Gonna get something started.

Hey Everyone,

      Last night, I saw my breath for the first time this fall. The magical sight of my mouth moisture disappearing into the finally chilling night sky reminded me of something: That I needed to start getting my shit together and get this season’s organizing underway!

     Aside from picking some of the venues and making the decision to do a couple of daytime races, maybe legally, maybe, uh, more paralegally.. I’ve been thinking of what I need for this season in terms of supplies. Last year, I made do with modest equipment and no budget aside from what folks paid. Truth be told, I ran at a loss. This year, however, I am going to seek a few sponsors to help defray costs, and I am going to raise prices by a toonie. I hope that is not seen as excessive and please be reassured: I am not making a dime off of this (empties do not count).

      I think seven bucks is not too excessive, considering the time it takes me, and the fact there is booze and food afterwards. But I will make this offer to the whiney-ass scrooges out there: you can pay last year’s prices, provided you pay for all of your races in advance. You don’t even have to pay for all the races, just the ones you’ll be attending. Can’t make all six, but plan on doing five? Cool, just pay for five. Only doing two? Whatever, wussballs. Tenner up front.

      Poor in cash flow but rich in stuff? I need stuff. Anyone who wants to help out generously in a materialistic fashion will get to ride at half price. Here's this season’s shopping list for LPP:

• Tiki torches
• A toboggan
• 12 rolls of course tape
• Some stakes/poles for above course tape
• red and/or white blinking lights, used and/or cheap as possible
• A folding table would be nice
• Small paper plates
• Plastic cups
• Zip ties
• Some sheets of plywood and a few 2x4’s for ramps
• Firewood
• A leaf blower (ok, just a loaner for one race would be cool)
• Hard liquor
• Seriously, hard liquor. Not for me, it’s for the racers to drink during the booze lap: Give me anything and I’ll find some warm, overly sweet cocktail to make, and stick in my party thermos!

     Of course, if you just want to donate to the cause, you will have my deep, eternal thanks (as Glenn already does from last year), and will always be welcomed to race, or spectate, or drink freely from my party thermos.

No, that was not an euphimism. Pervert.

Plans are afoot.

This is my later summer event (or late fall, but definately before cross, to get people in the mood).

106 km, about 95 on dirt. I mean dirt: These are not even secondary roads; I am planning this so late partly to make sure the roads are graded and nice and dry.

Over 2000m of climbing

No gas stations, no stores along the route. However, there are 4 swimming spots along the course, and there is a family cottage that will be used as a sag stop around the 75km point.

You can find the preliminary course here:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/possible-gravel-grinder

LPP #4 and what's next.

I kept waiting to get some photos of the last race before I did a write-up, but low and behold, the person whose pics I was waiting for, did a write up on the Steelwool blog! Makes my life that much easier.

Read his recount here: http://www.steelwoolbicycles.ca/blog/sending-winter-off-in-style.html

I would like to say thank everyone who came out and rode/race of the last few months, those who helped out (Brad, Erica, Marty, Tanya and Chris stand out), those you came out to watch, and the people who helped spread the word. These races will be back next year for sure, and any suggestions for formats and venues would be appreciated.

That said, keep an eye on this spot, My friends and I have a few events simmering for this spring and summer! Who would like to see these events happen:

-Human powered drag races (bike sprints) during Westfest

-A flat-track oval race (cutter-style) Based on the Little 500

-Mountain bike technical time trial (2 km of hella-hard trail, timed) in downtown Hull

-A 110-ish gravel grinder north of Buckingham, Quebec

-Late night mountain bike race

-An 8 or 12 hour race (or both).

More details to come.

Until then,

Flounder

Trail report: looking good for tonight!

From Larry:

"I was surprised to find such amazing conditions for snow bikes at Kanata Lakes this morning. One good inch of snow on top of hard ice base. Beautiful making first tracks and so much fun on icy spots where you least expect it! Did two loops around outback from K2. Conditions will probably be superb by sundown as the snow layer should bond to the icy base." If you were waffling, stop. Ride.

Race tomorrow!

Hey all, just to make it clear, the race is tomorrow, the 10th of March starting at 8. Please be there by 7 30 to sign up; I'd like one race to start on time!

As for the conditions, expect hard and fast. Icy too where the cover was/is thin. Good times!

