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...

Chasing Shadows...

Love riding this time of year... Cool temps,... Nice leaves... Fun Rides rather than staring at a HR monitor... Although chasing around Morka and EB is more than I want!!!

Who's the King...?

Annual Tour de King happened on a rather cool and damp day... But that's fall racing!!!  Turned out to be a great course that took the water really well ... The worst part was the "neutral" roll out... Thanks Zanstra!!!  Got into a group of 3 (after Derek ride away) and worked really well together. Didn't have the best climbing legs but rolled well and was happy to sit on the Young Aaron's wheels for the windy road... glad he didn't ask me to pull through. Got a bit mixed up at the end and finished on the shorter course so we went back and finished properly in order to earn our Hero Burgers and hug from Emily Batty (which was much better than the burger...). Another great Superfly Racing event and managed to pull off the W for the Old Man Category...