Bike Month in Edmonton

Canadian Commuter Challenge
June 1 – 7
Sign up at commuterchallenge.ca to take part in this cross-Canada competition.

Bicycle Movie Nights
Every Mon (7:30 pm),
Metro Cinema

“A Sunday in Hell” is the first feature movie. Monday June 2nd at 730pm. 

Come to see Barb’s Bike Shorts, win door prizes and see a stunning racing movie

 

‘A Sunday In Hell’ is probably the finest
cycling film ever made. It’s over one hundred 
minutes of finely-calculated suspense that leaves the viewer limp 
from vicarious pain and excitement. Once a year the Paris-Roubaix road 
race taxes the energy of Europe’s best riders, Eddy Merckx, De 
Vlaminick, Franceco Moser, Freddy Maertens etc. 

(Editors note: Apparently i have to come do a brief intro before the film. Come watch me fear public speaking and stutter a whole ton)

Bike Salons
Every Tue (7 – 9 pm),
Three Bananas Café (Sir Winston Churchill Sq)
Discussion nights on a range of bike topics including winter cycling, adventure travel and cycle touring.

Bike-to-work breakfasts
Every Fri (7 – 9 am),
various locations
Free breakfasts, tune-ups and tardy slips for cyclists on their way to work.

Bicycle writing circle
Thu, June 5 (10 am – noon),
The Carrot (9351 – 118 Ave)
Come pen your best ode to the bike or rant at the automobile.

Bike Jewelry Workshop
Thu, Jun 5 (7 – 9:30 pm),
Harcourt House (10215 – 112 St)
Learn to make jewelry from salvaged bike parts. Registration required at info@bikeology.ca.

Mocktails on the bridge
Thu, Jun 12 & Jun 26 (4 – 6 pm),
Ezio Farone Park (North end of High Level Bridge)
Free smoothies made by a bicycle-powered blender and bike tune-ups.

24 Hour repair-a-thon
Starts Sat, Jun 14 (noon),
Bikeworks (10047 – 80 Ave, Alley entrance)
A 24-hour bike repair marathon hosted at the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters’ shop. Stop by for a free tune-up or to help out.

Ride-in Movie
Sat, Jun 21 (11 pm),
Victoria Cricket Pitch (River Valley Road)
An open-air showing of the ‘80s classic The Goonies and judging of the “blow your own horn” writing competition.

Bikeology Festival
Sat, Jun 28 (Noon – 5 pm),
Beaver Hills House Park (Jasper Ave & 105 St)
The annual festival, featuring entertainment, prizes, information and a homemade bike trailer contest.

There is a ton of coverage over at www.vueweekly.com and at the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters webpage so head on over and check it out!

 

 

Alberta Time Standards

After two events for athletes to complete their Alberta Time Standards, many have been very successful at their qualification attempts.  Congratulations to everyone that has now completed their time standards.

Time Standard #1: Argyll Velodrome, Edmonton – May 28, 2008: the first attempt at time standards was meet with strong winds that make qualification times difficult but rewarding for those that we able to complete them.  Athletes from Calgary, Edmonton, Fort St. John BC, and Regina Sask, were all present to make their track standard times to qualify for ABA road projects.  Thanks to the help of Dave Embury, Jerry Jendzjoswky, Dylan Menard, Gail Wozny, and the parents and coaches of the Juventus Cycling Club for making the evening a success for all the athletes.

 Time Standard #2: Glenmore Velodrome, Calgary – May 29, 2008: After strong winds at the 1^st standards night in Edmonton, athletes were blessed with perfect weather conditions (Hot  & Calm) for the 2^nd attempt at ABA time standards.  Again, athletes from Calgary, Edmonton, Fort St. John BC, and Regina Sask, all made the journey to Calgary to attempt their track standard times to qualify for ABA road projects. Thanks to the help of Dennis Gregory, Jim Smith, and the parents and coaches of the Olympic Oval National Cycling Centre program for making the evening a success for all the athletes.