One Week to Kanata! Volunteers and stuff wanted

It's one week to the grand finale(and bush party) for LPP's first snow race series. The course has been set, finish line decided and party space chosen. As already mentioned the race starts at 8. the start line is accessible from the K2 entrance and then you go straight in and cross over the swamp via the foot bridge. The start area will be just a bit past the bridge on your right if the bridge is at your back. The course itself uses parts of M-Line, Porcupine, Rock Hopper and South Dogsled, just to give you a hint...

Now all we need is a bit of help and some things to make the work load lighter. First off, does any one have an hibachi, or a portable, coal burning bbq? we could use it for cooking, warming water and as a general heat source. Speaking of heat, does anyone have some wood to spare? I know, I know, we are in the middle of the woods, but it IS an conservation area, and there is no guarantee that there will be any ample supply of fuel lying around. Some torches would be great too, again for heat but for light as well.

If we could get a couple of people to be race warrens that would be great too. The track is a figure 8, and we need two people to direct folks onto whatever loop they are going onto next. The other thing I would like is a couple of people to come out on Saturday morning or Friday night with snow shoes and walk the course once with me, partly to pack it down a bit, but really to help me make a very passing lanes for racers, since the course is pretty narrow.

If you want to help, or offer stuff, you will get to race for free, and be given copious amounts of beer and wieners. Oh and much thanks.

you can contact me here or at lebindle@gmail.com

See you next week!

-Flounder

Race report LPP #3: Soft, yet hard.

So, Carlington Hill is done. While everyone who attended the race said that it was a great course, it was a small crowd that raced, although we did have or first group of spectators! Perhaps the forecast of evening rain scared some off, perhaps the rapidly melting snow discouraged others but the night was beautiful, warm, and still. The one thing I did learn was that with weather like that, courses can change quite rapidly! While I was on the course Monday, I worked all day Tuesday. When I arrived to set the course on Wednesday afternoon, I found to my shock that the up-and-over I built last week, which looked fine on Monday, was still good on the north side, but had shrunk by about 8 inches in 36 hours on the south side of the barrier! Too late to add snow and compact, I gave everyone a heads up and advised those without bashguards to think twice before giving it a go.

The course, apart from the lemans start to retrieve bikes left a third of the way down the hill, was behind the sliding hill, and in the trails south of the reservoir. The trails were tight and twisty; with the melting during the day, it was critical that you found the balance of speed and control that kept you in the middle of the trail or you would sink. The course came out of the woods and crossed a road (that turned to black ice once the sun went down, which I discovered at the cost of a very bruised hip) and went down a sweet little descent to the bottom of the old toboggan hill on the east side. The hill was a slog; I think only Dollywood consistently made it up, partly due to the icy conditions and partly because there was an off-camber transition of the main hill to a side trail that seemed to trip up the non-fat bikers.

Four laps of this and everyone got to bomb down the hill via the snow-cover slalom course to the finish.

the top five:

Boobies

Fushia

Dollywood

Buttercup

Gabba Gabba Hey!

So coming to the series final at Kanata Lakes on March 11th (date changed due to a conflict with the WQW roller race on the third), here are the leaders for the overall:

Ozzy- 6.5 points

Fushia -6 points

Hot Pants, Boobies- 5 points each

1/2, Dollywood, 4 points each

That's it for now. next week I'll put up more info about KL, including a gps of the course; it's going to be sweet!

BTW, anyone want to help with the race on the 11th? Does anyone have some tiki torches and a hibachi they want to lend out?

-Flounder.

LPP #3!

Is going to be held at Carlington sliding hill. It's the sliding hill next to the old quarry that you can see off the Queensway near Carling Ave. You can park at the hockey arena on Clyde Ave. Meet at the top of the hill by 7:30. Preride and then start at 8pm.

Bring something to slide on.

Seriously.

-Flounder

Teaser for LPP #3

I went out today before work to do some prep for the third race. I thought I would have to do some packing down of trails with my snowshoes, but with the melt that is going on and a surprising amount of pedestrian traffic, no packing was needed: all the trails are nice and solid, even the jump on the twisty downhill is in good shape! The berms on the finale are actually starting to show dirt at the top of them due to the melt, which is not a bad thing, as last week the berms were so slick you had to go through them quite slow, and that defeats the whole purpose of a berm's existence...

The pic above shows today's work. I shovelled a lot of wet, heavy snow up against a highway divider to build and up-and-over, so those with the gumption do not have to dismount. I built it for two reasons: they are fun to ride and there are already two barriers most people will have to dismount for, a third just seemed excessive.

