June 14th.

View the Ghost of the Gravel race poster here.

I strongly encourage our members to register for this event. We need to support events like this and the idea to have a huge loop road race with challenging terrain is exactly what this province needs. If you don't think road bikers race on gravel, watch Stage 20 of this year's Giro!

Register here. I will be there for sure.

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STC crushing the new cycle tracks.

Darcy was quick to take advantage of the new 12th Ave. cycle tracks and became famous in reward for it. It's too bad he is in the same video as a dude doing the cycling community a ton of favours thinking he is too cool for school for helmets and bike lanes.

Video and article here.

The perfect street.

I had a quick stop on my way back from the Okanagan yesterday at my brother's house in Kelowna. I wanted him to try out a 1X11 Cross bike so he took mine for a spin. As we were bombing through the neighbourhoods I spotted the perfect cul-de-sac to raise a family!

Movie Night Friday, May 22, 7:00 pm - Marinoni: The Fire in the Frame

Hey all,

We're planning to check out the film Marinoni: The Fire in the Frame tomorrow night at the Globe. Showtime at 7:00 pm. All are welcome to come. The Globe is a little old school, as tickets are only available at the door.

Penticton Day 6 Ride Report

Another long day in the saddle. 16 of us headed out to Osoyoos, over Richter, the forever headwind rollers into Keremeos for a Subway meal. Then off to Green Mountain Road. Jay, Spencer, Suchaet and Rob conquered Apex while the rest of us headed straight down home. For the non-superheroes we did 164 Km with 1800 metres of elevation. Add another 24 Km and about 900 metres for the Apex crew. Chapeau!!!

Then dinner at Salty's for the whole group. A great week of training. Thanks Harely for organizing!

Penticton Day 7 Ride

Meet at Denny's at 10 am, we'll ride to Tickle Berry's for ice cream and then ride home!  Super sweet!

Harley B

Friday Night Dinner

Meet at Salty's on Lakeshore Driver for 7 pm. They don't take reservations so a couple of us are heading down early to try and get a spot for ~20 of us on the balcony. If that fails, we'll be inside somewhere!


http://www.saltysbeachhouse.com/

Canmore/Banff Mini-Training Camp: The Details - Saturday Cancelled

UPDATE: THE WEATHER LOOKS BLAH FOR SATURDAY: 10C WITH 60% CHANCE OF SHOWERS. UGH. I'M CANCELLING THE SATURDAY RIDE. MONDAY IS A GO, AND IF FOLKS ARE INTERESTED, WE CAN MODIFY THE ROUTE TO INCLUDE HILLS AND SOME DISTANCE.

Here are the details for the May Long Weekend Mini-Training Camp:

Meeting Point and Start Times: Rides will start at 9:30 am at the Travel Alberta Visitor Information Centre on Bow Valley Trail at the west end of Canmore, and we'll start each day by riding the Legacy Trail as a warm-up.

Saturday, May 16: Banff Hill Ride - Legacy Trail, Minnewanka Loop, Tunnel Mountain Road, Banff Hot Springs, and Mt. Norquay. The attached map is a little inaccurate on the distance, as it doesn't include the ride back to Canmore. If we're feeling good, repeats on Norquay is an an option. What's not an option is a stop at the Whitebark Cafe for a coffee. That's happening.

Sunday, May 17: No ride planned. Do your own thing, spend time with family, mow the lawn, whatever.

Monday, May 18: Lake Louise Century Ride - Exactly as it sounds: an out-and-back to Lake Louise on the Bow Valley Parkway. Lunch stop at Laggan's bakery in Lake Louise, and re-fuel if needed at Castle Mountain Junction on the way out and back, if needed.

This is a an un-supported ride, so bring all the clothing, food, and tools you'll need. Pace should be steady, but socialish, with some tempo work. If the weather turns awful, keep an eye on the blog for updates. It is the mountains, so be ready for anything.

PLEASE COMMENT IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING EITHER OF THE RIDES. IF IT'S JUST GOING TO BE ME OUT THERE, I MIGHT RECONSIDER... =)

Penticton Day Five - Part A (Mt. Baldy out and back)

Today's overcast and slightly cool early start was well attended with 23 people heading out towards Oliver for the Mt. Baldy climb, with an extended option of continuing on past the gravel to climb the backside of Anarchist and head down in to Osoyoos for lunch before heading back to Penticton. We met Trev in Oliver and he lead a handful and a half of guys out for the long ride. The rest of us did an out and back up Mt. Baldy with super strong finishes all around! We were thankful for the cool, overcast skies as we all put the hurt on to get up that climb.

