With the end of the mtb race season looming, Ken and I immediately started thinking about our plans for 2011, and found out about a new race on the Canadian stage race scene. There is a nicely designed website up already, and with sponsors like Hammer Nutrition and support from Deadgoat Racing, it seems legit enough. But to find out more, I caught up with the man with the plan, Mark Kaltenbach, for some bikeridr Q&A. Here’s the low-down:

What made you decide to organize your own stage race?
I have a background in event organization, specifically in Triathlon. After doing the BCBR in 2008, I kept thinking about how great it would be to have a three day event that you could host over a long weekend. In Fernie, last September, it hit me that this was the perfect venue. Fernie has a multitude of trails of such varying terrain and all of the facilities that a multi-day race would need to be self-sufficient. The warmth and hospitality in Fernie definitely helps. It was then that I started to organize the Furious 3 multi-stage Mountain Bike Race. At first I thought that I would host the race in 2010, but I quickly figured out that it would be a rush to get it together and organized properly so I changed the agenda and decided the inaugural event would be on the weekend of July 1 to 3 of 2011.

How is the Furious 3 going to be different from other stage races in western Canada?
Rather than being a race that goes from one location to another, Furious 3 begins and ends each day in The City of Fernie. The goal here is to make a race that is ‘friend and family’ accessible. The racers can bring their friends and the whole family to support them and enjoy the race and the festivities surrounding the race. This also allows racers to choose how they want to experience the event. They can camp and eat hotdogs cooked over the camp fire or they can stay at 5 star hotels and eat at fancy restaurants every night. Our biggest mandate is to support the organizations such as The City of Fernie, The Fernie Mountain Bike Club and Trails Alliance, The Elk Valley Hospital in Fernie and all of the local businesses and the economy of Fernie that support us. We will also strive to have as much single track as possible, which really isn’t that hard to do in Fernie. There are so many unique aspects of Furious 3. We are a race for the person that doesn’t want to, or can’t take a week or more off , or just doesn’t have cash to pony up for one of the longer races. Although, I’m guessing, after doing a 3 day race, a lot of them will be looking at doing the longer races as well.

Do you see yourself as direct competition with the Transrockies, or BC Bike Race? If so, how are you going to carve out your piece of the pie?
I don’t see us as competition for the other multi-day stage races that are currently offered. In fact the goal here is to feed those races with more athletes to sign up for their races. Our date was partially picked due to its proximity to TR. Furious 3 will take place approximately 5 weeks before the TR. Thus anyone doing TR would be able to use Furious 3 as a warm up, or practice race to get ready for their larger goal. There are also a lot of people out there that want to get into doing longer races, but need that stepping stone to get them to where they feel comfortable signing up for BCBR or TR.

What type of a course can we look forward to?
The course will be predominantly single track with mostly Blue rated type trails, trails that pretty much any mountain biker can do without too much trouble. But for those who are looking for some challenges there are some more challenging uphill and downhill technical sections, all of which will be walkable for less experienced riders. So far the only challenge has been choosing from the plethora of available trails to use and how to link them together. The City of Fernie has been easy to work with and the locals have welcomed us and been more than accommodating. I can’t believe how many phone calls and emails I’ve had from locals asking how they can help.

Is there a reason you’re only looking for 200 riders in 2011?
There are a couple of reasons. It is our first year and I want to make this the best possible experience for the athletes without extending our resources. I also want to show BC parks and The City of Fernie that we want to build this as an ongoing event year after year and that we will maintain, rebuild and support the ecology and economy of Fernie and the area. Also one of the days will mostly take place on BC Crown Lands and we are currently in discussions about how many people we can have on the trails at any one time. If registration goes crazy then I will be able to show that we do have the interest and that we will be able to backup our mandate and we may be able to allow a few more racers either in 2011 and/or moving forward into 2012.

Registration opens in just a few days, Friday September 17^th, 2010. And, like Mark said, there are only 200 spots available. The race dates are July 1 to 3 of 2011. Check out the Furious 3 site here.

No related posts.

