• May 29^th
• June 19th
• July 24^th
• August 14th

And for those of you on the fence, remember:

“Suffering is humbling. It pays to know how to get your butt kicked.”
― Christopher McDougall, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

In order to create this, I will need some information about you: “what improvements are you looking for?” These can be specific, I want to improve my riding form by increasing my cadence, and measurable, I want to ride a 3:35 at Great White North, but they can also be subjective and emotion-based, I want to gain confidence in my riding abilities.

You can introduce yourself in person, email (mmuise@ualberta.ca) or facebook (Cycle-Logic group site) – any means of communication you wish. We leave the shop at 6:05 pm on Tuesdays. I will be there early, but remember that the shop will be closed at 5:30, so come ready to ride. If you need adjustments to your bike, you should arrange to do that during shop hours.

We came up with a structured set of 4 classes to be held in the early spring so that new riders, or “new to group riding” riders, could get some basics so as to be able to ride with a group and know the etiquette and the general “rules of the road” cycling style.

Thus, the 9th Street Cycle-Logic Cycling Club invites all of our riders who wish to find out what this is all about, to join us, starting Monday, May 7th, at 6:15 in Hawrelak Park, in the main Parking Lot (NOT AT THE SHOP), where we will commence a 4 week show and tell, as much as we can, about bike riding, group riding and having fun in the great outdoors on two wheels.

The folks providing this good time in Spandex, are the riders of CycleLogic, some racers, some triathletes but mainly people just like you, who a number of years ago, brought their bike out of the basement and thought about how good it would be to get in shape and see some of the countryside and not have to be a runner to do it.

What do you need on Monday night???

1.    a working bike.

2.    a helmet.

3.    warm clothes if it’s cooler (don’t come if it’s raining).

Last but not least, for the Monday Night skills classes, you will not need to pay the $50 club fee but will need to sign the Cycle-Logic waiver.   Should you want to ride on other rides with the group you’ll need to be a member of the 9th Street Cycle-Logic Cycling Club which is our official name with the Alberta Bicycle Association (ABA). That entails paying the club membership fee of $50 to Rich at the shop and filling out the various waiver forms which then allows you to participate in club sponsored events.

Having said that if you’re not a member right now, or, wish to bring out a friend who has an interest, please feel free to come out or bring out, and if you decide you like the idea of group rides, then we can look after the membership thing all in good time; i.e., let’s make sure you like it.

The idea of the classes is to introduce bike riders to road riding and hopefully graduate them to the various club rides that happen every week. Those who wish to progress usually join the regular Tuesday, Thursday and/or Saturday rides which start once the roads are rideable, usually in mid to late April. The website has a description of those rides.

If you’ve never ridden in an organized group ride:  i.e., you don’t know how to ride in an echelon or pace line or don’t know about communication within the group, then it really is important that you attend this series of classes. Otherwise, you are a danger to yourself and the pack. We can teach on the fly on those other rides but this set of 4 rides provides a good introduction in a group setting.

We do have a course outline/promotional presentation that will be available which will further explain the program. It has to be updated slightly but it will be on the website soon. If you can’t make it to the first class or if you miss a class along the way, don’t worry because we will review at the beginning of each class, what has gone on before. There’s no diploma at the end. There’s just a more comfortable feeling when you’re riding a bike.

If you have questions talk to Rich or Geerd at the shop or just contact me through CycleLogic Facebook or by email (markoosti@yahoo.ca ) and I’ll get back to you.

2012 EDMONTON SPRING SERIES

APRIL 15 – Host TBD

APRIL 22 – Host TBD

APRIL 28 – Host TBD

APRIL 29 – Mud Sweat and Gears

REGISTRATION:  Race Day Registration, all riders must be members of a club for insurance

REGISTRATION FEE: $10 Per Event

TIME OF RACES: 1:00pm – five minutes between groups.      

RACE DISTANCES:  
Group A – 6 laps (76.8 kms)
Group B – 5 laps (64 kms)
Group C – 4 laps (51.2 kms)

START/FINISH: East of the intersection TWP 223 AND RR 512

PARKING: NO PARKING AT THE RACE START AREA. We are encouraging everyone to ride to the course, remember we are training.  If you must drive please park your vehicle in one of three locations:

1. Colchester School (west end township road 520, near Anthony Henday, 20 kms)

2. Olympiette Center (in cul-de-sac of RR 224 and TWP 520, 10 kms)

3. Cooking Lake School (in CookingLake, 4 kms)

You can use the County of Strathcona map or a service like MapMyRide.com to find the parking locations and a route to ride to the course.

