NY Eve Eve report

Charles, Giles, James, Myron, Paul and I biked into the bitter winds, went to the nature park for rounds of knockdowns, slow races and skid contests. Giles slipped on some ice and fell hard on the road, James toppled into a snow bank after his marathon skid, Myron tested his new studded tire, beers washed down the salty popcorn, Paul doesn’t drink beer anymore and is a long-shot for anything (just the way he likes it). Conversations bounced between 3-D movies, deep fryers, posters, bike gear, jerseys, Bombers and New Years plans. No pictures were taken. Good times.

Speaking of New Years plans, Giles is determined to squeeze in one more ride in 2009. I've heard others will attend. I’m not sure of the time so unless you hear otherwise, meet at the same ABES time and place. I believe it was a New Years Eve ride that saw the emergence of the now infamous, cage match knockdown contest. I’ve never matched the success I had those first years on my cruiser bike with the sweet front basket. We’ll see if any new games emerge from this years ride.

New Years Eve Eve ride

People probably have plans for new years eve, so hows abouts a new years eve eve ride? We could peruse the new and improved landscape of our fair hamlet following the holiday snowfest, goof around the nature park and get un-Grumpy at the clubhouse. Meet at ABES headquarters on Wednesday at 9:00 for a pre-ride warm up. JS

Remember that/I can hardly wait

As the inaugural year of ABES comes to a close a lot of action went down. We formed a new club (see group photo), finally settled on a name, logo*, rode and raced and collectively bought a shwack of bikes. I’d say the first year was dynamite! A brief summary of this years goodness:

7 alley cat races

MS fundraiser race

The biggest cyclocross race in Manitoba history

1 Kermesse

1 Winter bike festival

Track races

Road rides

1 nordic cross

Countless (I’m too lazy to count) group rides

New bikes purchased by: JS, Charles, Shaun, Gavin, Jeff (2), Paul D-bag, Dan, Giles, and Tom (am I forgetting anybody?).

The fun will only get more awesome in 2010 (the year is even more fun to say 20-10) with more of the same and a bunch of new bike goodness.

In the ABES fashion file: A winter bike jersey is in the works...

It's a draft of how the jersey will look. I think it looks great. It’s the same company that made my Nordic Cross jersey and I love the one I have. They’ll cost about 100 bones and are worth every penny so save your grandma’s Christmas money now. The jerseys are made from merino wool…

I’m not sure if we can meet the minimum 25 jersey requirement so please let me know if you would like to purchase this fine piece of cycling wear. It might be the nicest piece of clothing you own.

Bikes are awesome,

JS

Christmas eve eve ride report

Beautiful night for riding. The riders were Dan, Bruce, Steve and myself. We started the ride with one or two stiff eggnogs and sharing our upcoming bike shopping lists. We followed the nog with a serious noodle around town. We ran into Tom who used to ride bike before he developed scaredoftheices. Too bad. Good luck with that Tom. We also found a couple of skating rinks to practice our rockford files 180 skids. This week I was the only one to climb the hill at the nature park and Dan won the ice skid contest. This ride pushed Dan over the 7000 kilometer mark for 2009. When I said Lorne was dedicated last week I must have been talking out of my A because Dan is the man - Atta boy Dan, that's awesome! The clubhouse conversation included the wonderment and love of bikes, why bikes are so awesome and why they make the world a better place. Bruce also reported that Back Alley Cycle has sold 44 new bikes. That's great news. Good times boys.

Thursday night ride: Wednesday edition

T'was the night before the night before Christmas,

and all through the streets,

skinny tires were rolling

from the power of feets.

Seeing as riding bike is so awesome, we should ride bike. The weather looks promising and we should maintain our weekly constitution. Meet at ABES headquarters for rum and eggnog (or pepsi) at 9:00, we'll leave shortly after. T'will be a wonderful night of merriment. JS

THURSDAY NIGHT RIDE REPORT

The group was large, especially for a crisp December evening. Nine riders took part in a spirited ride around our fair town. Minus our fearless leader (striken by some grave illness yet looking quite fetching in his plaid pajama pants) we struck out on our familiar cruise of Altona's well maintained streets (kudos to Mr. Steven Wiebe). Charles, Dan, Steve, James, Lorne, Jeff, Shaun, Gavin and myself set a fine, even pace as we braved the cool evening temps and managed a beautiful nights ride.