Sadly, as August makes way for September, the mountain bike race season comes to a close and many racers will be hanging up their team kits until the spring. But, with the cooler temperatures rolling in, if you’re one of the race-addicted and you listen closely, you can already hear the foreboding call of Cross! Ahh… Yes! Cyclocross, the demented sport of racing rigid framed bikes, with skinny tires and cantilever breaks over loamy, grassy knolls, through sand pits, up stairs, and over wood plank barriers… How could you turn that down?!

This season I’m back for more punishment, and thanks to River Valley Cycle, this half of Bikeridr will be using the right tool for the job, racing in style on a sweet 2010 Kona Major Jake.

“The preferred bike of our Orange Crush cyclocross team. Yes, those talented and perversely fit Kona cross racers Ryan Trebon, Wendy Simms, Erik Tonkin and Barry Wicks. Lungs and legs that have been tearing up the North American cyclocross scene for the past few years. Kona Race Light Scandium Butted frame, an assortment of beautiful, super light, major fast components, and you’ve got our top of the line, competition crushing cross bike. If you’re thinking about spending three times as much for a carbon CX race bike, reconsider and think about getting two of these and hiring a mechanic to keep the other one clean in the pits.” – Kona

Hopefully, combined with me being a year wiser, and maybe a little fitter than last year, I’ll do the bike some justice out there. Wish me luck! In any case, it will be awesome getting to race on such a killer CX machine, and the bike will be for sale through River Valley Cycle at a sweet demo-deal price afterwards! So if you or someone you know is looking to pick up a new CX rig, you can let me know, or contact Syd at the shop for all the deats.

Wonder what Cyclocross is? Check out Barry Wicks from team Kona in this trailer for ‘The Cyclocross Meeting’:

This year will only be my second season so I can’t claim to be an expert in any way. I did, however, learn a lot last year and in most cases, I learned it the hard way. So if this is going to be your first season of Cross, here are a couple tips, so you hopefully don’t need to repeat my mistakes:

1. Cyclocross races are short, it’s true, at least by cross-county mountain bike standards. But don’t be fooled by the measly 45 minute race time. Be ready for an all out, lung exploding, leg crippling, dead sprint pace for the whole 45 minutes. There aren’t any big downhill sections in Cross races, so you can’t rely on these for recovery time like you can in an mtb race. The courses are also designed to be twisty, so that you can’t really ever carry any speed, or coast. You’re almost always breaking into a turn, and then accelerating back out. This start/stop pattern lends almost no opportunity for recovery. My tip: although it’s a sprint, you still need to pace yourself. So head out and see what it feels like to try and sprint, and be ‘on the gas’ for 45 mins straight before you do your first race. In my first race, I wasn’t ready for this at all. End result was me going out as hard as I could off the start, and then blowing up 20 mins in. Woooo! Good times.

2. The ground in the fall can be grippy and dry, wet and slick, or even hard and frozen. For this reason, my tip is to pay attention to your tire pressure and don’t be afraid to run them soft. I ran my tires too hard all season, thinking I wanted ‘rolling efficiency’, but the end result was, more often than not, me not having the grip I needed to make the tight turn, climb short but steep hills and hold a line on the off-camber side hills. Let’s just say I took a lot of spills. Woooo! More good times. Also look into toe cleats for your shoes. Gordo loves these things, so they must be good, and your shoes probably come ready, and almost any soccer cleat should work.

3. A major part of what makes Cross, Cross, is the use of man-made obstacles. Sand pits, wooden barriers, bridges, and stairs can all be part of the course. Though sometimes a sand pit is ridable, the rest if these obstacles typically involve mounting and dismounting. So, my tip is that you practice this before your first race, because there is a right way, and a wrong way to do it. When you’re in a tight group of other racers, stopping, getting off your bike and then jumping the barrier won’t make you any friends, and likely cause a pile up. You need to know how to dismount on the fly. Here is a video on how to do this properly.

4. If you’ve never ridden Cross, and you’re just looking to try it out for a race, you can use your mountain bike. I didn’t know this, so I tried to fit out my road bike with knobby tires and race with that. Needless to say, it didn’t really work that well. Road bikes and Cross bikes, though looking similar, have different geometry, as well as different wheels and gearing that make the Cross bike a much more suitable tool for the job.

