GranFondo

[Josh.E]

Zwane and I saw that guy on the unicycle about 20-30km from the finish as we were riding back to squamish. Both of us shot a look at eachother, like did I really just see that?

Looks like more results are posted.
Shawn is in 9th for the cat 3 finishers (in what is effectively a group finish tie for 4th) in the giro.
Alan is 23rd in his age category.

Nice work everyone.

[AlW]

Good job folks. Sounds like lots of "fun". I'm in for next year.

Looks like registration for next year opens today at noon for founding members. Sadly, being a non-founding member, I have to until the 20th.

If anyone registers as captain for a team, please let me know what the team name is and I'll add my name to the list (provided there is room).

[Roland]

Registration for 2011 was open until the server crashed. $225 for next year.

[wonger]

Check this site for more photos:
http://www.cameronhunterphoto.com/grandfondo/

38 - John T
39 - Hugh
84 - Adam
110 - Lister, Dave

[Kevin F]

I really enjoyed the WGF! Similar reports to everyone else... I rode mostly solo since I wasn't too sure how things would go for me. In the end I was really happy with my 4:16 time. Train has been pretty light over the summer with family commitments. I thought the day was going to go horribly wrong when at 1 am my middle daughter threw up all over the expensive sheets are the Fairmont and then woke the baby. A few towels and shushing late rit was back to sleep for everyone.

my ride started with a lucky chance meeting with the TS crew in the tailend of the 3 to 4 group, a thumbs up to Gordon Cambpell and off we went. I lost the TS train right off the start with a near mass accident at the bottom of Georgia. it was a good eye opener of what was to come! Lots of poor group riding but it was really out of necessity .... Sort of. Most riders wanted a good time in the bracket I was riding in but some of the stunts wher ea bit whacky. like yelling "on your left" and then slowing down and forcing their way into the pace line. They might as well have been yelling "I'm 600 people back but I will beat you!" Regardless no harm no foul this time.

Noteable for me was never finding anyone riding my pace after half way. I stopped due to some cramping and thought I should refuel. When I started backup I was mostly passing people until a fas tpace line came though but it was too fast for me to hold on without a major risk of cracking later on. Definitly need to start the Wednesday night series next year to get used to riding longer at speed. I too didn't recall any of the hills. Mt tolmie seems like more effort than any individual climb on the route. But that could have just been the survival/race mode I was in.

I thought it was really well organized and hope to ride with the TS crew next year! Sharing a wheel with strangers at 50-60kms an hour was not always comforting shelter. I felt a bit like I was climbing into a lion's cage to escape a tiger.

[Paul C.]

Another thing about the WGF is, it confirmed to me riding with TSC has been great for my individual and group cycling skills. Thanks to alot of you and Lister for sure. I was amazed the amount of people in team kit that didn't seem to know how to ride as a group or in a pace line . And I was around the 4 to 5 pace the whole way. One guy even asked me if it was ok to draft off me. Perhaps organizers could put out a list of bike clubs,coaches and clinics to all entrants.

A lot of small groups were wasting a lot of energy riding together with no exchange of work or cooperation. And I also heard very little verbal warnings except"slowing".. After seeing about 3 crashes and alot of sloppy riding I must say I also started to avoid riding with some people.

I did a lot of riding on wrong side of cones , when safe, Although organizers should be DQ ing people for this and other infractions. There is something wrong with an event with 4000 people in it, if no one is penalized or DQ' d. Did anyone feel a presence of marshalls on motorcycles or hear of any warnings , etc. ???

I have been in triathlons where some people have been given a DNF for just crossing a yellow line or a 4 or 8 minute penalty for drafting. How about in 2011 Granfondos give a penalty for NOT drafting?? I will be passing most of these suggestions and some other comments about the start procedure to WGF officials.

[gav_eaton]

Congrats to all who braved that race/ride! Sounds like it was definitely an epic one!

Not sure if any of you were unfortunate enough to pass the rider that crashed badly in the race - but here's a quick TC article about it:

http://www.timescolonist.com/travel/Vic ... story.html

John and his wife Hillerie are good friends of mine and I trained and raced with them for a number of years when I was a triathlete. Very sad to see - John is a wonderful guy who has a boatload of energy and constantly gives to the triathlon/cycling/running communities.

I hope for strong and speedy recovery for John and that there is no long-term damage.

