WE MADE DEATH WAIT!

Last May a collection of Baydogs got together to take on The Barrie Cycling Club in a Big Bike for Heart and Stroke face off to see who were the superior athletes in the Barrie area. The Baydogs (obviously) came out on top! The following is a recap of that amazing day from the Heart & Stroke Foundation:

Simcoe County & Muskoka is MAKING DEATH WAIT- we raised over $245,000

We wanted to share with you a few of the many successes we have had in Simcoe County and Muskoka during the 2012 Big Bike Season and THANK the hundreds of Big Bike Captains and Riders for all of their OUTSTANDING efforts and commitment to the Heart & Stroke Foundation!  On behalf of all of us at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada , survivors, staff, students and 100’s of volunteers, we THANK YOU with all of our Hearts!

For the first time we had BIGBIKE at the races- that’s right timed laps around the (Georgian Downs) track.  The competition was friendly yet fierce as sister companies

as well as competitors raced against each other and the clock.  In the end the Barrie T.C. Baydogs won the day with a time of 2:44.1, 2^nd place went to The Barrie Cycling Club with a time of 2:48.1.  We can’t wait to bring this event back in 2013 – even bigger and better!

Great Job Baydogs! Way to show that although we take our racing and socials seriously, we also put in a great team effort to give back to the community!!

REV3 Maine half iron distance

Baydog destination racer Jamie Neilsen travelled to Maine in August to compete in the Rev3 half iron distance race.  He is the first Baydog to complete a rev3 event. The following is a recap taken from his blog (http://trikinggator.blogspot.ca/)

After doing many 70.3 Ironman Events, I wanted to experience a Revolution 3 Event. I wasn't disappointed. Now the third season for Rev3 and its inaugural event for Old Orchard Beach, Maine I will be back to do more. There are so many little aspects that are different from Ironman. For starters a picture of you is taken during race kit pickup and then shown on a Jumbro Tron as you cross the finish line. You're given your own tattoo numbers to apply to your body. Swag is awesome included were Blue Seventy swim goggles. The medals are sweet too. Triathletes with families, Old Orchard Beach is a clean & entertaining vacation spot. Old Orchard Beach was a combination Olympic & HalfIron distances for a total of about 1100 racers. I'm sure the field size will grow as Revolution gets more exposure. The Swim in the Atlantic ocean was a thrill. At times the gentle swales of the ocean you couldn't seen the buoys. The run to T1 was about 500m (estimate it was long). The race started at 6:20am (which I loved)in order to get all the waves out the water, into T1 & out on their bikes before the first Amtrack train would go by on the other side of transition. My wave was the third wave leaving at 6:28 am. A real treat. Usually because of my age category 45-49 ; I'm generally the 18th of 23 waves which typically comes close to 8:30 am before I start. I remember coming out the water and hearing the starting gun commencing with the Olympic Age groupers. Swim time was 41 minutes. Happy with that as my strategy was to go easy, swim straight and in the words of Conrad Stoltz have fun. The bike course was a racers dream. Flat and pavement surface ideal. Hence a rocket time of 2 hrs & 34 minutes for me average 34.7 kph. The run took me much longer than I expected. My desire time was 1 hr 40 minutes and I was just slower than I would have liked clocking in at 1 hr 50 minutes. Overall a PB for me at 5 hours 13 minutes ++ seconds.

Muskoka 70.3

On what was a cool, but thankfully dry, Sunday September 9th, many Baydogs travelled to the Muskoka area for the local Ironman 70.3 event to cap off their race season.

Congratulations to the following Baydogs on their great accomplishment:

Geoff Faulkner, who completed the race in 5:48:30
David Asselin, who completed the race in 6:29:49
Mark Deslaurier, who never gave up when it would have been easy to, and battled severe leg issues to a 7:00:56
and finally Kelly McNabb, who in April couldn't even clip into her pedals and fell over every time she tried, and then battled multiple mechanical (chain) issues on the bike, completed the race in 8:27:32

Great job Baydogs! Not only did you show the athleticism that all Baydogs exhibit, but for some of you, you showed the 'never quit' attitude that makes this club amazing.

Baydogs Storm the Nation's Capital

On Labour Day weekend, 3 Baydogs "stormed the castle" by taking on the nation's capital.

David "Rex" Reckzin had an amazing iron-distance redemption race by completing the race in 11:46:12, finishing 3rd overall and 1st in his age group!

Dr. Frank Astri completed his first half-iron distance race, finishing with a great first long distance time of 5:53:59

Young Buck Taylor Pieprzak, who stayed in the Ottawa area this summer and competed in many Olympic distance races, completed the Olympic distance race in 2:33:56 and finished 3rd in his Age Group and 11th overall!!

Way to go Baydogs! Awesome showing in Ottawa!

Rex's Race Redemption

Since Spring 2010 when Rex joined the club and began telling his incredible story, his goal was to complete the 2011 Ironman Lake Placid while raising awareness for Scleroderma through his venture "Ironman for Scleroderma". The training was there, the awareness was there, unfortunately while on a high speed descent at IM Placid, a fellow racer's tire was there and knocked Rex out of the race and out of commission for almost 6 months. Fastforward to Labour Day weekend 2012, Rex travelled to the nation's capital to compete in the Canadian 226, an independently run iron distance race. With a lot of nerves from Rex, his family, and friends/Baydogs tracking online, Rex toed the line in hopes of completing the dream he set for himself in 2010.

The multi-looped course (8 on the bike, and 5 on the run) made for a great opportunity for his friends and family to cheer him on throughout the day, and Rex did not disappoint. 5th out of the water, Rex was in a great position to not only podium in his age group, but podium OVERALL! He moved up to 3rd on the bike, and then came the run.

Having never made it this far in an iron distance event, this was a refreshing experience. However Rex began experiencing some serious digestive issues, and had a lot of difficulty maintaining a consistent pace. However,  proving his bite is bigger than his bark, Rex showed that he doesn't just talk about competing in this distance...he works until he finishes this distance.

Congratulations Rex, not only on the results, but on finishing what you set out to do in 2010...and in grand style! 3rd overall and 1st in your age group in an Iron-distance event! I tip my aerohelmet to you sir!

Next stop for Rex, Ironman Cozumel in November!