I hope some of that will be helpful to someone out there. Like I mentioned, I’ve only got one season under my belt so I can’t offer too, too much in the way of sage Cross advice. So if you’re a seasoned Cross racer, and you’re reading this, feel free to add your two cents.

Last season I found that most of the Cross racers I recognized were mainly only the ‘faster’ mtb racers (Sport and up). I didn’t see a lot of Novice mtb racers at all. This season, I hope more of you will come out. Give it a try. Like I said, you can ride your mountain bike for the first couple races, so there isn’t anything holding you back. Fall is by far my favourite time of year to ride, so let’s get out there! The race season continues!

For the ABA Cross season schedule click here.

Related posts:

1. Disc Brakes in Cyclocross
2. Cyclocross Is Sooooo Bleepin’ Hard
3. Dairy Queen Double Dipper

Yesterday I walked past Phil Liggett on my way down Jasper Ave. ‘Hello, Phil!’ I said. “Hello there!” he chimed back with a small, but very polite nod.

Seeing Phil Liggett in Edmonton might have normally surprised me, but I was on my way to the Link Pink, Lance Armstrong for Breast Cancer luncheon fundraiser at the Edmonton Shaw Conference Centre. It was sold out, and packed! Hosted in the new Hall D, 1,100 of us sat around well-dressed tables of ten for a 3 course lunch before Lance Armstrong took the stage. His message, definitely one of triumph, hope and perseverance but to my surprise, Lance also took questions from the floor, answering candidly about his own personal and professional life, his future away from the tour (jokingly calling it his Retirement 2.0), and his family…

The Master of Ceremonies was of course, none other than Phil Liggett, the Voice of Cycling. And I have to say, it was pretty cool to have him moderate the show because not only is he a great public speaker, but he knows Lance so well. So through what could be best described as casual banter between two friends, the conversation stayed grounded on the core theme of the fight against all forms of cancer, but it was also at times really funny and entertaining, giving us an in-person glimpse into Lance Armstrong. Some of the questions that came up were actually a little surprising, ranging from the lighthearted, ‘who would you want to play you in a movie?’ (Lance’s answer: Danny Devito) to the more bizarre such as, ‘do you obstain from sex around competitions?’ (Lance’s answer: No way, saying you don’t want any kids looking like the milk man).

There were also more serious questions about whether Lance thought Andy Schleck can beat Contador (Lance’s answer: Yeah, he should have beaten him this year), and a question about Floyd Landis that Lance decided to leave alone, for now. All in all, I found it was a really nice mix, delivering on both a very successful afternoon of worthy fundraising, and a chance to get to know Lance Armstong as a person, just a little bit better.

The ride in Jasper is today, and for those 50 riders who each raised a minimum of $25,000 (one of them raising over $50,000),  it will be 100km of beautiful, summer day, Rocky Mountain riding with Lance and Phil, followed by a private dinner. Not a bad way to spend a day, if you ask me.

Related posts:

1. LINK PINK Lance Armstrong For Breast Cancer
2. Lance Armstrong in Edmonton
3. Ride vs. Ride

A while back, Ken wrote an article on ‘The Future of Gadgets’, and the elegance of the un-cluttered handlebar.  Well, it looks like, and really we shouldn’t be that surprised, Apple has been working on this, and of course taken it to the next level. Why stop at providing consumers with a ‘smart phone’, when you can provide a ‘smart bike’ to go along with it?

On August 5, 2010, a patent was published for Apple’s upcoming Smart Bicycle System.

Though still in development, it aims to deliver a similar functionality to the iPod + Nike system already available for runners. The Smart Bicycle System will provide live data such as: time, distance, speed, elevation, altitude, incline, decline, power, heart rate, cadence, calories burned, weather, and temperature, derailleur setting, wind speed, path completed, and expected future path, etc… Now, if you’re like me, you may be asking, ‘so what’s so special about that, because my Garmin 500 already does most of that?’ Well, not only can you interface with this live data yourself, but you can also interface with other riders around you, live! So imagine if you’re the Cervélo Test Team out for a training ride, and you can all interface with everyone’s data on the fly. Pretty cool and useful, I’d say, and all via your already beloved and adored, iPhone/iPod.

