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Hamilton Spectator
26-07-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
The Road Warrior: Blizzard Bicycle Club rider cites dedication, commitment to achieve racing success
BALDONNEL, B.C. — It's a calm two-lane road in the rural community of Baldonnel that takes centre stage each Thursday evening during the summer. While there is rural traffic that passes Baldonnel Elementary school's parking lot, it's the rapid speed of cyclists that dominates for a couple of hours during Blizzard Bicycle Club's weekly time-trial. These ritual time-trials have been going consistently since the club's inception, according to club co-founder and current secretary Pat Ferris. Originally from Victoria, Ferris helped establish the club in the early 1980s. Usually, Ferris would be out with the rest of the crew, but there are weeks he's more content to sit on the side of the road in his lawn chair calculating splits as participants come along. 'It's open road. We're only riding on one-minute intervals,' said Ferris. 'We're spread out, but it's up to the riders to obey the rules of the road. 'Fort St. John is a terrific place [and] the bike club has been around for so long. Motorists give you tons of space.' Almost on cue, a rider rips by him in a flash, seeming to push time and space. It's Nigel Wray, who has been a mainstay of the club for the past three years. The 16-kilometre stretch for the time trial occurs each Thursday, but unlike other participants, upon completion Wray doesn't come in right away. Instead he rides down the stretch again, far after his final time has been clocked. Once, twice and again. Like any seasoned athlete, he keeps pushing himself to do better and get faster. When final times are called out by Ferris, Wray notes it's still higher than his personal best. 'You have got to warm down,' said Wray. '[I] accumulate a lot of lactic acid in an effort like this, so you have got to kind of wash that out with a 15-minute ride [after]. 'Even before [I got to cycle] 15 minutes just to get primed up, get the blood flowing, get the heart rate up and then you're ready to go.' Initially a cross-country runner, Wray never grew up watching the Tour de France and desiring to emulate the successes of riders such as Canadian Steve Bauer. In fact, Wray was so successful as a runner he was able to obtain an athletic scholarship from Iona University in New York state and also competed while studying at the University of Guelph in Ontario. Training at the then-Speed River Track Club in Guelph, Wray said some of his best times were good enough to qualify for Canadian national teams. 'I've run a 14:23 for 5k, and an 8:19 for 3k,' said Wray. 'So the engine is there.' The 43-year-old admits he 'didn't do much of anything physically' after university and well into his 30s, admitting he was 'never the same' after an Achilles tendon injury. After suffering a car accident in 2017, Wray described himself as gaining 'a lot of weight.' Amazingly, Wray didn't get on a bike until well into the Covid-19 pandemic, when he purchased a Peloton exercise bike. 'You couldn't go to the gym,' said Wray. 'I bought a Peloton bike [with the] screen on it. The person is yelling at you to go. I got really into the power data [and] the watts that you could produce. I thought, 'man, I should buy a real bike. Get into this.'' Wray travelled to Edmonton, purchasing a bike from Cycle-Logic. He says the store's owner Rich Schafenacker is the only person 'that can touch his bike,' when it's in need of a tune up or repair. Joining Blizzard, Wray has pieced together some solid performances, which included a top-four finish at Calgary's Ghost of The Gravel road race in 2024 and a top-15 placing in last year's Alberta Bicycle Association's (ABA) gravel racing championships in September. However, Wray wasn't able to land on podiums consistently due to what he called being 'a lone wolf' as the sole rider from the club. 'I was going to these races and there's a lot of team tactics,' said Wray. 'If you're just out there as a lone wolf and you got a team around you, they're just going to eat you alive.' Wray's salvation came in the form of the Stealth Cycling club. Based in Edmonton, it also has a chapter in Grande Prairie, and the team recruited Wray to compete under its banner for criterium, or road course races. 'These guys just hold your wheel and then they sprint to you, because your legs are done after two or three hours of that [road circuit] pace. So [team members] asked, 'why don't you join our team? We have guys that can help you.' Competing under Stealth at this season's events, Wray has seen more success, including a victory at the Pigeon Lake Road race in Alberta in June. Wray says when not in season, he'll train at the gym three days weekly, and even involves yoga into his regimen. With Wray achieving success at the amateur level, his next goal is to elevate his ability category as a cyclist. According to the rules of the ABA, of which Blizzard is a member club, a rider may upgrade from one ability category to another either by earning Alberta Cup points, achieving performance standards as described, or by gaining selection to a national or other trade team. Currently at a level three, he is eyeing an upgrade to a category one or two, which Pat Ferris says is an achievable goal, adding Wray is a committed club member as well. 