Know any Shredders??

The OCA, in conjunction with the Hardwood Hills, the Trek Store, JoyRide 150 and Velocity Ski and Cycle, are putting on another great Shredder's Camp!!!  This event has been running for many years and is a great chance for U15 riders / races to learn lots of skills from top Mountain Bike Racers like Trek Canada's Peter Glassford, Mitch Bailey and Soren Meeuwisse, as well as Hailey Smith, Cayley Brooks and others!!!

Come on out and learn how to Shred from the Best....have a great lunch, tons of riding, snacks, prizes and the famous Lunchtime Olympics Challenge!!!  Book May 10th on your calendars for a day of fun!!

Oh Yeah... and make a lot of friends as well!!!

Check out the OCA webiste HERE for info and application form.

Hope to see you out there!!

Checking my Air Miles...

Oh Arizona how I miss thee...

The sun on my face...

... And the promise of another fine day...

What's that noise??? Oh yeah... more wind and rain on the roof as I ride my trainer... 

Banishment brings many emotions...

Got kicked out of Basement Training with our "Guy" doing the taping of the drywall... So it's off to the garage... For a little Miley Cyrus riding...

Got the chance to hit Durham Forest on the way home one day... Still litanies snow and ice and mud... But it's open now...

Was also lucky enough to check out the course at Woodnewton this last week... And very glad to see dry trails!!!  Course should be good with lots of fun berms and single track... Just had to remember how to avoid obstacles again!!!

Less than a week until the first OCup race... Let the games begin!!!

Here and Gone....

Aft feeling good about the Bronte results and being excited about Hell of the North.... I got some good hours in riding with a Pro racer... Lots of tempo (his endurance) and a few attempts at Strava KOM's.... A day in the saddle with Morka means an evening of tired legs...

But then we for the phone call I've been expecting for the last 2 months.... My 90 year old grandmother who survived a brain tumor, deafness in 1 ear for 55 years and 4 battles with cancer had finally passed away... We all knew it was coming with this current bout of cancer being in her abdomen and her being over the Radiation Limit.... So it was off to Ottawa for a funeral rather than a day of HOTN... 

Great service. Great memories. Great lady.... Will be missed by all those who benefited from her life's work.... 

We love you GG... Rest in Peace...

Rolling the Donut...

Hit the first Donut ride of the year wih Rango Jeff and Kirk on a beautiful day. The sunshine brought out a lot of people and we had a great fast ride. Had great legs and drilled a lot of hills and kept my old butt up near the front all day... Looking forward to another one soon!!

Bronte Bounce...

Hit the first real "race" of the year this past weekend at the Tour de Bronte... 80km of paved and gravel roads with no hills... So lots of speed!!!  Legs needed some warming up for the first 3 laps and then got into the groove... Ride pretty well but was never Driving the Train... Left that job to Morka!!!  Roads were a bit muddy with the frost coming out of them in the shades sections which just made for a muddy face and dirty bike...

Over half the group got dropped / pulled before the last lap which meant it would be a more civilized sprint... But also faster!!!  I found myself on the right edge of the road (I'm not a sprinter so I like to have a Bail Out spot if things get twitchy..) when I heard some yelling, clanging, screeching and then thumping. I got caught behind 6 guys who were taken out by a Twitchy Move and tried to roll over a frame on the ground but it got caught up in my wheel and sent me for a dive... Of course on the only gravel road allowance around... not in the soft grass filled ditch. So with a shoulder to and a bounce I found myself back in my feet with an unaffected bike... And unhappy company!!!  Got back on and rolled to the finish 750m away to take 24th spot... Only 4 away from the money!!!

No real damage other than pulling off old scar tissue to replace it with soon to be more scar tissue... Could have been worse. 

Happy with how the legs felt and how I rode.... And it's always fun to join in on the Ontario Spring Classics Racing!!!

Next up - Donut this weekend and then Heck of the North...

Drifting corners...

Ok. So there was ONE good thing about crashing in Arizona and being injured... I felt worthy of the Shopping Scooter in Walmart!!!

Notice the backwards hat to improve aerodynamics...

An injured man... His pain meds and a scooter.... Hide your kids - I'm outta control!!!

Signs of spring...

It's been a long time coming but have found some sure signs of Springs Arrival..

Water flowing from the fields to the ditch... And sometimes over the road...

The fact the I am Shovelling snow back ONTO my driveway ... 

Put it on the Christmas List...

Either I need to lay off the Pre-ride fiber or these bad boys have seen some good hours...

#wintermiles