Fat Ian’s Post:

Have you stopped shaving (everywhere) in an effort to capture every joule of warmth leaving your body?

Do you know which grocery store’s plastic bags make the best vapour barrier socks? (I’m looking at you, Dan)

Come talk about your issues with people who understand you…

Actif Epica Info Session

Whether you’re planning to ride the Actif Epica bike challenge or even just considering it, you probably have some questions about how to prepare for it and what kind of gear you might need. We totally get that. We also know that meeting some possible training buddies can help too, so we’re having a little get together to go over things and answer questions. Then, a couple days later, we’re organizing a relaxed group ride to try it out.

Get together: Wednesday, December 14th – 7 to 9 p.m. at Olympia Cycle and Ski, 1813 Portage Avenue.

• 7:00 – Introductions from Ian Hall, Actif Epica coordinator
• 7:10 – Ernie Whelan* – Cold weather safety/survival
• 7:40 – Hal Loewen – bike prep and clothing/gear advice
• 8:00 – Lindsay Gauld – mental toughness and mental preparation
• 8:15 – Q&A

*Ernie Whelan (Air Force Sergeant), is a former member of 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron in Winnipeg andSearch and Rescue Technician (SAR Tech), who is now a Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) Instructor at theCanadian Forces School of Survival and Aeromedical Training (CFSSAT) at 17 Wing, Winnipeg.

You likely heard about him in local and national news last year during his ‘Gliding Thru Barriers’ winter skiing trek on Lake Winnipeg. Check out coverage of his trek HERE, HERE and HERE.

If you can’t make it in person, we’ll be tweeting the meeting (#ActifEpica) and taking questions from the virtual audience.

***For those who are keen, the Wednesday night fatbike ride (skinnies welcome) will leave from Olympia at 9 p.m.)***

And then:

Group ride: Sunday, December 18th – 9 a.m. at the Assiniboine Forest parking lot (meet at Grant Avenue at Chalfont Rd) for a 2-3 hour group ride. Experienced ride guides will lead the ride at an easy pace (we’ll go as fast as the slowest rider) that will head out the Harte Trail and tackle some open prairie sections.  This should be a good simulation of what one of the sections of Actif Epica will be like.

An Actif Epica teaser – Checkpoint #1: