So here is a little update on some more races that we've done.
Azencross in Loenhout, one of the better attended cross races in all of Europe. This race generally attracts more nations than the World Cup. My number was 171, so I think there were at least 100 guys signed up. For some reason they messed up my UCI number and I didn't get a call up. So back row. Well actually had the best start to date, threw the elbows out and squeeked my way up 20 spots throughout the first lap, but then could only move up here and there after. So for some reson I wasn't in the results page either, but I would have finished 1 lap down. This course was very interesting, lots of mud, lots of fly overs, tons of drunk Belgian fans littering the course with probably 50, 000 empty beer cups.
This leads me to one more conclusion. The popularity of Cross in Europe is definetly more so than in North America. But many of the 20, ooo fans that are there are not really there to watch the race. Sure a lot of them are die hard "SUPPORTER OF", fully decked out in Sven Nys coats, Erwin V hats or Bart Wellens buffs(a buff is some wierd material that is worn as a hat, scarf, bandana by everyone out here). But a lot of them are just there for the atmosphere, the party and the booze. It kind of reminds me of a cross between a concert and soccer game. Fans fill all local bars within a kilometer radius before the race, some are there for the juniors and women, but they mostly spill out for the Elite race while severly intoxicated and proceede to act a lot like soccer fans cheering on their favorites and heckling everyone else. Maybe in North America we should make a cross race beside a Nascar event. I bet everybody that is standing around drunk would love to watch funny looking people in spandex crash and throttle themselves through endless sand and mud.
Oh yah, back to the race, this is the one with the famous bmx style "woops". It's really twisty and turny and it is just lines with wall to wall people, it's pretty cool. Tasha jammed her wrist pretty hard in warm up, so she didn't get to do it, so we'll have to put that one in for next year.
Norzeecross. I think it is supposed to be the oldest cross race in Belgium. Nord meaning north, zee meaning sea, it is guess where...right on the North Sea in Middelkirke.
Mud, mud, mud. Man this was the one race that we did "low key" and just packed three of us in a car and didn't have any support crew. Haha, if we only knew. You couldn't even ride one lap without seriously needing a bike change. If they had a race like this in Ontario, which they never could less you irrigated a muddy field for a week, it would probably make a lot of people give up racing. They somehow actually manage to put some little hills in it as well, I guess there are indeed elevation changes here after all. So, like I said we have no support, so on the start our bikes are not the cleanest, but we wern't the only ones. After a whole season on the same tires...I flat. It's kind of ironic to flat in the mud the one time that I don't have my spare bike and there is nothing in the pit. I ran to the pit, mostly out of frustration, but it was over. I was actually on a good day considering my sinus are infected and I am coughing up yellow sputum and it was my 6th race in 8 days...ha..that really makes me laugh that I'm in an aweful state and I can still drill it. Kevin bit it hard on the one piece of pavement and Nathan broke his derailer, so none of us finished. Haha, good thing it was a whole 20 minute drive. I think some guy named Sven Nys won...
It was defineltly a race worth going to, if you want to learn what mud is...this is the race. I have a whole new respect for mud, there are just so many kinds of mud here.
Tacky sticky mud that actually is kind fast and soft and you can actually feel the tires stick to it. Thick hard rutted mud in the cold weather.
Frozen cow dung, tractor tire rut break your carbon rims mud.
Thick soupy rip your shoes off your feet if they are not on tight enough mud.
Then on top of those basic muds, you can have a combination of some or all of those muds at the same time, in the same 20 meters. Good thing about 99% of the races we did in North America had about 1% mud. Great preparation for going to Europe.
But the mud today was like a thick gluey grey semi-wet mud that made you regret eating too many stroopwafles and made you think your ass was fat.
Funny that I would race well and feel good, when I am probably on the verge of a bacterial pneumonia...cause all week its been warm up on the trainer, cool down on the trainer, healthy carbs blah blah blah. Yesterday got two frigin huge frites with about a gallon of mayo immediatly after the race , (So did Wendy Simms) chased it down with a 7up, then ate a whole buch of crepes, then had a beer(my only one so far) then ate cake. Today half a warm up lap and a little spin around the block to get a coffee, which I have not found anywhere that gives coffee to go, clearly a sign of an undercaffinated nation. I felt good unitl the flat. Oh well.
So, no coffee to go, but you can buy beer on the corner and everyone seems to urinate where ever they feel it is appropriate, mostly on electrical fences, this is something I take full advantage of. It's the the little things in life that are great.
Sorry there are no play by plays of the races, you can buy the videos if you really want to see them. I'm the guy with spit hanging off his chin that gets lapped at the World Cup in the sand. Got to have some claim to fame.
