This Upcoming Weekend

Two, count 'em, two big deals on this weekend. Speed Theory is hosting their inaugural dual-stage TT on Saturday and it looks like one of the neatest and best new races to appear on the calendar and it's right in our own backyard. Be there. Registration closes tomorrow and check http://www.speedtheorycyclingteam.blogspot.com/ for details. Sunday is our annual classic, the Stampede Road Race and will be as amazing as always. Registration closes Friday so get on there and get signed up.

Madden TT Results

Kudos to those that braved the weather threats of a cloudless sky, calm air, and rather pleasant day at the Madden TT yesterday. Now, the weather did resemble the inside of an Easy Bake (tm) oven with slightly more pickup trucks and the course was certainly a challenge being for the most part uphill both ways, it was an impressive sight to see the hammering that did go on. All of the riders chose to do it as an ITT and because the race volunteers are at times inherently lazy, we just started from the hall, to the Madden Hall and back for a 44.7 km distance. Life isn't meant to be easy. The course was brought to it's knees by Frank Woolstencroft though, who frothed his way to a 64:15 (41.7km/h) before donating one of his extra lungs to ants at the side of the road. Bob Richkum snuck out of his house in Golden, delicately avoiding yard work, and showed up to pound out a 77:41 (34.5 km/h) spanking the rest of the locals in the process. Brian Beaulieu, one of the hard men from the Wednesday Night Series stomped it to a 83:24 (32.2 km/h) but wouldn't have exactly known it because I'm not sure he wears a watch. Terry Kozlyk was served pretty much well done with a garnish of lung butter in 86:02 (31.2 km/h). And 'Just In Time" Charles Irwin hallucinated his way to 89:26 (30 km/h) after a warm up which consisted of putting his bike together. He did look chilly though, with the goosebumps and all.
Rockin' props to the volunteer crew of el Presidente Randy Szasz, Grant 'the registrar' Gilbert, and Francois Dion, driver of the Bat Mobile and turnaround marshal. Good job all and thanks to everybody for coming out.

Madden TT This Weekend

2up or ITT, if you're at all interested in TTs or this fall's TTT, give this race a try. For the experienced TT crowd, I have always found that the more TTs I ride, the smoother and faster I am. This Sunday, 11am, details on the Crankmaster's main site.

Banff Bike Fest Results

Congrats to those that braved the amazing scenery and hospitible conditions for the Banff Bike Fest TT and Crit. Patrick Brick and Chris Stutz raced in their cat 4 and 3 respective crits. Mark Perry finished a great fifth in the cat 5 TT and bagged some coin in the process. Jacek Kasprzyk finished 9th in the cat 5 TT and did the Crankmasters proud.
Next up is the Cloverlawn TT next Sunday and for some of us the Great White North Triathlon on July the 6th. As my TT bike looks to be terminally injured at Devon, I think I'm done with TTs for the season but am looking forward to mountain biking and other racing pursuits. We will have a WNS TT this week at the usual Priddis Meeting Spot (22 and 22x) which will be a hillier and harder TT but great for the legs.

Banff Bike Fest TT

Is anyone else doing the Banff race this weekend? I am going to attempt the TT since last weekend in Devon didn't go very well for me (see previous post).

Send me an email, if you are going to be out there, at mark.perry at shaw dot ca

Devon Grand Prix

Not many Crankmasters in effect but those that came gave it their best. However we were almost all beset by little annoying mechanical gremlins. Cat 5 saw Jacek Kasprzyk ride home in 8th place in the TT in 53:05. Mark Perry saw the finish line quickly in the TT but it was because he only rode about 4km before flatting and riding back with a borrowed wheel. Carolyn Soules had wheel related mechanical issues but rode to a 7th place in A/B in 54:01. I lost to the big baguette and another guy in the Cat 4 TT and was yet again bitten by a mechanical gremlin as my fork seems to have been coming apart. Honorary C4 Racer Lev Krivitsky rode to a 19th place finish in 51:53 despite a broken front brake the rubbed the entire time. That man has the power.
I started the crit along with Paqtrick Brick and despite our best efforts we were both eventually shelled off the back and out of the race.
I won't mention the street spints but lets just say that I sprint about as well as a rock flies.
Carolyn missed the split in the road race due to bad luck but rode home in a decent 11th and I think claimed the Womens B title. I bridged up to my break but didn't last long, never recovered, but did hook up with four other guys and rode a decent paceline back in to finish a couple of minutes down.
Overall, it was a great race, well organizede, and I'll be back next year. My kiddos had a firetruck ride, a parade of kids on bikes and lots of fun.

