Scratch group

Over the past couple years, my biking has really seen an improvement.  I bought my first bike at the end of grade 12 after having many long discussions with my grade 12 chemistry teacher about cycling.  He was a member of D'ornellas bike club, and invited me out for a few rides with the them during the summer.  After riding with D'ornellas for a bit, I began to outgrow the slow steady rides, and luckily met some people along the way who led me towards who I currently cycle with: The Scratch Group.  I have been riding with Scratch for a couple years now and have really enjoyed the friendly yet competitive nature that makes up this great group of riders.  Rides are up tempo, fast, and include numerous sprints, but also remain very contolled and safe.  New challanges are often made and accepted, such as the "Schleck challenge" (created by myself).  For this challenge, I take the role of professional cyclist Andy Schleck, and the rest of the group takes on the role of Andy's brother Frank Schleck.  I will get a 20-30 second head start in a 15km TT, and the rest of the group attempts to chase me down (I havn't been caught yet, 4/4).
The Scratch group year end get together has become a regular event, and the group met this past friday for our second annual gathering.  The night was full of activities ranging from a "traditional swiss cycling game" (seen below), to watching some cycling footage of gyro d'italia.

Me vs. Allison (I got a flat tire and lost in the final stretch. Allison won it all) 

The gathering also served as a great time to catch up with other members of the group and talk about what others were planning for winter training (I managed to drop in a few references about my blog in an attempt to get some extra blog readers).  All in all, it was a very enjoyable night to finish off a very enjoyable season.

As the outdoor cycling comes to a close, I am looking foreword to at least a couple more rides with the group before the snow hits.  After that, it will be hard indoor bike training for the rest of the winter to get ready for what I hope will be another great year of cycling.