Ladki
O98R AEA -

Terrace Review — Wednesday, January 31,1999 AQ -

Two of Terrace’s best-known athletes, Mike Christensen and Paul Clark, do their winter train-
ws 4 the warmth of a local garage. One reason the pair work out together is to fend off
oredom.

It’s the Mike-and-Paul show in a double garage just
off Halliwell Ave. as two of Terrace’s top athletes
undergo training on a frequent basis throughout the

winter months.

Mike Christensen and: Dr.
Paul Clark are both wheeling
_athletes — Mike ona bicycle and
of course Clark in a wheelchair.
They use steel rollers to wheel
and keep in shape for: their

spring, summer and fall sports. |

_ As it’s Clark’s garage they
‘work in, his rollers are mounted
about a foot off the cement
floor with one of his many rac-

‘ing chairs attached by the sides.

Christensen brings his bike
-with him, plus his own set of
‘rollers that fit on the floor.

_ They work out Sunday eve-
nings and at other times. when

work -permits. Workouts run ing races take place. The first big -

‘from one to two hours, depend-
ing on‘available time. .

“ «We do it together ‘cause it’s
really boring doing it by your-
self,” according to Christensen.
He also has a tape deck blaring
out rock n’ roll to soothe the
pain that comes with, constant
pedaling. hee stay

Christensen, .who has been

hitting the road for major bi-
cycle races the past couple of
years, told us it’s an expensive
sport.

‘‘My racing bike cost
$2,500,"’ Mike said. Clothing,
trainers, rollers and so on add
another $1,500 to the bill. But
the biggest cost over a season is
travel expenses. —

. As an example, Mike said a
trip to the Kamloops races (driv-
ing) would cost in the neighbor-
hood of $400. .

“Of. course if you do really
well you can win back your ex-
pense money, which is one
reason why I train hard in the

- winter.’ 7.0 0

Mike plans to. move to Van-
_couver. for six months this sum-
mer to be closer to the main rac-
ing circuit, We asked when his
schedule. begins. and what. is
planned. 2 ts
:- Phe sked ‘really ‘begins in
March when four or five train-

race comes the end of April at
Kamloops. It’s the tour of
Grasslands event.” oo

‘July features Vancouver’s
Gastown Grande Prix, then he’ll

_ be home in Terrace for the an-

-nual Triathlon race ‘‘because it’s

_ kind of a nice,one to be in.”

_ His biggest race of the season
‘will’ be the B.C. Road Race
championships, The top three in
this race earn entry into the na-
tional finals at the’ end of

August. If he fails to make the -

nationals, he'll enter the Coqui-
halla Challenge.

Mike said the cost of his

season comes from two sources
— his own personal savings and
his employer, Sundance Ski and

Sport.

He’s taking a leave of absence
from Sundance for the summer
tour, but is expected back to
work at the store in September.

Mike has set his goals at mak-

ing the national team by 1991.:

To make this first step in the

future, he has to be one of the -

top riders in B.C. by the end of
this season. = :

As for his training sessions .

with Clark, he'll average out to
40-45 kilometers a day while.
Clark wheels anywhere from 12
to 15-K, .

Clark said his winter training
setup has been in use since 1981.
“It was designed by a friend of
Rick Hansen,’’ Clark told us.
“It’s pretty archaic by today’s
standards, but it sure gives you a
good workout.”

As for his: upcoming season, .

he'll be in training camp in

Florida in another couple of -

weeks. “There won't be any ma-

jor racing until May when the.

Canadian nationals come up.”
- .Clark says he'll have to show

well at’ the nationals if he has »

any hope of making the Cana-
dian tearm that goes to world
championships in Holland in Ju-
ly.

“Of course, Holland is very
dear to my heart,’” he explained.

“Thhat’s where I met my wife
Karin: and where I entered -my .

first international competition.”’
“My goal is to win the

Holland marathon this year.”’

_ The Stoke-Mandeville games,

an annual event in England
where. Paul .set several track
world records, have changed
direction. They’ve been switched
to developmental games, where
second stringers can improve
their talents.

He told us that plans are
underway for a Vancouver
marathon this fall which runs in
conjunction with the newly-
organized Grande Prix auto
race. . oO

“I’m also trying to get over
for Japan’s marathon because I
missed the ‘89 trip.’’

Clark wound up our conversa-
tion by pointing out he is now a
proud father. Son Josh arrive

le

a 7. :
irs cS el
GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB |

_ There will be a special meeting of the
Skeena Valley Golf & Country
Club Society |
on Thursday, February 15, 1990
at 8:00 p.m.
at the club house.

a) To vote on the recommendation of a
committee for mandatory certificate
purchase and for discussion of course
explansion and club storage.

at the Clark household on Dec.
23. ‘‘Besides getting married,
Josh is probably the nicest thing
that’s ever happened to me.”

Paul said he hoped to take
Josh along on many of his world
trips. “

As for his garage training
room, he has about six assorted
racing chairs including two new
ones. All are operational, even’
the one he used for his 1989
‘disaster’? season.

Clark is changing his routine
somewhat this season. : Instead
of long-distance racing only, he
plans to get back into sprint

“iy