The latest

Been awhile since my last update. Things have been really busy lately with work, but I've been able to get in some quality riding lately. Did an awesome road ride today. It is a group ride called the Donut Ride. It is one of the oldest rides in Toronto and starts from what used to be a Donut shop. It quickly heads North out of the city and into quieter roads. With it still being early in the road season a lot of people come out.....like over 100 riders. I would say there was about 120 riders today. You feel like you are in the peleton of a Pro Tour race. Only problem is you get riders of varying abilities which makes things sketchy at times. The group usually stays together for the first 30 minutes while we head out of the city and then things really open up. Guy (and some gals) are trying to show off their early season fitness. I managed to hang on to the main pack doing 45km/h until we hit the big climb of the day. It is probably 10kms of a gradual 5-6% grade but I am just not a great climber due to my body structure. I'm a big boy designed for power climbs, sprints and pacemaking. As soon as a long uphill comes I'm toast. Anyways as usual I fell off the back which is okay with me and hooked up with another group more my speed. After the climb we hit the midway point of the ride and the point where we take a brake a Mama's bakery. Everyone takes a bathroom break and fills up on pastries which gives a chance for the group to reform. Then were off again. This is where I started to feel really good. The group was cruising along at about 40km/h when we needed to make a right turn onto a busy road and then a quick left. Unfortunately there was a lot of traffic which slowed some people down an dsplit the group into two. Anyone who has done group riding knows it can be tough to bridge to a peleton with the slow half of riders of about 60 people. I was stuck at the front of the second group and really wanted to get back to the main pack. I dropped the hammer and for the next 20 mins clocked about 50km/h hoping to get some assistance with the pull but there were no takers. I finally took a look back to see what was going on behind me and to my surprise I only had about 7 guys still with me. Pack #2 had disintegrated. I led all the way back to the main group feeling really good. After another 30 mins the main pack slowly parted ways to head home. This left my friend Mark and I wondering about Chris who was along for the ride. We pulled over at a bus stop and sat waiting for about 20 mins before he finally showed up. In that time many riders passed by who were originally part of that ride. I'd say only about 30 people actually finished in the main pack. Probably my strongest ride of the year so far. If I could only become a better climber!

Training camp is coming next week for 12 days so hopefully I can build on my fitness, work on my climbing, and drop some weight. The goal is to put in about 1200kms+ or at least 50 hours of riding. I'll post after the camp to report my results!

Kaboom!

Well, it happened. Went on another 100km+ ride yesterday and my rear wheel finally had it. I managed to make it home but my wheel sounded awful. I pulled it completely apart last night and greased everything I could. Put it back together and took it for test spin. Same thing. So it has to be the bearings. This morning I put it on the roof of the car to take it to the shop and then noticed one of the nipple holes has a crack in it. So that wheel is completely fried. I told the shop I need it back by next weekend or they'll have to lend me a wheel to use. We'll see.

Steve

It's been awhile since my last update. Training has been coming along a little slower than I would like. I wake up to go out and there's always a bunch of snow on the ground! It is getting frustrating and I've had it with the trainer. I've put on my regular road tires now so I don't want to chew them up on the trainer. I have been able to get out for many 100km+ rides recently so that is always a good thing. My time right now for a specific route I do which is 102km is as fast as I was doing it last summer so I'm feeling like my fitness is ahead of last year. As I build up to my training camp in mid April things should be really good.

My biggest problem right now is the rear wheel on my bike is just about ready to fall apart. It makes a terrible racket as I am riding. I've pulled the whole thing apart, lubed and reassembled without much luck. I think the bearings might be done. I bought my road bike (Specialized Allez Elite w/ Alex A-Class 330 wheels) last April and I have about 6000km on the bike so I guess the wheel is just worn out. The bike is great, but the wheelset is kind of cheap. I think I will pick up a new set very soon. Any recommendations from anyone? I don't want to break the bank....I'm looking to spend around $500-$600.

Adios!

Steve

Welcome to Miami

Just back from my trip to Miami for a little fun in the sun and relaxation. Really it was a business recognition trip for the top sales people at my company so there was a lot of things going on the whole time.

I won't bore everyone with too many details, but I will say Miami is one helluva interesting place! If you like people watching this is the place to be. I managed to get in about 90 minutes of walking on the beach each day. My legs are actually quite sore from that walking as walking on a beach is much different than on pavement. My neck also got a good workout from checking out the sites on the beach. Let's just say there was lots of silicon getting a tan.

