Minutes November 23, 2005

It was classic rock night at the clubhouse. What with the new weather, there was more discussion of tunes than biking, although Hal did ride... the faithful are becoming fewer.

Sounds like there will be a Tinker Creek ride of sorts on Sunday. Contact Hal for more info.

Now that there is snow on the ground, it's time for some to begin training for the Icebike race... OK, we should all be training... but some of us are still working on training a more cerebral understanding of the race. We're visioning the action, and pain. It could take some time before that translates to the physical... I expect years for some.

And further to crashing with a helmet cam... if you haven't been to the pedalmasher site, check out the top two videos on the crash list on this page:
http://www.pedalmasher.com/html/videos.html they're pretty good, and not really huge files.
Remember to right click them and then "Save target as..." to your desktop or wherever and then view them.

www.pedalmasher.com

Chris sent this link to me the other day. A great collection of riding video created with a helmet cam. If your computer can do it, check a few out. There's a couple of dandy wipe-outs recorded. It's amazing how quickly the crash happens. I can imagine this would have been what Penner's incident might have looked like...
www.pedalmasher.com

Minutes November 9

Not much bike discussion this eve. Unger and Jonny G spent the evening riding... even going so far as to ride to the Vimy Arena to catch a little Hummelt Hockey action. They caught some classic action, but left before the action peaked with a good collision between line-mates and fellow FGBC members Luke and Dr. Hubie. Blood was drawn on both sides. Chris managed a deep cut to the bone on the elbow that was still bleeding fairly well by the time we got to the post game meeting.

Some minor biking related excitement surfaced when Chris suggested that we all pitch in and get a helmet cam. Suggesting they could be had for as little as $150. Some quick research on the web turned up some options, although not as cheap as $15o:
the adventure cam for $235US
a Canadian dealer - $249US
If anyone has connections to a cheaper system, we should consider it... At $200+US, it may not get off the ground as quickly. Although it could be worth it... can you imagine having video of the president's crash from on his head?

another bullet dodged

yet another fgbc cyclist dodges the car bullet...

last night, around 11:00 pm, i was cycling home from my curling game (at least there are no cars on curling sheets) on grovesnor. i was well prepared for night riding with a blinking headlight, two red blinkies on my back, and a jacket with reflective tape on the arms and body. i was cycling west on grovesnor, keeping a pretty good clip of 30+ kms per hour. i usually like cycling on this street because it is nice and wide, allowing cars to pass you with ease and because it is not a major thoroughfare. as i was speeding down grovesnor i saw a white volvo station wagon pulling up to the stop sign on my left a block ahead. as always, i put my hands on the brakes in case i needed to stop suddenly. the volvo came to a complete stop and waited, 'great' i thought, 'he sees me' and i continued at my pace, relaxed that i could continue at my present pace. just as i was about to go through the intersection (i had no stop sign) the volvo begins to pull ahead -- i grab my brakes hard and start a sideways skid, suddenly my tires grab and i flipped off my bike, hitting the ground and rolling to a stop in front of the car. i looked up to see the headlights of the volvo staring me in the face. thank god he saw me at the last minute and stopped halfway through the intersection. to say the least i was a little shaken at this point, i picked myself up and walked towards my bike, picked it up, and began to collect myself. i looked over at the car which just sat there, nothing was happening, just me standing there and staring at the car in disbelief at what had just happened. after a few moments the car inched forward with the passenger window was rolled down. a voice came out from inside the dark interior of the car, "i'm sorry... i'm sorry..., i didn't see you. i didn't see your light." what could i say, do i go off on this guy, what do i do. "at least you said you were sorry" i said to him as i walked around the back of the car with my bike. all i wanted to do was go home, thankful that i was still alive and in one piece. the volvo pulled away and i got on my bike and continued my ride home replaying the incident over and over again in my head. i got home, put my bike in the basement, took off my bike gear and went upstairs to let laura know what happened and that i was okay.

ride safe,

hal

Fire the secretary

I move that the secretary be fired, and that someone with more passion for the cause take up the role...
What? No seconders?

