Payin' the bills...

so i felt Eye-talian for a day.... got the call from Steve "Rango" Heck to hang Christmas lights on the tower construction cranes downtown.... not afraid of heights and had a ton of fun enjoying the view from above and playing on Grown Up Sized Monkey Bars... even tried to Look Eye-talian to blend in...

dancing on the Boom above Yonge street.... not really THAT high... the boom was about 100ft above the 5th floor which was about 15oft above ground level...

steve was like a kid on christmas morning when the crane operator (who was running the other crane) walked steve through how to raise and lower the boom to make our job easier....

the highlight of the day was the group of Girls Gone Wild who came out to dance on the balcony of the Delta Chelsea across the road in their bra and undies!!!! Yes... worked ceased very quickly by everyone on the site

view from the ground back up at the Luffer crane... we were on the tip hanging lights with zap-straps... oops... i dropped my roll of e-tape...

'Mo No Mo...

so i wimped out... couldn't handle the 'Mo any longer.... but i did figure out a positive use for it.... during Hot Yoga Down Dawg.... it keeps the sweat from running UP your nose!!!! next year i will have to go back with the Trucker and keep it trimmed shorter... i only lasted 2.5 weeks with the Manly-ness oozing from my lip...

Most people said that i looked 10 years older with the 'stache.... and at my age, people were starting to order flowers for my funeral....

Not sure i look any BETTER shaved clean, but at least the kids will let me kiss them again....

Almost put it all together

Rolled out to the nation's capital for my final CX race of the year... and the Provincial Champs.... loved the course right from the start and had legs that felt strong once they were lit up.... but of course there is a story to accompany this generalization of fitness..... So I says to myself: OK barnes, the legs feel good, the course is great so let's let it roll.... wow that was a fast start on some sketchy kitty litter... phew, Mogg went down and i snuck up from 5th wheel to 2nd... just sit here for a bit... crap, went down where Mogg went down and now Tristan is ahead of me and Mogg has a gap.... just sit here for a bit and we can work together to catch him.... oh man i hate it when i clip a pedal.... stay on Tristan's wheel in the headwind... oh man another pedal.... get back up to his wheel.... OK, Tristan got past this guy - call for a 2nd passer and get him after the U-turn.... Hey, I'm taking the outside line!! Give me some space!! Hey, where did my bike go? I feel like Superman... better tuck and roll... hey, i can see the sky again... Whoa, here comes my bike!!! Ouch! Man that was confusing and weird, am i ok? is my bike ok? look at all these people passing me.... Thought continues.... "at least i'm getting over the barrier and NOT looking like a loser... Look at those pretty clouds.... GET YOUR HEAD BACK INTO IT BARNES!!! Ok... time to catch that train of people... man they're going slow... next train... too slow... catch Craig Hawkes and sit for a bit... going a bit slow for me but oh well.... wait - Craig was in 6th... i could be back in this!!??! get around him... get around another... Hey - there's Matt Surch, he's 3rd... GET HIM!!! closer... closer... closer.... not enough real estate.... but i gave him a good scare!!!" so when i checked the results... my lap times (aside from the Crash Lap) were all faster than Matt's and most were faster than Tristan's (who finished 2nd).... we could have totally worked together and caught Mogg and made an exciting race... too bad i rode like a complete Beginner for the first 2 laps... "What could have been might have been..." 4th and almost on the podium...

Albion's Esteem CX

Another CX race as i prep for Provs in Ottawa... had a good couple weeks of training (trainer, outside at night and on the Batty Classic Course) and felt a bit tired but good... a totally fast course that i rode well but was never really aggressive enough to take the lead.... followed Tristan Smit for the last lap, never got around him or close enough to really be in the sprint...

Andrew Croutch was strong as always.... but managed to break his chain right by the pits (coincidence?) which left 2 of us to hold him off...

Tristan had some great power on the road climb.. and consistently laid the boots to me on the road.... but i caught up every lap on a high speed corner when he recovered...

a nice looking bottle of Beer held by a bunch of guys with UGLY 'staches...

Thanks need to go to Paul Greene... i had a horrible start as you can see until Greener blew the first right hander, tore the tape and we all followed... being farther back gave me a chance to duck under the tape back onto the course and shift before the steep hill... 9th spot to 3rd... Sweet...

How the Big Dogs Roll....

Small photo gallery of the Elite Men's and Women's Races... Adam "The Man" Morka rolling in 7th spot...

Emily started smart, chased, caught, and rolled through Mical and Pepper.... Congrats on the Nationals Jersey!!!

Mitch "Diva" Bailey faught for 5th in the U23 race... not bad for a guy who has been reading books for the last 2 months...

"Paleo" Peter Glassford coming into his own on the CX bike... a solid 11th and a great ride for him....

