Took thursday off and had 2 days in a row of good power after that, Friday I headed out to Port and did some motor pacing. It kind of sucks when the driver isn't someone you know, just a random vehicle turning onto the same street as me. You gotta be smart about it though, 50km/h limit streets are the best, look for an old clunker that can barely hit 60 or an old person driving a Buick. The Buick has less of a draft then an old rust bucket pick up but the fumes aren't as bad.
Today was Albion pre-ride, got a ride up with the Fleury express (big thanks Keith), rode 3 laps at a pretty good pace. Felt good on the climbs, singletrack is bermy like around here but better with the rock features and roots.
Tomorow I'm hoping for good power so I can keep it in the big ring the whole time, and that it stays a little greasy because it's funner that way. Tonight I'm gonna chill and watch some Planet Earth, tomorow it's pancake time!
I believe that is all.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Hills
Many hills climbed this week, for me anyways. Tuesday me and De Cal pre-rode the Albion course, good thing the Green Monster isn't in it, there's enough climbing on that course as it is. The singletrack is so sick, rock gardens, a few drops, bermy turns, good stuff.
I couldn't follow the spinach and anchovies diet to get down to race weight so I got a hair cut instead, probably a good 5 pounds, so I should be good for a few months to eat whatever I want.
The L!B 12 mile series was fun, an early attack from De Cal that only Etzl could respond to ment chasing for the whole race, passed De Cal after he rode right off the trail, didn't really know what he was doing turns out he was in the midst of a shit storm. It's funny how everyone in the top 5 had some good stories about crashing and whatnot after the race, no one really had a solid ride but De Cal definitely had the worst/best story. No one broke any bones so it was a good night.
Albion this weekend, pumped.
I couldn't follow the spinach and anchovies diet to get down to race weight so I got a hair cut instead, probably a good 5 pounds, so I should be good for a few months to eat whatever I want.
The L!B 12 mile series was fun, an early attack from De Cal that only Etzl could respond to ment chasing for the whole race, passed De Cal after he rode right off the trail, didn't really know what he was doing turns out he was in the midst of a shit storm. It's funny how everyone in the top 5 had some good stories about crashing and whatnot after the race, no one really had a solid ride but De Cal definitely had the worst/best story. No one broke any bones so it was a good night.
Albion this weekend, pumped.
Monday, June 6, 2011
HARDwood
My first legit Canada Cup, I did the race at Hardwood three times now but unless you're Cadet/Junior Ex or Elite it's not really a Canada Cup. Right from the start there was definitely a HUGE difference from an O-Cup, I took the start climb way too easy trying not to burn out by the top. Lesson learned, pin it right to the first bottleneck then grab your bike, throw it over your shoulders and yell "Tasses-toi mon collise" as you plow through the field.
Once into the first singletrack it was all downhill from there, literally. I thought that I would have plenty of energy and I was so pumped to get going but I just couldn't get there. I was riding like a knob and climbing like a plug, therefore, making up not a single spot in the first lap. Caught a couple guys on the opening climb, but once back into the trail I was useless. For laps 2-4 I had times where I would feel amazing, but they were short-lived and soon I would be feeling like a shithawk trying to fly low enough to stay out of the shitstorm.
The best part of the race was when I jumped the biggest gap on the BMX descent, just before the second berm. I know it's nothing, but I haven't jumped a bike like that since my days riding the Raleigh CT special, destroyed pretty much every part on that thing. Good thing my sister had the same bike so I could just use it for spare parts.
Anyways, so lap 5 and 6 were awful. I was riding with Jamie Wagler for a bit and we were closing in on a couple guys but next thing I knew he was gone and I was nothing more than a pilon on the trail for anyone coming up to pass me. I got a last burst of energy just before the BMX descent and sprinted a guy at the end that actually ended up being a sprint to not be the last finisher. I can proudly say I crushed it and crossed the line a whopping 55th, oh well, it was so much fun to experience a Canada Cup, hopefully do a few more next year.
The weekend was alot of fun, felt amazing on the pre-ride Saturday which made for some fun riding. Highlight was definitely showing up at the fanciest place I've ever been too in my life wearing my french socks and Jamaican kicks, me and DeCal with our matching O-Cup shirts. I swear we were the only ones in there not wearing a suit and tie. First they wanted to tell us that they were booked til 8, but they couldn't even say it seriously as we looked around at 30 empty tables. Then the waitresse tells DeCal "so, I'm guessing you guys don't need a wine list", I guess only little kids wear matching t-shirts these days. We got a pint of steamwhistle and the most amazing pasta dish I've ever had, ever. And I've had alot of pasta. Come to think of it, maybe it's not actually called pasta, but I call any dish with noodles pasta so that's that.