So racing is done and I'm on holidays. I wanted to race tomorow in the Super Prestige, but Natasha wants to get romanic and do real people stuff and go to Brugge. I promissed her that we could have one day off the bike, so if I want to keep my little stroopwaffle of a girlfriend I better be good to her cause you know she is the only one that can put up with me.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Things happen is 3's
So I haven't posted in a few days and my parents are probably woundering if I'm okay. Yes, I am OK. Had a great race at the world cup considering being almost last around the first corner, managed to find some holes to run around lots of riders. Ended up 26th and only 4 minutes back from the winner. Not to shabby for my first World Cup ever and my second year of racing cross.
Yesterday was suppose to be my final race for our trip but it did not fly. I'm pretty bummed as I wanted to have a good start and improve on my top 13th position. I went to pre-ride the course and this lasted about 4 minutes before I broke my wrist. The first section was super muddy, like soup for 100 metres. Nobody could ride it so you had to run through it and run up a fly over and then jump on your bike and go down it into soup mud again. As I was going down the ramp I noticed I wasn't going directly into a grove and I change my line. Big mistake, as soup mud isn't really forgiving when hitting it fast off a down hill. I flipped over my bike and landed on my wrist. It immediately swelled up and I was unsure if I should race or not. My decisions were mainly based on me ending on a good note. I thought having a great world cup was good to end with, and maybe if I raced again I would be okay but if I was crashing all over the place because my wrist couldn't hold my handle bars tight, I would be pretty upset. After a few more hours the decision was probably really smart, my fingers started to look like someone blew air into a rubber glove and my wrist looked pretty warped.
Wendy had an awesome race yesterday and was super close to her first european podium ever. I definitely think she will have podium spot before her trip is over. As Derrick posted before, my other housemate Barb Howe, who's racing women's elite wasn't racing as she was injured at the world cup. She had surgery and was back the other day in full spirits. Derrick and I both wish her a super speedy recovery. As a joke yesterday I bought her a Erwin Vervecken mug. She actually knows him as she spent a weekend for a race in the same host housing.
So now Nathan Chown (who is also in the house with us racing men's elite) has a broken wrist, Barb has a torn achilles tendon which was re-attached, and I have a broken wrist. We have hopefully completed are list of things happening in 3's.
Derrick did the race yesterday, and raced really well for the annoucers missing his call up and starting dead last on the line. He moved through the pack and started riding better and better as each lap went on by. He's kind of sick, yeah sick in the head, but also sick with a cold and refusing to stop racing. Now he is says he is going to race again today which I think is pretty stupid. But who am I to say or know better. He's the nurse, who didn't think my wrist was that bad until he took the time to look at it. Never think nurses are the most caring people when it comes to injuries or illnesses!
Yesterday was suppose to be my final race for our trip but it did not fly. I'm pretty bummed as I wanted to have a good start and improve on my top 13th position. I went to pre-ride the course and this lasted about 4 minutes before I broke my wrist. The first section was super muddy, like soup for 100 metres. Nobody could ride it so you had to run through it and run up a fly over and then jump on your bike and go down it into soup mud again. As I was going down the ramp I noticed I wasn't going directly into a grove and I change my line. Big mistake, as soup mud isn't really forgiving when hitting it fast off a down hill. I flipped over my bike and landed on my wrist. It immediately swelled up and I was unsure if I should race or not. My decisions were mainly based on me ending on a good note. I thought having a great world cup was good to end with, and maybe if I raced again I would be okay but if I was crashing all over the place because my wrist couldn't hold my handle bars tight, I would be pretty upset. After a few more hours the decision was probably really smart, my fingers started to look like someone blew air into a rubber glove and my wrist looked pretty warped.
Wendy had an awesome race yesterday and was super close to her first european podium ever. I definitely think she will have podium spot before her trip is over. As Derrick posted before, my other housemate Barb Howe, who's racing women's elite wasn't racing as she was injured at the world cup. She had surgery and was back the other day in full spirits. Derrick and I both wish her a super speedy recovery. As a joke yesterday I bought her a Erwin Vervecken mug. She actually knows him as she spent a weekend for a race in the same host housing.
So now Nathan Chown (who is also in the house with us racing men's elite) has a broken wrist, Barb has a torn achilles tendon which was re-attached, and I have a broken wrist. We have hopefully completed are list of things happening in 3's.
Derrick did the race yesterday, and raced really well for the annoucers missing his call up and starting dead last on the line. He moved through the pack and started riding better and better as each lap went on by. He's kind of sick, yeah sick in the head, but also sick with a cold and refusing to stop racing. Now he is says he is going to race again today which I think is pretty stupid. But who am I to say or know better. He's the nurse, who didn't think my wrist was that bad until he took the time to look at it. Never think nurses are the most caring people when it comes to injuries or illnesses!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
World Cup, Hofstade Belgium
So if you read my last post I said I would ride like my job depended on it. Guess what, I think I should fire myself. I have never wanted to quit a race so bad, I had a horrible start, got caught behind 2 crashes and took two bike changes all in the first lap....I have come to the conclusion that my ego has been completly shatered. Also I had a torn knee warmer which was falling down. Nothing like a few thousand people laughing at you thinking you suck. It was completely demoralizing. I think this tops the time at the Tour de Toona where I got litteraly thrown to the pack of the pack after trying to cross a gap to the break.
