2008 Perogy XC a Huge Success!

Provided by Alberta MTB Racing

The second stop on the Alberta MTB Cup series landed in Edmonton Alberta for the inaugural edition of the Perogy XC presented by United Cycle. Terwillegar Park played host as 120 of Alberta’s finest racers competed in favorable Edmonton spring weather.

One half of the event promotion team, Evan Sherman highlighted what the race was all about. “We just wanted to organize a MTB race that provided a fun, well marked course with fast and accurate results. And it’s that much better if we have a little fun while were at it.” Fun was definitely had by all.

Both the Elite Men’s and Women’s races played out the same as both Tim Heemskerk (United Cycle) and Mical Dyck (Trek) lead their respective races from start to finish in dominating fashion. 2nd place in the Elite men’s field was a back and forth battle with Shaun Bunnin (Bicisport) and Dallas Morris (Team H&R Block). The pair was never separated by more than a 10 second gap over the complete 2+ hour race.

The most exciting heat of the day was the Expert Men category where it was a story of attrition as Bruce Penner (United Cycle) turned down the suck and put the pedal to the medal, slowly shedding the lead group of five down to two for the final lap. Penner narrowly out sprinted Devin Erfle (Deatgoat) to take the win.

The morning start saw the day’s largest field - Sport Men tackle 3 laps of the flowing 7 km course. The winner of the Sport Men race was Eckehart Marenholtz (Pedalhead Racing). In a display of horsepower, Jon Benskin (Hardcore), winner of the Novice Men race, caught and passed the Sport Men’s entire field that started 2 minutes in front.

The day’s other winners were:
Sport Women - Kelly Hall (Juventus)
Novice Women - Krystyn Ong (Juventus)
Expert Women - Nicole Muzechka (Terrascape)
Youth Novice Women - Zoe Dahl (Cyclemeisters/Bow Cycle)
Youth Sport Women - Emily De Freitas (Bicisport)
Youth Novice Men - Samuel Beaudoin (Juventus)
Youth Sport Men - Felix Wilberg
Master Men - Peter Yez (Mud Sweat and Gears)

The highlight of the day was definitely the perogies. 450 were boiled and fried, topped with sour cream and bacon bits, and served to racers and spectators alike. Alberta’s own Technical Director Roddi Lega was on hand feeding racers perogies during the race. While winning the Elite Women’s race, Dyck also perfected the “no hand” perogy feed. Elite men’s winner, Tim Heemskerk also took one of the special feeds.

The Perogy XC Presented by United Cycle was a great race to kick off the MTB season in the Edmonton area. A big shout out goes to all the volunteers who made this race an excellent and memorable event for all.

Full results for the Perogy XC can be found [here].

The next stop for the Alberta MTB cup series is the All You Can Eat Bacon Buffet of Pain & Suffering on May 25, 2008. Bacon Race information can be found at albertamtbracing.googlepages.com/home.

For more information regarding Mountain Bike Racing Alberta please visit the Alberta Bicycle Association at www.albertabicycle.ab.ca.

Cycle for Wishes

This summer, Sky Mitchell, will be riding her bicycle from Victoria, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland to raise awareness and money for the Children’s Wish Foundation. The Children’s Wish Foundation works with the community to provide children living with high-risk, life threatening illnesses the opportunity to realize their most heartfelt wish.

Nathaniel, a grandson of Sky’s family friends, was diagnosed with a nasopharyngeal tumour when he was three years old. Upon diagnosis of this cancerous tumour in his nasal cavity, Nathaniel underwent extensive radiation and chemotherapy treatment. In January 2008, at the young age of four and a half, Nathaniel succumbed to the disease.

Three months prior to his passing, Nathaniel was granted a special wish by the Children’s Wish Foundation. Nathaniel, his parents and two older brothers were sent to Disney World for a week. Together, the family enjoyed sunny beaches, Disney characters and endless amusement rides. During such trying times, they were able to experience laughter and joy, a much needed relief from the stresses they had back home.

For a child whose wish is about to be granted, the pain and discomfort of the illness, and often harsh treatment regimes, somehow become more bearable. For many, the excitement of planning and anticipating their dream has a dramatic effect on their healing. These courageous youngsters often experience a renewed sense of energy and hope as they see a different kind of light at the end of the tunnel.

Sky Mitchell was born in Toronto and raised in Richmond Hill, Ontario but currently resides in Calgary, Alberta, where she works for Cadbury Adams. Since she was an adolescent, Sky has been passionate about riding her bicycle across Canada. She can think of nothing more meaningful than to give back to the community by dedicating this journey to The Children’s Wish Foundation.

