HCC November 2000 Newsletter

Our December 2^nd Club Awards Banquet will be held at the "Winchester Arms" in Dundas at 6:00 p.m. (NOT at the "Plainsman" as published in the September newsletter). We had full capacity at the "Arms" in 1998, so call Keith now to reserve a table! We'll have a couple of guest speakers and "pay for your own meal" format.

Our Annual General Meeting is also at the "Winchester Arms" in Dundas, on Saturday, December 9^th at 12:00 noon. To encourage you to participate in the democratic process, the club will pick up the tab for meals. To this point, no proposals for changes to the club have been received, so it looks like our club direction will remain the same in 2001.

So come on out and we can plan for next year's cycling season etc. Remember Hamilton hosts the World Road Championships in 2003!

DUNDURN CASTLE CYCLOCROSS ANOTHER SUCCESS!

Thanks to a great crew of volunteers and a day of fair weather, Hamilton Cycling Club kicked off the 'cross season with panache. Fifty-four riders, mostly from Southern Ontario and Buffalo enjoyed our mainly grassy and flat yet challenging course, as laid out by engineer Randy Brown and crew. I clocked the distance as 2 ¾ kilometres, nearly

½ kilometre longer than last year. We held two races, sending off Jr. Men, Master Men (over 40) and all Women at 11:00 a.m. Senior Men and Master Men 30 - 39 raced at 12:30 p.m.

We made our own pin-on race numbers and gave away cash and merchandise prizes, latter items kindly donated by "The Fitness Technique" and "Spokes 'n' Slopes", bicycle shops of Milton.

Letters of thanks were sent out to Keith MacKay ("Fitness Technique") and Matt Burger and Martin Malaison ("Spokes 'n' Slopes") as well as Genevieve Ligaj and Bill Nesbitt of the City of Hamilton Culture and Recreation Department.

We kept the appetites at bay with two "Party Paks" of Tim Horton donuts and cans of pop, as well as pears (thanks to Frank and Judy Morrow) and apples (thanks to Fred and Heather Pepper and the boys).

As mentioned in the last newsletter, we as a club cannot put on a race of this calibre without the help of many volunteers. As the race organizer, I became a bit nervous pre-race as I didn't have enough helpers committed; luckily we had a bunch of "walk-on" helpers at the race who filled the void.

Thanks go out to our crew of volunteers; Hamilton Cycling Club has done its part in "giving back" to the bicycle racing community.

Bob Davy, Peter Morris, Peter's nephew (I forgot name), Fred, Heather, Sam, Tom and Jamie Pepper, Randy Brown, Judy and Frank Morrow, Martha Finn, Keith Oliver, Don Sloan, Martin Reid, Donna Bowkunowicz, Dave Dermont, Harry de Boer, Tamas Baumgartner and Teresa Cianciolo. WELL DONE!

Southern Ontario Cyclocross Series

H.C.C. has four "regulars" who have raced at Port Hope, Camp Borden and Hay Creek on October Sundays since our Dundurn race. Frank Morrow and Rob Cheskey have traveled together from Milton while Harold Osborne and Randy Brown teamed up from Paris/Brantford. All four race in the "Master B. C. D" category. Randy and Rob have battled with Glen Laycock of Toronto for top spot. It goes like this:

Randy Rob Glen

Port Hope 3^rd 1^st 2^nd

Camp Borden 1^st 2^nd 3^rd

Hay Creek 2^nd 3^rd 1^st

Next Race: West Deane Park

Update November 6^th: West Deane Park Cyclocross Race

Another glorious autumn day; a GRUELLING course with some tricky technical stuff. The four "H.C.C. regulars" gave it a go. Once again Harold was the top Vet D (60+) - looking good for the "Provincials"! Frank was midway in the C's. Glen Laycock won for the second week, beating Randy (2^nd) and Rob (3^rd).

Next Week: The PROVINCIALS at Oshawa

PROVINCIAL CYCLOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

NOVEMBER 12, 2000, AT TRILLIUM TRAILS, OSHAWA

Intermittently overcast (COLD) and sunny (not so cold) weather without precipitation made this race slightly less entertaining to watch (Leslie Greene wasn't sliding down the slick slope on her butt this year), and slightly less grueling to ride (we didn't have to scrape off as much mud after). H.C.C.ers Harold, Frank, Randy and Rob traveled to the race.

Randy was out of commission for racing, with his left hand and forearm in a cast from a crash last week at the West Deane Park race in Etobicoke which fractured a hand bone. Randy spent the day videotaping the race. Rob had to scramble to put together a bike during the week when a cracked head-tube was discovered on the "old faithful ALAN" frame - nearly 20 years old!

The course had been modified to eliminate two sharp dropoffs, one of which caused Fred Pepper to "endo" last year, resulting in the end of his nose being sliced off by his stylish, but potentially dangerous, riding glasses. Fortunately, the surgeon at Oshawa General Hospital was good with nose ends and did a job that would make Rudolph proud.

So the stage had been set for a "showdown" of the B's with Glen Laycock and H.C.C.'s Rob having had success in earlier races; too bad Randy was injured. The Ottawa area, which has its own cyclocross series, also had riders come down for the race.

