PedalTrout

The Nova Scotia Mountain Bike Trails Association held it's first official International Trails Day event at Fitzpatrick Mountain today. A crew of 10. armed with leaf rakes, loppers, shovels and Pulaskis, headed onto the trail to fix trouble spots and prep the course for the upcoming Fitz of Fury Provincial Mountain Bike Championship Race.

What do you get when you cross 10 avid mountain bikers with a trail that needs some love? Well, for one thing, you get dirty. With the first swing of my Pulaski, I not only coated myself in goopy swamp mud, but I think I served a helping to most of the others who were helping me drain a horribly wet section of trail, as well. Nobody complained, even jokingly - everyone was far too intent on solving the problem of water that had nowhere to go.

Manual labour aimed at improving something you love doesn't seem difficult at all. While shoveling snow from a driveway is a task from hell, scooping muck from the earth with your bare hands and digging mildewy, mossy rocks from long-buried piles is almost zen-like. As we worked on draining and armouring that trail very little was said but everyone seemed content. There was no question or argument about how to proceed - we just latched onto some tools and made it happen.

After almost 3 hours of work, our group reunited with those who had gone to rake. Although rain had started to fall, the trail was mostly dry and it was time to ride.

The true test of repairs on the trail comes when rock meets rubber. Our major fix passed with flying colours and despite increasing amounts of wet stuff falling from the sky we made it to the top of the mountain and back down again in one piece, tired, but still smiling.

The day ended with beer (and food) at a Pictou pub. As we sat and ingested, discussing matters bicycle-related and not, it occured to me that of all the sports and interest groups I've known, mountain biking is unique. It's the only one where a group of strangers, united only by a common interest, can agree upon a task, complete it, socialize willingly afterwards, and do so without a single argument, dispute or mean-spirited competetive bribe.

To everyone who came out today, thanks! What a sincere and wonderful group of people you are. To everyone who missed out, I hope you'll have a chance to experience a day like this sometime soon.

Every time I volunteer for something a voice in the back of my head asks me "What the hell are you doing? You know you're going to regret this." Today's work session proved that voice wrong and I'm pretty certain that with fine folks like these throwing themselves into the mix, the Nova Scotia Mountain Bike Trails Association is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

What happens when you ride your bike for hours at a time?  You turn into Ryan MacDonald, of course.

Actually no, that’s not true, but if you do, good things may come your way.

Ryan has been pedaling hard for a few years now.  Because of his hard work, natural ability, and some great coaching he has been steadily transforming into an elite level cyclist.

Ryan’s talent has not gone unnoticed.  The Canadian National Cycling Team has invited him to travel to Europe in May to spend a month training with them. 

Ryan will head to Belgium from May 10th to 25th to stay and train at the new National Team house. From there he will chart a course to Switzerland to race in a UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) 2.1, called Tour de Pays de Vaud, and then he’s off to Germany where he will compete in the UCI Nations Cup, Trofeo Karlsberg.  This is the spring program to prepare the National Cycling Team for the upcoming race season.

By partaking in this training program Ryan will build on the foundation to complete his goal of competing at the world level. Participating in this National Team project will not affect the Worlds selection, the Worlds selection is based on his performance at the National Championships, which is Ryan’s main goal for the season. But according to him,  “Being with the National coaches and other athletes for a full month will definitely help me later on in the season, mostly because it will get my name out there.”

With all the time away at only seventeen years old, Ryan’s education is also a concern. He will have work packages to do for the month away so he can keep up with his peers. The same will be done when he travels Quebec for the month of June to begin training with his new team from Quebec, Atrium-CC2R. Ryan admits that the time and distance away from family and friends can be tough, but by the same token he really loves the traveling. His first training camp will be in Cuba at the end of March, and not surprisingly,  he is really excited for it. “My teammates are really great!!”, offers Ryan, “I really can’t wait for the upcoming season and hope that it is injury free so I can do my best and try and win some races, or even help my team out for some wins!!”

 

 

Plans are underway for the first PedalTrout Digital Scavenger Hunt. The Fundraiser will be held in Trenton Park and proceeds will be donated to Pictou County Bikes for Kids, a program that collects and repairs used bikes to donate to kids in need.

