Mo-vember Week 2

so the Mo is still a Go..... much to Sue's dislike... and getting to be an annoyance to me... i don't know how ZZ Top does it.... yes... it's taken 2 1/2 weeks to grow this....

but Team Handlebar is growing.... 2 new members... So much Manly-ness gathered in one small space is frightening....

another Mo Bro.... Whacha Gonna Do?

Mo-vember

also know as "how to make your wife want to NOT kiss you for 30 days".... but why not... all in the name of raising money for prostate cancer awareness and treatment...

my growth after Week 1....

my team-mate....

our inspiration...

if you're interested in more info or want to sponsor us so there is a valid reason for looking this way... check out...

http://ca.movemberfoundation.com/

there is a Donate box at the very bottom... you can search my name or our team West Hill...

i'll keep you posted on the growth....

At least someone in the family is racing...

so jake kept me company at the UCI race in Toronto a few weeks back... a great weekend for racing the biggest CX race in North America.... and it was great to watch (but better to ride)... jake did the kids race... had a great time....

rippin' it in the sandpit....

slammin' the sidehill.... and of course collecting his medal and waterbottle.... my knee is doing pretty well.... time to build some hours and save on gas by commuting...

Back at it

YAY!!! i'm riding again.... much to the dislike of my wife.... but the knee is back to about 85-90% with some endurance rides... i'm thinking that part of it now is just a lack of strength and imbalance between my legs.... so it's time to start building the easy hours... and avoiding the Sign Sprints!!! i was welcomed back to commuting by a beautiful sunrise .... at 7am in -3 degrees.... somewhere east of Scarborough... a good start to any day...

So... Um.. Where's Barnes?

yeah... so i was feeling good enough at the end of the season to committ to racing 'cross again this year.. especially since we have Nationals in Toronto.... but my knee has had other opinions. Spent some time (and got a parking ticket!!!) at Urban Athlete to get my Patella Femoral Syndrome fixed up... sounds fancy but it's just an imbalance in my quad muscles that make my knee cap track incorrectly when i bend my knee.

So it's now been about 4.5 weeks... and i'm dying to get back on the bike!!! started doing a bit of really easy spinning on the trainer last week to test things out, and it felt pretty good. I also got a new 'cross bike... a super-upgraded Trek XO1 (thanks barry!!) and wish that i was racing 'cross.... but it's better to look at the big picture and remember that it's a long winter of training before next season starts up....

so on my "off-season"... probably the first one i've ever taken.... we've been having some fun... camping, playing hockey, fishing and getting started into the school year.... but now that things are settled... it's time to get it going again.

Sue says "Boy... this trail is pretty steep and rock... it's tough to walk up"... Jon replies "Yeah... this looks like the singletrack downhill at Bromont"... and then Jake gives 'er up the trail...

Luke actually sitting still.... wow...

I'll be down at 'cross Nats this weekend... and i'm sure i'll come back with no voice... should be a good show...

Duke's Epic 8hr

An 8hr race... sounds like fun... i've done them before solo and thought that i would share the ride with Steve Heck... he might be fast enough to hold his own.... started off okay but didn't feel "snappy" right from the gun.... but the weather sucked all day... cold... windy... changing between raining and blowing mist.... yuck.... i also had some knee troubles (that i've been fighting all summer) that felt like scraping on the inside of my knee cap on every pedal stroke.... stole my power and much of my enjoyment of the day.... in the end steve and i finished up 2nd.... i did 8 laps (80km) with an average lap time of 30min... not a bad effort for a couple old guys....

congrats to Barry Near and the other "Old Cranky Men" for winning their division...

and of course the day finishes off with the nicer weather coming out....

Ride for Karen 2010

September 11th was the annual Ride for Karen charity ride that the team .... and a bunch of great people... do to help raise money to send kids with cancer to camps in the Muskoka's.... and it was a great day. We had over 300 riders from all abilities levels riding on the roads around Maple Ontario... and we were all greeted back to the Start / Finish area with great cheers and applause. This year we raised just over $200,000 ... sending dozens of kids to camp and continuing to fund a really neat program called "Ooch on the 8th"... where Camp Oochigaus has created a camp-like atmosphere on the 8th floor of Sick Kids Hospital... very cool for those kids who can't actually leave the hospital. It was also a special year because Kirk and Kris (the 2 sons of Karen and the organizers of the ride) also lost their father Kal to cancer a month before the ride.... i can't imagine how hard it was for them. It was great to see the title sponsor ScotiaBank commit to another 3 years of sponsoring the event.... to the tune of almost $75,000 for the 3 year... i rode up to "Big Wig" from Scotia who is also a great rider... put my hand on his shoulder and said "You're awesome..." and then i faded back into the sea of jerseys.... It was a great day for a great cause, and i'm glad to support the Ride for Karen and everything that it represents... Great job Kirk and Kris.... (Donations can still be made at www.rideforkaren.com)