Mid race, Glen was 30 seconds up on Rob but Rob was gaining, when Glen broke spokes in his rear wheel. Rob soon caught and passed him to repeat as Provincial Champion. Frank and Harold both had good races; Frank was 6^th Master "C" and Harold was recognized for his great race, and being the only Master "D" to race.

The race organizers did a great job with the awards ceremony, complete with excellent announcer Keith Davidge.

Interclub Road Race #5

September 24^th, 2000

The final event in this "first year" series among the Hamilton, Oakville and Brampton clubs was hosted by the Brampton Cycling Club on their hilly Cheltenham course. Cool and overcast for the 9:00 a.m. start, most of us opted for tights and long sleeves. Randy opted to show his goosebumps, dressed in shorts and short sleeves.

After three laps, the two handicapped-start groups had been caught by the last group. The final long climb up the Mississauga Raod grade saw Rob and Domenic break off the front and get a gap. Fred and Randy were able to react and bridge up, leaving the field in their wake. By the top of the climb, a huge gap existed, and the foursome breezed along the top leg of the course, then sailed down toward Cheltenham village before the sharp climb and flat section to the finish line.

Randy, in his aero-tuck, reached the climb out of Cheltenham first and began churning up the ascent. Rob attacked before the climb and seemed to pick the right gear as he bolted past Randy and sprinted to the finish line to win. Randy held off a charge by Domenic, to take second and Fred was content with fourth place. The field, strung out by now, came in one by one. Hamilton Cycling Club clearly dominated this one, taking three of the four top positions!

A MESSAGE FROM ROB

I would like to thank the members of the outgoing executive for their part in the planning and execution of Hamilton Cycling Club activities in the year 2000.

We have had a meeting each month to discuss and decide issues; things like our two big races - "Good Friday" and "Dundurn Castle Cyclocross", our full slate of club events, clothing etc. The meeting venue has rotated with each of us taking a turn or two over the year. The meeting host provides refreshments ranging from sandwiches or pizza to taco chips and salsa, tea, coffee, desserts . . . in short we are well fed. The host receives $20.00 from the club for this.

The meetings this year have been stimulating and cheerful, with everyone providing meaningful input and, though there were differences of opinion at times, we managed to get it all done.

A good thing this year has been Martin Reid's Hamilton Cycling Club Website, where he has expanded on the good work started by Pat Conway last year. Having looked at other club's websites, I can say that Martin has done a super job!

Thanks Don, Keith, Randy, Frank and Martin for all the work we've done toward another successful year for the Hamilton Cycling Club. Also, thanks to my wife, Sandy, for many hours of time spent transcribing my chicken scrawl to end up with a great looking newsletter. Thanks to those who contributed interesting articles for the newsletter. We badly need more of these to keep our readership entertained!

MAZUR TAKES WORLD TITLE!

Junior Men's I.T.T., 24.5 kmOctober 11, 2000, Plouay, France

Peter Mazur of Dundas has been able to achieve this goal - WORLD CHAMPION. I've seen Peter grow and mature from the MINIME aged rider I remember pedalling around the track at Windham Centre, only five years ago. He has honed his skills under the watchful and demanding eye of his father, a respected cycling coach - this was no doubt a big factor in his success. Peter would show up at our Tuesday Crits or our Thursday Time Trials to train, in recent years.

Specific training for the Worlds was done mainly on the same roads which we've been using for our "Andy Keyes" race, the

"Strabane-Safari Road" circuit. Mirek told me that Peter rode this circuit nearly 150 times to prepare for the hilly course at Plouay, France.

Congratulations, Peter, we are very proud of you!

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Women's Road Race, 127.35 km

October 14^th, 2000, Plouay, France

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

"100 Years of Cycling" Banquet

Organized by MIKE SZELAG, the banquet was held at "Carmans" on October 27^th, 2000. Mike once again put together a successful evening of food, music and cycling banter with historical cycling memorabilia on hand, including several Hamilton Cycling Club trophies.

Attending from the club were Randy, Fred, Sue and Chris. Sue was presented with an acknowledgment from Sheila Copps for her outstanding result at the Worlds Road Race.

2001 Sanctioned Races

The Hamilton Cycling Club will apply to the O.C.A. for race dates for the Good Friday and Dundurn Castle events. We are looking for a Race Organizer for Good Friday. Anyone willing to take on this task will receive lots of help from the executive. Our venue at Guelph will be our first choice for Good Friday 2001 but the city seems less receptive to our race each year, also costs have risen to hold the race there. We are asking interested people for suggestions for a new course for the Good Friday Race. Potential venues should have a building for registration, washrooms and ample parking.

We've had several requests for skinsuits. There is a minimum order (by the club)

of twelve. What we need is a cheque or money order for the full amount of $80.00,

made payable to "The Hamilton Cycling Club. Orders must be prepaid. When we get

at least eight orders, we will order the dozen.

NAME__________________________________________PHONE NUMBER ____________________

SIZE (circle one): S  M  L  XL  XXL

SEND TO: Mr. Keith Oliver

2007 Kingsbridge Court

Burlington, Ontario

L7P 1Z9

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Design by QEF Contact webmaster at cyclist@hamiltoncycling.com