Tremblant - Finally great weather!!!

So the Team headed over to Tremblant for the first Canada Cup of the year.... and after consistent races of mud and rain, it was finally a warm and dry day!!!  The course was in great shape, and was all new this year... incorporating the Cadet Downhill beside the old Feed Zone and some fun stair drops in the Village before heading back up on an extended climb.....
Starting at the bottom of the Village always add a bit more Punch to the start, but I felt really good in the warm up had a strong start.... chased down the Lone Lead Out Man that created an early gap... I came around him at the top of the extended climb but got jumped by a late charging racer before the single track.... which is always tough to ride clean - especially with this year's lapped traffic.  A few dismounts and runs later, the 2 of us were away and rolling for the first lap, where i then took charge of the pace for the 2nd lap.  I could tell he was having a hard time holding my pace, so a little extra on the extended climb on the 3rd lap (with 2 to go - we did 5 laps this year) and i got the gap i needed... from there it was just a game of trying to ride smooth and powerful while putting riders between myself and my Chaser....

All in all it was a great day, and i rolled across the line just over 2min ahead.  Turns out, my Chaser was the Trek rep from Western Quebec / Eastern Ontario and the 40-44 Road National Champ... so we had some things to talk about!!
Great day also for the rest of the Team, with Soren winning by a comfortable margin, PG having a great ride to come in 13th, Tyler riding well until getting bumped off a bridge before finishing 15th ... but Adam ran into some tough luck crashing hard in a small group on a high speed downhill.
Always a great time in Tremblant with the Team..... and the Beaver Tails make it all worth while!!!!
Check out our Trek Canada Team site for full details.... www.trekcanada.ca

Getting ready to Hammer....

You know it's going to be a good ride when you have to pull out multiple Hammer products... HEED, bars and Recoverite for when I get home....

Special Shout Out to Hammer for all their support of Trek Canada this year!!!

What else is new...?

Hanging out at Tremblant with the Team... Did some laps in the rain and wet... Need some Hammer to recover and then it will be time to light the Fire up through the Village tomorrow... Should be fun!!!

Let's get this started!!!!

The annual start of the OCup season was last weekend at Woodnewton... close to home and always a great course to test the early fitness.  With the "usual suspects" in the starting corral, we headed off to a very hilly and Full Throttle race where every corner was important and any errors were costly....
As always, the Trek Canada Team was fully taken care of with our amazing Superfly SL bikes (a few 100's in there for those who wanted dually's...) and another great collection of Bontrager parts and tires....
Our Theme this year is "High Viz"... gloves, socks, bikes, helmets, and arm warmers sure make us hard to miss!!!

Anther great battled ensued at the front of the group, and after much effort to catch up and instigate said battle, i did my best to push the pace and snap the elastic.... which unfortunately did not happen... leaving a sprint to the top of the Spectator Climb - which i was just nudged out of... 

Very little passing opportunities remained, and I lost the sprint to the finish.... a close 2nd but very happy with how my legs responded to the long effort, hills and speed....

It was also the first race of the year for the kids... both of whom had pretty good rides... but intensity is something that you need to learn to love... which showed on their faces at the end of the day...

Next up.... a weekend to get some long hours in before heading to Tremblant for the first Canada Cup of the year.. and then off to Kelso for another OCup.... looking forward to it!!!

P2A Party!!!

So.... the first REAL throw down of the year happened last weekend... with the largest single day cycling event in Canada... the Paris to Ancaster Race!!!  Over 2000 participants (70km, 40km and 20km categories) lined up to roll through some tough gravel roads, farmers fields and much chutes as they raced for the finish line...
I was lucky enough to get into the Elite Group and stared first, and even snuck my way into the first couple rows with Pete Glassford... it's all about who you know!!!
But that is where my luck ended.... and i had my bars bumped within the first 10 pedal strokes and almost crashed (lost a bunch of spots).. and then as we were averaging 42km/h along the river, someone decided to take my line and pushed me halfway to the river.... i dodged a few trees and made my way back to the pack (in a huge gear going WAY slower than the group) ..... but i made it back in one piece!!

