For Sale
2002
Specialized Hotrock - Size: 19"
Asking
$450.00
Contact:
Tom at (905) 383-5226
Set
of 13" aluminum rollers
Asking
$50.00
Contact:
Dave at (905) 529-6420
Giro
Aerohead Helmet
Asking
$30.00
Contact:
Dave at (905) 529-6420
2000
Cannondale Multi-sport
Ultegra
components, aero carbon forks and
super
light wheel set. Rode for two seasons,
paid
$2800 at Pieriks new, selling for $1,800.
Used
2 seasons 2000-01, did not ride it last
year,
bike is in great condition.
Contact:
Mike Bown at (905) 388-7427
Club Kit
Aside
from offering jerseys, shorts and skin suits there has been the thought of
tights and jackets if members are there. If you think this is something that
interests you contact an executive member.
Race Scene
by David Harrison
April/May have finally
arrived with sun and warmth after what seemed like an endless winter of snow and
bone-chilling cold.
The World Road Championships seem to be the dominating topic in and
around Hamilton these days among both cyclists and the general public alike.
Earlier in the year, City officials held "town hall" meetings which
brought forth some negative backlash from local merchants. You would think that
for the span of one week in October these people could see beyond the scope of
their daily routines and open themselves up to the big picture of showcasing our
wonderful area to millions around the world. A small number of people are still
writing into the Hamilton Spectator complaining of the many inconveniences the
races will bring. I just hope these people can arrange their schedules and also
be able to come down to Hamilton and see the speed, colour and excitement of
this truly international event.
Our club flag ship event, the Good Friday road race went very well with
mother nature being somewhat kinder then in past years with only the BCD race
getting a bit of drizzle. (See Don's article for the full story.)
Just over 1,000 athletes took to the trails in the 10th
annual Paris to Ancaster Cyclo-cross in which local pros Seamus McGarth and Sue
Palmer-Komar took top honours. The world cup circuit has these riders on the
road and away from their families most of the year. It was great to see them
home and enjoying the wonderful day that greeted all the riders this day.
Several club members had just enough time after Mosport's Ontario Cup 2
days after Good Friday to ready themselves for the 35th
Springbank road race in London.
HCC's Henry Dudko managed a 16th place finish
in Sr. 2 action at 0.37". In the BCD race Desi Desrochers, Fred Pepper and
Chris Kiriakopoulos finished 4th, 6th
and 20th respectively.
Anna Garnett was 9th in a close women's finish.
I came to know Anna, as I did Shane Lavell, from their running days. Each were
also excellent athletes in that discipline and have made the transition to
cycling very well, keep up the great work riders!
I can't help but miss some results from so many races on the schedule,
so please e-mail your finish times and/or a short story so we can get fuller
race coverage, hope to hear from more members soon.
The Good
Friday Road Race - 2003
by Donald Sloan
Once again the Good
Friday Road Race has come and done, and after the usual concerns about the
weather, especially when there was freezing rain on Thursday morning, it went
off without a hitch. The Hamilton Cycling Club has held this race for so long
now that there is a core of hard workers who know almost by heart what is
required to make the race a success. However, it still takes untold hours of
preparation by the club executive board and a hot of volunteers on race day.
The executive board this year has some new blood in the forms of Chris
Kiriakopoulos, our secretary, and Dave Harrison, the newsletter editor, both of
whom worked tirelessly putting the race together. Chris dealing with the O.C.A.
to ensure we were conforming to the new rules and regulations introduced this
year, assembling and dismantling the start/finish stand, giving a pedal-by-pedal
commentary of the races, and of course his version of U.C.I. approved music.
Meanwhile Dave was canvassing the area cycle dealers to garner enough
prizes for each race and several prims, which he organized at race day. He also
assisted Chris and Randy to erect the start/finish stand and guart rails at 7:00
a.m. the morning of the race. Then he had the nerve to leave just before the
last race, so he could travel to Boston MA, to run in the marathon on Monday, 21
April. Way to go, Dave!
