Feature Racer: Bridget Linder

This month I had the chance to pick the racing brain of Hardcore Bikes team rider, Bridget Linder. Here is a snippet of the article to get you going, but you can link to the Edmonton Canada Cup site to read it in it’s entirety.

Our Husky Feature racer of the month for June, is none other than team Hardcore Bikes, Bridget Linder. If you’re from Edmonton, you’ll likely recognize Bridget as she’s been sporting that iconic Hardcore green for number a years now in the women’s elite category. In this article she talks about her very first race, what’s so great about riding in Edmonton and balancing her racing goals with ‘real life’. Here we go:

Let’s start out with a little history on how you got into riding and racing. What’s the Bridget Linder Story?

I dabbled with mountain biking when I was in high school growing up in Kamloops. Unfortunately, sometimes I feel like my time in Kamloops was wasted. Maybe not wasted, but it was definitely spent  doing other things like basketball and volleyball. I rode a bit, but my friends that rode were spread out across the city and I really didn’t get out much. Prior to Uni, I sold my bike, bought a cheap four-wheeled vehicle complete with a combustion engine and moved to Calgary. My passion for cycling remained but I didn’t own a bike or have any friends that rode. After a year or two without a bike I caved and bought a sweet used Rocky Vertex with a Mag 21R and Kooka cranks. I credit any of my technical descending skills to using this oversized (19”, I ride a 17”), under suspensioned bike as a shuttle bike during my summers home in Kamloops. Unfortunately, this didn’t help my climbing!

Fast forward to the day I met my husband… I think Dave fell in love with my Kooka cranks before he fell in love with me. Dave loved cycling and had been mountain bike racing for a few years before we met. Dave was my “in” to mountain bike racing, which was something I’d only dreamed about before meeting him. With a new riding partner/racer (and much more) I had finally found my way into the sport.

To read the rest of the article you can click here to visit the Edmonton Canada Cup wesbite

2010 Road Nationals in Edmonton Alberta

2010 Road Nationals, Edmonton, Alberta from Sheldon Smart on Vimeo.

A week or so ago, I got a call from Mike Sarnecki asking if I wanted to help do a little reporting on Road Nationals for Pedal Magazine. I said, ‘sure, why not…’. I didn’t really ask what it would all entail, but nor was I concerned. Whatever it was, I was pretty sure it was going to be good fun. Thursday, the day before the Friday Time Trails, I showed up at the press conference at the Matrix Hotel. ‘See if you can get some on camera interviews’, Mike told me. Again, I said, ‘sure, why not…’, though I knew I might be walking in over my head. Armed with a point and shoot Fuji Film camera, a list of racer names I didn’t really know, and some suggested questions from Mike, off I went…

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Summer Solstice Suffer Springs XC race report

Last weekend was the Deadgoat, Summer Solstice Suffer Springs XC race in beautiful Kananaskis country. This race should simply be titled, ‘the hardest race of the ABA XC season’. I know there isn’t much of a ring to it, but it’s much more accurate. Over 1,400 meters of vertical climbing in just over 12 km. Now I shouldn’t make it sound all bad, because I mean after all, what goes must come down, and despite massive amounts of rain the week before and all the mud, the down part was more than worth it. Good times, good times.

For me this race was about three things: Ken, Sam and Gord. Simply put, I wanted to beat all three of them, haha… ‘Lofty, this goal was’ (as Yoda might say). I’ve never, ever beated Ken and Gord has been crushing me all season. Then there was Sam, who had laid a sound thrashing on me at the Bacon race. Beating all three was a long shot at best, and I knew that, but what’s life without goals.

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Iron Lung + Organ Grinder Race Report

Iron Lung XC and Organ Grinder Enduro 2010 from Sheldon Smart on Vimeo.

I won’t be the only person saying this, but I have to start out with Saturday’s Iron Lung XC course was THE BEST AND MOST FUN COURSE I’VE EVER RIDDEN!

The Canmore Nordic Centre always offers up incredible single-track riding, but the way this course was put together was nothing short of inspired. The 6km+ loop mixed in seriously hard climbs with twisty, fast single-track decents, including the Laundy Chutes, the ever famous and Devonian Drop, and new this year was the sketchy Eye Dropper (a short, super steep section of single track that finshed with about a 3 foot vert drop at the end) PLUS an amazing, perfectly bermed downhill pump-truck. It was a blast! And, this was just the first day of an epic two day double header XC mountian bike race weekend in beautiful Canmore, Alberta…

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Know Your Game

I came across this blog today on Lifestyle Management, and it spurred me to write this post.