Ending up at the usual finale we partook of our beverages and conversed freely on varying subjects...elementary school report cards, mortgage brokers, quinzys, Tough Duck gloves, Saskatchewan "turnovers", past races and many other stimulating topics. A good time was had by all.

Charles showing off his new Jamis Nova Pro cyclocross bike. That dude is going to be killer fast.

Dan (orange vest) spent his 21 wedding anniversary with the boys.

Lorne is as dedicated as they get.

Respectfully submitted,

El Presidente

The African cyclist

Find out more about this dude here.

ABES Nordic Cross #2 - Christmas edition

Will there be a shiny new bike under your tree or a case of pre-punctured tubes?

No ABES have stepped forward to organize the December Nordic Cross and Thursdays in December look busy (xmas eve and new years eve). Another race is definitely in order before I stuff my pie hole with Christmas goodies (M'mmm pie).

Anyway - so far I’ve got...

ABES Nordic Cross #2 Christmas edition.

December 17 at 9:00.

The race will be in partners.

The race will go for 1 hour.

The course will be awesome.

I'll post more information as soon as I figure it out.

JS

Thursday night ride report

Keeping cozy and warming up (smoking) before the Thursday night ride.

Shawn, Dan, Paul, Curt T and I bundled up for a ride around town. Curt was the only rider who managed to climb the hill, we raced on the ice at the pond, rode through snow drifts, and back and forth in town before retiring to the clubhouse to talk about winter clothes, pottery sales and our winter bike festival. We were unfortunate to find Karaoke tunes blaring. Why do they crank the music so loud? I don’t get it. All I want to do is drink beer and visit and it sounds like they’re trying to start a rave. I like having music playing but the volume is ridiculous. Are they trying to attract the dance party Mennonite crowd? The bar is filled with dudes drinking beer and playing VLT’s and they crank the techno-shit to 11. Am I the only one that finds it all confusing? The music should be southern rock and led zeppelin (greatest rock band ever). My rant is over - for now.

If you want to prepare for the goodness that is the Altona Winter Bike Festival, check out this upcoming event put on by Woodcock Cycles. It takes place at the Belgian Club so the suds and the fries/mayo should be delightful.

Thursday night ride

Last week’s temperatures were a mere prelude to the cold that winter can bring. This week promises to be the real deal. Long underwear, balaclavas, ski goggles and electric blankets may be in order. Same ABES place, Same ABES time. I dare you to show up. JS

Altona winter bike festival

The date has been set for Saturday, March 6. This year will feature roller racing...

The fine folks at Woodcock cycles are bringing their roller racers to Altona for some winter fun. Right on! Check out the video to see what it's all about.

The fun will also include rink dogs, a slow race, relay race, home baked prizes, and the Duke V North Carolina basketball game. This event is off the grid/hook. JS

I hate it when this happens

I liked the animation style...

Thursday night ride

Altona was hit with a beautiful blanket of snow. The first snowfall is the best time to ride your bike across yards, fields, and through drifts; the snow is soft and waiting to be tagged.

If you've never ridden bike in winter it's hard to believe how much traction you have and how the exercise keeps you warm. Finding the right balance of clothing takes some trial and error. Fortunately for us no matter how far our ride takes us we're never more than 10 minutes away from home and a change of clothes.

How many ABES have the what it takes to ride all winter? Are we fair-weather or all-season? TIme will tell who has the nards and who prefers daintier pursuits.

The Thursday night ride is on. See you fellers at my pad on Thursday at 9:00.

Any volunteers to plan the December Nordic Cross? Just set a date, plan a course and the fun will follow. JS