 

The following riders have now completed their Time Standards for the following projects:

1)      Road Nationals

a.       Jessica Kisell (Junior Women)

b.      Dustin Andrews (Junior Men)

2)      Abitibi

a.       Dustin Andrews (Junior Men)

b.      Alex McCormick (Junior Men)

c.       Colter Young (Junior Men)

d.      Brad Clifford (Junior Men)

3)      Green Mountain Stage Race

a.       Brian Robinson (Espoir Men)

b.      Dustin Andrews (Junior Men)

c.       Alex McCormick (Junior Men)

d.      Colter Young (Junior Men)

e.      Jessica Kisell (Junior Women)

f.        Lauren Lankester (Junior Women)

g.       Ellen Sparling (Junior Women)

h.      Samantha Grover (Junior Women)

i.         Kelly Hall (Junior Women)

j.        Kris Dahl (Cadet Men)

k.       Graham Courtney (Cadet Men)

l.         Mac Carson (Cadet Men)

Time Standard #3: Glenmore Velodrome, Calgary – June 4, 2008

–          The 3^rd round of Time Standards will take place on Wed, June 4 at the Glenmore Velodrome in Calgary from 6-9pm

–          Athletes are encouraged to show up at 5pm so they are warmed up and ready to start for 6pm

–          Electronic timing and a commissaire will be present, so qualified athletes will be able to attempt CCA Time Standards for Junior Worlds

Espoir Time Standards – now offered for Green Mountain Stage Race (GMSR)

–          With the addition of the Green Mountain Stage Race to replace the Tour de l’Avenir, espoir riders will now be eligible to also participate in the GMSR project

–          Espoir Riders will now be able to qualify for the following projects by meeting the following time standards, in addition to their selection to the project pool

o   Espoir Males – Nationals:  5:06.3

o   Espoir Males – GMSR: 5:15.0

o   Espoir Females – Nationals: 4:15.8

o   Espoir Females – GMSR: 4:25.0

Track Standards Night

Alberta Provincial team hopefuls met last night at the Argyll Velodrome for their first attempt at meeting the track standards which would enable them to attend competitions such as Nationals, Tour de l’Abitibi and the Green Mountain Stage race.

Cadet men are required to complete a two kilometre pursuit in 02:55:13 to attend Green Mountain, Junior Men have to turn out a three kilometre pursuit in 04:05:32 to attend Abitibi and a 03:54:21 to attend nationals and Junior Women must complete a 2km pursuit in 03:02:22 to attend Green Mountain and a 02:53:91 to attend nationals.

The purpose of the minimum performance standards is to ensure all members of Provincial team projects will be at a level to compete successfully within the top 50% of the field of competitors. An added benefit is that these track standards, while not excessively hard, do require some time on the track to become familiar with the bike in order to make the time. Alberta Provincial coach Jay Gillespie feels that time on the track, while not essential to producing quality athletes, does contribute to making better riders.

There were several success stories from the first night; Kelly Hall, Mackenzie McCormick, Jessica Kissell, Mac Carson and Ty Andrews all met the time standards to attend Green Mountain Stage Race. Dustin Andrews easily made the Abitibi standards with a time of 03.56.6 but was just shy of the Nationals qualification time. Alex McCormick rode a great pursuit to sneak in under the Abitibi qualification time by 1/10^th of a second. Brad Clifford traveled 8 hours from Regina to make the standard and on his first time riding a track bike ended up one second too slow. Clifford commented that he had been a triathlete for the past two years but this year has dedicated himself to the goal of making the Abitibi team. He decided last evening that he would travel to Calgary for tonight’s time standards in the hopes that he would make it.

Coach Gillespie said he was proud of all the athletes and their rides tonight and commented that perhaps that best part of the evening was somewhat unexpected. He said seeing the athletes hanging out and encouraging each other in their attempts was awesome and he noted that evenings like this one fostered team work, brought the athletes from Edmonton and Calgary closer together and created an affinity for the provincial team program; all key ingredients in producing successful athletes at a national level. He thought that given better weather (last night was quite windy) more athletes would make time standards.