Cheers all around as we finished at the gravel, lots of food and water, and a quick descent before heading back to Penticton for a much needed coffee and lunch.

Thursday Night Dinner

We have reservations for Thursday evening at 6:30 at Bad Tattoo (169 Estabrook Ave). The reservation is under Speed Theory. Check out the menu and brews at: http://www.badtattoobrewing.com

Wednesday Night Dinner

We have reservations for the Hillside Winery for 5:00ish.  Hillside is at 1350 Naramata Rd.

Hope to see everyone there!

Harley B
403-880-7695

Penticton Day 3 Report

Anarchist... The fear was in the crew, some were puking even before it was ultimately conquered:

Hey Andrew, you're supposed to do that at the top!

Harley led about 20 of us out today. Another beautiful day later cooled with cloud cover - perfect cycling weather. Up Anarchist with Jay crushing all. Followed by lunch at the "Best Timmies in Canada" Fast cruise back to Penticton with Jenn calling the monster session over the last stretch. 172Km, 2000 metres of elevation.

Smiles all around after 160K! Thanks to Harley for great organization!

PS - Klaus - remember your water next ride.

WNS Series Starts Tomorrow!

The Wednesday Night Series kicks off tomorrow with the Woodland ITT. All the details can be found over at the C4 Wednesday Night Series blog. To participate, you must be an STC member AND purchase a $35.00 secondary-level club membership through Crankmasters at www.calgarycycling.com. 15 races for $35.00 is a pretty good deal.

Penticton Day 2 Report

Another beautiful day for riding! 19 of us today. Hit The Wall, White Lake Road to Green Mountain Road and home. 100 Km and 1300 metres. The boys considered Apex, but decided to save it for an upcoming day. Anarchist awaits tomorrow...

Penticton Day One

Day one started with lots of sun, a high of around 27C, light breezes, and 14 folks joining us for the first 100+ kilometers of what looks to be a fantastic week. We had a couple of good pushes by a few folks during the ride through Oliver, Area 51, and OK Falls, but everyone looked great and finished strong. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Penticton Dinner Plans - Nights 1, 2 & 3

Let's try to get together to eat as a group a few times in the evening this week so we can share battle stories! No obligation to attend, but if you'd like to join us, aim to be there around 6:30 pm. We may adjust this on longer race days, I'll post here if so.

Sunday, May 10:
Isshun Sushi

http://www.isshinsushi.ca/

102 - 151 Front Street

 

Monday, May 11:

Pasta Factory
http://thepastafactory.ca/

236 Martin Street

 

Tuesday, May 12:

Earls Kitchen and Bar

https://earls.ca/locations/penticton

1848 Main St

 

I'll post for the rest of the week over the next few days.

Penticton Day 6

May 15th, Day 6 9:00 am:

The 2nd epic day at 180 km.  Did you know B.C. also hosts the best Subway on the continent?!?!?!  Well it does, in a little place called Keremeos!!!  Super sweet!  This day we will ride the Iron Man Loop and Apex.  Correct!!! 2 major climbs again!  I know eh!  We ride out to Oliver for our 1st pit stop, 2nd pit stop in Osoyoos.  We leave Osoyoos ascending Ritcher Pass followed by lunch in Keremeos.  After lunch we continue up highway 3A then turn left up Green Mountain Rd.  We will regroup at the Apex Turn off.  4th stop is involuntary at the top of Apex where you will have a conversation with your-self about your true intellect.....you will loose this conversation.  :(    But hey, then you get to go home!
Day 6 ride here.

Penticton Day 5 Rides

May 14th, Day 5 8:00 am:

This is the first of the epic days, Mount Baldy!!!  There are 2 routes for this day, one up and over Mt Baldy and and one to the gravel.  Everyone rides out to Oliver together where we can pick up more water and have a quick bite.

The "to the gravel" route is 127 km as is as it sounds.  You ascend Mt Baldy until the road turns to gravel.  You then descend and continue on to Osoyoos and ascend Anarchist and meet the other group head on.  You may continue all the way up to the Sasquatch if you like.  We will regroup and have lunch again at the Timmies in Osoyoos.  After lunch we will return to OK falls via the highway then turn right onto Eastside Rd to return to Penticton.
Day 5 ride option 1 here.