The novelty comes primarily from the ability to ‘share’ data while in a group and on the go. The patent allows for option to apply this system to any typical type of bicycle, from road, to mountain and BMX. I wonder though, once this technology comes into production, will this be something we see trickle down beyond the pro team level, and which bike manufacturers will be the first to integrate it. Could we see Apple as a team sponsor in the not too distance future, ie: Team Apple Specialized? Intergraded sensors, would certainly offer a clutter free, and theoretically, hassle free riding and metric measurement experience, but like with everything, the more you add to things, the more things there are to break and petentially go wrong. This goes back to my article talking about the practicality of using an iPhone/iPod as a bike computer. I’ll wait to see what Apple comes up with before I cast a vote there.

At any rate, GO APPLE GO, and Garmin, you might need to step up its game.

The read more on the patent, link here.

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1. iPhone Cycling Apps
2. Advantage: Cyborgs
3. Christmas Wish List of a
   Bike-o-holoic

Thanks for checkin’ in! Team bikeridr is out on the trails racing in the TR3. Wish us luck!

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As I’m off to Fernie this weekend to race in the TR3 and currently busy with packing, bike tweaking, and home renos, etc…, this week I just wanted to post up something, well, easy. One of the hardest things I always find about bloging, is deciding on the topic. This week, as usual I had a few post ideas rolling around in my head, so to save myself the anxiety-ridden trouble of decision making, I’ve decided to just write a little on all three. In this post, I’ve got Matt Hoffman, BMX big-air guru, the average age of the Transrockies, and the curtain call of my cycling hero and cancer fighter extraordinaire, Lance.

Matt Hoffman

Flipping channels the other day, I came across a show on TSN, featuring BMX vert, and big-air pioneer Matt Hoffman. I’d seen him compete at the X-Games and knew he was good, but I really didn’t know his back story at all. Essentially, Hoffman was to BMX, what Tony Hawk was to skatebording. There was an entire decade, beginning in the late 1980s, where Hoffman reigned supreme. He was the full package, offering not just the riding skill and flare to pull off the wildest tricks of the day, but also the guts to simply do it bigger, and higher than anyone else. Hoffman is credited with the creation of over 100 unique tricks, including the 900, being the first to ever do one in competition. Never mind all that, what blew me away about this guy was his obsession to go big! Hoffman went as far as building his own stronger bikes, and own bigger ramps, and attaching them to what looked to me like a 3-4 story building so he could get enough speed to launch up the other side of the half pipe. Going further still though, he eventually built himself a 20 footer, and invented the tow-in, which is essentially being pulled in by a motorcycle. I’ve attached the famous shot of him, launching himself more than 20 feet above the ramp coping! Later on, he went even further, building a 24 foot ramp and hit an official world record at 26.6 feet of air, for a total of over 50 feet above the ground below. Can you say, insane? I think this guy is amazing! Here is some video of those world record attempts:

The Average Age of the TR

Reading an article about Gretchen Reeves, it mentioned that the average at the TR is 40! I wasn’t sure if I was surprised by that stat, necessarily, but it took me a minute to think about. First thing that went through my mind was, ‘Great! I’ve got 5 more years before I’m 40… I’m still a spring chicken compared to the majority of my fellow racers out there this coming week.’ I found some reassurance in that thought. Some momentary comfort. But then I reminded myself that most enduro racers are quite a bit older than me, and lots, if not most of them leave me in their dust, haha… It seems that the metal needed for successful enduro racing really comes around for most of us when we get a little older. Ken calls it ‘old man strength’.

When I mentioned the average age of the TR to my wife though, the first thing she said was, ‘Well yeah, those are the only people who can afford it.’ and I had to admit, she’s probably right. I mean, though a regular enduro race like the ABA Trans Stoney, the Givr 8r, or the Bow 80 don’t really cost much, the TR takes a bigger bite out of the ol’ pocket book. Fully supported, world-class racing in remote parts of the Canadian Rockies just doesn’t come cheap, and yes, although in my experience most enduro racers are middle-aged, they are admittedly very likely the only ones who can afford an epic race like this. It will be interesting to see what the TR3 field does to the average though. Most of these racers that I know are actually all younger than me, including Ken. So, in this case, woe is me. I’ll be hoping for some of the so-called ‘old man strength’…

Lance and the Final Curtain?

