Mall Madness....

went out yesterday to brave the mall crowds and crazyness.... it lived up to it's reputation. made it into SportChek with the kids just fine and drop some cash on some great deals while Sue stood in line for LuluLemon .... i got the better end of the deal. after being in line for over an hour, sue was just at the front when we arrived... only to wait in line for the dressing room (note - i had 1 item and sue had dozens....) and then line up to pay.... good deals and always good stuff from Lulu...

also signed up at SnapFitness 24/7 in brooklin... a pretty good gym that is a 12min run away.... did some strength last nite and realized that i missed it.... never got into it last year and i think that was part of the reason why i had a so-so year...

christmas around here was good.... hope yours was also... now it's time to work off the excess food and fit back into my riding stuff... good thing it stretches!!!

So... Ummmm...

yeah... it's been a while... sorry...

what's been going on? well... start with a busy month at school and home (concerts, starting volleyball team, sick kids... the usual) and then building for the winter of training.. the knee is doing well and isn't a factor anymore .... as long as i keep it stretched and pulverize it on the foam roller....

a big factor i think has been my commencing of Hot Yoga at Moksha Brooklin... great place with great instructor and an affordable Community Class and Karma class.... www.mokshayogabrooklin.com for more info... and it's always good for a mid-afternoon nap!!!!

in my efforts to build my endurance and strength... and get outside but NOT on the bike... i decided to go for a nice snowshoe with Eric Batty.... yeah... if you don't know about him - he's one of the guys who decided to Pole Run the ENTIRE 78km Kilarney Trail Loop.... in 12hrs!!!!!

so after a nice warm up (jumping off logs and pretending that i wasn't at threshold) we settle into a nice pace of jogging the flats and downhills and walking (thankfully!!) the uphills.... turned out that i'm not that unfit since it was just a matter of finding a pace about tempo and keeping the breathing under control...

turned out to be an enjoyable 2hrs of 10.8km of Hill-hunting in Durham Forest...... might even do it again!!

The best Mo Day...

according to me... the best day of Movemeber was having my Grade 4's cut our moustaches for the school assembly.... too cute....

according to sue... it was "Shave Day"...

Hi Honey... i'm back....

Mo No Mo'

Movember has come and gone... i shaved my 'stache off a bit early because i was getting tired of my kids hiding under the covers when i tried to kiss them goodnight...

it's funny how we perceive ourselves so differently when we make small changes... you'll see what i mean...

a cronicle of my "Team's" Growth...

Is that Barnes..... or Paul Sr from Orange County Choppers? Maybe with a few more YEARS of growth....

Is that Danny Masters.... or Matt from Operation Repo?

Mo-vember Week 2

so the Mo is still a Go..... much to Sue's dislike... and getting to be an annoyance to me... i don't know how ZZ Top does it.... yes... it's taken 2 1/2 weeks to grow this....

but Team Handlebar is growing.... 2 new members... So much Manly-ness gathered in one small space is frightening....

another Mo Bro.... Whacha Gonna Do?

Mo-vember

also know as "how to make your wife want to NOT kiss you for 30 days".... but why not... all in the name of raising money for prostate cancer awareness and treatment...

my growth after Week 1....

my team-mate....

our inspiration...

if you're interested in more info or want to sponsor us so there is a valid reason for looking this way... check out...

http://ca.movemberfoundation.com/

there is a Donate box at the very bottom... you can search my name or our team West Hill...

i'll keep you posted on the growth....

At least someone in the family is racing...

so jake kept me company at the UCI race in Toronto a few weeks back... a great weekend for racing the biggest CX race in North America.... and it was great to watch (but better to ride)... jake did the kids race... had a great time....

rippin' it in the sandpit....

slammin' the sidehill.... and of course collecting his medal and waterbottle.... my knee is doing pretty well.... time to build some hours and save on gas by commuting...

Back at it

YAY!!! i'm riding again.... much to the dislike of my wife.... but the knee is back to about 85-90% with some endurance rides... i'm thinking that part of it now is just a lack of strength and imbalance between my legs.... so it's time to start building the easy hours... and avoiding the Sign Sprints!!! i was welcomed back to commuting by a beautiful sunrise .... at 7am in -3 degrees.... somewhere east of Scarborough... a good start to any day...

So... Um.. Where's Barnes?

yeah... so i was feeling good enough at the end of the season to committ to racing 'cross again this year.. especially since we have Nationals in Toronto.... but my knee has had other opinions. Spent some time (and got a parking ticket!!!) at Urban Athlete to get my Patella Femoral Syndrome fixed up... sounds fancy but it's just an imbalance in my quad muscles that make my knee cap track incorrectly when i bend my knee.

