Gabor Csonka's Blog

2011 XC and Marathon provincials

By Gabor Csonka,on August 29th,2011 21:59

It was a beautiful and super hard racing weekend in Hinton Ab.

Saturday I lined up in the Elite field for the 2011 provincial champion jersey,Bogi raced in the expert category.

This is probably the hardest XC course in the ABA calendar with tons of climbing and about 2 hours of riding time. The course does not suit me very well as its climbs are long and it’s descents are fast and bumpy. I still like the course as it reminds me the races we did in the 90’s,when MTB races were held on gravel roads and hiking trails as opposed to twisty technical single tracks. The field was strong;we concluded that only the fast guys bothered to drive to the race. I felt good and was able to ride 4^th and 5^th place for most of the race.

Not catching anyone and not seeing anyone behind me I let off the gas for the last lap. I was trying to conserve my muscles for the Marathon race the next day. Note to self:when there are fast riders behind you don’t let off the gas. Or at least look back often. In the last 200m of the race Cody Canning zoomed by me and smoked me in a sprint finish. Ouch…

Cory Wallace took the provincial champs jersey (again) with Gord Jewett and Graham Torrie rounding the podium. Cody finished 4^th and yours truly 5^th.

Sunday lined up for the Marathon,again expecting a super hard race. About 5 seconds after the start Cory attacked and I tried to go with him. Of course I got dropped on the second climb,but I had a nice gap on Gord,Graham and Cody. Yeee!

Having a nice gap on those fast guys is always a pleasure even when there is more then 4 hours of racing left and I know I will blow up soon at this pace. No worries there,I enjoyed my moments in 2^nd place and continued hammering.

First Cody caught me in lap 2 then Graham and Gord later. By lap four I felt my well-deserved suffering for starting too fast. Legs were getting heavy.

The organizers made the marathon even more interesting by including 4 timed downhill sections. Good for people who can ride their bikes downhill,embarrassing for people like me,who are chicken on the descents. Here is a video from one of the descents:

Also there is a good pre-race article on PinkBike

At the end I took another 5^th place behind the usual suspects. Happy with how I felt,my fitness is improving still. The Superfly SS was working very well at 34×20,and I really liked the Rocket Ron/ Stan’s Raven tire combination.

Cory took the marathon title too with Gord and Graham close behind him.

Kate totally dominated the girls field both days,as well as destroyed about 90% of the men’s field!!! She is super fast uphill and downhill.

Bogi had a less successful race;her hamstring injury was really painful during the race. She decided to pull out of the race and continue to focus on recovery instead.

This was her first DNF in over 15 years of MTB racing – impressive.

Cory Wallace, FreeWheel Cycle and their volunteers did an excellent job organizing the weekend. Crazy Larry rocked the mike and the kids hammered the FREE kids race.

Next is some fun riding in Fernie then Bow80….

Bow 80ish pre-ride 2011

By Gabor Csonka,on August 7th,2011 05:26

Did a little Bow80ish riding today with Kate A,Craig S,Craig M and Brian B.

Sulfur Springs,Connector,Powder-face long loop,Prairie Link,Sulfur Springs,Pneuma,Special K and Ridgeback.

Had decent legs,but started bonking on Pneuma and saw cheeseburgers hoovering above Ridgeback trail 45 minutes later.

Thanks to the Joey’s pub in Bragg Creek,the 10oz Loaded Burger and 2 glass of coke brought me back to reality.

I think we all concluded that this Bow80 will be super hard….

Check out these links about Viner bikes

By Gabor Csonka,on August 5th,2011 17:38

Check out this blog about Viner bikes: http://vineristi.wordpress.com/.

A 5 star rating and Pro Test Review of Viner Maxima on Bike Radar.