Our racing secretary, Randy Brown, after erecting the starting area,
got his video camera out and TV setup in the van so we could get race results
almost before the riders crossed the finish line. This worked really well and,
this year, we had no embarrassing wrong result announced. After working all day,
Randy was there at the end of the day loading the truck with the dismantled
stand and guardrails.
George Garrett was again our 'Man Friday' , dealing with the City of
Guelph and the Police Services. He also erected and dismantled all the required
road signage demanded for the race and this year because of the road detour
there was extra barriers. He also found time to assist Randy and Chris and
myself to dismantle the start/finish stand at the end of the day. George is
truly tireless and is always first to offer help.
Keith and Martin organized the race drivers as usual and did a large
part of the driving themselves. Keith, as treasurer, also kept our creditors at
bay by signing cheques all day. Martin on the other hand had his camera busy
getting photographs and results for our web site.
Race day would not even get started if we did not have a team of
perennial volunteers
· Registration: Judy Daniels and Frank Morrow.
· Race Drivers: Rob Cheskey and Peter Morris.
· Start Area: Peter Schouten.
· Refreshments: Sandra and Melissa Cheskey.
· Marshals and First Aid: Community Services, Burlington.
These people appear year
after year and deserve a special note of thanks. New World Cycle, Burlington and
Central Cycle, Hamilton (club member Brian Chewter) were most generous in
donating prizes from bar tape, water bottles to racing jerseys. Brian also gave
a new aluminum frame and every rider who finished in the top three in their
category had their name entered in a draw after the race. The frame was won by
Mark Shaw of Midweek Elite.
The races, as I said earlier, went off without a hitch and although the
Junior and Vets B, C, & D, the first race started in the race the day
gradually cleared and we even had some blue skies later in the day. This was
also the only race where we had a minor crash.
All of the races, except the women's, had bunch finishes with clear
winners making the commissaire's job easier. Amy Moore won the women's race on a
solo breakaway, which survived several laps after she won the prim and $83.00
collected from the spectators by Chris. This is the second time she has won the
Women's Millennium Trophy, having won it in 2001 before she was married.
For all the results and Martin's exciting pictures visit the club web
site at www.hwcn.org/link/cycling.
Finally, I should like to thank everyone again for their commitment and
dedication to this event making it a race that riders look forward to each year.
The Hamilton Cycling Club Inc.
by Donald Sloan
Now that the Good Friday Road race is over for another year, this seems
like an opportune time to review how the executive officers conduct the club
affairs. The Constitution is quite clear on this point by stating that all club
affairs shall be governed by the Executive committee. The executive is an
autonomous group for their one-year term, however they will listen to any member
with genuine concerns about club matters. The following may give every one a
little more insight as to how the club arrives at what can sometimes be
unpopular decisions for a few members. We would be naïve to think we can please
all of the people all of the time.
As most of you know the Hamilton Cycling Club was established in 1889
and is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, cycling clubs in North America.
Everyone on the executive is keenly aware of this fact and their first priority
is to ensure the club is financially secure to move forward into the future.
In recent years the bulk of this money has come from the surplus of the
Good Friday Road Race after all expenses have been paid. This money allows us to
commit to ordering cycling aparel in advance and sell it to the membership at
cost, and subsidize the printing and mailing costs of our monthly newsletter. It
pays for guests at our Awards Banquet and lunch at the A.G.M. It also buys new
trophies and medals for our club events and covers the additional insurance
coverage demanded by the O.C.A.
In a good year, there is uaually enough surplus to cover the next
year's mandatory race expenses, if the race has to be cancelled due to inclement
weather. Some of you will remember that this actually happened a few years ago.
Good Friday, unlike most other holidays does not fall on the same data each
year, it can be anytime from early March to late April, and at this time of year
is subject to extremes in the weather. This one item makes it very difficult to
forecast how many entries will be received and until last year it was generally
thought that a minimum of about 200 riders were required to break even.
Traditionally, no monetary awards are offered and riders competed for
trophies, club medals and prizes donated by area cycle dealers, and of course
the honour of winning the first race of the season.