Solid weekend for team Lib. Meg on the box, Schmidt got a solid race in after some bad luck in Québec. De Cal finally broke his curse at that place, no broken frames so all was good.
Just finished my last exam today, this week I'll be on the mountain bike every day. Hopefully get a BG fit if there's enough room this week then it's nothing but spinach and anchoves to get down to race weight, gotta counteract the cinnamon buns and apple pie that made up the majority of my diet over the weekend.
Once into the first singletrack it was all downhill from there, literally. I thought that I would have plenty of energy and I was so pumped to get going but I just couldn't get there. I was riding like a knob and climbing like a plug, therefore, making up not a single spot in the first lap. Caught a couple guys on the opening climb, but once back into the trail I was useless. For laps 2-4 I had times where I would feel amazing, but they were short-lived and soon I would be feeling like a shithawk trying to fly low enough to stay out of the shitstorm.
The best part of the race was when I jumped the biggest gap on the BMX descent, just before the second berm. I know it's nothing, but I haven't jumped a bike like that since my days riding the Raleigh CT special, destroyed pretty much every part on that thing. Good thing my sister had the same bike so I could just use it for spare parts.
Anyways, so lap 5 and 6 were awful. I was riding with Jamie Wagler for a bit and we were closing in on a couple guys but next thing I knew he was gone and I was nothing more than a pilon on the trail for anyone coming up to pass me. I got a last burst of energy just before the BMX descent and sprinted a guy at the end that actually ended up being a sprint to not be the last finisher. I can proudly say I crushed it and crossed the line a whopping 55th, oh well, it was so much fun to experience a Canada Cup, hopefully do a few more next year.
The weekend was alot of fun, felt amazing on the pre-ride Saturday which made for some fun riding. Highlight was definitely showing up at the fanciest place I've ever been too in my life wearing my french socks and Jamaican kicks, me and DeCal with our matching O-Cup shirts. I swear we were the only ones in there not wearing a suit and tie. First they wanted to tell us that they were booked til 8, but they couldn't even say it seriously as we looked around at 30 empty tables. Then the waitresse tells DeCal "so, I'm guessing you guys don't need a wine list", I guess only little kids wear matching t-shirts these days. We got a pint of steamwhistle and the most amazing pasta dish I've ever had, ever. And I've had alot of pasta. Come to think of it, maybe it's not actually called pasta, but I call any dish with noodles pasta so that's that.
Solid weekend for team Lib. Meg on the box, Schmidt got a solid race in after some bad luck in Québec. De Cal finally broke his curse at that place, no broken frames so all was good.
Just finished my last exam today, this week I'll be on the mountain bike every day. Hopefully get a BG fit if there's enough room this week then it's nothing but spinach and anchoves to get down to race weight, gotta counteract the cinnamon buns and apple pie that made up the majority of my diet over the weekend.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
T.O. crit
Just lost the whole report I wrote up on the crit this weekend. Tried writting it at school and I guess the Toshiba can't compete with the Macs for internet reception.
All I'm gonna really mention is what happened at the end, because that's the best part. So I'm riding up along the side of what I think was the JetFuel train but can't really remember, got a little excited and tried to take the inside line, I wasn't really thinking straight because the JetFuel guy was just to my right and I was hoping he'd stay there because I was calling inside, he cut in and I had to grab the front brake hard, wheel popped up and skid for a bit, on Etzl's wheel (big thanks!) but luckily didn't go down and no damage was done. Just a lesson, merge into the pack a bit before the corner to keep everything smooth then keep going with the attack or leadout or whatever after the corner.
Anyways, felt like shit just before I did it and when I slowed down, I really slowed down because I was heaving pretty good. Never actually puked after the race I don't think, but that is all changed now. Let out a good spew half way down the finishing stretch as everyone was blowing by me trying to stay in with the sprint. Nutella and french toast it was, I understand why a kid in the crowd went "Eeeewww", there was some coffee in there too.
Good times in T.O. afterwards.
Training this week has beed pretty crap, usually takes me a couple weeks to get used to the heat. Hoping for gewd power this weekend and Hardwood... and RAIN.