So it's now been about 4.5 weeks... and i'm dying to get back on the bike!!! started doing a bit of really easy spinning on the trainer last week to test things out, and it felt pretty good. I also got a new 'cross bike... a super-upgraded Trek XO1 (thanks barry!!) and wish that i was racing 'cross.... but it's better to look at the big picture and remember that it's a long winter of training before next season starts up....

so on my "off-season"... probably the first one i've ever taken.... we've been having some fun... camping, playing hockey, fishing and getting started into the school year.... but now that things are settled... it's time to get it going again.

Sue says "Boy... this trail is pretty steep and rock... it's tough to walk up"... Jon replies "Yeah... this looks like the singletrack downhill at Bromont"... and then Jake gives 'er up the trail...

Luke actually sitting still.... wow...

I'll be down at 'cross Nats this weekend... and i'm sure i'll come back with no voice... should be a good show...

Duke's Epic 8hr

An 8hr race... sounds like fun... i've done them before solo and thought that i would share the ride with Steve Heck... he might be fast enough to hold his own.... started off okay but didn't feel "snappy" right from the gun.... but the weather sucked all day... cold... windy... changing between raining and blowing mist.... yuck.... i also had some knee troubles (that i've been fighting all summer) that felt like scraping on the inside of my knee cap on every pedal stroke.... stole my power and much of my enjoyment of the day.... in the end steve and i finished up 2nd.... i did 8 laps (80km) with an average lap time of 30min... not a bad effort for a couple old guys....

congrats to Barry Near and the other "Old Cranky Men" for winning their division...

and of course the day finishes off with the nicer weather coming out....

Ride for Karen 2010

September 11th was the annual Ride for Karen charity ride that the team .... and a bunch of great people... do to help raise money to send kids with cancer to camps in the Muskoka's.... and it was a great day. We had over 300 riders from all abilities levels riding on the roads around Maple Ontario... and we were all greeted back to the Start / Finish area with great cheers and applause. This year we raised just over $200,000 ... sending dozens of kids to camp and continuing to fund a really neat program called "Ooch on the 8th"... where Camp Oochigaus has created a camp-like atmosphere on the 8th floor of Sick Kids Hospital... very cool for those kids who can't actually leave the hospital. It was also a special year because Kirk and Kris (the 2 sons of Karen and the organizers of the ride) also lost their father Kal to cancer a month before the ride.... i can't imagine how hard it was for them. It was great to see the title sponsor ScotiaBank commit to another 3 years of sponsoring the event.... to the tune of almost $75,000 for the 3 year... i rode up to "Big Wig" from Scotia who is also a great rider... put my hand on his shoulder and said "You're awesome..." and then i faded back into the sea of jerseys.... It was a great day for a great cause, and i'm glad to support the Ride for Karen and everything that it represents... Great job Kirk and Kris.... (Donations can still be made at www.rideforkaren.com)

Ontario Provincial Champs

So i got my legs back for provincials.... a few days of rest, a few days of easy hours and then hitting them hard a few times and VOILA.... i can ride again.... good thing... there was only 1 flat spot at Woodnewton and it was through the start / finish... and it was a false flat that you could blow yourself on....

had a good start... rode very well and strong... but i got a bit lazy in the 3rd lap and let Eric Jobin lead the whole thing... should have kept the pace high since i noticed we were slowing.... so i attacked about half way through the last lap... was riding really well on the flat rolling stuff but got caught behind someone in the single track so i lost my gap... had to lead the last climb into the short field that was really the last place to get past anyone.... and i came into it a bit lazy... should have hammered it so that Eric stayed behind me but i didn't, he got around me and i had no more chances to pass...

finished up second for Provincials this year.... can't be unhappy with how i rode... just how i thought.... but i still got the Overall Title....

Hanging out after the race with the rest of the team.... Not sure if Peter is afraid of kids or if Jake is sitting in the wrong spot....

hanging out with Adam and Emily before she heads to worlds, with Barry "The Man" Near and Emily's Grandpa...

always a good day when you get to watch your kids rip it up in the Kids Race, ride well and then hang out with the rest of the team and enjoy some laughs... we don't get together enough as a team so when we do it's always fun....

Rip it up!!!!!

Just wanted to throw out a HUGE good luck to Emily Batty (Trek World Racing) .... she's out in Mont Ste Anne right now getting out some of the last butterflies before she races at 10am.... fighting for a spot - and hopefully the top spot - on the podium in the U23 race. We wish you all the best Em... the country is cheering for you...

