Brandon Edwards turns 30!

So, our very own (formerly EV's very own) Brandon Edwards (some of you may know him as brand0n_edward5) is turning 30 today. I know that day of is a bit late to announce a party, but I only got the mass text late last night, and well, it took me another ten hours to process the information. It looks like people are heading to The Reef on Commercial Drive to party hardily from 6:30 pm onwards. Brandon told me he didn't want any gifts, but that there are some things he still desires in life. If anyone has a nice hair-piece, a winter bike that weighs less then 27 pounds, or some fresh legs for this season they can spare, bring them on down and make this a birthday to remember! Happy birthday you old bite in the ass!!

Team Rides - a religious experience.

Team rides are under way! We have decided on Sunday mornings at 9am at Our Town (Kingsway and Broadway) as a meet place. Anyone that wants to be involved in the "where the hell are we gonna go!?" discussion be there at 9. If you don't care, sleep in, get lost on the way, or are naturally fashionably late (like me), be there by 9:30 to roll out. Captain Shane has veto power on all stupid route suggestions, but also reserves the right to call a bluff and agree to lead the crew to Mount Baker and back by way of Kamloops if he so desires, so don't test him! Rides will hover between 60 and 120 km, with the first handful taking place in sunny Richmond, until the frost lifts. These are no-drop rides, unless your drive train has mice in it or your fenders are perforated, in which case you'll be asked to wear Bill Yearwoods home made TT helmet and asked to ride .5 km's behind us!

In an effort to keep the weekly discussion surrounding each weeks ride out of everyone's email in boxes it has been suggested we use the comments feature of this blog entry to discuss routing and themes. Feel like doing a run to Baker? Climbing all three North Shore Mountains? Field trip to the Richmond oval? Fixed gear valley run? Call it here. I also intend to update the blog on a "frequent basis", so bookmark this damn thing! See you on Sunday!

And while we were in Portland....

Our very own Jay Loder was making a name for himself in Bellingham, taking part in their home series, Cascade Cross. Here is what Jay had to say about it.....

December - Christmas parties, rum/eggnog, dodging engagements with family and friends and….. Cyclocross! The rest of the Mighty Cross team packed it in for the season, but I hit a couple of December races south of the border.

While Nick, Matt and Pat were baking gingerbread, I was at the final race of the Cascade Cross series in Bellingham - Viking Cross. A tricky, difficult course - snot slippery climbs, a bit of sand, nice sweeping downhill, a couple of stupid hard mud sections and a twisty grass section with turf so soft you could not ride it. Pissing rain, and the deepest, greasiest mud of the season.

Wrapping up the season was a trip to Kringle Kross outside of Seattle. Near epic conditions - a sprinkle of snow on the ground, a Le Mans style start, piles of horse dung all over the course, bottomless puddles of chilly water, more greasy mud and a ridable run up. An all around fine day for cross racin'. The race is a fundraiser for a good cause and there was a really nice vibe at the race - barbeques, home baked goodies, friendly folk and a season best result for me. Check it out -www.cascadecross.com, and www.kringlekross.com for race results and photos.

Old news, new post.

So back when this blog went up I swore we'd have some regular updates, but that hasn't quite happened. There's a good excuse though....it was still 'Cross Season!! In the beginning of December, Nick and myself headed south of the border to experience the thrill and chaos that is Cyclo-cross in Portland. With round 3 of the USGP of CX happening so close we couldn't resist signing up and making a weekend out of it.



We somehow managed to take 9 hours to get there, so we missed early check in on Friday night, which meant an extra early morning on Saturday. We arrived on site just after 7am, and with my start time scheduled for 8am, I had to change quickly and find the sign in booth. I got pinned up, and with only 3 minutes to go, decided there was no time for a practice lap and headed straight for the starting line. The starting gun went off like a new alarm clock, and the 100 deep C field took off into the mist. Did I mention that it was below zero? This is what it's all about though; frozen mud, grueling endless straights, and hot cider at the finish!

Nick got a little luckier with a 9:30 start time for the B class. His field looked big and dangerous, but a season of racing the lower mainlands finest had him up to the task of kicking ass! Belgium knee warmers on tight, Mighty's not-so-secret 'cross weapon stepped to the task and ran away with the win.....on both days!



Portland knows how to do it. For real. The course was epic, there was plenty of coffee and cider, beer tents, hundreds of spectators, and good vibes all around. Big thanks to our gracious supplier of couches, Rachel, and of course Rainbow, for many things, but especially for starting the Mighty Riders CX cheerleading squad, the Muddy Buddies.