Decided to take this past weekend off and not race Midland. Would have liked to but complications and my stomach decided to turn itself inside out all of Thursday night. Lying in bed holding your gut isn't really the best way to pre-ride a course. Having only ridden that course just last year I remembered it being super fun to ride but with upcoming trips to Sweden, Norway and Nationals, it's probably a good thing that I saved some money.
Oh yah, I'm going to Scandinavia in a week. My mom's background is Swedish and Norwegian and she has never been there, so we are all taking a family holiday to go explore.
I have been to Sweden before on a trip a few years ago and really enjoyed it but holy smokes is it an expensive place to live. Either way, the big bummer is that I'm not going to be able to take my bike. As much as I would love to go there for a riding trip, we are going to be jetting around too much to make the potentially $1000+ investment of getting my bike there, around and then back worth it. What am I going to do? RUN. I hate running, a lot. In cities at least, but hopefully new landscapes will provide me with some super cool distractions. Needless to say, I'll take tons of pictures and try to update as much as possible to give you an idea of how training is going.
Today I have a 20min test on the road bike and am NOT looking forward to doing it in the rain so I'm enjoying some oats in the meantime and looking forward to another delicious post ride smoothie afterwards.
blueberries
raspberries
silken tofu
soy milk
flax seed oil
2 scoops hammer recoverite
Blend.
Combine this with sitting on the couch in compression garments and you have yourself an afternoon my friends.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
I got some iiiiceeee creeeaaammmm
One day, you’ll see. I’ll be updating this thing so often you won’t be able to keep up. However, in the mean time you are all going to have to deal with my lacklustre effort and sub par blogging quality. I’m trying I swear.
I have lots to talk about today. Three races in fact: Dukes epic 8 hour, Mont Tremblant Canada Cup, and the recently raced Hardwood Hills Canada Cup.
The 8 hour was interesting to say the least. I was doing it in a team of 4 with some friends who were all about going to the event with racing as the secondary objective, the first being to have a good time. I was totally prepared, and then some for an atmosphere like this and it was nice change to my typical Sunday race. Of course, I don’t want to give off the image that we still didn’t want to go there and kill it.
The race was going in our favor and we were sitting in second with all of having done one lap. I went out on my second lap with hopes of bettering my first time because there would be far less traffic and getting through the singletrack would be easier. I was about a kilometre from the end and then something happened, however, I’m not entirely sure what. I went down hard, somehow, and briefly knocked myself out. I’m a little hazy on the details but from what I can gather, I finished out my lap totally cross eyed and concussed tossed the ‘baton’ to Nick and went to the first aid tent to use up ALL of their oxygen. I recovered fine from the traumatic event aside from being a little rattled and even tried to go out on another lap but was hurting a bit much in the rib area and didn’t want to push it too hard as I had another race the following week. We ended up 4th but only because the rest of the team were serious troopers and slammed out some pretty solid lap times in my absence.
That's right, someone caught it on camera.
After a week of mostly recovery went by, it was time to get my ass over the provincial border to “La biblioteque de pamplemousse et racinette” (Literal translation for Quebec). Left in the sweltering heat with Matheson on Thursday so we would have a solid night of sleep before pre riding. Having never done any of the Quebec Canada Cups, I had no idea what to expect except what I had seen in pictures from previous years, which was essentially just mud. I thought that was cool, but when we arrived it was 21 degrees out when it was pitch black so our thoughts were that it was going to be warm the next day, which it was. The Tremblant course now ranks as one of the funnest, most awesome mountain bike courses I have had the pleasure of riding thanks to some gnarly climbs, some sweet bicycle atmosphere, and a massive descent. Mountain biking in it’s truest form. My race was far from spectacular but managed to learn a lot about high profile races, like getting to the start pen on time helps you, same with acquiring a timing chip and drinking fluids while you race will probably prevent you from having the cramp of the century. All in a days work I guess. Not to worry though, I still had a smile on my face when I was driving home in the sauna that is Brendan’s car because I still got to ride a super fun course, I got some decent training in the legs, got some better descending skills and had a killer time at a certain establishment post race.
The crepes were awful the next morning though, I might have to write them a letter.
The next race I have to breakdown is this past weekends Canada Cup race at Ontario’s beloved Hardwood Hills. Believe be when I tell you that I have never had a good race here and have had the pleasure of seeing those three horrible little letters next to my name three years in a row due to mechanicals and sickness. Not this year! Finishing this race was honestly my big accomplishment as I was beginning to develop a ‘thing’ with Hardwood and was beginning to think that I couldn’t finish the race no matter how I was doing. All is good though.