A scary reminder of how quickly it can go badly for any one of us.

[4827north]

Hi Gavin,

Yeah we saw John on the side of the road alright. There was blood on the road and it didn't look good. For those who read the article in the TC there were some minor inaccuracies. The Upper Levels highway had the cyclists riding in the left lane, not the right hand curb side. He crashed near and around the cones on the right hand side of our lane. Not sure exactly what happened as I wasn't there yet, but I did have some clown ahead of me in a pace line ride over the cone's black base causing it to wobble in front of me like a weable. I dodged it, but only just. Very dangerous. This may have been what happened to John, as several riders were dodging in and out of the cones. Several riders hit the cones, pylons, which makes me think two things... too many risks were being taken early on and for very little gain. Poor self-seeding and ambitious fresh legs led to a lot of idiotic sudden movement. Or the classic, "On your left", only to bulldoze through the middle. Heading over the Lions Gate bridge, some dude kept looking back over his shoulder presumably looking for a friend, swerved and just about took out a few riders around him! That was an early warning about how this ride was going to go.

As Paul said, I too didn't encounter much cooperation for shared effort with big-trains forming like I had experienced at the STP in 2005, or the Ride to Conquer Cancer this past June. That was disappointing, and I found myself initiating a train, pull off and then no one carries it on, or they jump from all sides, like somehow we're all sprinting now to some imaginary point.. county line or something? This happened a few times, to the point where I just rode with my friend from Edmonton and watched him out climb me only for him to then watch me out descend him. Back and forth we went, working together on the less than steep sections, where my sciatic nerve wasn't too bothered.

My observation of the riders that pulled out of our cordoned off lanes to enter the 'car' lanes, is that that act could easily have been cause for those against the Fondo, use this for cause to lobby to cancel the event next year. Given the luxury, and I mean luxury of a whole lane, and given the fact that the majority of the participants are not racing the event, you'd think the least we could all do as cyclists is to appreciate this gift and stick to the rules: stay inside the area designated for us.

And to make matters worse, accidents occurred as people clobbered into the cones leaving and entering the lane. It's this kind of arrogant behavior that causes cyclists to be loathed by the rest of the community. Two or more cyclists jumped out into the traffic when we were descending the upper levels at high speed riding behind the cars that were kind enough to obey the reduced traffic speed, for our benefit. That does not look good. It may technically be 'legal' as I suppose you could argue that they were trying to stay as far to the right as is practicable, since our lane was the left most lane, but I doubt the organizers or community would see it that way. Unnecessary. That's how I saw it.

All in all, it was a great ride. Not really epic. 330km one-day STP. That was epic. This? It was a good ride. Had it rained the whole way, well then it might have been epic.

One thing I didn't expect was how much of the scenery and locales I just didn't see. I shot right through Britannia expecting to see the mine, etc, but before I knew it we were all in Squamish, loading up on eLoad and such. It was only the drive down that I saw the sights.

[spearson]

Out of the gate I got separated from the TS guys, got caught behind a club riding in a 3x3 cube over the bridge, then I busted out a near VO2 max effort going up Taylor Way just trying to maintain contact with anyone in argyle.

I didn't see any TS riders for the first 20K and when I did it was obvious that the sheer size of the pack was shredding the TS group to pieces. I pushed on hoping to find the main pack further up the peleton.

This is where running totally let me down. In a marathon, if a guy is spat out the back of a pack, usually it is game over. Few are able to tune it down just a bit and keep going at a hard pace. If you pass someone during a running race, usually they are cooked and will not recover. Pass hard, pass wide, and hope that the effect is both demoralizing and permanent. Also in running there are fewer attacks/recoveries so I tried to ride at a more even heart rate (more like a triathlete). This meant that I was not really following the flow of the race very well.

I got behind on my nutrition (too scared to reach for gels in my pockets in the big group) and at 75K I was starting to get a few cramps. Having done V2N2V I knew this was nothing to worry about and that I had ridden through much worse. I pulled into the final stop, grabbed tons of fuel and hoped that I was not too late. I was.

The passing started at about 95K and I was amazed at the number of TS jerseys that went flying by. A few like Quentin and Norm I had been anticipating, but many I thought I was still chasing started to pass me. I finished in 4:05, 5 minutes slower than I wanted. No complaints really.

