Pretty... but Sketchy

Have enjoyed the beauty of the ice lately... Still getting out for some rides after the storm and finding gravel concession roads to have tons of traction and less slush...

Added benefit of being able to eat ice off the trees rather than carrying it on my bike...

In case you miss me...

Ok... I'm bragging....

In case you misses it the first time.... My big TV Debut will be showing on Global again today (26th) at 5;30 and 9:30 and also on January 1st at noon. 

Of all the Making A Difference segments that Susan Hay did this year... mine was chosen in the Top 8 for a Year In Review replay...  

Check it out!!!!

Selfish....

Felt like a 5 year old on Christmas morning..... Woken up at 5am by Jake and couldn't get back to sleep... So I was riding before 6 to get it done.... And Santa didn't even save me some cookies for "Recovery"....

Merry Christmas!!!

It's Official!!!

It has been officially released..... the Trek Canada MTB Team for 2014.... and i made the cut!!!!  Super happy and excited about another season full of suffering, laughs, travelling, racing and learning with my amazing Team Mates....
Canadian Cyclist Press Release can be found HERE
Quickly... Trek Canada consists of:
me.... the Old Man...
"Sweet Potato" Peter Glassford
"Mighty Mouse" Karlee Gendron
"Diva" Mitch Bailey
Soren "Need a Nickname" Meeuwisse
Very happy to have Soren on board... i have been watching her progress and mature in cycling for years, and always knew that she had the potential to be National Champion and wanted her on our Team.  She's also a pretty good XC Ski Racer i hear.... ???
Keep track of the Trek Canada Web Page for updates....

Powder tracks...

Hit the forest again on the weekend for another Snow MTB ride... Tons of fun!!!

Now I know why people live the Fat Bikes in the winter.... Anything to avoid the trainer!!!

Just me and the forest kritters...

Dragging my Knuckles

Spent the last week moving everything we own out of one house and into the new house. It all fit into 8 load of UHaul ... So I spent a food week of Strength. Had everything moved in and unpacked in less than 3 days...

Sue's desire to see how the piano looked in every room of the house was greatly Un-appreciated!!!

Spent a few amazing days riding in the snow filled winter wonderland.  Thought i would check out the forest on a solo ride, and didn't want to leave.  Then joined Adam, Emily and Eric for a totally fun snow-throw down and another solid 2.5hrs in the trees hitting all the "regular" trails.  And then rode back out the next day to the forest for another couple hours with Adam and Emily.  So much fun riding in the snow and testing the nerves and handling skills as we fought the ice, drifts, tracks and off camber.... Highly recommend checking it out when the snow returns... the Early Bird gets the Powder Tracks!!!

Pumped about the snow!!!!

Taken down by an un-named professional cyclist (...Emily) while racing for the Tree-Branch-Snow-Dump-On-The-Person-Behind-You trick...

This one was MY fault...

Way too much fun.. and yes, Eric rode Emily's CX bike for the day - impressive...

How do you get Fat?

Finished the Racing Season with an early morning flight to Costa Rica for our first Family Vacation in a long time... and we were all looking forward to some relaxation, warmth, sleep and fun.... My body went into a bit of shock as it changed from Racing to All Inclusive... all those calories that i denied myself during the summer were compensated for very quickly...
the only exercise i had for the week was taking part in the Daily Crazy Games around the pool.... a few jumping jacks, a swim across the pool, walking like a monkey and chugging beer (gag....) won me the amazing prize of a T-shirt!!!

Mojitos on the pooldeck at 9:30am.... 

A Milkshake Bar.... Seriously??? Sweet...

Looking for trouble...

Had a day with 8ft surf and spent a few good hours on the Boogy Boards...

Pro Photographer took some amazing pics of the Kids and Family...

Look at me... all Fat and Flabby....

What ya gonna do, Brother?

I think I have some work to do...

All Tingely...

Sneaking in some Secret Snow Training with Adam and Emily lately... Loving the company but not the cold weather!!!

First ride of the year to finish with frozen fingers and a warm shower to thaw out...

