cycling

western cyclocross challenge 2024

September 14, 2024
cycling
cx, races, canmore nordic centre, canada, canmore, rmcc, cyclemeisters, bow cycle, western challenge, masters, junior

Race Info #

Western Challenge CX. This race is done in age groups to get points for call-ups for Nationals and what have you so it isn’t part of the Alberta Cup CX race series.

Results #

Elite/Open Women #

  1. Christiane BILODEAU1
  2. Quinn GERMAINE
  3. Ashton THOMSON

Elite/Open Men #

  1. Finn BORSTMAYER
  2. Rhett BATES
  3. Mark FAGNAN

Junior Women #

  1. Lydia STACK-MICHASIW
  2. Maria MCCARTNEY
  3. Dakota DIXON

Just a note that last year’s Junior Women winner of this race, Nico Knoll is now racing CX in the USCX series.

lampy's revenge 2024

September 8, 2024
cycling
cx, races, southern baptist seminary, peloton, aba cx cup, cochrane

Race Info #

The Peloton Cycling Club put on “Lampy’s Revenge” the day after Deadgoat Supercross on the same grounds but in the opposite direction, I believe1.

Results #

Open Women #

  1. Emma SCOTT2
  2. Justine SAGAN
  3. Jay SMITH

Open Men #

  1. Mark FAGNAN3
  2. Shawn BUNNIN4
  3. Colton ZABOLOTNEY

Expert Men #

  1. Joel DYCK
  2. Steven SOON5
  3. Jared GERVAIS6

Sport Women #

  1. Daniella BREWSTER7
  2. Charlie PITTARD8
  3. Madeline MAGLEO

Sport Men #

  1. Cor SINKE
  2. Quinten MACKLEM9
  3. Nigel BAINES10

Novice Men #

  1. James CHALKLEY11
  2. Dylan COOK
  3. Zachary BROMBEISS12

My Results #

  • Did not race.

Read More #

  1. I had to go back to Edmonton so I wasn’t there for the race. ↩︎

deadgoat supercross 2024

September 7, 2024
cycling
cx, races, southern baptist seminary, race reports, aba cx cup, deadgoat, cochrane

Race Info #

The ‘cross season has begun and I was there. The Deadgoat Supercross took place in Cochrane and we weren’t smoked out or anything.

The course was on the seminary grounds (just up the road from Cochrane BMX) and I was impressed with how twisty it was, especially how they fit the course all together without needing to cross any roads. While there were the requisite barriers to hop(/dismount and carry over) it was not a very technical course at all. By the afternoon it was going to be hot (30C), but my race was in the Novice class at 9:30, when there was still a tiny bit of the overnight chill in the air1.

the range gravel race 2024

July 20, 2024
cycling
gravel, races, claresholm, race reports

Race Info #

Back when I was thinking about the bike riding I wanted to do this year, a gravel event was on my mind. The idea with a gravel race is it’s a long route on dirt roads away from traffic. There’s a mass start and though there are fast people “racing” the event there will be far more just out there doing the ride, trying to finish and have a good time1.

pigeon lake road race 2024

June 29, 2024
cycling
road, races, edmonton, ertc, plrr, race reports

Race Info #

I hadn’t planned on racing Pigeon Lake this year. I’d been waiting on my race fee reimbursement before entering the Stieda Classic again, but that came kind of late. A couple of people from my club mentioned that since I’m a bit better climber than a big powerful guy, I might find Pigeon Lake more suitable. I debated a bunch, but I’m glad I tried it out.

belonging

May 30, 2024
cycling
club, vcc, edmonton, mtb, ftt, hills

This week I’ve had some good rides. There was the Velocity social ride last Saturday in which I risked going with the fast group and I did not die. I was not the fastest in that group and I was working hard, but it went pretty well. It was my second fastest time for 50k.

I’ve been to both the (uncancelled) Fat Tire Tuesday races down in Terwillegar park and have been very slow on my mountain bike. I do tend to prefer riding that bike for the joy of movement rather than pushing pushing pushing myself, but it’s a good non-comfort-zone kind of experience. And getting smoked by teenagers gives me good practice for the cyclocross season.

fat tire tuesday race series

May 30, 2024
cycling
ftt, races, edmonton, mtb

Fat Tire Tuesday is a cross-country mountain bike race series in Edmonton. In 2024, all the races are happening at Terwillegar park. The races cost $5 and you can enter in three categories (the fastest do 4 laps, the slower people do 3 laps and the slowest only do 2). There’s a point structure and a group on Strava where the news of race results/cancellations happen.

