Williams Lake's PEDAL BY THE PUDDLE

 

The 2009 Pedal by the Puddle is now history, and what a day it was! Ideal weather (maybe a little hot!), a great course, and 100 registered riders (nearly double from last year!) made for a perfect day. Participants ranged from 10 to 62 years of age, and people came from McKenzie, Burns Lake, Prince George, Quesnel, Clearwater, Kamloops, Sun Peaks, Armstrong, Vernon, Vancouver Island and…Australia! The course was co-operatively shared by first time racers, veteran elite riders, and weekend warriors who enjoyed the course anywhere from 1 to 9 times for a grand total of 335 laps ridden. The Mt. Timothy Ski Patrol were on site and on the course for First Aid and we’re pleased to report the only first aid they administered was on people’s bikes. 

Many thanks to our sponsors for monetary and in-kind donations (see sidebar for sponsor list). Please support these businesses and thank them for supporting our event! Many thanks also to all our volunteers for all their work on pre-race organization, setup, First Aid, timing, the aid station, parking direction, ATV transport, post-race takedown, and all the other little jobs that were cheerfully done. It’s a lot to do and a team effort like this makes it all happen!

We seemed to have an epidemic of broken chains. No doubt this speaks for the ruggedness of the course, and the intensity of the riding being done! Mark Rossmann, our head First Aider, was patrolling the course on his bike and repaired a few chains, but sadly for us he is moving to Smithers this month, so for next year make sure your drive train is in tip top shape! The other epidemic we had was muscle cramps and heat problems. Of course liberal fluid intake is critical but new information says it may not be enough by itself. Salt can be the missing ingredient. Check out these 2 eye-opening articles by sports nutritionist Monique Ryan on the Velonews website. It could save you from some of those mega-cramps next time, and maybe even make you faster!

http://www.velonews.com/article/6397

http://www.velonews.com/article/12369

Results are available online at   http://zone4.ca/results.asp?id=2422

You can get last year’s results, too if you want—check in the “Results Archive”.

 We’re looking for feedback--good, bad, or in between. We want to hear how your race day went, and how we can make it better for next year. Please send us a quick note with any thoughts or impressions! Go to “Contact Us”.

Watch this site for next year’s information. Planning is already underway for next year, and we will be setting the date soon—see you then!