Well, it's been a very busy week. There was a nice meeting on Tuesday. I can't remember anything about it except for the discussion about Hal's bread baking set-up.... oh yeah, and his winter bike crank is seized. (There's the biking content.) I know there was more... anyone is welcome to chime in at this point...

Near Miss

Came closer than I ever have before to being hit by a car this morning. Or rather, it would have been me hitting the car--t-boning it in this case, as it pulled out in front of me. I saw it coming, just past Johnny G's street, the one by the school, when the car rolled through the stop sign and I knew his sight of me was obscured by the cars parked along the ever so slight hill I was riding down at that point. No problem, or so I thought, as I began to swerve to the right in order to go behind him. But then he saw me, panicked, hit the brakes, and just sat there in front of me--like a big steel moose frozen by the headlights. All I could muster was a loud, drawn out "F-U-C-K!" But fortunately my instincts were more articulate than my feeble vocabulary, and I was able to brake hard enough and avoid going down on the slick pavement as I veered even further around his back end. To give the guy credit, he did roll down his passenger window and yell "Sorry!" as I passed by the other side. And to my credit, I gave him a little wave--admittedly an ambiguous, half-assed wave with a the kind of slight flick of the wrist that could easily have led to interpreting the whole thing as a curt dismissal--but nonetheless a wave with all five fingers and not the one I had cocked and ready to go. Shit, that was scary. My heart's still thumping a little harder and faster than normal. But I live to ride another day.

Hit the gym for the first time this week. Hope to get there 2 or 3 times a week for mostly leg-work. Don't know what the policy is for use of CMU's humble weight room, but if anyone wants to join me around 4pm Monday or Wednesday, that would be great.

In other firsts: I donned tights for the first time this morning. This cold, rainy weather really sucks. Hopefully it won't wipe out the Tinker ride this weekend.

post turkey ride

an unofficial/official fgbc ride was held on the thanksgiving monday. juan eppstien, dr. hubie and crash enjoyed a 45km ride out to headingly and back on a gorgeous holiday monday morning. much discussion, including past work experiences, heating solutions for homes, a report on the "motorcyle diaries," among other topics, was discussed along the way. one sprint took place with where the three riders managed to sustain a pace of 42km per hour for a goodly stretch. looking forward to future rides.

crash.

minutes, oct. 12

Present: Dr. Hubie, Vic P, James, Hal, Penner, Juan Eppstein, Secretary

There is reason to believe that James was burgled this evening.... had $15 plus a MasterCard starting the evening, by the time he was trying to pay for his beverage, and had a massive stack of wallet contents spread out, the aforementioned items were not to be seen...

It seems the ride at Tinker Creek will be on this Saturday. An unfortunate turn in the calendar for this reporter... but it seems it will work out for many. Watch this space in the next days for more details from Hal, our liason.

Question on Jonny G's whereabouts... third missed meeting in a row. At first he was proclaimed out of the club by one member, then it got worse... he was moved to "Luke status". Finally, cooler heads prevailed, and the six-pack rule was brought back, retroactively. A six for every unexcused absence. The total is now at three.

Hal is now in charge of the fundraising bonspiel to raise money for the new jerseys. The, well, rather pointed question was launched on how this was going to be a fundraiser.... stunned silence revealed a thin spot in the plans.... one suggestion was brought forth: charge each FGBC member enough to cover the cost of the ice plus $50 to be in the spiel, then everyone attending wins a jersey from the collected pot. There, the funds are raised.

more floyd

now that vuelta is over, why not get to know the real floyd. check out his interview in the recent issue of dirt rag

hal

no minutes here, move along

being the secretary, I have to admit that I have no minutes to report... at least nothing pertaining to biking whatsoever...

