Upcoming Rides

As the riding season gets compressed into fewer hours of daylight (break out your lights everyone), here is what the Draughters have in store over the next few weeks:

 

·         22 September @ 11:00 am - Airdrie TTT.  We will have a masters men’s team, and hopefully a women’s team entered.  Our plan is to ride hard and then go to the taproom.  Once we find out our start time we will let you know our ETA at the taproom, in case you want to join us.  This would be a great time to have a season end beer/soda/water.

·         Face Punch rides are done for the year.  Thanks to everyone who showed up.  You were awesome to train with.

·         25 September @ 6:30 pm – Mid-Week Mayhem.  I’ve ridden one race so far (yesterday was cancelled) and it is really fun and super laid back.  No standings are kept beyond the first 5 places.  Also no issue if you want to ride on a hardtail mountain bike.   Go here for more info http://midweekmayhem.wordpress.com/.  Someone please come out, because no one would go for a beer with me last week, and that’s just not right for a CX race.

·         28 September – Cupcake Cross, more info for the cross races at http://www.albertabicycle.ab.ca/events

·         29 September – Bici Rodeo Cross

·         05 October – Dark Knight Cross

·         06 October – Cadence Coffee Classic Cross

·         You get the picture, now go dust off your hardtail mountain bike or buy a CX bike

·         12-13 October – I’ll be in touch regarding rides depending on the weather

 

For those people training through the winter I am trying to figure out a cloud based location to share a basic training program.

 

Ride on,

 

Mike

Tour of Alberta and Ride Tomorrow

Please send me an e-mail if you are still interested in watching the stage live today.  The spot I was thinking of going to (the last big hill heading South on the Road to Nepal, just before you turn West onto highway 549) looks to be somewhat accessible by car (I’ve had enough riding in the rain today after our TTT training ride), and the riders would go by twice.  I am planning on trying to be there by 2:30 pm.  If you would like to be part of my ill-conceived plan to go watch pro cycling in the rain, please let me know, or if you have a better plan, that would be good too.

 

Tomorrow there will be a two hour ride leaving at 7:00 am from the SW Corner of the Westside Church Parking lot (3939 69 Street SW).  Hopefully the weather will be better than today, and that will give everyone enough time to sign their kids up for archery lessons, take them to hockey practice, and still make it down for the finish of the Tour of Alberta.

 

Ride on,

 

Mike

 

Viewing the Tour of Alberta

Hi everyone

Last email for awhile. This is about watching the Tour of Alberta this weekend.

Saturday - Stage 4

We are planning on watching Stage 4 (Saturday) from the highest point of Road to Nepal. This will mean the riders will pass us twice, plus we will be able to see some attacks unfold - see orange arrow in picture below.

Tentatively, based on the Tour of Alberta timetable, it seems like they will pass the viewing point around 2:30. However we note that yesterday's stage finished an hour early.  We are guessing that parking at the ditch at 22x and 37street will be full. Our alternative parking spots are: Red Deer Lake Church or Red Deer Lake School/Third Academy, both of which are a little further west on Highway 22x. We will park at one of those spots and bike in. 

If you are interested in joining, please drop me an email.

Sunday - Finish

If you are interested in going down to the Festival which starts at noon and goes until 6 pm downtown, please drop Mike an email (murquhart@stratavera.com).  Information is attached - there will be live bands, beer tent, food trucks, lots of stuff for families to do (bouncy castles, bobsled track etc) plus some amazing bike shops are exhibiting. I understand there will be a chance to compete and show your power output. And there are some bike shops that are bringing down some pretty sweet rides for people to demo. This is your chance to sit on that $10,000 bike you were thinking of buying.

Riders are expected to hit downtown at around after 3 pm, and finish after 4 pm. They are doing a few laps around the downtown area so if you get a good vantage spot, you might be able to see them 3 or 4 times, or see them sprint to the finish once!  

Ciao,

Lorraine

 

 

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LORRAINE CHAN CA ICD.D

Partner & Chief Financial Officer

T 403 261-8080 ext 342

C 403 701-3998

F 403 261-8085

05-11 September Draughters Rides

I hope everyone enjoyed watching the Prologue of the Tour of Alberta.  Here is the our own Garry McCulloch with race leader and odds on GC favorite Peter Sagan.  Peter was nice enough to pose for this picture even though Garry has obviously disguised himself as the bellboy (note the luggage cart in the background) and stalked Peter to his room.   When not harassing the pros, Garry is part of the organizing committee for the Tour, and Jeff Booke and Lorraine Chan are on the organizing committee for the Calgary Finish Festival on Sunday.  Once again, here is the website for the Tour http://tourofalberta.ca.  If you can, please tell all your friends, then come out for the stages on Saturday and or Sunday to show support for the riders and the Tour so that professional cycling will have a permanent home in Alberta.

 

 

As for rides this week:

·         Saturday morning I hope to set up a team time trial training ride on Highway 8 to practice for the upcoming race.  If anyone wants to join us, please send me an e-mail.  I was thinking today that Kari, Krista, Donna and Lorraine would be a good women’s team.  How about it ladies?

·         Sunday morning I’m going to go for an early training ride as I have a commitment that conflicts with the 10:00 am ride.  If anyone wants to join me please send me an e-mail.  If anyone wants to lead the 10:00 am ride, let me know and I’ll update the club.

·         Monday night the Face Punch ride will start at the North Edworthy Parking lot at 6:30 pm.  After one easy climb of Edworthy as a warm-up we will go to Mackay Road for 10 hill repeats.  Great training for CX or late season Fondo’s will lots of hills.

·         Wednesday night is a CX race at Laycock Park at 6:45.

 

Ride on,

 

Mike