Cyclocross is a fall sport right?  After the first three rounds of the Cross On The Rock series, one could be forgiven for thinking that isn't the case.  What a run of sun we have had.  Walking around the venues at the last couple of rounds, one couldn't help but overhear grumblings about the lack of mud, how it wasn't really cross without some rain and mud covered chamois.

Well the purists were in luck, because the fourth round saw the series visit Port Alberni.  Where they invented rain.  The forcast for the Alberni valley was calling for 150mm of the wet stuff!  I guess all the rain we were supposed to get early October decided to show up at once.

The drive up from Victoria Sunday morning was... slower than usual.

Unfortunately, these folks were all too busy on this day...

This year we had an all-new venue for the Port Alberni stop; Farmer Bills.

http://www.farmerbills.com/

It's always appreciated when a land-ower steps up and allows events like this to take place.  I was standing next to Bill watching the beginners ride/run/walk through the mud pit.  He was loving the show.  Whenever someone would pick themselves up after a fall, or ride through the whole pit he would laugh and cheer them on.  It seemed that the infectious fun of cross was geting through to him.  Hopefully he'll invite us back to his farm again.

Lee and the rest of the ASS crew put together a fun course that got more and more slippery as the day went on.

Pelle. Game Face?

Clay. Pain face.

The most overworked pressure washer on the island this day?  the mud/grass combo was evil to clean.

Smiles for miles... mostly.

I know it gets said a lot, but the COTR series?  FUN!  Thanks to Lee, ASS and farmer Bill for the race.  Thanks to Norm and all the other series organizers for making fall that much better here on the island.

-Mitch

I am officially back in the saddle and feeling pretty good.  My shoulder still needs much rehab, but is strengthening nicely and range of motion is coming along nicely.  For those out of the loop, I fractured my scapula by attempting to complete a 360 degree somersault at 40 km/h.

After finally replacing my derailleur hanger, truing my rear wheel (Brad-I am looking for work in a couple years!), I rode for the first time Friday(80 km) and couldn't stand out of the saddle without discomfort, but decided I was fit enough to race.  A recovery spin on Saturday and some physio in the pool did wonders.  I woke up this morning feeling great and very little stiffness in my shoulder.  After a hot shower, it felt (almost) like new.

Then off to a VERY small town about 90 km NW of Halifax, to see how things go.  I decided to enter the B group (80 km) as I have been off for a couple weeks.  It started off very slow with 21 starters and I wanted to separate the sandbaggers, so  launched attack after attack and rode away from the field once solo, where I couldn't see any chasers for several hundred meters.  I initiated a few breaks with small groups but no one wanted to punish their bodies like I did.  The course itself was awesome with a good dose of rolling hills, wind and rural roads.  In the end, I missed the break that mattered and finished mid-pack somewhere.  Still, I haven`t felt so good about a race or a finish in a long time and I'll tell you the reason:

Last week, I asked myself the question, 'what would Jens Voigt do?'.  Today I decided to go all-out Jens and adopt his motto of 'it's better to be on the giving end, than the receiving', so I spent probably close to 20 km being chased down.  Besides, I needed to work on my fitness and work out some aggression.  I also got a good grip on who is who and how they race. 

I think a lot of my aggression stemmed from last week (May 3rd) being the 2nd anniversary of the death of Craig Blake.  Craig was an IED disposal operator from Halifax who replaced me in Afghanistan and was killed by an IED blast.  We were long-time friends and he was an avid cyclist, racer and Ironman, besides being a great Father and Husband. I guess that one was for Craig.  Next one's for me. 

Next weekend is a 100 km race in Pictou County, about 1.5 hours NE of Halifax.  Next week I will listen to the little Alex in my ear saying 'Wade, take it easy', now that I have let out my aggression.

My plan is to race the B's again.  This time I will listen to Alex's voice and I won't drop the hammer until it is time.  I will work on some speed throughout the week and dream of my race wheels I left at home.  There are cash prizes for top finishers and draw prizes as well. 

I am looking forward to it, although being Mother's day (13th) I don't anticipate the same sized turn-out.

The following weekend is the Halifax crit.

I hope you all had as much fun as I did at your race today!


Wade Smith

The Caleb Pike Wednesday nighter started out with a blistering pace this week with the firstacceleration happening before the majority of us were clipped in. Luckily there were seven of us Pro city boys that started, and we were well represented at the front to mark an inevitable counter attack.