Now I wonder, with the clues provided above, can anyone figure out where the race will be?

All will be revealed Monday.

-Flounder

So, Brad and I were out yesterday at Kanata Lakes. On top of having great fun tearing around on prefect conditions, and being joined by Rob Kerr, we figured out where the course for the series wind-up on March 3rd.

It's going to be a figure 8.
It's going to from 8 (sharp: be there at 7:30 to sign up) until 9:15-ish pm. The start will involve a treasure hunt!
The finish will be a party complete with a few fire pits, hot dogs(both veggie and not) and a keg.
Prizes too.

Tell all your friends, and tell them regular mountain bikes are go; Rob cleared the trail on his 29er.

Don't forget, LPP#3 is next Wednesday!

-Flounder

Results from LPW #2

Hey all,

I would summarize this second, and last, round at Hampton Park with one word: sorted.

I managed to find the right balance of marking the course well enough that no one racing it went off course, and none of the other park users were distrupted by miles of tape cutting off paths. It all could've ended in tears however: I did a lot of the marking early Wednesday afternoon, so that I could arrive circa 6pm and only have to do the taping that would go across paths. Unfortunately, some douchetard decided to tear down a lot of the tape that I put up. As annoying as that was, what really burned was the fact that they left the torn tape on the ground or hanging off trees! I can understand tearing it down because you think it is an eyesore or so much garbage, but to tear it down and then litter with it?!? It makes you wonder...

Thankfully, Martin and Tayna were there early and offered to help repair and finish the course marking. I want to thank both of them profusely for being there and Martin gets special thanks for helping to build the two new obstacles. I would also like to thank everyone that helped with tearing down the course afterwards. It made the morning cleanup so much easier.

With all that said, the crowd of racers did stay on course this round. It was quite a sight to see serpentine lines of light moving throughout the park's woods and fields. Racers tore through the hard, icy conditions, the new obstacles, and the addition of a brutally steep 'gut-buster' of a climb/run-up, which only Punk Ass cleared, once. The only incident that I heard of someone going off course was when Manmeat took a corner too fast and slid under the course tape. Several people did take the corners too hot and slid out, notably Dollywood, who wanged his knee and threatened to sue.

Whatever; it served him right for not respecting the ice. He was quickly appeased with booze anyway. He's easy that way (and several others, if the rumours are true) .

The partial results:

Harriet 1st

Hot Pants 2nd

1/2 3rd

Teapot 4th

Manhunter 5th

Punk Ass

Dollywood

Egghunt

Manmeat

Fushia

Gertrude

Sausage,

and so on...

... until we hit Pokey (DFL), whose light conked out just before the start. He rode three laps by chasing other people's lights, until he had enough and stopped for bourbon. In my books, stopping for bourbon is always a good call. Bonus points for pushing 1/2 over during the Leman's start!

So, since there are prizes to be had for the overall series winner(men and women) and other random categories (I'm not telling until the end of the series), there are points being taken. Here is the breakdown of the system:

1st= 5 points

2nd= 4 points

3rd= 3 points

4th= 2 points

5th 1.5

Everyone else gets a point for participating. Since the first race was somewhat chaotic, I just gave everyone a point, except for Harriet, who got another .5 for having done a Leman's finish complete with a snow angel. That shit was classy.

The top 5 are as follows:

Harriet: 6.5 points

Hot Pants: 5 points

1/2: 4 points

Manhunter: 2.5

That's it for now. The next race is new location on the 22nd. All I will say for now is, bring a crazy carpet or something to slide on, and make sure it can carry two people.

-Flounder

The Conditions...

...will be smooth, hard and fast. With the exceptions of the snow field, and the obstacles, any bike could be a contender tomorrow since we have gotten now snow recently and the course has been well packed by pedestrians and dogs. I will stress this: some of the sections are both off camber and icy. You will want to keep that in mind on your first go around, especially if you are riding clipless as you could very quickly find yourself on the ground!

I really hope someone shows up on a unicycle.

LPP #2!

Everyone,

The race will be happening at Hampton park again. I have some unfinished business with that course, and just to make it less boring for you folks, I am tweaking the route and adding two new obstacles.

Be there by 7:30 to get your nameplates (or bring your own if you remember your name and have a plate), pre-ride is at 7:45 and race starts at 8. Drinks afterward chez moi.

Spread the word!

-Flounder

Video from the first race.

