April 2006 Newsletter

Our Annual Spring Gear Swap. is Sat. April 8. Bring us your bikes, bike gear, paddling gear, camping gear or summer outdoor gear and let us do the work of trying to turn it into money for you!. You set a price (we can help) and, if we sell your items, you can get 80% cash back or 100% store credit. All items must be brought to us between April 4th and 7th.

Events:

Those of you who liked the freeride video The Collective should be sure to reserve a copy of Roam. Brought to you by the same production team Roam improves on it's predecessor's groundbreaking cinematography and boundless energy. Regular price is $35.99 If you pre-pay in full before April 20th you can get $5 off! The DVD's should be here sometime in the first week of May.

Click here to see a clip

Paddling Film Festival








Sunday April 30th, 7pm at the Gordon Best Theatre. Tickets are available at Wild Rock.

A new film festival is coming to town. Rapid Media’s new Reel Paddling Film Festival and World Tour brings the world’s best paddling films to paddlers across North America and around the world.

The festival has been created to inspire more people to explore rivers, lakes and oceans, push physical and emotional extremes, embrace the lifestyle and appreciate the heritage of the places where we travel.

Find out more at https://www.rapidmedia.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=182

Cycling in Mallorca

March Break saw 26 diverse cyclists from the Kawartha region head off to a small island off the coast of Spain. This sun-drenched island in the Mediteranian is a temporary home for road cyclists from around the world in the spring. Pro teams like T-Mobile, Gerolsteiner, Phonak, Bianchi, Isle Balears and Euskatel use the over 2100km of roads to train for their summer season.

We figured if it were good enough for them it would be good enough for our merry band of 26 cyclists. I, Scott Murison have had the pleasure to ride there 5 times previously so I took it upon myself to make the arrangements for our group. I headed out a few days early to make sure the arrangements I had secured over the Internet actually existed and were sound. Although I had used the hotel in passed years nothing strikes fear into your heart as much as been responsible for people's hard fought vacation time. It all checked out and with much pomp and pageantry 26 people and 24 bikes were assembled and collected under one roof.

The next morning, weary but excited cyclists descended on to the breakfast buffet like hyenas circling their prey. Many calories were ingested and soon we were off for our shakedown ride. Our destination was the Cap de Formentor. This is a beautiful peninsula with a twisting and winding road that runs down the spine of a small mountain ridge. Spectacular views are achieved after you drag yourself up the 3-4km climb that gains the ridge. This ride quickly let people know what level of riding they would enjoy. It was a medium day of climbing. There would be plenty of harder days and plenty of easier days if people wished.

I was impressed all members got up the long climb to the lookout. Some found it ummmmmm….. character building while others just tried to crush their fellow mates characters. It was good to see folks ranging from their 20’s to 50’s giggling and tittering away like schoolgirls over the fun roads.

The next week was spent living the life we all dream of. Breakfast was plentiful and varied and always awaited us in the morning. Not quite breakfast in bed but darn close. The days were spent exploring most corners of the island. Each time you entered a village you were awestruck with the history of the place. Churches and town squares dating back to the 10 century. Cobbled streets barely wide enough for a Honda Civic (a mid sized car in Spain). There were restaurants that had been in business for 300 years. On top of it all with over 15,000 road cyclists visiting the island every spring; the drivers are wonderful. Occasionally a polite honk to cheer you on or warn you of their approach. Little old ladies stamping their canes telling you to "Allez. Allez!!" It is a dream come true for riders used to been sworn at or having donuts or beer bottles thrown at them. Lunch each day was had in a small restaurant, monastery or seaside café. It is a tough life but someone has to lead it.

As night fell… the only tough decisions were which red wine to choose and what to eat for dinner. This is truly living the life!

Some of the highlight rides included:

Port D’Alcudia to the Santa Cura Monastery 123k with 696m of climbing.
Port D’Alcudia to the Lluc Monastery 87km with 1024m of climbing
Port D’Alcudia to Sa Calobra 114km with 2041m of climbing
Port D’Alcudia to Soller 147km with 2237m of climbing
Andratx to Port D’Alcudia 123km with 2315m of climbing
Port D’Alcudia to Cap Formentor 74km with 715m of climbing

In total I road approx 900km and climbed over 10,000m or 30,000ft.

After a fantastic week of sun, winding roads, good friends (old and new) and fine wine it was hard to board the plane and head home. Many of us will take solace in the fact that next Spring Wild Rock will most likely be organizing another merry band of cyclists to head of to Mallorca for another week of fun.

Get out those old walking shoes and join Hospices across Canada for some fresh air and exercise as you help raise funds to support Hospice services. Sponsor sheets will be available at Wild Rock starting the first week of April. Please call 742-4042 for more information. Sunday May 7th.