Sunday 26 December 2010

Cheese Pancakes...

Why not!!!!

Sauce:
1/2 cup diced apple
1/2 cup diced pineapple
1 lemon juice
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp tarragon

Mix ingredients and set aside (I heated in a pot on the stove so it was warm on the pancakes)

Pancakes:
1 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
dash of salt
2tsp sugar
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp fresh chopped tarragon or 1 tsp dried tarragon
1 1/2 cups grated gouda (I didn't have gouda and used swiss emmental and it tasted really good)

Mix dry ingredients.
Wisk eggs in separate bowl, add milk, vanilla and tarragon.
Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until smooth.
Add cheese and stir well.
Cook like normal pancakes.

YUMMMY

Saturday 25 December 2010

December fun

December Ride In Victoria from Pro City Racing on Vimeo.



Nothing like a little December mountain bike ride.....one of the soggiest yet !!

Merry Christmas to all........ now going for our annual Christmas day ride :)

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Cross Contamination



Super cool event this past weekend called the Cross Contamination put on by local fixie rider Clay. What was it?? An urban cyclocross scavenger hunt of sorts. All we get is a map, with a few hints, and we have to race around finding check points and collecting chips. Got to see a lot of really neat places that I would never have known were there, and ended up going in about 47 circles getting so lost......but it was really fun and there ended up being about 30 people out!!!!

Saturday 4 December 2010

Stick + Spokes and Fender = Bad News

Found out the really hard way what the pavement tastes like on my way to work on Wednesday. Yes, endoing on the road is a little tricky but with the right combination of a stick magically jumping up, getting wrapped up in supports of front fender, then proceeding to get jammed between spokes of thus front wheel and fork, all without any sound of forewarning, you too can achieve the rather non-enjoyable feeling of sailing head long over the handle bars. Despite going from over 30 km/hr to 0 in a split second, I actually fared relatively well. Both elbows are extremely sore to the touch, still after 4 days of healing, but I didn't even break the skin. One really good hematoma on my left thigh...I'm thinking from my handlebar, bruise on my left hip....pavement for sure, and my whole upper body feels like it's been beaten by a 2X4.

Thanks to everyone who stopped to help pick me up and pull my fender outta my front wheel!!!

Tuesday 30 November 2010

Provincials and the season is all over

With the Island Cup finals race canceled due to snow the previous weekend, my motivation for a final race was a little low to say the least. I shamefully admit that if Regan hadn't promised me an Ikea date I probably would have opted to sleep in all weekend and enjoy some relaxing mtb miles. But I can't pass up Ikea!!! Haha.

After a quick couple laps of the course on Mahon Park in North Van, we quickly shower up and head out to Ikea!!!! Yippee...hehe. In our excitement to go shopping, yes Regan was actually excited to go shopping, we didn't really plan our food very well. About an hour into our roaming the huge store we were so famished that Ikea meatballs were about I could think about.....but they definitely weren't as good as I remember them being. Yes this was part of my pre-race meal...haha, but we did go out for some real food after we finished with Ikea.

Race day....chilly 5 degrees, but no rain :) Not sure what to wear, definitely jealous of the thermal skinsuit. Unfortunately big guns Wendy Simms and Catharine Pendrel were no shows, but the field was still filled with other fast mountain biker chicks. Off the gun I found my pedal quickly and powered out of the gate....I know I have a good start so I try to take advantage of it as often as possible. Through the first corner, a quick glance over my shoulder shows Jean Ann Berkenpas (formally McKirdy) right on my wheel. She's breathing down my neck, tight on my wheel for the first lap and I urge my legs to keep the pressure on.



Through the tight grassy corners I find sweet spot and flow the corner surprisingly nicely, making putting a little time between us. Through the nasty soupy mud blog and up the back side of the course which is all slightly up hill and momentum sucking, I keep the pace up, well as much as possible through here, standing out of corners and pushing myself on the uphills. Slowly I find myself opening up a gap between myself and Jean Ann, but I also find myself getting a little fatigued and the start/finish corner almost tosses me twice in a row..haha, that woulda been good to see :) I won my first BC Provincial Champion Jersey.

Regan's race was an awesome battle for 3rd place, with 3 guys, Regan, fellow Islander Jamie Cameron and another Steed Cycles racer were back and forth continuously for the entire race. In the end Regan finish 5th in his first ever Provincial Championships race, then was so stoked when we got home that he had the energy to do a great write up for Pedal Mag.


For my sad bitter news, I just received word that I'm being passed up yet again for carding :'(

Sunday 21 November 2010

Island Cup Finals.......

is cancelled :( due to snow!!! It's a cross race....geeeez. Haha, yup, we got snow on the island and it's staying for a couple days. So what better to do then head out for a mtb ride in the snow. Haven't done this in a while, but it's soooo fun. Regan and I spent most of the ride ducking under trees, endoing into snow drifts (oh wait, that was just me:) and skidding around corners unclipped......so much fun.


picture from Jamie Cameron from the Lumber Cross (Port Alberni)

Friday 12 November 2010

Lumber Cross

What else to do on a day off of work.....cross race on a thursday, why not. Oh ya baby, the lumber cross was held in the island logging town of Port Alberni.....where else would it be held but the historical MaClean Mill !! The course wound around old buildings and machinary in one of the most enjoyable cross courses (none UCI legal makes for a much more exciting course).....and one of the muddiest courses as well. We've really lucked out this year with dry races so I definitely can't complain about one really really really muddy race, it actually made it really really fun.

Due to near freezing hard downpour I spent most of my warm up in the bathroom huddled by the heater drying to dry my gloves and shoes....haha, 20 min spin with some sprints and as good to go as I'm going to get for the day. I was really surprised with how I felt off the start, and once we got moving I warmed up quickly (well, except for toes and fingers). Dawn was breathing down my neck for the first lap and a half, bit I was on a mission, needing to hammer out my frustration from nationals and I pushed myself hard to put in a small gap, and slowly with each lap I extended the gap to take my second Island Cup win :)

Regan found a pre-ride derallieur hating twig and almost didn't get a chance to race, but Norm swept in at the last minute and offered up his spare mini bike (56 cm is mini for someone who usually rides a 60-62 cm). He had a great race, winning his 3rd of the season and we ended up taking home another two 6 packs of beer, delicious fudge and some Port Alberni canned Salmon (I'm really excited about this).

5 hours of driving for under an hour of racing, yes, cross racers/fans are nuts, but it was well worth the day. One day of work and today is friday!!!!! Here we come weekend !!!!!!!

Sunday 7 November 2010

Cyclocross Nationals

Every year, about this time of year, I'm powering down, coming to end of my racing season...I get excited about probably my last big race of the year....Cyclocross Nationals. I've had great prep coming into the race, and I was really looking forward to it.......though not really looking forward to spending the weekend in Toronto. Within 12 hours I already had a parking ticket, almost got smoked by a car running a red light, got so turned around (yes even with a GPS) on the one way streets, and I'm wearing my 700 fill down coat....big city life is not for me.

Warm up was great and the start of my race felt great. I found myself in with the lead group, behind Wendy, Katy Cutris, Pepper and Natasha. I managed to squeeze around Natasha and grabbed Peppers wheel......at which point I found myself being repeatedly t-boned in corners, rubbed into the tape and yelled at by Natasha...hmmmm. Mistake number one by me during the race...at this point I should have just attacked and moved away from her, but I was so shocked all I could say was "I'm sorry"......FOR WHAT, I didn't do anything!! She managed to push around me on a long steep climb and I held onto the back of the lead pack, just out of reach for the first lap. I'd bridge up on tight corners and loose ground on the steep climbs.

By lap 3 I felt a little bit of a bonk coming on......Already...yikes. Catharine Pendral had come from far behind on the first couple laps to overtake me going through the start finish. I tried to jump and stay with her, but by this point I was definitely in trouble. From there on I road completely by myself and I watched as my hr dropped lower and lower with each lap.... definitely a sign of a good bonk.

