Spring Classics!

Spring has sprung, and racing in Ontario kicked off on Good Friday in Toronto, where our very own Todd Fairhead flew the colours, finishing in the field sprint. On Easter Sunday, while many of us were watching Paris-Roubaix unfold, Tanya Hanham (Ottawa) and Tim Carleton (Toronto) represented Tall Tree Cycles at the Hell of the North. Tim finished an impressive 14th in a strong field. Full results are not up yet, so I don't know where Tanya landed.

Things ramp up from here. This coming weekend, a small team of Tall Tree Riders heads to Upstate New York for the Tour of the Battenkill. Jim, Todd, Iain, and I will race in the Master 30-39 field, taking on a hilly 100km route with a slew of dirt road sectors in the mix. Todd and I have raced Battenkill before, but it'll be the first time for Iain and Jim. I think we'll all be impressed by the immensity of the race, as it has grown significantly each year since its inception. For this race we'll be on road tires, 25, maybe 27c.

Heading straight back to Ottawa on Saturday night, we'll be swapping to fat tires to hit the Clarence-Rockland Classic on Sunday morning. Recon has revealed some rough gravel, so we'll go with more volume. It'll be a tough race, but we're looking forward to it! Plus, Tim Carleton will be in full effect, filling out our Green Blob!

Next up is the Calabogie Road Classic on Sunday, April 22. We'll have a handful of riders out for this one, held on the auto race track in Calabogie.

Finally, rounding out April, is the Paris-Roubaix run from Almonte on Sunday, April 29th (registration info now up, read carefully). Now, while its true this cyclo-sportif's course bears no resemblance to the real Hell of the North, it was inspired by the epic race in France, and the name continues to inspire riders to brave often harsh weather each April to take on a roller coaster over dirt roads and forest tracks, thrown in to keep things truly interesting. It is no secret that this event is the favoured be many of us flying the green garb. Its blend of difficult terrain makes for both an interesting and challenging ride, affording the opportunity to utilize offroad skills at key points in the route. Its exciting. A bunch of us first tried the event on fixed gear road bikes, and loved it, so if you are considering giving it a go, do it! Put on some voluminous tires and jump in! There will be lots of riders out for a group ride pace, so don't assume you'll ride solo if you'r not in top shape.

Update: I forgot the Wheelers' Mufferaw Joe, on Sunday, May 6...sorry! Wedged right between the Roubaix and the Ride of the Damned, there's lots of gravel on tap! This event always features great food afterwards a nice long ride out around Quyon, so be sure to attend!


So, after the Roubaix and Mufferaw Joe, we'll jump into our Ride of the Damned on Sunday, May 13th. See this post for more info, and hit this link to register. I'll be setting the new Strava Challenge sections soon, so keep an eye out for that if you are interested in competing for the Dirt Monster crown.  If possible, we'll also afford the option for riders to ride a portion of the route from Wakefield. I can't promise, as there are logistics to cover, but I will try to make this possible. Stay tuned. 

After the RotD I head to NYC for Gran Fondo New York, my first Gran Fondo. The event is huge, and will take me to a city I've never visited, so its all very exciting. After that, us Ottawa folks will get to take a crack at Ride with Rendall's new stage race, June 1-3, the Mississippi Grand Prix! Details are still under development, but we can't wait to have the chance to do a stage race close to home. Amidst all this road racing, our wagon wheel wielding MTB racers will be ripping it up in Ontario and Quebec starting with Mansfield at the end of April. Before long, we'll be at Camp Fortune every other Wednesday night for mtb racing on an improved course!

One last mention goes to Ottawa's innaugural gran fondo....GranFondo Ottawa, July 21! Three distances are on offer, 100k, 170k, and 220k, posing opportunities for cyclists of many stripes to take in a tour of the region west of town. I'll be doing the 220k route with at least a few other TTC riders, while we'll have a few more doing the 170k. I hope the event goes well, its a treat to have big events being thrown in town, rounding out a great season of cycling events. Naturally, we'll be hosting our Hell Climb in the summer too, so get your costume ready!

Good Friday Road Race

This weekend marked the opening of the 2012 Ontario cycling season. The first event, The Good Friday Road Race, was a circuit race held just north of Hamilton. As I was in Toronto for family-related Easter festivities, I registered for this, my first ever O-Cup event.

The first race of the year always leads to reflection. Fitness level, season goals, even motivation for racing are all considered. Truth be told, I'm somewhat ambivalent about the season and racing. Racing is certainly a luxury. The commitment to prepare and compete requires sacrifice from family and other social pursuits. And yet, as a Masters racer, one never seems to be able to devote enough time to fully commit to reach their peak athletic potential. Races are won by those with a supreme genetic advantage, or those that have more time to train over their peers.