All I'm gonna really mention is what happened at the end, because that's the best part. So I'm riding up along the side of what I think was the JetFuel train but can't really remember, got a little excited and tried to take the inside line, I wasn't really thinking straight because the JetFuel guy was just to my right and I was hoping he'd stay there because I was calling inside, he cut in and I had to grab the front brake hard, wheel popped up and skid for a bit, on Etzl's wheel (big thanks!) but luckily didn't go down and no damage was done. Just a lesson, merge into the pack a bit before the corner to keep everything smooth then keep going with the attack or leadout or whatever after the corner.
Anyways, felt like shit just before I did it and when I slowed down, I really slowed down because I was heaving pretty good. Never actually puked after the race I don't think, but that is all changed now. Let out a good spew half way down the finishing stretch as everyone was blowing by me trying to stay in with the sprint. Nutella and french toast it was, I understand why a kid in the crowd went "Eeeewww", there was some coffee in there too.
Good times in T.O. afterwards.
Training this week has beed pretty crap, usually takes me a couple weeks to get used to the heat. Hoping for gewd power this weekend and Hardwood... and RAIN.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Nothing a little R&R can't take care of
So, how slow was I this weekend? Well, if you look closely, that there, ladies and gentlemen, is a snail who not only managed to catch me but then proceeded to drop me on one of the many rollers out on the course. My excuses are we were going into the wind and I was pulling the whole time AND is that shell even UCI legal? Super light and aero, there's no way that thing has enough protection to withstand a crash.
Not sure when the shitty feelings stared but when I was barely hanging on to any surges and found myself off the back about 5km into the race, something wasn't quite right. Maybe a little overtrained? Underrested? Who knows, or better yet, who cares? What I know is that this week is going to be super easy, tomorow I'll try some 30/30s to get some top-end training in before the crit this weekend and every other day will be very easy spins. Tuesday night was another brutal attempt at intensity, I'm not worried though, I'm bound to string together a few bad days in a row here and there. It's all part of the learning process. At least it's going much, much, much better than last year.
Can you say winter training partners?
Some awesome interval sessions going down along the Feeder in Wainfleet, a big question I have is are those beavers or muskrats that have their little dams in there? I didn't think we had beavers this far south but they look like they have flat tails and buck teeth.
Not sure when the shitty feelings stared but when I was barely hanging on to any surges and found myself off the back about 5km into the race, something wasn't quite right. Maybe a little overtrained? Underrested? Who knows, or better yet, who cares? What I know is that this week is going to be super easy, tomorow I'll try some 30/30s to get some top-end training in before the crit this weekend and every other day will be very easy spins. Tuesday night was another brutal attempt at intensity, I'm not worried though, I'm bound to string together a few bad days in a row here and there. It's all part of the learning process. At least it's going much, much, much better than last year.
Can you say winter training partners?
Some awesome interval sessions going down along the Feeder in Wainfleet, a big question I have is are those beavers or muskrats that have their little dams in there? I didn't think we had beavers this far south but they look like they have flat tails and buck teeth.
Hopefully I start to come around by this weekend. I'm pretty sure I was at my best form of all time last week and was loving every minute on the bike. I'll post up before the T.O crit with what I hope are words of happiness.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Round 2 - Woodnewton
Sick weekend started at casa De Cal with all the boys on the Lib! team loading our stuff into Schmidt's van, a couple hours or so of driving and we were at the venue. We remembered to shut the car doors this time during the pre-ride and all went well. Some good singletrack, good climbs to go hard and a couple drag race sections to get to the singletrack in front. Just like last year, we hit up subway for some fuel and Vince's for some groceries. The team chefs cooked up some potent fuel at a cool B&B on Scugog Island. The night was super chill, just sittin around, eating and I even got in a foam roll session. Won't be long now before I get myself one of them fancy things.
Morning of the race was awesome with about 6 pounds of french toast in us and seeing Contador rip a mountain stage apart we were all set. Good vibes on the drive there, pulled in with plenty of time to watch Meg take a win in the cadet expert field after opting for the rock garden which gave her a big enough gap to hold to the line. Then, with the help of JC, I got my bike dialed and I was ready to go. Warm up felt good, some spinning, some efforts, it's all pretty much the same.
Had a good start position, I was riding behind Peter Glassford for a bit then by myself. The Lapierre train came rolling by and I hopped on for a bit, turns out my stop was the first one and I was all alone again. I was hurting by the end of the first lap, not being able to hold anyone's wheel that came by. I don't even remember who came by me and where I was position wise, I just kept a pace that wouldn't blow me up before the finish. I think it was Tim Carleton that came by me at the end of the third lap, we battled for the 4th lap, caught someone, now it was starting to get funner.
