Madonna Wheelers has ceased operations in Canada
Madonna Wheelers has ceased operations in Canada.
We would like to thank all of our past members for the many wonderful years of cycling fun. Ride safe everyone!
However, the original club continues to thrive in Trinidad and Tobago.
You can follow their adventures on Facebook: Madonna Wheelers Trinidad & Tobago
Spring AGM Coach's Report
The club has seen the past year’s emphasis on youth development and racing continue to show results and growth.
In the Ontario Cycling Association Youth Cup here were three U11 racers (JD Archbold, Ben Price, and Olivia Pali), one U13 racer (Aliyah Muzzati), three U15 racers (Ema Archbold, Maya Neumann, and Max Schindler), and two U17 racers (Noah Chow and Summer Sandford) who raced many or all of the Youth Cup races in 2014.
There were many racers with podium finishes, including Oliva who won all but the series finale in the U11 girls. Ema was on the podium for almost all the races, and JD was on two podiums.
There were also good results in the non-Youth Cup Tour de Terra Cotta, and the Madonna Wheelers youth dominated in the Markham Giro, including great results for Connor Archbold and Sasha Muzzatti, which bodes well for the future. Jeff won the D’Ornellas criterium race for the men, and Ema (age 12!) won the women’s division at the race later in the day.
We tried to have two days of youth programming in the summer, focusing on bike handling, sprinting, and developing power through hill climbs. Using the 400m track at St. Mary’s or Pineridge schools, the Petticoat Creek parking lot, and the subdivision off of Altona provided a very safe environment for the youth riders, and appeared to give the parents some piece of mind.
The Club Championships for 2014 did not allow for a road race due to OCA regulations. However, the hill climb, TT, sprint, and criterium resulted in some fun racing. Jeff Archbold won the ‘A’ division, Tom Duscharme won the ‘B’ division, and Maya Neaumann won the junior A division, Olivia winning the junior B division, and Connor taking the junior C division. The young kids really enjoyed the medals, so I will suggest we continue with medals, and not cash, as prizes.
In the fall, Ema won the Provincial U15 cyclo-cross championships, which may have been the first youth championship won by a Madonna Wheeler.
Winter programming consisted of twice-weekly indoor trainer sessions in the Archbold basement. Some riders were especially keen, and the emphasis on leg speed and power appears to have paid off. Steve’s commitment to helping out for the indoor sessions made it even more like a club event, and the frequent baked goods also created a more social atmosphere, which is important for the long winter and ongoing effort to train hard.
In track events, both Maya Neumann and Ema Archbold participated in track events in London and Milton. Maya’s experience was visible in the first few events, including winning the January 1st events at Forrest City Velodrome and the 1000m at the second Youth Cup at Milton. Ema provided another three Ontario U15 championships with wins at the 2000m Individual Pursuit, the 500m and the Scratch Race. She has been won over by her results, and should continue to do well if she maintains her training and enthusiasm. We should all try and encourage Maya to keep coming out, as she has lots of natural ability on the track, and having a friend will make continuing to travel to the track and train much more enjoyable. Connor Archbold also started at the track, and based on the observed youth who would race in his division, he may also garner some results in the Track Youth Cup series starting in 2016.
We are expecting to have four U11 racers, three or four U13 racers, three U15 racers, and hopefully three U17 racers. This would give us more than 10 youth racers, which would allow us to qualify as a ‘youth club’ for the OCA.
We have started our weekend club rides, and we will continue to add speed work, intense efforts, and some tactical coaching for the older youth racers (U15 and U17) during club rides. Steve is organizing some routes for the younger riders to get them used to riders with one another and going hard.
Jeff, Chantal Thompson, Dan Thompson, and Steve will continue to coach on Mondays for Midweek, and we are looking to start attending some of the early Tuesday criteriums to help the faster U15/U17 racers learn how to race, and to get them extra speed/race experience.
Coaching for adults who are newer to riding/racing should also be encouraged. This might get some of the children into the club, and help continue to grow the club. Unfortunately, some of the rep hockey players who we had tried to recruit did not appear to want to commit to the training, despite our best efforts to make the training fun and social.
Jeff Archbold
Club Championships - This Weekend
Reminder club championships this weekend Saturday July 28th and Sunday July 29th
As some competitors realign themselves the categories look like this –
A – Dan Thompson, Derek de Gannes, Clint Thompson, James Meloche and Steve Hamilton (I will skip the road race to take care of a safety issue)
B – Wayne Henry, Tom Ducharme, Jeff Archbold, Mark Thompson, Peter Hein and Chantal Thompson. (Tom is out of town Sunday and will only race Saturday)
C – Jonathan Ortepi, Bradley Thompson, Jason Ortepi, Anthony Thompson, Joe Power, Frank Ceravolo, Angelo Balis, Brad Holloway and Samera Fares.
Ladies – Clare Brown, Elf Guillemette and Sheannah Guillemette.
Seniors – Dennis des Vignes, Egan Gould-Davies and Oliver Thompson.