Temperatures were warm...about 80 d F. I was able to do an Everglades Adventure which was cool riding on an airboat and seeing aligators in the wild. I also managed to get in a round of golf, shooting an excellent 83 (on a par 72) especially since I only get in about 5 rounds a year now (I used to play a lot more in my mid 20's).

The airlines managed to lose my luggage again, this time it was American Airlines. That's twice in 2 weeks I've had luggage lost.

The weather here in Oakville is damn cold so I am going to delay the start of big mileage until next week when the weather warms up.

Steve

Recovery from the race and the flu

Recovery has been very interesting since I came home from the race. Wednesday night I came down with a nasty case of the flu. Really nasty. I was in bed all day Thursday and most of Friday trying to get better. Not the kind of illness you want to get just after racing when your body is already run down. I started to feel better Saturday, just in time for the rest of my family to get the flu. I barely slept Saturday or Sunday night taking care of everyone. Needless to say I feel really run down and I have done no riding or any other excercise since returning from Arizona. I might try to spin on the trainer for a bit in the next day or two since riding outside will be impossible due to the snow storm we'll be having for the next few days. Oh well. Just resting is a good thing anyways.

I'm off to Miami/South Beach on the weekend for a 4 day mini holiday. This is a recognition event for work and I'll have a bunch of friends going down so it sounds like it will be a huge party the whole time! Not sure if I'll be able to handle too much of that....I need to get some quality relaxation! I get to pick from a bunch of activities....I'm going on an Everglades Adventure on one of those boats with the big fan on the back that skims across the water. It sounds like a lot of fun. The next day I was planning to go deep sea fishing, but I don't want to ruin the evening in case I get sea sick, so I opted for a relaxing game of golf. It will be a short trip but hopefully the weather will be warmer and sunnier than in Arizona. I can't wait!

When I get back from that trip the heavy training will begin....hopefully getting long hours in the saddle (as long as the weather is reasonable). I need to step up the mileage and get some longer intervals going than what I have been doing. I also plan to focus on my climbing which is a weakness right now.

Steve

Gears Racing Announces Mountain Bike Team For 2005

Mr. Mark S. Bonham, Chairman, and Mr. Kevin Wallace, President, of the Gears Racing Institute (“GRI”) are today very pleased to announce the composition of the Gears Racing Mountain Bike Team for the year 2005. The complete list of racers signed to the team is listed below.

“We welcome back several of our experienced riders to the team this year, and are pleased to announce new additions to the team”, stated Kevin Wallace. “The pool of talent we have attracted to GearsRacing is very impressive. Each of the riders has committed to the development-team concept that is unique to the Gears Racing Institute.”

As one of Canada’s first true development teams in the sport of mountain biking, management takes the objective of matching seasoned and experienced athletes with promising up-and-coming future stars on the racing scene through a mentoring program. The GRI is committed to nurturing Canada’s junior athletes in the formative stages of their careers as they develop into professional athletes. The goals of these mountain bike athletes include the desire to be selected for Canadian National Team projects, to represent Canada at international competitions such as the Olympic Games, or to be asked to join competitive Trade Teams.

“Our development program has worked very successfully in the past”, continued Kevin Wallace. “Over the last five years, we have helped teammate Kiara Bisaro achieve her goal of racing for Canada in the 2004 Olympic Games. Similarly, the team mentored Ricky Federau as he worked his way to Canadian National Elite Champion in 2004. Other graduates of the GRI program have met their development goals and have proudly moved on to professional trade teams. Now, the GRI is launching its program for the next four-year Olympic cycle. Part of this strategy is to return to the grassroots level to identify Canada’s promising athletes and help them develop as competitive racers.”

Gears Racing is proud to be sponsored by Shimano Canada, Specialized Bicycles, Sugoi, Michelin Tires, RockShox, Stoney Ridge Estate Winery, and Bonham & Co. Inc.The Gears Racing Institute is a specialist, non-profit foundation created to identify and develop world-class competitive cyclists for Canada.


Team RosterDivision/Name

World Cup:
Kiara Bisaro
Ricky Federau

National Espoir: Mark Batty

Junior Expert Women: Emily Batty

National Senior Elite: Sue Trimble, Andrew Watson

Provincial:
Derek MacNeil
Craig Hawkes
Sean Ito
Paul Skafel
Colin Reinholt
Steve Perkins
Gary Serra
Chris Bent
Dustin Miedema
Max Tompkins

Team Management:
Kevin Wallace, President
Ira Kargel, Vice-President
Ron Vanderleeuw, Team Captain/Head Mechanic
Ryan Hindmarsh, Training/Development Manager

24 Hours in the Old Pueblo Report

What a race.....I mean really what a race! Only in the sense that these were the toughest conditions I have ever endured racing my mountain bike. Read on.

