Hardwood Hills 8hr

Run into finish.

Tony finishing up a lap.

2010 Summer 8hrs

Hardwood Hills.  Well, it didn't rain!  I thought for sure we were gonna get dumped on but luckily it only drizzled for a few minutes.  It was hot, though.  With the humidity it was pushing 40 degrees in the first half of the day, making the many roots and rocks rather slippery.  This caused a couple of us to crash (see below photo).  For me, my crash came with less than 1km to go on my last lap and now I'm gonna be quite sore for at least a week.  Thanks Hardwood.
We also had a nice visit from Kathleen (thanks for the peaches!) who rode 118km from Toronto to visit us.
  

Here's Ian blazing to the finish.

ChrisB and Tony sandwiching the guy in the Team Viking skinsuit. 

My war wounds.  Jesus, it's looks like I was shot!!!

Tour de G20

Last weekend, Black Fly Racing (not to be confused with Black Bloc Racing) went downtown by bicycle to check out the action.  Thankfully didn't run into any riots and the empty streets made for some pretty nice riding.

Lake to Lake 2010

St. Catherines.  If you were asked what event is the hardest, what would be your answer?  It very well could be the Lake to Lake.
It's long at 50km.
Even when it's "dry", you still end up getting muddy by the end of the day.
The terrain is for mountain bikes yes, but it's not like Albion or Mansfield which have been designed as mountain bike centres.  ATV's and motor bikes use the course they make us race on.  Which means ruts.
It's almost always hot.
Throw in a crash or a mechanical and it can be very discouraging as well.  A test of your mental strength as well as physical. 

But there is a giant lake to hang out in after!

Pre Race Dinner

Six Days in the Pyrenees

In anticipation of the wildcard entry of Black Fly in Le Tour for 2011 (they can't snub us again), I recently took the Black Fly jersey to do some scouting of the decisive climbs in the Pyrenees.

It was amazing and incredibly difficult, on every climb I used a 30/25 or 30/23 ratio, and still needed to stop and take breaks. Clearly I will not be protecting our captain on the mountain stages, good luck Marty.

I rationalized my breaks as "scenic breaks" as the old french men grinded past me, but the breaks also allowed lots of pictures and I included some below.

Most climbs were about 13-18 km long and often averaged 7-8%, taking about 2 hours to climb. Descents were scary and fun, but also freezing, my toes would go numb and it was never a nice surprise to see a tour bus or RV making its way up switchbacks. Most daily rides were about 75-100 km in total, with half of the trip coasting (sometimes up to 45min chunks without pedaling).

If anyone has any questions about visiting the Pyrenees for cycling feel free to give me shout, otherwise I am hoping to make it back there next summer.

The key climbs in the trip included:

Col du Tourmalet (2115 m)
Station Luz Arididen (1725 m)
Hautacam (1700 m or about that)
Port de Boucharo (about 2200 m)

plus lots of other ones!

I will try and post the rest of the pictures on the facebook page sometime

Jody

on the the way to Port de Boucharo, the final kilometer was snowed in still (May 30! and snow!)

Switchbacks up to Station Luz Arididen
cooked on top of Hautacam
View from Hautacam

The crowds cheering on Black Fly were out in force on the Hautacam
Black Fly in small village at 1300 meters!
Just above the clouds and almost at the top of the Tourmalet

Boler Mountain

If you're ever in London, Ontario with your mountain bike, check out Boler Mountain for some riding. They don't have a lot of trails but they do have a challenging 9km loop that had everything you would want: steep hills, roots, rocks and some flow-eee sections.  For me it was quite nostalgic since the last time I rode my bike here it was an O-Cup race and I was 17 years old!

Ride For Heart 2010

The only 2 pics I was able to snap:   My two riding buddies (Cam and Hazer) and a very large display of bananas.  This morning in Toronto it was cold and raining - make that pouring.  How does one spell epic?  The Ride for Heart 2010.
As I'm writing this a couple of hours later,  I look outside and the ground is dry and let's just check the forecast.  Yup, looks like it's gonna be a pretty nice day.  Shit.

Spring 8 hours Team Photo

The entire team after a grand total of 352km of off-road racing!

Spring 8hr 2010

Mansfield. Chris B. described the day as magical.  I agree.  There was something special going on yesterday at our annual Spring 8 hour race.  Maybe it was the fact we had 3 teams entered, maybe it was how well the new riders gelled with the group, maybe it was the Friday night shenanigan's and how some of us "left it out on the course".  (Ask Tony for the details of that comment!)  It was probably all of the above + more.  Lots of fun everyone, thanks for a great day!

More pictures from our 5 man team here, our ladies team here, and our 3 man team here. 

T Storms Spoil Hydro Cut Saturday :(

After an excellent ride a couple of weeks ago in Waterloo at the Hydro Cut, Muller and I tried to squeeze in a loop before the weather was to turn sour on Saturday morning. The squeeze was too tight and we had to abort the mission only a few km in. Last summer's road ride adventure with Stitt was still fresh in our memories. The "cut" will have to wait for another day!

Riding in Brooklin, Yo!

Stitt and I did some road riding north of Brooklin, Ontario this weekend. Our ride took us from their house along quiet paved roads north-east until we got to the town of Port Perry on the shores of Lake Scugog. The countryside up there has plenty of rolling hills, giving you an immediate downhill reward after climbing.






Often on country road rides you will encounter some very protective dogs but luckily for us, this fellow was very friendly!


Through the eyes of the handlebar!

Paris-Ancaster 2010

At the start of St.George - Ancaster with a rather large crowd behind me.


Jody, Chris and Kathleen showing off Jody's medal!

Brenda

Cam

Jody

Marty

Marty hike-a-bike on the Mudslide.

Homage to Ice

It looks like Drew, Ian and our old friend Derrick enjoyed a day of racing up at Mansfield yesterday. Since the Icebreaker was canceled this year, this "Homage to Ice" could become Ontario's new opening event. Haven't seen any results yet but I'm sure both the lads were shredding the course. We'll be up there next month doing some shredding of our own for the Spring 8hrs!

Tis the season...

Is it that time again?