The full route is truly an epic ride at 195 km with lots of gravel.  There are is no food or water between Oliver and Osoyoos so be sure to stalk up.  You will ride up and over Mt Baldy and then up and over Anarchist followed by a lunch stop again at best tasting Timmies in the whole world!!!  Yeah baby!  You then ride back to Pentiction on the same route as the shorter loop.  There is a good chance you'll forget your name on this route so maybe write it down somewhere, but don't worry, it will be Fun!!!!
Day 5 ride option 2 here.

Penticton Day 4 Rest Day

May 13th, Day 4 9:30 am:

This is will be the rest day at 72 km.  We will ride out to Summer Land and continue on to Camp Boyle.  We the return back to Summer Land and stop for a coffee and a treat.  (If someone can remind me of the name of the coffee that would be great!)  We then ride back to Penticton and meet up yet again for more treats at the Bench!  Sweet!  There is no real climb and very little elevation gain on this ride plus the pace will be casual.
Day 4 ride here.

Penticton Day 3

May 12th, Day 3 8:30 am:

This is the first long day.  We will again stop in Oliver for food and water then continue on to Osoyoos.  There will be no stop for food in Osoyoos before Anarchist.  The climb up Anarchist will end at the Sasquatch as always.  We then descend back to Osoyoos where we stop for a full lunch at the Timmies!!! Best Timmies in all of Canada, especially if it hot out! ;)  After Tim Hortons we will ride back to Penticton the same way we road out.
Day 3 ride here.

Penticton Day 2.

May 11th, Day 2 9:00 am:

A little harder and slightly shorter at 99 km.  We will start with "The Wall" then up to White Lake Rd with a stop at the end of White Lake Rd for food, water and facilities.  We will then ride up Green Mountain Rd then down to Penticton.
Day 2 ride here.

Penticton Day 1 May 10th Ride!!

Sorry for late post everyone, here are the details.

All rides start in the Denny's parking lot on Burnaby Ave. 

Day 1 9:30 am:  A shorter day at 103 km to help everyone get warmed up.  We will make a quick stop in Oliver for water, food and facilities.  Then continue up to area 51 and home through OK Falls.
Day 1 ride here.

Banff/Canmore May Long Weekend Mini Training Camp?

Hey all,

Circumstances prevent us from heading to Penticton this year. For others who also can't make it to BC this year, any interest in a May Long Weekend (May 16-18) mini camp in the Banff/Canmore area? Rides could include the Minnewanka Loop, Norquay climb, 1A Parkway, Tunnel Mountain, etc, etc.

Comment below, and if there's enough interest, I'll  post some rides.

P.S. If you've sitting on the fence about Penticton, GO TO PENTICTON. Don't skip Penticton to come on this instead. Seriously. Vineyards, warm temps, quiet roads,big climbs...Just do it.

Penticton Training Camp Row Call.

Good Day All,

Looking to get a list of all who are attending the Penticton Training Camp this year!  First 3 days of riding will be posted soon so stay tuned.

Cheers,

Harley B

Velocity Stage Race (May 23-24) Registration Now Open

Alright! The Velocity Stage Race is coming up. It is the first ABA road event of a rather slim road racing season, so let's make it count.

This year's edition features a 7 km Individual Time Trial on Saturday morning, followed by the Road Race on Saturday afternoon - both East of Edmonton. Sunday morning is the Criterium at the Edmonton Research Park in South Edmonton, so you can be back in Calgary for Sunday dinner. The ITT and RR courses are mostly flat with some tree protection from the inevitable crosswinds.

As with all stage races, you need to complete the previous stage in order to start the next one. Not sure if that means you need to complete the *entire* RR in order to start the CR, or at least 50% of it.

The link to the Technical Guide is here: Velocity SR Tech Guide

Remember, the Training Forum is where all the action is!

It is great to see all the action in the Training Forum and special thank you's to Marie for hosting the Women's Skills Night and Skill Ride this week, and as always to Harley for hosting the Thursday night Skills rides.  I see Carl has already got the Wheelers ride going, hopefully there was an OK turn out.

Even if you are new to the club, don't hesitate to post a ride, just state the intention, 'Social No-Drop Ride', or 'Training Tempo Ride', or 'Hammer', or 'Coffee Shop Tour', or whatever, but just post it! Having someone to ride with is always a better option than riding alone.

Here is the direct link to the Training Forum.

