Category: Misc
Lindsays Account of Iditarod 2012
IDITAROD TRAIL INVITATIONAL 2012
The following is my highly fictionalized account of my recent adventure in Alaska. A more accurate accounting of the event will be forthcoming from my faithful manservant Andy. How did I get to this point? I’m at the 210 mile checkpoint at Rohn and I’m coming to the realization that my dream of getting to McGrath is coming to an end. I’ve just seen a picture of my frostbitten face and know that to continue would risk some serious long-term injuries. I then slept for 6 hours before pulling the plug but the reality is that I was hoping for some kind of fairy tale miracle cure that wasn’t about to happen. The event had started 6 ½ days earlier in the town of Knik on Sunday the 26th at 2 pm. The day started with loading our bikes in a van to be transported to the start and then a 1 ½ hour bus ride to the start. At Knik, we all gathered in the bar & grill and it seemed to be a part of the right of passage that most of the racers had a big greasy burger and fries as our pre race meal. Not the norm but then again most races don’t last any where from 4 – 10 days. It wasn’t going to be a mad sprint off the line. In the days before the start I’d met a number of the other competitors. There was a pre race party on Friday evening sponsored by Greg Matyas at Speedway Cycle. Greg is the owner and designer of Fatback Bicycles as well as an outstanding racer who came
Membership
Membership
Like riding bikes? Why not join the Olympia Cycling Club? The OCC offers:
- racing teams – mountain and cyclocross mostly
- group rides
- special events
- development of the sport of cycling
- shop and technical support (discounts for team members)
- doing good stuff on bikes since 1979
- and is open to all ages and abilities
Annual club membership fee is $10 ($5 for all additional immediate family members, married, common-in-law, long time partner); payable through PayPal by April 1, 2016. Follow these steps to join the Olympia Cycling Club:
- Fill out the form and then submit
- When you submit the form you will be taken back to the same page – don’t panic, now go to the “Buy Now” button at the bottom of the page to initiate the payment of club fees.
Swan River 1200 Registration Form
Swan River 1200 Registration Form
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
To qualify for the Swan River 1200 you need to have completed a 200km, 300km, 400km, and 600km prior to 1200. The qualification distances must have been completed between 2015 and 2016. Please provide your homologation numbers for completed qualifying events. Subsequently indicate your intended qualifying events. Completing this form does not guarantee your entry, the event organizers will confirm your entry upon proof of successful completing of your qualifying events. -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Swan River 1200 Brevet Waiver
Swan River 1200 Brevet Waiver
-
Manitoba Randonneurs, Olympia Cycle and Ski (Portage Avenue), Olympia Cycling Club, the Province of Manitoba and subsequent municipalities, their directors, officers, employees, instructors, guides, agents, representatives, independent contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, sponsors, heirs, family, successors and assigns (all of whom are hereinafter referred as “the Releasees”)DEFINITION In this Release Agreement: the term “brevet” shall include all activities, services and use of facilities either provided by or arranged by the Releasees, including, but not limited to: orientation and instruction sessions; recreational activities undertaken during the event, tour; travel by bike; travel by foot; all travel either within or beyond the designated boundaries, including in the backcountry and on logging roads and trails. -
ASSUMPTION OF RISKS I am aware that brevets involves many inherent risks, dangers and hazards, including but not limited to: exposed rock, earth, water or other natural objects; trees, tree wells, tree stumps, forest deadfall; holes and depressions on or beneath the pavement, trail or surface; variable and difficult weather conditions; changes or variations in the terrain which may create blind spots or areas of reduced visibility; streams and creeks; cliffs; crevasses; travel on highways, municipal roads, back-country roads; road-banks and cut-banks; impact or collision with other vehicles, becoming lost or separated from the guides or other participants; mechanical failure of mountain bikes and related equipment; extreme and rapidly changing weather conditions; encounter with wildlife including bears; avalanches; the failure to operate a bike safely or within one’s own ability; negligence of other cyclists and other persons; AND NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF THE RELEASEES, INCLUDING THE FAILURE BY THE RELEASEES TO SAFEGUARD OR PROTECT ME FROM THE RISKS, DANGERS AND HAZARDS REFERRED
Swan River 1200 Brevet Payment
Swan River 1200 Brevet Payment
Cost of the Swan River 1200 Brevet is $100 CDN. Payment is by credit card or PayPal using the PayPal link below. In the event you do not qualify for the event you will be refunded your payment.
Swan River 1200 Brevet Registration
Swan River 1200 Brevet Registration
Lindsay 2013 Iditarod
Iditarod Trail Invitational 2013 I’m at the Anchorage airport on Sunday evening, a little over a week since I started the Iditarod trail invitational. I’ve been finished the race for several days and this has given me time to reflect on my experience between trying to catch up on much needed sleep. I had a very challenging time at last year’s race what with pushing my bike for 190 miles out of the 210 I covered. My race ended with some severe frostbite to my face and hands, which forced me to be evacuated from the Rohn checkpoint. I was facing some demons as I prepared for some this years event. On my first attempt at the race, I carried far too much gear so I made some tough choices and managed to drop the weight of my bike from 73 lbs. to 60. This made a huge difference when it came to pushing my bike up some of the many steep hills. I still had more food than necessary and didn’t need to pick up much at either of the drops but this is a reasonable precaution in case the weather makes the course much slower, so I’ll live with that. The other area I had to address was improving my gear to protect my hands and face against frostbite. Lynne’s friend Sharon did a great job of sewing in more insulation into my handlebar poggies and they proved to be much warmer. In order to protect my nose and cheeks, I got a new balaclava with a built in neoprene cover for my nose, new goggles with a nose piece as well a much better Icebreaker … Read the rest
Group Rides
Club Rides: All members welcome (no MCA license required; but please note that our IMBA-affiliate club insurance is not liability or comprehensive medical insurance.) If you’re a non-member, you can fill out a trial membership at the ride (smartphone version coming — ooh, fancy). Helmets mandatory. Information regarding rides are shared, drop us an email if want in on that information and we’ll add you to the group email. Want to lead a ride? Sounds good. Show up and do it (or drop us a line and let’s make a plan). Here’s what we do:
- Saturday morning – “Tour de Nick’s” breakfast ride: Head towards Nick’s Inn in Headingley for breakfast at 8:30 a.m. Meet-up and route varies seasonally, but generally departs Olympia Cyclie and Ski at 7:30 a.m. and heads west on Roblin Blvd and/or Harte/Grand Trunk trails. Basic skill level.
- Weekend endurance gravel road ride: Departure and route vary. Generally 4 hours plus. Self-supported. Details may be posted via OCC Group email. Intermediate to advanced skill level.
- Weekend trail ride: Departure and route vary. Generally 4 hours plus. Self-supported. Intermediate to advanced skill level.
OCC Races
On tap for 2016:
Highly organized and somewhat official races
- February 13/14, 2016 – Actif Epica (this one even has its’ own webpage because really, it is a big deal) – St. Malo to Winnipeg
- July 2, 2016 – Where’s the Beach – Mountain Bike Enduro Race – Birch
- October 1, 2016 – Deadhorse Cross – Morden
Highly organized and somewhat unofficial races and group rides
- See the “Group Rides” page.