Youths – Jakob Meloche, Ema Archbold, Summer Sandford and Sam Orlick.
Due to the number of competitors I am estimating completion of the championships including prize presentation will be closer to 1:00 p.m. than my original noon.
Wayne has invited us to his home in Brampton for a celebration BBQ after the races on Sunday hope most of you can make it, as last year was lots of fun.
If you have any questions please email me.
Cheers,
Steve.
Club Championships - Categories
In an effort to keep everyone competitive within their own group, I am diluting the prizes going back to only 3 deep however adding 2 categories. The new categories are:
A) Dan Thompson, Derek de Gannes, Clint Thompson, James Meloche and Steve Hamilton.
B) Wayne Henry, Tom Ducharme, Jeff Archbold and Mark Thompson.
C) Jonathan Ortepi, Bradley Thompson, Jason Ortepi, Joe Power, Frank Ceravolo, Angelo Balis and Brad Holloway.
Ladies) Chantal Thompson, Samera Fares, Clare Brown, Elf Guillemette and Sheannah Guillemette. Ladies can choose to race A,B or C instead of their own category.
Seniors) Dennis des Vignes, Egan Gould-Davies and Oliver Thompson. Seniors can choose to race A,B or C instead of their own category.
Youths) Jakob Meloche, Ema Archbold, Summer Sandford and Sam Orlick.
Road Race (16km loop) – A – 3 laps, B – 2 laps – All others 1 lap.
Hill Climb (500 metres on Webb road) – All same
Sprint (2km) All same
Time Trial (3km) All same
Criterium A+B+C 20km , Seniors and Ladies 10km, Youths 5km.
Hope this helps keep the event a fun time for all to enjoy with a minimum of stress. If you plan to attend and your name is not included above please let me know now.
Thanks,
Steve.
Strawberry Ride - Sunday June 17th
One week from tomorrow (Father’s Day) is the Strawberry Ride from 38 Rotary at 9:00a.m. We will have a couple of options for those who want a short easy ride about 25km in about an hour and 15 minutes, beyond that depending on turn out we can have a 50km to Stouffville and a 70km to Musselman Lake. Anyone not cycling should not arrive before 10:30a.m. if you do you can sit in the shade in the backyard with a cool drink but NO STRAWBERRIES till everyone is back.
It would be a great help if we could get an idea of numbers to cater, please confirm you will or will not be coming.
2012 Club Championships - Jul 28th & 29th
Madonna Wheelers annual Club Championships are scheduled for the weekend of July 28th and 29th. The Road Race and Hill Climb events will take place on Saturday, July 28th, and the Sprint and Criterium will take place on Sunday at the Tahoe Blvd (Midweek) circuit. Be there by 9am. Hope everyone can make it out.
D'Ornella's Criterium Photos Online
Thanks to Steve for passing me a CD containing Peter and Jane's most excellent photos from the D'ornella's Criterium the other week. They are now online and available for viewing in the new revamped Photos section, along with some great shots pulled from the archives from previous club championships' events.
D'Ornella's Criterium Recap
The D’Ornellas criterium took place today at the end of a thunderstorm on a soaking wet course. Some planned entries backed out at the last minute (Eon D’Ornellas and Bruce Camacho among them ) however the club’s best sprinter Aubrey Bryce was there and very prominent finishing second overall and taking a couple of primes. Madonna was represented by Hank Verhoeven, Jeff Archbold, Dan Thompson and Steve Hamilton with the support of Peter, Jane and Sheannah, Elf and Arty helping marshal the course. Even though Steve got dropped after the third prime and none of our riders made the podium, we worked the race, Hank, Dan and Jeff each won a prime and Dan was in a break with one lap to go but got caught with less than half a lap remaining’ There was no question we were noticed and appreciated at a very well organized event with BBQ, P.A. system and washrooms supplied by Delta Hotel and closed roads and police provided by the town of Markham. By the way no crashes, it was a pleasure to ride with experienced, intelligent cyclists who respected each other’s safety. Eon wanted to know who was the Madonna cyclist that won the time trial last Wednesday, nice going Derek you were of course very much noticed also.
Thanks Ken for the invite, nice job, you said you did not want us to win so hopefully we made you happy.
Three Generations... of jerseys!
On Saturday's ride, we were lucky enough to have 3 generations of team jerseys in attendance... So we had to take a photo!
Next time we'll have to get Telly to dig out one of the even older ones... Steve even managed to find an old antique!
Bike Fit Articles by Jeff Archbold
Madonna Wheelers' own Jeff Archbold has passed along the following two documents for all those searching for the perfect bicycle setup! The first one, titled Bicycle Fitting covers all the basics. The second one, titled Bicycle Tailoring explains the benefits of having your bicycle custom fit to match your individual riding style and technique.
Jeff originally developed this information to compliment his custom frame building hobby. He currently works as a bike fit specialist at La Bicicletta in Toronto and can be reached at 416.762.2679