February 11th, Canadian Riders...get chilled

Those wacky Canadians, eh?

It's the ice cup...

ice cup

Here is an article from the Montreal Gazette---

They make it look easy

Couriers compete on ice: Three dozen bike couriers will come to
Montreal for the Ice Cup, a measure of their on-the-job agility


Montreal Gazette, February 04, 2006

By Steven Howell


Move over, Turin. Here's some winter fun you won't find at this year's
Olympics. The Old Port of Montreal presents Winter Cup 2006 and Street
Static, two wintertime sports competitions - with a twist.

Winter Cup 2006, being next Saturday, is a one-day event that brings
together the best bicycle couriers from Quebec, Canada and the U.S.
This is the third edition of the event.

Three dozen athletes - all bike couriers - will compete in individual
races as well as a relay race and ice polo. The event takes place at
Bonsecours Basin with qualifying heats beginning at 11 a.m.

Cyclists compete in two categories: studded class and rubber class.
Studded class means that the bicycle tires have been transformed with
screws from the inside out - sort of like crampons on wheels.

"There's a different set of skills needed to compete between the rubber
tires vs. the studded tires," said Tom Ostreiko, the event organizer
and a full-time Montreal bike courier. As I speak to him via his
cellphone, I can hear he's on the job as a car horn honks in the
background. "The speed is faster in the stud class."

He says that Bonsecours Basin is the perfect site: "Compared to a
hockey rink, there are no boards to crash into." Boards or no boards,
he does guarantee lots of spills along the way.

Winner of the event receives the Ice Cup, a trophy made, yes, of ice.

"The winner also gets bragging rights and free beer," he said.

Ostreiko, 27, has been a Montreal bike courier for six years. He says
there are about 450 bike couriers in Montreal during summer and about
150 who are dedicated as year-round messengers.

"No matter what the season, we're out there," he said. On a typical
winter weekday, he'll deliver 50 packages. "Just think of all the cars
we keep out of the downtown area," he said. "What we do is good for the
environment."

Ostreiko dreams of a chance to compete in the bike courier world
championships in Australia this October. "We're always looking for
sponsors," he said.

Winter Cup 2006 takes place Saturday, Feb. 11, at Bonsecours Basin in
the Old Port from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit the website
www.coupedesglaces.org. Admission is free.

Next is Street Static, an urban snowboarding competition that invites
the top snow-boarders from Quebec and Canada. Athletes compete in
qualifying rounds called "jams" and then in a finale called "battles."

Street Static takes place at Place des Vestiges along the Old Port
promenade Feb. 24 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Feb. 25 from 1 p.m. to 9
p.m. Admission is free. For all Old Port winter activities visit
www.oldportofmontreal.com