Like a punch in the face...

Hit the CX Provs this past weekend up at Albion Hills... great course but lots of really steep tough hills that made you wonder if it would be faster to run them...
Course held the previous days rain pretty well, with the exception of the Frozen Mud Ruts on Corner #1, and the log-overs were a fun addition for us MTB'ers...
Not sure what the OCA was doing with Call Ups, but i snuck onto the 2nd row and didn't hear my name called for about 30+ riders, but had a pretty good start.  As expected, it was Rob Holmgren and I at the front leading the charge, trying to stay away from Andrew "Quads" Croutch ....
i had been fighting a bit of fatigue and cold throughout the week and didn't get much riding in, so i knew this was going to be a struggle and it was... i had to bridge up to Rob after most of the hills and finally lost his wheel with less than 2 to go.... stayed away from Croutch for 2nd but had to fight throughout the entire race.... I always race better with more hours in my legs, and my Flatness on the Hills proved to be my downfall....
Always nice to battle at the front with Rob... makes for exciting race...
BTW - sorry for Poaching your interview Rob.... but what Canadian Cycling wrote applies to both of us...
- Jon Barnes (Trek Canada), second in Master B Male, feels that the new practice of having the Master 1 men's field start with the Elite men's field at regular O-Cup races has been beneficial.  "I'm way faster than last year.  It makes the group better."  Referring to himself and Holmgren, Barnes commented that "We're two 40 year-old guys racing with Peter Disera.  When you're racing with guys like that it only makes you better."

Cool Pic showing the Masters at High Speed!!

One of the Punchy Climbs that I barely made it up!!!

Grow your Mo!!!

Laying the groundwork of whiskers for another attempt at the Mo... Not sure what I will carve it like... but I know it won't look good!!  

Splish Splash... I need a bath!!!

The annual Baseball CX race happened last weekend.... after a day filled with rain and a morning filled with snow and more wet stuff... turning the conditions into Epic CX race conditions!!!  It warmed up to about 5 degrees and started snowing on us for part of the race... just because it was getting to easy!!!  Rode a good race, got into a good group, realized that you have to listen to know when the Primes are, splashed through deep mud puddles and fought the thick mud... as Andrew Watson said "I've never had to pedal so hard going DOWN a hill!!"  Yeah...
I also learned that hesitating to take control can cost you... which is what Rob Holmgren did NOT do... resulting in him finishing 1st in our Chase Group of 3... and me finishing last!!!
Mark Batty has told me "Don't be afraid to take control.  Sometimes you have to go 100%!!"
I'm slowly getting smarter...

Disera making his charge ... kept him close for a while before he got away...

Leading the Double Barriers.... after which I missed my chance to control of my Finishing Fate...

End of the long Mud Soup Puddle...

Short run up.... "Ohhh... THIS is where the Prime is..."

It's a Great Great day for CX racing...

Next stop on the Ontario CX tour is Centennial Park.... where we were faced with a Really fun and twisty course that took full advantage of the surrounding hills.... tons of fun to race (except for the 18" stairs!!) and i had another good day.  we had a good start group until Morka decided after 2 laps to finish solo... and i battled with Marco, Nathan, Tim and Disera... not a bad group to ride with!!!  I was wondering how it was all going to finish, so thanks to Nathan for slipping out on a corner and taking himself out of the spring.  came around the last corner 3rd wheel thinking that the Sprint would hit at about 200m to go... but Marco decided to start is Really early to shake Disera and myself.... almost caught back on and thought about getting around Peter when he unleashed his Power and pull away....
can't be upset with this day... great course / great race / more beer... and some of Sue's family came out to cheer us on....
Enjoy the Centennial Park Picture Party!!!  (PS - photo credits go to Emily Batty... another talent of hers...)

Trek Canada Leading the first lap!!!

Nice Punchy Climb to open up the legs...

Trying to attack PD.... to no avail!!

Worst part of the course.... Big Gap Stairs!!!

High speed corner led by the Old Man...

"Wow... PD's got some Power!!!"

Fun while it lasted... but glad it's over!!