Can you really bonk in a 40 min race....I just proved to myself that I can. I managed to hang on to a disappointing 6th place.....not so disappointed by the 6th place as the field was really strong, but definitely disappointed by the 2 and a half mins back from Wendy who battled Katy to the line for her 4th Canadian National Champion jersey!

Looking back at the race and my prep going into the race I can easily see a large number of things that I did wrong, even though I know better. These definitely aren't excuses, but errors that I made in my race prep, which for some reason I neglected to take into consideration. Lessons learned the very hard way.

Today, Sunday, is Nationals Revenge, and it's exactly what I need. I'm well rested and well fed today, so I'm already off to a better start :) Wish me luck!

Tuesday 2 November 2010

No rest for the wicked

Yup, fat and sassy season has so far been busy, busy, busy .... but really I'm not complaining, it's keeping me outta trouble. Two Victoria cross races, big halloween bash at the bike shop, parents in town (first time coming to visit!), feeling really tuckered still.

Raced the Expert Men's race on Sat and didn't get lapped!!! Haha, yes, that's my goal for those races. Felt great for the first 30 mins, going hard and battling hard, and cracked pretty hard on the second half of the race.......but with the women's race's being only 45 mins I'm hoping this extra 15 mins are going to do me good. Regan won his second Intermediate cross race...one more of those and he'll have to race me ;)


reganpringleshoots

Saturday night was the big Pro City Cycle halloween bash.....wow, they sure know how to through a party. Here are some interesting and maybe incriminating photos...hehe.

Sunday my poppa raced the beginners race, first race in 2 years??? and finished 2nd place!!!!
I decided to race with the women today and Dawn Anderson put the boots to me. Off the start I took the lead and put the hammer down trying to put some time between us, but I couldn't shake her. As we crested the only hill on course in the 3rd lap I was really starting to hurt...Dawn, sensing my change in pace attacked and I couldn't stick grab her wheel. For the remainder of the race she slowly moved farther and farther away from me. Thanks for the awesome race! Note: Ferry wings are not recommended for tight corners....I thought I was going to get ripped off my bike a couple of times!!

This week recovering for the uber busy weekend and getting ready for another whirl wind trip...this time out to Toronto for cyclocross nationals. Definitely not going to be an ideal time line, getting off work at noon on friday, arriving around 10:30 pm in Toronto on friday night, Cross nationals on Sat......at least I get to sleep in a little.....go, go, go, go, go


Sunday 24 October 2010

Canadian Cycling Magazine

Grab a copy of the newest Canadian Cycling Magazine, page 34...hehe....
Thanks Dan Dakin :)

Monday 18 October 2010

Crazy Busy Weekend

Battle Royal (aka ding dong battle)



In the left corner, sporting the purple Frontrunners skin suit with the swanky new Ridley X-Night, with all bolts tightened and finally getting a warm up consisting of more then just pushing Tycho around, 3 time (I think that's right) Canadian cyclocross champion.........Wendy Simms!!!!
In the right corner, sporting the white (yikes!!!!) Trek Canada skin suit riding the not quite as new hot 2010 Trek XO2, with new lower tire pressure of 30 psi (yikes again !!) and the new wicked Bill Fry bike fit, gaining an extra inch of seat post.......Mical Dyck!!!!!

Racing with the big boys again....definitely great training that's for sure. It's funny, I didn't conscientiously plan to race just Wendy, but out of the first corner I ended up just 2 positions behind her and I was really motivated to try to stay on her wheel as long as I could. For the first couple laps she yo-yo-ed just in front of me....I had some sections dialed a little more cleanly and she had other sections better dialed.



About half way through I felt really strong so I attacked and pulled out ahead for a lap, and charged as hard as I could. She stuck to my wheel like gum, matching my corner speed, matching my straight away speed, matching my dismount/mounting....though slowly I noticed a small gap so I attacked again as hard as I could. Up and around a long sweeping uphill corner I was coming to the end of my attack, readying to settle back into the steady hard pace, getting ready to peek over my shoulder....when all of a sudden Wendy blew by me like I was standing still......What the!!!!! How the !!!!!!!

Shift, shift, shift....hammer to grab her wheel. I managed to stick with her for almost another lap, but noticed that I was starting to make more and more small mistakes...getting tired. Going over the barriers.... cleared the first one, knocked my wheel on the second one, clipped my shoe on the 3rd one....haha, that was a frantic stagger as I scrambled not to fall on my face......right in front of Regan taking pic's.....that woulda been a great shot though.



The last 20 mins I started fading and the gap between us slowly opened up and I think I finished about 30 seconds back....but didn't get lapped this weekend!!!!

Regan had an amazing race, taking his first cyclocross win!!!!! Watch out, a couple more of those and you may get the "gentle nudge"... hehe. Awesome venue for a cyclocross race, thanks to all the organizers and volunteers...........and thanks for the great garlic dog at the end of the race too.



After the race we bolted to Naniamo to catch the 5:45 ferry to Vancouver to catch the Murder City Devils show.....that was super cool show !!!

Saturday 16 October 2010

Kona Cross


I know, it's a lil late with this one....but better late then never right :)

Last weekend, Thanksgiving monday was the Kona Cross up in Naniamo, BC.....and it was one of the coolest, but toughest courses out there. Lots of climbing, lots of corners, lots of sand...what else, oh ya, lots of people. Record turn out with 134 people!!!!! That's awesome for an island cup race!!! I love it.

I decided the night before that if I had any chance with staying with Wendy at nationals that I'd better race against her as much as possible leading up it.....which means racing with the Expert Men. The women's race is usually about 40 mins long, so the extra 20 mins of the hour long men's race was guaranteed to be TOUGH!!!

I was able to hold my own off the road start...just barely....finding myself mid-back of the pack as we turned left to climb the tight steep switchbacks. As per usual when you hit the first singletrack in a large group, as soon as one person dabs, everyone is off running.

My main goal of the race was to not get lapped. It was a relatively long lap so I was pretty optimistic that I may be able to fend off the leading men. With 3 laps to go I saw the leading Craig Ritchey gaining time on me fast :( And he seemingly effortlessly passed me like I was standing still...thanks guy...hehe. With him passing me that dropped me down a lap, so I gave it all I had left...not much at this point.....for my final lap. Drew MacKenzie caught me half-way through the last lap, and Tyler Trace caught me just before going up the stairs right near the end of the lap. Finished 11th on my first Expert Men's race, and yup, that was definitely good training :)




Regan had an Epic battle with Pro City's other ugly skin suiter Scotty, finishing 8th ;) Look at the cross monster I've created!!!!!

After the race we boogied back down to Victoria, and ate the biggest turkey I've ever seen!!!! Topped off with Pumpkin Cheesecake!!!! No wonder I was in a food coma for 3 days. So glad my second week of work was a short week :)


This weekend we have today, Sat to be bums and do all the Suzy Homemaker stuff, with the 3rd cross race of the Cross on the Rocks series in slightly up island in Duncan on Sunday. Workout for today is short and sweet...hopefully I can convince Regan to ride hard around a grass field, jumping on and off the bike!!!

Saturday 9 October 2010

Christmas came early!!!

Santa Dave and Mrs Brenda Claus surprised us early with a wicked new BBQ!!!! As some of you may know we don't have an oven, and I love cooking, so I've been perfecting my skills on the BBQ. At the beginning of the summer our wicked little 3rd hand-me-down generation Weber finally died......that was a sad day :( A frantic search through the many Victoria free ads and we found a nice looking little BBQ.....nice looking doesn't mean it works very well. Baking and just BBQing became a lot harder.....hehe....and I know my mom was worried that I wouldn't be able to make my BBQed christmas bread this year......so.......



Best new BBQ initiation, Red Barn beef bacon directly on the grill....oh my goodness!!!



