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HHURICANE1
03-15-2012, 10:00 AM
http://banff.granfondocanada.com/
Anyone going?

gretz
03-15-2012, 10:09 AM
Im doing the Penticton Granfondo this year, not sure about the banff ride...

bigboom
03-15-2012, 10:47 AM
just signed up for the banff gran fondo, doing the whistler one as well.

HHURICANE1
03-16-2012, 07:40 PM
Just signed up. Now there is no excuse not got get my fat ass out on the road! :D

lilmira
03-16-2012, 08:34 PM
Interesting! That sounds like a scenic ride. I'll see if I can get a group.

HHURICANE1
03-19-2012, 01:48 PM
If you are thinking about it you'd better get a move on. I was just reading that there are only ~500 spots left.

Kritafo
03-21-2012, 11:55 AM
anyone doing the Highwood Pass Gran Fondo?

bigboom
03-21-2012, 10:20 PM
Originally posted by Kritafo
anyone doing the Highwood Pass Gran Fondo?

thinking about it...but i have test of metal 2 weeks before and then have the 24 hours of adrenalin 2 weeks after.

msommers
03-21-2012, 10:41 PM
Sounds like a blast. Will be kayaking Johnstone Strait though :D Have fun on that one guys!

gretz
05-14-2012, 03:26 PM
I hope everyone started training lol... what are your "training" routines like?

Distance, speed, cadence, etc...

Penguin_Racecar
05-15-2012, 09:00 PM
Originally posted by Kritafo
anyone doing the Highwood Pass Gran Fondo?

Did it last year, but haven't signed up yet this year. Not sure if I will. Last year was good fun though!
To anyone who hasn't ridden the pass yet - ride with leg and arm warmers for the summit. 4C and 65km/hr descent gets cold fast.

HHURICANE1
08-14-2012, 10:45 PM
Less that 2 weeks to go. Everyone ready?

bigboom
08-15-2012, 10:39 AM
I hope I'm ready...the only thing i'm trying to figure out i whether or not to stay in banff over night or drive out early saturday morning. Not particularly fond of spending $200 for a hotel room but even less fond of waking up at 4:30am to drive out there.

HHURICANE1
08-15-2012, 02:16 PM
^That's why I am staying out there. I live east of Calgary and I don't want to spend 3-4 hours out and back Friday and Saturday each with a 7:00 am start. I figure the expense is worth it for all the hours of extra sleep.

Super_Geo
08-15-2012, 06:01 PM
Haha I'm pretty screwed....

Had a weekend friend's wedding two weekends ago in Ontario (3 days of heavy duty drinking), and then spent the following week at a buddy's cabin in Quebec doing nothing but heavy duty drinking, smoking and eating poutine and delicious Quebecois steamed hot dogs. Managed to gain 8lbs in a 11 day stretch.

Got back into Calgary on Monday... not at all ready for this ride. Longest I've done so far this year is 80km.

Did a 50km ride on Monday, going to do a 100km ride tomorrow and then try for a 130-150km ride on Sunday and then just light riding next week.

Just hoping my ITB doesn't give out...

Penguin_Racecar
08-16-2012, 03:05 PM
Originally posted by bigboom
I hope I'm ready...the only thing i'm trying to figure out i whether or not to stay in banff over night or drive out early saturday morning. Not particularly fond of spending $200 for a hotel room but even less fond of waking up at 4:30am to drive out there.

So stay in Canmore? It should be much cheaper.

Super_Geo
08-16-2012, 10:59 PM
Did 105km today:

Downtown -> 22x -> Bragg Creek -> Downtown

Felt like shit between Priddis and Bragg Creek, but just barely managed... this was the longest ride I've ever been on!

A couple of questions for you guys who have been racing for a long time as I only have 8 days. Should I do:

- 60km Sat, 150km Mon, 30km Wed
or
- 150km Sun, 30km Tues
or something else?

I kind of want to get a chance to run some stairs, legs felt weak on the hills... not sure if I'll have time to squeeze that in there.

Also, after a long ride (this one was about 3.5hrs), what do you eat afterwards? I had an 8oz steak, a bunch of veggies (steamed carrots and beets, green peppers, asparagus, avocados) and a greek salad... should I be getting some carbs in as well?

msommers
08-16-2012, 11:50 PM
Nice to finally get over that 100km mark. Now you have a feel for how much water and food you need. Do you record your times, speed etc on a Garmin or something similar? If so, show us the link if you want. 105km over 3.5hrs is pretty good though, especially if you've been boozing a lot recently haha.

As for what to ride, I'm not an expert by any means but if you ride 30km on wed, you still have 2 rest days. 30km is nothing so really it'll be good just to get the blood flowing. Keep riding this week what you feel comfortable. One week of stairs isn't going to make the hills any easier!

Hoping you guys have good weather.

PS What was your route to get out to Bragg Creek? I'm downtown as well and find it a pain in the ass to finally get on the highway.

urban.one
08-17-2012, 09:29 AM
For those debating about staying Friday night, how do you intend to pick up your race package on Friday if your driving out Saturday morning?

Riding the 1A from Banff to Louise is a pretty fast ride. A bit of an uphill grind on the way out and then fly back to Banff. Catch a good draft and youll fly.

Super_Geo
08-21-2012, 09:33 PM
Originally posted by msommers
Nice to finally get over that 100km mark. Now you have a feel for how much water and food you need. Do you record your times, speed etc on a Garmin or something similar? If so, show us the link if you want. 105km over 3.5hrs is pretty good though, especially if you've been boozing a lot recently haha.