I guess if people are going to laugh at you after they pay 14 Euros to watch you race that's ok. Part of me wanted to get off my bike and start a hockey bench clearing brawl, but those days are behind me. I did what I could, on this day it was not enough, I just wasn't there.
But I'm not going to sit here and feel bad for myself. I knew this was going to be insanly hard. So I did this to myself. For the most part I try to keep positive, especially on the blog. Because I know a few people read this and it's important to stay positive and keep an even keel.
But there was definetly a few minutes of personal darkness after the race.
Also, if every other UCI race is like a regular season hockey game this is definetly the semi-finals, game 7 going into overtime. So after the race I thought, take a day off, rest, re-focus.
But forget that, I'll go race again tommorow and give it another shot. Sometimes when you have a bad race, you just got do another one to get it out of your head. Some may think that this is crazy, but sometimes you gotta be a little crazy.
Natasha had a great race, she ended up 26th in her first World Cup, about 4 minutes down to the winner. On this course that is nothing. Fellow housemate Wendy Simms finished 18th as well. Unfortunately, I didn't realy see any of the Womens race due to the preperation required in mine. But I'll watch on Friday when they race in Loenhout.
On a sad note, Barb Howe is currently in the Hospital recovering from Emergency surgery from a severed tendon in today's race. Our deepest thoughts go out to Barb, who has quickly became a good freind during our stay in Belgium. We wish her a speedy recovery.
I guess if people are going to laugh at you after they pay 14 Euros to watch you race that's ok. Part of me wanted to get off my bike and start a hockey bench clearing brawl, but those days are behind me. I did what I could, on this day it was not enough, I just wasn't there.
But I'm not going to sit here and feel bad for myself. I knew this was going to be insanly hard. So I did this to myself. For the most part I try to keep positive, especially on the blog. Because I know a few people read this and it's important to stay positive and keep an even keel.
But there was definetly a few minutes of personal darkness after the race.
Also, if every other UCI race is like a regular season hockey game this is definetly the semi-finals, game 7 going into overtime. So after the race I thought, take a day off, rest, re-focus.
But forget that, I'll go race again tommorow and give it another shot. Sometimes when you have a bad race, you just got do another one to get it out of your head. Some may think that this is crazy, but sometimes you gotta be a little crazy.
Natasha had a great race, she ended up 26th in her first World Cup, about 4 minutes down to the winner. On this course that is nothing. Fellow housemate Wendy Simms finished 18th as well. Unfortunately, I didn't realy see any of the Womens race due to the preperation required in mine. But I'll watch on Friday when they race in Loenhout.
On a sad note, Barb Howe is currently in the Hospital recovering from Emergency surgery from a severed tendon in today's race. Our deepest thoughts go out to Barb, who has quickly became a good freind during our stay in Belgium. We wish her a speedy recovery.
Belgium Lessons
With two rest days, and being the morning of the World Cup I thought I put my nerves to rest by writing a post of what I have learnt in Belgium.
#1- lots of smog, yeah smog; they call it smog but really looks like fog. It’s everywhere in Belgium, probably will affect my vision today at the World Cup.
#2- shit selves, yes this will probably also be seen a lot today at the race venue toilets. The toilet bowls are different here in Belgium. They have kind of a shelf and then a little hole, so when you do you know what, it sits there on the bowl and with low water pressure it is really hard to wash off.
#3- Washing machines aren’t simple in Belgium. They may look simple but when you put your laundry in a washer in Belgium, don’t expect to get it out easily. The door might lock, or it might say you have 5 minutes left for about the next day or so. If you can get it out, it might have forgotten to do the spin cycle and be soaking wet.
#4- Lack of refrigeration. Things like milk, eggs and other grocery items that you buy in North American aren’t refrigerated. If you think you can’t find these items at the grocery store in Belgium, it is not because they aren’t there but because you are looking in the wrong section. These are in the heated isles and not refrigerated at all???
#5-Stroop Waffles. Yep, these are good. If someone introduces you to these, you must follow these rules......Do not try them. They are highly addictive and might cause severe weight gain. It might also be their secret plan to get you fat and slow by the last few races you do in Belgium.
Well I got to go prepare my stuff for the today’s race. It looks like it is going to be a really wet race. Still raining and has rained all night. Wish me luck.
