Summer 8hrs

Hardwood Hills. Finally we got hit with crappy weather. After 5 years of near perfect weather during races, the sky opened up on us. It was overcast at the start but as the day continued, it drizzled and then at about 3pm, it poured! You can tell by the pics, how muddy it got. Just a bunch of boys playing in the mud! We had 9 Black Fly's up at Hardwood on two teams and both squads finished in the top-10 under less than ideal conditions. Hopefully we'll have to wait another 5 years for weather like this.


"King of the Mud" socks


A couple of muddy finishers!

Small towner in the big city!

Tonight's Don ride with Muller, Fox, Tony and Marty took us from downtown T.O. into the "Upper Don" up to Sunnybrook and back down through the "Lower Don". All told, about 30kms of riding and of that, 15-20 km's of dirt. All in the middle of 5 million people. We even bumped into Denis "Wild" Thang, who was out for a post-work training ride. Giver!

Country Riding

Huron County. I always look forward to a ride or two in the area where I grew up. Nothing but blue skies, quiet rolling roads and a few local cows to cheer you on. A bit different from the busy city but a nice change, for sure.

Today, it's even a Greater day!

Allow me to introduce Muller's new pleasure!!

Lake to Lake

Niagara. M-U-D-D-Y. Ya, that's what you get when it rains for 3 days leading up to a mountain bike race. Don't get me wrong, it was tons of fun out there - slipping and sliding, jumping through puddles, getting covered head to toe with wet, unknown mucky dirt. Tony even described the conditions as "icy". Not too far from the truth.

For our efforts we were all rewarded with a dip in the lake, a huge plate of BBQ goodness, a nap in the park and for some, a podium appearance. Not bad. Not bad at all.


Six very muddy and very happy finishers!


The Drewman with his derailleur-less ride.


Happy Father's Day!


2nd Place - 2 years in a row!

Today is a great day!

tWell, it's been a long time coming, but today's the day I got my new ride. I just thought I'd share some pictures of the "opening ceremony".

Cheers,
Ryan

Greetings from the new team addition.

Ride for Heart

Today was a great day of riding for Marty, Cam and myself as we completed a 50km stretch on the Gardiner/DVP. The morning was a little cool but with continuous spinning our bodies quickly warmed up. A ton of participants as usual and saw a lot of little ones in their Chariots (can't wait to pull Justin next year). What a great way to spend our Sunday. They should close the Gardiner/DVP at least once a month...hmm, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't go over too well.

Spring 8 hrs

Mansfield. Yesterday Black Fly Racing was one of the best represented clubs at the event with 10 guys racing on 2 different teams. It was pretty cool knowing you had a clubmate out on the lap with you. Both teams worked hard all day and one of us even got on the podium. Marty, Ian, JonD, Denis and Dean were in 4th and 5th place most of the afternoon, and kept closing the gap until we overtook the team ahead of us for a 3rd place finish. What an effort!

The 11km circuit was challenging as usual, with an opening 750 metre climb straight up. The next 5km was fairly "easy" until about the 7km mark where we were hit with numerous steep climbs and technical descents down to the finish line. It was also a little sandy in some parts especially after thousands of sets of wheels went flying through the corners. This resulted in minor crashes by Chris H. and the Deaner.

Cabin #3 was our home away from home where a few of us stayed over on Friday night and the whole group hung out after laps. The weather was perfect with only a couple of drops of rain on Saturday afternoon. This event is defintely a staple in our season and who knows, maybe we'll send 3 teams next year.
Clockwise from top left:

1. Jonny D. at the start.
   
2. Dean flying down to the finish
3. Chris H handing off at the transition.
4. Stitt 1st race after nearly a year off.
5. Denis with his head down at the start.
6. Tony after his first lap
7. Mr. Muller is done.
   
8. "Dirt Face" (not a teammate of ours but a funny image nonetheless!)
9. Ian around the last turn.

Good 'ol Durham

Durham-Glen Major. Not a cloud in the sky today on a sunny, yet cool day at Durham Forest. It's been over 3 years since I rode here for fun (except for races) but for Stitt, it's his new backyard. Lucky guy! We started out on the Glen Major side, went all the way to the bottom before we worked our way back to the cars. After a short break we tackled a little more of the Durham trails and then headed home for some family time and good eats. Nice day!

P2A Cont'd

Here are a couple more photos of the deceivingly nice-looking day. I was uncomfortable enough just spectating and taking pictures. Great Job guys! The two spectators staying warm in the wagon agree (they're just wondering where their buddy Justin is hiding.)

Paris - Ancaster

Ancaster. Yesterday, many of us were tested like never before. Paris, Ontario to Ancaster, Ontario is predominately an easterly direction and the wind yesterday was OUT OF THE EAST by at least 35km/h. This provided for an extremely exhausting day for all racers. Many of us bonked before the dreaded uphill finish and which made it even more painful (you can tell by the body positions and looks on our faces) but in the end, like the troopers we are, all Black Fly's finished and are much stronger by doing so. Great effort lads! Can't wait to do the 35km St.George to Ancaster next year?

Icebreaker 2009 Podiums

Black Fly Racing - 2nd place, Team Challenge!

Dean - 2nd place, Men 40-49 and our old teammate, Keith in 3rd

Denis - 1st Place, Men 30-39

The Icebreaker

Durham Forest. What started out to be a very cold morning ended up being a fairly warm day - thanks to the sun. I think all of us were overdressed because of the early chilliness and during the race we were trying to peel off some extra layers when we could. The course had it's snow and ice patches requiring some extra patience and skill but overall it was pretty "floaty".

The Black Fly's were out in full force today bringing home lots of early season hardware: Our 5 person team came in 2nd overall, Dean finished 2nd in Men 40-49, and Denis won his Men 30-39 category. We also welcomed Ian into our team and he kicked some butt today even after racing in the Tour of Pelham the day before. Good job fellas! For the full results, click here.
Clockwise from the top:

1. Derrick and Drew before the start.
2. Dean, Marty, Justin and Ian enjoying the sun after the race.
   
3. Marty, Drew, Denis, Dean and Jody are ready to race!
4. Marty finishing.
5. The Vanderhoek's
   
6. Jody finishes (on a cross bike!)
7. Ian looking at the end.
8. The Hurricane is blowing through!
9. Post race chat with Dean, Marty and Jody.
   

Roster update

We added a few more guys to the team this spring. Ian will be joining us for a few MTB events this year and Jody will be with us at the Icebreaker tomorrow. Welcome aboard gentlemen!

Now this fellow on the right was tough to negotiate with. He had some pretty specific requests in his contract - warm milk in his bottles, extra-extra-extra small jersey, matching bib, lots of nap time - you get the idea. But I think we'll keep him.