Saturday Ride
Clear Skies this Saturday?
I hope you got my general message about AQHI readings and how they’ll affect our rides. Fingers crossed that we don’t have to call things off too many times.
When a bad AQHI reading or stormy weather (persistent rain and/or lightning) forces us to cancel a ride, I’ll use the Announcement Bar at the top of our website first and foremost to spread the word.
If the AQHI reading is 6 or lower, we’ll still ride. Use your own judgment, of course, if you want to join us at all when the numbers are at the upper end of that range. At 7, we can still get together, but the pace will be kept Zone 1 to barely Zone 2, and the time limited to around an hour. It’s deep breathing that becomes a problem as the AQHI increases, so at the 7 mark you really need to avoid strenuous activities. 8 and higher, the ride is cancelled, and you really shouldn’t be outside doing anything. Move your own activities indoors, or take the day off.
Let’s try again this week on the same Ardrossan route I had planned for last week.
No Monday Track Session but …
The velodrome will be closed on Holiday Monday. But if you’re even remotely track-curious, especially as we get ready to open our indoor velodrome just more than a year away, sign-up for the Try the Track event this Sunday from 12-2pm.
Join me and the other Argyll track coaches as we tell you a bit about the history of the Argyll Velodrome, and provide some foreshadowing of the Coronation Velodrome opening in 2026. Bring your cycling kit, your helmet, your shoes and pedals and we’ll let you experience fixed-gear riding first hand! We’ll provide the track bikes. If you don’t want to bother bringing your own pedals, no problem. We’ve got old-school toe clips and straps too.
All you need to do is drop your name on our sign-up list. Learn more here:
Don’t Forget About the Wednesday Hill Circuit
Join us at 6:30pm in Emily Murphy Park, and add a little intensity into your mid-week cycling
And for some race-intensity, this week’s Shootout Ride, brought to you by the Edmonton Midweek Race Club, departs from Wye Hall at 7pm.
Stieda Race Weekend Coming Up!!
Are you planning to race? Let me know, as I’d like to provide you all a pre-race coaching session on Zoom this coming Thursday evening. I can answer any of your racing questions, and give you some tactical tips too. Just drop me an email by Wednesday, and I’ll send you the Zoom link for Thursday: coaching@velocitycyclingclub.ca
BMX Day Coming Up Too
Mark May 26 from 1-3pm as your chance to try the other style of track racing. The BMX tracks all across Alberta swing their gates open for anyone wanting to try give it a try. The Edmonton BMX track sits right next to the Argyll Velodrome. If you’re not taking in the action of the Stieda Criterium, why not hop on a BMX bike for part of your Sunday afternoon fun?