Further reading of my personal responses with the races can be found under the ftt tag or in my season summaries below:

my 2024 mtb racing season summary

May 30, 2024
cycling
mtb, ftt, races

For me, mountain bike racing is not something I’m super into, so I wouldn’t pay much to do it like I do cyclocross, but the Fat Tire Tuesday races had always looked like fun so in 2024 I took the plunge.

  • Race 1 2024-05-14: stravalink Started off with steep uphill on rocky surface. I got caught behind a couple of riders who went way slower than I could have, putting me in a hole the rest of the race. I was chasing a Hardcore Bike Club rider for most of the rest of the race. I gained time on the ups; he gained time everywhere else. There was one descent that was steep, kind of muddy and had a turn into a bridge right at the bottom. I had a tough time with it on my practice lap and managed to wipe out on it in Lap 2 (I’m a B-Group rider so I only did 3 laps).
    • 5/6 for 6 points
  • Race 2 2024-05-281 : stravalink There was a prologue to stretch the group out a little before hitting the singletrack this week. Loads of climbing on this course. I was following one rider for most of the first lap before a pedal strike knocked me to a halt and my lost momentum meant I didn’t see her again until the last third of the third lap. The rooty climb was tough, and I messed up the line on lap 2. In the end I was lapped by a lot of the fast group riders (by two of them in lap 2).
    • 9/10 for 2 points
  • Race 3 2024-06-182 : stravalink The organizers made this a shorter loop because the Oilers were playing a must-win game in the Stanley Cup Final, so they wanted us to get out of there quickly. I was chasing another B-group rider on the second lap who, when she passed me said “Don’t worry; I’m slow on the downhills.” So as she was opening more of a gap going down I tried to go faster and then a moment of inattention meant I clipped my bars on a tree and crashed. It hurt. I finished the race, but never did catch up with her.
    • 4/6 for 7 points
  • Race 4 2024-06-25: stravalink This was pretty much the same course as the first FTT race of the year (although for some reason, the segment says it’s longer). I wiped out on that same off-camber descent I had trouble with in May, but managed to hang onto 2nd place in the B-Group nonetheless. Climbing is definitely where I gain a bit of time in these races.
    • 2/4 for 9 points
  • Race 5 2024-07-02: Missed the race because of my kid’s soccer game. They had a Le Mans style start3 though, which sounded fun.
  • Race 6 2024-07-09: Missed the race because I was in Valemount doing a little mountain biking. This was a team trivia race, and I have no idea how that works.

  1. There was no race on May 21 because the radar showed rain, but it never came. I got a ride in that night anyway, since I hadn’t been able to check Strava in time. ↩︎

terwillegar park

May 30, 2024
cycling
places, terwillegar park, mtb, edmonton

Terwillegar Park is a park in southwest Edmonton. It has a pile of trails and is a great off-leash area for doggos.

There’s a good amount of doubletrack that follows along by the river and countless little ins and out singletrack bits through the trees. One of the downsides of the park is that the soil is very clay-based so it gets super rutty if people ride it before letting it dry out. There are a few dry-baked stretches that remind me of what some of that Moab-style slickrock looks like, but it isn’t as much fun to ride.

spring again

April 25, 2024
cycling
club, vcc, edmonton, mtb, ftt

It is almost the end of April in 2024 and my Strava account says I’m in better shape than I was at any point last year. I’ve been out for a couple of VCC rides this season where it’s been about 11 degrees and I wore my tights and seemed to fit in pretty well.

In the first week there was a fast group and a slow group, which I definitely knew I should stick with (Strava number notwithstanding). My suspicions were justified the next week when chatting with one of the riders who’d been in the first week fast group. Apparently their average speed wasn’t that crazy, but they’re so strong in the wind. Some of them used to be Cat 11 racers so yeah, best shape of my life is still going to leave me in a puddle by the side of the road keeping up with them.