'He's dedicated,' said Ferris. 'He goes to the big races to get the experience. That is important. [He] can have a very good career. Some good guys, especially time trialing, [can] keep going in their 50s. 'He's a good club guy. If he is not racing, he's timing. A lot of times there are guys [that are] maybe not interested in talking to the new guys. But in cycling, it kind of goes with the territory. Everybody got where they were from as they started from scratch.' Wray's next goal is two back-to-back events at the beginning of next month, first the Tour de Bowness in Calgary, with the ABA Juventus provincial individual time trial a week later in Miquelon Lake outside of Edmonton. Wray believes he needs to do 'more time trials' but has what it takes to compete against the best – and win – when it is time to perform. Adding a little extra is his motivation: like older athletes, such as boxing's Bernard Hopkins or NFL legend Tom Brady, Wray sees his age as an incentive to compete his best against the best. 'I'm not young,' said Wray. 'I'm an old man, but I want to bury these 20-year-olds.' 'I want to crush these guys, and I don't care if I'm 43. I don't care [or if] we're the same age. I want to annihilate these young guys.' The Tour de Bowness goes from Saturday, August 2nd to Monday, August 4th and the Juventus provincial individual time trial goes on Saturday, August 9th. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. 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Bloomberg
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Trump Takes 100-Day Victory Lap in Michigan
On the early edition of Balance of Power, Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz discuss President Donald Trump's trip to rally supporters in Michigan. On today's show, Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall and David Gura, Democratic Governor Laura Kelly of Kansas, Stonecourt Capital Partner, Iona University Professor Jeanne Sheehan Zaino and European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg
05-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Tariff Angst Trigger Stock Selloff
"Balance of Power: Late Edition" focuses on the intersection of politics and global business. On the show today, Sen. Mark Warner (D) Virginia, Rep. Mike Lawler (R) New York, White House Council of Economic Advisors former member Heather Boushey, BGR Group International Practice Co-Head and Republican Strategist Lester Munson, Iona University Political Science Professor and CSPC Senior Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino. (Source: Bloomberg)
The Independent
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Who is the new Bachelor? Everything we know about season 29 star Grant Ellis
The Bachelor franchise is welcoming back Grant Ellis as the star of its 29th season nearly a year after he made his debut appearance on Jenn Tran's season of The Bachelorette. Ellis, 31, becomes the second-ever Black male lead of ABC's hit dating series, following Matt James who became the first in 2021. During the new season premiere on Monday (January 27), Ellis will meet 25 eager women competing for his heart. According to his official Bachelor bio, Ellis is 'a self-proclaimed mama's boy,' with an 'infectious smile and unwavering positivity [that] instantly brightens every room he enters.' Early life and career Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, the December 15-born Saggitarius is a 6'5' former pro basketball player who currently works as a day trader. He previously played basketball for three different universities: Iona University, Southern University and Albertus Magnus College. He graduated from the latter in 2017. Ellis then went professional, mostly playing overseas in the Dominican Republic. He played for four years there before an injury ended his career. He now lives in Houston, Texas where he works buying and selling stocks. 'When he's not immersed in the fast-paced world of finance, you can find him cheering on the Lakers, hitting strikes at the bowling alley, or belting out tunes at karaoke nights,' his bio continues. Ellis previously revealed that his mother was the one who signed him up to be on the dating show. When he joined The Bachelorette cast last summer, he had been single for over a year after getting out of a seven-year relationship. He briefly touched on the relationship on a past Viall Files podcast episode, describing the break up as 'amicable' and explaining that it was due to differing plans for their futures. After his week six Bachelorette elimination, Ellis told the cameras that all he wanted was 'a family. I want to be happy. I want a wife. I want to be in love. I want that, you know. I want to give that to somebody, and I want them to give that to me in return.' As an avid salsa dancer who has plans to travel to every country in his lifetime, he is eager 'to embark on a journey filled with romance, adventure, and genuine connections' and 'hopes to find a partner who shares his values of loyalty, humor and a deep appreciation for life's simple pleasures,' his bio adds. Season 29 of The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC, with episodes streaming on Hulu the next day.