Devon Grand Prix

I'm headed up for the Devon Grand Prix this year and I think I will contest all four components for a change. Drop a line or a comment if you're planning on attending as well.

Pigeon Lake

Not an extensive race report as I wasn't there but I did comb through the results and found the following for the Pigeon Lake Road Race...

Cat 5
Gary Taylor 18th
Mark Perry 37th

Cat 3
Chris Stutz 33rd

Womens B
Carolyn Soules 7th in sub-cat

Didn't see anyone else in my scan.

Volunteers needed for Wednesday June 4

To have a successful race, we require one or two additional volunteers this Wednesday. If you can volunteer, email me at mark.perry at shaw dot ca

The race will still go even if it is raining. If you want to ride we'll be there to run it.

The race will probably be canceled if weather conditions make it too dangerous to ride (very heavy rain, lightning, hail, tornado, hurricane, etc.). Check this blog for updates.

Pigeon Lake Road Race

Is anyone else doing the Pigeon Lake RR this weekend? If so, where are you staying and when are you traveling? I am going up on Saturday evening (not doing the crit.) and probably staying in Leduc (a half hour from the race). Send me an email at mark.perry at shaw dot ca if you planning on racing and we'll try to arrange carpooling or meet up before the race.
Mark

Not a Mountain Biking Powerhouse

With the Millarville race cancelled and the ABA road series taking a break I thought I'd report on my second attemp this season to attain mountain biking greatness. Although, I'd settle for mountain biking mediocrity. I did the Perogy race a couple of weeks ago and was given a harsh lesson on technique and the importance thereof. The Bacon race near Stony Plain is a little less technical and more for the engine, or so I was told. It isn't, at least not when it rains overnight. The pre-ride went fairly well and the roots and rocks and trees, etc provided a bit of a challenge but nothing insurmountable. Then it rained overnight. Roots get very slippery when wet and it is a constant battle to pick your way through tight singletrack. Needless to say, it was very tough and slow although not that punishing on the legs. Anyway, instead of being 17/22 finishers in the Men Sport race I chose to ride Master Men and finished a 2/4 a good seven minutes back which suprised me given the fact that I was certain I had lost seven minutes in about 2km on the first lap. Anyway, it was a ton of fun, very well run, and the weather was really quite nice, warm and dry. Props to the organizers and keep up the fun. And yes, there was bacon in the feed zone.
Come on out on Wednesday for the Merckx TT and let me know if you're heading to Pigeon or Devon. I'll missed Pigeon as I'm in BC riding, but I am going to Devon for the whole shebang.
Stumbling towards mediocrity, Jamie

Getting Into The Season

Time to ride, time to plan, time to race. And the weather is cooperating! or at least for the time being. Looking at my calendar, I'm full up with cycling for the next 8 weekends. I think it is time to start looking at some of the bigger races that we should think about participating in this summer. I'll go in order:

May 24-25 Track - Spring Clean Up - Fun for the trackies.
May 25 MTB XC - Bacon Buffet of Pain and Sufering - Stoney Plain mountain bike XCtastic. I only mention it becasue I'll be there.
May 25 Road (Club) - Millarville Marauder - Perfect for new racers and veterans alike. Close to town and a really good race.
May 31/Jun 1 Road - Pigeon Lake - Now with omnium power. Great race and now with a crit. Not far to go and a must for Calgary racers. Go to http://www.ertc.org/ for details.
Jun 7-8 Track - Velocity - Stop 2 on the Journal Cup Series.
June 14-15 Road - Devon Grand Prix - Another most important stop on the ABA circuit this year with something for everyone. http://www.juventus.ab.ca/ for details.

I would strongly recommend both Pigeon Lake and Devon as must do races for road racers in Alberta this year. That being said, I'll miss Pigeon Lake due to my training camp in Osoyoos but Devon is squarely on my calendar. Leave a comment in the blog if you're heading up and perhaps we can organize a group of people together. If you're available this weekend, give the Millarville race a go.

The Wednesday Night Series is moving forward with a road race this Wednesday. We'll race rain or shine as long as it is safe. Visit the blog for details (www.c4racingwns.blogspot.com).

