Dandelion Grand Prix updates: please read!

Download the updated Dandelion Grand Prix (PDF 530kb) and eQuinelle Criterium (PDF 797kb) technical guides. A quick note regarding the upcoming Dandelion race from the event organizer:

Due to increasing emphasis on limited liability for the OPP, the 2012 Dandelion Grand Prix has had to change its Citizens  Race format for the 8am start wave. Previously there was an 8:00am open race an 8:02am sportif race and and 8:04am beginner event. Due to the very extensive increase in Police support to keep a yellow line rule from being imposed the morning categories have now been combined into one Open pack that will be racing 85.5km starting at 8:00am.

The Pro/Am Women's 10:30 102.6km race and the Pro/Am mens 171.km race are unaffected. Unfortunately for this year we are unable to facilitate more than one pack on the road at one time.  

I apologize for the change and I know that this change may make it difficult for some to participate in the event for this year.

Please come out and help support the event and the athletes that are competing. We are still looking for volunteers to help with rider sign on.

Thank you for being such a supportive cycling community.

Ryan

Gran Fondo Gatineau

A reminder that Gran Fondo Gatineau Online registration ends at midnight on May 17. Save 10$ by registering online! After that, registrations will be accepted on site from 8 to 5 on Saturday 19 and from 6:30 am on Sunday 20th. The Gran Fondo Gatineau starts at 8 am Sunday and the Medio Fondo starts at 8:30.

For more information or to register: www.gpcyclistegatineau.com.

EnviroCentre's Bike to Work Month sessions

photo courtesy CAN-BIKEAs part of Bike to Work Month, EnviroCentre are hosting four cycling presentations for residents living through the City of Ottawa. These events are FREE and open to everyone.

Enjoy a healthier, stress-free commute
Increase your productivity at work and happiness at home
Save money with no parking fees

Presented in association with CAN-BIKE by commuter cyclists, participants will learn:

• The simple guide to "gear"
• Information on route planning and efficient ways to navigate the city
• Lane positioning and visibility
• How to safely and securely park your bike
• Practical tips for safe cycling

The three remaining presentations are in Kanata, Barrhaven, and Ottawa City Hall. Details follow below:

Kanata

• Wednesday, May 16, 2012 (7:30pm-8:30pm)
• John G. Mlacak Centre - Hall D
• 2500 Campeau Dr.

Barrhaven

• Thursday, May 24, 2012 (7pm-8pm)
• Ruth E. Dickinson branch, Ottawa Public Library
• 100 Malvern Dr.

Ottawa City Hall

• Tuesday, May 29, 2012 (11:30AM-1:30PM)
• City Hall, Colonel By Room
• 110 Laurier Ave. W.

RWR seeks volunteers

click for bigger

Email tasminap@yahoo.ca if you can help out.

more fast and female

For those heading down to Hardwood on June 2nd, Canadian National Mountain Bike team members Amanda Sin (SCOTT-3Rox Racing) and Catherine Vipond (Norco Factory Team) will host 45 female youth riders between grades 4 to 12 for a morning of inspiration at Hardwood Ski and Bike. This will mark Fast and Female's second mountain biking event ever.

"I love being a part of Fast and Female and seeing girls excited about sports," said Sin a resident of Collingwood, ON who took part in the inaugural Fast and Female cycling event held in Canmore last year. "Participating in sport and being an athlete has had such a positive impact in my life. I want to pass that on," added the cyclist who finished third at the Pan Am Games in 2011. 

The Fast and Female Mountain Bike held at Hardwood Ski and Bike will run from 9:15 to 12:00 and include team building activities, inspirational presentations, zumba dancing, mountain biking, and autographs. The activity will be happening in tandem with the Trek Store Canada Cup featuring eight hundred participants who are expected to compete on Sunday June 3rd. 

Started in 2005 by cross country skiing gold medalist Chandra Crawford, Fast and Female is intently focused on delivering programming to inspire and motivate girls stick to sports. Research shows that girls are six times more likely to drop out of sports than boys. 

"Growing women's cycling is a focus at the forefront of the Ontario Cycling Association's mandate," said Brendan Arnold, the OHPSI Head Coach. "In collaboration with the Canadian Cycling Association, we are thrilled to support Fast and Female with their camp at Hardwood Ski and Bike."