The race itself was all about pacing. I had the pleasure of riding the course on Wednesday morning with Mical Dyck, Steve, and a wonderful customer of the store named Melinda. Following them was great and even though I had ridden Hardwood I can’t tell you how many times, there was still lines that learnt, and riding skills that I’m all about picking up right now. The key from my perspective was that in order to do well come race day, the course was one that required you to be as smooth as possible in the singletrack. There was lots of area where if you were going balls to the wall to pin it, you would be almost start/stopping with all of the sharp turns and tight corners that you had to get around. Pacing was the other thing. In a Canada Cup, the ideal time that race organizers plan for the winner is about 1:45. This usually means that my race will be just a tad over the 2:00 mark. This year the course ended up being 2:05 or something for the winner which meant I was racing for a loooong time. On top of that, I forgot to mention that it was 30 something degrees outside so yah, pacing was key. All in all, it was a killer course that was a blast and the event was put on in stellar fashion by both Hardwood and The Trek Store. Having events like these are what is going to further Canadian cycling so we should all give kudos to those who have the resources and willingness to do things like this so THANK YOU!
Not sure what’s on the plate for tomorrow but I have the day off so who knows, I may do this little practice race in Midland for this weekend. One of those courses you love riding but hate racing. Looking forward to it all the same.
This is a quote from a great movie I just finished watching called ‘No-impact man.’ I highly recommend it. If anything, it will make you really hungry for ridiculously healthy food.
“Its not about deprivation, it’s not about not taking care of yourself. It’s the opposite. It’s about seeing if it’s possible to have a good healthy life simply without wasting so much.”
I have lots to talk about today. Three races in fact: Dukes epic 8 hour, Mont Tremblant Canada Cup, and the recently raced Hardwood Hills Canada Cup.
The 8 hour was interesting to say the least. I was doing it in a team of 4 with some friends who were all about going to the event with racing as the secondary objective, the first being to have a good time. I was totally prepared, and then some for an atmosphere like this and it was nice change to my typical Sunday race. Of course, I don’t want to give off the image that we still didn’t want to go there and kill it.
The race was going in our favor and we were sitting in second with all of having done one lap. I went out on my second lap with hopes of bettering my first time because there would be far less traffic and getting through the singletrack would be easier. I was about a kilometre from the end and then something happened, however, I’m not entirely sure what. I went down hard, somehow, and briefly knocked myself out. I’m a little hazy on the details but from what I can gather, I finished out my lap totally cross eyed and concussed tossed the ‘baton’ to Nick and went to the first aid tent to use up ALL of their oxygen. I recovered fine from the traumatic event aside from being a little rattled and even tried to go out on another lap but was hurting a bit much in the rib area and didn’t want to push it too hard as I had another race the following week. We ended up 4th but only because the rest of the team were serious troopers and slammed out some pretty solid lap times in my absence.
That's right, someone caught it on camera.
After a week of mostly recovery went by, it was time to get my ass over the provincial border to “La biblioteque de pamplemousse et racinette” (Literal translation for Quebec). Left in the sweltering heat with Matheson on Thursday so we would have a solid night of sleep before pre riding. Having never done any of the Quebec Canada Cups, I had no idea what to expect except what I had seen in pictures from previous years, which was essentially just mud. I thought that was cool, but when we arrived it was 21 degrees out when it was pitch black so our thoughts were that it was going to be warm the next day, which it was. The Tremblant course now ranks as one of the funnest, most awesome mountain bike courses I have had the pleasure of riding thanks to some gnarly climbs, some sweet bicycle atmosphere, and a massive descent. Mountain biking in it’s truest form. My race was far from spectacular but managed to learn a lot about high profile races, like getting to the start pen on time helps you, same with acquiring a timing chip and drinking fluids while you race will probably prevent you from having the cramp of the century. All in a days work I guess. Not to worry though, I still had a smile on my face when I was driving home in the sauna that is Brendan’s car because I still got to ride a super fun course, I got some decent training in the legs, got some better descending skills and had a killer time at a certain establishment post race.
The crepes were awful the next morning though, I might have to write them a letter.
The next race I have to breakdown is this past weekends Canada Cup race at Ontario’s beloved Hardwood Hills. Believe be when I tell you that I have never had a good race here and have had the pleasure of seeing those three horrible little letters next to my name three years in a row due to mechanicals and sickness. Not this year! Finishing this race was honestly my big accomplishment as I was beginning to develop a ‘thing’ with Hardwood and was beginning to think that I couldn’t finish the race no matter how I was doing. All is good though.