I sensed there was some discussion of that nature down at the other end of the table, but it really is difficult to connect when so many folks are there... perhaps someone who touched on the topic of biking in any way, could provide a thought or two. If you are not hooked up to be able to post, email me, and I can get you going ASAP.

It was nice to see a large crowd gathered. Nine or ten people is exceptional... but it does include some of the hockey crowd which began on Tuesday.

I might as well use this forum to report that Dr. Hubie scored not only the first goal of the season, but his tally exceeded three (in the interest of discretion and knowing that he is one of the more humble in our collective, you can email him to find out how many he really got), and that I did pot one, as well as providing assists on a few of the aforementioned goals as we were on a line together.

We learned that our ice time will usually go til 10:30, so it will be rare that the hockey part of the crowd will arrive before 10:45.

rambling minutes

minutes from sept. 28

present: dr hubie, dave u, president penner, bergen, hal

minutes from last week's meeting - i can't seem to remember any details so i'll try and and recapture the mood - sort of relaxed without any particular intensity or deep philosophical discussion on any particular topic. vaguely recall some discussion about tyler hamilton and blood doping.

ramblings

fgbc results from the fall classic:

chris h - 9th in 45 km.
dave u - 5th in 15 km
hal l - dnf (freaking front derailleur malfunction)

cyclocross #1

hal "i have too many excuses" l - 6th in masters B (ok, my excuse for this one is i was running too big a gear on my single speed, which by the way i think i came in first of the four single speeds running in the B group).

respectfully submitted,

hal

Floyd out, more Hamilton

At kilometre 115 of today's stage, Floyd abandoned the race. Bummer.

As for Hamilton, here's the latest press release:

"The blood samples examined in the B-Test under the UCI procedure are positive. The B-Test blood samples taken under IOC however will turn out negative. Since the new method is an effort based on probability and interpretation measurements, uncertainties will remain in this examination and procedure in any case."

Confused?

I tried breaking into my u-lock this morning, but failed. I wish I could say that I now lock up my bike with confidence that it will be there when I'm done for the day.

Minutes, September 21

Present: Dr Hubie, Bergen, Hal

A bit of a small turnout at the F&H last night. For a while it looked like it might just be me and the book I brought along to read just in case, but eventually a couple of others srtaggled in--and Penner did put in a showing of sorts via the phone. It took a few calls of "Johnny G? Is there a Johnny G here?" from the bar before Bergen and myself clued in that the bartender waving the phone in the air might have something to do with us. But while there may have only been three of us who were physically present, once again we had 100% participation in the bike ridership program. Not sure which is the more significant figure. Perhaps the meeting was more of a success than we first thought. Once again, the Dark was good--almost as classic as the F&H tunes.

No significant actions to report, but a wide ranging conversation covered such topics as enrollment trends at Manitoba's universities, Donald Rumsfield, Aiden's piece in the Free Press as well as the larger issue of rapid transit and the relative merits of the critical mass as a form of bike advocacy, Bergen's powerpoint skills, and Hal's oven, not to mention the u-lock/Bic pen crisis, and Tyler Hamilton's apparent blood doping problem.

We'll see how this latest saga turns out. But things don't look good for Hamilton and the world of pro cycling in general these days. David Millar, Phillipe Mierhage, and now Hamilton. Those are some pretty big names in the world of cycling. A couple of world champions and an Olympic gold medallist. I have to say I'm a bit bummed about this, as Hamilton always seemed like the good guy of the peloton. Even Dave of Evil Cyling's Pro Cyclists Suck has a soft spot for Tyler. Perhaps Floyd is also a bit sidetracked by the dim outlook of the guy he's signed on to ride for next year. He lost over 15 more minutes today in the Vuelta and now sits almost 25 minutes back, suddenly hurtling towards the middle of the pack. Heras increased his lead on Valverde, who also cracked today, and now has a lead of just over 1 minute over Hamilton's Phonak teammate, Santiago Perez. If Valverde can stay within 2:30 minutes, though, the final time trial should still be interesting, as Heras will likely lose some time on the final stage.