A lot of the club will be out in Penticton next week, so it is up to the ones left behind to keep up the Training Forum. Harley, Ernie, Marie will all be in Penticton, so get on it!

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Coulee Cruiser Row Call!!

Next weekend is the Coulee Cruiser mountain bike race in Lethbridge.  I have never done this race but I have only heard good things about it.  All the detail can be found here: 

http://www.albertabicycle.ab.ca/events

Who's in?

Wildcat Roubaix a big success! (Updated with more pictures)

It was great to see 70+ cyclists out for the race put on by SPAN Cycling Club this morning. STC was super well represented with Jay, Andres, Suchaet, Nelson, Dan, Keith, Scott, Harley, Emily, and I. That's over 14% STC, pretty awesome.

Thank you to Dallas for spearheading this, and for SPAN on backing him up. Great Spring Classic!

Bill Quinney has posted quite a few pictures of the racing on his Facebook page here.

Ken Anderson has posted a great gallery as well here.

Next stop is the Penticton STC Training Camp!

Club Helmets and Shoes.

I asked the store if we could put out a 'recommended' helmet and shoes for the club so that if anyone does need new shoes or helmets they know a good one that matches the kit and it is for a fair price. The store will give club members the following prices.

Ian has suggested that the club go with:

the Kask Mojito in Black and Red. $185.
or the Bell Volt in Black and Red.  $145.

This way if slowly over the years we all replace our helmets, we have ones that match our kit.

For the shoes, he suggested

the Diadora Tornado $150
or the Sidi Genius 5  $225

If you need new shoes or a helmet, just go in and talk to Ian and he'll let you try on the stuff.

STC Clothing order is here!

The box came with all the STC clothes! It is all sorted and in bags with your names on it. If you ordered clothing this year, you can come pick it up. I have it in a box at the front of The Engine Room, which is my cycling studio at the back of Speed Theory. Come in any time the store is open and grab your clothing.

Trev

WildCat Roubiax - Time to Sign Up

There are only about 8 people signed up for this event.  Span needs a lot me people in order to hold this event so if you want to enjoy this race please sign up soon or the race will be cancelled.  :(

Go to the events page on the ABA website.  Scroll down till you see the WildCat Roubiax and click on the zone 4 link.  That is it. 

Cheers,

Harley B

WildCat Roubiax April 25th!!

Looking for a row count for the WildCat Roubiax.  This is a great preseason race to help you get into shape!!  Put your name on the list and lets plan a warm up ride together.

Thurs Night Skills In Training Forum

Good Day Everyone,

There is a new posting for the Thursday Night Skills in the training forum.

Cheers,

Harley B

Done. Log it! The Tombstone 600.

Just a quick update: I hope Stephen can write a little more soon.

The three of us on Day 2 around 450km in on Gates Pass.

Stephen, Paul, and I completed the Tombstone 600km Brevet this evening. It was actually 614km, and let me tell you, after 600km, that 14km hurt the head!

The weather was warm, but the hellacious winds were a massive problem on the day. The course distance is large enough, that there were extremely long sections in one direction. At one point in the ride, we had 102km of block headwinds where it was too loud to yell to each other. 6 hours in the small ring in concert level white noise is tough mentally, let me tell you!  Anyway, we completed 412km on the first, day, but we were pretty beat up by the extra 4 hours over the expected completion time. We got a shower, some food, and some sleep, then bagged the last 202km today, when it was much more favourable weather.

A brevet is unlike a race in that it is simply an event you partake in and try to complete the ride as strongly as you can. We all finished and still like cycling, so that is a win in our books.

Hopefully more to come from Stephen!

Garmin file here.

Stephen and Trev riding into the Sunset close to Sonoita about 320km in.

Trev

Penticton

Hey everyone!

It is one month until the Penticton camp!  If you have not booked accommodations yet you should do so asap.

Also, a reminder now is the time to start getting out for lots of rides in preparation if you have not yet done so.  If you cannot get out for longer (2.5+ hours) then get out for as many little rides as possible.  The training forum is a great tool to post or join rides so be sure to check there frequently.

If you have any questions don't be shy to ask.

Cheers,

Harley B
403-880-7695

First Thursday Night Skills Night This Thursday, April 9th

Good Day,

Please check the training forum for the posting of the 1st Thursday night skills night.

