Canada Cup chez Tremblant

Tremblant and I have always had a Love/Hate relationship... we take turns with who wins... and this year it was ME!!! Went off really well and was leading the chase group at the single track.. there was 1 Quebec guy who went off crazy hard... "It's OK Barnes.. you can catch him..." "Hey Barnes... you're in 2nd by 2 minutes..." "What!?!?!? In 2 laps this guy got 2min on me? It's going to be a long day..." Ended up catching him on the downhill of the last lap... about 1omin of riding left... as he crashed in the mud and rocks....and put 1:32 into him by the end.. as per usual, my family spent most of the afternoon looking for bugs and playing in the creek instead of watching Daddy race... so this is the only pic i have... and it was taken by some stranger that i found at the Under-populated Awards Ceremony for Old Racers...

so the next day we headed up the Gondola to the top of the hill ... had a nice walk around and enjoyed the scenery... and the kids were thrilled that there was still snow around...

which of course prompted a SNOWBALL FIGHT... which ended quickly when Mommy got hit in the head by Luke...

Fun weekend with the team and family... and quite happy with how i started, stayed strong and rode the technical stuff.... Next Stop - Hardwood Hills!!!!

Woodnewton O'Cup

Woodnewton was the Provincials course last year, and the 2nd O'Cup this year... a great course with some new additions... fast and smooth, fun and challenging... and a course that i felt GREAT on during the pre-rides... with the win at Mansfield.. i got the call up for Woodnewton... but noticing the puddle in the foreground, there was not much choice for a good line.. it was all mud.... but at least it dried up a bit for our race... i sat in for the first few minutes and then gave a charge before the first piece of singletrack... felt good and thought that i would stretch things out a bit... ended up with a gap that i just kept building on... felt great on the climbs and the XR2 tires hooked up beautifully in the soft dirt and roots...

Post Race and Post Clean up, gathered with Cayley Brooks and support Crew Taylor, Barry and RIck... always good to have other's there for advice, suggestions and encouragement when the back is sore and the legs are waivering....

Mitch and I were smart enough to bring trainers for warming up... nice to control the heart rate, stay dry and actually get WARM before racing in 8degrees and misty rain...

ended up having a good strong race, pushing hard on the hills where i am normally weaker, and took the singletrack very well.... won by 2:40ish and feeling very ready for Tremblant's Canada Cup.... need some revenge on that course since i had to run most of a lap last year after flatting... We're starting to roll now....

thrO down CUP #1

had the first MTB Throw Down last weekend... up at the Perennial site of Mansfield... always dry, fast and not too technical to limit the crashes...although i was able to hit the dirt twice... had a pretty good day... the lungs opened up well and the legs felt good... Mansfield always trashes your back so that pain was expected... had to chase a new "kid" in the group for a lap before i bridged up and then attacked... at the moment i thought it was a good time to go, but a lap later i was having second thoughts.... held on to win by about 45sec... and caught Emily Batty just before the line.... "Hey Barnes... what's the best way to get a picture on PedalMag.com?".... "Try posing with Emily at the finish line... the photographers love to post those pics!!!!"

Next stop... Woodnewton this weekend... great course that caught me being lazy last year.... not going for the repeat of that... and then it's off to Quebec for the Canada Cup at Tremblant....

Do you believe?

i fell victim to Love at First Sight last week... went to pick up my new Trek Top Fuel mountain bike.... sub 21lbs, full XTR 2x10sp, and absolutely gorgeous.... almost too nice to ride!!! beautiful combination of white and black, accented with red on the full carbon frame that is light and stiff....

fully internal cables.... makes for clean lines and no frame rattles... but some mechanic headaches i'm sure....

XTR 2x10... so nice to ride.... and yes those are Bontrager XXX carbon tubeless wheels.... i know... totally cool....

Full Floater rear end with Active Braking Pivots... stays active when braking... keeping the wheel on the ground and me out of the bushes....

it can NEVER be the bike's fault.... this thing is fast, light, smooth and fully stacked....

Sue is getting jealous.... it might be time to move the bike out of the bedroom....

Joy-Riding!!

had an awesome Monday on Easter weekend... after bonking at HOTN.... we had some Family Time at Joyride150.... such a great place to train / build skills... and the kids loved it!!!! Luke had been there before and showed no fear and he busted straight for the Pump Track and Teeter Totter...

Jake only needed Daddy's help for about 10min and then it was all Game On!!! Rollers, teeter totter, pump track, xc loop, beginner jump lines, skinnies.... my kids rock on their Treks!!!

i was able to escape Babysitting / Daddy Duty long enough to get some fun in there on the Pump Track...

and conquered my fears and hit the Big Drop as luke called it.... nerves and thoughts of broken collar bones kept me away... but after doing it once its old business.... now i just have to work on the balance for the skinnies and bridges....

thanks to Mark and Scott for a great day.... check it out... it's definately worth playing around since there's something for everyone....