Power Bar Recipe Showdown

The last time Smart was up for the Deadgoat Summer Solstice we got to talking about riding (surprisingly), but more specifically nutrition on the bike.

Smart was lamenting that a lot of the bars and energy products on the market don’t really feel like they’re very good for you. Granted, they’re built to “fill a gap,” but most of them are full of chemicals, waxes and acids and rather than ingredients a normal person can recognize.

I continued to think about the situation, and decided to do something about it. After some internet scouring, I narrowed things down to two recipes. One from natural food blogger Heidi Swanson from 101 Cookbooks, and one from nutritionist Pam Vagnieres from an interview with the Daily Camera.

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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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Versus 2010 Tour Tracker

As the 2010 Tour de France spins up and the speculations, predictions and intrigue start to weave their tangled webs, many of us are trying to figure out the best way to absorb this years Tour.

Do we set our PVR each day – consciously blocking out internet race coverage and forewarning coworkers to keep details to themselves? Do we desperately scour to keep up on coverage through RSS readers and Twitter? Do we suddenly come down with an illness that only allows us to come to work in the afternoon?

Thankfully, Versus is ensuring that these difficult decisions aren’t necessary with their 2010 Tour Tracker.

Last year I detailed what you could expect in the 2009 Versus Tour Tracker and it appears as though the fine crew has been hard at work behind the scenes to offer, not only better coverage, but some sincerely cool ‘add-ons’ to your experience.

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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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Disc Brakes in Cyclocross

Ahhh yes… Some good spills here, but this serves to only set the stage for the latest modifications to the rules taking effect at the beginning of the 2010-2011 cyclocross season.

The biggest thing (in my mind anyway) is DISC BRAKES!!

In my mind, this is huge – I know that especially in mountain biking the modulation that disc brakes brings to the table is a huge advantage. Not to mention for non-pros like me disc brakes are waaaayyy less maintenance, and they don’t squeal like little bitches on long descents ;-)

Here’s a full rundown of the changes:

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Descend

As a cross country rider I’ve long since come to terms with climbing. I may even enjoy it in a masochistic type of way. But the real reason most of us enjoy climbing, the real payoff, comes after the fact… When gravity turns from your foe, to your ally.

I appreciate the balance that climbing everything I descend offers, but there are times when you just want to point your wheel down the hill and let ‘er rip… To constantly feel the wind in your hair, weaving between rocks, roots and singletrack in search of the best flow.

It’s the appreciation of these things that got me so excited to work with two friends of mine and help realize a dream of theirs.

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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!