Wishing everyone a belated Merry Christmas!
NCE
#1- lots of smog, yeah smog; they call it smog but really looks like fog. It’s everywhere in Belgium, probably will affect my vision today at the World Cup.
#2- shit selves, yes this will probably also be seen a lot today at the race venue toilets. The toilet bowls are different here in Belgium. They have kind of a shelf and then a little hole, so when you do you know what, it sits there on the bowl and with low water pressure it is really hard to wash off.
#3- Washing machines aren’t simple in Belgium. They may look simple but when you put your laundry in a washer in Belgium, don’t expect to get it out easily. The door might lock, or it might say you have 5 minutes left for about the next day or so. If you can get it out, it might have forgotten to do the spin cycle and be soaking wet.
#4- Lack of refrigeration. Things like milk, eggs and other grocery items that you buy in North American aren’t refrigerated. If you think you can’t find these items at the grocery store in Belgium, it is not because they aren’t there but because you are looking in the wrong section. These are in the heated isles and not refrigerated at all???
#5-Stroop Waffles. Yep, these are good. If someone introduces you to these, you must follow these rules......Do not try them. They are highly addictive and might cause severe weight gain. It might also be their secret plan to get you fat and slow by the last few races you do in Belgium.
Well I got to go prepare my stuff for the today’s race. It looks like it is going to be a really wet race. Still raining and has rained all night. Wish me luck.
Wishing everyone a belated Merry Christmas!
NCE
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas in Belgium
This is definetly the most interesting Christmas we have ever had. Christmas eve was spent cleaning bikes and fixing a dented rim and fixing a rim. Christmas day was spent pre-riding the Hofstade World Cup race. Christmas dinner was really good. Barb Howe and Wendy Simms made fresh salsa and tortilla shells and did some great white beans.
The crew got together for a nice relaxing meal in our apartme
nt.
nt.So, tommorow, we do the World Cup. Lots of sand, it's raining now, so lots of mud. The course is pretty short so not getting lapped will be a huge success in itself. It's a big race and all, but I guess we'll treat it like any other. Just go
, give it
, give it 100% and hope for the ride of my life.
Racing is serious buisness here. so tommorow, I'll go to work like my job depended on it.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
3 days of racing in 3 days completed
So we made it.......all of us housemates (Wendy Simms, Barb Howe, Derrick and I) that decided to do the 3 cross races is in a row completed it with very consistent results. I was aiming for atleast one top ten while I was here in Europe. Still not there but close, and at the very least consistent.
So 2nd day racing, which was yesterday, I finished 13th again. Had a better start and then avoided some crashes but again was caught a few places in the race behind slower riders. Thought my effort was pretty solid and was pretty taxed by the end of the race. Made a couple errors half way through that broke my concentration and costs me a few places. A couple other americans showed up to the race, that moved me back a few unexpected positions as I felt I rode a better race than the day before. Strangely enough, the course was more mountain bike style. I'm really starting to like these style of courses and do somewhat better on as well. I'm thinking maybe next year in the summer I should be trying to find a mountain bike, instead of a tt bike.
Then today, another weird start again. First row call up, 8 girls line up, then 2nd row I get called up, line up behind Wendy. Then third row gets called up and this girl lines up beside me from the third row. Not only does she line up beside me, but she shoves her wheel in front of mine and into the first row and then puts her elbows out in front of my face. I think, okay there, thats enough, you are slower than me and no way are you getting your ass off the start line in front of me. That got me a good initial start into the first corner and then I became content of my top 10 start off the line, relaxing a bit to soon, put me back into 20. Crash into the first technical section, another few spots back, then came the stairs. 50 or more steps up a hill, catch back up to the group ahead and get on the tail end. After the race I here that there was a huge fist fight between some of the girls ahead. It was really hard to pass through the stairs so you got held up quite a bit. I managed to pick off a handful of girls throughout the race, but didn't really have the jump like I did yesterday. Probably the fact of racing for 3 days in a row. Ended up 15th overall and got my first prize money from Europe, 30 Euros. I did win money on Friday for my 13th place but was told I would get it in the year 2010! Yeah, I bet. And yesterdays race was too cheap to pay out after 10th.
So my highlight of today was meeting Erwin Vervecken. He came 2nd in a sprint finish today. Barb met him at Southhampton this year, so Wendy and I were introduced to him. He seemed super chilled and a really nice guy. Yeah this was my moment of glory for the day.
So a few days rest over Christmas eve and Christmas Day. Probably be pre-riding the World Cup course for Christmas. Yep....that's my Christmas present to Derrick, from Derrick and to share with ourselves. I'm pretty stoked about racing the world cup on boxing day. I feel like my starts are getting better each race, I am being a little more aggressive, and all I need to do is make sure I continue this a little longer through the first lap of the race. I'm also getting better at the game of dogdeball from all the crashes off the start. It's going to feel pretty neat to be racing in front of the 14,000 fans.
