Ciro Viviano & Maple Leaf Cycling Club (MLCC) Windsor, Canada

Maple Leaf Cycling Club [MLCC] Canada.

Ciro Viviano, Maple Leaf Cycling Club (MLCC) Canada [Photos: MLCC]Ciro Viviano racing in the Tour D'Italia, Windsor, Ontario, Canada [Photos: MLCC]

Back in 1990 & 1991, I joined Caboto Velo Cycling Club of Windsor, Ontario, Canada and it was there that I met Ciro Viviano, a lifetime Cyclist devoted to the two-wheels movement. Ciro and I were good friends and we shared many commonalities like cycling, running, athletic training and even scooters (gas-driven, his: 1965 Vespa S.S. and mine: Honda PA-50). Truth is, we did much more cycling than riding our gas-burners. The training ground consisted of a grid of intersecting roadways around the city of Windsor and across greater Essex County's concessions in a corner of southwestern Ontario.

We both chose cycling as a lifestyle choice, whereas, most people our age chose social activities that didn't involve bikes. Clearly, we had something different in mind. Cycling gives life, uber energy, personal strength, and a form of yoga on two wheels, allowing the participant to relax and let go of life's pains and concerns.

The clubs we belonged to (Caboto and later Maple Leaf Cycling Club) gave us support in training and introduced many concepts in cycling theory and out on the road with Criterions (CRITS), Road Racing (RR), Individual Time Trails (ITT) and Endurance Training (Sprint intervals, Long Distance Training) that are essentially fundamental to successful endurance racing and training.

Think of the physical/mental capabilities involved in overcoming continuous 'mental' barriers out on the road: head winds, elevation ascents, rain, snow, fatigue, self-doubt (does your mind play tricks on you? "Stop, tired...No, keep going, finish..." and the test of will power to overcome everyone of those challenges is always with you as a Cyclist endurance athlete.

I left Caboto Velo Club after the 1991 season, turning back to offroad MTB riding for the fall, but Ciro Viviano had another idea: "Bri, why don't you come with me and start training with Maple Leaf Cycling Club (MLCC)." I thought it over, and I think the answer came right away, "Great idea Ciro! Ok! I'll come." So, I followed Ciro to a school gymnasium to meet the new club members, and became a member again into a new community of riders in Maple Leaf Cycling Club coached by the fierce and friendly Aldo Sfalcin of Windsor.

Ciro Viviano also instilled a lot of faith in my training efforts, for him I should give great gratitude for always encouraging and participating in the training together. We also were the only members in Caboto Velo Club to complete a full (480km) ride from Windsor, Ontario to Grand Bend, Ontario (10 hours=240km, 11 hours=240km) in 21 hours!

We returned to this duo-endurance event in long distance touring the following season, completing 240km and 120kms in 1.5 days (10 hours=240km, 6 hours=120km), the second attempt was interrupted by a hail storm, a stray dog [we rescued! and lived with me for 7 years afterwards], and finally a hitch back into Windsor. What we did on these (Long Distance Tours) LDT had nothing in common with our teammates, I remember there were quite a few jokes about it in the Club, but it definitely ignited my interests in adventure cycling, and that fire hasn't gone out after 19 years!

I later went on to motorcycle across the United States and northern Ontario and Western Canada five times (1994-1998) taking in 24,000km over 60 days on the saddle. Canoe across Quetico Provincial Park as a wilderness guide. Lead/guide camping adventures in the American southwest (California, Nevada, Utah, 21 days=5000 miles). And even spend 5 months learning meditation and yoga at the SRF Meditation Center in the mountains of southern California, following 10 months of surfing alongside California and coast of Mexico's Baja peninsula.

GO GREEN. Today, I am focused on GREEN REVOLUTIONS OF TWO WHEELS so the move is entirely back to human-powered vehicles (HPV's) and what better one than a bicycle, that's where the world became empowered in motion, which today can free up almost anyone with a dream to ride around the world. Think about it, go green!

Thanks to Ciro Viviano and Maple Leaf Cycling Club of Windsor, Ontario and their members for supporting my 2012-2013 Arctic to Argentina non-profit, Charity-focused, Cycling Expedition. To all of you, let's work to keep the rubberside down!

Brian Perich, Adventure Cyclist - South Korea