We’ve known this was going to be Lance’s last TDF for a long time now. He said it before it even started. But, now that the race is run, I think his fans are still struggling with the realization that, yes, that was his last Tour. Looking back now, I think it was his last one not just because he’d decided it would be, but also because he knows he just isn’t quite the Lance he used to be. Sure, there is debate over what might have happened if he’d had better luck out there. Really, he had some terrible luck. Personally, I’d like to believe if he’d had no mechanicals or crashes, he could have won, but Stage 16 and Lance’s bid for the stage win might have said it all. In the interview, I felt like I could hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes. It was sad to watch, but a champion like Lance owes nothing to his fans in my opinion. It’s going to be interesting though, to see if he does actually hang the Tour shoes up. I mean, he’s clearly still capable of racing with the elite of the elite, and it’s hard to imagine he won’t still have several good years on the bike yet. I’ll be really interested to hear him speak with he comes to Edmonton.

Now, back to packing, or painting/hanging blinds…

Related posts:

1. Lance Armstrong in Edmonton
2. LINK PINK Lance Armstrong For Breast Cancer
3. Lance Armstrong – Comeback 2.0

With both Sheldon and I having fairly serious commitments this summer it just wasn’t in the cards for another full fledged 7-day epic. As we pondered what this summer had in store for us we eventually determined that the only logical alternative we had was the TR3 – well, as logical as mountain bike stage racing is ;-).

Granted we may not be officially racing together this year, but we’re still Bikeridr teammates… Here’s how we’re feelin’ from the north and south of Alberta!

You’re racing for less than half of the time/distance from last year (3 days from 7), how has your training differed this year from last?

With only 3 stages, which one(s) are you most stoked for, most apprehensive about? Do you even care?

What’s the game plan going in – Are you treating this as a race, or as more-so an epic weekend ride?

Do you anticipate being satisfied with a 3-day experience, or do you think you’ll be left wanting?

How are you feeling about this being a solo endeavour?

Related posts:

1. Are you ready for a stage race?
2. TransRockies – Alberta Bound
3. Not TR3 ready – yet

For the most part, I don’t know what I’m doing. I haven’t been racing long enough. For example, I don’t know how I should feel before a good race, versus how I feel before a bad one. I’ve thought I felt great, and raced terribly, and visa versa. Sure, I’ve read a lot, and talked to a lot of people about this stuff, but for me it’s still just guess work.

Last weekend at Nationals in Canmore, I had a good race. Best result of my season for sure, coming in 3^rd. It was a great experience landing on the podium, and one I’d like to repeat. But now with only 2 races left this season, I’m convinced more than ever, repeating that is going to be something that’s a lot easier said, than done…

Kabush signing my jersey

A seasoned racer who has a pre-race routine, a specific pre-race ritual concerning training sched the week before, favourite meals, knows measured volumes of fluid intake, their sleep patterns and so on, might be able to confidently repeat a performance. Me on the other hand, I’m still learning about all this, and about myself. That said, I have learned a thing or two about me. None of these are ground-breaking, but very likely, many of them may apply to you as well:

I really need my sleep. I am an 8-9 hour a night guy, day in and day out and I know this. If I get less than 8 hours sleep one night in the 2 days leading up to a race, I will do worse. Case in point, most of my races in 2009. Excited about the race, Ken and I would normally go out the night before, have dinner and stay out and have a few beers, only allowing for 5-6 hours of sleep. For me, this is not good.

