Alleycat...we hope!

As of this evening the forecast for tomorrow's "Spring Has Sprung" Alleycat seems bleak at best.  Downright rainy in fact.  So we'll be making the call sometime tomorrow afternoon on whether or not its a go.  Check here.

ALLEYCAT!!!

Date:  This Thursday, April 1st
Place:  The usual (Johnny's place)
Time:  Also the usual....9 PM sharp!
Entry fee:  $5.00 CDN or $6.00 USD


Winter seems to have passed us by and we're all geared up for Spring riding.  Lots of riders at last Thursday's ride so hopefully we can have a decent turnout for the first Alleycat of the 2010 Alleycat season (not to forget the awesome AWBF alleycat Duke and D'shaun but that was a separate entity).

Thursday night ride report

We pushed a good pace last night, sprinted when the mood struck, and made sure our legs and lungs took note. Whether it was the guilt of missing last weeks ride or the milder weather, the ABES was out in full force last night. Attendance included: James, Lorne, David, Charles, Curt F, Curt T, Paul, Steve, Shaun, Jeff, Mike and Dan (who did I miss?). It was agreed that we rode about 17 miles. Local firefighter, bike shop owner and ABE Curt T left the ride early to take a call at the fire hall – he later joined us to say all was safe and sound. We lost Curt F during the ride sometime after the hill – I guess we’re just too fast for him or he got a call from his lady friend and lost his senses. Myron joined us at the clubhouse. Conversation at my end of the table included restaurant lifestyle choices (The Tiawana Yacht Club, Moxie's = Hooters, and Strawberries), bubble gum machine bankruptcy, David’s seven beer bike race warm-up, Paul moving to Alberta to explore his alternative lifestyle choices - beef, and upcoming bike events. The first alleycat of the year may start next week. The Maroons were the bridesmaids for the third time in the last four years loosing to the Warren Mercs in the SEMHL finals, and Sweet Action lost and are finally done for the season. The popcorn was salty, free and devoured. Bikes are awesome. JS

Thursday Night Ride

Sure its cold outside, but don't give up now. You biked in ice and slush and you kicked winter right in the snowballs. Continue to ride and show winter who's the boss (as if there's any doubt).

Don't be an Angela. Ride your bike. JS

Lorne saves the day

If not for Lorne I would have been forlorn. ABES would have had it's first Thursday Night Ride shut-out. Lorne could not be deterred by little (a lot) of wind and the lure of the couch. Lorne is my hero. We howled at, and laughed with, the fierce prairie winds. 7 miles of spinning before we rolled into the clubhouse to be later joined by Paul and Duke. Conversation included poker night, wasabi and sushi, March madness, and the embarrassing situations of acid reflux. Paul B reported that the Maroons beat the Warren Mercs 7-3 to tie the SEMHL Championship series 1-1. Sweet Actions B side curling playoff game is postponed until next week.

In ABES related news...Plans are in the works for an August bicycle race at the Altona Moto X Park: The ABES Dirty Double Crosser. An unsanctioned cyclcross race that MAY feature hand-ups, hand-downs, a soak zone, tequila shortcut, paintball shortcut, dodgeball, time trials, kids races, and a canteen serving bbq-goodness. Its going to be hellafun. JS

ROLLER RACING VIDEOS

Just a few video highlights from last night's roller racing finale at the Belgian Club in beautiful downtown Winnipeg, MB. More pics and reminiscing to follow...

Late edition: The ABES took our dog and pony show to the Belgian Club last night for a St Patrick's day roller racing party. The 500m race had 20 riders and was dominated by alpha male Dave P. who outspun Don S. The featured (and funnest) race of the night was the 1000m team relay. Curt was recuited by one of the three FGBC teams and helped them tie for the gold with RRR. The ABES trio of David (ride slow, drink fast), Bruce and I were proud to receive the bronze. Bruce won the door prize of two (which turned into four) seats in a luxury suite for a Manitoba Moose game. Good times. JS

Let's roll

DSwat, Bruce and I are going to the roller races at the Belgian club on St. Paddy's day. Anybody interested in catching a ride with us should contact Bruce. His vehicle seats 7. It would be nice to have 2 ABES relay teams representing the 324. JS

Thursday night ride

...is ON.