The race itself was all about pacing. I had the pleasure of riding the course on Wednesday morning with Mical Dyck, Steve, and a wonderful customer of the store named Melinda. Following them was great and even though I had ridden Hardwood I can’t tell you how many times, there was still lines that learnt, and riding skills that I’m all about picking up right now. The key from my perspective was that in order to do well come race day, the course was one that required you to be as smooth as possible in the singletrack. There was lots of area where if you were going balls to the wall to pin it, you would be almost start/stopping with all of the sharp turns and tight corners that you had to get around. Pacing was the other thing. In a Canada Cup, the ideal time that race organizers plan for the winner is about 1:45. This usually means that my race will be just a tad over the 2:00 mark. This year the course ended up being 2:05 or something for the winner which meant I was racing for a loooong time. On top of that, I forgot to mention that it was 30 something degrees outside so yah, pacing was key. All in all, it was a killer course that was a blast and the event was put on in stellar fashion by both Hardwood and The Trek Store. Having events like these are what is going to further Canadian cycling so we should all give kudos to those who have the resources and willingness to do things like this so THANK YOU!
Not sure what’s on the plate for tomorrow but I have the day off so who knows, I may do this little practice race in Midland for this weekend. One of those courses you love riding but hate racing. Looking forward to it all the same.
This is a quote from a great movie I just finished watching called ‘No-impact man.’ I highly recommend it. If anything, it will make you really hungry for ridiculously healthy food.
“Its not about deprivation, it’s not about not taking care of yourself. It’s the opposite. It’s about seeing if it’s possible to have a good healthy life simply without wasting so much.”
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Albion was cold. Extremely cold, snowing in fact.
When I woke up bright and early in the AM waiting for my chauffeur and current expert series leader to come and pick me up. It's becoming a bit of a tradition for us to eat pancakes pre ontario world cup races and Sunday was no exception.
The drive up there was pretty uneventful aside from the snow. Zach and I were half hoping that our bikes didn't work when we got there so that we didn't have to race in sub zero temperatures.
As it turns out, when you push yourself to go as fast as possible, you warm up pretty fast.
My race was far from perfect but my lap times were much more consistent than Mansfield at least, so things are looking up for me. I gotta say, I'm loving being able to race against these guys. Ontario is such an amazing place for those who want to expose themselves to proper elite racing as we have some of the best mountain bike organizers, some of the fastest guys and gals and also some of the best sponsors you could ever hope for.
This year has been a bit of an eye opener but even though so far my results haven't been that amazing, Im sure they are going to get better, especially now that I have a proper coach and some new tools to help me train.
This weekend was supposed to be the first Canada Cup for me but I think I'm going to be sitting this one out and opting for the 8 hour on Saturday. I think the environment will be nice and relaxed for me to get some decent training in at Mansfield, which for what it's worth, is a 29er's dream.
As a bonus to myself, I got a sweet copy of 'Race Across the Sky' to watch tonight. Should get me psyched up to head out on my bike tomorrow.
See ya!
When I woke up bright and early in the AM waiting for my chauffeur and current expert series leader to come and pick me up. It's becoming a bit of a tradition for us to eat pancakes pre ontario world cup races and Sunday was no exception.
The drive up there was pretty uneventful aside from the snow. Zach and I were half hoping that our bikes didn't work when we got there so that we didn't have to race in sub zero temperatures.
As it turns out, when you push yourself to go as fast as possible, you warm up pretty fast.
My race was far from perfect but my lap times were much more consistent than Mansfield at least, so things are looking up for me. I gotta say, I'm loving being able to race against these guys. Ontario is such an amazing place for those who want to expose themselves to proper elite racing as we have some of the best mountain bike organizers, some of the fastest guys and gals and also some of the best sponsors you could ever hope for.
This year has been a bit of an eye opener but even though so far my results haven't been that amazing, Im sure they are going to get better, especially now that I have a proper coach and some new tools to help me train.
This weekend was supposed to be the first Canada Cup for me but I think I'm going to be sitting this one out and opting for the 8 hour on Saturday. I think the environment will be nice and relaxed for me to get some decent training in at Mansfield, which for what it's worth, is a 29er's dream.
As a bonus to myself, I got a sweet copy of 'Race Across the Sky' to watch tonight. Should get me psyched up to head out on my bike tomorrow.
See ya!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Success on examinations.
I hate that I have allowed myself to become one of those bloggers that starts every post with "sorry its been a while' or something similar but things have been INSANE these past few weeks. Work has been crazy in the store as the days are getting nicer and nicer. It's always nice to have the store be busy because you can appreciate that more and more people are getting into the sport but holy smokes, some of those busy weekend days can take years off your life.