On hand for the attempts and lending their timing and commissairing talents were Dave Embury and Jerry Jendzjoswky. These two spearheaded the Indoor Velodrome proposal that was recently approved by the City of Edmonton city council and is slated for completion in 2010. Embury has often commented that he would like to see younger riders out on the track more often as he feels it contributes to their development as an athlete and as such was glad to help out. The second night of attempts takes place this evening in Calgary.

Euro Beat w/ Spencer

This past weekend was planned as a selection for upcoming races. Therefore close to the entire Cat. 1 & 2 squad was at the start line on Saturday’s race in Dommartin. The teams were to be selected based roughly on the race for the Tour de Cote D’Or, Tour du Beaujolais and Tour de Pays de Savoie. I was hoping for a good performance to make the selection for the latter two. The team for the Tour du Beaujolais would be made up of 3 Cat. 1 riders and 3 Cat. 2 riders. This made it important for me to be one of the top Cat. 2 riders representing Creusot. The team for the Pays de Savoie would be harder to make as only the top 5 espoirs on Creusot would be able to race.

Dommartin is a small town in the South-East corner of the Saone et Loire. It is on the Bresse plain which despite having a reputation of being completely flat, still possesses hills which will be found for a race. On the drive to the course, the sky opened up and it rained quite heavily, but it let up as we neared Dommartin. After signing in, it was a scramble to find shelter as the storm moved in. The team changed in the dry warmth of various vehicles, which served us well as at one point it was raining exceptionally hard. As the start time neared, the rain slowed to a drizzle, and I went out to warm up. The race was a circuit race with 14 laps of a 9 km course. The terrain was a little hilly, but there was nothing serious.

As I came back to the van, we gathered for race instructions from Steve (our Director Sportif). We had the largest numbers of any team at the race and the field was rather small at around 65, so we were instructed simply to dominate the race. There were sprint points each time across the finish line which we were to take and it was expected that someone on the team win the race. Personal instructions to me were to be active and aggressive. With everyone knowing what to do, we lined up to race.
The race started and I immediately began to work my way to the front. It seemed easier than normal and I quickly arrived with many teammates around me. It was still raining and the roads felt a little sketchy. I decided to go off the front to test my legs and avoid any early-race mishaps on the wet roads. As I thought this, a few of my teammates went in a move and I lay just out of range to bridge without pulling the peloton. So I waited for someone else to jump and I would be the good teammate to hop on the wheel and I either prevent them from getting across, or better yet, let them tow me across. The gap was at a mere 10 seconds when sure enough, the rider I am following jumps. I am immediately on his wheel and he half-turns his head to see this. Seeing me, he puts on his brakes. Now, I don’t know if this slipped his mind at the time, but a rider accelerating right behind you probably won’t respond well if you slow down drastically. So, without time to react (or my brakes didn’t engage quickly due to the rain) I rode into his wheel at a speed and angle to launch me off my bike. I landed on my head/face and then rolled before having someone ride over my face. When I got up, the pack had passed and I was fairly delirious. I was dizzy and had a hard time standing up without falling over. My team saw this and helped me into the broom-wagon which took me to the fire station, the only first-aid equipped people around. They cleaned me up some, but did not know what else to do, so they waited for my team car to pick me up. After some time my dizziness went away, but it was replaced with a headache that progressed through the afternoon and evening. It was hard to watch my teammates race while I sat to the side. In the end, it was Cyril Lecler of Creusot who won in a breakaway of 20. We were well represented in the escape with 4 riders, the next best at the finish being Bartosz, my roommate, in 6th.

After the race I spent a few days taking it easy as the headache continued for a few more days. I was notified during the week that I would be racing the Tour du Beaujolais and was a replacement for the Pays de Savoie. I am recovered from the crash now and hope for a good-showing in the Beaujolais this weekend to bump me onto the team for Savoie.