Now I gotta bake pumkin muffins, apple crisp, banana bread, pistachio cookies.......

Monday 27 September 2010

Momar and Coal Cross



What's Momar you ask? 7 hours of playing outside, that's what it is ......Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race in Cumberland, BC. I've always wanted to try an adventure race, and this was a great one with a great team to start out with.
Team name....Amazing Disgrace 11.
Team members......Sara Cherewaty, Craig Gillett, Ben Johnstone and Mical Dyck
Team goal....don't drown and finish in one piece

The kayak nearly killed me, half way to the first buoy I was done..haha, that's probably only 1 km into a 9 km kayak course. Thanks Craig for getting me back to shore safely. We started the race on the really calm and smooth Comox Lake, which quickly turned rough and choppy.......first outside kayaking experience had me cringing a little at a couple of the swells that came over the top of the kayak...haha, I'm such a newbie.



Once on shore we grabbed our helmets and bikes to head out on the first short biking section. My lack of upper body activities left me with painfully numb arms....just hanging onto my bars was a challenge. Half hour later we headed out on a cool trek, running through tight singletrack looking for a number of check points. This stage was really neat as there was no set route, so you could see people running every which way through the forest looking for different check stops. And yes, my trail running muscles are also non-existent so everything is really sore at this point.

The next cycling stage was great and show cased some of Cumberland's wicked singletrack like the amazing new Thirsty Beaver trail....with a huge Beaver carved out of a tree holding a can of beer......awwwww Cumberland...haha. Regan met up with us here and did a lap with us. It was so fun chasing Ben and Regan through the muddy singletrack!!

The short Urban trekking stage was cut out due to the impending really bad rain forecasted, so our 5th and final stage was the orienteering stage back at Comox Lake. It was a beautiful but extremely rough going hike through some gnarly terrain and Sara totally rocked this stage, whipping around like a crazy women picking off the hidden check points.

Just under 7 hours later we finished on the same beach we had started out on earlier that morning. Great event and I highly recommend it!

Sunday, Coal Cross.....for those who did Momar we got a $5 discount on the cross reg....definitely had to do it. It was a great course, Trail Bikes-Eatmore Sprouts club out of Courtney did a great job! There was a record turn out for an Island cross race as well with 105 entrants!!!! That's awesome.

Feeling more then a little mildly tired and stiff from the day before I really wasn't sure how things were going to work. Once the race got going, and I was able to settle in, I was surprised I didn't feel too bad.....definitely no punch in the legs though, only steady. Dawn Anderson kept the pressure on the entire race, constantly breathing down my neck...it was awesome. Course included a fun BMX course, and slick pump track, the infamous Whirly-whurl, lots of rough grass with tight corners and a sharp corner in a sand pit.....with evidence on yours truly playing in the sand.


Oh ya, I found out I have an extremely powerful right hand....haha.....nearly ripping my right shifter/brake lever right off the bar. That woulda made for a very interesting couple laps for sure.

Huge thanks out to super people Wendy and Norm, as well as Lisa Ludwig and Curtis Sanders for the great race. And thanks Regan for yet another uber fun weekend.

Monday 20 September 2010

Perfect weekend of Cross

What better way to kick off the cross season with one of the craziest weekends of cross racing....where else but just outside of Seattle.....StarCrossed and RadRacing!!!!

Friday night, I picked Regan up from work, we loaded the new cross bikes up and headed down to Redmond, WA. Nothing like driving at midnight in what I'd call torrential downpour (hydroplane crazy) to pump you up for cross season. You definitely can't have a dry cross season, that's just not right. Checked in to the Silver Cloud Inn (great find!!) and hit the pillow both totally wiped out by 1am...yuck.

Saturday morning was a great sleep in!! I did set the alarm though for 9:30 so that we wouldn't miss the continental breakfast. Love the conti breaky where you get to make your own waffles right there....Canada needs some of these joints! After stuffing our faces we headed down to Marymoor park to claim a big cement pavillion and set up the Trek Pro City tent to create "Canada Corner" . Pretty neat how many Canadians, particularly from Victoria, made the journey south for this weekend. StarCrossed racing didn't start till 2:15, Regan raced at 3:00 and I didn't get to start till 7:00 pm.....night races are sooooo cool.

Most of the categories were totally maxed out at the 80 racer limit....and there was over 600 riders!!!!! Unfortunately the Elite Women's category was relatively small at 27, but it's still the largest cross races that I've had the chance to race in. All day it was beautiful, sunny, hot and dry.....5:30 the dark clouds rolled in and the expected rain started coming down. By the time we started at 7, there was standing puddles and chewed up muddy corners to make things exciting. I blew the start, not expecting the gun to go off 10 secs after the "Within 30 seconds" call....bobbled the pedal a couple times, almost lost my handlebar...and by the time I got myself sorted out I found myself looking at all 26 women swarming by me...so much for my front row call up...haha.

Off the long cement straight starting block, there was a nasty right hand almost 180 degree corner onto wet grass (well, no grass left at this point). I had grabbed as many gears as I could and was hammering my guts out trying to catch back up to the leader group. By the time we reached the first run up, a short hill with 4 logs across for a forced dismount, I had managed to bridge back up to Wendy Simms, Katerina Nash and Sue Butler. We road hard together for a lap, putting some time inbetween us and the rest of the pack. Going into the second lap Katerina and Wendy made a move, and I reacted by finding an opening around Sue and catching back up to their wheels. At this point, I came around a slick corner, trying to power out of it and found myself going sideways, sideways, sideways...it felt like really slow motion.....and still hanging onto the handlebars I hit the ground and slid. Jumping up as fast as I could, I lost contact with Wendy and Katerine, and Sue passed and gapped me. It took me a couple seconds to get back into the groove....but then I was on the hunt.

For the next however many laps we did, Sue yo-yo-ed just off the front of me. It'd catch up to her through some of the technical corners and dismount/remount sections, and she would power away from me on the open sections. The barriers were right in front of the beer gardens and it was so neat having so many people yelling and cheering you on to catch her. In the last couple laps, Canadian Natasha Elliot was coming on strong making up time fast, until the last lap and I was able to put a little more time back into the gap to 5th. Super happy with finishing 4th at my first big cross race!!!!

Sunday was an early morning for RadRacing as the first races of the day were at 9:00am. It was made even more painful due to the fact that we didn't eat supper until 10:30pm (Subway....quick and open) and didn't get to bed until almost midnight again.....weekend of no sleep. Definitely not the best recovery strategy...but how could we not stay and watch the mens race???

Regan raced at 9:45....and had an awesome race!!!! With over 150 men on course during his race, it was extremely exciting to watch, and even more so seeing him passing guys left right and center. Unfortunately we still haven't seen results for this category :(

By the time we started at 3, the entire width of the course the entire length of the course was one big inch plus deep mud puddle......except for the 2 beach runs...hehe....gnarly. Definitely good technical training on slick corners!! I had an amazing start, leading out to the first corner, where Sue Butler slipped by me to lead through the first couple corners. Wendy and Katerine were right there and they made a move around us and quickly put a little gap on us. Entering the first beach section, Sue got off to run and I powered by on my bike......ohhhhh the poor drive train!! Quick remount, slick corner, down a slick ramp and into the second beach run. Here that sand was so deep, and I could see Wendy and Katerine both dismounting, so I didn't even try to ride, but shouldered the bike and ran. At the far end I had put a small gap on Sue, remounted and struggled to clip back in.......wet sand packed in the pedals and cleats is harder then mud to clip in with.

Got myself sorted out and started hammering.......until a left hand corner with a good little rut....haha...damn rut grabbed my front tire and I slammed hard in the mud :) Sue passed me again....grrrrrr. Regrouped myself again and started the chase again....this time with Natasha Elliot and Devon Haskell in tow. Devon passed me through the barriers, and I grabbed her wheel to catch as much of a muddy draft as I could. Second last corner of the first lap I found myself smack on my ass again, loosing contact with both Devon and Natasha.