Now that this has been posted on the Ottawa Citizen cycle blog, I figured what the hey, might as well let everyone who hasn't seen the video from the first race get a chance to. As well, let me take this opportunity to remind everyone that the second race is this Wednesday, Feb 8th. I will announce the location Monday night.

Enjoy the weekend!

Click here to see the video

It's on.

Mooney's Bay, eight pm. Try to show up a little early and do a couple of laps to help pack down the course, which hasn't seen any work done to it since Saturday.

Calling the madison

Hey Everyone,

I am going to call the race around 4, yeah or nay. If it is really icy out there and or is really wet and raining by then, I will cancel: the whole point of the madison was to take advantage of a pre-packed, short, fast course, and to go whipping around and have some fun while taking corners all moto-style. Powering through wet, soupy trails with a chilling rain falling is not what I was intending for today, that is part of the four original races.

Sorry if this sounds flaky, but I feel I am allowed a certain amount of latitude, since this event was not on the schedule to begin with.

Thanks.

Race 1.5 this Wednesday!

Tricia Spooner and Tall Tree Cycles had a fat bike demo yesterday at Mooney's Bay. Overall, it was quite successful, with about 50 people signing up to try out the bikes on a course that was twisty, well-packed, with a gentle drop and climb. While at the demo, someone (can't remember who: Matt, Sean?) suggested that the course would make for a fun gathering/race. Someone suggested a Madison so I am thinking ...

Low Pressure Wednesdays #1.5: Assured Madison Destruction!

The rules: -Two people, one bike. That's right, you share a bike (think of it as the demo day continued). Find someone with a fat bike or a mountain bike with wider tires, find a seat height that mostly works for both of you, and pedal! If you don't have a partner, or want to partner up with a fat bike, show up early and we'll see what we can do. But just in case, bring your own bike.

-Body contact is allowed (we have a score to settle, Mr. Johnson). Rest assured, you are not going to hit anything: the course is on an open field. That said, don't come with the intention of playing smash-up derby; that shit will get you thrown to the curb.

-Race is 45 minutes and a lap.

-Have lights.

-Race starts at 8 pm. Every team throws in a toonie, winners takes all, unless someone's bike get damaged. Meet at the 1st parking lot in from Riverside and Ridgewood intersection.

1st race recap

About 17 folks paid their 5 bucks (and two people poached-you know who you are, punks) to see what I came up with for my first race as an organizer. Generally, I think people liked it and there is a good race report here that summaries the general chaos and fun.

However, as enjoyable as the chaos was, there is room to improve.

The course needed to be better marked. What seemed obvious to me in the daylight, on a course I walked a half dozen times and rode double that was, for a pack of riders in the dark, going fast on a strange course, not so obvious. Everyone at some point got confused and missed sections. It didn't seem to detract from the fun folks had, and most of the big sections of the course were ridden constantly, except for maybe the log barrier, which a few folks said that they never saw again after the pre-ride. Oh well.

For what it is worth, here are the top results, although how accurate they are is anybody guess.

Harriet -1st (and the only one to do the Lemans finish; loved the victory snow-angel)

Hotpants-2nd

Manhunter -3rd

1/2 -4th

Ozzy -5th

Zero -6th

Orange -7th

Fushia -8th

My Little Pony -9th

Egghunt -10th

Vlad the Inhaler -11th

Bubbles -12th

After that I just stopped taking names.

The next course will be marked a bit better, and I am not going to try doing the painted snow method again. What I sprayed in the afternoon was faded by the evening and only worked in a few places where I REALLY laid it on thick; to do that for the whole course would take gallons of liquid. So I am going to use way more course tape and do it at the last minute, hoping that it doesn't get torn down just before the race.

As for the course route, I'll make the next courses more straightforward as well. No loops within the loop.

I have an idea for a picnic-table pump track, provided we get some more snow...

-Flounder

Someone took pictures!

Thanks to Will from Tall Tree cycles for coming out and taking a bunch of pictures.

Here's the link to them:

I'll write more tomorrow, when I am not working and hung over.

Course conditions

Four words: Hard, lumpy and icy.

To elaborate: during the melt, folks were walking on the trails (as is their right) and as the snow got soft, feet went through the surface and either created holes, or unsettled the snow. Now that the snow is hard (and I mean hella hard), there are ripples and holes all over the place, despite trying to flatten them with my snow shoes this morning. As well all the hills are now quite icy, which should make the up-hills interesting. The down-hills should be fine, as they are routed to go down uncompacted trails.

Set your tires on soft folks, and be ready to dab.