Sky will be cycling from Victoria, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland. This 8,000 kilometre trek will take approximately two and a half months and will start in June. Currently, Sky is the only rider cycling the complete distance; however, there will be other cyclists and supporters joining her for various legs of the ride. Sky’s longtime friend, Tory Farr, will be driving the support vehicle for the entire duration of the ride.

Sky has secured sponsorship for the ride from Cadbury Adams. They are the renowned producers of many popular products such as Trident, Dentyne, Stride, Maynards Candy and the infamous Cadbury Chocolates. Curious Communications, a Calgary-based marketing company, has generously donated their time to create her website, www.crossccanadasky.com.

In addition, there will be various events along the way. Sky is currently working with the Talisman Centre in Calgary to organize a group ride from Banff to Calgary in order to involve local cycling enthusiasts. This ride will take place on Sunday, June 22nd and more detailed information will be posted on her website www.crosscanadasky.com.

For further information or if you are interested in joining Sky and Tory for a leg of the ride or sponsoring any part of the event please contact Sky at:
skymitchell@gmail.com or call (403) 978-6161.

Donations can be made online at www.crosscanadasky.com or a cheque made out to “Cross Canada Sky Mitchell” can be mailed to Suite 101, 3016 19th St. NE, Calgary, AB, T2E 6Y9.

This post was brought to you by:

Hardcore Fat Tire Tuesdays

Edmonton MTB Mid Week racing is back again for another year! Here’s the scoop:

What: MTB mid-week fun race series

Where: Terwillegar Park

Dates: Every Tuesday, May 13-July 8 (no race July 1)

Times:

Sign-On 6:30-7:00pm
Pre-Ride 6:45pm
Race 7:00-8:00pm
Prizes post-race

Cost: $25 for the entire series or $5 per race

Categories: 4, 3, 2 and 1 lap(s)

Who can race: ABA affiliated Club members

Need more info:

email: Karen - martinuk@ualberta.ca
phone: Hardcore Bikes 439-4599
in person: 100082-82 Whyte Avenue

This post was brought to you by:

Euro Beat w/ Spencer

So I have had a recent suggestion to take my weekly posts in a new direction. Instead of focusing on solely on what I am doing, I will try to explore the more general features of the European peloton as it surrounds me. Feedback, however, would be greatly appreciated and would help me find a solid topic base.
In the past as I have been detailing my schedule and racing, I have neglected to mention much about my team. I talked about its situation as a Division Nationale 1 team and what this entails, but not much else. I will take the opportunity now, to go into much more detail about the team.
Creusot Cyclisme, located in Le Creusot, is the only high level team in the town. Situated in the Bourgogne (or Burgundy in English) region, it is one of two DN1 level teams in this area. The other team, Sprinter Club Olympique Dijon (commonly known as SCO Dijon) is one of the best in France with a few riders, such as Jeremie Derangere, competing for the top amateur spot. The history of Creusot Cyclisme dates back to 1922 with the formation of La Pédale Sportive Creusotin. The club rose to prominence over the next 83 years becoming the top club in Bourgogne. In 2005 La Pédale Sportive Creusotin became Creusot Cyclisme and restructured with a focus on competition, development and organisation. In the past 3 years the team has continued to progress, furthering its position in the Coupe de France Clubs team classification.
The team has varying levels as do many teams in France. At the top level is the Category 1 team which competes in primarily in Elite National races and high level regional races. The Category 2 team races mostly medium to high level regional races, with the occasional Elite National races. The junior team can compete along with the Cat. 1 or 2 riders in many regional races, but are barred from Elite National. There are also national junior races which they compete in. The team begins young where the “Ecole de Cyclisme” brings up young kids on the bike. They ride mostly for fun as a part of their schooling, but it helps in the development of athletes who may later ride for a higher level on the team.

The team at the higher levels consists of 12 Cat. 1 riders: Bartosz Banach (Poland), Stéphane Benetiere, Nicolas Bourdillat, Loïc Breugniot, Emilien Broe, Franck Brucci, Aymeric Brunet, David De Vecchi, Cyril Lecler, Yannick Martinez, Jean-Cristophe Peraud, and Anthony Tevenot. The 7 Cat. 2 riders are: Fabrice Bost, Cedric Charles, Jérémy Lourenco, Simon Raymond, Spencer Smitheman, Lionel Joblot, and Romain Taricco. Between these 19 riders, the selection for the bigger races is made.