Oh yeah, if anyone is reading this that has any connections in making trading cards, I really need to have these of myself for next year when I am here.
NCE
So 2nd day racing, which was yesterday, I finished 13th again. Had a better start and then avoided some crashes but again was caught a few places in the race behind slower riders. Thought my effort was pretty solid and was pretty taxed by the end of the race. Made a couple errors half way through that broke my concentration and costs me a few places. A couple other americans showed up to the race, that moved me back a few unexpected positions as I felt I rode a better race than the day before. Strangely enough, the course was more mountain bike style. I'm really starting to like these style of courses and do somewhat better on as well. I'm thinking maybe next year in the summer I should be trying to find a mountain bike, instead of a tt bike.
Then today, another weird start again. First row call up, 8 girls line up, then 2nd row I get called up, line up behind Wendy. Then third row gets called up and this girl lines up beside me from the third row. Not only does she line up beside me, but she shoves her wheel in front of mine and into the first row and then puts her elbows out in front of my face. I think, okay there, thats enough, you are slower than me and no way are you getting your ass off the start line in front of me. That got me a good initial start into the first corner and then I became content of my top 10 start off the line, relaxing a bit to soon, put me back into 20. Crash into the first technical section, another few spots back, then came the stairs. 50 or more steps up a hill, catch back up to the group ahead and get on the tail end. After the race I here that there was a huge fist fight between some of the girls ahead. It was really hard to pass through the stairs so you got held up quite a bit. I managed to pick off a handful of girls throughout the race, but didn't really have the jump like I did yesterday. Probably the fact of racing for 3 days in a row. Ended up 15th overall and got my first prize money from Europe, 30 Euros. I did win money on Friday for my 13th place but was told I would get it in the year 2010! Yeah, I bet. And yesterdays race was too cheap to pay out after 10th.
So my highlight of today was meeting Erwin Vervecken. He came 2nd in a sprint finish today. Barb met him at Southhampton this year, so Wendy and I were introduced to him. He seemed super chilled and a really nice guy. Yeah this was my moment of glory for the day.
So a few days rest over Christmas eve and Christmas Day. Probably be pre-riding the World Cup course for Christmas. Yep....that's my Christmas present to Derrick, from Derrick and to share with ourselves. I'm pretty stoked about racing the world cup on boxing day. I feel like my starts are getting better each race, I am being a little more aggressive, and all I need to do is make sure I continue this a little longer through the first lap of the race. I'm also getting better at the game of dogdeball from all the crashes off the start. It's going to feel pretty neat to be racing in front of the 14,000 fans.
Oh yeah, if anyone is reading this that has any connections in making trading cards, I really need to have these of myself for next year when I am here.
NCE
Friday, December 21, 2007
Scheldecross, Race # 1, Belgium
So as Derrick has already posted about our results today. I'll give you a little more info on how the race went. It is pretty different racing in Europe, but some things are still the same, we got to the race with what seemed like lots of time but is never the case in cross. By the time I had my numbers on and was changed and everything I had 60 minutes to the start. I roled around for about 20 minutes trying to figure out when we could get on the course and the last race was ended. When I was on, Derrick and I did a few laps (not nearly or clearly enough time to figure out the lines in the sand) and then I had about 15 minutes to start. It is really ridiculously hard to get around a race venue in Belgium without going on the course, but I still managed to get to the start line.
So I get second line call up, which normally in a cross race, each line has 8 girls in it. Not today.........yeah there was 8 in the first, but then like 20 or so in the second, not only that, the girls in the second row, roled there bikes between the girls in the front row seconds from the start. I was trying to understand what the starter was saying and when we were going to go, obvouisly nothing makes sense to me in flemish. The race started, correction.....the race obviously was a false start and I was way back in 20 something going into the first corner. I guess the rule in Belgium is that false starts are legal. Unfortunately, my housemates (Wendy Simms and Barb Howe) and I didn't know this. Got around a few girls before the first sand section but not enough. Then I didn't get the line right in the second sand and it costed me a bit more time. Rode around the first two laps or so with a couple other girls and let them lead into the sand and crash in front of my face. As soon as the 3rd lap started I had figured out the right lines to follow and I dropped the 3 girls that I was with. Started gaining on the riders ahead but not enough time left to get them.
It was really good to be back racing again. I know I've only been off a couple weeks but it is really easy to loose the feel of the bike right now, especially when it's so cold in Canada and there is so much snow that you are lucky if you get one good ride done outside every week. I feel like I didn't go too hard today, just tried to ride smooth and not push the limits too hard and crash all over the place. Which is good, as I have never done 3 races in 3 days in a row. So hopefully I will gradually improve over the next 2 days.