At this point Kathy Sherwin was breathing down my neck and we battled for the next 3 laps. I managed to clean the rest of the race, I think the mass amounts of rain that started to come down actually made the course a little less slick....if that's possible, but my legs didn't quite have the punch that they had the night before. The last lap I passed Kathy in the final sand run, managed to clip in relatively smoothly, and set my sights on Devon in 5th place. I managed to put some serious time into her on the last half of the lap, but not enough to catch up...and finished 6th on this day.

After cleaning my bike I found that my rear derallieur was jammed with so much mud and grass that I couldn't even move the cage....no wonder I was having troubles shifting or even staying in a gear...hehe. My new Trek XO2 worked absolutely amazing, the newly designed front fork is so stiff and responsive...I love it!!!! Thank you again Barry Near and Trek Toronto Store for helping me out this year.

Oh ya, I got mommed by Wendy Simms twice this weekend as she finished 2nd on both days. I'm excited she's back and I get to race her this year at the Island Cross Races....that's gonna me fast!!!...haha
StarCrossed Interview


Visit beta.cyclingdirt.org for more Videos


RadRacing Interview

Visit beta.cyclingdirt.org for more Videos


The Look :)

Friday 17 September 2010

Getting in Shape for Cross




Haha, view details and check out the near 30 mins of max hr....is that how you get in shape for cross?????

Finishing up packing for a cross weekend in Seattle....weather reports....it's raining sideways!!!!! Just found out too that my tires are too fat for the new UCI regulations...yikes.....doing some research online to find new tires last night didn't produce very many results. I'm sorry, but that's a really silly regulation that really limits the choices of tires out there........Ya, I can't even run the stock tires that come on my race bike!!!!!

Oh ya....on a happier note, my cross bike arrived last night.....super sexy Trek XO2 with full Shimano Ultegra. I'll get some photos posted once I've got him all nice and muddy. Off to do some test running on it, make sure I tightened all the bolts :)

Thursday 16 September 2010

Beer Prime


Preeme? Preme? How ever you spell it..hehe. I won the beer prime last night at the second Wednesday night underground cross race :) It's so cool when you get 40 plus people out for these things. Good training for Starcrossed and RadRacing this weekend!!!! If only my cross bike would show up, suspension and flat bars may not go over as well there.

Friday 10 September 2010

Anyone know what this is????

One last blackberry forage for the season





Also yielded a really unusual piece of, I'm assuming, fruit. Quick google search hasn't helped. Can anyone help me out with what this is before I decide I need to eat it???


Thursday 9 September 2010

Love Hate Relationship

Yes I have a love hate relationship with September.....more so just the week or 2 immediately following my last major cross country race of the season. This year it just happens to be following Worlds and the first 2 weeks of September. Crashing from all of the emotional and physical strain and stress of about 6 months of racing. As a semi-professional cyclist striving to fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a professional athlete, your life pretty much revolves around training, cross training, traveling, eating, recovering and sleeping during these 6 months. A lot of other activities and hobbies take somewhat of a backseat if they interfere with your focus and prep work.

Everything you do for the season is a building step to that big final event .........and then when it's over, no matter if you're happy or disappointed with how things unfolded, you're kinda left with a sad feeling that's it's over :(

After spending a touristy day in Montreal, we flew home to Victoria late Monday night, and try to get back into the swing of things. This week for me is a little bit of a recovery week, not just from a block of hard training, but from an entire season. Recovery from the emotional highs and lows, all the hours of travel and time spent away, all the physical demands on the body and the bodies systems.

So the love part of the relationship - love that I've been healthy all year to be able to compete in best form, love that I've enjoyed the season, love that it's time to catch up on my many other passions.....maybe even learn to surf :)

And the hate past of the relationship - hate that the season is over, hate the feeling that I maybe I could have done something more, hate the couple days after that I kinda feel like I'm in limbo.

AHHHHHH but limbo is gonna be short again this year.......switching gears for cyclocross season!!!!! Last night was the first Wednesday night "Underground" race!!!!! Yippeee!!!! I don't have a cyclocross bike yet so the Trek 8500 got some hard cross riding...hehe. Regan and I registered for Starcrossed and Radracing weekend in 2 weeks down in Washington........switching gears fast this year :)

Uber stoked!

Wednesday 8 September 2010

Women's Start

Sunday 5 September 2010

World Championships

Third one in the bucket :) Always such a big honor to be able to represent Canada, but nothing beats being able to represent Canada in Canada. Mont St Anne fans are absolutely amazing, and Mont St Anne never fails to put on a an amazing weekend of racing.

Yesterday was the elite XC races, last big XC racing of the season.....oh ya, and Mont St Anne never fails to be one of the hardest, most physically demanding courses on the circuit. I felt that I had recovered very from Transrockies, feeling the fitness from that week of racing kicking in, and all recovered from the team relay, really great to do some uber high intensity following all the base. Woke up sat morning to the sound of rain sprinkling down...which progressively turned harder and harder till the rain was hammering down as we suited up to head out for warm up.

I had a good start, held my own up the first long gravel climb, got boggled up, turned sideways, bumped by another rider, ended up running up a short section of the climb. Cyclocrossed quickly back on the bike and back into line. Entering the first singletrack everything was quickly bottlenecked and we were all off our bikes walking - this unfortunately costs us a lot of time as the leaders get farther and farther ahead...oh well, gotta earn that front row call up. Remounting in line just before the rock garden more commonly known as "Beatrice" I found myself right behind Amanda Sin's wheel. A quick look of Beatrice showed a line of girls running down the rocks....what's more sketchy then running down wet rock in bike shoes with cleats??? Yikes. I followed Amanda down the chicken line...which by the way really isn't that much easier, but there is a lot less risk....and we ended up passing about 7 positions, and settled into the top 25ish.

Following the rock garden we were sent straight up the most grueling grass climb that just gets steeper and steeper, and steeply switchbacks 4 times at the top before leveling out slightly over some slick rock. This drops down into the last technical climb before some fast loose descending all the way back down to the village. From there, the majority of the climbing is done as the course then winds through some fun, fast and flowy singletrack that is in mint condition from the rain in the morning. I found this section pretty hard, wanting to push the pace really hard because it was so fun, but so gassed from all the climbing previously in the lap.

Second lap through, I was able to pick off a couple more positions and actually worked up the nerve to ride Beatrice.....which I found out afterwards that I was only one of 3 girls that had even tried to ride it thus far in the race. Third lap I dabbed a little entering the rock garden, which didn't set me up very good for the entrance, but I decided to give it a go again.....half way down I down I found myself loosing control of the front tire and start sliding out sideways. It could have been a really bad crash but I managed to hang onto the bike as long as possible and ended up just skidding out on left knee slightly.....but i sufficiently scared myself into taking the chicken line for the remainder of the race....haha...oh well, better safe then sorry, especially when the chicken line is only about 5 secs slower.

I had felt really strong and happy with my race up until the 4th lap....then things started going a little sideways. My body started cramping up all over, my arms and my legs started feeling so heavy, any slightly sideways pedal stroke lead to bad cramping in my hamstrings. Regan even said that he heard me whimpering on course. I don't think that I have ever felt such a full body rejection of physical activity in my life before...it was an absolutely horrible feeling. At some times the only thing that kept me going was amazing Canadian fans cheering from every corner of the course, hearing my parents and the various Trek Canada jersey's yelling at me, and definitely having Regan running is butt off encouraging me from about 47 different locations a lap! Hugest thanks to everyone !!!!!!

I was able to pull it together a little for the 5th and final lap, with a mantra of "Come on, come on, come on, come on" with every single pedal stroke of the lap. Finished strong in 29th and definitely "left everything on the course"...haha, ya I know a little bit of a cliche but I had to sit on the ground at the finish line with a can of coke for about 10 mins after the finish before I could hobble off to the tents.