In the end I am endebted to the club. Without the rides all summer I would not have been able to handle the traffic and may well have caused injury to myself and others, I would not have had the fitness to have made it the whole way in the time that I did, and I would not have had the confidence that I could get through to the end when the wheels fell off the bus. Selfishly, I didn't take a single pull for anyone else. I spent the day chasing shadows and paid the price for riding like a complete idiot.

I have signed up for a grudge match. I need to do more skills training, more hills at the end of long workouts, more 4-5 hour workouts, and more intensity. I have a lot to prove, and a lot to atone for.

If you want to see how NOT to ride here is my Garmin track. Look especially at the drop in heart rate over the last hour.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/48803299

[Lister Farrar]

Great posts Brad and Simon. I think you nailed the dilemma of this kind of ride. Go too slow, you end up with people that don't know group riding, too fast, you cook and die.

But I'm thinking that's also the fun. Try to figure out how to start well, pick the right group, contribute to organizing it, measure out your 'matches', save some for the last hour, then sprint like Cavendish! (Well, maybe without the headbutts...):lol:

I had a glimmer of hope for next year in the last 10 km, when I linked up with a younger guy who was lighter and a good climber. He backed off a hair on the climbs to let me stay with him, and I pulled the flats and downhills where I was faster than him. It redeemed the day for me. Just wish I could find him to say thanks.

How about we suggest some guidelines for the GF organizers to publish to riders? I'll go first:

• Ride with a group before the GF. It really helps understand what other riders will do in the event, and what to react to, and what not to.
  Be smooth and straight. This matters more than anything. You can go slower, and people can figure out how to get around you. But not if you're wobbling.
  Before entering the course after stopping, look back and don't proceed if a group is close. The groups move faster and you're slow and probably a bit wobbly.
  Stay right unless you're passing. If the wind is from the left, discuss it with your group and swing off the front into the wind so you don't take out someone's wheel.
  Draft, dammit! This is half the fun of road riding. Take short pulls, don't accelerate suddenly, swing over, slow down, rest up on the back. Repeat.

[sylvan]

Here's a positive update on John Botelho from last night:

"John has been moving fingers and toes and legs today and tonight. His legs flinched when they put antiseptic on his road rash. He was touching all the tubes that have been stuck in him and showed great dislike for the ones down his throat. Hillerie has been overwhelmed with emails (over 100) and phone calls. The hospital has been receiving many calls to see how he is or if he can have visitors (no visitors right now) she hasn't slept more than an hour at a time and hasn't had time to read all the emails. She has an update on FaceBook and will continue to do that each day for people to read. She wants everyone to follow that as she won't have time to email everyone. Apparently every news organization from here to England has been in touch with her or the hospital for more information. The hospital doesn't allow flowers. She is hoping that when John has improved enough and his own doctor gives the okay, that he'll be moved to Vic General. Hillerie said that now that she knows he'll pull through she might finally get a night's sleep."

[wonger]

If anyone registers as captain for a team, please let me know what the team name is and I'll add my name to the list (provided there is room).

I registered a Tripleshot Cycling team on Monday.

[esilnarson]

I just checked the Whistler GrandFondo Facebook page and it sounds like there are only about 350 spaces remaining for 2011. Anybody who is thinking about signing up, may want to do it soon. I signed up last week. Anybody else confirmed for 2011 at this point?

[Quentin]

Who has signed up for Whistler Granfondo next year?

[Roland]

Not I.

[wonger]

Not I.

Why not? Think of all the fun you had last year!

Brian I registered a Tripleshot team so you should be able to join it through their registration process.

[4827north]

I have registered, with some trepidation, but did so anyways. Hopefully it will be a bit safer in 2011. And hopefully they will use stay-mounted timing chips instead of those silly flaps of paper. And what is the purpose of the helmet sticker if they still don't record your number at the finish line?

[EricS]

I'm in!

[Brian S]

I'm on the fence, and may register for the Penticton Axel Merkx GF, depending upon swim schedules of the kids.
http://www.granfondoaxelmerckx.com/

Takers?? Anyone interested? Back to back nasties, maybe the IM Canada course on the Saturday and then the GF Sunday??
Chris?
MikeL?

[4827north]

Dang, that Axel Merckx GF looks great! I'll be supporting my wife as she competes in a triathlon July 10th. it would be nice to be at two places at once

Anyone doing the other RBC GF in Penticton?