So tomorrow is another day and another race. I am aiming on atleast one top 10 finish while I am here in europe, which I am thinking either this Saturday or Sunday is my shot at this. Derrick raced really well today. Accomplished the goal of not getting lapped by the superstars he was racing against. Koodoos to him!
Tomorrow looks pretty challenging. A huge sand hill, probably man made, looks really hard, don't think anyone will be riding it.......stayed tuned to see if my running legs are with me at tomorrows race!
NCE
So I get second line call up, which normally in a cross race, each line has 8 girls in it. Not today.........yeah there was 8 in the first, but then like 20 or so in the second, not only that, the girls in the second row, roled there bikes between the girls in the front row seconds from the start. I was trying to understand what the starter was saying and when we were going to go, obvouisly nothing makes sense to me in flemish. The race started, correction.....the race obviously was a false start and I was way back in 20 something going into the first corner. I guess the rule in Belgium is that false starts are legal. Unfortunately, my housemates (Wendy Simms and Barb Howe) and I didn't know this. Got around a few girls before the first sand section but not enough. Then I didn't get the line right in the second sand and it costed me a bit more time. Rode around the first two laps or so with a couple other girls and let them lead into the sand and crash in front of my face. As soon as the 3rd lap started I had figured out the right lines to follow and I dropped the 3 girls that I was with. Started gaining on the riders ahead but not enough time left to get them.
It was really good to be back racing again. I know I've only been off a couple weeks but it is really easy to loose the feel of the bike right now, especially when it's so cold in Canada and there is so much snow that you are lucky if you get one good ride done outside every week. I feel like I didn't go too hard today, just tried to ride smooth and not push the limits too hard and crash all over the place. Which is good, as I have never done 3 races in 3 days in a row. So hopefully I will gradually improve over the next 2 days.
So tomorrow is another day and another race. I am aiming on atleast one top 10 finish while I am here in europe, which I am thinking either this Saturday or Sunday is my shot at this. Derrick raced really well today. Accomplished the goal of not getting lapped by the superstars he was racing against. Koodoos to him!
Tomorrow looks pretty challenging. A huge sand hill, probably man made, looks really hard, don't think anyone will be riding it.......stayed tuned to see if my running legs are with me at tomorrows race!
NCE
Scheldecross...Elliott 13th
So the first race is in the books. We raced in Antwerpen today ,about 1 hour from where we were staying. Natasha came in 13th today while Belgian housemates Wendy Simms came 4th and Barb Howe finished in 9th.
It was totaly crazy to have done our first race on a friday afternoon and seen so many people out watching, a true sign of X-mas time in Belgium.
I finished 45th...which wasn't bad for a first Cross experience and the first 30 guys were totaly Cross studs so...
Housemate Nathan Chow finished a few seconds ahead and had a pretty solid ride.
We are stoked not have gotten lapped. K Hazzard flatted and was unable to continue.
Lots of sand, not a whole lot of running, about -4 deg C, frozen ground, a little hard to pass and I was on the brakes way too much and super nervous, wasted alot of energy, but that's ok.
Natasha tells me she will write a post of her race tonight or tommorow so I'll let her blab.
It was really nice to have infrastructure today. Having people take the bikes, clean the bikes, take your stuff. In North America we are so used to taking care of ourselves. Here it is, get in, do the job, get it done and get out. You can learn racing, but today what I learned was really more about ways to prepare for things like a European, or a really organized unit. Here the socializing is for the fans not the riders. This is not the "fun" atmosphere you find back home. It's serious, there is a lot of money, the job has to get done. This is a lot more professional, they run it like a buisness. As I am obviously not as good as some of these guys , I will really have to learn to stop the bad habbits that the North American atmosphere provides. Guess this type of aculturatution may take some time, but maybe we can focus on this kind of preperation and see what happens.
Tommorow, we travel to Huijbergen in Holland (Netherlands) and it's gonna be even harder than today. So baby steps, don't get lapped, get my head out of my ass in the first lap and I think this should be congruent with a better result. Not that I'm all about results, but it is a good measure to see if your comprehension of the necessary elements that must be present in this sport.
So, my belly is full of Spaghetti Bolognaise made by our host and time for a little snack.
DSJ
It was totaly crazy to have done our first race on a friday afternoon and seen so many people out watching, a true sign of X-mas time in Belgium.
I finished 45th...which wasn't bad for a first Cross experience and the first 30 guys were totaly Cross studs so...
Housemate Nathan Chow finished a few seconds ahead and had a pretty solid ride.
We are stoked not have gotten lapped. K Hazzard flatted and was unable to continue.
Lots of sand, not a whole lot of running, about -4 deg C, frozen ground, a little hard to pass and I was on the brakes way too much and super nervous, wasted alot of energy, but that's ok.