Girls with all mountain biking skills are invited to register online until June 1  at http://ffjune2hardwoodhills.eventbrite.com/.  

ottawa events

Two more events have been added to the ottawabikes calendar:

•  Ride of Silence - May 16th, at 7pm. A silent 12km memorial ride for cyclists who have died on the roads, with registration opening at 6:30 and the ride at 7:00pm. It's held in 294 cities world wide, including Ottawa and Gatineau. The Ottawa event starts at City Hall, Gatineau across from the Museum of Civilization.
• Capital Velofest - June 2nd and 3rd. On Saturday, the festival is at Ottawa City Hall from 11am-11pm.  On Sunday, the festival will be continue on a smaller scale in 2 neighbourhoods in Ottawa :  Ottawa East in Brantwood Park, and in Hintonburgh in Hintonburgh Park.

blessing of the bikes

click for biggerJoin the 2nd Annual Blessing of the Bikes celebration! Visit the Church of the Ascension, 253 Echo Drive (just south of Pretoria Bridge), next to the Alcatel Bikeway, on May 20, presicely at 12:00 p.m to have your bike blessed.

Cycling is one of the things that makes Ottawa such a great city. Yet cyclists in "By(k)town" face many challenges: the weather, the traffic, bike lanes that disappear into nowhere.....We need all the blessings that we can get. 

So once again, Church of the Ascension is organizing a Blessing of the Bikes service to celebrate the blessing that cycling provide us (e.g. fun, travel, adventure, exercise, clean air!) and to pray for those who ride. There will be a brief blessing for riders and bikes, a moment of silence to remember cyclists who have been lost in the past year, and a chance for everyone to ring their bicycle bells in celebration of cycling. 

All are welcome. The service starts at 12:00 noon sharp; it is wonderful but very brief, so come a little early! There will be fair-trade espresso and live jazz too.

Check out the video from last year's event. 

For more information, please contact Dwayne Hodgson @ 613-761-9437 or dh@learningcycle.ca.

Dandelion Grand Prix tech guides

The tecnical guides for the upcoming Dandelion Grand Prix events are now available: 

• May 26 eQueinelle Pro/Am criteriums (PDF 3.2 MB)
• May 27 Oxford Mills Road Races (PDF 3.9 MB)

OBC Reliability Ride, May 13

The OBC spring Reliability Ride is on Sunday, May 13. It is an 88-km loop pitting riders against their estimated time to complete the course. The usual Sunday tours will start at 9 a.m. from Billings Bridge Plaza, plenty of time to make the 9:30 registration time at the Old Hawthorne/St. George Cemetery on Russell Road about 1 km east of the Russell Road/Hawthorne intersection. The ride starts at 10 a.m. Parking is limited at the cemetery, so riders are encouraged to park at Billings Bridge and ride to the short 8 km to the cemetery. Good luck to everyone!

A reminder that this, and other OBC events are for members only, for insurance purposes. To become a member, please visit the OBC Membership page.

Get more information and maps at the OBC Reliability Ride page.

Tour of the Dragons race report, by David Gazsi

Hey cycling fans, I wanted to write a quick review of the Tour of the Dragons this past weekend down in Bennington and Manchester, Vermont.

One of my teammates from Team IFG by Cyclelogik/Endurosport wrote a race report here(www.teamifg.com), but since this is Ottawa Bikes, I wanted to send out a bit of an update too, most of all, to promote this excellent race to our community.

The first stage is a 17km TT that is an absolute rollercoaster of suffering fun.  How did I win the stage at only 42 kph?  Because there’s everything on this course… long climbs, punchy climbs, wickedfast descents, and numerous corners thru some beautiful roads make this about the most enjoyable TT course I’ve ever ridden.  We climbed a total of 237 meters, with a net gain of almost 90 meters, so that explains the average speed.  I was on a really good day, taking 2 minutes out of last year’s time, and winning by almost a minute – yellow jersey!

The second stage the same afternoon is right downtown in Bennington, traditional 4 corners but with 2 ascending legs, and one very fast descent into corner 3, so it made for some exciting racing.  As crits go, it was pretty normal too… my teammates kept me safe as possible and all the rubber stayed on the road, however while I typically curse people that sprint for 15^th, this day, I cursed them for sitting up, thereby gapping me and costing me a few seconds on GC – my bad, gotta be at the front!