Last year, in 2002, we broke with tradition and had cash prizes as an
incentive to attract more riders. After paying out all our race expenses we were
left with a $200.00 surplus out of less than 200 entries at $25.00 each. This
return is completely unacceptable and does not make good business sense, and the
club is a business so to speak
With this in mind, this year the executive unanimously decided not to
offer cash awards and revert to tradition. It also raised the entry fee to
$30.00. This was done after making a review of the rates of other cycling clubs
and sporting events and it was felt that it was not an unreasonable figure,
giving the club a level of confidence for a successful race, even with the
escalating race costs for this year.
As it turned out we had 286 entries and at the time of writing the
financial statements are not yet prepared. However, I am confident that the club
will be in good financial shape for 2004.
The other sanctioned race on our calendar is the November cyclo-cross.
This is a relatively new race and for the last two years has offered cash
prizes. The field for the all the series is a total of about 60 riders and while
being enjoyed by the participants, does not yield much money for the club
coffers.
Of course, there are club membership dues but with only 40
paying members, it would be impossible for the club to continue in its present
format.
It must be remembered that if the club falls into debt, for any reason,
it will be immediately disbanded. Point 5.1 in the constitution does not allow
the borrowing of money, even if it had assets for collateral.
In conclusion, it is my opinion that the great majority of riders do
not race because there are cash prizes, but rather for the love of cycling and
the winning of a trophy or medal is a longer lasting memento of the race than a
few dollars. This is born out by the fact that this year in spite of the early
wet weather we had 286 entries and not one of these riders made a negative
comment to any of the executive. In fact the ones I spoke to seemed to be very
happy with the race and the way it was organized.
However, the evening after the race I received a phone call from a
spectator lodging a complaint he alleges came from one of the race winners. This
type of comment, while being disturbing, has to be viewed with caution since it
came from a third party not associated with the race, or formally representing
the rider in question. The matter will be discussed at the next board meeting
and disposed of one way or another.
And finally, I trust the foregoing has been informative and explains
some of the issues facing the executive committee who spend many hours driving
to and from meetings and club events with no re-imbursement from either their
time or driving. They also pay their club dues like everyone else.
The current executive consists of seven individuals, two of who are new
this year and the balance made up of members who have been around for several
years. This is a good mix with the 'old boys' having a wealth of experience, and
the 'new boys' providing new and exciting ideas.
But the committee needs new people and the 'old boys', of which I am
one, should retire. Racing cycling is a young man's sport, even although we have
lots of veterans and the club needs these young riders to drive it into the
future. Chris Kiriakopoulos and Dave Harrison are excellent examples of the type
of individuals required. In the past there has been a general apathy to running
the club and it fell to the hard core of older members. I should like to
encourage every club member to seriously think about the direction their club
should head and become actively involved in its administration or volunteer at
the club events, helpers are always needed.
To finish I want to thank the executive for all their hard work and
dedication and consider myself privileged to be associated with them.
Club Bio
Member: Chris Kiriakopoulos
What's the last
meal you cooked? Lemon Chicken
What's your favourite drink? Besides
beer, probably beer.
What was the last
book you read? The Summons by John Grisham
What's the last CD you bought? Tom
Wait - Rain Dogs
What's the last
movie you saw? X-Man II with my son
What's your favourite website? CanadianCyclist.com
What non-cycling magazines do you read? Acoustic
Guitar
Where do you live? Rosedale
Area in Hamilton
Other then cycling, what other sports do you do? Hockey
Good Friday
Support
During this year's event on Good
Friday we were fortunate to have the support of some local bike shops to offer
prizes and primes Although the race is located in Guelph, Chris and I were able,
without any trouble, to receive merchandise from Hamilton shops even in these
tight economic times.
The Hamilton Cycling Club would like to extend our thanks to Brian at
Central Cycle, Elaine at Pieriks, Jeff at Bicycle Works and Vic and Jeff of New
World.
It's support from stores like these that show us all that when called
upon they always put back into our sport. Give them a "thank you" next
time you're in the area.
Calendar
of Events
