Summer 2009 Excursions
Dec 9, 2008
Hi Everyone
Our calendars can certainly fill up quickly and as such we thought we should
send out an email that gives a quick rundown of some training / race / FMCT
activity dates that we are currently working on. As they get closer we will
provide more detail as to cost and such but just so you can plan
accordingly...
It is important to note that this list of events does not include the FMCT Mega days that will happen over the course of the season.
Weekend 1
May 23 ,24 & 25 - Ottawa Training weekend
On this weekend the plan is to drive to Ottawa to ride our bikes up and down the hills in Gatenau Park. It is a 23k ride up and 23k ride down on beautiful roads with not much traffic and what is there is bike friendly. The only thing is the bugs that can attack if you get a flat tire. The format is something like:
1) Drive to Ottawa Thursday night - have dinner and cold beer with friends
pile friends into as few rooms as possible to cut down on expenses (its a
long summer)
2) get up Friday morning eat big hearty breakfast - drive to Hull, Quebec and
Park du Gateneau ride our bikes.. lots.. or a little if you chose. The loop is about 46K - half up, half down - you can do that as many or as few times as you like - follow ride by short run
3) go back to hotel - fall in pool and then get ready for dinner
dinner and cold beer with friends to trade war stories etc.
4) get up Saturday - eat big hearty breakfast - go back to Hull, Quebec and Park du Gatenau ride bikes again - not so far this time - but far enough to know you have had enough - follow bike by short run
load bike back in car and go and pick up race kit.
5) head back to hotel fall in p..... race kit???!!!!!.. oh.. didn't I mention.. this is the Ottawa marathon weekend .. so after riding on Friday and Saturday.. you get to run the marathon or the half marathon on the Sunday.
It is a nice run course for those who have not done it in the past. Well, I think it is I usually have my head down.. anyway depending on what you are running this can help to dictate the amount of riding that you do on the
Friday and Saturday - but even if you are running the full marathon you need
to bring your bike and at least ride the loop once (each day) as it a nice
view from the top and always good for a photo op!
pile all our stuff back in car find restaurant to have food and drink before
the drive home.
Please note you are responsible for signing up for your own chosen marathon
event and for your own hotel expenses. We will communicate hotel information when we get closer and people start booking rooms etc. You can also note that it is NOT a requirement for you to come up on the Thursday night, if you can't get the day off on Friday, then come up Friday night and ride on the Saturday before the run on Sunday - do what you can but just remember to bring your bike and your sneakers!
http://www.ncm.ca/
Weekend 2
May 29, 30 and 31 - Muskoka Training Weekend
this will be our 3rd annual training weekend in Muskoka and for this year we are going to switch the venue and the date to one week earlier. The place we will be staying is right on the Muskoka 70.3 course in Dwight Ontario. This weekend is a train at your own pace weekend where you are your own
training control board - ride and run as little or as much as you want - the
water may be a little cool but the place is right the beach so go and jump
in.. it may feel good after a long ride. There is also a huge front yard where you can lounge after riding etc (or instead of riding if you like)and room for a big ass volleyball game - Val is on my team.. she may be a little
vertically challenged.. but she can spike!! The cost will be in the range of / person / weekend for the accommodation - bring your own food etc..
more details to follow - we are trying to reserve the whole resort for
ourselves so please let me know at jdalzell@rogers.com if you think you
would be interested in this as I would like to get some idea of numbers before I commit my credit card to such abuse! For those who have joined us on this weekend in the past it really is a solid FMCT event weekend for all ability levels and a great chance to get away for the weekend.
http://www.loggingchainlodge.on.ca/
Weekend 3
June 6,7 and 8 Rideau Lakes Ride
This weekend is organized by the Ottawa Cycling Club and consists of a ride
from Ottawa to Kingston on the Saturday (approx 180K) and then a ride from
Kingston to Ottawa on the Sunday (again approx 180K) The cost of this ride is 0 and includes saturday night accommodation in a University dorm room and a big dinner and breakfast.The food is really good! There is also a 100k route for those that want to join but don't want to do the 180s. There are about 1800 riders and it really is a lot of fun, drafting is legal so if you get tired and can just plot your butt in a pack and spin along - just be prepared to take a turn pulling at the front. I would suggest this is not a beginner ride. (this is not an FMCT organized event - we are just trying to get a group of us to head down). We would drive to Ottawa on Friday night have dinner / beer stay in a hotel and then go to the event in the morning.
http://www.ottawabicycleclub.ca/rlct
Weekend 4
Muskoka Chase Weekend - June 13 and 14
This annual Subaru triathlon is a well attended event and will be a good
place to test your legs after the above noted 3 weekends of tapering..haha..
Week 5
Ironman Lake Placid Week (July 21-28th)
During this week several FMCT members will be travelling down to Lake Placid
to take part in Ironman USA which takes place on Sunday July 26th, 2008.
Other FMCT members will be going down to train in the Lake Placid area, possibly volunteer during the race, observe and cheer the competitors during race day and some ambitious few will be lining up on Monady to sign up for next years race.
(FYI - Brian and I scouted out a perfect spot to set up the FMCT where we will be able to see the FMCT participants on the bike twice and on the run four times - we will be setting up lawnchairs and a Hibatchi so rain or shine we will be in in the lap of luxury - sort of - so come on and join us!) - again you don't have to come for the week although accommodations can be hard to come by, we managed to get a room for 2 nights right at the last minute)
If you are interested in going down and need transportation or accommodation
let Bill Vieira know. Bill has rented a house (accommodates 14 people) near the race site from July 21 to 28, and there are still some openings.
Contact: billvieira @ yahoo.ca
Anyway, we have thrown a lot of information at you there to digest, please don't hesitate to contact me at jdalzell @ rogers.com or on my cell at 905-866-2839 if you have any questions on any of it.
We look forward to having you join us for these events.
See you out there.
Jim
