Willis Point

[JohnT]

The results haven't been posted, so this short report (that was my initial intention) lacks details. It's a great course, as far as hill climbs go. No traffic, smooth surface, steep sections and a couple of flats for recovery. Attendance was good - almost 20 racers. The steepest section is right at the start, which is good, because you can power through it and then try to recover on the flat 200 m up the road. After that 50 m flat the main climb begins. Several curves conceal the extent of it - it's like the ride over to Island View beach. Imagine you get to the turn at the top and then find another identical climb. Then that happens two more times. A few rollers at the end and you're done. Last year it took me 8 min and 5 seconds. I did it in exactly the same time this year. Strange, but good because last weekend, at Mt. Doug, I was a fair bit slower than 2009. 8:05 was the fourth fastest time in B today. Adam and Stephane both arrived in under 8 minutes - well done guys. Chad Gottfried from AviaWest beat all of us with a low 7 min time. I didn't note Ian's time, but he wasn't far behind me. Jen was there too. Sorry, don't know her time either, but I do know it was good enough for her to maintain 2nd overall. Fantastic. Adam, as we know from last week, had top spot in B sewn up even before todays race.

Chad's ten points for the win put him one point ahead of me and in second overall. This was, in fact, an accident, but it's fine with me. Chad's been racing A recently and didn't expect to have his result marked in the B column. The party at the end was fun - got to meet Stephane's family, among others. In fact, I discovered that he's Monsieur Tran (taught my daughter in Willows French Immersion). There were more people than last year, so it's growing. In case you need some incentive, there was more swag than there were attendees. Many non-racers went home with goodies. A nice way to end the season.

A quick summary note: A bunch of us moved to A after the first race this year. One of the motivations for that was to encourage other people in the club to come out and race. I think that worked very well, even though some of us discovered we were really B+'s, not quite A's. Adam (obviously) Alec, Ian, Sylvan, Stephane, Matteo, Bryan, Hugh, Steve, (and no doubt a name or two I've neglected to mention) were first timers that became regulars who frequently finished in the top 10 of the B pack. Really cool. The other exciting fall out from that move to A was the fact that we all now know what it takes to be competitive in A: Just keep up with Josh, Shawn, and Gavin and Peter. That's not meant as a joke. Before we (I suppose I should really just speak for myself), I didn't know what the next level was. Now it's there for everyone to see, three or four days a week. It's like having fast big brothers there to help us gage our own winter training. Also great that TS racing is venturing far and wide (provincials, etc.).

JT

[jeremy]

It's like having fast big brothers there to help us gage our own winter training.
JT

Especially for me and Mike Lawless

I was going to ride out with you guys and cheer you all on, but I got stuck having to put in an 11hour day at work .
Congrats to everyone on the all the great races this year. I've already started my winter training program, I hope to be keeping up with the B group next year.

[Stéphane Tran]

This was a fun climb, longer but not as intense as Mt. Doug. Surprisingly, the weather was great, so I didn't get totally soaked like last week. I was expecting to see more TSers, but It was nice to see Ian, Adam, John and Jen come out for some hill pain. My goal was get around 8 minutes, and I knew that if I kept an average of 18 km/h I would get close. I don't remember my exact time but I think it was just under 8 minutes.
After the race there was a barbecue and lots of swag handed out to the riders. Also, it was great to hang out with John and his family. As John mentioned, turns out I taught his daughter last year at Willows. Small world!
I think it is unfortunate and a little unfair that John was not awarded second overall in the Bs due to a points mix-up. In any case, WELL DONE to Adam (1st B) , Jen (2nd Women) and John (3rd B) for their podium spots.

[AdamD]

That was sucha blast! But where was everyone?
The hill was hard and i didn't even get to pre-ride it, i would have liked to have had a better time but i just haven't ridden very much lately.
The post race wrapup was awesome with great food and some salads made by none other than Raph, like the others mention there was an abundance of cycling items. I got a ton of stuff including some winter shoe covers. Cant wait till next year, A's wahooo, and John perhaps when Duane gets ahold of the results he will put the points in the right place, you never know.
-Adam

[BearPope Recruit]

Not too much to say about the last VCL race itself, just that thankfully it was a hill climb and over relatively quickly! Great to have some TS representation out and I think we dominated the Willis Point hall with racers and fans of all ages for the wrap up bbq! As John mentioned, there were more prizes than racers so many have us went home with more than one item. I was fortunate enough to have a chance to get up to the prize table a few times, and based on Geoff Pendrel's advice, scored a piece of new flair, an OBB Westshore Iron Maiden inspired black Tshirt... i think the 'cross riders will appreciate it but the roadies seemed rather sketpical last night.

Most importantly, a big thank you to all the volunteers who put on the VCL this year and for the wrap up bbq and draw prizes! Also thanks to all those TS'ers who came out this summer to participate, whether it was racing and/or supporting! And a special kudos to those who let me draft on the ride out and back - I woudn't have survived Wed nights without that!

Cheers, Jen

[AdamD]

I was fortunate enough to have a chance to get up to the prize table a few times, and based on Geoff Pendrel's advice, scored a piece of new flair, an OBB Westshore Iron Maiden inspired black Tshirt... i think the 'cross riders will appreciate it but the roadies seemed rather sketpical last night.

not to mention our matching hats!

[Duane]

results finally posted - Sorry for the delay (I'm typing this in London Ont)

http://duanebc.com/raceresults.html

[AdamD]

What did I tell you John, Duane knows what hes doing.
John moves into second AND an upgrade point for me what great news!