December 4, 2006 — This past Saturday night was dubbed the return of the annual “Biker Bash”. A combination of the resurgence of the Ottawa cycling community gathering together, combined with a retirement party for their own Gord Fraser, as well as fund-raiser for Project Echelon at Camp Fortune.

The weekend commenced with a two-hour hockey game at Ottawa U, with the southern Ontario boys consisting of Steve Bauer, Buck Miller, the Lefebvre brothers, and Rick Froner joining forces with the likes of Steve Rover, John Large, Craig Burge, Jamie Brooks, Eric Lyman, Craig DeVeer, Peter Metezuals, and Neil Crawford. Fun was had by all and plenty of big ring tales, beer and lies followed in the post-game lunch.

Along with that crew, more biking legends showed for Gord’s party, as his old Magic Cuts crew from the early nineties showed up. Adam Ruppell, Chris Koberstein, Dave Spears and Jacques Landry. Also in attendance from afar was Fraser’s close friend and teammate Mike Sayers. Other notables included the entertaining Ed Arzouian, Eon D’Ornellas, Geoff Brown and Fraser’s old boss Bill Sikes of IME.

The mastermind behind the evening John Large, a former elite cyclist and local guru, gathered the crowd to celebrate cycling. The annual biker bash had ceased to operate since 2001, and John thought it was important to revive it, and what a better time, than now, with a chance to honor Gord. With MC Peter Metezuals behind the mic and John behind the scenes the evening was set.

John Large is also the man behind Project Echelon, an initiative to help younger cyclists in the region to enter the ranks of bike racing. One of the hurdles for younger cyclists is the enormous financial hurdle facing them as they begin, and Project Echelon is set up to help with this and many other initial obstacles.

Money was raised throughout the night with a professional auctioneer taking the stage and auctioning off one of Floyd Landis’s yellow jerseys, which Eon D’Ornellas generously took home. Also tickets for draw prizes enabled Project Echelon to benefit for their worthy cause.

The evening was a fitting tribute to Gord Fraser who with a stunning career of over 200 victories, has become one of Canada’s greatest cyclists. Tributes to his career were given by Steve Rover, Tim Lefebvre, Ross Knight, Mike Sayers and Geoff Brown (who also received an award for his legendary wrenching with U.S Postal/Discovery over the past 12 years).

Fraser himself was emotional as he thanked his mother Joan, his ex-teammates, the Brown’s and the OBC for all they had given him over his long career.

Project Echelon’s decree sums it up

all I ever wanted …
was the opportunity to make my move
embrace my destiny
fight the good fight
find the missing link
know what really matters
live for the moment
end world hunger
be cool (but not too cool to care)
slay the dragon
love all I can love
conquer the universe
and sprint like Gord Fraser!