evening gathering is on...

still on for tonight, (and each tuesday thereafter). the rumour is that Hummelt hockey starts on Oct. 5. See ya there!

for the greater good...

nice to see some fgbc members on the eden foundation fundraiser ride this weekend. members in attendance included dave u, johnny s, and myelf. 42+ km of riding was enjoyed, much of it into a stiff headwind. to show for our efforts, i believe that all of came away with spiffy new cycling socks.

hal

Floyd's fading, Valverde's closing in

Sadly, Floyd continues to fade in the Vuelta. He lost another couple of minutes in the uphill ITT today, and now sits in 7th at over 8 min. behind Heras. But Valverde is closing in. After picking up 44 seconds on Heras today, he sits only 5 seconds behind the GC leader. Once again this is turning out to be an extremely tight and exciting race. Why is the Vuelta always so close? The last two years were won on the final day. There always seems to be much more drama and suspense than the Tour. I suppose the absence of some guy named Armstrong helps. Too bad we can't get it on TV. One more week of racing left and all kinds of things can happen yet.

Floyd's bad day

Even though everyone could see it coming, nobody could stop Roberto Heras from attacking on the final climb today. Floyd rode well and looked strong up until about 8km from the finish. But that's when the elite group of 9 started to blow apart. First Valverde and then Heras put in big-time attacks that splintered the group to bits. Floyd ended up conceding just over 3 minutes to Heras on the stage, and now sits in 5th place, 2.19 behind Heras and about 1.30 from Valverde for the final podium spot. Sunday's uphill ITT looms large and should allow for Heras to further solidify his grip on the golden jersey. But hopefully Floyd can hang in there and gain some time back on the final ITT to at least get back to the podium. Stay tuned.

Minutes, September 14

Well, since I missed most of the meeting, someone else will need to chime in with what is missing...

Present: James, Penner, Unger, Juan Eppstein, Jonny G, Dr. Hubie, Hal, Secretary

The comments I walked into were related to the status of various members in the Klub...
... while we did start off with a more open, kind of, "everyone's in the Klub, they just don't know it yet" kind of feeling, there are clearly regular attenders/riders that want a bit more definition and hierarchy... Like, if you've never been to a meeting or a ride, are you in the Klub? At this point, this agenda seems fairly strong with a couple of members... only time will tell if this discussion turns into some sort of codification....

More discussion about the "new" Ingolf riding... and how it turns out the larger mountain bike community seems to know all about it... so we turned to looking for scapegoats to hide our embarassment... the two guys, the girl and the dog are to blame for us not knowing more...

The fall ride option is faltering a bit... that weekend (Thanksgiving Long) is admittedly, a little tricky.... a couple of members have announced they simply cannot be there, the majority of us seemed to be looking for a leader who will rally the flagging hopes, and put new life into the discussions we have had and will be having on the various home fronts. If three members could say, "Yay and verily, we shall ride!", I think we'd have something.

Zabriskie

No big news on Floyd to report. Same 9 second lead as yesterday. But Valverde had a nasty crash and, while he finished the stage, is being Xrayed for broken bones, etc. But the big news of the day was fellow Postie, Dave Zabriske, who got off the front just 3 km into the stage and held his lead right up to the end. He led for as many as 20 minutes at one point, and held off the peloton to finish over 1 minute ahead of a bunch of frustrated sprinters. Breakaways like this are a dime a dozen, but almost never succeed. Pretty exciting. Almost worth investing the the 2004 Vuelta DVD when it comes out. But I'll wait and see how Floyd does before pre-ordering.

meeting tonight???

inquiring minds want to know...

since i did not hear anything more about a dogfest at juan eppstein's i'm assuming that there will be a regular meeting at the fox and hound.

hal