Great expectations. Yes, we all have them, and that’s what I had for this race season. I’d spent solid time on the bike all winter, both indoor and outdoor and started off the spring season in pretty good shape. I’d imagined this would be the platform that I’d be able to push off of and realize some great gains early to mid-season. Well, not everything always goes to plan…

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Cycle Speedway

Cycle Speedway – Euro Club Champs Final 2010 from Cycle Oxford on Vimeo.

Short-track speed skating, meets roller derby on no break, single-speed bikes – this is awesome! Born out of the post WW1 rubble-strewn streets of Britain, this dirt track motorcycle speedway influenced style of racing takes velodrome sprint speed power and bike handling skills, plus the ability to shoulder check your fellow racer into the rails. I can see this catching on here. If anyone around Edmonton is doing this, drop us a line. This looks like seriously good fun. I’m in!

Deadgoat Giver 8er Enduro

Deadgoat Giver 8er from Sheldon Smart on Vimeo.

8 hours of pain and suffering didn’t exactly pan out for me, or Ken, this weekend. Ken needs to learn how to ride a mountain bike again, while I pulled the plug early to save some energy for the dull drive back to Edmonton. Really though, I just need to lay off on the ‘suck’ – I admit it.  The day started out cold with snow, drizzle and a ton of mud but there was still a great turn out – those mountain bikers sure are a hearty bunch, hahah… Deadgoat put on a great event for sure  - Good times… Good times! I actually found it pretty amazing that racers kept hammering laps out given how slow and soft the course was. I mean it was slooow going and you were working for everything out there. I seriously gotta hand it to those that powered through for any longer than I did.

Edmonton Canada Cup Feature Racer – Krystyn Ong

In the second installment of the Edmonton Canada Cup, Husky Feature Racer series, I had a chance to catch up with a River Valley Cycle teammate of mine, Krystyn Ong. She’s been in the racing game for a while already and has a lot of experience and insight to offer. Here’s the Q & A:

So how did you get your start in cycling, and what was it that got you into racing?

I started cycling with the Dirtgirls cycling club in 2005.  They hosted a race that year called the Down and Dirty, and I decided to try racing in the U17 category.  I decided later I wanted to race more competitively so I joined a performance based club called Juventus and started working with their coaches the year after.

I know you used to race road, so what was it that made you switch over to mountian?

Well, actually, I started out mountain biking, but then raced both for a while.  Now I am just racing mountain bike, cross-country and downhill, even though I still train on a road bike. I really prefer racing mountain bike because I like technical riding and being out in the wilderness.

To read to full article, you can link here

Anatomy of a local bike race

All last year, I went to bike races put on by other groups and clubs, like Alberta Mountain Bike Racing, United Cycle, Hardcore and so on. I showed up and rode my bike, then ate some food as I waited around impatiently for results, podium and draw prizing. After, I went home. This year, through RVC I’ve helped put on two racers, and let me tell ya, I was completely taken back by the amount of organization and work that goes into these local races…

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Bikeridr in Paris

So what do you think of when you hear the words ‘Paris, France’? You might say the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame, or maybe you’ll think of something more gastronomic like fine cheeses and delicate Bordeaux wines… I certainly think about all those things, but I also think of BIKES. Yes, I think of Parisians riding home from work with a bottle of red wine and a baguette under their arm, and of course the Tour de France!

My wife and I recently spent just shy of two weeks in the City of Light, and let me just say, what a city! But beyond all the romantic Parisian experiences that we managed to enjoy, like walking along the Seine River, sitting under the Eiffel Tower, sipping café crème in little Brasseries that people like Hemingway or F. Scott Fitzgerald once frequented, and dining in some of the most incredible Paris restaurants, I wanted to see the real European cycling scene! I wanted to browse in incredible boutique bike shops, and oogle over the finest road racing machines Europe had to offer. I mean, after all, Paris and the Champs Élysées is where the Tour de France finishes up! This is a cycling Mecca, right?!

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