The Velo-City Cycling Visionaries Awards competition offers an opportunity for winners to participate for free in the Velo-City conference, happening June 11-14 in Vienna, Austria.

Congratulations to dandy groups The Deadly Nightshades (up for an award in the Cycling and the Arts category) and La Ocho (up for an award in the Design, Fashion and Cycling Equipment category).

Voting ends this coming Monday, April 15, so please take a moment to go to the website and pledge your support!

You can vote for the Deadly Nightshades here.

And for La Ocho here.

“The Cycling Visionaries Awards highlight new ideas for urban cycling cultures. The programme seeks to support young individuals from various professional backgrounds and cultural contexts engaged in the evolution of cycling as key to the future of urban mobility. Be the recipient of a Cycling Visionary Award and participate in the global discourse on urban cycling!”

Categories include Advocacy and Social Projects; Science, Research and Development; Design, Fashion and Cycling Equipment; Urban Planning and Urban Design and Cycling and the Arts.

Voting is open until April 15 to support projects that you would like to see participate in Velo-City 2013 (happening June 11-14 in Vienna).

About Velo-City

About the Cycling Visionaries Awards

Check out all the participating projects here.

Related on the dandyBLOG:

The Story of La Ocho

dandyARCHIVE: Night Out With The Nightshades

Fashion, Bikes Mix as Cycling Culture Rolls With Generation Y

Chandelier bike and winter bike profiles by John Lee

In the heart of Evergreen Brick Works, next to the kilns that fired the bricks that built Toronto, 85 skilled and daring riders took on a steep and shrunken velodrome. With speeds reaching 35 km/h, on a track that appeared no larger than a suburban garage, the challenge was not only to set the best time but do so without slamming to the ground.

Johnny “Jet Fuel” Englar, made an appearance (racing a front rack-equipped single speed) as did many other legendary local riders from the days of the Human Powered Rollercoaster. But the big competition was Addison Zawada from Jacksonville, Florida who was also the Montreal mini drome champion.

Focus and determination on the face of Sour Fever BMX rider and rookie courier Ian Christensen. Photo Chris Kaiser

Jake Williams goes high and then gets low. Photos by Chris Kaiser

Sana Vallani (see her in dandyhorse Issue #3 “Hot Wheels”) gave it a whirl. Photos by Tammy Thorne

One of the more dramatic exits. Photo Tammy Thorne

A snapped carbon seat post created new challenges for one local competitor, Terroni’s Chef Maurizio. Photo Chris Kaiser

dandy photographer Christopher Kaiser and his post-race road rash. Photo Tammy Thorne

Kaiser on his wipe out:

“The whole thing took me by surprise. It was on my eighth lap and I think I got too ahead of myself. In the turn you want to be looking at where you want to be at the end of it, but I was looking too far ahead and before I knew it my front wheel was off the side and I slammed down. I thought I was going to fly out of the track for sure, but somehow stayed in and got to finish my last two qualifying laps.

(CHECK OUT the Red Bull video for more great wipes outs and our slideshow below!)

Dennis demonstrates that speed and style can go hand-in-hand on the mini drome. Photo Chris Kaiser.

We are looking forward to Harry’s helmet cam footage on his new website “Blood and Waybills.” Photo Tammy Thorne

Dangerous curves of the mini drome. Photo by Tammy Thorne

The crowd’s unending enthusiasm fueled riders for a long day of racing. Photo Chris Kaiser

The women’s winner, Eva Hoekstra, with new wheels. Photo Tammy Thorne

Final race with Addison Zawada of Jacksonville, FL (Orlando and Montreal winner) and Toronto’s own Justin Soares. Photo Chris Kaiser

Addison takes the top prize, a custom-painted Cervelo frame. Photo Chris Kaiser

In first: Addison Zawada, Second: Justin Soares, and Third: Brad Brownie of Toronto. Photo Chris Kaiser

Justin Soares jumps into the crowd to celebrate. Photo Chris Kaiser

dandyhorse friend and MC for the awesome event: Nadir Olivet did a great job keeping the crowd and the racers going all day long! Photo by Chris Kaiser.

We hope the Red Bull Mini Drome will return to Toronto for 2012!

Faces of Determination. Photos by Jennifer Rong

by Colleen Kirley
designs by Dieter Janssen

Dieter Janssen, architect and former professor at the University of Toronto, wanted a custom bike and went to La Carrera Cycles. One day, while he was in the shop, he overheard owner Nadir Olivet talking about having the Cycle Messenger World Championships (CMWC) in Guatemala. Janssen had recently taken interest in racing tracks – he visited the 333-metre outdoor velodrome in Cuba and has ridden the Forest City velodrome in London, Ontario – and when Nadir mentioned the figure 8 track, he was immediately interested in being involved.

Janssen was up for the challenge. He enlisted some students and created a work-study program out of the track. “It’s a complex geometry,” Janssen said. “Because of the physics of that geometry – we really needed to get right in terms of making this track function properly.” On Janssen’s website, you can view just how complex this work was – pages and pages of diagrams and equations map out what will ultimately become the track. “We worked with a mathematician who recommended some people who were also interested in the project. Very quickly, we had a team together.”

Janssen’s team began sketching some ideas out and talked to Nadir about what he had in mind. They ended up finding out that they would be able to build the track in a soccer field in Panajachel, Guatemala.

Nadir was impressed by how they were able to manage designing a track in Toronto that would be built over 3,000 km away. He said, “They used topographic maps of the area to lay out the track. Without even having to go to Guatemala, they were able to make the track fit the area perfectly.”

After the schematics were figured out, it was time to build. Based on the Human Powered Roller Coaster (HPR) – designed by Toronto architect John Consolati and used for allycat races in the 90s – the track would have steep banked turns and a bridge that crossed over the middle.

La Ocho differed from the HPR in building technology. The HPR was made of solid plywood: La Ocho would be made out of dirt and plywood. Rammed dirt – densely compacted earth – became the foundation for the track. “It’s an interesting technology that’s common as a building practice in that part of the world.” Janssen said that the interesting thing for the team was that they were working so precisely with mathematics and high-tech models, yet using “a really low-tech process to realize it.” Nadir was extremely adamant on the track being ecologically sound, sourced from the earth and good for the community. Even the wood from the bridge was sourced out to members of the community after CMWC.

Once everything was calculated and the models were perfectly scaled, it seemed as if La Ocho would finally be a reality. The track was fast and challenging. If messengers had the chance to ride it for CMWC, they would have competed in heats of four for two days of preliminary racing, accumulating victories until the final day of elimination rounds. Unfortunately, no one got to race on La Ocho.

As the messengers were making their way from all corners of the world to Guatemala, so was a major tropical storm. Hurricane Agatha brought heavy rain and flooding to the city in Panajachel, wiping away homes, roads and bridges in the community. The rain washed away the polo court and swept La Ocho into the river.

“It was disappointing because we had almost realized it, but it’s never been ridden,” Janssen said. But he wants to see it in use – and is eager to work with someone to put the plans in motion. He said that the track can be made anywhere and that everyone is ready to start the project up again. “I think the team that we have was also excited to see this thing come together…a lot of us would love still see it happen.”

….

If you like unusual racing tracks you can check out the Red Bull Mini Drome at Evergreen Brick Works on October 8, 2011.