ABES is a not-for-profit club. This means we may take some calories off during the ride, but somehow by the time we get home, we're lucky to break even.

The weather has been encouraging. We still have a month or two where we could see a blizzard, but so far, so good. Skinny tires and road bikes are making their way out of the basements and onto the roads. Maybe we'll see fair-weather Tom this week? JS

Southern Cross slideshow

Better late than never?

I did it! JS

Thursday night ride report

Plastic bags: anti-theft device AND rear fender. James Doell is a genius.

Blogmaster Faurschou came to show me how to put up a slideshow – Thanks Gavin. Shaun, Jeff, James, Paul, Ben joined us. Chips were consumed. We rode a bunch. Tom, Duke, David and Lorne joined us at the clubhouse. Chips were consumed. The Maroons won. Sweet Action won. Ben is going to Thailand/Burmese (Myanmar). Lorne loves musicals. Grad ‘88 is going to Vegas. It was agreed that the AWBF was awesome, probably the best ever. Conversations rambled on.

Agenda items…

St. Patrick’s Day Roller Races – can we put together an ABES relay race? Let me know who’s interested in going. It would be a nice way of showing our appreciation to Tim/Erick for their help at the AWBF.

Alleycat race coordinators are needed for the upcoming months. That’s how the ABES collective works. Volunteer now, book your month and plan a race. Weekend day races were proposed; sounds good. David said he has something special planned for his next alleycat. I hope special is not another word for being shot at or shived.

Spring ride weekend. May 28 – 30. Mark your calendar, plant the seeds and start earning brownie points now. This weekend is a definite highlight of the year. We will be camping at the Falcon Lake chalet (which should be awesome). The spring ride is always a good time.

AWBF Slideshow

Thursday night ride

Thursday night ride is on. Meet at the clubhouse. We have an agenda, chips and beer. Bring your own beer. JS

Bike for sale

From the desk of Charlene Guenter...

I am the bike's second owner. It was from the 70's. It used to be set up as a road bike. I took it to Natural Cycle to get the following done to have it converted to a single speed commuter bike. This was about 4 years ago.

Flat Pedals
Straight Bars
Newer tires
27 inch wheels
Original paint

Asking $150 obo

The size is about 58cm (same as my bike) and it looks great. It should be available for viewing at ABES headquarters this weekend. Shaun, Gavin, others? JS

Roller Racing Finale?

There was some casual talk about possibly having an ABES contingent attend the Roller Racing Grand Finale at the Belgian Club in Winnipeg next Wednesday night. Anyone interested? Add it to the agenda for Thursday Night's Ride.

Long and awesome (twss)

One great ABES event is over and waaay off in the distance another approaches. After the spring ride, Krahn Barn Kermesse, alleycats, 24 hour race, back 40, motox cross, road rides, track races, and a variety of unknown and unmentioned good times, comes Southern Cross. I just saw this video and loved it. Enjoy. JS

2009 Chicago Cyclocross Cup from Heather Jurewicz on Vimeo.

AWBF Report

That was awesome. A lot of good people and bike fun.

The group ride was a chance to check out the town, play knockdown games and try to climb the hill. It was a good to see so many bikes on the roads. Some would call it witnessing.

From the desk of race coordinator Myron Dyck...