Banff Lake Louise Stage Race

release by Banff Lake Louise Tourism

May 27, 2008 – Registration is now open for the Husky Individual Time Trial during Bike Fest. The individual time trial travels a heart-pumping 21 kilometre route past pristine mountain rivers, clear lakes, sheer cliffs, and rock formations showcasing 360 degree panoramic views of the Canadian Rockies. Up to 250 cyclists will sprint off at 30-second intervals starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, June 21st in one continuous lap of Lake Minnewanka. Time trials – or “The Race of Truth” – are all about the rider, the clock, and meeting individual and personal goals. All riders are welcome to participate and can register here Early bird pricing is in effect until June 1st so sign up now! The Banff Criterium will hit the streets on Saturday at 5 p.m. as cyclists race wheel to wheel in a high-adrenaline test of wits, willpower, and tactics that will draw thousands of spectators. Be prepared for sharp turns, breakaway sprints, and fierce competition. Licensed riders are welcome to participate and if you enter before June 1 early bird pricing is in effect. 14 men’s teams are registered in the Bike Fest Stage Race including; Juventus Cycling Club, one of the largest and most active clubs in Alberta, Team H&R Block, Alberta’s only CCA road squad and Trek Red Truck who has some exciting younger talent which we expect will be racing hard and inciting attacks. Full team listings can be found here. With over $15,000 in prize money we are sure to see some exiting action at the first ever Bike Fest in Banff National Park. To find out more information contact specialevents@banfflakelouise.com or call (403) 762-0284 or click here. Weekend Event Schedule Saturday, June 21 – 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Husky Individual Time Trial – 5:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. – RE/MAX Little Crits Race – 5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – HooDoo Cruiser Crit – 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. – Banff Criterium – 7:00 p.m. – HooDoo Bike Fest After-party Sunday, June 22 – 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Tunnel Mountain Road Race

Velocity 2008 Track Meet

 

June 7 & 8

Argyll Velodrome, Edmonton

 

. Categories

1/2, 3, 4, 5, Women A, Women B, U17,U15(track categories), Tandems, Paralympians

(*Categories may be combined.)

Cost

EARLY Registration:  $50 payable to “Velocity Cycling Club” to be paid on race day

RACE DAY Registration:  $60 payable to “Velocity Cycling Club” on race day

PARALYMPIC Athletes:  $20 payable to “Velocity Cycling Club” on race day

YOUTH racing timed events on day licence: $20 payable to “Velocity Cycling Club”

Omnium Event

Points awarded per event.  Most points wins. You may contest events in ONE category only.

Points are distributed as follows:  1st – 15, 2nd – 12, 3rd – 10, 4th – 8, 5th – 6, 6th – 4

Track Category Upgrading Threshold = 75 points

Prizes

There will be draw prizes donated by Velocity Cycle as well as cash prizes from entries.

 Contact person

Email <heacock@planet.eon.net > or call Ed Heacock at 780 437-2979

 

REGISTER EARLY AND SAVE: FOLLOW THESE THREE STEPS!

 

ONE:

Email <xcrace@shaw.ca> by 9 pm Wednesday, June 4th

 

TWO:

Indicate the following:

     a) Your Name

     b) Your Club

     c) Your Race Number

     d) Your Category

     e) The Races You Are Entering (see below)

               

                                200 m / Sprint – Available to ALL categories

                                500 m – Available to ALL Women, CAT 5 men, U15

                                1000 m – Available to CAT 1/2, 3 and 4 Men, U17 M

                                2000 m – Available to JUNIOR, U17 WOMEN and CAT 5 men, Paralympians

                                3000 m – Available to CAT 3 and 4, men WOMEN other than juniors and U17 Men

                                4000 m – Available to CAT 1 / 2

                                ***All other races may be entered on race day by showing up on the line!***

THREE:

Pay your fee at the velodrome on Race Day (cheques payable to Velocity Cycling Club)

Schedule of Events, Velocity 2008Track Meet

 

Session #1:  0900, Saturday, June 7^th

 

·       4000m Final – 1/2, Tandems

·       3000m Final – 3, 4, Women except Junior and U17 Men

·       2000m Final – 5, Junior and U17 Women, U15

·        Open track – 10 minutes

·       200m (sprint qualifier; check start list) – Top 8 qualify in each category

·       Sprint 5^th to 8th Finals – Four up, 1-Ride – 1/2, 3, 4, 5, Women  A&B , U17, U15

For the pursuit only, separate omnium points will be awarded to women based on distance rather than track ability level.