That leads me to my second observation, beers the night before do not help me. 1, or 2 is fine, though likely not beneficial. Any more than 2, and it has certainly proved detrimental. Not only does alc dehydrate, but for me, now a 35 year man who drinks almost never, I feel like crap in the morning after any more than 3 beers.  So, I need to shut it down after 1 or 2 the night before if I care about how I am going to race the next day.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate… And by this I don’t mean drink a couple glasses of water before the race. I mean stay on the water for a couple days leading up to a race. It can take up to 7 days for your body to fully hydrate, meaning, absorb into your deep tissues. Drinking a bunch of water quickly, and then peeing clear is really only a sign that your body has taken in more fluid than it can absorb at that time. Both alcohol and caffeine will dehydrate, so I need to keep them both to a minimum.

On the podium

Stretch. I am terrible for this. I don’t enjoy it. It hurts and most often I will come up with some reason not to do it. When I do, though, my legs feel soooo, sooo much better. They recover faster between rides, meaning I can train more often, but if nothing else, stretching before a hard effort like a race wakes my legs up, and gets the blood flowing. I’m also less likely to cramp, or injure myself – which are both things I am on board with now that I’m getting older and hopefully wiser.

Eat 2 hours before the race. Eat 3 hours before if you can. For me, oatmeal with a handful of trailmix seems to be a pretty good meal. Easy to digest. Good carbs, and the nuts provide fat, which is great long burn energy that I’ve found is optimal for me, versus just straight carbs. Further to this, make yourself eat, and drink during the race. It’s hard, I know… You’re breathing hard and chewing food, or drinking just interrupts your already laboured breathing even more. But, this is key to making sure you have the energy to ride strong the whole race, and not just the first lap or two. If you can only do one, choose to drink. Find an energy drink you can tolerate that will give you energy, electrolytes and hydrate you. I’m still fiddling with this. Last race, my drink of choice nearly made me puke. Not because it tasted bad, but because it just wasn’t sitting that well. Top of the climbs on lap three, it was a close call. This might just have been because I was drinking too much at once, and not just sipping at it over the race. I am still trying to figure out how to do this.

Know yourself. Are you a racer that can blast out of the gates, be first to the singletrack, gap the field and hold on, or are you more like me, and need to start out moderately? Two weeks ago, at the Edmonton Canada Cup, I chased Ken and Gord for 2/3 of the first lap and blew up after lap 1. They were too fast, and I cracked, leaving me to struggle just to finish in 20th. Last weekend at Nationals, I went out more slowly, paced myself and tried to build up speed as I went – to push hard, but stay steady. The result was 3 moderately fast laps, and luckily, a spot on the podium.

Lastly, pre-ride the course. I never used to do this. I figured I was always just following people anyway so I didn’t need to know where I was going… But pre-riding the course is about more than knowing where you’re going. It’s about knowing what’s coming, and having a game plan. You know where you can push hard, because you know how soon you’ll hit a section where you can recover, or you know where to surge and catch someone’s wheel so you’re in position to pass when you get to the wide section coming up. In Canmore where the trails can be super technical, you’ll know better which line to take, or how fast you can go without crashing. These are just examples, but you get the idea. Knowing the course is a huge advantage.

Gord with the pull

These are some of the things I’ve found to really make a big difference for me. In the end, though, you can do all of this stuff and more, but still fall short in a race, because circumstance plays such a huge part. In my race at Nationals, I was ready physically to race well, and I did, but several circumstances played into my 3^rd place finish. Some of these circumstances were that we raced in the morning before it got hot. I race better in cooler temps. The course was set up to my strengths. It had long, grueling climbs, and tight, twisty, singletrack descents. Had the course been different, with less climbing, the result would have been different. I also had a teammate to ride with when I caught Gord on lap 2. Having him push me just that little bit to stay with him, helped a lot. I wasn’t willing to push myself to the point that I’d blow up again, but he definitely helped me out there, and encouraged me to keep up. Thanks Gord! I owe ya.

So many things come into play in a race, from how hard you’ve trained, to the course design, what you ate, the weather, the field of racers that shows up, to the state of your bike’s mechanical integrity. I mean, blow a tire, snap a chain, and there you go, end game. I guess, that’s why as little, or as much as I know now about racing,  as much as I can control about my diet, sleep, training etc…, you never really know what’s going to happen on race day. You can race smart, but in the end, no one knows how it’s going to play out. I guess it wouldn’t be much fun if we did know, though would it…?

