How great it can be...

Yes.... I love Emily also...

worth watching....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgEX8Epxd4g

Nationals Party...

Trek Canada all decked out in matching shirts and enjoying a collections of days together..... always good to hang / eat / ride / laugh with the Crew....

PG had an Amazing race and finished in a very strong 5th place.  Super exciting to watch and impressed with Crazy Bike Skillz..... and Go Hard Faces...

Mitch took control of the race from the start and caught all but the top 4 Elite men (who started 2min ahead of him) to win the U23 Title!!!  My throat is still sore from yelling at him and PG....



Cayley did a great job of Putting her Head Down and getting the job done.... rolled through with another impressive 4th place finish for the Team....

 As for me (sorry - no pics right now...) i had a pretty good race but didn't have the best of legs.... was fighting a bit right from the start to keep pace on a Very Fast opening 2 laps before losing Rob Holmgren's wheel as he hopped on Eric Batty's pace.... faught with everything i had to catch up and put in a solid couple laps to confirm a 2nd place finish.... still amazes me how fast us Old Guys can go sometimes....

loved the course and had a great time with the whole Team (thanks Taylor and Barry for making it happen) and Emily Batty and her Crew.... just couldn't put everything together on the right day....

so Trek Canada finished Nationals with a 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th.... not a bad weekend!!!

A Good Ride..

Intensity = chasing Stravas. 

Prepping for Road Provincials on Sunday so hitting a variety of sections...

Fun in Barrie on Bikes..

Had the chance to head up to the great town of Barrie to help out with the Barrie Family Fun Ride along the waterfront. Always great to get the full team together (including Emily) and go for a ride with people who just love to be on Trek Bikes... Nice conversations with nice people on a nice night...

There's a Lesson in This Somewhere...

it's funny how life aligns itself sometimes.... and here's an example of that and why Cycling is the best sport in the world...

Did the Weekly Race at Hardwood Hills as i normally do with Luke and before leaving, and while chatting with Coach Rob, a lady came up and told me that "your son is a great person and should be complimented"... haven't heard that in a while!!!  apparently he saw one of his team-mates crash during the race and stopped to help him get his bike and himself back together, insisting on staying with him while he got his wind back and onto his bike.... makes me want to cry.. sniff sniff....

on the way home from the race, i was explaining to Luke how there are so many great people in Mountain Biking... and that "there isn't anyone that i would say i don't get along with"... we are all our own characters, but in the end, we are all in this for a good time....

the next day while attending the Cottage Training Camp Program as i prepare for Nationals, i ran over a piece of glass with my tubular and my sealant wasn't enough to plug the hole... what does this mean?  it means i'm stranded an hour away from home....

so rather than call sue and have her pack up the kids to collect my sorry butt, i put out my thumb and trust in the Goodness in Society (i also had this conversation with my kids at school - we hear about lots of "Bad" people, but we need to believe that society is still filled with more "Good" people....)

a few cars pass, and as i make my way to a small golf course on the side of the road, i see a van pull out with 4 bike racks on top... could be a Compassionate Soul to rescue me... but he turns and goes the Other Direction... oh well....

a minute later, i notice that he has pulled a U-turn and comes up beside me asking if i need help, and offers to drive me all the way back to the Boat which will take me to the cottage.... he passes his own Cottage Road and continues out of his way by about 25min (each direction) to drop me off.... turns out he does a lot of road and MTB riding himself and has "felt my pain walking a bike home"....

Nothing more than a Thanks and a Handshake did i have to offer him in return, and a lesson to all of us that we are a Family, a Tribe, a Group of like-minded individuals who need to remember what brought us to this crazy sport in the first place... not the glory or money or fame, but the love of wind in our hair, the sweat on our jerseys, the pleasure of hearing another rider's story, and the fact that we all just love to ride... no matter how fast that may be. 

Eville Training Camp

Had a great chance for a Trek Canada Team training camp the other weekend.. 3 great days of riding big hills and rocky trails with a bunch of fast people... Also catching up on Nutrition and Physio info over sweet potato dinners....

Great intervals with Karlee "Mighty Mouse" and Cayley B before chasing around PG and Mitch... Who teamed up against me in the heat and blew me up... Didn't go to ride easy though!!

Thanks to Taylor for the planning and Barry for the accom... Great weekend that makes me faster...

Being chased down by Karlee and Cayley...

We were all smiles in the beautiful weather and great trails....



PG dragged us around for a few hours to find Little Rock City..... not that exciting but a good reason to have a snack...



Chasing these 2 Young Guns around made for tired legs...

Me in an Unhappy Place after being broken by the Young Guns...



Trek Canada Bowling Throw Down... who knew that PG had Mad Strike Skillz!!!

Nats Course Recon...

Got a chance to spend some time on the Nats course this weekend... Totally fun course but is going to be a hard race. Glenn at Pulse Racing has added a lot of Features to make it tough...

Spent some time with Matt Martendill (former opponent and good guy... Now just a good guy) and enjoyed some single track fun...  

Worth the drive to watch the Big Show during the week of July 18-21.