Close Shave...

Since the weather has been so nice and dry, i've been heading out for as many MTB Rides as possible.... so i thought that a 3.5hr ride in Durham forest would be a great way to spend a Sunday... thanks to Eric Batty for the Secret Trail Escort.... so much to ride in there...

Here is a pic of the 3 Amigos on one of our few Rest Stops...

Steve Heck decided to body check a large tree = Sore Shoulder
Jon Barnes decides to cut a corner a bit too close = Upper Thigh Exposure
Eric Batty decides to laugh at both of us = We can't catch him to push him off his bike

What the Heck???

So i was out for the first official Fitness Test of the year... the annual Hell of the North ... although they changed the format.  Riders could choose the Hell Course which was extended from 90km to 124km and included more hills and pain, or the tamer Heck Course that was cut down a bit by eliminating some of the less pleasant sections.... I opted for the Heck Course... not sure i want 4+hours of ball-breaking on Easter Weekend...

So i headed out with Steve "Rango" Heck and Kris "Ride for Karen" Tobias and had a great race... tons of fun, able to stick with (and push the pace of) the group for the entire ride and the legs felt really strong... i think that the heavy weights and low RPM tempo has paid off by building my seated power... YAY for Me!!! 

My favorite part of the race....

From a guy behind me as i lead up a hilly concession ... "That solo guy up front can rock the hills.... he might stay away..."

From inside my head.... "Hmmmm.... sounds like a challenge to me!!"

So i laid it down and pulled the whole group back up to this "Climber".... and the proceeded to lead out Steve for the sprint....

My prize?  Chili, bun, brownies and an apple... the same as everyone else!!!

Rubbin' Elbows...

With the nice weather and dry trails... i got to head out a few times with the World Famous Emily Batty and the Crazy Fast Adam Morka.... hit Durham Forest for a few nice rides and some great conversations ...

 Emily: "Go ahead Barnes.... i don't want to hold you up in the singletrack"
Barnes: "Yeah, right...."

 Adam riding his Full Race Bike... Trek 29'er with everything carbon... ~19lbs....
Jon riding his Winter Bike... Trek 6000 with a folk that doesn't move due to 5 winters... ~34lbs

Can't believe how nice to trails are this early.... it's April and i'm hoping for some rain to keep the dust down... but it sure is nice being able to MTB before the Mansfield Pre-Ride!!!

Shut UP in the House!!!

Got the call from Barry at the Trek Store Toronto that my New Trek Fuel 9.9 was in and ready to roll... dreams DO come true!!! a big part of the reason why it's weighing in at 20.9lbs (WOW!!) is the SRAM XX.... light, efficient, crisp and very sexy.... the EVO Link keeps the rear end on the ground and the power in the trail... Rock Shox rear shock is smooth and Mega-Adjustable.... Showed up for a ride in Durham Forest and had to fight off Adam Morka who was jealous of my Steed..... MMMMmmm.... OCLV Carbon, SRAM XX, Rock Shox SID, Bontrager XXX Carbon.... Life doesn't get better than this!!!!

So Now What???

So hockey for the kids ended the other week.... What do i do with all this time i now have on the weekends? Can't spend it with Sue otherwise she'll expect it consistently.... I guess i have to spend more time on my bike!!! Luke is loving playing Goalie... much to our discouragement... and he won 5 of the last 6 games for the team... came with in 1 slow whistle from getting a Shut Out in the last game... darn refs... B Champions for this year... and they had a great time.... my throat still hurts from yelling, my hand still hurts from banging the bench door, and my heart still hurts from the stress of it all... Jake "The Beast" Barnes rocked the B Championships also... scored a goal, chased down break aways, made some nice passes... and ran over a few other kids by "accident"... having him practise with Luke's Team (the Big Boys) has helped him step it up and Rock the Rink... ahhh the summer... it will be nice to enjoy the weekends again until the fall when the 6am practises start again!!!