 

Lunch – 60-minutes – Open Track

 

Session #2:  Saturday afternoon

 

·       Sprint Semi-Finals – 1/2, 3, 4, 5, Women A & B , U17, U15

·       Scratch Race Finals – 1/2, 3, 4, 5, Women A & B, U17, U15

·       Sprint Finals – Best of 3 – 1/2, 3, 4, 5, Women A & B, U17, U15

 

Session #3:  0900, Sunday, June 8th

 

·       1000m Final – 1/2, 3, 4, Tandems, U17M

·       Open track – 10 minutes

·       500m Final – 5, Women, U15

·       Open track – 10 minute break for removal of timing strips, corner pads

·       U15 Points Race – 4 km (12 laps)

·       U17 Points Race – 6 km (18laps)

·       Category 5 Points Race – 8 km (24 laps)

·       Category 4 Points Race – 12 km (36 laps)

·       Category 3 Points Race – 16 km (48 laps)

·       Women A & B Points Race – 10 km (30 laps)

·       Category 1/2 Points Race – 20 km (60 laps)

·       Open track – 30-minutes

·       Keirin –  5, 4, 3, Women A & B, 1/2

 

Like last year we will be serving a k-bob lunch at the end of session #3.

 

Awards as soon as possible following event.  Winners must be present in order to collect awards.

 

Please be aware of the event order and your order on the start list.  We will do our best to follow event and start list, but stuff happens.  Velocity reserves the right to cancel or combine events due to inclement weather or perceived lack of interest.

 

 

 

Super Fun, All You Can Eat, Buffet of Bacon, Pain and Suffering

Over a hundred of Alberta’s finest mountain bikers gathered for the tenth year of the showdown at Stony Plain, otherwise known as the Super Fun, All You Can Eat, Buffet of Bacon, Pain and Suffering.

Held on the trails that twist their way around Fern and Harvey’s mountain bike farm, the Bacon Buffet is known for its fast course which challenges riders both physically and mentally. The highlight of the course is an 80 metre climb nick-named Houfalize. Much like its name sake in Belgium, the Houfalize climb in Stony Plain is a straight shot up the side of a steep hill where spectators gather to support their favourite rider as they grit their teeth and put their legs to the test.

Joining in on the festivities this year was avid mountain biker and Rogers Sportsnet Commentator Jamie Thomas, who entertained fans as he interviewed riders struggling up the hill. Joined on the microphone by race organizers Evan Sherman and Mike Sarnecki, there was no shortage of commentary and jeering.

Alberta Mountain Bike Coordinator Roddi Lega was on hand at the top of the climb to ensure that riders received an ample amount of bacon as they passed through the feed zone. Lega commented “In all my years of racing, I’ve found that body performs better when it you replenish it with the nutrients you sweat out during hard riding, my secret was never fancy Power Gels and performance drinks, but a couple of strips of bacon in the jersey pocket; its all the sodium you’ll ever need.” While Lega’s nutritional advice may be suspect, his enthusiasm wasn’t and riders were seen grabbing for their bottles with strips of bacon still hanging from their mouth.

The racing got underway in the morning under the threat of rain as the first two waves of riders, consisting of the Sport, Novice and Youth fields. They battled hard for wins and upgrade points in less then ideal trail conditions. In the first race of the day the real story was 14 year old Felix Wilberg (CMC/Bow Cycle). Wilberg took the lead from the gun and never looked back. He seemed so comfortable out in front, against riders twice his age, that he took time to wheelie for the cameras including an ill-fated attempt at nose wheeling the entire main descent. (yes he crashed at the bottom, but did it ever look cool while it lasted) Felix was the class of the field and will defintely be one to watch in the upcoming years. Ty Williams (CMC/Bow Cycle) another young up and comer finished second and Simon Williams rolled in to claim third place. Jon Benskin (Hardcore Cycles) rode a great race for forth place, on a borrowed bike no less. Benskin was pre-riding the day before the race and cracked his frame and unfortunately his shop didnt have any in his size. Luckily the ABA Road Coordinator Scott Kelly (and author of this rambling and nonsenseical little race report) happened to be at the race helping mark the trails and leant him his bike for the race. Benskin commented that the wheels were a bit big and the frame was a bit small, but otherwise all went well (Jon; twenty niners are where its at so you best get used to them now) Ed Garvin piloted his singlespeed to fifth place.