With nicer days though comes the anticipation and desire to ride more. Training has been going well since Mansfield. I had a good week capped off by a 4 hour or so mtb ride on Sunday that was great. Felt like I was 1 step ahead of this massive rain cloud the entire time.
This week leading up to Albion looks promising too. Im looking forward to using my new fancy little yellow computer that tells me when I'm slacking off. Seems like a good purchase so far.
In other news, today I saw a nutritionist. I am fully willing to admit that I have the most spastic diet ever and I'm hoping she can help. It went really well and I got a whole bunch of interesting ideas passed along. The only thing that is going to take a bit of getting used to is ditching coffee, or seriously cutting back at the very least. I think I can handle it.
Going for a good ride tomorrow and will regale all with photos and potentially a new video entry. Watch for the shoddy camera work.
With nicer days though comes the anticipation and desire to ride more. Training has been going well since Mansfield. I had a good week capped off by a 4 hour or so mtb ride on Sunday that was great. Felt like I was 1 step ahead of this massive rain cloud the entire time.
This week leading up to Albion looks promising too. Im looking forward to using my new fancy little yellow computer that tells me when I'm slacking off. Seems like a good purchase so far.
In other news, today I saw a nutritionist. I am fully willing to admit that I have the most spastic diet ever and I'm hoping she can help. It went really well and I got a whole bunch of interesting ideas passed along. The only thing that is going to take a bit of getting used to is ditching coffee, or seriously cutting back at the very least. I think I can handle it.
Going for a good ride tomorrow and will regale all with photos and potentially a new video entry. Watch for the shoddy camera work.
Monday, April 26, 2010
MANSFIELD!
That was awesome. Super fun race. First elite race in Ontario this year was at Mansfield outdoor center. Woke up bright and early at about 8:30 to get my stuff ready and start making pancakes before the fastest chauffeur on two wheels arrived at my house. Pancakes were....delicious. Aunt Jemima can adopt me if she really wants to.
Arrived in time to get the scoop on the course from Barry and be re-assured that it wasn't ni face going to rain cats and dogs. That was a huge bonus but at that time I wasn't quite sure how much dust I was to be swallowing in the near future so I was only temporarily put at ease. Elite men had a hugenormous field this race as team QC came down to hang out too. It made things better too because Im sure it pushed the pace a bit. Once we went off I had slotted myself into a great position through the first lap moving nice and quick through the singletrack with all my pieces in tact and then came around to the feed zone with a big smile on my face thinking I could totally do this for another hour and a half. By the 4th lap, I had started to fade a bit for sure and was making silly mistakes in some of the singletrack. I misjudged a corner a bit and accidentally ran my front wheel off the track and burped it just slightly. Not to worry, the group I was in didn't get too far away as I re-inflated it with mach speed. However, when I was sprinting back up to them to catch up, it was lights out for me. I turned off. I for sure didnt drink enough water throughout the race and that sprint to catch the group I was in just flatlined me. I finished the race in an ok position but could have definitely done better. Had a great night with some tasty Thai food and a Mcflurry to make me feel better.
Overall, great experience, Can't wait to race some more and finally get all this dust out of my lungs from yesterday.
Arrived in time to get the scoop on the course from Barry and be re-assured that it wasn't ni face going to rain cats and dogs. That was a huge bonus but at that time I wasn't quite sure how much dust I was to be swallowing in the near future so I was only temporarily put at ease. Elite men had a hugenormous field this race as team QC came down to hang out too. It made things better too because Im sure it pushed the pace a bit. Once we went off I had slotted myself into a great position through the first lap moving nice and quick through the singletrack with all my pieces in tact and then came around to the feed zone with a big smile on my face thinking I could totally do this for another hour and a half. By the 4th lap, I had started to fade a bit for sure and was making silly mistakes in some of the singletrack. I misjudged a corner a bit and accidentally ran my front wheel off the track and burped it just slightly. Not to worry, the group I was in didn't get too far away as I re-inflated it with mach speed. However, when I was sprinting back up to them to catch up, it was lights out for me. I turned off. I for sure didnt drink enough water throughout the race and that sprint to catch the group I was in just flatlined me. I finished the race in an ok position but could have definitely done better. Had a great night with some tasty Thai food and a Mcflurry to make me feel better.
Overall, great experience, Can't wait to race some more and finally get all this dust out of my lungs from yesterday.
Friday, April 16, 2010
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