Yesterday's alleycat race featured 8 teams. It was good to see the country mouse/city mouse cultural exchange with the teams. It made the race more enjoyable for the folks venturing south of the Perimeter. Some highlights of the race included Shaun's Shooting Range (way to go lil' dude!!), Steven and Gavin getting cherried and lectured by a cop. I think it was the ghost of Chief Bob Mart. But they adhered rules of alleycat (the first rule of alleycat is that you don't talk about alleycat-classy moves gents!!). There were several teams who did not follow the third rule of alleycat (we all know what the second rule is) READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. Several teams arrived at the finish line and were resent out to complete the race because they thought they knew what they were doing, but really they didn't. Falling victim to this false sense of acumen were the DFLers David and James...way to go...I guess. But, in the end the race was won by a team of minstrels, lead by the wiley local on vocals Paul B. and backed up nicely by Daryl B. and Jon G. They rode a clean race, which allowed them to avoid any 5 min. additions, and Pee Bee got a 30 sec. shave for his uncharacteristically wrathful behavior in the knockdown. Congratulations chaps, now go write a song about it. All-e-cat...alle-cat.

Here are the full results :

1. Paul, Jon, Darryl 2. Ben, Jeff 3. Chris 4. Gavin, Steven 5. Bruce, Charles, Kurt 6. Matt, Albert, Dan 7. Lorne, Victor, Evan 8. James, David

Thanks to all who came out. I hope you had a good time. MD

Thank YOU.

The trio of Darryl the secretary, Jonny good times and Paul the navigator won with a clean ride.

Ben and Jeff took second place.

Huebner slipped to third with some bad math. Cheer up Chris. I'm sure you'll have better luck at the roller races.

Gavin and Steven won prizes for being cool under pressure.

James and David took the DFL distinction and won some flawed pottery for a flawed effort.

I'm not sure what the total attendance was (40-45?) but we had 28 registered for the roller races which was a highlight for many. It proved to be entertaining and painful. 3 of the 4 finalists were ABES (funny/awesome). I was lucky enough to race a tired Huebner in the finals for the win.

Big thanks to Tim Woodcock (who brought the bikes) and Erick Oland (who brought the roller racers). That was awesome. You guys are awesome.

Dave Epp brought a couple of unicycles. Nick showed off his skillz.

David's (109) rink dogs were awesome as usual. There was a two way tie for dogfest champion - Evan and Joshua both ate 9 - impressive. The chips were plentiful. You could usually see a giggle of children around the chip buffet table. Big props for Sawatzky and Son's Electric. Proud sponsor of this event since it's inception.

We were able to watch the basketball game in the chapel between the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels. After 5 years of loosing on the final day of the regular season, Duke finally won a game dominating a decimated Tar Heels team that won the tourney a year ago.

Thanks to all that contributed to this great day.

A slideshow with a comprehensive collection of photos will be put up soon'ish.

Good times boys and girls. Well done. JS

AWBF VIDEOS

Just a few select vids from yesterdays Altona Winter Bike Festival...

Shaun versus Cindy...



Gavin versus DNB...



Charlene versus Jon...



Semi-final #1...



Semi-final #2...



The Championship...

Thursday Night Ride report

Watching Gavin/chatting.















Steve B. and Lorne discussing strategy pre-race.














Gavin during his ultra fast first lap. New course record at 56.57 seconds. Nice work Faurschou!











Thursday Night Ride was actually the inaugral Village Time Trials at the Hiebert/Sawatzky yard in the Village of Altona. 5 riders braved the extremely warm weather conditions to race the four lap timed event. The first two laps qualified you for your final laps position and after the first two it seemed as though Gavin had an insurmountable lead. Blazing around the short track in a blistering time of 56.57 seconds (obliterating Johnny S.'s old record of 1:11.43) he was poised for victory. The second set of laps proved a bit sloppier as the riders chewed their way through the course and by the time Gavin emerged as the last racer of the night things had become decidedly messier. But, even with Steve B.'s consistent set of laps Gavin was able to hold of all challengers and be crowned Village Time Trial Champion.

Gavin 2:13.10
Steve B. 2:16.24
Dan K. 2:30.68
D-Shaun 2:36.15
Lorne 3:15.28 (Ed. note: Lorne's first lap was run IMMEDIATELY after chugging a beer.)

