Saturday is Canada Day and there’s a good chance there’ll be a quality field of mostly triathletes gathered for a short competition on a lightly used road south of Guelph, just south of the 401.
Starting in 2014, Guelph-based Loaring Personal Coaching has run a three-race time trial cycling series strictly on holidays (Saturday of Victoria Day weekend, Canada Day and Saturday of Labour Day weekend) that has grown in popularity, but is pretty unknown.
“We don't really market it very much,” James Loaring of LPC said. “It's very low key, it's free. But I think it's just because we kind of just keep it quiet. But those in the know, I guess it brings out a lot of fast (competitors) but we also obviously very much welcome and encourage all levels of ability. And it's just a fun free community event that just you know brings out a lot from the area.”
As LPC’s specialty is triathlon, most of the competitors are triathletes and it has included several pro triathletes as well as some who’ve competed in international competitions such as the Pan Am Games and Commonwealth Games.
“It'll bring some pure cyclists out, but mostly triathletes,” Loaring said. “A lot of the local clubs will encourage all of their athletes to come and participate. It's just a fun community event so we're really looking forward to the next one on Canada Day.”
The event actually spawned from a time trial held by Craig Taylor when he was the head coach of the Canadian Regional Triathlon Centre when it was located in Guelph.
“He, for his squad at the time, had this loop that we called the Badenoch Loop,” Loaring said. “He did it for his squad and then we just thought, yeah, you know what, this is a great loop and great area to ride. And most local clubs, they offer a time trial of some sort and we just thought, you know what, let's invite all of the other clubs and just invite anyone who's wanting to come out and participate. You don't have to be an LPC athlete, you could be from any local club and we encourage the whole community to come out.”
While it’s a free event to compete in and you don’t have to be a member of any club, you do have to have a Triathlon Ontario license. However, that shouldn’t be a deterrent for would-be participants as single-day licenses are available. Cost for them this year is $10.
The event is currently run on Leslie Road/Milburough Town Line and is 14.4 kilometres in length. It’s the third ‘outdoor’ course used for the time trials as it started on the 15.6 km Badenoch Loop originally used by Taylor and his group. The following year it moved to the 15 km Moffat Loop and started using the Leslie Course in 2018.
“We just ventured out to quieter roads, so the course has evolved,” Loaring said. “The course is the third course now and the first course, part of it was on Wellington (Road) 34. Over the years it's just gotten a little bit more traffic, so we've kind of just ventured to quieter roads.”
During the pandemic, a single ‘indoor’ event was held in 2020 using Zwift and a 16.1 km virtual course.
Competitors meet and sign in at the Badenoch Soccer Field and then take a leisurely (for them) four-kilometre ride to the starting area on Leslie Road near the intersection with Victoria Road. Many of the competitors from Guelph will cycle from their homes to the meeting area.
While the event is organized, the roads are not closed to traffic, but that has never presented a problem. One year those involved were treated to a parade of six or seven supercars who were just out for a tour.
However, there is a railway crossing on the course after Leslie Road turns into Milburough Town Line just northwest of the entrance to the Mountsberg Conservation Area and one of the time trials was disrupted by a train last year.
“Oh boy, let's not knock on wood now so we don't jinx ourselves again,” Loaring said. “That was a freight train so it's impossible to know their schedule because I don't think that that's public, I don't believe. I'm always asking if we can find out if a train's going to come through. It doesn't happen often, maybe once every 10 years, so hopefully this Canada Day will be in the clear.”
As there’s no prize money, just bragging rights on the line, things will be worked out should it happen again.
“We've got a contingency plan in the unlikely event that it affects a few,” Loaring said. “It turns out last year it only affected our top elite cyclists, but they were all good about it and then they just went back for a Round 2. It's ultimately for fun and it's a hard day of training. They got caught up by the train, they came back and they went out, persevered and did it again.”
Depending on the number of participants, they start the time trial either 30 seconds or one minute apart. The larger the number of starters, the shorter the time between them so that all are on the course at the same time. It also helps keep it a draft illegal event.
While the event is popular with competitors, it’s usually run without spectators – maybe a photographer here and there. To be honest, it’s not a great spectator event. There’s no parking, a lot of walking to get to any good viewing spot, competitors only go by twice and there are usually long waits for two or three of them to come by relatively close together on the return trip.
And it’s early in the morning, usually with a 10 a.m. starting time. That helps guarantee little in the way vehicular traffic on the course.
“Ultimately we have to just have a very quiet place, a safe place, and we just have to be low-key about it because a lot of spectators and stuff, then sometimes accidents can happen, so it's a really low-key event,” Loaring said. “That way it just makes it a safe experience for the participants.”