And in what was probably the most exciting battle i've seen in years.... Mark Batty was leading the Man Train at the head of the group for 4 laps, had a slip out and lost the wheel of the eventual winner... Mark attacked hard all race, drove the chasing pace high and gave it everything.... so amazing to watch his skills, fitness and aggression... didn't end up winning but got 2nd in an uncontested sprint....

still the winner in many people's eyes... mine included....

Time to lay off the stuffing...

on what was probably the warmest day ever for racing CX.... we rocked and rolled at Heber Down for the Durham CX event... a great course with some tough climbs and a fast start.... rode really well and strong sticking with Andrew Croutch for a few laps until i decided it wasn't fair that he could Bunny Hop the barriers and i had to constantly chase to catch up.... hopped back on after a barrier to a Crack sound.... i guess i had a bit too much Thanksgiving Turkey the night before.... or i can validate it with the 5 years of riding the lead up to the too much Turkey and barrier hopping...

Movember Week !

week 1 of Movember is done... and it almost looks like i'm growing a mustache!!! maybe by Week 4 it will be noticeable... although that will draw even more attention to my already ridiculous face... Have you ever heard a wife say "Hey honey... i think you would look good in a mustache... why don't you grow one?"

CX Nats.... not a bad day...

Thought i would rock and roll at the CX nats this past weekend... legs felt good pre-riding but a bit flat on race day....

bigger problem was that my head was not really in the game... unwilling to really suffer and dig deep... not sure why but that's the way it rolls sometimes....

tough course with some tough climbing and a tough grunt run up... the young Kids were riding it but i opted for running.... not easier just safer....

had a great start hitting the single-track in 4th spot.. Peter Mogg took his gap quickly (expected) and we had a decent group of 4 chasing... a fair number of dabs with slippery corners that shattered out group while 2nd and 3rd got away.... was riding well in 4th until "Hey Barnes... we started pretty hard.... time to recover..." Matt from Ottawa pulled through and raised the pace with 2 to go and i just let him walk away from me.... that's the lack of Head Focus that i'm still upset about....

rolled in 10sec behind Matt and 12sec ahead of Tristan.... kicking myself for letting them go and not digging deep... Excuse #1 - The legs were flat ... Excuse #2 - The head was out of it today..... Excuse #3 - 3 times up the hill each lap made it tough.... Excuse #4 - i was saving my energy for yelling at the Elite race...

Not just for Friday Nights...

Playing the part of my Alter-Ego in the Cross Country "Bunny-Man" outfit... it's some of my favorite times on the bike.... cheering on the best runners in the area, leading them through their fans, and pushing them to their limits.... It's hard to listen to the coach when he's wearing Bunny Ears...

.... and a full Pink Outfit....

It's good for my ego though... the instant i put on the outfit, i become Rock Star Famous... at least with elementary school kids!!!!

'Tis the Season...

So Movember 1st has hit... and it's time to upset the wife again... Time to grow a Moustache in support of Prostate Cancer... A blank page... a clean slate... an empty canvas... what to grow?

So many styles... i think i'll see how much fuzz i can grow in the first week before i commit to a "style".... Might try to look "dignified" this year and go Business Man....

Late... and out of order

yeah... been a long time... sorry... been stuck behind school, report cards, kids hockey, training, and the rest of life... got a few CX races to update but will post them out of order once i get more pics... But here is the story of Hardwood's CX race this past weekend... super tough course with lots of climing and a good few spots of off-camber... bike and body responded well to a weekend off racing and hitting some tempo and longer rides...

recognized the part of the race where i could have won or come 2nd... and was willing and able to work hard enough to bridge up to Paul Greene (Chain Reaction) and roll through to take a lead and then stretch it out.... had a lot of strong parts of the course where i felt like i could lay down the power and some hurt...

the Sand Pit was definately not my strong part... rode it only once out of 7 tries... and thanks to Jack from HH for announcing my missed attempts.... legs felt strong on the longer climbs and was able to make up for my lack of sand skills....

Unwritten Hardwood Rule #1 - always raise arms carefully at the finish line... bark chips can bite.... my facial expression is a "WWHHhoooaaaa" rather than a "WHHEEE"....

Tour de King Thing

went out for what could potentially be a Great Fall Classic Race at the TdK.... great course, tough trails, fast competition... but a horrible day for it.... started at 6degrees and windy only to upgrade to 7degrees and raining.... and still windy... Not a nice ride for some people (i managed to avoid the worst of it) but we were greated with a cool band and some good eats at the finish... Mike Steed was like myself and many others.... glad to have food, be off the bike but looking for warm dry clothing.... so we opted for hanging out near the BBQ and breathing in the warm but propane-vapour filled air....

Thanks to the Trek Canada Crew for organizing shuttles and rides back to the cars at Seneca College... although Barry took the "scenic" route back..... sorry for the long cold wait Eric Sirois.... probably the last time i talk him into a "great fall ride"....

You'll always be my first...

and the first is always the worst!!! Getting back into the groove of CX racing is always tough... the hard starts, the accelerations, the racing without drinking, the pounding on the wrists and shoulders.... and we started off racing in 23degrees!!! it would have great to have a shot of Heed at about lap 5.... but i was forced to chug it at the end....