Weekend Racing

Congrats to those that braved the sunny and dry conditions on Saturday to get in the TT. Props to Ryan Barr as the fastest C4 rider and to all those that rode and special thanks to Mark Perry for the course and putting it on. I think I was the only other C4 racer out on the weekend where I did the Perogy XC mountain bike race in Edmonton. Let's just say that 17th in Open Sport wasn't last but wasn't great. THe race was excellent though and a heck of a lot of fun. I think I hit half the trees in Terwillegar park at one time or another but the perogies were tasty and plentiful (even in the feed zone).
Details on Pigeon Lake are up and registration is commencing soon with field limits so if you're interested, check out the ABA (www.albertabicycle.ab.ca) for further details. Further on in May is the Millarville race (May 25th) and the Stony Plain MTB race on the same day if enyone likes the knobby stuff. Pigeon lake is in early June and then Devon in mid June which would be great to get a few riders together for as we did well last year and it promises to be a good race with 4 stages from Friday night through Sunday.

Racing this weekend!

There are two good opportunities to get in some racing this weekend. The first is our rescheduled club TT in Airdrie Saturday morning at 11am. The second is the Perogy mountain bike race in Edmonton on Sunday morning so if you like fat tires AND perogies then this is the weekend for you. Thanks to everyone who attended the Wednesday night series meeting last night and we are on track to start next Wednesday at 7 at the Dunbow TT course. I didn't see any names from the Velocity results but we're working on getting our racers out to these events. If you're heading to Saskatoon in a couple of weeks, leave a comment and we can make sure people can hook up.

Race Series meeting tomorrow night at 7pm

Just a reminder that we are having a Wednesday Night Series (WNS) meeting tomorrow May 7th at 7pm and the Priddis Meeting Spot. Details are on the WNS blog at www.c4racingwns.blogspot.com

Breaking Away Bearspaw Club Race

This is a really good opportunity to get the racing crew out and shake the rust off the road racing tactics. Conveniently located right in this very city, and mercifully not too early in the morning it should be a good ride. To ensure this we are in real need of volunteers to ensure that things go off smoothly so if you don't feel like racing, drop by and lend a hand, we could use it. Details are on the main page (www.calgarycycling.com). See you Sunday and good luck to those heading off to the Velocity Stage Race in Edmonton this weekend.

Wednesday Night Series Schedule

Please go to http://www.c4racingwns.blogspot.com/ for more details

Bicisport TT

Congratulations to the Crankmasters who represented this past Sunday in sunny Strathmore. From all reports it sounded like a really good day. Combing the results I came across Carolyn Soules as second overall woman in 28:36, Jacek Kasprzyk 11th in cat 5 in 29:25, Mark Perry 19th in 30:20, Wes Zaniecki 22nd in 30:51 and Brian Beaulieu in 31:28.

Looking forward, we have the Veolcity Stage Race next weekend in Edmonton and of course I would encourage anyone who doesns't head up there to toe the line for our Breaking Away Bearspaw race on Sunday.

Bicisport RR Cancelled!!

They figure it will take a couple of days to dry out the dragstrip portion of the course so unfortunately the circuit race has been cancelled. The TT is still a go and the weather looks good so good luck to everyone racing on Sunday. Try and look out for the M&M van (Randy) as we should warm up together.

Early Roll Call - Velocity Stage Race

Is anyone interested in attending the Velocity Stage Race in Edmonton on May 3/4. I highly recommend it, it is definitely an A race. Let me know and we can maybe coordinate travel and accomodations. However, I won't be able to attend it myself this year.

Weather looking better

For the weekend at least. As long as we get some good sun on Saturday it should be a decent ride. I won't be racing on Saturday or Sunday but I'll drop by on Saturday to rally the troops. Not sure how many troops we'll have but if there are some we can rally. Looking forward, there is the Velocity Stage Race in Edmonton on May 3/4 as well as our Breaking Away Bearspaw race on May 4th. We'll try the Airdrie TT the next weekend and that would be an excellent opportunity to get together. Keep in touch and let us know if you'll be there Saturday and if you're going on Sunday for the TT perhaps we can organize and warm-up/cool-down together.

Roll Call - Bicisport races this coming weekend.

Time to turn the wheels in anger. We are racing this coming weekend. The Bicisport races (http://www.bicisport.com/) take place Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning in Calgary and Strathmore. I highly recommend the road race at Race City as a great introduction to ciruit racing and the Strathmore TT is 18km of fun and adventure (pain). You'll need an ABA license for the road race (http://www.albertabicycle.ab.ca/) but you can get a single event license for the time trial. Great races and a good start to the season. If you are attending, please leave you name as a comment to this message and we can coordinate a team effort. Looking forward we have the Velocity stage race in Edmonton on May 3/4 as well as our Bearspaw club race.