Kelso O'Cup

Ok.... so remember i said that Old People don't recover the same as we used to?... so that was Kelso... i was feeling pretty good (tempo was fine, hours were fine) but i wasn't fully recovered from the block before Nationals... and today was the day that it it me...

right from the start up the gravel road climb, i was struggling to keep with the other guys, and just couldn't lay down the power on the flats... which is something that you need to do at Kelso. Finally took the lead of the front group and got taken out when passing someone, and just couldn't bridge the gap to get back on. So i rode as hard as i could, but finished up in 3rd.... not bad but my worst finish in over 2 years... time to rest....

thanks to Emily Batty for this wonderful picture of the podium.... i'm the ant on the right....

a consoling Man-Hug from Adam Morka after the race... sometimes i just need to be held....

Adam ended up winning the race, Eric finished 2nd with a significant crash (i feel sorry for the ground) and Peter finished up 3rd.... Good Work Team....

Is this a good idea?

in an attempt to be cheap...

"hey sue.... can you cut my hair? Naw... it's not hard.... you'll do fine"....

Doesn't build confidence....

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.....

I remember a SNL Skip about this.... "He's putting tinfoil in the microwave!!!! And now he's letting his girlfriend CUT HIS HAIR!!!".....

Birthday Boys Turns 7!!!

so yeah.... my kids have close birthdays..... worked for a while having 1 party but now they're on to us..... so Luke turned 7 today.... man how time flies....

notice the Baskin Robbins Death By Chocolate Ice Cream Cake with milk in the beer glass...

"so luke.... what do you want to do for your birthday?"..... "well.... can we go to that indoor bike park (Joyride 150) you have been talking about?" .... i did something right....

spent 3.5 hours riding at Joyride.... XC loop, both pump tracks, beginner jump line, beginner skinnies and learning area.... only had 4 crashes.... the worst of which was Luke riding off the 4' edge of the platform BESIDE the ramp.... oops....

yes... i'm a bad daddy for not taking pictures while we were there... this is the best we got!!!

Thanks for Mark and Jeremy for a great time....

Birthday Boy turns 5!!

so today was Jake's 5th birthday..... seems like just yesterday that i was spending hours in the car at midnight trying to get him to sleep through his colic.....

"so Jake.... what do you want to do on your birthday?".... "i'd like to go biking in the forest".... that's my boy....

"How about we also give you your first endo-land-on-a-log-with-your-face-and-chest crash also? sound like fun?!?!?!?"

he's okay... only cried for a minute... but got some sympathy from the girls in the parking lot....

How did we do this?

so i got an extra set of mtb wheels.... just trying to save the Race Rubber and avoid the 3-day-forearm-pump from changing tubeless tires... the only problem with them is that they are tubed wheels.... should be fine for training wheels, right? Well, i've had 3 flats with them in 4 rides.... how did we actually race on these things? Glad i don't train at Tremblant.....

Contador vs. Schleck

so the TdF is done... and a good one it was....

i love to watch some good road battles... not so much in the sprinting but when the road tips up and the guys start to suffer.... that's what they get paid the big bucks for...

a few contraversies this year though... a bit of back luck for Lance.... and a unmannerly timed attack from Contador..... makes me dislike him even more....

i'd LOVE to see Schleck get his time.... classy guy all around...

Props go out to Ryder..... i remember warming up beside him at a Canada Cup in Canmore.... a long way he has come....

Represent!!!!

The (Bad) luck continues...

so this year... so far ... has been less than stellar... i had nothing but good luck last year... and it has been catching up with me this year....

my list of mishaps:

- bent dereilleur at first O'Cup

- double flat at Tremblant C'Cup

- broken bone in my wrist from a crash atBuckwallow O'Cup

- crashed and got a concussion at Nationals in Canmore

- lots of flats in training lately.... just a pain....

- wrote off my car in an accident on the 401 last week... kids and i are okay though....

1 week left until provs.... had some good rest and not just need to hit the high end a few times.... and then it's time for some fun rides and getting into 'cross....

my fingers are crossed....

Ripple Effect....

okay.. so it's been a couple weeks since falling in my head.... and although i'm back to (as) normal (as i get).... things are still dragging on....

things still to deal with:

- buy a new Polar Strap since the nurse who undressed me (hmmm) did not pass it along to anyone i know...

- need to have a 3rd dentist appointment to fix the broken tooth the was a result of the crash..... chipped, cracked, capped, and adjusted twice already....

- just got a letter from the Canmore Medical Center.... $335 for an ambulance ride from Canmore to Calgary..... and all i did was sleep in there!!!!

what a pain.... still!!!!