I went into the first race of the year with guarded expectations. My fitness level has increased over the past two seasons, but as usual, early spring training has been less than what was originally envisioned. I petitioned the OCA this year for an upgrade to the M2 category. While I didn't have any upgrade points, I felt capable of competing at a higher level and in longer distance events. Thus, I had a bit of anxiety about this choice and whether I was going to embarass myself in a category I hadn't really earned.

As it turns out, the race was well within my capabilities and even on the tame side. The 23 km/lap four cornered course had a few rolling hills, but nothing resembling the sustained climbing or relentless rollers of the Outawais. The biggest environmental factor was the wind, with a significant headwind-crosswind every half lap. A full 80 riders set off from the start in sunny, but cool weather and I spent the first lap re-learning how to maintain pack position. With 80 riders and the yellow-line rule in effect, moving forward in the peloton required some skill. I rode in the top third for the first lap and felt surprisingly comfortable on the hills. By the second lap, I had figured out how to hide in the crosswind and I defended my position against the yellow line, forcing those next to me to shield the wind. By half way through the third and final lap, I realized I was a bit further back in the peloton than I desired, although still nicely protected from the wind. As we approached the set of hills, I slowly inched up. A bit surprisingly, I was moving forwards rather than backwards as we started going up and I moved up into the top ten riders as we crested the final hill, with about 8 km to the finish. Three riders had slipped off the front during the ascent, but I had been too far back to participate in the break. I quickly joined the chase from the head of the peloton and even counter-attacked twice. Two of the three original escapees were quickly brought back to the main group, but one lone rider stubbornly remained 300 m ahead. And then no one wanted to chase. I'm not sure if everyone was counting on our sheer size to swallow up the escapee on the final run to the finish, if people were already conserving for the final sprint, or if people were truly tired, but we made no headway in catching the leader. I remained in the first five riders and contributed a few efforts to the chase, but when it was apparent no one would come around and maintain the momentum, it seemed rather suicidal, especially when I had no teammates in the race. So that's how we approached the final corner, with only a 500 m straight to the finish. I was nicely set up in about fourth wheel as we approached the corner, but as the pace inevitably slowed, we got swarmed and the peloton swelled from single file to four accross. I exited the corner in about 20th place and that's where I finished, not getting passed, but not passing anyone else. The lone escapee ended up taking the win, a lead that had shrunk to a 2 second advantage by the finish line.

So in the end, the race ended with my ambivalence. I still felt relatively strong and hadn't pushed myself to the limit nearly enough, and I didn't have a result to show for it. Perhaps better pack positioning for the final climb or a concerted time trial effort in a quest to catch the leader would have felt more satisfying, even if ultimately unsuccessful. The M2 category still felt a bit amateurish and filled with negative tactics. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that I'm strong enough to race M1, nor will I likely ever earn enough upgrade points.

The race was well organized and I met many friendly southern-Ontario racers. The steel bike was an anomally, but not unique, with a few Marinonis and a Colnago spotted. The Tall Tree kit was instantly recognizable and I received many complements. I'm excited and nervous for a more significant challenge next weekend at Battenkill.

OMG

Iain and I headed out for a Wakefield ride this morning, a simple 80k via the 105 and River Rd. The roads were in fine shape. Wrapping up our Pipolinka stop, we decided to do more. Head North, rode some dirt. Started well, wound up slogging my Steelwool Limited, fixed, up some killer climbs. Keeping from walking was all I could do at times, heavily overgeared. Both low on water and food, we dragged our limp bodies back to Pipolinka after 85k of grinding, refueled - La Foret provided my ginseng boosted smoothie - and trudged on. It was easy to tell I'd done my most brutalizing first proper road ride of the season ever as I limped through my garage and into the tub, utterly shattered, and hurting everywhere. What kept me from needing a rescue? Snow biking. I'm certain. All that grinding payed off!

Conditions report for the race tonight.

From Larry:

"I was surprised to find such amazing conditions for snow bikes at Kanata Lakes this morning. One good inch of snow on top of hard ice base. Beautiful making first tracks and so much fun on icy spots where you least expect it! Did two loops around outback from K2. Conditions will probably be superb by sundown as the snow layer should bond to the icy base." If you were waffling about riding in the race, stop. Ride.

Fat Tire Racin'

Well folks, this Saturday night is yer last chance to turn on the gas and dust yer pals in a blinding snowstorm of fury.....Low Pressure Productions will be hosting the finale to the bi-weekly Wednesday night races. Check out the LPP blog for info and stay tuned here and there for more details as they role in.

http://lowpressureproductions.blogspot.com/

The low down - basically it's gonna be a night race at KL. There will be fire, there will be single track, there will be a figure 8, there will be food/drinks and general bush time nonsense. How could you possibly go wrong?

Registration is at 7:30 and the gun goes off at 8:00. Bring warm clothes for apres racing.

That's all for now.