On the second or third lap, Tyler Trace of Trek Red Truck went on the attack which was marked by me and Curtis Deardon. With three teams represented in the break, we were able to establish a significant lead in a short period of time. The pace was fast, but fortunately I had a bottle of Acai Pomegranate Eboost on the ride out to the race, the helped me maintain the pace set by the other two riders. I rolled the break to the line, and I finished in 3rd place.

The rest of the Pro City boys had their hands full in the peloton with local heavy hitter Rob Britton in the race. A chase group of 6 formed halfway through the race which was marked by Pro City’s Jamie Cameron and Colin Hynes, but both riders eventually rejoined the peloton. Towards the end of the race John Rogers was able to sneak off the front of the peloton to snag 7 th place, and Jamie Cameron was second in the pack sprint for a 9th place finish.

Although I am new to the Pro City Racing Team, the few races I’ve done with the guys have been a blast. The team has a solid understanding of team dynamics and the tactical games played in these weekly races.

     Finally the downhill season has begun! The first island cup downhill race was held last weekend up in Cumberland with a total of 158 racers making their way down the hill.

     While the weather has often been a deciding factor for this race, last weekend mother nature was kind and gave us an even playing field for the whole event. With tacky ground and warm temperatures you couldn't help but feel excited to get up the hill and ride! The whole Procity team was looking fast and comfortable on the trail. We were all nervously excited to see how the off seasons training, or lack there of, had paid off. Team new comer Aedyn Duke was our first rider down the hill, he was flying on his new TR450 but unfortunately had a little crash. Even still he finished a respectable 11th place, only 12 seconds off the beginners podium! Cam McLellan, Len Martel and Ben Byers were all up next in the intermediate category. Len set himself a goal of getting under 3 minutes for this race, with a big mistake he still managed to make it down with a time of 2:59.90! Talk about cutting it close haha. Cam on board his new Trek session 88 came down with a clean run and impressed us all with a time of 2:35. I think after this race we will be welcoming Ben up to the expert category after this first place finish with a storming time of 2:17! Congratz Ben!

     Cumberland always draws a stacked expert field, this year was no exception with some of Canada's top riders and even a pro international rider showing up. This was James Walters first race as part of the Procity team, he was having a good run but ended up crashing. He finished in 45th place with a time of 02:33.61. Colton Davies and Trevor Thew both had smooth, clean runs and finished in 35th with a time of 2:23.40 and 21st with a time of 2:14.84 respectively. Look out for Trevor at the Prevost race, don't be surprised to see him dominate it!

     Our last 5 racers all came down very strong and finished in the top 15! Dave Pfaffenberger finished in 14th place with a time of 2:12.22, a full 6 seconds fast than last year! Guess all his bike James work outs are paying off! Think its safe to say everyone who saw Scott Mitchell ride by were all drooling over his beautiful 2012 Trek 9.9. He proved it also isn't just for looks with a 13th place finish and a time of 2:11.56. Mitch Thacker looked super smooth and controlled as usual and finished in 11th with a time of 2:08.88. I (Jeff Austin) managed to sneak just in front of Mitch with a time of 2:08.40, finishing in 10th. Last but not least was our 4 time Canadian national champion Andrew Mitchell who had a bit of a handicap by racing on his Trek Slash but he still managed to beat us all and finished in 7th place with a time of 2:05.03.

     Everyone was stoked that the season is underway and what a start for the team! We should all be feeling happy and confident coming into next weeks race in Port Alberni.

Full results http://www.islandcupseries.com/index.php/php/race-results/?raceid=45

Till next time, -Jeff Austin

Thanks to Erik Peterson for the fantastic images!  Check out his website here.

Windsor crit happened this weekend. We had a small contingent from the Pro City Road Team show up, as most people were either at the Walla Walla stage race or Bermuda Grand Prix Stage Race (both have race reports in the works).

Colin, Kevin, Jeff and James all showed up to race. After a brief team meeting and warm up everyone was ready go. The race started out at a very fast pace, with riders dropping off the back. Colin and many of the russ hays guys pushed the pace pretty hard for the first few laps. Then a breakaway formed with Jeff and another rider. They stayed away for 25 min out of the 55 min. After jeff was caught the pace slowed quite a bit. Eventually everyone ramped back up, people tried to get away and make breaks, but nothing was successful. With 2 laps to go Colin tried to get away. He got a lap out before he got caught. On the last lap Steve Bachop went for a flyer and held it to the line, not without some hardship though. Jeff was able to sprint for second almost beating steve at the line. it was so close it had to be reviewed through peoples pictures.

Kevin finished strong after leading jeff out for 8th place.

Picture by Duane Martindale and Susan Hitchcock

Jon Johnson did some fancy walkin' too.