Cheers,

Harley B

Throwback Thursday: 2009 Mt. Norquay Hill Climb

After hearing the news about Banff Bike Fest being cancelled, I thought about other races that have been swept away by the sands of time. For three years the Mt. Norquay Hill Climb was THE focus race for me and, quite frankly, the only race I really cared about. Five kms of glorious, windy switchbacks with a nice flat to finish off the pain and, for the 2009 edition, fresh pavement with nary a crack in it. Oh, this day held potential for some fast times.

The 2009 edition was to be the last, after Parks Canada clamped down on using the road for competitions. Perhaps having the race on September 13 brought bad luck? Whenever we drive the TCH through Banff, I always find myself glancing up the Norquay road, thinking about old times, and reminding my wife that I had some ok results at that race. Strangely enough, I've never done this climb since that 2009 race.

Mt. Norquay Hill Climb Blog
2009 Results (A painful reminder that I used to be fast(ish). The year before was pretty good, too.)

(Photo: C. Mayne, via the Mt. Norquay Hill Climb blog)

Let's Go See Adam and the CPO!

Update: Last chance! I'll be calling the CPO tomorrow morning to make arrangements.

STC folks,

On Friday, April 10, our own Adam Zinatelli is featured as the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra performs Shostakovich's Piano Concerto #1. Yes, it's a piano piece, but the trumpet is also kind of a big deal in this one, and Adam will be front and centre with the piano. Also on the program is Stravinsky's famous Firebird Suite. 

I think this would be a great group activity for STC folks and their significant others. We support one of our own and support a great music organization. Please let me know if you are interested and for how many tickets you will need by Monday, March 30 and I'll do the leg work with the CPO. Regular price tickets start at $45.00, but there is a group discount for groups of 10+. 

Here's the full program

Throwback Thursday: William "Torchy" Peden

Victoria, BC has produced some world-class cyclists, including Roland Green and Ryder Hesjedal. But, probably the most famous and most successful Victorian cyclist is William "Torchy" Peden. Peden dominated the six-day track circuit between 1929 and 1948, winning 36 of the 148 races he entered. In 1932, he set a record for the mile at 73.5 mph (under 50 seconds), motor paced behind a car.

Biography and full results at 6dayracing.ca
Biography at Canada's Sports of Fame

Photo: 6dayracing.ca

Throwback Thursday: The Canadian Tire National Cycling Series

The Tour of Alberta is an awesome event, but did you know that back in the early 1990s there was a national cycling series sponsored by Canadian Tire that crisscrossed the country, drawing a mix of top North American professionals and elite amateurs? Pro bike racing visited places like Brandon, Manitoba and Cape Breton Island. Take a gander at this highlight package from the 1992 series, featuring teams like the famed Coors Light Cycling Team, Evian, and Calgary's own Cyclemiesters.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Planning Rides? -- Training Ride Forum

New (and veteran) STC Members,

I've been getting some questions about scheduled club rides. Now that the riding season is on us, here's some tips and hints for setting up rides with fellow STC members.

- Because we're spread all over the city and a lot of us have family responsibilities and other life stuff, we've found that a "set" weekly club ride doesn't serve everyone well. So...

- Use the Training Ride Forum above to set up up rides. Get into the habit of checking the Forum, post rides in the Forum, and don't get discouraged if some of the rides are small in numbers. Life happens: people have schedules and families. It's nothing personal.

- A lot of the posted rides start up in the NW at the Bearspaw Lions Club on Nagway Road. We've found that it's easy to get to for most people, and the Club is cool with people parking in the lot (as far as we know).

- A lot of people who live in the south meet at 22X and 37 Ave. There's a little parking lot there, and you can head straight south on the Road to Nepal.

- When posting, make sure to give the start time, route, and if the ride is drop or no-drop.

- Don't forget about the Wheeler's Ride. It's a weekly inter-club Saturday morning fast ride welcome to all. You are expected to know the route, since it is a drop ride.

Sunday Ride

Sunday March 8th
No Drop
Leave from Kings Church at noon

Social ride.  Second group ride of the year.
Airport loop - about 50km-ish (I can't remember exactly)
Dress for the weather!


{UPDATE}   YOU MUST BE A CURRENT MEMBER OF THE CLUB TO JOIN THIS RIDE. IT IS TIME TO SIGN UP!

Training Ride - Saturday, March 7, 11:30 am

Let's get this party started. A ride for tomorrow has just been posted over in the Training Ride Forum.