It was a great day for team Canada with Catharine Pendrel breaking her 6th place curse with an incredible performance to finish 4th, Marie Helene in 9th and Amanda Sin in 28th. On the men's side Geoff Kabush finished 8th, nailing Beatrice every lap with his characteristic smooth style. Go Canada !!!!!!

Just saw my two carbon bikes off, the Trek Top Fuel and the Trek 9.9.....no more carbon bikes for me this year. Two weeks to switch gears and get ready for cross season....Starcrossed and RadRacing in Washington....hehe....life is fun !!!!!!

Huge thanks to Dan Proulx and the rest of the team Canada crew, as well as Scott Kelly and the rest of the team Canada mechanics....for the awesome week!

Friday 3 September 2010



Picture from reganpringleshoots







Pre-race Trek Canada interview

Saturday 28 August 2010

Rough day in the office

Okay, quick little recap, as my brain is a little too fried still from the race to put too many worlds together coherently. Felt half decent off the start, plate number 52 so I had a lot of battling to do to move up through the field. Suffered quite a bit as the pace was pretty fast, but I found myself in a good position and knew that if I could hold onto the downhill I'd be able to reset my body a little with the rest and giver again on the climb. Sitting just 2 positions behind Amanda Sin going through the second feed/tech pit at the top of the climb (not sure where we would have been overall - probably top 1/4 from the sounds of it)......and my chain started jumping around a little. Not too sure what was happening, looked like it was jumping in the front so I rotated the barrel adjuster for the front derallieur and shifted into my easiest gear to spin it out.....all of a sudden, not 50 feet past the tech zone SNAP!!!! Broken chain. I looked down, panicked and start running...I was at the top, so it should be all down hill...well that's kinda what I remember....but there was actually a lot more uphill then I remember. I ended up loosing probably about 20-25 spots while running/coasting/pumping my bike down the mountain..grrrrr.

I get to the very bottom and jump off to run as fast as I can up through the start/finish to the bottom tech pit yelling that I need a new chain. Huge props to Trek Canada mechanic Zach Tatem for the wicked fast chain install....just enough time for me to grab a gel, switch my bottles, catch my breath from sprinting for so long....then jump back on my bike and hammer. Out of the pit I hammered (maybe a little too hard) to make up lost spots and found myself sitting around 45th.

Through the 3rd and 4th lap I continued to pick off spots slowly, but the effort of running and the 2nd lap caught up to me hard and fast. I was actually kinda expecting to get pulled and not do the last lap, so I hammered hard to make up a few spots....and totally gassed myself out for the last lap.

Bottom of the 5th lap, 4 girls passed me pretty easily before I was able to recover enough to push my pace a little again. I ended up riding the entire last lap by myself in no mans land....I actually though that I was the last one out there until I saw Kelli Emmett behind me on one of the switch backs. Pushed it hard to the top and suffered on the downhill, a little oxygen deprived and had a little troubles keeping a hold on my bars...hehe. 5 mins from the finish, on a pretty open section I heard the familiar sound of air and Stans squirting out of my rear tire!!!!.....grrrrrr.

Managed to ride it slowly to the bottom and jump off and run as hard as I could (for the second time) to the finish....keeping Kelli off my wheel by a mere 9 seconds....and finishing 45th on the day.

A little upset with how things turned out, but I'm happy with how I road....definitely left nothing out on the course. Thanks to everyone out on course for the encouragement...especially Regan running around :) Thanks to Zach and Taylor and the Batty's for all the race support as well.

Huge thanks to Steve Blick for helping me out with some new lenses for my Oakley Jawbones.......they worked great. My heart goes out to his family and son!!!!

Just finished the best pizza I think that I've ever had..great choice Regan on the pepperoi, mozza, basil, black olive and garlic...yummmmmmm. Tomorrow up to Vermont for the night, then on to Mont Sainte Anne :)

Friday 27 August 2010

10 hours of sleep

Wow...that day definitely kicked my butt...nothing like a solid 10 hours of sleep without even rolling over to make up for it..hehe. Just enjoying my first cup of joe for the day and trying to shake the cob webs....going a little slowly this morning.

Got to introduce Regan to his the typical budget racer experience of dealing with car rental companies.....he's in Quebec for 30 mins and ready to punch the first guy we meet...haha. I rented online a Matrix, nice and cheap, but more then likely big enough to fit two car board bike boxes and gear.....I should know better, but I really didn't think that a Toyota Yaris fit into the "or something similar" category. Some really creative tight packing, and the leaving behind of a bike box and disaster is averted.

Beautiful 5 hour drive south from Montreal into upstate New York through the Adiriondack Mountrains brings us to Windham Mountain, the home of World Cup Finals for 2010. Quick build of the bikes and quick grocery trip to the coolest little Italian grocery store not even 30 feet away from our awesome little cabin, followed by a quick spin up to the venue to blow out the legs...ouch!!! Big pasta dinner, 15 mins of good stretching to flush the jet lag out...........

and 10 hours of good sleep brings me to right now......and I just looked at the clock....sign in closes in a 90 mins, yikes, better get a move on. Pre-ride today and lots of lazy action around the cabin to prep the body and mind for the race tomorrow.

11:15 am start for us (9:15 Alberta time and 8:15 BC time), with live action on freecaster
and there is a rumor on the local radio station (Windham residence are so pumped to host this event) of coverage on CBC and a couple of other stations (though they will likely be a month after the fact).

Alright, stop procrastinating.....Ciao!!!

Wednesday 25 August 2010

On the road again

All packed up and ready to roll.....cheapest flight out east.....depart Victoria 11:15 pm - arrive Montreal 10:10 am....yuck.....followed by a 5 hour drive south to Windham....one day I'll be able to book a good flight ;)

Sat, August 28 - Windham, NY World Cup Finals

Getting nervous, getting excited.

Monday 23 August 2010

Sorry.....

Little hiccup in the week... something a lot more important then updating the rest of the week came up....:( So I'll recap the rest of the TR week quickly.

Day 3 - Elkford to Etherington Camp - Day of the BLUE jersey take over...hehe
Hot out of the gate, Jeff and I were able to jump onto the lead group and hang in with them for most of the first 40 km road section. The gravel road was in rough shape!!! lots of deep muddy ruts and puddles, Jeff and I made a decision early in the day to stay as close as possible to the front to avoid as much damage as possible from the mud. The farther back you are in the group, the less likely you are to see the hazards and the more likely you are to get sucked into a bad situation. After the first 40 km, there was a hard 10ish km ride/hike a bike followed by an uber gnarly downhill with unfortunate some running downhill with bike.

Day 4 - Etherington to Anchor D Ranch - Day of the Jeff and Mical hole shot!!!
Yup, you read that right....thanks poppa for doing a little recon work the night before.....the 2 km road run into the first single track was definitely less then 1 km. Barry Wicks laughed while saying "Haha, you guys are leading us out today".......I grinned over my shoulder "Hehe...yup!" This put us into a great position coming out onto the road 7 km later and we continued to push the pace up and over Grass Pass (absolutely beautiful). This day had some great riding/climbing and amazing views. Unfortunately the last 20 km ended up taking as long as the first 40 km due to the knee deep mud/cow poop we had to run through. YUCKK!!!!

Day 5 - Anchor A Ranch to Little Elbow Campground - Day of a little more cow poop
700ft of climbing right off the start....we were staring at the first climb of the day all night...nice little clayey climb that everyone can watch. Actually probably the best show of the week would have been watching all the motor homes and support vehicles trying to get out of the muddy mess of a campground..hehe.
Jeff and I had a great start once again (yes, my starts are something that I am very proud of :) and put ourselves in a really good position for the first 20 km of singletrack....with unfortunately some more cow poop running (Anchor D Ranch is a cattle ranch so it's kinda expected). After the road apple fun, the rest of the day was a lot of fun, with some typical Kananaskis fast downhills. We were very fortunate to finish early this day, as the hail and rain that came shortly after we finished was horrendous......... and it continued through the night for a cold 6th day.

