Keeping me in 1 piece...

After being put back together and back on my bike last fall from my knee in injury last year... i'm back with Dr. Sheila Keiber at Peak Health and Wellness in Brooklin... she does a great job with chiro, physio, massage and kinisio-taping.... has a great focus on athletes (being one herself she understands our "urgency" to train again...) .... check it out if you are looking at www.peakbrooklin.com don't have any injuries per-say right now... but the truth is i'm old and take part in a physically abusive sport.... so there are always parts of me that are falling apart...

Kinisio Tape (aka SpiderTech tape) is always a great way to recover from injuries quicker (remember Glassford and his broken collar bone?) or keep everything working as it should....

and it's not just for cyclist... runners, football players, ultimate frisbee'ers... even Yogi's can benefit from being taped up...

i have an appointment this week... i'll let you know what get fixed...

Still the Coolest Place Around...

Went to Joyride 150 with the kids... rainy day, overactive kids, bikes in hand.... 4.5hrs to spare... had a great time as always and am glad to see that there is tons of Riding Camps for kids of all ages and abilities... Who loves the Pump Track?.... can't count how many laps Luke did that day...

Pretty good form for a 5yr old... looking ahead, working the bank, moving the bike under him, feet level....

not sure if he liked riding into the Foam Pit or just "trying" to get out of the Foam Pit.... frustratingly fun....

check it out for a great day of riding and skill building....

Come back Skinnier....

We are off for 8 days in Muskoka... cottage, water, long hills and a list of To-Do's from my mother-in-law... makes for some great training and snoring nights. Next Stop: Road Provincials - 2 days after we get back... yes i said "Road" provincials... why not?

Playing with Mosquitos

the best way to avoid mosquitos in the deep Muskoka woods is to ride fast... so that was my plan!! Had the Buckwallow O'Cup on the weekend... and it was great to have my racing legs back... hot day, fast and flat course with lots of rocks and roots.... one of the best courses of the year.... after a very fast 1st lap, i settled into a nice pace with Jason Everaert and Mark Brusso for the 2nd lap,... "OK Barnes... if you're gonna beat these big power guys on a flat course, it's gotta be in the singletrack, so hit it HARD..." came out of Loam Rider with a gap and knew i had to keep it until the next piece in order to stay away... settled into a nice pace again for the last lap....

didn't crash this year (Yay for no broken wrist!!) but did scrub a few trees with my hip bones... still hurts... and loved the addition of West Denial ... lots of rocks up a down and 6ft ridge... no room for error....

Next stop - 9 day Cottage Training Camp before Road Provincials and then Kelso... then the Mansfield Marathon... sounds like fun...

Found this picture on the OCA web post-race report.... but it's actually from last year. Can you spot the 3 clues to prove it's from 2010?

DRMBA Clinic

So i was "invited" to help out with the Durham Region Mountain Bike Association with a Learn to Ride Clinic that they hosted in Durham Forest... the goal was to help less experienced riders overcome some of the obstacles and difficulties of riding by dividing them up into Experience Groups and send them off for 2hrs in the forest... i was lucky enough to have the "Expert" group and joked that i would show them was 2hrs of Race Pace felt like.... but we actually had a great ride, great conversations, interesting questions and i hope that everyone learned something and rode a new trail that nite....

My "thank-you" was a hug for Charlotte Batty and a 6-pack of Corona from Tom Hawks (the president of DRMBA)....

Googel the organization... they do a great job with ride promotion, clinics, trail maintenance and trail building.... always a great way to give back to the trails that we love...

Found - in Original Condition

1 pair of cycling legs Found and have been returned to original owner. Must have been misplaced under days of rest, hours of endurance and building of tempo. Original owner has been quoted as saying "I've missed you guys!!!" and is quite thankful that they have been returned. Thanks to everyone who took the time to search or have helped to re-sculpt them from their previous dough-like state. They are excited to be used and abused again.

ok.... these are Lance's legs... but i'm glad to have mine back..... if you're a cyclist, you know what i mean....