July 12/99 2:04 am - Shep Report, Pan Am Team Report, Cycling Grandparents

Posted by Editor on 07/12/99
 

The Shep Report

Banff shopping and Canmore sun were reasons for racing after my exodus from the mud mosh of the previous weekend. The riders lined up to a course that featured rolling climbsthat were interrupted with world renowned rooty Canmore singletrack that included drop-offs, thread through the tree sections, and plenty of "edge of death" type stuff! Also included this year (much to the dismay of riders) were the coal chutes. These pointless "freeride" sections had us skid (oh that's soooo difficult) down coal dust descents....yes coal dust, that great substance that paints images of industrial revolution England where scurvy Brit kids, covered in soot would balance baskets of that crap on their heads, coughing and wheezing from their carcinogenic payload! Damn it,Jim! What about a switch back, single track descent? Just a thought....

From the gun, Rolli was first to set tempo as he attacked up the initial climb and gapped the field by 30 feet. The race players sorted themselves out quickly and gradually moved up to Rolli by the ensuing single track descent. Dre, Dry Ryder (Ryder Hesjedal), Wedgy (Peter Wedge coming off a good Canmore World Cup), and yours truly followed as the pace quickened. Those four worked the front as I sea-sawed just off theback for a couple of Km's....behind Visser, Tourville, and Toulouche (Matt Toulouse, who had a problem with gravity, hit a tree and bent his disk brake then did the next four laps with the brake rubbing) pressed the pace.

By the last climb of the lap all five of us were in a train that didn't break till midway through the second as Rolli and I worked the rolling climbs....the coal chutes claimed Dre and his wheel (he was last seen by Dry Ryder jumping up and down holding himself!)...Wedgy trailed at 30sec. The next lap the order remained the same but Wedge was 42sec back and Dry Ryder a further 25sec behind.

On the long descent towards the coal chutes, I gapped Rolli a bit (I think my terrible choices in lines phased him), and once we hit the chutes he gambled with the steep shortcut and lost! With the help of lapped women I was able to put 40 seconds on him by the start of the final lap as Wedgy pursued Rolli at 20 sec. Those two battled for the last lap with Rolli coming out on top, Ryder in fourth, Veggie mate Aussi Craig Gordon came in fifth, and I won....yeeeehaaaa cash, that check and straight to the Diesel store for me! Look for the apres race reports this Friday, and Saturday from Mammoth Mtn.

The Players:

Rolli - Roland Green
Dre - Andreas Hestler
Dry Ryder - Ryder Hesjedal
Wedgy - Peter Wedge


Pan Ams Team Report

The Canadian sprint team has arrived into Winnipeg for the Pan American Games!

Four members of the Canadian Pan American Games cycling team arrived into Winnipeg this past weekend to test out the track, and to spend some valuable time on the velodrome prior to the Games here later this month. Early indications by the athletes feedback, and early training times are very good. (Doug Baron posted a 10.9, and Tanya Dubnicoff posted an 11.4 in their first 200 Meter time trials on the track).

The Canadian Sprint team departs Wednesday for the EDS Cup in Blaine, Minnesota, and then returns on Monday, July 19 into Winnipeg for the start of the Games on the 23rd.

Don't forget to turn on the opening ceremonies to see Tanya D. leading out the Canadian squad as we enter the stadium!

More news as we tour the track in Blaine.

Later,
Kurt Innes
Coach, Canadian Cycling Team


Grandparents Cycling Across Canada on the Wideen Ride
(courtesy Brian Wideen)

Four provinces down, six to go

Marvin and Loretta Wideen are cycling across Canada. They began in May, first dispatching BC and Alberta, then Saskatchewan and Manitoba. They have just passed through Thunder Bay, expecting the rest of Ontario to consume the month of July.

Their slowest going was in Saskatchewan, where they ran into winds that tried incessantly to knock them from the bikes. While the Rockies were a formidable challenge, those Saskatchewan winds provided their most difficult cycling.

Back in BC, they are cheered on by 4 kids, 6 grand-kids, colleagues,friends, colleagues who are also friends, and people they don't even know. They report in daily with information on distance travelled, where they are staying, the road conditions, the weather, and some highlights. They also frequently comment on people they meet, things they see that were denied them when driving by at 100 kph, and those pleasures the rest of us take for granted (such as warm bath and good food). Their adventure is tracked on theWeb at http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/wideenride/.

They travel with no entourage, no van to provide respite from weather or a quick nap in the afternoon, no logicians arranging hotels and meals, no publicity agent to raise awareness of their ride. They are simply two grandparents realizing a dream, enjoying more of each other's company than they've ever had before.

Who are these people? Marvin is a professor at SFU who retires in August. Loretta was a psych nurse who ran Royal Columbian's Sherbrooke Daycare Program before her retirement last year. They began cycling in their 40s,periodically touring areas such as Harrison Hot Springs, PEI and the Loire Valley. Passionate cyclists? Not really. They just enjoy it. The idea of cycling across Canada has been percolating for years, retirement was the first time they could spare 4 months.

Schizophrenia is the cause they chose to dedicate their ride. They would like everyone to become more familiar with this tragic disease, possibly contributing to the Schizophrenia Society of Canada. Loretta has worked with many schizophrenics in her career as a psych nurse, and is moved by their pain, and the pain of their families. Especially as part of this ride,Marvin has also been exposed to people facing the tragedy, and is moved by their strength.

Check out the Web page. These two people are serious. Tenacity and sheer will should see them in Newfoundland late September or early October.

What a great way to kick off a retirement. Problem is, what do they do for an encore (other than babysit their grandkids)?