On a personal note, I will mention a few things. Last weekend’s race, Le Boucle de Troncais, found me in an improved state, albeit, not my best form. I finished at the front of the peloton while three of my teammates broke away to fill the podium. The two days after the race, my coach Andy and I were training in the Alps. The riding, which included Lac Annecy and Mont Revard provided spectacular scenery despite the latter taking place in a cold rain. I raced again on Thursday, the 1st. It was a 90 km criterium and proved to be a good race for me as I broke away with a group of 9 other riders. I felt strong and finished 7th. This weekend I race the Tour du Mirebellois, a stage race near Dijon. I am excited for my first flat time-trial of the season.

-Spencer

Weekend Racing

Kipp Kaufmann at the ABA sent us some photos from the Coulee Cruiser that happened last weekend in Lethbridge. Apparently there were some changes made to the course from last year and despite the smaller turnout everyone who came raved about the new and improved course. Brian Bain took home the Elite Men’s title and recieved the first Leader plate of the year. For 2008 the series leader in the Elite Men’s and Elite Women’s field gets the right to race with the leader plate at all ABA MTB series races. Expect to see the competition for the series lead and accompanying plate heat up throughout the summer. Congrats go out to Headwinds Cycling for putting on another class event. Apparently it was so well recieved that Lethbridge decided to name a street after Kipp! (editors note: we’ll have to verify that)

Riders out enjoying the First Race of the Season

Lining up for yet another year of fun

Handing out the Draw Prizes

Brian Bain taking the win

Apparently Lethbridge really loves the ABA!

Calgary’s underground bike shop

BikeAlberta’s friendly Alberta Cycling Blogger Sean Carter sent this fine piece of a feel good bike article. Check it out:

Drop-In Centre’s program puts more bicycles on the road

Published April 24, 2008 by Jeremy Klaszus in City

Wil Andruschak

Paul Woloshansky (l) helps Robert Sirman rebuild a coaster brake from a children’s bike

Standing under a ceiling lined with bicycle rims — many marked with red tape to indicate they’ve been trued — Paul Woloshansky scans a pile of bicycles and parts and plucks out a frame. “These,” he explains, “were all donated by a local bike shop.” He hands the frame to his volunteer, Nathan Coates, who sets it on a couple of chains hanging from the ceiling. Soon this dusty frame will be a fully functional bicycle that someone can use year-round to get to and from work.

Woloshansky’s shop is distinct from any other in town. Not only is it spotless and orderly — cleaner, he boasts, than most shops — but it’s in an unlikely location: tucked beside the Drop-In Centre in the homeless shelter’s old building. You could call it the city’s underground bike shop. “We’re building up quite a clientele of people for whom this is a very valuable service,” says 53-year-old Woloshansky, himself an avid cyclist. “This is my passion,” he says.

The shop is a Drop-In program called Wheels of Self-Reliance. The idea is simple: people who need bicycles, parts or repairs come to Woloshansky’s shop and get what they need, and learn mechanical and employment skills in the process. Many of the shop’s clients come from the Drop-In Centre.

“When people make the transition from the street, we provide them with stuff they need,” says Woloshansky. Those needs almost always include transportation, and bicycles from the shop allow people to commute easily and at no cost. “A lot of people depend on this,” says Coates, who describes his daily bicycle commute from Bridgeland to the Foothills Industrial Park as a “contact sport.”

However, the bicycles — most of which are donated — aren’t free per se. To get a bike from Woloshansky’s shop, a person has to don a tool apron and repair two bikes first. Once they fix a third, it’s theirs to keep. Or they can fix six wheels, which counts as fixing a bike.

Wrenches, pliers and other tools are all neatly arranged on the shop’s white walls. Woloshansky directs people to the correct tools and gently instructs them on how to replace their cables or fix their brakes or true a wheel. “The person does the work,” says Woloshansky. “I show them what to do, with the idea that they become more independent…. They learn a lot of skills, and a lot of them are transferable [to other jobs].”

Woloshansky has overseen the refurbishment of more than 340 bikes since the shop’s inception in 2006. Over one-third of the bikes repaired in the shop are children’s bikes, and these are eventually distributed to schools and youth groups like the Boys and Girls Club.

