Race

Host: The Bike Joint
Date: Saturday, February 21, 2009
Time: 9:00pm - 11:00pm
Location: Dufferin Grove Park
Street: Dufferin Street
City/Town: Toronto, ON

Phone: 4165326392
Email: service@thebikejoint.com

Icycle 09 Ice bike race is ready to roll again. Come for the action, stay for the rubber race. thrills, spills and definitely Chills. After party at the Bike Pirates @ 1292 Bloor West

Event info on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=20208479995

The Toronto International Cyclo-cross races are taking place at Centennial Park. Cyclo-cross is fun to race and fun to watch!

The action is hardcore. International level riders race to gain world ranking points, money — a share of over $21,350 — and mainly the glory of leaving their competitors exhausted, splattered with dirt and in their dust. They must jump hurdles, race up grades so steep or slippery that it is faster to run up them with their bike on your shoulder, make so many turns so fast that you get dizzy watching, hop barriers like an Olympic hurdler, ballerina and weightlifter combined or end up performing a face plant in the mud, come down hills so fast and slippery that you just know they’re riding a knife edge between crashing and success... It’s fun, it’s cool, it’s got crashes, flying through the air and it’s heart stopping exciting action!

And some more blatant copying from their media kit:

"The pair of UCI-C1 Cyclo-Cross races is expected to attract daily 250+ professional, elite amateur to raw newbies from all parts of Canada and the US. Early indications are that the best of the US best will be in attendance.

"The race utilizes the west side of the ski hill and Sunday uses the east side and the ski hill itself .

The Cyclocross provincials will be taking place in Riverdale Park East.

As Chris Bouchard notes, "Should be wicked."

She's working on getting thing together:

• 30ft beer tent where riders go through at speed
• vendors permit for the sale of "100's" of vintage wool jerseys
• cowbells on sale for 1$
• hot dog/sausage vending
• free jetfuel coffee for everyone
• and a polish band!

Chills and thrills and spills!

You sold me on the sausage and beer alone!

Update:
Details on the race from Chris:

There are different start times based on age and ability. For men, the "Masters" field is divvied up into Master 1, 2 and 3. 3 is slowest, then 2 is faster, and one is the fastest of the Master category. If you win too often in your category, you get bumped up. Then comes "Elite" cat, there is only one elite category, which is sometimes referred to as 'senior', or 'senior elite' depending on the organizer.

• 10:00 am start Master 3 men, Under 15 Men & women, Under 17 men & women. (they race for 40 min)
• 11:30 am start is Master 2 Men, All Master Women and Elite Women (we race 50 min)
• 1:00 pm start is Master 1 Men, and Elite Men (they race 1 hour)

Attention All Bike Polo Enthusiasts!

Do you catch yourself wishing your hand was gripping a mallet instead of a mouse? Do you dodge the phantom riders in your mind as you walk down the street? Do you find your quads yearning for that initial sprint, perplexed by your choice to confine them to your desk chair? Does the pang of desire send a tingle down your uvula at each sighting of a bright orange ball?

These could be symptoms of an individual strung-out on polo. Unleash the Brutalitarian in you, with Bikechain!

We are having another pick-up polo game. We will meet outside the shop tomorrow, Wednesday May the 28th, at 5:00 pm.

Bring friends and water. And give Eliot a call if you're late and need to know where we end up playing: 416-436-9510.

3 - 2 - 1 - GO!

The Toronto Criterium at St. Lawrence Market will take place Friday, May 30 on a road circuit in the city's historic St. Lawrence Market district. Many of Canada's top bike road racers are expected to compete. Race organizer Ziggy Martuzalski has already noticed overwhelming interest in the event from across Ontario, Quebec and the Great Lake States

Criterium races are popular in urban centres all over the world. They feature a short, looping course with sharp corners. Bike speeds can reach thigh-burning speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour. The frantic pace and tight corners make for an exciting spectator event.

The Toronto Criterium kicks off with a Children's Race at 5:45 pm. Anyone under 18 is welcome to participate. Competitive cycling begins at 6:00 pm with Masters level amateur races. The professional and elite athletes race at 7:30 pm. Each of the competitive races last for one and a half hours.

"I am ecstatic that we have been able to bring this classic event back to this beautiful and historic venue," says Councillor Adrian Heaps, Chair of the Toronto Cycling Committee adding, "This is a showcase event in our Bike Month activities; it is a sign that the City openly embraces cycling both as a sporting event as well as a vital mode of transportation ."

Racers can register for this Ontario Cycling Association sanctioned race at www.ontariocycling.org. The total value of prizes for the race is $20,000.

The Cycle Messenger World Championships (CMWC) is the ultimate urban cycling competition. The strongest, smartest and fastest bike messengers from across the planet converge once a year to determine who is the best in a variety of events that test riders’ physical and mental limits. It is a fully insured competition on a closed course that is sanctioned by the International Federation of Bike Messengers Associations (IFBMA). While most competitors are bike messengers, events are open to everyone, and many non-messengers enjoy the challenge of the competition.

CMWC is a world championship sporting event, but it is also a world festival celebrating messenger culture and its broad influence on modern urban culture. CMWC hosts a variety of related galas, shows, parties and vendor markets where spectators mingle with messengers to get a jump on the latest bike trends and urban utilitarian fashion. The side events showcase the artistic, photographic, musical and literary talents of the world’s hardest working professional athletes.

From the Don Watcher blog:

On Sunday July 1st, a mountain bike race will be held on the trails in Crothers' Woods. The race is being sponsored by Ziggy Martuzalski, a local bike shop owner and race promoter. The event is called ZM MTB Crank Cracker. There will be three distances of 10, 20, and 30 km which will consist of 2, 4, and 6 laps respectively. The race is sponsored by the Ontario Cycling Association.

I was just riding these trails last weekend and they are quite challenging in parts. Quite narrow, single track, steep and interesting. It's great that we have trails like this in the middle of the city!