Sunday, January 8 Ride

Seven of us got out today for a ride in brilliant conditions. We had a brief stop in Cochrane to rehydrate and cool down. Everyone is showing good signs of fitness, we had a few sprints, hill climbs, time trial efforts and brief periods of getting dropped (me). Thanks Harley for getting us out. Keep your eyes on the training ride forum, if this weather holds up we will be out again next week.

Roads are in good shape. The highlight of the day had to be the weather, the moose sighting came in as a close second. 

200KM Brevet - got'r done

See my previous post, only Paul and Trev took me up on my offer to get in a few base miles (sort of). We arrived in Tucson Wednesday night and although the focus was the 200 km event on Saturday, Trev immediately felt it would be a good idea to rest our legs by riding up Mount Lemmon on Thursday. Paul and I being slightly more mature opted to only go to the 14 mile mark (Windy Point) while Trev, being less mature and more excitable, headed up to the top, a 92 km day for Paul and I, 112 km day for Trev. Of course the next day, Friday, we would recover and get dialed in for Saturday. After recovering by riding 113 km we were well rested for Saturday.

We headed up to Case Grande Friday night where the ride started and were ready to roll with 30 other brave soles at 7:30AM Saturday morning. As usual the ride was well organized and supported by the AZ Randonneurs with a special big thanks to Susan Plonsky. This was a fairly flat course, only 1580 vertical feet of climbing, the weather was outstanding, the roads quiet. The pace was fast over the first 70 km then it got really fast. We covered the 204km in 5:58 with a moving average of 35 km/hour. Trev and a guy named Scott laid down long hard pulls, Paul was right in the mix and I suffered to stay in the game. By the time we rolled into the finish there were the three of us and Scott left of the group. I can only say that I did much better post ride as Trev could barley get through dinner and was hammered on two margaritas. Paul had a lot of gas. A few games got played to drop an unsafe rider but otherwise it was a full on grindfest, I mean regular base mile ride.

Stephen

Rides this weekend.

Just wanted to let everyone know that there are a few rides posted on the training forum for this weekend. Check them out and hopefully everyone enjoys the weather this weekend!

Harley

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I wanted to take a moment to alert all the Speed Theory team members about a crazy phenomenon that is sweeping Calgary right now. This will be of particular importance to team members who are currently doing some cross training at a gym.

There I was at my facility and the entire place was packed, weights, treadmills, ellipticals, zumba class (never attended, but don't mind watching), spinning class, pool everywhere. And overwhelmingly with people I have never seen before (bear in mind I am at this gym minimum 3 times a week, year round).

At first I thought maybe Wednesday was a stat I had missed. The whole experience was puzzling so I decided to do some research. According to Wikipedia (so it must be factual) a lot of people make "New Year's Resolutions." Apparently vast numbers of people make plans to change their lives and set January 1st as an arbitrary start date. I guess something along the lines of "New Year, New You" (as some of you know I work in marketing, I have heard that slogan before, I now know what it really means).

Yes, I understand for you "locked in" focused athletes who train year round this may seem odd. But trust me it is going on.

While I wholeheartedly and with every fibre of my being support anyone making positive healthy changes in their life on as big or small as scale as they choose, sadly the research doesn't support the "resolution" thing. At least 35% of all resolutions will be broken by months end and only 23% of all resolutions are kept (roughly 80% failure rate).

So the bad news is your new friends at the gym won't be there long (as in don't count of forming a life long bond). The good news is in about 10 days you will notice the crowds thinning out and by mid February the gym will look just like it does the rest of the year.

Please let me know if this trend is happening at your gym.

PS my resolution is to see you at the AGM!

With this crazy awesome weather....

...many of us are getting outside to ride! Remember your ABA, STC, and UCI license expired on Dec. 31st 2011.

To be covered by insurance on your training rides, they have to be 'Club Training Rides'. So post them in the Training Ride Forum or on the website and they become official. You also have to be a current STC member.

Here is the link to register for your 2012 STC membership.

Here is the link to register for your ABA race licence.

If you want to offset the two costs a bit, I have paid the ABA our 'club' dues which (along with your STC membership) will cover you on all official training rides. So get your STC membership now, and then your ABA license closer to Prairie-Roubaix (April) when racing starts.

ANNUAL AGM IS JANUARY 19th !! Please plan to attend!!

If you know of any riders that have expressed interest in our club or 'a cycling club', please forward them this post and invite them to the AGM. They can meet our club members and start getting to know us. If you are reading this and are a potential club member, come to the AGM and mingle with current members over free pizza and beer (with a DD).

Potential Team Sponsors?