The second wave of the day is always the youth start and in part because of the muddy conditions and longer then normal lap times, the race was shortened one lap. The standout rider was the Flying Frenchman Sameul Beaudoin (Juventus/RVC/Kona). Young Samuel gunned it from the line instantly established a gap. Beaudoin is also an accomplished road rider and recently podiumed in the Youth category at the Velocity Stage race. Beaudoin took the win in the Novice Youth Men while Kevin Stafford (United Cycle) rolled across the line first in the Sport Youth Men field. Emily De Frietas (bicisport) rode well to take the win in the Sport Women Youth field and Sara Witzke (Juventus/RVC/Kona) claimed first in Novice Youth Women.

Fortunately the rain never materialized and when the elite riders took to the course in the afternoon they did

so under Sunny skies and light winds.

In the men’s race, the riders went hard from the gun, with Jon Nutbrown (Ridley’s Cycle) taking the holeshot and jumping out to the early lead. Right on his tail was the winner of the second stop of the ABA MTB series, Tim Heemskerk (United Cycle) and the series leader Shawn Bunnin (bicisport) By the first lap Heemskerk had caught and passed Nutbrown and established a comfortable lead. Nutbrown and Bunnin rode worked well together less then a minute back. Coming all the way from dead last after the start to sit comfortably in forth was Andre Sutton (Hardcore Bikes). This is the way the race would stay for the better part of the remaining four laps. Heemskerk never relinquished the lead and at one point even managed to give a short on the bike interview while ascending the Houfalize climb.

Entering into the final lap, the early efforts were beginning to take their toll and Nutbrown began to fall off the pace. Heemskerk retained a comfortable lead but Bunnin looked to be pulling closer, as Heemskerk came out of the forest to climb Houfalize for the final time the crowd looked to see how far back Bunnin would be, and to everyone’s surprise it wasn’t Bunnin but Andre Sutton who emerged from the woods in second. Sutton flew up the final climb as if it was the first time he rode it that day and charged hard for the line, finishing only 24 seconds behind Heemskerk. Less than a minute later Bunnin would cross the line. Following the race, Heemskerk commented that his strategy was to work hard enough to keep a comfortable gap over second and to make sure he kept an eye on Bunnin throughout the race. When Heemskerk looked back on the final lap and saw Sutton charging hard, he knew he really had to step on it. Bunnin had to finish second or better to keep the series lead and it was only in the final lap that his efforts began to show and Sutton was able to cap an amazing performance which saw him go from last place to almost taking the win.

In the Women’s race Pepper Harlton (Juventus/RVC/Kona) took the lead from the start and never looked back. Following the race, Harlton commented that she’d been battling food poisoning all week and during the ladder half of the race it was all she could do to finish. Krysten Ong (Juventus/RVC/Kona) benefited from Harlton’s misfortunes and was able to claw back time in the final two laps, but couldn’t bring it back quite quick enough; Ong rolled across the line 31 seconds back.

After two stops in the Greater Edmonton area, the Alberta Mountain Bike series heads south once more with a stop in Canmore for the Iron Lung XC in two weeks time. The Iron Lung will also see two new riders sporting the ABA leader plates as Bunnin’s third place finish saw Heemskerk take the series lead. Harlton’s win was good enough to take over the series lead from Mical Dyck who chose to contest the Mount Tremblant Canada Cup this weekend.

The results are in…and can be found [here]

Some amazing photos were taken on the day:

200+ photos taken by Scott Kelly can be seen [here] and check out even more awesome photos from LungShot [here]

Videos from the day of racing to be posted shortly…