The Ride with Rendall training is on tonight. Starting at around 5:15. Use the following link to get a better idea of the training location:
Ride with Rendall ‘cross training location
Meet in the Northern area of the park, just across from the Rogers Wireless on Carling Ave. Parking is available on the side streets in and around Bayswater and Sherwood just of Carling.
Wow, where to start with how much Cycle-Smart and coach Steve Weller have shaped me as an athlete. Lets flashback to three years ago. My first Cycle-Smart cyclo-cross camp. I had just returned to bike racing and was starting to get the ‘cross bug again. I wanted to get better. Didn’t really have any goals or ideas – I just knew I wanted to improve. Enter Cycle-Smart and Steve – now here I am. Three years ago I was a back-of-the-pack masters cyclo-cross racer. Now thanks to the smart coaching and guidance – I’m racing with the elite women – in the front of the race. Over the last three years, my goals have gotten higher and bigger – Steve doesn’t flinch – he just says “Yep, we can do it. And this is how we’re going to do it.” Now we’re doing it – aiming higher and setting the goal to Tabor, Czech Republic in 2010 – thanks Steve and Cycle-Smart – you guys have given me the legs, lungs, and technical skills.
With so many coaches and option out there these days, why choose a Cycle-Smart coach or program over any other?
Price is always an issue, and in many cases Cycle-Smart is a bit less expensive than companies with similar offerings. For our competitors, their ability to make money is by volume, and that means loading up coaches with a lot of clients and giving them a substantial supply of “pre-made” training programs and nutritional information. They essentially have built up an automated knowledge base of pre-fabricated responses, articles, and schedules that may or may not fit who you are and how much time you have. We also offer the flexibility of month-to-month coaching after the first 3 months, and no start-up fees, rather than a big up front cost and long-term commitment. We mostly ask for 3 months commitment because we think it takes that long for a client to show real improvement, not because it makes financial sense to do so.
We take the approach of tailoring training plans and schedules for each individual client. While we have some tools and a knowledge base that we use to try to streamline our coaching, the focus is always on the individual with us. While other companies will likely be a more profitable business model than Cycle-Smart, we prefer to work more closely with our clients.
To us the goal isn’t to get rich, it’s to share the experience of a sport we all love and to which are deeply committed.
We often get clients who previously worked with other companies, and the most common reaction is their surprise in the level of personalization and responsiveness we offer. Our approach of helping people keep their lives in balance makes for more success whether you have a full-time job, or cycling is your full-time job.
About Cycle-Smart
This page had been left blank for quite some time, and for good reason. Talking about Cycle-Smart – what it is, what it stands for, what it’s goals are – would be the equivalent of defining who I am, what I stand for, and what my goals are as a person. Naturally, I feared such an undertaking.
Three years on, Cycle-Smart isn’t just a part of me, but has made me a part of it, taking on a life of it’s own, and defining itself along the way. At the start, Cycle-Smart began simply as a way to try and turn all the activities I was involved in on a volunteer basis into something I could do for a living: coaching riders, organizing and promoting races, and managing teams. As I came to the end of the period I spent racing my bike as my sole source of income, I wanted to find a way to give that time and the experience I had acquired more value and importance. I had always done that through volunteerism, but I felt that now I had an opportunity to dedicate myself to those things full time and improve the quality of the work I did.
In pursuing that end, Cycle-Smart has filled many roles. It’s become a business, yes, but business is perhaps the least important part of the whole. Cycle-Smart has become a community, a congregation, and a collective, depending on a large group of people sharing an experience. It’s a place to exchange ideas and to build things. It’s a creative outlet, it’s therapy, insanity, activism, and social construction. Most of the time, it leaves me with more questions than answers.
What is the role of sports in modern society? Is it business? Is it escapism? Is it an opportunity for self-fulfillment and actualization that we can carry over in the other aspects of our lives? Is it a cure for the pain and depression many of us struggle with daily? Cycle-Smart is a sociological experiment in some ways, exploring these issues, and allowing people to cope with them.
Most importantly, Cycle-Smart is a place to do good work. I feel this is the biggest struggle of all in life: to find fulfilling, sustaining work that contributes to the common good. Our mission at Cycle-Smart is to promote and improve the enjoyment and quality of and opportunities for bicycle racing locally, regionally, nationally and internationally, in that order of priority, through rider coaching, event organization, and team management. In doing so, Cycle-Smart seeks to promote cycling as a whole not just as a passive activity, but as a metaphor for life that teaches skills for survival, fulfillment, and happiness.
Adam Hodges Myerson
June 30th, 2002
Thanks Cycle-Smart – your advice, guidance, knowledge, experience, and patience are unmatched. Looking forward to seeing how much higher we can go.
Another stellar day at Look Park. We arrived in time for Marc and Steve to get in a few laps of the course before the 9:30 race started. Good thing we did as the course had changed quite a bit. Kudos to Steve W., Adam, and J.D. for doing an impressive job on the course changes.
Often when you have two races back-to-back at the same venue, little to no course changes are done for the second day. Well, the Cycle-Smart crew did not disappoint. As predicted the course was much tighter up top and much faster on the bottom. I heard a lot of people saying how much the really enjoyed the course and actually preferred it over the day one course. Essentially the two days offer two different types of courses – that suit different riders. The strongest riders still rode to the top on both days but in each field you saw some different mid-pack results – I think this is due to the course changes. Thanks Cycle-Smart for some smooth courses.
