Showing posts with label get rad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label get rad. Show all posts

Thursday, 24 April 2014

2014 Skatelife GranFondo jerseys

The new 2014 Skatelife GranFondo jersey design is out and we can hardly wait to get them on for a ride!
These Jakroo jerseys from Haymann Sport are high quality, and with your choice of sport of race fit they will suit your ride perfectly! Our classic jersey design is provided by Nathan Siemens at Slumberfight Design. We will be adding our sponsor logos to the jersey in April. Is your business interested to get a logo on this sweet jersey? Contact us and we'll set you up as a SLGF sponsor!

Order your SLGF jersey today!
You can customize the size and style of fit to suit you best. Go to the Haymann Sport website for fit details. Once you have found the size you like, go to the SLGF registration page to order your jersey and register for the ride!

Time to register
Now is a great time to sign up to ride the Skatelife GranFondo.
You have 3 registration options- Gold, Silver, or SLGF rider. The registration page has all the info you need. We look forward to cycling with you this year!




Thursday, 3 April 2014

Charity rides- the new golf tournament

Check out this article in the Vancouver Province  newspaper the other day. In it they ask, "Is cycling is the new golf?" It is an interesting proposal given the recent surge of interest in road biking. For me the answer is yes- I put away my clubs 4 years ago as I discovered a new love for cycling.

The question I would ask as well is then, has the cycling charity ride become the new charity golf tournament? I have attended many golf tournaments, some as grueling as 100 holes in one day. I must say they can be a lot of fun and a great excuse to walk through some great scenery. However, now that I have ridden in a few charity rides, I can say that I can get a lot more scenery in a day than at any golf tourney!

Both golf and cycling events do a great job at raising funds for many worthy charities. One thing I love about a fundraising cycling event is that the effort needed to pull off a long ride makes me feel like I've accomplished something special. It is also a fun challenge to match the hard work of riding with hard work raising funds for the event. As well, it's hard not to sponsor a rider when they tell you they are going to clock a couple hundred clicks in one event for a charity. If a rider can donate that kind of effort, I can donate some money!

Whether you are a regular rider at charity cycling events, or if you are considering your first one this summer, on behalf of all the great non-profit organizations- Thank You! Your effort to ride and raise funds really encourages our effort to reach out in our community.

If you want to make this your summer to try to Skatelife GranFondo, now's the time to sign up! Click here for registration info and much more. See you this summer!

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

It's training time!

The weather has turned & it's the perfect time to prep for a great weekend of riding this summer at the Skatelife GranFondo.Preparing now for your ride will allow you the fitness and endurance you'll want for the event.

We've searched the internet and found some great articles to help your training, so stay tuned in the coming days and have fun riding!

Excerpts from- 
 Training For Gran Fondos, Part 1: Endurance

    By Curtis and Kristi Eastin, Chris Jones

    Published Feb. 23, 2010

    Updated Dec. 15, 2012 at 11:23 PM EDT
From Velo News


“Since we’re speaking of training for endurance and not for “speed,” your most important ride will be your long ride. It is important not to mix your weekly endurance rides with speed, strength and power workouts. Avoid the local group ride on these days.
Find a friend who likes to ride steady i.e. you can still hold a conversation — yes, even uphill and on your favorite town-line sprints! Avoid those friends who insist on half-wheeling you. The objective is to train not only your muscles and your cardiovascular system — both of which receive benefits from strength, speed and power workouts — but also to train your digestive system and your ability to use energy efficiently.
The key is to plan and build up the miles slowly and consistently and enjoy your cycling!”

Tuesday, 26 February 2013

SLGF Brochure

The Skatelife GranFondo Brochure is here!
We have a great route planned taking us from the Okanagan Valley to the Similkameen Valley and back. Our registration page will be online by the first week of March, so book off June 22-23 now and get ready to ride!


Tuesday, 12 June 2012

Fueling the Fondo- Coffee time

Cafe for Contemporary Art
A big thank you to Cafca- the Cafe for Contemporary Art who will be keeping us fired up at the Skatelife GranFondo, June 23-24.

If you are in North Vancouver, don't miss the best coffee in town. They are at 140 East Esplanade- half a block east of Lonsdale.

Check them online here, or see you there!

Friday, 8 June 2012

Wild horse crossing / Horse power

Wild peloton action close to Logan Lake
Wild Horse Crossing

The other day I was talking about the Skatelife GranFondo route to someone who regularly travels through the area. I thought it was a bit unusual that the first thing he mentioned about the roads was to 'watch for the wild horses on the road between Cache Creek & Merritt'. So I looked into it & turns out he's right. The highlands around Logan lake are home to over 250 wild horses. I don't think they will be any trouble, but it would be fun to see them during the ride. Keep your eyes peeled!


Horse Power

Everyone has their own system to prepare for a long ride like the Skatelife GranFondo. If you are looking for another pre-ride training idea, or need some guidance in your training, check out this article from Bicycling.com.   They suggest a variety of rides each prep week including a long ride, a steady ride, and a speed ride to build strength & endurance for the event. Check it out.

Thursday, 3 May 2012

Elevations!

After checking out the actual route of a ride, the very next thing I want to figure out is how many hills am I going to be climbing?
Thanks to Map My Ride we have all the details of this summer's Skatelife GranFondo elevations.
Day 1 from Merritt to Cache Creek is actually not a strenuous day of huge elevation changes (save that for day 2!). We will actually lose altitude over-all. Check out the general altitude chart with the expanded categorized climb chart following it.
Overall elevations for day 1

Climbing details

Day 2 is the big climb day. After a 12km warm up from Cache Creek to Ashcroft it's up, up, and away on a 17 km ascent to high country ranch land- and a surreal open pit copper mine. You'll feel like you'll have ascended up into an alien landscape!
Not to worry, from the peak its a great & beautiful cruise South- East for the remaining 70km back to Merritt.
Day two elevation overview
Climbing details