Epic climb to kick off the season!

Instead of easing our way into the season, why not jump right in full blast? No sooner had we donned the front door at VanAllen's, did Haase's brother-in-law Barret say, "get your stuff on, we're climbing Scenic Caves.". I laughed, and when Chris just shrugged, I realized he was serious. Scenic Caves is an epic climb behind Blue Mountain if you're not familiar. The kind of ride you shoot for later in the season. At least that's what it has been for me. I never did get to it though until yesterday, with Haase and Barret.

ICYCLE 2012

.....ICYCLE 2012... Brrrr!...



Will and Chris L raced their homemade studded tires at Dufferin Grove Rink on Saturday, Feb 18th at Icycle 2012, finishing a respectable 2nd and 3rd.

This championship-style event boasted new categories for this year: tandem and 20"wheel.  The tandem race was arguably the most entertaining.     Surprisingly, there were even requests for a tall-bike category.  (on ice...  for real!?)

If tires are holding you back, I'd be glad to help!  I hope to see more of you out on the ice next year at Icycle 2013.



CLICK HERE to see Chris race his semi-final round.

At least someone's getting a jump on the season!

A good day for an indoor spin, I think.

Chili Don-Don Ride

Hopefully another annual ride tradition was started today with an end of the season MTB ride through Toronto's Don singletrack.  We had to dress up a bit, but overall had pretty decent weather considering it was raining for the last few days - a little mud at this time of year is expected, right?

We finished with some beers, chilli and pecan pie to cap off what was probably one of the last trail rides of the year. :(

Thanks everyone for making 2011 another fun and memorable year for Black Fly Racing!

A little hike-a-bike.

Drew-man's 1st time on the Don!

Where's the trail, Tony?

When animals attack......mountain bikers

Tour de King

Somewhere in there is Jody and Marty.

On Sunday, Jody and I headed up to the 1st ever Tour de King put on by Chico Racing.  The temperature was pretty cool when we left, and we crossed our fingers and hoped the rain would hold off.  One tricky thing about racing, or even riding in this weather is debating about what to wear.  You never wanna be cold out there, but we all know that as soon as you get moving it doesn't take long to warm up on a bicycle.

The 50km race had about 400 people participating and it started out like a pure MTB event.  Twisty, technical single track was the order of business for the first 15k's before the course ended with mostly paved and gravel roads.  About halfway through it started to rain, a very cold and pelting rain I might add.

At the end there was a hot BBQ lunch waiting for us but because of the rain and a clear lack of a warm, walled shelter it was not ideal.  Ever tried to enjoy lunch, cold, wet and shivering?  Not fun.

Next year?  Only if it's a nice day.

Wrenching with a smile :)

Should we send this pic to the 3rd place team as proof to how they beat us?

Why again?

Weather forecast for tomorrow:  Rain and a high of 7.  Should be a blast.

Course map.

Profile.

Fall Epic 8 Hour @ Hardwood Ski and Bike

Black Fly Racing on podium

Chris finishing the last lap for Black Fly Racing 2

It could have been a double podium for Black Fly Racing 1 and 2.
Black Fly 2 had a mechanical which added 12min to their lap, but they worked hard to closed the gap to 4min at the end, earning 4th. Never the less, weather was beautiful even though the forecast was cloudy with a chance of shower.

Fall Epic 8 Hour @ Hardwood Ski and Bike

John Finishing off the last lap for Black Fly Racing 1

Camp site

Transfer Area: Cam just got in, Muller running off with timing chip, Stitt waiting for John.

Stitt and Chris at the starting line for Black Fly Racing 1 & 2

Hydro Cut

Muller finishing off the double black diamond from Sept 3rd.

Hot August Nights Team Photo

Great job everyone! Sorry about the delay getting this posted.

24 Hours 2011

We must remember to bring those Christmas lights next year!  Now that's outta the way, another great weekend I would assume?  Of course.  We had a fast, flowing course with none of those lung-busting killer climbs that Chico is known to include - which in turn made for some pretty quick lap times.  The 10 person team completed 25 laps, finished 16th out of 53 teams while our 4 person No-Nite laps (one might say they`re afraid of the dark!) came in 3rd place.  Another podium for the club!

Night time.

Tent City!

The Drewman starting us off.

Success for the club!

Check out more pics from the 10 person team, here and the 4 person No Night Laps team, here.

Perch Run 2011

We started out at Ryan M's place near Mt. Pleasant for the round-trip ride to Port Dover - outfitted in our new jerseys of course!! Looking pretty handsome I'd say....

A great time was enjoyed by the group, although the cross-headwind throughout the ride home made for some challenging K's (and some "twinging" hammy's and quads).

The ride ended with a BBQ (and Black Fly cupcakes and cherry cheesecake - thanks Haase and Stitt, you guys obviously have the Mr. Mom thing down pat), well-earned cold beverages of choice, and some quick dips in the pool, followed by some longer stretches in the hot tub!

Can't wait (?) to do it again next year, hopefully with even more riders.

Great job guys, and thanks for pulling me along...

First annual BlackFly "Perch Run"

We all know that BlackFly Racing is first and foremost a MTB racing team. Those are certainly our roots. Most (if not all) of us have a road bike in our personal fleets as well though, and thoroughly enjoy riding them. It was because of this that we decided to hold the first (annual hopefully) BlackFly Perch Run. Named for the destination and turnaround point, the Perch Run was a 100km "out and back" route to the sunny shores of Port Dover in Norfolk County, well known for its perch fishery.

We set out around 10:30 from Muller's house just outside of Brantford. Along the way we were buffeted by a stiff west cross wind that didn't seem to hinder our progress too much. We arrived in Dover all feeling pretty good; so good that Dean treated himself to a fish sandwich! Man was it windy down there though. Our return home was Epic (yes with a capital E). That stiff west cross wind had gotten stiffer and turned out to be slightly north-west making our ride a tough slog for sure. We all survived with no major injuries (apart from Hazer's unfortunate debilitating leg cramps with less than 10 km to go. We finished the day with an awesome BBQ and hot tub session back at Ryan and Sandy's (thanks again guys!)

It was certainly great to get a group of 8 of us out there on our road bikes for a day. Let's shoot for at least that many next year. Great job fellas!