COURSE MAP: Please note the course has moved east one Range Road.

As a special treat, Mel Muise, a Cyclelogian and rep for Polar, will be on hand to provide advice on training using your heart rate. She will have approximately 10 Polar devices on hand that you can use during the class to monitor your heart rate. Mel will also be giving an informal workshop after the class on how heart rate training can bring your training to the next level!

 We hope to see you there!

We’re only a few hours away from the start of the 2012 Cycling Season; that is, 2012 EPIC SPIN. There will be a number of “first timers” along with lots of “many timers” so it will be helpful to go over the following information so that we’re all ready to fly.

As per the spin class tab on the website, Tuesday/Saturday sessions will begin January 3^rd at 7 o’clock and Monday/Thursday sessions start on Thursday night, January 5^th at 7 o’clock. There is usually coffee, fruit & snacks hosted by Gunn Law (Ravi and Shannon) after the Saturday morning SPIN.

As in past years Tuesday/Saturday will be led by Rich, while Geerd will lead the Monday/Thursday sessions.

Things that you will need are:

• a road ready bike.
• a trainer.
• your shoes.
• a yoga mat to put your trainer and bike on.
• cycling shorts are highly recommended.
• a water bottle (or 2).
• a small towel to hang over your handle bars so that you don’t sweat all over the bar tape.
• wrist bands and a head band will keep sweat in check as well.
• a quick release for your rear wheel that fits properly in your trainer. This is important as some trainers require a special quick release; otherwise, your bike can slip out of the trainer.
• a block for your front wheel to bring it to the level of the rear wheel. This isn’t an absolute necessity but it will make your bike even. You’ll need something about 4 cm high.
• you might want to have something dry for getting home after.

It’s always a good idea to bring in your bike and trainer early and for those that aren’t aware, bikes can be stored in the basement and hung on hooks with trainers and mats underneath.

 You can bring your bike in to the shop anytime during business hours (11:00 to 5:30) but it might be a good idea to call the shop (780)433-1076, to make sure that Rich or Geerd is there. Remember the shop is closed on Monday. Whether or not you take your bike in early, try and arrive for your first session ½ an hour prior to the start time so that you can get organized. That’s especially important on Thursday as Geerd is a prompt starter.
If you’ve done this before, you’ll recall that the first time can be pretty scary so look around and if there is someone who needs help, step in and help. If you haven’t done this before then you’re in for a treat…just keep thinking that…it will be treat…honest. Okay then, it will be hard; however, just remember that even though, Geerd or Rich will be encouraging you to spin hard at high cadence, you can only do what you can do.

Something to remember…YOUR TRAINER WILL HAVE A TENSION ADJUSTMENT DIAL.

If you are struggling, Use that adjustment dial to ease up on the tension. That will enable you to spin at a higher cadence. If your trainer doesn’t come with an adjustment dial, use an easier gear. Spinning at a higher cadence is more important than building strength through the use of higher tension or harder gears. Strength will come.

Don’t, especially in the first few sessions, beat yourself up so badly that you hurt yourself or worse, quit. Spin is a means to an end and that end is always a better level of fitness. Of course the real goal is riding a bike on the road with a group of like minded people who are into fitness and fun.

Another thing to keep in mind is not to worry about keeping up with the people around you. There will be people in the sessions that are “hard core”. Within the CycleLogic group there are seasoned bike racers, competitive tri-athletes as well as strong recreational riders. Along with that there are folks who are using SPIN to increase fitness. No matter what category you’re in just remember that there are no prizes for he or she who works harder than the others. Your
own satisfaction is the goal.

 If you are new to SPIN don’t be afraid to ask questions as many of us have done this before, many times. This is especially important for the setting up of a bike.

Some folks have asked about a run. Usually prior to the Tuesday sessions, there will be a warm up run at 6 and on Saturdays there is often an after SPIN run. The Monday/Thursday group doesn’t organize a run but feel free. Just don’t expect me to run.

 That should do it…we’ll see you all sometime over the next week or so. If you have questions, feel free to call the shop at (780) 433-1046. Welcome to 2012.