Natasha tells me she will write a post of her race tonight or tommorow so I'll let her blab.
It was really nice to have infrastructure today. Having people take the bikes, clean the bikes, take your stuff. In North America we are so used to taking care of ourselves. Here it is, get in, do the job, get it done and get out. You can learn racing, but today what I learned was really more about ways to prepare for things like a European, or a really organized unit. Here the socializing is for the fans not the riders. This is not the "fun" atmosphere you find back home. It's serious, there is a lot of money, the job has to get done. This is a lot more professional, they run it like a buisness. As I am obviously not as good as some of these guys , I will really have to learn to stop the bad habbits that the North American atmosphere provides. Guess this type of aculturatution may take some time, but maybe we can focus on this kind of preperation and see what happens.
Tommorow, we travel to Huijbergen in Holland (Netherlands) and it's gonna be even harder than today. So baby steps, don't get lapped, get my head out of my ass in the first lap and I think this should be congruent with a better result. Not that I'm all about results, but it is a good measure to see if your comprehension of the necessary elements that must be present in this sport.
So, my belly is full of Spaghetti Bolognaise made by our host and time for a little snack.
DSJ
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Training story
Natasha waiting for the Train
Good story from monday...
So we had to get on the train from the Brussels airport to Tielt, the day we arrived. So we're pretty tired from the flight and delays and such. We barely manage to buy the tickets and get the bikes in the elavator and then we almost get on the wrong train, but we get some help and get on the right train.
So we had to get on the train from the Brussels airport to Tielt, the day we arrived. So we're pretty tired from the flight and delays and such. We barely manage to buy the tickets and get the bikes in the elavator and then we almost get on the wrong train, but we get some help and get on the right train.
So the train was empty, I thought this was great, we throw the bikes and bags in one corner and then then sprawl out
across a couple seats (that's a pic of the bikes in an empty car on the train). Not three minutes after we started what looked to be a doldrum of a train ride, doesn't half of Brussels then get on the train. Well then at every approaching stop our baggage that was in a corner of the train seemed to disappear in front of our eyes.
Generally speaking I am a pretty paranoid person, multiply that with jet lag and lack of sleep, add in that I have no clue what the people on the train are saying, well, this makes for a pretty paranoid Canuck on the the train.
The guy standing closest to the bags, the guy that looked pretty shady to begin with, his cell phone goes off...yah his ring tone...the sound of a bomb dropping. I decide that acting cool is no longer an option, I pretty much jump over the guy that was sitting beside me and grab the bags and then sit on them for the rest of the ride. That is until we are 5 minutes from our stop. We have only 60 seconds to get all our stuff out, so we eagerly move it between cars, then we mangage to block two exits from the train and get a lot of funny looks from all the Belgians going home from their office. We give them half smiles as we feel shame and embarassed that we look like total amatures, we bow out at our stop and thankfully Bernard is there to greet us and takes us to what will be our home while we are in Belgium.
Good story from today...
Natasha and I went for a little ride into Oostkamp today to pick up some essentials that we forgot to get yesterday. Apperently I bought Kammelmilk, which apparently is the product you get when you beat milk before you make yogourt. So not really that great in coffee. Also I did have some dreams about walking in the sand? Anyways Tasha went into the Delhaize to buy some non Kammelmilk, we got it right this time.
We then had to go to the local ATM, where NATASHA felt the urge to say extremely loud "I took out the maximum amount that it would let me", as she tucked the Euros into her jersey pocket. I know blue collar crime is low in Belgium, but I think this pushes the limit of how do you say "asking for trouble" in Flemish.
Close call, lucky the two guys in back of her were probably just staring at her Steven's tights which are now probably thining.
So one more day of training before the first race in Antwerpen. So far among the people staying at house, there is ; Barb Howe from the US, Wendy Simms, Nathan Chown and his wife Leslie. Future Jet Fuel teamate Kevin Hazzard will arrive tomorow and one more American is arriving later. So we will be getting some great support at the races and we should be all taken care of with support crew and mechanic as well. So looking forward to getting smacked around a little.
Good story from today...
Natasha and I went for a little ride into Oostkamp today to pick up some essentials that we forgot to get yesterday. Apperently I bought Kammelmilk, which apparently is the product you get when you beat milk before you make yogourt. So not really that great in coffee. Also I did have some dreams about walking in the sand? Anyways Tasha went into the Delhaize to buy some non Kammelmilk, we got it right this time.
We then had to go to the local ATM, where NATASHA felt the urge to say extremely loud "I took out the maximum amount that it would let me", as she tucked the Euros into her jersey pocket. I know blue collar crime is low in Belgium, but I think this pushes the limit of how do you say "asking for trouble" in Flemish.