We have decided to look into adding the logo of corporate entities onto our jersey which will go DIRECTLY into subsidizing race/training kit for all our members (all equally). If you work for / own a company that would like to be represented please direct them toward me.

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Ride tomorrow the 3rd

I've had too much turkey as you can see. OK, there was some chocolate involved as well to get to this state.

I got out for 60K today and it was awesome. No frozen toes or numb hands at all. Plan to do another ride tomorrow. Departure time is not firmed up yet but will be around noon or 1:00. Social ride or hammer, whatever you want. Expect at least 1 - 2 hours or around 40km. I'm a little slower with all this extra weight.

Stay posted for start time.

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a great time last night, a good Christmas, and some great holidays.

Today I volunteered for Kimberley/Cranbrook's traditional 'Fell' Run put on by Malcolm Sargent in Wycliff (which is right in between the two towns). I was perched on the first of two peaks counting runners to ensure no one was lost. Marilyn raced along with teammates Jay and Cathy Rankin who are staying in Kimberly.

Here is a shot of the 16 racers who braved the amazing backdrop of Mount Fisher and a few hangovers to take part in today's event.

The next shot is from a head cam just coming into an aid station where mulled wine is forced upon you. It's a rule to have at least 1 cup. That's just how we roll in Cranbrook.

SAVE THE DATE !! Jan. 19th is the night of our AGM. It would be great to have all club members, and POTENTIAL club members there. We will go over our successful 2011 and ways on how to improve for 2012. Please come, enjoy the free pizza and beer, and hang out. I will post a rough idea of what you can expect soon but for now... SAVE THE DATE !!

2012 Current Members

27 Women
Allison Morley
Ana Grubor
Andrea Hansen
Brenda Guebert
Cate Hydeman
Cindy Luntley
Cheryl Oga
Emily Jobson
Heather Buxton
Jenn Joss (A)
Jennifer Mansell
Lara Wegleitner
Lesley Matthews
Lisa Isley
Marcy Kimpton
Marie Michalski
Marilyn Taylor (A)
Meghan Brown
Rebecca Morley
Sam Stuart
Sarah Foster
Shelley Bender
Tanya Saloman (A)
Tessa Pagalilauan
Teri Majer
Tomo Tsuchida
Wendy Kimmel

95 Guys
Adam Zinatelli
Alan Oickle
Andrea Battiston (3)
Andres Perdomo
Aryeh Rosenberg
Benn Edwards
Bob Woodward
Brad Wolff
Brent Seefried
Brent Thumlert
Brian Feick
Carl Lapointe
Carl Miiller (4)
Carlos Salas (4)
Charles Bougie (2)
Chris Hooper (3)
Chuck Johnstone
Corran Hockey
Dan Alboiu
Dan 'Slayer' Sigouin (4)
Darcy Gullacher (4)
Darryl Parry (4)
Daryl Beatty
Darshan Dhillon
Dave Holmes (2)
Dave Pederson
Dave Robertson
David Baker
Dennis Bland (2)
Derek Jobson (4)
Doug Jamieson
Erik Cramer
Ernie Cosman
Frank Cosman
Frank Woolstencroft (2)
Greg Soltys
Harley Borlee (2)
Henrik Kristensen
Ian Watts (4)
Isaac Beall (3)
James Szarko
Jared Green (2)
Jason Buijs (4)
Jay Rankin
Jeremie Greene
Jeremy Luntley
John Olsen
Keith Ingstrup
Kevin Aitken
Kevin Stenner
Kyle Marcotte (2)
Lampros Antonio
Larry Welch (4)
Lawrence Zalasky
Mark Enter (2)
Mark Michalski
Matthew Joss (3)
Matthew Hanrahan
Matthew Mendes
Michael Godfrey (4)
Michael Rannelli
Michael Waldhuber (4)
Mike Healy
Nick Corcoran
Patrick Allan (4)
Patrick Brick
Paul Rosenburg (4)
Paul Connolly
Paul Valenti
Peter Doig (4)
Peter McCrory
Peter Regier
Reinier Paauwe
Rick Courtney (4)
Rob Lukacs (3)
Rob Ordman
Rob Woolley
Ryan Kennedy
Ryan Murray (3)
Scott Bratt
Scott Mcgeachy
Sean Fournier
Simon Forman
Simon Spanswick
Stephen Kenny (4)
Steve Waters
Stuart Black (4)
Suchaet Bhardwaj
Thomas Yip (2)
Tom Kenny
Trev Williams (2)
Waleed Al-Rabeh

Tuesday Outdoor Ride

Team,

I hope everyone is doing well so far this Christmas season. I am super excited about the 2012 season and another great year with Speed Theory. 2012 is the year of the triathlon for me. I am very excited about competing at Ironman Coeur d'Alene and then racing the World Championships in the fall with Michael Godfrey in Aukland New Zealand. This is going to be a freaking epic year!!!