Fifth lap was by far my best one, I dropped that group and just kept hammering everywhere I could. The tight sloppy singletrack section was probably the worst riding I've seen from myself in a while but it was slow for everyone anyways so no worries. Not sure when it really started to come around but next thing I knew I was bridging up to Jamie Wagler, then a few other guys, then Simon Wagler just before the last climb. I punched it and just kept hammering into the last descent, I didn't want the race to end because I was finally going like I was the first lap. I'm very happy with 20th because my goal for the first half of the season (pre-Nationals) was to get in the top 20s and because I get some points.
Another successful o-cup for the team with Meg's win, Schmidt (huge thanks for the weekend of driving!) coming in 6th, a solid result in such a stacked field. De Cal always doing his thing, only 3 spots away from a top 10. Sara got herself on the podium again at Bike the Bruce, should be some fun racing this weekend on the pavement.
Morning of the race was awesome with about 6 pounds of french toast in us and seeing Contador rip a mountain stage apart we were all set. Good vibes on the drive there, pulled in with plenty of time to watch Meg take a win in the cadet expert field after opting for the rock garden which gave her a big enough gap to hold to the line. Then, with the help of JC, I got my bike dialed and I was ready to go. Warm up felt good, some spinning, some efforts, it's all pretty much the same.
Had a good start position, I was riding behind Peter Glassford for a bit then by myself. The Lapierre train came rolling by and I hopped on for a bit, turns out my stop was the first one and I was all alone again. I was hurting by the end of the first lap, not being able to hold anyone's wheel that came by. I don't even remember who came by me and where I was position wise, I just kept a pace that wouldn't blow me up before the finish. I think it was Tim Carleton that came by me at the end of the third lap, we battled for the 4th lap, caught someone, now it was starting to get funner.
Fifth lap was by far my best one, I dropped that group and just kept hammering everywhere I could. The tight sloppy singletrack section was probably the worst riding I've seen from myself in a while but it was slow for everyone anyways so no worries. Not sure when it really started to come around but next thing I knew I was bridging up to Jamie Wagler, then a few other guys, then Simon Wagler just before the last climb. I punched it and just kept hammering into the last descent, I didn't want the race to end because I was finally going like I was the first lap. I'm very happy with 20th because my goal for the first half of the season (pre-Nationals) was to get in the top 20s and because I get some points.
Another successful o-cup for the team with Meg's win, Schmidt (huge thanks for the weekend of driving!) coming in 6th, a solid result in such a stacked field. De Cal always doing his thing, only 3 spots away from a top 10. Sara got herself on the podium again at Bike the Bruce, should be some fun racing this weekend on the pavement.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Mansfield XC O-Cup
First race in the big boy field went as well as I could have hoped, my goal was to start off at a pace that won't blow me up then pick people off as the race went on and I did just that. Here's a video of the start with some halarious commentary from mama De Cal.
The guy leading our group into the first set of singletrack was going pretty slow then clipped a tree, I ended up at the front after that then caught up to the next group before the first of two steep climbs. Ended up on Soutter's wheel before the third lap, nearing the end of lap 3 I got away from him, then the next guy up the trail, then the next guy. Now I was getting pumped, maybe a little too much because I came into the technical(ish) descent and had a pretty sick crash. Lost the two guys I passed and ended up back with Soutter.
Last lap wasn't too exciting, I got away from Soutter on the start climb. I was feeling surprisingly god on that climb byt the third lap, big ring until the steeper part. Then it was all about making my way around lapped traffic efficiently. I caught another guy and dropped him near the last few trails, he caught me on the descent but I stayed in front coming into the last cyclocross turns. Or at least I should have been, he cut me off big time on the first of the turns, I had to slow down enough to lose his wheel and I couldn't take the next 2 corners quick enough to catch him, oh well, I'll crush him at Woodnewton. The only shitty part is that was #20 Ontario finisher so the last position to get points. This video would be awful evidence because it misses the most important part but I'll post it anyways.
Solid day for Lib! with De Cal getting a good position to go up if history repeats itself. Meg on the podium and Schmidt in the top 10 in a very strong junior field. Sara was up there at Springbank, her first year in Elite and she's killing it! Again, huge thanks to the guys at Lib! for the last minute hook up. Had a skipping cassette during pre-ride Saturday (thanks to De Cal for the drive!), I thought it had plenty of life left and would be good for a new chain... nope.
Anyways, does anyone know if ZM Crit is on? If not, I'll have a good 2 weeks to focus on round 2 of the XC series, if it's on, it'll be a great time.
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