Sunday’s road race is gorgeous – a single loop 100k with 5 categorized climbs, beautiful quiet roads, and wicked descents.  I was comfortable defending the jersey all day – either me or my teammate Cary rode on the front of every climb, while my other teammate Andrew covered the dangerous early moves and took the sprint prime to boot!... and when there were attacks from the 2 or 3 GC threats, I was able to close them down – I had good legs, good protection, everything went to plan. Cary even finished second in KOM points, and with 20 to go, and the GC danger all but behind us, we tried to give Steve Proulx from the Cyclery some rope to get away… and he did for a heroic 15 k and maybe a minute gap, but eventually the stage hunters brought him back with about 5 to go.  Cary and I lead the peloton home to the final sprint and then got out of the way, having wrapped up the first GC win of the year.

So think about checking this race out for next season – the promoter is making lots of improvements, the courses are great, the area is great, and it’s a beautiful drive thru the Adirondack Park if you chose.  Race link here (www.tourofthedragons.com).

David

Team Infinit in action

photo courtesy Nina NesdolyRace report from Nina Nesdoly from the Granby TT and Brossard Crit:

This past weekend, Infinit (and Stevens, some from Ottawa) riders were racing in Quebec, at Granby TT and Brossard Crit. We had a great weekend, Infinit finished the TT with all riders in the top 15 out of 24, and Veronik Bourgon in 2nd! In the criterium Courtnay Romkey and myself went for the sprint and finished 8th and 11th.

Click here to read more.

2012 Gatineau Challenge

Dear Cyclists,
 
We have just received our permits and insurance papers to run the 2012 version of the A Loop series again this summer as we did last year with the road signs, lead and sweep vehicles etc.  The plan is to start on Tuesday, May 8th from Gamelin parking lot (TOMORROW).  

Please download both the registration form, and the rider code of conduct/rules for this event.

If you can please print and fill out this registration form and bring it along with YOUR UCI OR QUEBEC PROVINCIAL RACE LICENCE (NO ONTARIO LICENCES ACCEPTED DUE TO INSURANCE REASONS) and $20 to the first race that you attend. There will not be any Day Permits offered so you must have purchased your licence in advance of participating in this. Once the initial registration is completed, it will just be a matter of signing in each time you come during the summer.
 
REGISTRATION: TUESDAY May 8th FROM 5:30-6:30PM AT GAMELIN PARKING LOT (after the first race day registration will open at about 5:50pm)

START: 6:30pm every second Tuesday throughout the summer
 
PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION TO YOUR TEAMMATES WHO MIGHT WANT TO PARTICIPATE AT THIS LEVEL OF EVENT.  Please note that it is the more experienced group of riders who would normally attend this event, both male and female.
 
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me (thomsonjoanne@hotmail.com) or Rob Orange (therealrobbieo@hotmail.com).
 
Thanks,
Joanne Thomson
Ride With Rendall 

bike month in mississippi mills

June is Bike Month in Mississippi Mills!

A wide range of biking activities is planned for Almonte and area. For instance, Birders on Bike - get a chance to ride to a bird observations site. Ride with Rendall is putting on an O-Cup in conjunction with Bike Month this year. We also will be holding the "Tour de Miss" again this year. The Tours is made up of 4 basic rides, the longest being the century ride (100kms) It will be held on Saturday June 16th. It costs $15, and includes a bbq (burgers (meat and vegetarian), sausages etc) and a drink afterwards.  There are also shorter loops for riders of varying strengths. Everyone is welcome.

Check out the full activity schedule at the Mississippi Mills Bicycle Month website.

mississippi mills grand prix

Ride with Rendall is happy to announce that registration and information is now up and running for the  Mississippi Mills Grand Prix – an Ontario Cup stage race! As part of the Mississippi Mills Bicycle Month, this three-day stage race (four-stage for Elite Men) will take place in the town and surrounding areas of Mississippi Mills on the weekend of June 1-3.

Cyclists will compete in each stage of the Mississippi Mills Grand Prix and their time in finishing each stage will be aggregated to determine the overall winner of the three-day race. An overall leaders jersey and an overall points leader jersey will be awarded at the end of each stage.

Prize lists and sprint point breakdowns for each stage will be posted in the next few days.

paris roubaix: the swimming hole

Video

Road? What road. from 53 x 11 on Vimeo.

Photos

Perry McKenna has a stunning set of pics from three of the decisive wooded sections on the course.