I did not know that MAPEI used to ride Viners: http://vineristi.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/the-giro-mapei-and-viner/

ATB Financial XTERRA Midweek MTB Series

By Gabor Csonka,on August 5th,2011 04:03

Went to COP again for some good Thursday night MTB racing. This ATB Financial XTERRA Midweek MTB Series is one of the best new things happening in the Calgary cycling community this year. This series is great for every rider. If you are a racer,you get your high intensity workout,if you just starting to race you get to talk to more experienced riders ( and take advice from Coach Cal and Coach Jeff). Just a perfect opportunity to try out XC racing.

I really hope there will be a series next year. Until then make sure you get out for the last race in two weeks! There are rumors about some special celebration after the race thanks to ATB

I had good legs today,pushed myself to the max. It was painfully awesome.

Soma also had a good day at the Cochrane BMX track taking 2 wins and a second place finish and wining the day’s race.

Cochrane BMX will have a great event for the 25th Anniversary of the RAD BMX race film on the weekend of August 20-21,2011. You can get autographs from the original cast members of the film. Vans and Mongoose Bikes will be onsite with giveaways. Join in on the many raffles and draws taking place throughout the weekend!

Cory Wallace is leading the Mongolia Bike Challenge!

By Gabor Csonka,on August 4th,2011 04:39

Our friend Cory Wallace is killing it at the Mongolia Bike Challenge. Check out the cool DAILY videos and photos of the race HERE.

Check out stage 6 and 8,they both have over 2000m of climbing…that should separate the Man from the boys…Go Cory.

Viner VR Race 29er –first ride report by Bogi

By Bogi Gyorfi,on August 4th,2011 03:34

I started to get a real feel for the Viner 29er bike. The first two rides were in new,fast rolling trails so I could not really compare the bike handling,but the first impression was that I felt safe on the bike. The big wheels

were very stable,I could really lean into turns and the loose downhill were not a problem anymore. I used to be scared of baby heads and riverbed rocks,with the 29er it felt like no big deal,riding over them. The climbing felt good too,the big wheels have better grip and the Viner frame has a great geometry for climbing. I used to love my Element for good climbing this frame is even better. The front tires never came off the ground on the steep hills;only if i had the legs I could climb everything. The short power climbs just fun as I can stand up and hammer it without bouncing on my full suspension frame.

Yesterday finally was riding on well know trail …Pneuma. I had a good time trying to keep up with the boys and pushing middle ring as I could stand as much as I wanted without touching my lock out . I could climb the tight switch backs the same way i can with my 26 wheels. The biggest difference I felt is at the top section where it gets really rocky and rough ,I could do sections I have never ridden before and seem to have less problem on the rocks than the riders front of me with the full suspension bikes. Then the downhill came and I had a blast,did not feel any slower on the rigid frame . . Rode Shaft with the endless switchbacks and I think the big wheels actually saved me on the step loose stuff again.

I was just a very happy rider 9:30 pm at Station Flats….

I absolutely love the Viner’s Euro look, way better than the boring flat black bike Gabor rides nowadays…

The VR Race 29er climbs great,rides good downhill and is very comfortable. I thought I will feel the bumps more but the big wheels and Stan’s just take most off the beating. The only down side is that I still need some stronger legs and lungs to ride faster . I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fast racing machine,or lower tech( no back suspension) hard tail or for Single speed!

Bogi

Bogi’s new ride:Yes it’s a 29er,yes it’s a hard tail and yes it is FAST

By Gabor Csonka,on July 29th,2011 03:39

Viner VR Race 29

Thanks to SRI Importing,Bogi can now test ride (and test race) a race ready 29er hard tail – a VinerVR Race 29″.

My (the mechanic) first impression:It is a really nice piece of work.

Her first impression:“It’s fast”.

The proof is in the pudding,we are heading to Jasper tomorrow and give the machine a few good rides. Stay tuned to get her first 29er ride report.

Edmonton Canada Cup &2011 Canadian Singlespeed Championship

By Gabor Csonka,on July 24th,2011 05:49

Edmonton Mud

Friday afternoon we were checking the weather in Edmonton and considering whether or not do the 6 hour drive at all. It looked like the course was barely rideable. But then we thought about all the hard work and enthusiasm put in into these races by our friends in Edmonton. Mud is a part of the MTB racing package,so we decided to suck up the 6 hours in the car and took some DVDs for the kids for the ride.