Day 6 - Little Elbow to Rafter 6 Ranch - Ridiculous day of hypothermia
This was the day that I was by far the most excited for, some amazing riding in this area and these are some of the best trails!!!! Unfortunately when we left camp it was 7 degrees and raining.....which means it's guaranteed to be just above freezing on the the top of Jumpingpound and Cox.....and let me tell you, spandex definitely doesn't give you enough protection!!
Awesome start, haha....I found myself at the front of a group of about 7 men on the road...oh well, giver!!!!
This was a hard day physically and mentally. Once we started climbing Jumpingpound everything started freezing....hands, feet, nose.....stopped to put on more clothes and dry gloves...so nice and warm...for about 5 mins before they were wet through and frozen again :( I will admit, I actually had a little bit of a break down pushing my bike up Cox Hill (I was really surprised that they actually were sending us up there in those conditions - but we later found out that they started sending groups on a short cut to avoid killing anyone). Wore through and completely lost use of my rear brake.....Cox hill decent is not fun with only a front brake and frozen rigid.
Wendy and Norm had a great day today and took the stage win and moving into 2nd place overall!!! And yes, I got mom'd going up Jumpingpound...Wendy continues to amaze me.

Day 7 - Rafter 6 to Canmore - Final day
Sun .... what is that???? Some super fun trails today that I've actually never ridden before. Oh ya....and a swim in the swamp for me...hehe.....those wooden bridges are a little slick......"Help me Jeff!!!!". It was a little bit of a rough day for me, day 6 really kicked my butt....and I didn't have a front brake (which unfortunately makes up over 75% of braking power) so I had a little troubles controlling myself on all singletrack.....and ended up crashing down the very last descent of the race, the Powerhouse Plunge....of course in front of a bunch of people. Oh well...hehe.

Finished the race with 4 stage wins, 5 baby blue leaders jerseys and defending our Open Mixed category.......race entry for 2011...hehe. Thanks Jeff for the great week of hard riding. Thanks mom and dad for all the support during the week....definitely couldn't have done it without you two crazy people...hehe.

The Top Fuel worked awesome all week, definitely a great choice for this kind of race. And my tire change to the Bontrager XR was a wise choice as well!!! Fast rolling, good cornering and half decent in mud (nothing is really good in knee deep cow poop!!!)

One week to NY World Cup.....so glad I get to share this experience with Regan....his first World Cup experience.

Ciao

Wednesday 18 August 2010

TR Day 2

One last night in a real bed, 9 am start....and no rain. Oh ya, here's the funny thing, Day 1 forecast at 8am....sunny and 12 degrees in Fernie....but it's pouring out!!!
Long gravel road climb for 27 km, progressively getting steeper and steeper, topped off with 3 km of singletrack climbing at the top. Jeff and I get an early gap on the other Open Mixed cats, being able to stick with the lead men group for a long time. With about 2 km to the first check stop, Gretchen Reeves and Cannon Stokes sneak up behind us, trails us for a little, then slowly creep by us. We are able to keep them in our sights for the majority of the rest of the climb, loosing them once we hit the singlertrack.
Top of the climb (finally!!!!).....enter the new Porky Blue.... loosing about 1100m of elevation in less then 5 km...yikes. Fast, steep, straight line descents with tight switchback corners built specifically to deter moterbikers from riding (and Norm did it all without a rear brake!).
We reach the bottom and it's prety near a gravel road hammer for another 35km to Sparwood. I'm feeling surprisingly strong along the road (especially once I get my front derallieur re-adjusted so I can actually get into my big ring).
Jeff and I finish the day only 1:38 behind the leaders, tough day....and all I want when I finish is salty fries...but I'll settle for some of Steve Walsh's onion rings...hehe.


Tuesday 17 August 2010

TR Day 1

Fernie to Fernie TT - some of the best trails around Fernie....it's amazing how much the trails can deteriorate in one night of rain....from a fast dust bowl to a slow mud slog....hehe.

Monday 16 August 2010

I made the paper!!!!


Hehe, thanks Jeff Neilson for the hard fun week of riding. Thanks mom and dad for coming out and being the best support. Thanks Barry and the Trek Toronto Store for the awesome Trek Top Fuel for the race (yes I did change my tires to something a little more knobbier - Bontrager XR). And thanks Regan for supporting me being a bike bum and being the best training partner :)

Sunday 15 August 2010

Transrockies Day 5

Monday 9 August 2010

Day 1 and 2

Quicky little update on some sketchy internet. Haha, yes, I've already failed with my daily updates.....me and computers don't get along so well.

Day one - Fernie to Fernie TT
Woke to the sound of rain bouncing off the tin roof, I roll over and look out the window...yikes. Everything is soaked and the clouds are low.....yet the Fernie forecast still says it's 12 degrees and sunny out...hahaha...right. The powder dry trails from the night before and slick and muddy, and it's by far my muddiest ride of the year. Today is a team TT, with competitors Wendy and Norm starting 30 secs in front of us and former pro XC racer Gretchen Reeves and her partner Cannon starting 30 secs behind us....great motivation on both ends.

It's a pretty fun course despite the mass amounts of mud and rain. We catch Wendy and Norm about 10 mins in on a really steep slick climb, and Gretchen and Cannon catch us about 20 mins later on a steep slick single track climb. It's a good fight as we can keep Gretchen and Cannon within sights for most of the race and push to limit the time gap. We finish 2nd on the day, 1:43 behind first and about 4 mins ahead of Wendy and Norm.

Day 2 - Fernie to Sparwood
Wonderful sunny day, no rain, but lots of deep mud puddles to make things very interesting. It's unfortunately a very road dominated day...72 km day with only 10 km of not too technical singletrack...not one of my favorite days.....but any day on the bike is a good day. Jeff and I make the selection with the lead group and are able to hang in with some seriously fast men for the first 30 mins of the race....which definitely burnt a few matches....but took us pretty far down the course. Off the start we have a 30 km steady climb for what seems like 1500m (well actually feels like 1500000000m) hahaha.

We put on a solid pace all day and finished 2nd again, only 1:34ish behind Gretchen and Cannon.

Treated myself to a massage...yippeee..doesn't happen very often at all. And early to bed tonight...I'm gasses!

Friday 6 August 2010

CCA World Championships press release.....yiipppeeee!!!!!

Top Fuel....

Is all rebuilt, packed and ready for another week long racing adventure.

One major change on my bike....I'm a die hard Bontrager Revolt Tire fan....but I'm getting wild a crazy...hehe. I've heard a lot of rave about the new Bontrager XR0 tire, I've been riding it around here for the last couple of rides and so far so good. Definitely hoping for little to no rain because I'm a little skeptical on how this tire would do in the mud :)Rumor has it that the TR organizers are supposed to have an internet hub set up at each location....and if it's true, then I'm making it my goal to post a little update each night. Yup...haha, I'm making that goal public knowledge so you can all hold me accountable if it doesn't happen :)

Off to finish my packing, and flying out to Calgary in 2 hours! I'm curious about Jeff Neilson's new "race haircut".....

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Transrockeis yet again

Sitting here, enjoying my second cup of coffee and admiring the new faucet that Regan battled with installing...... haha.... it's amazing how when things are all rusted and rotten they kinda just fall apart :) .... working up the energy to do my last longish ride before TR.

Yup, doing Transrockies again....fingers crossed every which way that it's better weather then last year. Forecast is looking promising so far, but it's the mountains, anything can happen.

Okay, 3rd cup of coffee now....hehe...gonna be wired.