Marc and Steve were off at 10:30. What a race! I had a blast watching Marc. He rode so well. I was so proud of him. He had a decent start. Got in a good group. Was riding super strong. Driving the group, hammering the road, bridging gaps – racing like I know he can. Unfortunately he crashed twice – once in the roots up top and then in the entry to the sand. This cost him a few spots but he recovered really well. Up on his bike super fast, head down and giving it all he could. Awesome ride Marc! Steve’s back was giving him some trouble during the race – but he still rode super strong. Shout out to Kurt Perham – he had a phenomenal ride. Nice ride Kurt!
Had a good time hanging out in the pits chatting with Petar about his race and biking in general. It always helps to have a friendly face in the pits, helps to know that if something does go wrong, help is there. Thanks Mavic for the great pit support this weekend.
Saw lots of people again on Sunday. It is amazing who you bump into and the new people that you meet at a ‘cross race. Old friends from ‘cross camp. New people who have read my articles in Cyclocross Magazine or have found this web site. Very cool.
I’ve got to say I’m loving my new Mavic wheels – those Carbones rock! Super strong and fast. Thanks OGC for helping me out this season with some great race gear.
My race went fairly well today. A better result than yesterday and a good performance. I’ve posted a race report and as soon as photos are available I’m put them up as well.
We left fairly quickly after my race and had a very easy drive home. I drank a medium-sized latte and that kept me going for quite a while. Nothing like a big cup of coffee for a non-coffee drinker. I’m thinking I should drink one of these before my races!
It was a great weekend. Looking forward to racing in Northampton again next year. Thanks for the cheering, the support, the smiling faces and for being out supporting cyclo-cross. And if you live in the Northampton area and have never been to Look Park – go check it out. That is one nice venue for walking, cycling, and even just relaxing with a good book along the water.
Well, day 1 of the Cycle-Smart International race weekend is in the books. What a day! Couldn’t have asked for better weather. Coolish for those watching but perfect for those racing.
My day can really be summed up with one word: people. I ran into so many people that I’ve met over the years of traveling down to New England to race and attend ‘cross camp. The coolest thing was meeting Kathy.
We were parked across from Kathy and her husband and she came over to introduce herself. We were just chatting when all of a sudden – she and Marc were hugging. Yep – just like that! It turns out that Kathy and Marc went to university together. Talk about a small world!
The day kicked off with Marc and Steve racing at 10:30. These guys both rode super well. The early part of their races were filled with crash avoidance and crash avoidance recovery. But in the end both of them dug super deep and rode to great results. Next up were Josee and Karl racing at 11:30. I did not see these two race but from what I heard both rode super well. Congrats guys on some good racing.
I raced later in the day at 2:00. Marc and I got out after the women’s 3/4 race to run lines and practice a few key sections of the course. This helped so much. Thanks Marc. Especially the line through the gravel corner at the top of the course – practicing this helped my confidence a great deal. I’ve written a race report.
After my race, I chilled out a bit – got a recovery drink and took a little spin to flush out my legs and brain. Tough one today. But in the end a good one. I watched a bit of the elite race and spent time catching up with some folks. Great day at Look Park!
The real treat of the day was a little side trip we took on the way back to the hotel. Don’t know if you know this, but I’m a knitter. So when I realized that Northampton is the home to Webs. Wow – what a place. Pure heaven. I could have spent hours there. I’ll spare you bike racers the knit geek details but suffice it to say – I can’t wait to go back to this store.
Just relaxing in the room now. Supper is done. Lunch and pre-race food is ready for tomorrow. Race bag is good to go. Tea is ready. Time to relax. Looking forward to another good day at Look Park. Thanks very much for the cheering and support out there today. It really did keep me going today. Have a good one. See you tomorrow.
(Wrote this last night but neglected to post it…)
Sitting here chilling in the hotel room. Bag is ready. Food is ready. Bikes are clean and ready to go. Next up – bed and a good night’s sleep.
Had a smooth ride down. No hiccups with the exception of a slight merging issue on the 401 – luckily the van is big – other cars move… Made it to Look Park at around 3:30. The whole crew was out marking the course and riding. Nice to see some friendly faces right away.
The course was fully staked out so the four of us got kitted up and hit up the course for a few laps. All I can say is dry. Super dry. Lots of crunchy leaves and carpet-like grass. If it stays dry it will be super fast. Saturday’s course is the same as the traditional Cycle-Smart International course. Lots going on.
Twists and turns. A sandpit. Forced run-up on loose terrain. A fun little descent. A few railroad track crossings. More twists and turns. A little power climb. Some super fast barriers. Bicycle path. Nice paved road.
I really like this course. It is challenging – physically and mentally. But there is nothing in that that I really dread (for example, like the run-up in Seattle or Mooney’s Bay hill). This course is simply challenging but not intensely hard or intimidating.
I’m impressed with how well organized Adam, Steve and the guys are. Nice work guys! Looking forward to racing tomorrow and catching up lots of people. I saw so many people today that it made for some slow laps. That’s okay – this is simple pre-race day – shake out the legs and get comfy on the course.
Mavic is here doing support and working the pits. Nice. Todd and Peter (spelling?) are super cool and always have lots of smiles to go around.
We had an easy supper here in the hotel room. I whipped up a tasty meal at home for us to re-heat here and we supplemented with some salad and dessert compliments of the Stop-N-Shop.
Okay, best go. Marc and Steve are racing at 10:30. Josee and Karl are at 11:30. I’m at 2:00. Send your fast vibes our way. Looking forward to some fun racing and cheering. Check back tomorrow for a race report. Have a good one.
Ottawa Cross 