We know it may not seem like it now, what with all the recent snow, but Wiarton Willie, Canada’s expert groundhog, didn’t see his shadow on February 2nd, which means spring is just around the corner! Don’t despair, the end of winter is near, cycling friends. Hopefully we only have a few more weeks of indoor riding to do before the skies clear, the mercury rises and the roads and trails dry off. At Local Ride, we have everything you need to keep you going in all types of weather.

Local Ride Racing Team
The countdown is on! The team’s first race is only four weeks away. That’s right, Local Ride Racing will be up and at ‘em starting March 2 with the first Escape Velocity Langley Spring Series race of the season.For 2008 Local Ride Racing plans to go bigger and better, but that naturally requires a larger budget. We’re in the process of preparing a sponsorship package and proposal that we’ll be bringing to businesses in the community. We’d love to have the local business community involved in our team and we think a partnership with Local Ride Racing would be a benefit to any business. With the huge amount of positive exposure our riders have in the community, be it on the bicycle or in the press, backing the Local Ride Racing is a smart choice. 

Featured Product
This week we’re featuring an exciting new pump from SKS Germany. The Sub 40 is a high-pressure mini road pump that can reach a maximum pressure of 140psi. As indicated by its name, the Sub 40 weighs in at a svelte 39 grams, which is a new world record (for those of you who keep track of that sort of thing). We have it in stock in classic black and stylish white for $39.95.

Weekly Special
We have the ticket to get you riding your bike, staying warm and dry, and fitting in a training session after work – a Giant indoor trainer! This week, we’re offering 15% off all in-stock Giant trainers and trainer accessories, like chopping blocks and trainer mats. Spinning Sessions – Wednesdays!
Getting to spin with the gang at Local Ride is your favourite thing about winter. Local Ride’s Spinning Sessions are back and this winter they’ll be happening every Wednesday evening. Can’t spin Wednesdays? How about Tuesdays? We’re calling all you spinners who can’t make it on Wednesdays to e-mail us if you’re interested in Tuesday Spinning Sessions with Jean Ann. Jean Ann is the newest addition to the Local Ride staff and she’s keen to lead you through an indoor workout.  Come out for weekly indoor spinning sessions, Wednesdays at 6:15 p.m. Bring your bike, trainer, shoes, two towels (one for yourself and one for under your bike) lots of water and $5 for the drop in fee. If you don’t have your own trainer, we’ll have a limited number of rentals available for $5 per session. Please call ahead to let us know you’re coming, as we have limited space. Workouts are cycling specific training sessions designed by a professional cycling coach. They generally take between one and two hours.  Sunday Ride – Note CHANGES!
We’re making a couple of changes to Sunday Rides. Due to team-specific training sessions, we’ll be starting the group ride an hour later for the next month. That means the group will leave Starbucks at 10:00 a.m. after the team does a one-hour training session. Non- team members: you now have the option of sleeping in, or you can do your own ride earlier and join up again at Starbucks at 10:00 a.m. Maybe do some training of your own, so you can gang up and put the hurt on the team! 

Also note, March 2 is the start of the Escape Velocity Langley Spring Series, which marks the beginning of racing season. That means we will not have official ride leaders, since our team members will be off winning races. We hope, of course, that you will all continue to have fun on the roads and trails of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows without us! (But not TOO much fun.) And we will continue to ride on the Sundays that we’re not racing. Last week’s ride was probably the nicest Sunday Ride day in months, but surprisingly, it had the lowest turnout of the entire winter! Way more riders showed up on the frigid days that it sleeted and poured. Barry, Steve, Mike, Ryan and Sandra headed across the Fraser for a 30-minute team paceline practice, then continued on a long, steady ride down to 0 Avenue, back to Fort Langley and caught the ferry to Albion. It was a great ride, with some beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, and they even got a couple of free river cruises. The cycling in Langley is ALMOST as good as the riding in Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows. 

Join us this Sunday for a great group ride. We plan to split into three groups as needed: “A” Group for stronger riders looking for a longer, quality workout, “B” Group for more recreational riders aiming to build their fitness and the Women’s Group for women who want to improve their fitness and cycling skills in a fun, supportive and social environment.- Helmets and road bikes with fenders and fender extenders are mandatory.
- Make sure you have appropriate clothing.
- We’ve slated the third Sunday of every month as a designated ‘cross ride, which means riders should expect up to 80% of the ride to be off-road. The next Local Ride Sunday ‘Cross Ride is: February 17th!
- Note that we sometimes get adventurous anyway and stray from paved roads for some cyclocross-style fun.
- Please call or come by the shop for a pre-ride briefing. Where: Starbuck’s at Valley Fair Mall, Lougheed Highway, Maple Ridge
When: Sundays ETD @ 10:00 a.m. Note New Start Time! Women’s Ride – Sundays!
Ladies, make sure you join us on Sundays. All groups will meet for the rides at the same time and place and then split accordingly. See the Sunday Morning Ride info above for details and recommendations. Sandra Report
Make sure you come to the spin session tomorrow, as it will be the last one led by yours truly for the next three weeks! Be ready to suffer, ’cause I sure will be. I need to be on good form for when I head to San Francisco for the Vanderkitten Women’s Cycling Team training camp. Ask me what a dead cat looks like. There’s also the off-chance that I will be spotted racing an NRC Crit (gasp!) in Santa Rosa on February 18. Sandra road racing? Yes, it’s a rare sight! This three-week trip will be a dress rehearsal for when I head to Switzerland on March 18 for the start of my World Cup Domination Tour. My flight is booked, there’s no turning back. Be sure to check in on Barry and the crew regularly to keep them in line. I’m worried things will fall apart around here without me. 

Keep the rubber side down!