The Scavenger Hunt will take place Sunday, March 28th and participants of all ages will team up to collect digital photos of items on the Official Scavenger Hunt List between 1 and 4 pm. The entry fee will be $10 per adult and kids 15 or younger will be able to participate for free (accompanied by an adult). Teams may consist of 2-4 people and hunters can scour the park on snowshoe, bike or foot. Each team will need a digital picture taking device such as a point and shoot camera or a camera phone.

In preparation for this event, we are looking for volunteers to help out. As well, we are seeking prize donations for this very worthy cause. If you would like to help out by volunteering or sponsoring this event, please email us.

Keep your eyes peeled - more details will be available on PedalTrout soon!

Richard Holloway, aka “Blind Guy Biking”, left Victoria BC in early June 2009 to cycle to St. John’s, Newfoundland in 3 months. What makes this trip unique is that Richard is legally blind. What make this trip important is that he plans to raise $250,000 for disadvantaged athletes in Canada. What makes this trip different is that Richard will ride as the ‘stoker’ on a tandem tricycle. What makes this trip fun is that he will provide the opportunity for others to ride as ‘captain’ for parts of the trip.

The “Pedal for Medals” Tour will drive to Victoria at the end of May, where Richard will dip his toe in the water before getting on the Greenspeed tandem tricycle which will transport him for more than 8000 km to St John’s in time for Labour Day. He expects to ride for approximately 500-600 hours with the help of two co-captains, Aaron Matthews and Len Ashby, and several volunteer captains along the route. They will be averaging about 7-8 hours per day of riding for more than 75 days with a few rest days on weekends.

Many of the rest days will be used to attend fund-raising events along the route. Richard’s goal for this trip is to raise a quarter million in funding for physically and intellectually challenged athletes to be dispersed to a number of organizations with whom he is involved, in particular Special Olympics.

Richard and his crew will ride from Halifax and arrive in Pictou County on Monday, August 24^th at approximately 4:00 p.m..  On Tuesday August 25^th , Summer Street Industries will host a “Pedal for Medals” breakfast from 7:30 until 9:30 a.m.  A hearty pancake and sausage breakfast will be available at a cost of $5.00.  Proceeds from this pancake breakfast will support Special Olympics. The public is invited to come and meet Richard for breakfast on Tuesday morning.  More adventurous souls can bring their bicycles and join Richard at 9:30 as he begins his ride to Antigonish and beyond.  Craig Aucoin, a visually impaired Pictou County native, along with several Special Olympian athletes will be joining Richard for his ride on Tuesday.

The “Pedal for Medals” breakfast has been supported and sponsored by:  the Pictou County Progress Club, Pictou County Special Olympics, Pictou County Bikeways, ECFM, PRDC, Summer Street Industries, Holiday Inn Express, Glen Haven Manor, Scotsburn Dairy, TRA and Sobeys.

Richard is no stranger to fund-raising. Starting in high-school before he lost his sight, he learned that he had a gift for “the ask”. In recent years, he has raised thousands of dollars for: CNIB, United Way, Achilles Track Club, Organ Donor Program, YMCA Strong Kids, Leader Dogs for the Blind, Team Diabetes, Special Olympics and McKellor Conservation.

Richard is a motivational speaker for the Peel Board of Education, where he speaks to primary students about developing the ability to achieve whatever they can imagine.  He has also given talks to a variety of not-for-profit organizations, touching over 50,000 people. He is currently the President of the Brampton chapter of the Progress Club and the President of the Peel Chapter of the Achilles Track Club. He has been a YMCA volunteer for over ten years and has been a Big Brother for many years.

Mr. Holloway is also an accomplished athlete, having completed 17 full marathons in places like Boston (3 times), Oahu in Hawaii, New York (5 times), and Dublin, Ireland.

He has frequently been heard saying: “YOU DON’T NEED TO HAVE SIGHT TO HAVE VISION”. Blind Guy’s new vision is to bike from sea-to-shining-sea and to share the vision with special athletes all across the country.

 For more information about Blind Guy Biking – Richard Holloway,

or the “Pedal for Medals” Tour, please contact:

Anna Holloway,   Pedal for Medals,   P: 905-874-0544, C: 647-668-7554  

E: blindguybiking.holloway@gmail.com      http://www.blindguybiking.com/

 

For more information about the Pedal for Medals breakfast, please contact Paula Irving at PRDC at 752-6159 x225.