Buckwallow OCup

So after a quick rest at the cottage after Nationals, it was time to get ready for another race... Buckwallow's OCup in the beautiful Muskokas. Always a great course... and hopefully good weather.... will result in another good day. I did the weekly race on the OCup course the thursday before .... and it took me about 250m of going hard to realize that i wasn't yet recovered from Nationals... damn my Master legs... they don't recover quickly any more.... But i took a few easy days and had a nice short / hard ride the day before the race... and it took me 250m inot the race to realize that i was feeling again. The rest of the 'boys let me lead out most of the very long double track start..... but they never let me lead the first part of the single track!!! Rob Parniak came around and let myself and Eric Jobin for the first few sections of single track... i was very happy to sit in for a bit... before pulling my usual "I'll lead for a while Rob" trick. I created a bit of a gap in some the rocks and trees.... but they worked well together on the double track to catch me again.... but just seeing them close again gave me the ambition to go hard for a while. Once i got another gap... i just kept growing it.... finishing about 1:30 ahead of Rob who finished about 1:00 ahead of Eric. Buckwallow usually beats me up pretty good... but the worse part of me was my back... the power on the flat sections is always hard. I felt really good at the end of the race... and the days after. It was nice to have Sue and the kids there again... they both did the Kids Race just before i started... i'll post some pics when i get them off the camera.... so fun to watch and i can't wait until they are both racing in the Big Leagues... Now i've had a pretty nice week and a few hard bursts... and i think that i'll race Ontario Road Provincials... my first road race this year but it's a course that should be suited to me... lots of climbing!!! I'll let you know how it goes....

Just some of the power double track that hurts....

Finally a chance to sit up and stretch my back!!!

National's Pics...

A collection of the pics Mark took.... Heading up the switchback climb....

Just one of the cool rock collections in the "Velo Park"....

Halfway down the downhill section....

Exiting the fast downhill section....

I was on "Attack Mode" all day long....

Just a cool picture....

Nationals Report

Home once again from a VERY long drive to nationals this weekend... did the drive with Cindy Batty on thursday (12.5 hours of on the road / montreal traffic time) and then split the drive home after racing. As bad as the drive was... it was totally worth it!!! i've been racing for 14 year and all the time my favorite course has been Canmore... until i rode St. Feliciene.... man was it great. Some really tough climbs, fun descents, fast switchbacks and a few totally fun spots in the "Velo Park" with rock drops, berms and a waterfall!!! So i pre-rode with the rest of the Trek Store Crew on Friday... loved the course and then decided to feed everyone for their races on Saturday. Congrats to Emily (U23 Women's champ), Eric (8th Pro Men), Peter (10th Pro Men), Adam (11th Pro Men), Cam (2nd U23 Men) and Mical (4th Pro Women)... (a special thanks shout out to Mark Batty who stuck around to feed me, encourage me and keep me company on the long drive home... you're a great friend...) and yes congras go to me.... Master Expert Champ!!!! A very tough race to go fast on... as much fun as it was.... but Mathiew Bouche (who won Bromont's Canada Cup) was out like a shot up a very tough start loop climb. Even if i wanted to... i couldn't have ridden with him up that hill. So i settled into third for a few minutes and then jumped to second... not wanting Mathiew to get too much of a lead. After a lap he had 30sec on me... and for the rest of the race i heard either 30 or 40 seconds... a few spots he was better at, a few spots i was better at. So i decided that if i was going to catch him... i had to go like crazy on the 3rd lap and bridge it up to be able to ride with him / pressure him in the last lap. But as hard as i went.. i never really got closer.... but in the last lap where i was just trying to keep the same pace as the earlier laps... i think i was catching up a bit... until i caught him running his bike half way through the lap. Turns out he flatted his rear tire and didn't have anything to fix it. So i went like mad again to get a lead in case he was just looking for flat ground to fix it or had wheels in the pits.... and then was careful not to lose it all on the descent home. What a great feeling getting on that top step of the podium and putting on the Red and White jersey.... been dreaming of that for 14 years of racing.... funny to think now that i'm old... and still fast... it happened. What a race... what a trip.... and now we get to do it again for Buckwallow this weekend... only a 5 minute drive from my parent's place in Gravenhurst so that will be a nicer trip!!! Next post is just all pics... enjoy...

2 Days to go.....

So i'm sitting here with the batty's and the morka's... 2 days before i race nationals up here in St. Felicien.... and it's great. The course is amazing ... probably one of the best that i've ridden in 14 years.... and in perfect condition. They are calling for rain tomorrow afternoon... but it should hold up well even if it does get wet. Should be a great, hard race... and i'm sure there will be some fast guys to chase. Mark got my bike running nicely, my legs feel good, i love the course... and i should be nice and excited after watching the elite's race tomorrow. I'll let you know how things went when they are done...

Bromont C-Cup

Just got back from Bromont's Canada Cup.... and what a weekend it was. If you were anywhere near southern Ontario over the last week or so, you will know how much rain we got... and Quebec was not given any mercy either. Poured rain for the 4 or 5 days before the race... but was actually nice for race day... although more rain would have meant more traction. 90% of the course was the consistency of peanut butter.... 10% was gravel road (nice...) and the last 10% was the consistency of pudding... better but not good. So needless to say... it was a mud bath... and more of a running race than a riding race. I finished a nice block of hard training before heading out to Bromont as prep for Nationals this coming weekend... so my legs didn't have that much snap. After a bit of a slow start... i decided that this was one of those races you just need to get through. I figured that i was sitting in 5th or 6th for most of the race... but the guys between me and the winner apparently wanted to go home more than i did.... so i finished 2nd. Even though this is in my list of 5 worst cycling experiences (and i've ridden in some wild winter storms and more than 1 'cross race that is cold and snowy) it was also one of those races that i'm pretty proud of... just for being able to put my head down and get it done. With a bit more rest and a few hard kicks this week... i think i'll be in pretty good shape for Nationals.... except for the 11hr drive to get there. So for now, it's time to let the sore ankles and rock scrapes heal, clean the bike (again!!!) and do some more packing. It was a nice weekend away with the family, but sometimes i wonder if they even realizes that i was racing....