As for what to ride, I'm not an expert by any means but if you ride 30km on wed, you still have 2 rest days. 30km is nothing so really it'll be good just to get the blood flowing. Keep riding this week what you feel comfortable. One week of stairs isn't going to make the hills any easier!

Hoping you guys have good weather.

PS What was your route to get out to Bragg Creek? I'm downtown as well and find it a pain in the ass to finally get on the highway.

I live right by the Talisman Center, took Elbow Drive down to Heritage Drive, then to Heritage Park and looped around to the Fish Creek bike path to 37th and then through Evensglen and down to 22x.


Didn't get a chance to do a full 150km ride over the weekend... did a hilly 60km, and then today just did 10 laps of the Edworthy Park hill. Definitely underprepared but hoping I can finish it in a respectable (or non-embarrassing) time...

urban.one
08-23-2012, 08:04 AM
Roll call. Who is riding on Saturday? Looks like rain is no longer in the forecast.

HHURICANE1
08-23-2012, 08:42 AM
Heading out tomorrow afternoon. Just hope the forecast stays good.

scary_perry
08-24-2012, 09:49 PM
I'm here. Wondering what to wear.

Thinking thermal base, fondo jersey, arm warmers, bibs, leg warmers, wool cap, gloves. Rain jacket in pocket.

scary_perry
08-25-2012, 02:59 PM
I set 6 PRs on endomondo and finished well within the top 300. That is waaaay better than I expected.

Today over 1200 carbon fiber riding cyclists were bested by and old fat guy on Italian steel.

msommers
08-25-2012, 03:22 PM
Nice! How was the ride overall? Good weather, organization, nice views etc?

scary_perry
08-25-2012, 04:41 PM
The ride was great, very cold though. Other riders were fantastic. I've ridden my whole life but never in a pace line. I got to pull a few times which was cool, including dropping the rest of the group by accident once. LOL

For the last 20k the pace was crazy, I finished in the front of my pack (I sprinted for position - LOL).

It was a good silly ego boost.

Overall, I think I will join a team next year to get in on some group rides. I know now that I can hang at a decent pace. From what I understand most clubs do rides of this length and longer almost every weekend.

But regarding this Fondo, I did not think it was worth $250+$90 for the jersey. While the organization was good (let down by the end of race events IMO), the food was meh (burger and a beer for riders). The ride was shortened due to bears - understandable sure, but I paid to ride 142 and only got 100.

I think I'll try Highwood or Nanton next year. The jersey is included, and riding the pass with lots of riders would be fun.

bigboom
08-25-2012, 06:26 PM
I dont know...$250 to ride closed roads with no vehicles was definitely worth it to me. It was a cold start but once you got going it was bearable. Missed my goal (after finding out it was 100km) by 9 minutes ish, wanted a sub 3-hour time.

Penguin_Racecar
08-25-2012, 07:32 PM
Originally posted by scary_perry


I think I'll try Highwood or Nanton next year. The jersey is included, and riding the pass with lots of riders would be fun.

I fully recommend the highwood pass one. I did it this year and last year and it's an extremely well organized event. Doesn't have the same turnout as the other Gran Fondos (advertising?), but the route is awesome, the food stations are great, and the after party is kinda neat too. Nanton is an out and back one I think - doesn't really appeal to me.

Unlike the Banff Gran Fondo they don't close highwood pass, but it's not really a heavy traffic road so I never noticed any issues.

msommers
08-25-2012, 11:54 PM
Might have to head out to do some of these next year. I paid $2000 to do the RTCC (albeit for charity) so $250 might be a deal!

scary_perry
08-26-2012, 12:07 AM
Originally posted by bigboom
I dont know...$250 to ride closed roads with no vehicles was definitely worth it to me. It was a cold start but once you got going it was bearable. Missed my goal (after finding out it was 100km) by 9 minutes ish, wanted a sub 3-hour time.

3:09 is awesome, you beat me by six minutes.

bigboom
08-26-2012, 10:49 AM
Originally posted by scary_perry


3:09 is awesome, you beat me by six minutes.

and any cyclist knows its not what the bike is made out of...it's the rider. CF just gives a more compliant ride :)

3:15 is an awesome time too, i got dropped by a faster group and ended up having to solo it into the big head wind heading towards the 1A, that was no fun, if i didnt get dropped I would have made the sub 3 hour.

urban.one
08-27-2012, 12:38 PM
It was a fun ride. Too bad about the bears though Im surprised they didnt have a better backup plan. Im not sure what they would have done if the bears were on this side of Castle Mountain (closer to Banff rather than Louise).

In the end, I dont feel it was worth $250. Pretty crappy package pickup with no expo. No real events on the Friday other than the movie for 130 people. The guided ride with Whitfield was only for Altaclass. I heard that aid stations were running out of stuff and portopotty lines were terrible.
The finish line area had huge lines for a crappy burger once the midpackers started pouring in. And whos bright idea was it to hand out glass mugs to riders? I dont need a medal but i saw quite a few people droppin their mugs when getting theirs bikes to ride out.

Also it looked like the start corrals were too small. I started up front in the 3 to 4 so it was okay and didnt really fill up until right before the start. But i talked to buddies that wanted to start further back and they said they had to start in the grass and it was a gong show in front of the womans corral.

Bottom line, it was a nice ride and thankfully the weather held out but for $250 i expect better run events.