Extra Encouragement.... although my kids were too busy playing football with Scott Bently to see Daddy race!!

Falling for Fall...

Beautiful time of the year to be on the trails... Cooler temps. Amazing colours. Great rides with Morka and Rango. Get out there before its time to hang up the bikes til spring!!

Is it Hunting Season??

So i have been doing the Rabbiting for the Cross Country races at school for years now... and have been loving it!  they are some of my favorite days of the year, and it's great to see the kids enjoy the Character that i have created with the Bunny Suit and the smiles....
i was approached this year by a mother who has had kids chase me around for year, who also works at Global, so after a few emails and phone calls, Susan Hay came to spend the day with us (in the cold!!!) to film a little piece about me and the event...
the result of this day can be accessed by the link HERE ... there is some article and a little video that aired last Wednesday on Global's Making a Difference piece.... fun to be recognized and appreciated for having fun with the kids!!!!

Back for more...

... back for more Pain that is!!!!  Round 2 for me of the CX season was close to home over Thanksgiving.. the Durham Classic CX race... new venue and completely High Speed!!!!  no small ring needed... and even the "climb" was done at about 24km/h....

always good to do a Pre-Ride with Adam Morka.... he knows his way around a bike and has talent finding the Fast Lines..

Got myself into a nice group (after Morka rode away from us on the 1st Lap...) and was trying to figure out how it would play out...

Rob Holmgren is always strong and a great competitor....so we both knew that the other one was our Greatest Worry...

Until i tripped over a barrier, lost the group, could never catch up and was out of the Finishing Equation....

oh well... My Bad as the kids say.... can't be upset with how i rode on a course that was not really my style... although the Super Fast Flowing Downhill was a Ton of Fun!!!!

One for the books...

Hit the first CX race of the year after a rainy saturday down in St. Catherines for Fireman's Cross.  Great course and a good turn out for the Elite / M1 field and it was a battle from the start!!!  Lots of power flats, slippery run-ups and a few long peanut butter bogs made it a hard day in the saddle.... plus the fact that i was feeling good (and young!!) when i got into a group with Nathan Chown and Marco Li.  Ended up bridging the group up to Peter Disera and riding with him for a while (yes i'm bragging....)  Too bad it took everything i had and i fell off the group for the last couple laps, but managed to finish 5th overall and 1st M1.  Great, hard way to start off the season, and looking forward to more!!!

Slippery Run Down / Up that sent the HR soaring!!!

A couple good looking Bottles of Beer...  Trek Canada takes both podiums!!

A big thanks to the organizers at Real Deal.... and John Safka at cyclingphotos.com for the Pics and Podium beer!!!

Burning off the Turkey

Enjoyed a beautiful afternoon on the long weekend with a ride with food friends.... Adam, Emily, Mark, Danielle and Charlotte. Did more chatting than pedalling but sometimes that is what the legs need most...

Party in the Trees

It's funny how small the world can be... Gathered some Ride Together Not Very Often friends for a rip in Durham when we come across Chico and a group of his riding buddies.... And it turns out that everyone knows each other!!!  I was actually the one that knew the fewest people in the group... imagine that!!

The end of the ride felt like a low budget horror movie with the last person in the group taking wrong turns and getting lost... Or eaten by the Forest Beast!!!  Glad everyone for home safely... no search party requires!!!

Don't call me...

Just got my hands on the Fall Trek Catalog...  I know what I'll be reading did the next couple weeks!!!  The Trek Lifestyle and Company Beliefs are so amazing...

All done but the Crying...

The Fall 8hr can always be a bit dodgy with the weather... But Trek Canada decided to throw it down and rock a beautiful day on the bikes. Thanks to Adam "the Man" Morka for joining us and hitting some hot laps. Always a good day with the Team and Barry's Trek Store Boys under the tent... Although a few too many ShotBlox turned me into the days entertainment!!!

Team Smiles. Karlee "Mighty Mouse" handing it off. Paleo Squats while waiting for awards. Rubbing shoulders with Morka to steal his speed through osmosis. Team smiles all day long...