Guelph CX southern cup #1

Well i entered a new sphere within my cycling this past weekend....

Cyclo-cross (CX).

Which i have to say was both fun and really rather harder than racing on the road (for me at least).

luckily I have no aspirations other than to:

A: sustain a bit of off season fitness.
B. improve my bike handling skills
C: have a bit of fun on the weekends between now and Christmas getting wet and muddy!!!

And given my current skill levels its probably a good thing! Anyway i hit my first race Sunday, when John "justice" Provart drove us down to Guelph for the first SO cup meeting.

And it was great! both for the team and for myself.

collectively we scored two 1st places and two 3rd's!!! And even a Jit bag (see #3) like myself managed to scrap round for a 10th place and my first 7 points, a sense of accomplishment and the mild taste of blood in my lungs, so i knew it was a good effort!

Basically a 1hr technical ITT on grass and gravel..

Unfortunately "Justice" had his rear tub come off on the first lap and ended up f**kin his ankle along with the early part of his CX season, however showing considerable #5 on the drive home and the hospital, i think it won't be long until he's back on the bike again (shit like you've got two legs right?!?...pussy ;0)

But team mate Rob Sule came in 1st over 1min 30secs ahead of me!!!! (how does he do it???) things are looking good for him this season, especially as the nationals are in town and he's riding Master C for the first time!

Anyway there where loads of great images to be had afterwards including this great (cause I'm in it of course) little montage that Marc Sullivan did for me...thx Marc!!!

next up is Christie Pits this coming Sunday!!! boo-ya!!! can't wait...

Friends and freckled fields: good for the soul

Well I have to say I'm feeling good again out on the bike. Saturday i hooked up with my good riding Buddy, Bruce to do what turned out to be an ambling impromptu century ride taking in some steady climbs and dirt tracks.

Just what the doctor ordered. In fact Bruce just had surgery to clear two blocked arteries, so it was an unfortunate marker of my own fitness level to have him easily sit on my wheel on the many climbs we hit!

anyway even after 8hrs of riding and chatting and only a minor stop or two for coffee and a muffin instead of feeling like i had just done 160km it felt more like 50km...which in part was down to finally getting away from systemized training and back to long rambling rides and also to my new "Andy Gilmour" bike.

it was the first time i had taken it out on such a long ride and even on some of the rough northern roads and dirt trails it was super smooth and comfy....sweet!

So come Sunday and the last race of the season i felt great and refreshed and ready to start riding again. (quite different from a week or so ago).

anyway :

we rounded of a long and successful season on Sunday with the Queens Park Grand Prix, back after a long 15 hiatus.

A fast 1.5km circuit with little chance of getting away. A high speed crit averaging 46kmph (27mph) for just over an hour. And that was just the Old folk.

later in the day garmins Ryder Hesjedal and local boy Michael Barry (sky) were in town to rip it up with the elite S1/2 guys. which was fun to watch. you can check it out below.

Schiller wins Queen's Park GP, Hesjedal 3rd - sportsnet.ca

Got to say a big thanks to Helo Vèlo for organising that it was great to see that size of event back in the centre of town.

Also want to let folk know they have their 2nd annual swap meet Oct. 9th go check it out for some sweet deals....

Ok So now the season is over, its long enjoyable rides in autumn colours and weight loss (down already)...nice

watch this space (if you can be bothered).

a little bit cross and a little bit country!

Well I`m glad to say that in the midst of my cycling burn-out i got a new Cyclo-cross bike and started to refind my lust for the rubber.

And i have to say so far i love my bike, and i'm lovin hitting the single track in the don valley...
After 8mths of a constant diet of 20min lactate threshold intervals and vo2 max hill reps i have to say i was getting sick of the site of my local training spot, but now I can enjoy the trails skirting the perimeter. Sweet!!!

and its fun as well, the rush of obstacles coming at you keeps you on your toes and distracts you from the endless monotony of grinding away on the road, and flying past the Odd mountain biker adds to the experience as well.

Time will tell how i feel about the race side of things, but i really have no ambitions for anything other than a few laughs and some good training to get me through the winter months that are rapidly approaching.
i just wish i could bring it home to the UK with me this winter for a spin over the forest, but that space might be being reserved for something else (craig stop pontificating about the woes of Unions, or the Palestinian issue and give me a shout ;0)...)

well there's your problem!!!!

So i had a little spill whilst training a few weeks ago (june or something) hurt like a fecker! thought i had a slight separation or something.
anyway instigated rule# 5, and was back on the bike within 2days. Potholes were not my favourite thing for a while.

Anyway the arms been giving me grief for the last few months, occasional shooting pains, can't sleep on it etc. etc. Finally thought I had better go get it checked out....
get some x-rays done, wait to go back to see the doctor, then he tells me, "oh you've got a compacted fracture! But you're lucky, You broke the bones and the two jagged ends were pushed into each other and fused together. Next time don't wait so long to get it checked out."
I just spent the last month underpinning a basement, and rounding up the season! Still got another one right???!!!

BeEfCaKe!!!!!!

Provincial ITT champs are only 6days away.....

And I feel like its going to be nothing to write home about, so i guess i'll simply blog instead.
Spent a very wet and windy weekend in the woods next to a lake this weekend (last of summer).
Unperturbed though i headed out on the bike to try to get used to the Time trial position. I knew i was going to be in for a rough ride when I was quickly heading up hill at nearly 50kmph.
Mostly due to the gusting 40kmph tail wind i was going to have to face on my return trip.
The pouring rain and sketchy roads made it interesting, but not as much as crossing the many rickety train lines dissecting the roadway at obtuse angles. If you don't know, metal train tracks and wet weather don't mix to well at anything other than 90 degrees. Having you rear wheel slip out nearly a foot from under you can be a little disconcerting, but no harm no foul I guess.
anyway after a month of heavy construction work my back really is not enjoying new super aero position and after 40mins was killing me. I guess most my training this week will consist of stretching.

Anyway mostly i'll be using the whole experience for learning, and for trying out my new skin-suit and aero helmet....stylish.

good job i'm ramping up the commitment to off season dieting....