Bikes (and bike parts) come into the shop from all sources: random donors, other bike shops, the City. They go out a variety of ways as well. Drop-In Clients use the shop, but so do university students and others. “It’s not just something for homeless people,” says Woloshanksy, who’s worked in bike shops since the 1960s. “[You’ll see] one guy who’s a bottle-picker working next to an engineer.” That close proximity is an important part of the program’s employment training. “You get eight people in here rubbing elbows, and you have to get along with each other,” says Woloshansky. Coates puts it this way: “Everyone is just eye to eye here.”

The bikes that come out of the shop are mostly built with simple, rigid frames — “easy to maintain, simple to fix,” says Woloshansky. The shop doesn’t have tools or parts for suspension or disc brakes, but other than that, “we’re as full-service as most shops.”

I recently brought my winter mountain bike into the shop after a winter of hard riding in road salt and sludge. My gears wouldn’t shift. Being mechanically incompetent, I needed help. In the past, I’ve taken my bike to a shop and paid upwards of $60 for a tune-up. At Woloshansky’s shop, I learned how to restring my cables. When I went in at 6 p.m. I had absolutely no idea how to repair the cables; by 8 p.m., I could do it myself, and my bike now rides smoother than it ever has.

Of course, that’s not the end of the story. After (or before) someone uses the shop to repair their bicycle, they’re expected to contribute back by volunteering in the shop — cleaning floors, truing wheels or whatever other job Woloshansky throws at them. “It’s a reciprocal thing,” he says.

Source: http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/news-views/city/calgarys-underground-bike-shop/

Euro Beat w/ Spencer

After my last post, overtrained and fatigued, I had begun to focus on recovering both physically and mentally. This really did feel like a load had been lifted as I could relax and take a break from being as fanatical as I can get during the season. It was also good to forget about cycling for a bit, despite how hard that may seem at times.

Late in the week I found myself walking around town. I wanted to check out a few parts of town I hadn’t been to before. I walked up to the radio tower on the largest hill in town which offered a great view and some quiet roads. I had not been up there yet by bike as the climb is quite intimidating with a pitch of 20%. Another day saw me walk to the sports complex on an adjacent hill and down through the forest into town. Spring has really brightened up the town and with most trees in full bloom, I really enjoyed exploring it.

As the weekend arrived, I worked my way back onto the bike. Saturday was seemingly a test day to see where I was at. I did a recovery ride on my usual route by the canal, this time with my power meter on the bike. To put it short, I felt horrible for the duration of the ride. My heart rate was unmanageable, by body felt bad and my power was really low. Looking at this, I believed I was still fatigued from before. Nonetheless, I went out on the bike on Sunday as per the scheduled training.

With a bit more time on the bike, I decided to try a new direction. Initially I was trying to avoid hills, but this proved futile as I only found more climbing. This actually helped me though as I found it rather exciting to be on small, winding roads leading up and down steep slopes. This then gave way to attacking each “côte” with a great deal of enthusiasm. I was just riding for fun, not worried about my exact training, and this was what I needed. It re-sparked a deep-rooted passion that had seemed to fade earlier with my overtraining and the stress from my deteriorating condition. As I came home, it began to rain. I did not mind this much, as I was warm and I felt like my normal self.

Back on the bike Tuesday, after Monday’s rest day, I found some more new terrain to excite the senses. Not only did I have the enthusiasm, but a good deal of power to add to the ride. Despite being in France for three and a half months, I still get excited to ride a single lane road through the countryside. There is so much to see here and I keep finding myself surprised when I take a new road and see something totally unexpected.

Wednesday was a day I had been looking forward to for a while as my coach, former Alberta Bicycle Association Technical Director, Andy Holmwood, would be arriving to visit for a week. The day’s ride proved optimistic as well with a temperature of 23 degrees and some good riding. I rode a little harder than I maybe should have, but every time I came upon a rise in the road, I could not help but get out of the saddle and throw it into a harder gear. Adding to the optimism was the fact that I posted a personal best peak power in a sprint that was not a full effort. After the ride, I watched the Fleche Wallone live on TV and in the evening, Andy arrived.

This weekend I will race the Boucle de Pay de Troncais in the Auverne region with the remaining Category 1 riders who were not selected to the Circuit Saone et Loire. The Circuit is an exceptionally difficult stage race based out of Le Creusot and put on by our team. Each team can only enter 5 riders. Past riders include Alexandre Vinokourov, Mark Cavendish, Michael Barry, Cyril Dessel, Richard Virenque, and Clement Lhotellerie. For the Boucles de Troncais, I will be happy to race again, now with a renewed passion.

Spencer