Riding in a Winter Wonderland

Doesn't look all that good for Sunday which is a shame as a number of people were looking forward to it. I expect the official notice will come out on the main site tomorrow. We have tenatively thought about trying it on May 11th instead pending some organizational details.
Thanks to everyone who came out on Wednesday, I think it was a good start. I have all your names and I'll add it to my list. What would be great and I forgot to do is to get your email adresses so if you could send it to the gmail (c4racing@gmail.com) account then I can make up an email list to send stuff out. If anyone else is interested but didn't make Wednesday, please send me your name, masters and ABA category (ie Masters A, Category 4), and email address and I'll add you to the list.
I highly encourage anyone interested in ABA racing to get your license application in as the season is just about to start and there are some good early season races. I'm not going to the Velocity Stage May 3 and 4th due to a family commitment but I would encourage anyone who is really serious about racing to consider it as it is a great early season stage race and very popular.
Enjoy some time on the trainer this weekend, its beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Reminder: Race Meeting Tonight!

Tonight is the night for our inaugural meeting of the C4 Racing Team. We'll be meeting eachother, talking about this year's racing schedule, and answering any questions that you might have. Anyone interested in ABA racing is welcome, from new rookies to broken down veterans like me.
The ABA website (www.albertabicycle.ab.ca) now has details on the Bicisport GP coming up at the end of the month. I would encourage anyone interested in racing to consider this event as it is a good introduction to road racing on the Saturday and a decent TT on the Sunday and they're right in our backyward.

Calling all C4 Racers

Well, the season IS upon us, despite what the weather might think. However, onwards and upwards. We will be having a brief meeting and quick get together for all the C4 members interested in racing this year. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend from rookies and new members to the 'more mature' veterans (like me). Working together, we can make a coordinated assault on the ABA calendar and move C4 up from its 12th place team finish in 2007 (out of 49).

C4 Racing Team Meeting
7pm Wednesday, April 16th
M&M Meat Headquarters
1025-10 St SE (Inglewood)

The Season is Upon Us!

Gongratulations to everyone who braved the warm and calm weather that greeted us on Sunday for the Crankmasters season opening TT. Unable to race I did get to see much of the festivities and I was impressed with how well it went on the new course. Since we're creeping into the season and I hope everyone is training hard it is time to think about getting ready to assault the ABA racing calendar with Crankmasters members. We are planning on holding an information night next Wednesday at 7pm at a location TBD for those who are racing this year and those who are interested in racing this year. Details will follow later this week and should also appear on the website (which is udergoing a dramatic facelift as we speak).
The Wednesday night series (WNS) is almost ready to launch and will start in early May with an information session followed by 12 or thirteen weeks of racing mayhem. Both the TT course and the RR course for the series will utilize the Dunbow Road location and will feature a variety of formats.
Greeting as well to our Second Claim members and hope you watch this space for information as it should be updated quite frequently from now on.

A reminder that if you are interested in ABA racing that you should get your license application in to the ABA as the season is almost upon us.

Upcoming events:
April 16 - Information meeting for the C4 Racing Team
April 20 - Season opening MTB race in Lethbridge
April 26-27 - Bicisport eason opening RR and TT right here in Calgary.
May 3-4 - Edmonton's Velocity Stage Race
see the ABA website for complete details.

Cheers, and keep the rubber side down.

Looking for Racers!

As we are within a month of kicking off the 2008 season and working hard to get the club events organized we are also looking to start building our 2008 ABA racing team. Please drop me a line at c4racing@gmail.com and let me know if you are interested in participating in ABA events this year and we can get started. We are aiming at holding a meeting for interested racers in early April. No experience or amazing skills are required but rather enthusiasm and commitment.

February Update

We are geting closer to the 2008 racing season all the time. Our Wednesday night series is taking shape and should run from mid May to mid August. It will alternate between time trials and road races on courses around Calgary. We'll keep you posted.

Welcome to the C4 Racing Team website

One aspect of the 2008 Calgary Crankmasters Cycling Club initiatives is to develop and improve the opportunities and coordination of bicycle racing at club, provincial, and national levels. Several programs will help to develop the racing team side of the Crankmasters including skills development, travel and equipment coordination, possible a mid-week racing series, high performance weekly training rides, and this blog. Stay tuned for additional announcements and exciting developments.