Arrived to United Cycle to pick up the race package,and thanks to our friends up north I was honored with coolest possible number plate. The plate does come with extra pressure,but that is just a cost of coolness I guess.

Went and pre-rode the course. It was super wet,but not too sticky. At 20psi the Captain Controls were griping well on the roots,I even enjoyed the ride. But after 1.5 laps my drive-train packed up badly and I felt like I would risk a chain break if I continued riding. I was signed up for both the Masters and Single Speed race for Saturday,but considering the conditions I decided to only do the Single Speed race. You can call me Pudding.

On Saturday we could have slept in if our kids weren’t overexcited about the unexciting Days Inn hotel room. The usual story. After free brekkie at the hotel and coffee at Block 1912 we arrived to the race course and watched the morning racers. Boy were they muddy. It was a sunny morning and apparently this course gets a lot worse when it starts drying. The wet mud has become very sticky mud. If I had a choice I would have chosen more rain and wet conditions,but Mother Nature would not listen.

BIG thanks to Shawna AGAIN,this time for watching our trouble makers while we race. We even had enough time to mix our drinks and warm up! Luxury.

Both Bogi and I raced the single speed nationals category. The race started interestingly as we were asked to follow special instructions for the first lap. What made it interesting is that the instructions conflicted with the blue Shimano tape used to mark the course. No worries,somehow we managed to find the course and I took the lead with hometown favorite and brand new daddy David Roberts on my wheel. Had a little gap,just in time for me to go down and loose it all. Dave passed me as I was being really clumsy getting back on my bike. Dave rode the technical sections well,but I seemed to have better running legs today. Passed him back before a long running section and created a nice gap between us. The course was getting better by this time,the second lap I could ride more sections. Finished my shortest race of the year in about 58 minutes in first place.

Bogi also rode the muddy two laps. Unfortunately she had mechanical,and probably too much pressure in her tires (all my fault). No rear brake and bouncing tires did not make the ride fun for her. We need to convert her to Stan’s and maybe even to 29er if she keeps single speeding. She finished 2nd in the Single speed women category behind Alana Haise. Alana gets the “Toughest Rider Of The Day”award as right after she finished the SS race,she continued in the Women’s Elite field with the same muddy single speed bike!

2011 Canadian Singlespeed Champion Gnome

In the afternoon I was helping Graham Torrie and Gordon Jewett in the feed zone for their races. It was fun to watch the fast Elite race.

The awards brought us 60 cans of Kokanee,and the awesome champion Gnome!

To continue the good habit,I will do some trail running tomorrow. I will need that for the Bow 80 anyways.

Ride on.

Like to make Canada a cycling/skiing power nation?

By Gabor Csonka,on July 21st,2011 03:40

Here is my proposed CCA rule:

If you organize a CCA/UCI sanctioned race;you MUST have a FREE kids race in your schedule….

Same suggestion goes to Cross Country Canada and other associations. Anyone like to implement it?

2011 Canadian National Championships –my best race in a long time

By Gabor Csonka,on July 18th,2011 04:46

Wow. Where do I start?

I have to start with the race organization. We had a bunch of world cup level athletes this weekend in Canmore,putting on world class level performance…their effort is well documented and you can look at the results at Zone4. These riders are amazing and inspirational. But you will not find the results there of our world champion level race organizer Ed Garvin and his army of fantastic volunteers. Ed and his team have put on a fantastic National Championship race weekend. I cannot even imagine the amount of effort gone into this thing…but we;riders are really appreciate it - Thanks Ed.

Also many thanks goes to all the sponsors of this event and the awesome Cyclemeisters/Bowcycle team.

