2007 World Tuesday Night Championships
The Tuesday Night Series has been a staple of the road racing scene in Vancouver since the early 1980's.
Started by a club riding out of Cicli Forsa in the West End, its first incarnation was a simple route out at the University of B.C., 2km up and down either side of 16th Avenue.
After a couple of seasons, the race was moved a few blocks closer to the campus and a new configuration.
Escape Velocity has continued the tradition of running these races and turned it into a genuine race series, with points tallied through the season to determine an overall series winner. The current 1.6 km "short" course has been in use for a few years, and in 2005 key parts were repaved, removing some Roubaix-grade potholes on the climb.
Despite the fact that these races are designed to be simply training events, the level of competition has always been high. For many people, nothing is more important in their racing lives than doing well at the Tuesday Nighters. Its when their parents, friends and spouses come out to watch them race. Because of this fanatical need to succeed the event has long been known as the "World Tuesday Night Championships" (we couldn't use Tuesday Night World Championships due to UCI issues....). On warm summer evenings, we can get close to 200 racers putting it all on the line for the best part of an hour. The reasons for such a healthy turnout are many:
- the course is close to where people live: most can ride there in half an hour from their homes or their workplaces
- it's still cheap. For the 2007 season, it still costs only $5 to race ($10 for a season-long number, $5 to race), we have prizes galore from our sponsors who see this event as the heart of road racing in B.C.
- it's well organized - races start on time, the roads are properly marshalled, the course is interesting
So come out to the friendliest, most competitive, best attended road racing in Western Canada.
Racing happens every DRY Tuesday (rain = no race) during the months of May, June, July and August, from 6.30pm until 8.30pm.
See you there.
2007 Yaletown Grand Prix
We're roughly two weeks away from the 2007 Haywood Yaletown Grand Prix which will be held on Sunday July 1st, Canada Day. The race organizers are working hard and it's shaping up to be another great race! Be sure to check out the website at www.yaletowngrandprix.com.
It's impossible to run an event like this without the generous help of dozens of volunteers and so, once again this year, we're putting out a call for volunteers to come and join us in putting on this great event. This year we're planning a big party after the event at the Yaletown Brew Pub for volunteers and racers. As with previous years, we will also make sure that food and water/drinks are available for volunteers throughout the day and we have tons of prizes for volunteers as well.
If you'd like to come and join us this year, please send me an email. We are always looking for more volunteers, so please feel free to pass this on to anyone who might be interested. Also, if you are bringing friends or family we will be happy to make sure you are volunteering together.
We'll be getting the volunteers together before the race for an information and orientation session at the Yaletown Brewing with some pizza (and beer for those of age!). Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all.
Martha Martindale
Volunteer Coordinator
2007 HaywoodYaletown Grand Prix
mmartindale@blgcanada.com
604-803-3466
Save the Cypress Trails!
Save the Cypress Trails
Recreational Trails on Cypress are Changing
West Vancouver is planning development at the base of Cypress that impacts existing trails including Sex Boy and Family Guy. This is being done before a long term plan for recreational trails on Cypress is defined. No mitigation has been planned to handle displaced traffic.
Let the district know how much the trails on Cypress mean to our community.
SPREAD THE WORD!!!
OPEN HOUSE
Wednesday June 20th, 2007
6:00 to 8:30 pm
West Van Seniors' Centre, 695 - 21st Street
The Rodgers Creek Working Group is working on a development plan that is a vast improvement over previous projects such as Whitby Estates. They deserve recognition for the effort and detail paid to environmental issues and the sustainability of the area. Northwest of the first switchback there will eventually be a Village Centre including a plaza, retail shops and a pub.
These are good features, but the impacts on existing recreational trails have yet to be dealt with. Unless a strong voice raises this concern, the trails as we know them on Cypress will be lost.
- Help the District understand the need for a long term plan for recreational trails
- Help them understand the types of trails people want
- Ensure alternate trails are in place before any more trails are decommissioned
- Avoid further damage from unauthorized trail construction