Place: Bearspaw Lion's Club on Nagway Road:
Route:  TBD
Length: About 2.5 hours at social pace

Both 'cross and road bikes welcome. Harley requests that those on road bikes show mercy on those riding 'cross bikes. =)

{UPDATE}   YOU MUST BE A CURRENT MEMBER OF THE CLUB TO JOIN THIS RIDE. IT IS TIME TO SIGN UP!

...and we have a new WNS Race Director!!

A big thank you to Alan Oickle for stepping up and offering to be the new RD of our 5 WNS events!

Thank you very much Alan!  We look forward to seeing what you come up with.

If there is another club member out there that was considering doing this as well, you help is always appreciated, so don't hesitate to get a hold of Darcy or I.

.

Wednesday Night Series... race director needed.

Club, with Mike's move to Dallas, we have lost a very active, long standing, and involved club member. One thing Mike did the last couple years was head up our club's commitment to hosting 5 of the 15 Wednesday Night Series events. It would be great if someone took this over, so the series continues smoothly and as awesome as ever.

What would be required:

Not a huge amount of time commitment. Essentially, you need to be around for 5 Wednesday evenings and come up with a few fun courses or races that you would have liked to compete in yourself. You will have lots of help with course ideas from guys like Darcy, Tom, Ernie, and Dennis who have raced this series in the past and know what works. The races are pretty casual in terms of their time commitment. If you decide you would like to host a 10mile TT say on one of the Wednesdays, you simply post the route and the meeting point on the WNS site on Monday night with the request for how many volunteers you'll need (typically two). Then on Wednesday afternoon (around 2pm) you look at the weather forecast and ensure there are no tornado's rolling into town. If the weather is suspect, you post a 'its a go' or 'its a NO go' post, at your discretion, and everyone will respect your decision. Then you show up with a few sheets of paper and your stop watch on your phone. You organize your volunteers and start the event. Everyone thanks you after and you head home smiling that you contributed to Alberta Cycling.

If you are intimidated with coming up with 5 events, don't be. You will have lots of help and suggestions. We just need someone to say they will take the lead on this.

The Crankies will do the first set of 5 I believe, we typically do the second set, and then hopefully another club will step up to host the next set of 5.

Let Darcy or I know if you would like to help.

Thank you,

Trev

Sebring 24 hour bike race report

I’m not sure exactly why I came back to Sebring, Florida to do the 24 hour race again, after last year I thought maybe I would come back and just do the 12 hour. Anyway I signed up for it early in the year and tried to get in a few long rides to get ready. Last year my biggest problem was trying to stay warm during the chilly central Florida night. Nothing that 5 layers couldn’t solve and paying better attention to hydration and electrolytes.

Race day started at 6:30 AM and about 5 degrees C. Light to moderate wind from the north. It was sunny all day so the 15 degrees C seemed warm enough.

I entered the 24 hour draft legal race, the other race was the RAAM qualifier with no drafting. Most of the fast guys entered the RAAM qualifier. 400 miles in 24 hours needed to qualify.

I managed to get into a nice pack of about 10 riders for the outbound 50 miles headed north into the wind. I lost the pack at the 50 mile aid station and spent the rest of the day solo. 

Finished up the first 100 miles in about 5:25. Then onto the “long loop” around Sebring, 8 times 11 miles and then onto the race track just before 6:30 PM. NASCAR bought the track last year, nice guys, they continue to donate the track once a year for the bike race. Silverstone in England charged 100,000 something for a fondo over there.

Lots of loops around Sebring race track (42 total) and into the night, got a bit cold again and the layers went on. At 19 hours into the race I stopped in the pits to see the timing print outs. I was surprised to see I was 15 miles behind the leader and 25 miles ahead of the third guy. At that point I thought I would just go back out there and ride as hard as I could for a few hours to see if I could catch him. I dropped back into the pits 2 hours later and saw I was on the same lap as the leader so I had to go back out and find him and pass him. Never found him and found out when I crossed the finish line that he had dropped out of the race a few hours back. So I logged 352 miles, 50 miles ahead of 2^nd place. Here is the Strava file.

In the RAAM qualifier, Marko Baloh had clocked a new Sebring record of about 520 miles beating the old record by 18 miles. It is very impressive to see those guys riding in time trial mode, not stopping, and getting bottle hand offs for 24 hours.

Another good lesson is to always use a rental car for support for a 24 hour race. What a disaster zone! Good luck Enterprise cleaning that out. 
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