COVID Crusher Camp

I’m thrilled to hear your interest in the COVID Crusher Camp!

I’m putting together a week-long series of rides in the Edmonton area from Monday, July 27, to Sunday, August 2.

Weekday rides will be about 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hours long and begin between 3:30pm and 4:00pm. We can take advantage of the later sunsets to get some big weekday rides accomplished. If your work hours are a bit flexible, and/or you are working from home, I hope you can join us. Weekend rides will start 9:00am to 10:00am. Sunday will be a big ride, in the range of 160km. You’ll have the August long weekend Monday to recover.

I’ll implement these daily group rides to make sure everyone is kept safe, following all ABA and AHS guidelines and public health orders.

This means:

• Pre-registration is mandatory
• No more than 15 riders can register
• Cohorting … what I’ll call a “Bicycling Bubble”  … will be explored – only if everyone registered understands the full meaning of forming a “Sport Cohort”
• If forming a Bicycling Bubble is not possible, physical distancing will be enforced at all times

How would our Bicycling Bubble work for this week of riding?

You must absolutely understand that during the pandemic you may only have TWO cohorts.

One cohort is your Core Cohort. This consists of your everyday friends and family members that you either live with or interact with. You make no attempts to physically distance from these people. You may include up to 15 people outside your daily home in this cohort.

Your second cohort can be a child care cohort or a performing arts cohort or a sports cohort. You can only have ONE such cohort, and it absolutely must not overlap with any other cohort. You cannot have a cycling cohort AND a soccer cohort AND a band cohort AND etc. Child care cohorts can be up to 30 people. Performers and Sports teams can have up to 50 people.

You cannot bounce between these non-core cohorts. You can move between cohorts only if you space 14 days between them. Since our COVID Crusher Camp begins in less than a week, if you already belong to any other sport cohort, you will not be allowed to be within Velocity’s Bicycling Bubble. You could still participate, but you’d need to maintain the 2m physical distancing requirement on all rides.

If you’d like to participate, please click on the COVID Crusher Camp Registration to sign up TODAY!

I will hold a Zoom meeting this coming Saturday afternoon/evening, July 25, to go over all the camp details with everyone who registers. Registrants, watch your email for the Zoom details.

Responding to Systemic Racism

We must all take systemic racism seriously in our sport and in our lives. I knew I had to start somewhere myself, but I wasn’t sure where.

Then I remembered I hadn’t started reading a book that my son gave me this past Christmas: The World’s Fastest Man – The Extraordinary Life of Major Taylor, America’s First Black Sports Hero by Michael Kranish. I started reading it during my recent holiday.

If we can understand more deeply the systemic racism that has existed throughout Cycling’s history … we can better prepare to stop it going forward … in every aspect of our lives. Not only Cycling.

Major Taylor struggled with blatant racism in the late 19th century. The world is better today. But as we all know, there is still work to be done.

I’m sure you’ve heard the George Santayana quote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Please, if you have not begun your own journey of self-discovery into the many faces of racism today, you will do well to begin by reading this biography of Major Taylor.

Giro di YEG Prologo Tappa Results

The first stage of our Giro di YEG wrapped up at the end of June.

Mitchell Thomas took top spot with a fireball-fast (!!!) time of 4:11. Frank Begrimes took Velocity’s top spot with his time of 4:53.

We raised $82 for The Frontline Fund – less than I had hoped. But these Climbduro challenges are a new thing for the Edmonton Cycling scene. Can we spread the word and do better with the next one?

The Giro di YEG Principale Tappa will open this Friday. Its segment is just one range road west of the Prologo Tappa. If you recall the old Ardrossan Stage Race road circuit, the Principale Tappa is the hill that became the race selection point on that circuit.

Saturday Ride

This Saturday our ride circuit will challenge the Principale Tappa.

Everyone can sign up for the ride here >>>Ride Registration Form

Riding details are:

• Hold an active 2020 Club Membership. If not, you must have it in order to ride. Go >> HERE NOW
• If you joined the club before June 6 you’ll need to send us your signed ABA COVID Waiver in order to participate for the season. Download it  HERE >>> ABA – Adult Waiver COVID 2020 and email your completed form to Coach Kevin Coaching@VelocityCyclingClub.ca
• All new memberships from June 6 onward will automatically require your agreement to the waiver.
• Meet Saturday, July 25, at 10am at the Ardrossan Rec Centre. Staging allowed in groups of up to 15. The ride is about 60kms. See all the Event details HERE >>July 25 Ride
• You must PREREGISTER before 8:30AM on Saturday, July 25, for this ride using this >> GOOGLE FORM If you do not preregister, sorry you cannot ride that day. Absolutely no drop-ins will be accepted.

I would advise all youths aspiring to athletic fame or a professional career to practice clean living, fair play and good sportsmanship. ~ Major Taylor