Okay, I have a new recipe for you too, to go along with the Blackberry theme that I'm loving soooo much out here......and it turned out ohhhh so good.

Blackberry Mint Sorbet

1 Cup H20
1 Cup Sugar (all recipes say white sugar but I only have brown sugar, so that's what I used)
a bunch of mint leaves (fresh from the garden:)

Heat over medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly for about 5 mins. This makes the mint syrup. Strain out mint leaves and remove from heat.

4-5 cups of fresh blackberries (or frozen will speed up the process)

Blend blackberries in blender or food processor.
Mix blackberry puree and syrup in freezer proof container. Stainless steel works the best.

1/2 cup Port (the recipes all call for 1 Cup red/burgundy wine put all I had was port)

Mix Port into blackberry concoction, cover and put in freezer. This is where an ice cream maker would really come in handy, but it worked really good just in the freezer. Take out and stir every couple of hours until frozen. It actually took about 12 hours to freeze solid enough to be called a frozen treat.....but it tastes really good half thawed.....yummmmmmmm!!!!!

Thursday 29 July 2010

Thought I woulda learnt the first time....

NEXT TIME I go blackberry picking I am definitely wearing pants!!!!!! My legs are soooo sore.....but the blackberries are soooooo goooooood!!!!!!! Now I have to do something with the many containers of them...haha......and not eat them all in one night....which I could very well do...hehe.

Tickets booked to the World Cup in New York at the end of August and the World Championships in Mont Sainte Anne the weekend after (fingers are still crossed that I make the team)!!

One week and I head back to Calgary again for another week with my mule (Jeff Neilson) at the Transrockies. Going to be a good battle against Norm and Wendy again.

Off to eat berries!!!

Monday 26 July 2010

Blackberries

Hahaha....it's blackberry season on the west coast. Although I'm jumping the gun a little, I spend 20 mins and got a huge container full of fall off the vine ripe blackberries...yippeee. Had to fight for them a little cause all the ripe ones were a little outta reach...hehe....looks like I've just been through a cat fight. Soooo excited.......Mmmmmmmm......Blackberries!!!!!!!!

Saturday 24 July 2010

Stiff today

A little stiff sore and tired today...hehe....yesterday was an awesome but busy day.

Finished painting kitchen
Swam for 30 min...haha...that's a long time for me (2km in 20 mins...don't know if that's good but it nearly killed me:)
Yoga class (haven't gone to a class in while .... it was great!!!!)
3 hour evening hard mtb ride with Regan after work

Yup, I'm tired....Love it

Friday 23 July 2010

11 inch bicep

hahaha, yup that's right....and that's my useless left one...yikes!!!!! I have to carry that up hill on a bike too....grrrrr......I'd be huge if I actually did something with my arms.....LOL

Thursday 22 July 2010

Nationals!


Ya I know, I’ve kinda felt off the face of the blog world yet again…I’m really enjoying not spending very much time on the computer as of late. Didn’t take it to BC Bike Race, didn’t take it to Nationals, and doing lots of work around the house so all that’s running is my Music  So now I’m sitting outside, twenty something degrees after supper, with Regan as he slogs through his BCBR write up for Pedal mag.

Here’s a really neat little article about the BC Bike Race week by Cumberland’s Teresa Edgar for Adventure World Magazine.

http://www.adventureworldmagazineonline.com/cycling/bc-bike-race-2010/

Mountain bike nationals were this past weekend in Canmore, Alberta…formally one of my favorite courses ever…..not as stoked with the course they had us do, missed a lot of really, really cool and fun trails. 2 weeks of recovery from the BCBR and I was really excited to see how my legs would feel with some intensity, and a little bit of altitude. Living at about 5 m above sea level, within spitting distance to the ocean, I can definitely feel the what, 1800m of Canmore…haha…ouch.

Regan and I flew to Calgary Thursday evening after work; where momma and poppa Dyck picked us up….I have the best parents!! Super good to see them and my Calgary stampede parking attendant brother for a couple days…..and Regan’s mom too. Early Friday morning after a huge breaky of moms famous colon blow gingerbread waffles…..yummmmmm, my fav, we headed to Canmore for a quick pre-ride of the course. Dad even played hookie from work to come ride…hehe, sorry I ratted you out, but it was super nice riding with you. Legs felt pretty good, still a little tired but not bad, did a few intensities to blow out the gunk…but glad that I opted out of a couple of the longer harder rides planned for the week before.

Early morning Sat, we all piled into the van like the Walton’s and headed back out to Canmore for my race day. Off the start I felt strong, and as per usual I had a great start, felt really strong and had my 15 seconds of fame as I lead around the flat start loop. Once we hit the climb Catharine Pendrel quickly grabbed a couple gears and pretty near walked away from the rest of us…haha…one day I’ll give her a run for her money. Amanda Sin was close to follow in passing me on the next short climb, and I settled into an uncomfortably hard pace as I tried to keep Amanda within my reach.

There was a lot of steep climbing and nothing really fast and technical which unfortunately didn’t play well for my top strengths. And on the flip side, I got sucked into racing a race that didn’t accentuate my strengths either. I worked really hard on the climbs, and actually found that I was climbing very strong, but it left me a little too gassed to take advantage of the flatter power sections. Lesson learned …… don’t give everything on the climbs to keep up to the little climbers, save some power for the power sections!!!!! I managed to keep Amanda in sight for the first 3 of 4 laps, and unfortunately faded a little in the final lap but held onto my first 3rd place at MTB nationals!!!!!!



2 mins behind Amanda and 7 mins behind Catharine….but hey, if I can keep the current World Cup champion with 10 mins of me on a climbers course, I’m not too choked. Pretty happy with the race, still feel that I have another gear in my legs somewhere……. Haha …… and when I do find it, WATCH OUT! hehe.

It was awesome getting back on the full carbon Trek 9.9 hardtail, I love that bike. Even tried out the new carbon wheelset, have to admit I was a little scared about a carbon wheelset to begin with, they actually ride great and are really stiff.

Oh ya, had my first in competition drug testing….blood and urine….haha, ya I was kinda excited about that until I bonked in the drug testing room because the whole process took so loooooong!!! And I was even able to pee right away!!

Regan raced Sunday afternoon in the Master 30-39 race and it was super fun whipping around the course yelling at him!! He holds a sport license being his first year racing, but unfortunately I didn’t realize there was a sport category……..ooops, sorry my dear. 5 laps of a really physically demanding course (we did 4 with the “Oven”) and the sport cat did 3, in probably the most competitive category of all, but he was still smiling at the end.

I was great to run into everyone from ABA that I haven’t seen this year as of yet being out in Victoria, really nice getting to spend a little time in Calgary…..and loved the post race IKEA shopping date with Regan (but don’t miss the crazy Calgary hail storms that always seem to catch me by surprise when I’m out on the bike!)

3 weeks of training/resting then onwards to the Transrockies August 7 to 14, then the World Cup in New York, and fingers crossed the World Championships in Mont St Anne!

Ciao

Monday 12 July 2010

Video from Day 2

Fellow BC Biker Gian Malär sent me the link to his video from Day 2 in Cumberland.....some super fun flowy trails that day :)

BC Bikerace 2010 Day 2 from Gian Malär on Vimeo.



He caught me from about 7:40 on to about 15:00 :) Thanks Gian for recording these really fun trails and making me look fast...hehe.

Congrats to the rest of the Trek Canada guys at the Edmonton Canada Cup this weekend!!! One week to go till nationals!!!! Yippeeeeeee...love Canmore trails.

Thursday 8 July 2010

Recovery?

What better way to recover from a 7 day stage race then painting our bedroom and building a slat bed..hehehe



Though picking the hottest day of the year so far, 31 above, might not have been the best idea for this venture. Yes, it was about 45 degrees up there and yes, I was sweating like a stuffed pig.