2 stories of my race: 1 - Ted Ingram trying to make a sketchy pass on the outside of a loose corner, hooking bars with him, ripping through the tape and then being forced to chase Crouch for the rest of the day.... and 2 - catching my pedals about 8 times on the inside of corners as i get back on the gas.... jumping the back end around and almost tossing me off a few times.... "OK Barnes.... pedal AFTER the apex of the corner...."

everything still worked out well... hammered for a while with Eric Jobin (just like the old MTB days!!!) until he faded and i chased solo for 4 laps.... finished 2nd and won my first cash of the year (almost paid for the gas to get there) and a 6 pack of Wellington beer!!! Gotta love to hate 'Cross....

In your back yard...

Finally got around to riding the Don Trail system the other week... i always thought that it was small, simple and boring.... but i was totally wrong!!! Spent almost 3hrs riding in the trails and most of it was pretty technical off-camber or steep up/downhills.... and caught the sun setting over the skyline... Home Field Advantage definately went to my escort Murray (great guy that i met through XC running at school events) ... i might have the edge physically, but he knew the gears and corners... and dropped me on several occassions...

we entered just at Pottery Road and went all sorts of places that i could never find again or describe, so if you live in the city, haven't ridden the Don and have someone who knows the trails... GO FOR IT!!! i'll definately be back for more... as long as Murray is there to get me home...

Provs Post Race Report

sorry for the delay on the report.... Had to make the long drive to Duntroon 4 times in 2 days for MTB provs... but all turned out well... great course, perfect weather, and had a nice Escort in Mark Batty, who can still rock the fat tires... was invited to Lead out the Kids race.... gotta love the 6 year olds that can lay down the hurt...

GO!! Please note the i didn't get the Hole Shot...

great long power climb that i felt great on, fun flowing singletrack that could be railed, and i attacked half way through the first lap... legs felt awesom so i decided to try it... and opened up a gap pretty quickly....

after a week of rest to heal my strained back (Thanks Dr. Keber!!!) my HR was totally high right from the start... like 15bpm higher than normal, but my perceived level of exertion felt the same... Mark told me that i was just REALLY rested ... i like being REALLY rested...

wrapped up the season with 6 wins out of 6 races (i'm trying to forget about Albion...) and another Series Title....

Post Race Entertainment was Mark borrowing Jake's bike for a game of "Catch Me If You Can"... Mark fell, Jake won...

Time to hit the CX bike!!!

Better than duct tape....

so after a great block of training leading up to MTB provs on the 11th of sept... i came into a small stumbling block... i strained something in my back waterskiing at the cottage!!! "Take a couple days off Barnes... you'll be fine"... "OK... so i took 3 days off and i STILL can't put on my own socks.... we need to fix this..." so i went to visit Dr. Keber at Peak Health and Wellness in Brooklin and had a little treatment and some Kinesio taping done.... made a world of different.... plus a week of rest made for a good pre-ride with Mark Batty on saturday... except for the crash.... i need to take it easy or things are going to start falling off....

All for the kids....

The annual Ride for Karen - a 160km bike ride that raises money to send kids with cancer to 3 camps in the Muskokas - happened on Sept 11 this year... and it celebrated it's 10th anniversary... Kirk and Kris Tobias have tirelessly promoted this great ride to it's amazing size ... over 300 riders raising over $300,000 annually for the kids.... what a great couple guys and a great cause... unfortunately this year i was unable to attend since MTB provincials fell on the same day, but we did our bit to raise money and support a friend of ours down the road (Eric Sirois) as he continues to become involved with cycling and took on the challenge of the 100km route...

we sold snacks at a garage sale and collected empties from part of the neighbourhood... quite successfully i might add... 1 trailer FULL....

plus MORE in the garage.... plus an early run....

raising a grand total of $250 to sponsor Eric for his ride.... thanks to everyone in the area who supported the cause .... the kids are always worth it....

I can say i did it....

The East Coast Open.... potentially a great race and course but tried to do too much on their first go-round.... lots of us XC kids got mixed up on the course and took wrong turns... myself being one of them.... Started off fine with Brent Berger (Lapierre) and climbed hard to the top.... took turns pulling on the rollers under the ski lifts until i took us down the wrong trail... turned out to be O-Chute (a rather infamous DOWNHILL trail).... yeah... we almost died a few times... crazy rock gardens, the Coffin-Drop, Waterfall and a few jumps that made my little full carbon xc bike seem insufficient.... this pic is obviously BEFORE that wrong turn.... so we made our ways down to the start line just in time to see Andrew Watson come across the line with the win (congrats).... but it was great while it lasted!!! for sure a tough course and could be really good with some tweeking...

Congrats also to Cayley Brooks from Trek Canada for her 3rd place wins in both the XC and the Downhill.... that girl's got Skilz....