The Nationals Story

OK.... so like i said i was trying to tag up with the guy in front of me as we came out of the single track before the start of the last lap... and the next thing i remember was being cradled by someone at the side of the trail and hearing "Take the inside line.... rider down... take the inside line...." Just seeing lots of browns and greens.... not recognizing anything or registering..... "Hmmm.... that sounds like the sound of a Quad.... what's happening to me?"..... "Hey .... this is the inside of a small room with lots of people... where are Les and Dan.... and where's my bike?".... So it turns out i crashed right on my face.... Dan called it the "Chuck Liddell Knock Out Punch" and knocked myself out... i was filled in on a lot of the story... which included:

- being cradled by a photographer on the side of the trail after 10-12sec of black-out..

- having Dan carry me to a First Aid Quad to get to the First Aid Room...

- being checked out in said First Aid Room and asking for Les and Dan constantly.... although there were always there...

- asking for Les about 35 times and inquiring if she had my bike..

- not noticing or answering Les when she sat in front of me and asked where my wallet was....

- being transfered to an ambulance for a short ride to the Canmore Hospital....

and then things started to fill in again.... i remember hearing Dan say to Les.... "Yeah... Jon's feeling better.... he's chatting up the cute nurse....."

continue with:

- a chest X-ray to check ribs and lungs

- being wrapped in an immobilizing Burrito Bag for a transfer to Calgary

- a 45 min nap so that i didn't freak out about not being able to move AT ALL in the Bag....

- neck X-ray to check for damage... Fine

- a CAT Scan to check for brain bleeding.... Fine

- pee-ing in a bottle... just for fun i think.... Fine

- being released for Family Dinner at Les' brother's place

- a 3 day head-ache....

- being REALLY CRANKY with Sue and the kids when i got home... sorry....

"Hey Dan... you know the worst part of this? You don't have my camera so i don't even have any good pictures for my blog...."

Huge Thanks to Les and Dan for taking such good care of me, and to Rick Batty for stopping in to see me.... more times than i remember i'm sure....

Luck has not been on my side this year... a few weeks off until the last 3 races of the year.... Kelso, Bromont and then Provincials.....

Get your head on straight Barnes......

Canmore is Beautiful

Headed out the Big Sky Country for MTB Nationals.... flew into Calgary to spend a few days with some friends (Les and Dan and their 3 riding kids) and drove out to Canmore to pre-ride, watch and then race ... it's such nice country out there... we forget that "Mountain" Biking can sometimes include "Mountains"....

Looking back at the Canmore Nordic Center... getting ready to race and making sure the legs felt as good as they could... Although on ANY ride at altitude it felt like someone stole my climbing legs.... lungs are busting and panting but my heart is barely at race-pace.... yikes....

The course was great.... some "back and forth for the crowd" garbage at the start but that has to be done.. and then a LONG climb up some singletrack..... i was at first upset that they cut out The Oven section... but was very glad they did while racing... it's a very steep and tough end to a tough climb..... and then some really technical and fun descents coming back down.... a bit hard to navigate after cracking yourself on the climb but that's part of it.....

I had 2 former Olympic Cross Country skiers in my field.... who live and train at altitude.... yikes... and they started it off pretty tough.... i was sitting about 5th wheels on the rolling start and saw a split happening..... "Gotta get on that Barnes.... get around this guy and find that wheel".... "Here we go..."..... "Uh Oh..... why can't i go any faster? I guess i'll just get back in the line again..." That's my best way to explain what altitude does to you.... but those guys were killing it anyways... would have been tough to hang with them....

So basically i was sitting in the group of 4th, 5th and 6th.... 1 guy was standing all the climbs and was predictably going to blow up... another guy was riding the climbs well but not that impressive in the singletrack..... so at best i would have been 4th... worst would have been 5th.... but then something happened to change the whole day for me.... and i DON'T REMEMBER IT!!!!!

Remnants....

so this is the left-overs of the Buckwallow race... a broken bone in my right wrist... feels okay when i tape it and ride.... but is still stiff and sore... can't really do pushing movements for a bit....

i really need to keep it Rubber Side Down....

Cottage Training Camp

Ran up to the cottage as soon as school finished.. spent a great 12 days up there with some great family time....

i spent a lot of time riding on some great roads with big hills.... lots of good hours trying to peak for Nationals...

typical recovery time ... i think it's called Hydro-Therapy.....

spent some time working on Core and Power.... Jake sporting the Rocket Launcher...

Also had another O'Cup at Buckwallow up north... felt a bit tired going into it with all the prep for Nationals.... but was able to survive a classic Rob Parniak attack on the climb to squeeze out another win.... and got some Podium Hugs...

1 Week until Nationals in Canmore.... need some rest and prep for the altitude...

Calgary vs. Toronto

so after spending a few days in calgary.. i am reminded how great the town is.... the people are amazingly friendly and helpful, the layout is wonderful, everyone is active and it's not the size of toronto....

some interesting facts though...

- calgary has some of the worst Urban Sprawl in North America

- calgary has the highest cost of living in Canada

- parking downtown costs $30 a day

- the cost of groceries is nuts... "Reduced price - Seedless Cucumbers $1.99"...

- the mountains are close and are an amazing playground for young and old....

- Calgary has some incredibly friendly and helpful people....

- drivers in Calgary... although Pick Up Driving Rednecks... give lots of space for cyclist...

also.... Calgary has the Flames and we have the Leafs....

Toronto has the G2o and Calgary has the Stampede....

sometimes it's too easy to see the differences....

i'd like to live there again.... if i could afford it....

Gone Dark...

okay... so it's been WWWAAAYYY too long since i've updated this.. and i'll do a better job later when i have pics... but here's what's been going on since my last one... - finished school for the year!!!!! - went straight up to the cottage in the Muskoka's for a holiday / training camp... 12 days of great weather and great riding to prep for nationals... - raced an O'Cup in Buckwallow.... felt pretty tired and was lucky enough to crash, take a nice chip out of my frame and a chip out of one of the small bones in my wrist.... Advil time... - was home for less than 3 days ... most of which was spent cleaning up cat $hit from the carpet..... anyone want a cat? - i'm now in Calgary awaiting my turn to attack the course in Canmore for Nationals...... great course once you get past the "stadium-let's-ride-around-on-gravel-roads-for-the-spectators" section at the start.... i'll post about the Cottage Training Camp, Buckwallow, Nationals and upcoming plans soon... i promise....