Trying to make up for lost spots, i pushed hard on the first sections of gravel road to bridge between groups.... and can now easily spell  N O   M A N ' S   L A N D..... and i can also spell BLEW UP!!
Dropped a few gaps until i finally found a group that contained the winning Female and some riders who were willing to stay together and work...
As we approached the base of the Final Climb, the rest of the group seemed to drop away, and i tried to catch a few spots on the way up.... passing a Blown McSneaky and Blown Lespy.... only to be forced into a few running steps by my cramping legs, steep pitch and over-sided gears.... there goes my ability to brag about beating McSneaky and Lespy!!!
Made it to the top and gulped oxygen for a while before enjoying the great finishing atmosphere that P2A is famous for....

Shout out to P in the G for his great performance finishing up in 10th spot in a very tough front group.... dry conditions make for a different race when all the Roadie Power comes in to play....

Back ON the radar!!

Ok.. Ok... it's been a while!!
But it's been a fun winter, but not one that has allowed me to head south and ride in the warmth like other lucky people I know.....
So what Have I been up to??  Well.... aside from working, coaching and doing stuff around the house, the kids have been excessively committed to road hockey this winter... to the point of making me help them shovel the road so they can play a game... in the rain!!  My driveway didn't get shoveled, but we cleared a bit enough section of road to have a good game... and earn a few strange looks from cars as they passed by!!

We also spent a good amount of time skiing this year.... with the kids joining me for my school's Ski Club nights and having some fun (but very cold) days on the slopes...

One the snow finally arrived, I took every chance I could on the weekends to head out and hit the snowshoes!!!  I love snowshoeing - being able to go where-ever you want and not being restricted to trails, tracks or paths.... and although it's a slow form of training, it's always a good time!!!

Many of these snowshoeing trips involved Eric Batty .... who has a strange love of steep hills and many stories to tell!!!  Wandering the forests of Pleasure Valley on very OLD bike trails and the hills of Durham forest.... always worth the butter tart on the way home!!

I also spent some time on the trainer in the basement (in my newly finished training room!!) working on specific parts of fitness that will be needed come spring time.... not always fun but always beneficial...

the only thing Jake wanted for Christmas was a BMX bike, so that means we spent some great days at Joyride 150 in the new year.... mastering the skinnies, hitting jump lines and pumping the pump track..... great skills that will be used in the races and just a whole ton of fun!!!

and now that spring is upon us, it's time to see how all that work translates into performance on the bike.... so soon it will be off to P2A for my first race of the year before a few more Spring Classics and then onto the OCup scene.... it's amazing how fast the winter goes by, but i'm looking forward to summer!!!

Yup... you were good 2014!!!

A great year has passed... and many more will come... but it's worth taking a few minutes to look back and remember the fun had and memories made during the past months.... aside from the great times at the cottage, at Hardwood weekly races and riding in the forest with the Boys.... the following pictures pull back good thoughts and force a smile across my face... even as snow is falling outside the window!!!

Mansfield OCup brought back the Exit Wound... and a great start to the season!!

Nationals - Hardwood put on a great Show with a great course, and it was one of "Those" races for me.... everything went right and my legs never got tired....

Didn't get to race as much CX as i planned... but i hate too love 'cross.... so hard but so much fun!!

Shinanigans usually happen when the full Team gets together... and Sudbury CCup was no exception... at least we didn't go for Shots like at Tremblant!!!

Ramping it up for Nationals while in Sudbury.... working on aggressive hills and smooth descents....

So now it's time to put on far too many layers, ride in the dark and the cold, spend hours on the trainer, find ways to crosstrain because it's too snowy, work on skills and Joyride 150.... and mentally prepare myself for what lies ahead - another season suffering and smiles, training and team-mates, races and rocks....
and a chance to thank all those who helped me through a great season - from my wife and kids, to Barry and my Trek Canada team-mates, and our amazing sponsors (Trek bikes, 2XU compression, ClifBar, SRAM, ProGold lube and ESI Grips) and friends and training partners .... THANKS for being there and helping do what i do, and encouraging me to be the best i can be.... You are all appreciated and a part of my success!!
Looking forward to 2015!!!