Hehe, oh yeah, don't ask me to build shelves.....great idea executed very, very badly :)

Wednesday 7 July 2010

Day 7 Whistler!!!!

Day 6 Squamish

Day 5 Sechelt to Langdale

Day 4 Earls Cove to Sechelt

Tuesday 6 July 2010

Day 3 Powell River

Day 2 Cumberland

Day 1 Naniamo

BCBR all over :(

It's just like Christmas...you wait all year for the BC Bike Race, so excited for a week of nothing but riding, eating and sleeping....then it's over, just like that. Just under 22 hours of mountain biking....predominately singletrack!!!!! no wonder my arms are huge!!..hehe.

Day 1 was all in Naniamo, great job Norm and the rest of the trail designers on the amazing and hard first day...what a way to knock us into reality quickly grinding through the abyss. Day 2 in Cumberland was definitely a highlight.....well, everyday is pretty much a highlight.....hammering up Forbidden Plateau, followed by loosing 500m of elevation in under 4 km!!! Day 3 in Powell River was a new stage, some amazing trails there....now that 500 racers have traveled over them they are going to be really sweet to ride! Day 4, Earl's Cove to Sechelt was a killer climbing day. Started out with a water taxi ride from Saltery Bay to Earl's Cover...super neat experience. Hump day last year was the day I cracked hard, so we budgeted our energy a little better this year, and with way more singletrack this year on this stage then last year....it was a really good idea!

Rainy day 5 from Sechelt to Langdale was the rough day for me, this was my day to crack (eating breaky an hour before hammering made my guts crack a little too.....and I thought it'd be a good idea to eat turkey sausage....Right!!)...the only thing that kept my pedals turning a couple times was the knowledge that this stage ended with I think a 12 km amazing downhill to the ferry terminal!!! YEAH!!!!!!! That one got more then a few hoots and hollers outta of our train. Day 6 .... Squamish....they always do an amazing job here. What, with the new government funded Half Nelson trail mixed in ....... I totally want to go do that one again soon. Day 7 in Whistler was somewhat interesting....as per usual from what I've heard....but better then last years course. After the lead group taking a wrong turn about a minute in and circling back up the mountain to slot ourselves back into the thick of things, we hammered straight up the mountain for about 20 mins, then straight back down on Crank it Up....similar to Squamish's Half Nelson, but really beat in and rough from the downhillers. Finishing up the stage and the week on the Whistler Lost Lake trails...which are pretty freakin fun.

Had a great time racing again with Jeff (the Mule) Neilson. The first 4 days we road really strong and didn't leave much of a time gap between Catharine Pendrel and Geoff Kabush in front of us and Wendy Simms and Norm T-BO nipping at our heels. Day 5, just as Jeff's legs were really starting to come around, I cracked a little and had to really dig deep to keep moving. My guts weren't super happy either, so keeping moving was definitely a necessity. Nothing like passing out for 2 hours right after the race before supper.....did I ever need that! Day 6 was also a struggle for me, but the course was so much fun that I started to come around again near the end......followed this day up with a good long nap too. I think that was my problem, just not recovering properly at the end of each day and it slowly creeped up on me and slappedd the life outta my legs on day 5 and 6. Day 7 was hard....full on short race pace for the entire loop!!!

Now, I'm walking zombie like around struggling to focus on the smallest tasks...hehe...definitely in need of a couple of days of recovery :) Casey, my brother, flew out to support us, it was super cool having him there for the week...doing my laundry and buying me food...hehe. Regan got a lat minute entry as a blog writer for pedalmag.com and it was really neat seeing him experience the race from a racers side versus the support side that he did last year. Considering he had zero prep time going into the race he did an amazing job!!!

Thanks Jeff for riding with me again :) and I can't wait to tear your legs off at the TR....right :)

My Trek Top Fuel was an amazing bike for this kind of race. I've really enjoyed learning how to ride and race a hardtail again this year, but for the longer stage race a full suspension is sooooo nice. The Fuel climbs so well and with a flip of the switch on the rear shock from pro-pedal to open, it rides like a bigger all mountain bike on the rough trail. I love it.

2 weeks until Nationals in Canmore...yippeeee!!!! Hope my "secret training" works good this year!

Sunday 27 June 2010

Day 0

BC Bike Race has commenced. Spent $200 in ferry fees, had to get up at 5am, stand in reg line up for 2+ hours, race the prologue for 9 mins, eat really good Mexican food, see my baby brother (6 foot baby brother), meet up with partner and old friends from Calgary.....all in Day 0. I'm not complaining...but maybe I am a little....a lot of work and expense on our part for a 9 min TT.....but everything is on a roll now :)

Day 1 - Naniamo to Naniamo!!!

Super pumped to get to ride with Jeff again for 7 days, and all the Calgary folks. Really stoked that Regan gets the opportunity to be apart of BC Bike Race again...this time as a racer. And really happy that my brother Casey gets to take a "vacation" on the west coast and ride some really cool trails!!!!

Here we go again!!!!

Tuesday 22 June 2010

Pineapple Fix

Costco run today...grab some salty snacks and other goodies for the BC Bike Race......when what do I see but a big juicy Pineapple calling my name....yummmyyyyy.

Chopped it up....salivating a little............but it's a little sour :( not quite ripe.....so I thought I'd try something different :)

Grilled Pineapple

Pineapple
2 tbsp olive oil
pinch salt
pinch pepper
hot sauce (all to taste)

Cut top and bottom off, cut skin off and all the sharp eyes. Don't worry about coring, cut into thick slices crosswise. Brush one side with oil mixture and put that side down on grill (medium heat)...then brush other side. A food network show said that once the pineapple doesn't stick it's good to flip. Totally grilling time is about 4 mins......yummmmmmy


Ride Guide TV

Ride Guide TV is shooting on Vancouver Island for the next week. First Stop: Geoff Pendrell Michael Dick hit up Victoria's legendary Waterfront road ride. TweetPhoto



Hahaha......sooo many problems with my name !!!!

Monday 21 June 2010

Bars!

With less then a week to go until the 7 day west coast adventure, I've been busy today making healthy squares to take...for either on the bike or afterwards.
Some pretty good sucess with some new recipes.

Fiber Rich Flax-Oat-Almond Bars (haha, that's a mouth-full...gotta come up with a better name)

1cup Whole rolled oats
1 cup flax meal
1/2 cup Almond flour or meal
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup agave nectar or maple syrup
2 tablespoon fruit juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoon canola oil
1 egg

Soak raisin in cold water for 5-10 minutes.Drain all water.
Coarsely grind the oats in a blender or grinder.Transfer in a large mixing bowl.Now coarsely chop the raisins in the blender. Whisk egg and combine it with processed oats and rest of the ingredients until well mixed.
Line the baking pan(8x8) with parchment paper or lightly grease it with oil.Spread the mixture evenly on the prepared pan.Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes until firm to touch.

Pretty tasty...it was actually a Vegan recipe but I am a big fan of edible animal products so I added the egg for a little extra protein and it holds everything together better.


Fruit Chocolate and Almond Granola Bars

2cups cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup Almonds or Pecans
1/4 cup honey or 1/2 cup agave nectar
2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries
1/4 cup Dark chocolate coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 Egg

Place the oats and chopped nuts on a cookie sheet,toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally.
Transfer them in a mixing bowl and let cool for few minutes.
Mix in the chopped chocolate ,cinnamon and flour
Whisk the egg in another bowl and stir in the the honey,Olive oil and salt.
Add the egg mixture to the oat mixture.
Spread the mixture on the baking dish(9x8 inches) lined with Aluminum foil .Press down evenly distributing the mixture.
Bake for about 25-30minutes at 325F.



Oh ya, I've been very much on a Hemp Heart kick so I added hemp hearts to both of them :)
Next.....momma's secret steroid squares....uber easy and super tastey...mmmmm....but not very healthy...hehehe...but during 7 days of riding I think it's okay :)