BikeNXS' IceBreaker 2002

Location : Toronto, Ontario, Canada

IceMan
Not surprisingly, IceMan has outdone himself again with this year's IceBreaker. The level of planning and organization is as always, tops. From parking at LaFarge, securing insurance, registering for the event, plowing the trails, food and water at race mid-point, timely posting of race results, the little attention to details was all there.

bundled up for this year's winter thaw ride

Race Course
What I found surprising was the trail condition. Here at Toronto, winter was like spring and a few days before the race, we've had lots of rain. I expected the course to be one BIG mudhole just like the one of 2 years back. Driving to Uxbridge, I noticed that the scenery became increasingly whiter...and surprise...surprise, Durham Forest was still deep in snow with the ground mostly frozen. This turned out to be good because there wasn't as much mud as I expected. Two years back, I remember climbing my bike on 2 inches of thick mud. Some parts were not rideable and we had to portage our bike for some kilometers. With this year's race, the fire trails were even plowed into single-track trails allowing riders to actually ride over the ice (instead of being bogged down in 6 inches of snow).

		We've got a beautiful sunny day...it's gonna be a sweet ride -- IceMan

Where's the Free Massage?
What I miss though was the free massage. Cramped or not, nothing beats a good massage into those overworked quads. How about that for next year, IceMan?

St. John Ambulance Crew
Help was never far. The awesome crew of St. John Ambulance was on standby as always. Knowing they're there gives you that added confidence that if you try to be daring and wipe out, there's no need to chopper you to some distant hospital where you wait 3 hours to be attended to. Again, going back to my previous race, I remember being one of those in line to get treatment...yes, there was a long line. This year however, things weren't that rough. Only 3 outpatients with minor elbow and knee injuries. Thanks for being there, guys (and gals).

Familiar Faces from Fred's Farm Night Races
It was a pleasant surprise to be seeing old riding buddies again. There was Dave and Carlos from the Fred's Farm Night Races. Carlos abandoned MTB for road racing in the last 2 years so it's nice to see him back into the fold. I bumped into Shaun whom I've met during one of the many rides I've done on the Rouge River in Scarborough. Too bad I missed the rest of the crew - Gord and Mike. And then there's Steve of the Lost Lungs crew - guys I've done the 24 Hours of Adrenaline 2 years back at Hardwood Hills....with Paul and Craig whom I've teamed up at last year's 24 Hour Solstice Ride at Halton Conservation Area. It's all good. I could imagine it'll be the same familiar faces again at the next BikeNXS race, Gnarly Charlie on May 5 at Greenwood Conservation Area, Ajaxx.

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

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Age Paradigm

(April 5, 2002) This guy Eugene, all 58 years behind him, hammered me on the flats and hammered me on the downhills. He took me to downhill runs that looked like narrow animal paths. Even hikers wouldn't dare. But he did. And seeing he could, I threw caution to the wind and I followed.....more »»

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