–Saturday

I was pretty excited to help out Andy and the timing volunteers to time some of the best riders in Canada. While plunging lap timers,I was able to watch all the pros battling for the 2011 Canadian Champion tittle. It was fun,amazing,inspirational and unbelievable. It was also really hot,as I did not bring a hat or sunglasses. Bogi got me some good coffee from Beamers and went off to spend the entire day with our two hyperactive little monsters. The monsters got their opportunity to burn some calories at the kids race at noon. They both did the race and finished the technical single-track loop.

–Sunday

Tough start…..Mosquitoes found a way to get into our camper in the morning so instead of sleeping in we were all in full war with these little creatures. Blood has been spilled as the Sun was rising red. So much for resting. Made it to Beamers somehow and collapsed on the couch hoping to watch some Tour coverage on TV. Nope,we had to do with live coverage of the US Open golf tournament.

After Beamers,picked up two more monsters from our friend Leanne and headed to Quarry Lake. Yesterday,Kabush,Plaxton and Zandstra were all wearing ice-wests before the start. It is about 90 minutes till my start and here I am baking myself in the sun…maybe we should have planned our day differently..?

Too late now. We arrived at the Nordic Centre about an hour before the start and quickly realized,that no matter how fast we pass our kids to our volunteer babysitter Leanne,no matter how fast we get our bikes ready or mix our bottles we will not have more than 10-15 minutes to warm up. We definetly should have planned our day differently.

After lubing,dressing and mixing like mad man,I started my warmup about 15 minutes from the start. It is about 30 minutes less than I usually need. It might be one of those races again.

I thought I asked Bogi to bring me a bottle to the start. I really did think I did. As the result I was at the start line at 2 minute to go without a water bottle. Ran over to the Specialized tent and asked for a bottle,sprinted to the day lodge to fill it up. As I had about 25% filled,they started to call up the riders. Guess who’s name was called first? Yes,it was mine. Sprinted back to the the start line.

1 minute to go,there I was standing at the front line,my bottle was 30% filled with water,I did a 10 minute warm up and I had no idea where Bogi put the rest of the bottles within the feed-zone. One of those races…

Off we went,had a pretty good start and I was able take the lead after about a 1km. I put the hammer down and tried to create a gap from the riders,but did not fully succeed. Ontario rider Jason Everert passed me and lead the first few sections of the downhill single-track. I was able to recover and pass him back just before the technical section called Get Down. Had 17sec lead after the 1st lap and decided to pick up a bottle of Accelerade from the feed area. We put them in a Hardcore Bikes cooler bag….you know those cooler bags that EVERY racer got on the first race of this year. There were a bunch of them on the ground…but which one is mine? 17seconds might not be enough for this gongshow…

Found our bottles finally and asked Shawna to pass a bottle for me the rest of the race. Thanks Shawna!!! Here I am after my first lap,having a 5 seconds lead and I almost have everything organized for the race! Only one thing was missing…to find out how many laps I need to do.

As for the rest of the race,I had my best ride of the year. I lost sight of Jason and Devin on the climbs of my second lap. Then I went on for 3 laps on a fantastic XC course,no crashes,no mistakes. The gear ratio of 32×18 was perfect,I am glad I did not pick a bigger gear.

On my last lap I caught Bogi who was leading the Masters Women 30-39 category! She is getting stronger and stronger this year,I am so proud of her.

I was all smiles at the finish line (I am pretty sure I was) as my kids greeted me.

2011 Canadian Masters 30-39 Champion Jersey

Won the race by 2.5 minutes over Jason,Devin powered to the 3rd step of the podium.

On the podium I received my Canadian National champion jersey and my medal. This jersey is awesome,even comes with a book that explains how and when to wear it. I wonder if it is legal to sleep in it?

Bogi had a great race and collected her well deserved National Champion medal. Unfortunately no jersey for her as there is a minimum number of riders in each category that has to race for the winner to receive the jersey…little disappointing that there aren’t enough expert girls around. Maybe it is time to open up Masters National categories to all UCI/CCA licensed riders (sport and novice)?