Related posts:

1. Coffee – An Athlete’s Edge
2. Are you ready for a stage race?
3. Smart Bike

As you might have heard, a certain well-known Texan cycling legend, 7 time Tour De France Champion and prolific cancer fighter is coming to Edmonton this August…

Why Edmonton, you ask? The quick answer is, to lend support to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. But for me, I’m still left asking the question, why Edmonton? I mean, if you want to do something like this in Western Canada, why not Vancouver, or Calgary for that matter? My answer is, Edmonton is an event town. Edmontonians come out and support things in a big way. We are known as the festival city after all. So, I wasn’t that surprised when I spoke with the CBCF at the beginning of July and found out that the limited number of spots available to ride with Lance, were near gone.

Now I only say near gone, because there are still some spots available.  If you’ve been sitting on the fence at all, jump on it soon. It really is a once -in-a-lifetime opportunity to not only ride with a cycling icon, but also to raise incredibly important funds for the fight against breast cancer!

Lance will be in town for two days. August 25th, there will be a Link Pink Lance Armstrong for Breast Cancer luncheon held at the Shaw Conference Centre. Master of ceremonies will be none other than the official voice of cycling, Phil Liggett. August 26th is the ride. A small group of dedicated fundraisers will get to join Lance on a 100km ride and post-ride dinner in beautiful Jasper, Alberta.

For more information on the luncheon, and how to get your spot on the ride with Lance, contact Tracy Sopkow, Director, Marketing & Communications, CBCF – Prairies/NWT Region, T: (780) 452-1166, E: tsopkow@cbcf.org

Related posts:

1. Lance Armstrong in Edmonton
2. Lunch with Lance
3. Lance Armstrong – Comeback 2.0

Our Husky Feature racers of the month for July are the husband/wife duo of Cyclemeisters Gabor Csonka and Spin Sisters Boglarka (Bogi) Gyorfi.

Outside of Gabor’s iconic hot-pink, rigid single speed, the couple is probably best known (and admired) for pulling the whole family together for most of their races. From serious racing roots in Hungary and the Midwest to training, racing, working full time and managing two energetic young kids – we get a brief glimpse into the controlled chaos of their lives!

Gabor Csonka

You’ve been racing for a number of years (including at a professional level in Hungary) – When did you first start racing, and how did you get started?

I started in 1992. I picked up a 12 month loan to pay for my first MTB, (an orange Scott Peak with Shimano 200GS!). The guys in the shop convinced me to try this weird muddy bike race on the weekend. They even give me some VHS tapes with Overend and Tomac and others racing the world cup.  So I did try the race, crashed hard many times and finished 2nd behind the series leader back then.  Later I joined the local MTB club and started to race the national series.

I notice that you’ve raced road, triathlons, duathlons, mountain bike races and running races. I would imagine that mountain biking is your focus?

MTB is definitely my love. All other races I did for training, or just to try it out. The MTB training/racing is way more fun (for me) than running, or even road riding. Icing on the cake is the people; I find the MTB racer community a lot friendlier and laid back than competitors in other endurance sporting events. The best place to find good friends.

Continue reading on the Edmonton Canada Cup blog.

Bogi Gyorfi

A competitive downhill skier, kayaker, orienteering runner, mountain biker, triathlete and mother! Is there anything you don’t do?

Yeah, I do not work :-)

I am so fortunate to stay home with my kids. I think this is the only way we can keep up this active lifestyle. If I stayed at my profession, I was a gymnastics coach, we could not arrange riding, racing times for sure.

I know that a family can have a profound impact on a persons athletic endeavours (especially a woman’s), what advice would you give to other women wanting to keep their interest in sports, but also interested in starting a family?

After many years of training and racing there is time to try different things, like raising kids… Which is the most challenging thing I have tried so far. After I have reached some of my athletic goals and was not going to go to Olympics… :-) I was ready to have family.

It was a totally different life for the first year, a nice change from the athletic scene. It is interesting how our perspective has changed after having kid… Life just got real and full. We both became whole persons as parents… [con't]

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