The Nationals Story

OK.... so like i said i was trying to tag up with the guy in front of me as we came out of the single track before the start of the last lap... and the next thing i remember was being cradled by someone at the side of the trail and hearing "Take the inside line.... rider down... take the inside line...." Just seeing lots of browns and greens.... not recognizing anything or registering..... "Hmmm.... that sounds like the sound of a Quad.... what's happening to me?"..... "Hey .... this is the inside of a small room with lots of people... where are Les and Dan.... and where's my bike?".... So it turns out i crashed right on my face.... Dan called it the "Chuck Liddell Knock Out Punch" and knocked myself out... i was filled in on a lot of the story... which included:

- being cradled by a photographer on the side of the trail after 10-12sec of black-out..

- having Dan carry me to a First Aid Quad to get to the First Aid Room...

- being checked out in said First Aid Room and asking for Les and Dan constantly.... although there were always there...

- asking for Les about 35 times and inquiring if she had my bike..

- not noticing or answering Les when she sat in front of me and asked where my wallet was....

- being transfered to an ambulance for a short ride to the Canmore Hospital....

and then things started to fill in again.... i remember hearing Dan say to Les.... "Yeah... Jon's feeling better.... he's chatting up the cute nurse....."

continue with:

- a chest X-ray to check ribs and lungs

- being wrapped in an immobilizing Burrito Bag for a transfer to Calgary

- a 45 min nap so that i didn't freak out about not being able to move AT ALL in the Bag....

- neck X-ray to check for damage... Fine

- a CAT Scan to check for brain bleeding.... Fine

- pee-ing in a bottle... just for fun i think.... Fine

- being released for Family Dinner at Les' brother's place

- a 3 day head-ache....

- being REALLY CRANKY with Sue and the kids when i got home... sorry....

"Hey Dan... you know the worst part of this? You don't have my camera so i don't even have any good pictures for my blog...."

Huge Thanks to Les and Dan for taking such good care of me, and to Rick Batty for stopping in to see me.... more times than i remember i'm sure....

Luck has not been on my side this year... a few weeks off until the last 3 races of the year.... Kelso, Bromont and then Provincials.....

Get your head on straight Barnes......

Canmore is Beautiful

Headed out the Big Sky Country for MTB Nationals.... flew into Calgary to spend a few days with some friends (Les and Dan and their 3 riding kids) and drove out to Canmore to pre-ride, watch and then race ... it's such nice country out there... we forget that "Mountain" Biking can sometimes include "Mountains"....

Looking back at the Canmore Nordic Center... getting ready to race and making sure the legs felt as good as they could... Although on ANY ride at altitude it felt like someone stole my climbing legs.... lungs are busting and panting but my heart is barely at race-pace.... yikes....

The course was great.... some "back and forth for the crowd" garbage at the start but that has to be done.. and then a LONG climb up some singletrack..... i was at first upset that they cut out The Oven section... but was very glad they did while racing... it's a very steep and tough end to a tough climb..... and then some really technical and fun descents coming back down.... a bit hard to navigate after cracking yourself on the climb but that's part of it.....

I had 2 former Olympic Cross Country skiers in my field.... who live and train at altitude.... yikes... and they started it off pretty tough.... i was sitting about 5th wheels on the rolling start and saw a split happening..... "Gotta get on that Barnes.... get around this guy and find that wheel".... "Here we go..."..... "Uh Oh..... why can't i go any faster? I guess i'll just get back in the line again..." That's my best way to explain what altitude does to you.... but those guys were killing it anyways... would have been tough to hang with them....

So basically i was sitting in the group of 4th, 5th and 6th.... 1 guy was standing all the climbs and was predictably going to blow up... another guy was riding the climbs well but not that impressive in the singletrack..... so at best i would have been 4th... worst would have been 5th.... but then something happened to change the whole day for me.... and i DON'T REMEMBER IT!!!!!

Remnants....

so this is the left-overs of the Buckwallow race... a broken bone in my right wrist... feels okay when i tape it and ride.... but is still stiff and sore... can't really do pushing movements for a bit....

i really need to keep it Rubber Side Down....

Cottage Training Camp

Ran up to the cottage as soon as school finished.. spent a great 12 days up there with some great family time....

i spent a lot of time riding on some great roads with big hills.... lots of good hours trying to peak for Nationals...

typical recovery time ... i think it's called Hydro-Therapy.....

spent some time working on Core and Power.... Jake sporting the Rocket Launcher...

Also had another O'Cup at Buckwallow up north... felt a bit tired going into it with all the prep for Nationals.... but was able to survive a classic Rob Parniak attack on the climb to squeeze out another win.... and got some Podium Hugs...

1 Week until Nationals in Canmore.... need some rest and prep for the altitude...