Tomorrow, December 27, is my birthday and I'm planning to celebrate it by riding outdoors. I'm thinking about heading out around 1:00pm. I am willing to drive somewhere to meet others that are off from work and willing to head outside for a ride if necessary. I saw quite a few cyclists on the paths on Saturday when I was out running, so that is an option. You don't have to bring me presents unless it is a Blue Helix, medium tall wetsuit, or a super fast rear disc. New shoes would be awesome too!

If there is anyone interested in coming out, let me know. I can be reached by email at echeloncad@gmail.com or cell at 403-607-4523.

Have a great break and have a safe new year.

slayer dan

Merry Christmas, Speed Theorists!

Fellow Speed Theorists (and all the other ABA/ATA members that read our blog),

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Pack in all the Christmas baking you can this week: January 1st means off-season is officially over. Stay tuned to the blog for a Speed Theory x-country ski day in the new year.

Darcy "Finally in Cat 4" Gullacher

RR speedsuits

I'm seeing a lot of pros wearing these now... essentially skinsuits with pockets:

http://www.slipstreamsports.com/2011/04/22/castellis-new-road-race-speedsuit-showcased-in-roubaix-victory

Champion System now has a "distance skinsuit" in short and long sleeve versions:

http://champ-sys.ca/custom/cycling/skinsuits/custom-distance-short-sleeve-skinsuit.html

What does everyone think? Do we want to make it part of our club kit?

Silver Springs XC video

Teammates Melody Switzer and Marilyn ran with cameras last weekend, as did Simon's 13 year old daughter Sarah. Cat Brown's (now Cat Young's) husband Mike wore my fourth camera and had a solid race.

The race route followed the trails just west of the traditional 'Side Show Bob' and included a lot of the trails you would have ridden if you own a MTN bike in Calgary. This was the hardest race of the series in terms of its relentlessness.

Shelley Bender had a breakthrough race and Brad Barron (of the Crankys) continues to improve. It was great to see Mark Fewster (formerly of Gary Alexander's TRS Cycling) back in the action and local triathlete Cam Ellum make an appearance as well.

Here is the link to the video.

Trev

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Tucson 200KM Brevet, base Miles, sort of !

A few of you know that Trev and a few of the Speed Theory team members have participated in a cycling sport that you hear my brother Tom and I talk about called Randonneuring. For the past couple of years a number of us have headed down to Arizona to participate in a few of their events and this year is no different. Trev, Paul and a perhaps a few Rando guys are heading down to the 200KM event on January 7th. I think a few more of the team members should join us this year so I'm extending an invitation. It's a way less crazy sport than Ironman and contrary to Trev's approach to the sport it is not a race. You can get event details and a run down on the sport on the Arizona Randonneur WEB site. We usually let Trev tire himself out the day before the event so he drops below super-human on the bike. For team members interested in hanging out in Tucson until the following Thursday your welcome to stay at my home.

The only word of caution for those wanting to ride together; the Canadians have developed a reputation for coming down and hitting this event hard so if you want to hang with Trev's group count on a 28-30km/hr pace while riding. Of course you can ride at whatever pace you want, you have 13 hours to finish the event. For those staying on we will re-group back in Tucson. Others may choose to head up to Phoenix if they're flying out on the Sunday.

If your interested let me know and will sort details out.

Lockie, I'm hoping to drag you out from the east for a third kick at your favourite event:)

Stephen Kenny

AKA Relentless

Bike Light

I bought this light a few weeks ago and it’s so crazy bright I want to buy a second one for my helmet. http://spokegrenade.com/

It’s rated at 1000 lumins which is seriously bright. At MEC you can buy a 1000 lumin light for $400.00 or a 1400 lumin light for $770.00. This baby was only $110.00.

The problem is they don’t sell them in Canada. I had mine delivered to my brothers place in Tucson and it finally made it to me here. I emailed the company and they’ll send me one (after some begging and pleading). I can get a 10% discount if I order 10 or more.

The light is not quite a spot light but it’s not really broad. They claim 3hrs on full, 5 hours on medium and 8 hours on low. I suspect medium will be fine for most road riding, high for mountain biking. Even low is pretty bright.
I have not had it very long so the jury is out on the long term durability, however, it gets good reviews so confidence is high.

Let me know if you want one. So far I have two on the list. I’ll put the order in by Friday so get back to me quickly if you want one. If I can get 10 then they would be around $100.00 plus some shipping. tom(at)mapitfirst(dot)com

Tom