I arrived in Arizona on Wednesday, got my bike assembled and had a great dinner. Thursday, Jim and I drove out to Tucson which is about a 2 hour drive so we could get a prime camping spot. The venue was supposed to open at Noon Thursday...we arrived at 12:20pm and there were a ton of people there already. We ended up getting a decent site about 75 yards from the course and set up camp. Just the tent and some chairs and then roped off the rest of the area we would need. Rain was in the forcast so we decided we would head back home and come back Saturday morning.

After listening to the pouring rain Friday night, we headed out about 6:30am Saturday morning and arrived at the course about 8:30am. It has also rained at the venue Friday night but the sun was breaking out and things were drying up very fast. I thought maybe things would be okay after all. We got the awning set up along with the rest of our stuff just in time for the rain to start. We had the usual Captains meeting at 10am and there was a special ceremony to honour Keith Bontrager which was cool. Meanwhile, it was raining throughout and the temperature was about 55 d F.

The course was about 25km long and had a mix of jeep road and single track. There was about 1300 feet of climbing per lap which consisted of one long arduous climb (about 8km total which was in the middle of the course) and one long ride down.

The race started at Noon....in the rain. We ran for about 1/2 mile, hopped on our bikes and started riding down an access road for about 10 mins. I was soaked within the 1st mile. Conditions were a little bit slick but it was kind of fun and wild. I felt pretty good and finished the first lap around 20th (out of about 80+ soloists) so I was quite happy. I had decided to pull a double lap at the start so instead of heading back to my pit I immediately left for another lap. I was already soaked anyways, but not too cold so it was a good idea. Conditions on the course had deteriorated quite a bit. With about 1500 riders these things can happen.

As the race progressed the weather worsened. The rain became heavier and the course was muddier. Like many other people, the biggest problem I had was with my bike. I had severe chain suck.....in general my drivetrain was shot. Mud was in every nook and cranny, shifting was horrible after the first lap....there is nothing more disheartening than the sound of mud grinding away at everything. Plus, my bottom bracket seized. Not what I was hoping for and that took a long time to repair. I’m sure every bike shop in the state of Arizona has a grin from ear to ear knowing how much business they are going to get from people ruining their bikes at this race. Some people even resorted to washing their bikes in what we called E Coli Pond. Keep in mind the race is on a cattle ranch and there were cow pies everywhere. A pond had formed in one area from all the rain....people were wading into the pond with their bikes to wash them off. Who knows what kind of bacteria was lurking in there. Needless to say I stayed far away from it.

The nightime hours brought even worse rain. I had parked my bike and lay in the tent listening to the torrential rain....and I am not exaggerating about how hard the rain was. At one point a runoff area on the course had 18 inches of water flowing through it. There was hail. There was fog. And there were heavy winds. The promoter of the race said he had never seen worse weather in the 10 years he has been organizing events. I personally have never raced for such a prolonged period of time in such weather. It was fun and awful at the same time.

When morning hit the weather finally began to clear. The mud thickened on the dirt roads a little bit which drained some energy, but the singletrack was like concrete and was awesome. I think I had the most fun on my final two laps. I put on the MP3 player to keep my mind off the conditions and thinking about how I was feeling. I was tired and some of the uphills were a grind but the flats and downhills were a blast. I had a little dual going with an Ellsworth rider for most of the lap. I passed them on the 7 bitches (7 steep up and downs one after another at the beginning of the course) and they hovered about 50-100 yards back for much of the lap. At the final 2km of climbing I only had about 10 yards to I dug deep and hammered the rest of the way. Once the climb was done the best downhill of the course was upon us....I put it in the big ring and flew down the last 3km of the course. I never saw that rider again. It was my 2nd fastest lap of the race.

I finished exactly at Noon and my final result was 29th place (out of about 80+). I would say I am pleased with my finish given that most of the riders were locals and in peak shape whereas I am in winter shape. However, I do feel my fitness is better than usual at this time of year. I could tell because I never had to walk my bike on the hills and never used the granny ring or the 34T Cog (w/ middle ring) the entire race. I was still even passing many people on my final lap which is always a good sign.

Many thanks go out to my sponsors: Gearsracing.com, Rudy Project, Carb Boom, Turner Bicycles, FSA, and Kenda. Their support is greatly appreciated!!

Oh ya, US Air lost all of my baggage, including my bike. Quite a bummer....I just hope I see them again sometime! I think it is all in Philly, but I'll have to wait and see.