Post-race festivities adjourned to Grumpy's where the usual frivolity and chatter occurred.

Gearing up for the AWBF

A feature of the AWBF includes home-baked prizes. Cookies, bread, soup, pickles, (pottery) etc. ABES are asked to help provide a prize for Saturdays festivities. Start baking or go to your parents or grandparents and look in the freezer. Thanks. There was also talk of playing crib - so bring the supplies if you are so inclined.

H.E.C. is on the job to fix the technology at The sExchange. Our prayers are with you Paul. JS

AWBF blip

Apparently T.E.D. was unable to fix the satellite. Which is to say unless an ABES has an alternative plan, we will be S.O.L for the basketball game at S.O.L. for the A.W.B.F.

So we won't be able to watch this...

or this...

and this...

Again. Duke has a really good shot at breaking the streak this year too.

Any bright ideas? JS

Village Time Trials

From the desk of the Race Coordinator....

Track conditions are optimal...expecting fast lap times...possibly breaking the course record (2 laps) of 1:11.

The racing will begin at about 9:15 or 9:20. Anybody who shows up at the usual start place will hopefully be redirected to the proper venue (Johnny? A sign possibly?)

Qualification laps will be ridden first followed by the finals. No prizes on the line, just pride.

AWBF updates

The Duke was unable to come to most of the AWBF (aww), but sometimes things have a way of working themselves out. His coaching schedule has miraculously reconfigured itself and he will now be able to attend the festivities (yaa)!

If out-of-towners want to ride the alleycat race solo, it would be a good idear for them to participate in the Super-Happy-Fun Bike Ride to familiarize themselves with the terrain.

Lil' Mia is helping prepare for the weekend...

See you suckers at DSwat'z Village Time Trials. BYOB. JS

Potatoes and Poker

I know this guy. He's my chip guy. He's getting us chips for the AWBF. I love that guy.

Their have been ongoing discussions that suggest that poker may take place after the basketball game at the AWBF. David and DJ are my poker chip guys. JS

A glimpse into the future of the AWBF

The Dyck brothers have put together a delightful race. The following clips are from the ABES Winter Bike Festival alleycat manifest. The completed works will be available on Saturday.

HELL FROZEN (or Slushed) OVER:

A DIVINE BICYCLING COMEDY

You are about to embark on an other-worldly tour a’ la Dante’s Divine Comedy. In this race, you will visit The Inferno and experience the 9 deadliest sins of the bicyclist. Next, you will travel through Purgatorio and rightfully purge yourself of these wretched violations. And, finally, you will arrive cleansed at the ultimate goal, Paradisio, where you will finally be able to bask in the glory of a well-completed task. This venture is not for the faint of heart, so embark if you dare.

THE INFERNO

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here...but you should keep your bicycles."

Wrath “And with their rage they will come after us with cruel bike tread.”

Limbo "These sinned not: but the merit they achieve helps not, since bicycles were not theirs.”

Lust “They let their two-wheeled desires pull Reason from her throne.”

Gluttony “And they took up clods of burgers, bacon and beef with full fist and crammed them into their madly ravening maws.”

Heresy “That Shade kept bitterly blaspheming saying, What art thou and what is that asinine contraption you ride?”

Spendthriftery“Ill-giving, Ill-hoarding, lost in the light of the bike world, and in this spending caught.”

Violence “And turn thy bikes toward the Valley, for draws near the River of Blood, wherein are boiling drivers that live by violence and on biker’s fear.”

Fraud “Tell me who ye are and what breed your bike is made, however loathly and foul it be.”

Treachery “For to thy shame, accursed biker thou! I’ll tell the truth of what thy treachery was.”

PURGATORIO

“And to that second kingdom will I pedal,

Wherein the human spirit doth purge itself.”

PARADISIO

“Arrived I saw me a wondrous thing and rode myself towards its sight!”

Amen.