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...