Ontario Cup #4

On June 5^th the team set off for the lovely town of Midland for the next race in the Ontario Cup series. When we arrived on Saturday to check into the Howard Johnsons the weather was quite cool but at least it wasn’t raining. We had a good pre-ride and then rested up before a dinner out with the team at Boston Pizza. When we got back to the hotel some of us went to Dairy Queen which was conveniently located across the street from the HoJo. Then began the parking lot dance party hosted by DJ Mike and his Chevy Tahoe.

We awoke Sunday morning to the sound of rain and none of us were eager to deal with the muddy race course. By the time the 9:30 race began the rain had stopped and most of us had switched to our mud tires. For those of us who raced first the course was actually better than expected and got better each lap. Paul and Duane finished 16^th and 17^th in their race while Mike did not finish (he didn’t have mud tires and was sliding all over the course). Bob had a great day and placed 2^nd in his group making his podium debut of the season. At 11:30 the course was considerably better. Samantha and Danielle rode strong and each finished 2^nd in their group.Ryan also had a good day and earned an 8^th place finish. At 1:30 the full course was open and had dried up very nicely. In Senior Expert, Corey was the lone finisher from our team getting 18^th while Nathan and Zoltan both had misfortune and did not finish. In the Elite race Simon and Jamie fought hard for their 14^th and 16^th places while Logan was not his usual crazy self and he did not finish (must have been the veggie burger).

The day ended with the weather being very nice so we all left Midland and headed for home a little dirty, quite tired and thankful that it didn’t rain all day.

Photos by Melissa Wagler

Canada Cup/Ontario Cup #3

Hello friends, family, sponsors and fellow cyclists. Sunday, May 31 was the Trek Store Canada Cup/Ontario Cup#3 up in the outskirts of Barrie, Ontario at Hardwood Ski and Bike. It was gorgeous weather, plus 20 degree, possibly even touched 30 degrees each day I bet! The night before we all consumed some good pasta put on by the mothers who were in attendance at some sweet fancy little condo venue by Horseshoe Valley, but the bread was demolished by some hungry people after Logan and I prepared some unexpected Bruschetta bread after confusion of forgotten bread was misplaced, or kept in a van! Course was super dry and in dusty condition, bone shaker was ready to rattle some bones...and the BMX track was ready to be pumped around on!

First the Older fellows (Paul finished 21st, Duane 23rd and Mike 25th) were battling themselves in their own category finishing less than 1 min behind one another, it was good seeing them stay together battling and coming close to each other in the end. Bob rode to a very strong 6^th place finish in his group. Ryan also raced at 9:30am with the older fellows and he finished a respectable 16th. Then the elite pro race along with juniors raced at 11:30 and as the heat increased so did the quality of the racing. Simon finished 49th, Jamie 46th, and the crazy boy himself Logan 36th after he almost came close to becoming a victim to the boneshaker. Samantha scorched her own competition in the junior expert female category finishing a solid 7th. At 1:45 pm the Z man himself, Zoltan was hammering away with Nathan in the final laps until he had a crash which gave him a flat to let Nathan have the victory of their battle on the last lap. Corey finished a respectable 16th in senior 19-29 expert male. Danielle had the only bad luck on her side on this race day with a early first lap crash that ended her day. Everyone had solid finishes and places throughout the day. Overall it was a great first overnighter race for the 2010 season of Two Wheel Express.

Ontario Cup #4 is up next up in Midland, Ontario!

Written by Corey Hakkers

Photos By Angie Wagler

Ontario Cup #2

On May 9 the race was at Albion Hills Conservation Area in Bolton. Our new team outfits had just come in and we were so looking forward to showing them off. The rain came down hard on Saturday thus causing the pre-ride to be cancelled for much of the day. On Sunday when we went to the race we needed very warm clothes as the temperature was hovering around the freezing point. In fact at some points in the morning there were snowflakes in the air. The condition of the course turned out to be better than expected with all the rain that had fell prior to the race. This was because the great guys at Chico Racing did not letting anyone on the course while it was raining. This was another “chocolate milk race” and we had no trouble keeping the milk cold with the temperature being so low. I think some people would have preferred hot chocolate on this day instead of the ice cold chocolate milk that was given to them at the finish line.

In the races the action was heating up in spite of the cold temperatures. Paul, Duane and Mike finished 24^th, 31^st and 33^rd respectively in their group. Bob had strong race with a 4^th place finish, just missing the podium. Ryan was not having a good day and did not finish. Danielle rode to a strong 3^rd place finish and Samantha finished a very respectable 6^th. At the 1:30 race Corey rode strong again to a 13^th place finish while Zoltan improved on his last race with a 20^thplace. Nathan, feeling the effects of being on his honeymoon and not riding his bike did not finish. In the Elite race Logan rode to a strong 18^th place while Simon and Jamie finished 24^thand 25^th respectively.

Photos by Angie Wagler

Ontario Cup #1

Finally the season has begun. After a lot of training over the winter months, both indoors and outside, we got to start racing our mountain bikes. With Scott as our new bike sponsor for Two Wheel Express we are eager to see how these bikes are for racing. As a team we were very thankful for the opportunity to train at Iron Heart Fitness over the winter. It has been great to have them come on board as a sponsor of Two Wheel Express. Many on the team have done at least one race already this year at either the Good Friday road race in Hamilton, Tour Bronte in Oakville or Paris to Ancaster. Even so the race in Mansfield on April 25 is thought of as the start of our season.

As the day approached we were all watching the weather forecast and it was not looking good.After the 2009 season when we had a lot of wet and muddy races we were eager to have a good start to 2010 on a dry race course. After a good day of pre-riding the course we all went home to rest up for the big day. On the way to the race on Sunday morning it was raining but as we got closer to Mansfield the sky began to clear. We drove out of the rain by Orangeville and later in the day drove back into the rain at the same spot. There was no rain in Mansfield all day which seemed like a miracle and we were all very thankful.

The course was fast and the racing was tons of fun. Our four old guys were in the 9:30 start and they all battled hard to the end with Duane finishing 22^nd, Paul 24^th and Mike 30^th in the Master Sport 45-49 group. Bob earned a very good 7^th place finish in the Master Sport 55-59 group. At 11:30 Ryan, Samantha and Danielle were eager to test their skills on this fast course.Ryan placed 12^th in Junior Sport, Samantha was 8^th in Junior Expert and Danielle was 3^rd in Senior Expert. At the 1:30 race the speed increased as the best racers of the day took to the course. Corey got his season off to a great start with an 8^th place in Senior Expert while Nathan was 24^th and Zoltan 28^th in the same group. In the Elite men group Simon was 25^th and Logan was 29^th. Jamie did not finish his race as he was sick and could not continue.

One of our main sponsors over the last two seasons has been the Dairy Farmers of Canada.They will be sponsoring us for at least 2 more seasons. We have been promoting chocolate milk as a sports recovery drink. With this there have been several chocolate milk giveaways at Ontario Cup Mountain Bike races as the racers cross the finish line they are given a cold chocolate milk to drink. This race at Mansfield was a “chocolate milk race” and everyone really loved getting their chocolate milk after their race to “recharge with”. Riding your mountain bike and drinking chocolate milk – two of the best things in life – made for a great day to start the 2010 season.

Photos by Angie Wagler