Close call, lucky the two guys in back of her were probably just staring at her Steven's tights which are now probably thining.
So one more day of training before the first race in Antwerpen. So far among the people staying at house, there is ; Barb Howe from the US, Wendy Simms, Nathan Chown and his wife Leslie. Future Jet Fuel teamate Kevin Hazzard will arrive tomorow and one more American is arriving later. So we will be getting some great support at the races and we should be all taken care of with support crew and mechanic as well. So looking forward to getting smacked around a little.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Belgium
All is well. Bikes are good, legs soon to follow. The place is great. Have managed to not go to Bakery yet. Rode outside. Very cold. Place is great, will put pictues. Time for sleep. Some funny stroies, will tell later.
DSJ
DSJ
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Belgium bound
Instead of having a raffle we should have just placed bets on if our plane would leave today, on time or at all. Fingers crossed, it's slightly delayed at the moment...hopefully the flight is still a go. After all I manage to freak out at least once this morning trying to get three bikes packed after a hard workout. Thank god it was Minute Maid and Perrier at the Cyclery party and not Stella and porcelain prayers like last year.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Rhode Island -Round 6-Chain Buster
So as I predicted the crew had a good day today. Riders other than the duo..
Young Karl Hoppner laid some smack down to finish 3rd in his 1st US junior race! They start em young here, so that is a really good sign of things to come from this youngster from Ottawa. Tash and I saw Connor (The Condor) O'Brien and Karl sprinting their brains out last week at the PEAK centre in Kanata..just as we were getting into our sprint session. Good to see that the kids are working on their high end. I think this training comes from OZ (the Wizard Wild man) Bakker. Who incidentally put in another solid ride to round out the top ten today. Knowing Oz he's probably pretty happy with another good ride, picking up another UCI point and making some bling!
Steve Proulx said he "crashed a million times" and ended up in the top 20. Word on the street is he'll have a better day tomorrow.
So for us, a good day as well. Natasha must have brushed against Steve and got some of his crashilitis...cause my girl had more crashes than the Daytona 500. But she muscled her way back and scooped up a 4th place podium...1 second shy of third.
I had a solid ride, started off a little slow...we arrived to the course a little too late today and didn't really pre ride enough, had to rush the warm up and blah blah.
Never the less found my groove on the 2nd lap, was on the tail end of a group in about 17 th place or so, then started riding through people, found a group and rode as hard as I could on each uphill, flat and twist. It worked really well, ended up dropping some of the guys I was with. One guy was with me and he stepped on the gas out of a corner and busted his chain. Ironically I brought the bikes in to the shop this week and Steve (Cyclery mechanic extraordinaire) said the chains were finished and put on some new ones. Man when I saw this guys' chain break, I thought it was as ironic as a fly in my chardonnay. It sucks when things like that happen. We were going at it pretty hard, it would have been fun to duel to the end. Anyways I finished 12th which was pretty close to the objective today.
Got some air time and props from the announcer today...he said I was having a great ride. That was nice. I mean I don't do this to get famous or for recognition, but it sure is nice to get some R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
So tomorrow will be hard, a little bit more technical, lots of running. That's ok. I've been running a lot lately and my legs feel great. I guess Ken's training is working. Tasha will go well if she gets the job done as I know she can..later.
Young Karl Hoppner laid some smack down to finish 3rd in his 1st US junior race! They start em young here, so that is a really good sign of things to come from this youngster from Ottawa. Tash and I saw Connor (The Condor) O'Brien and Karl sprinting their brains out last week at the PEAK centre in Kanata..just as we were getting into our sprint session. Good to see that the kids are working on their high end. I think this training comes from OZ (the Wizard Wild man) Bakker. Who incidentally put in another solid ride to round out the top ten today. Knowing Oz he's probably pretty happy with another good ride, picking up another UCI point and making some bling!
Steve Proulx said he "crashed a million times" and ended up in the top 20. Word on the street is he'll have a better day tomorrow.
So for us, a good day as well. Natasha must have brushed against Steve and got some of his crashilitis...cause my girl had more crashes than the Daytona 500. But she muscled her way back and scooped up a 4th place podium...1 second shy of third.
I had a solid ride, started off a little slow...we arrived to the course a little too late today and didn't really pre ride enough, had to rush the warm up and blah blah.
Never the less found my groove on the 2nd lap, was on the tail end of a group in about 17 th place or so, then started riding through people, found a group and rode as hard as I could on each uphill, flat and twist. It worked really well, ended up dropping some of the guys I was with. One guy was with me and he stepped on the gas out of a corner and busted his chain. Ironically I brought the bikes in to the shop this week and Steve (Cyclery mechanic extraordinaire) said the chains were finished and put on some new ones. Man when I saw this guys' chain break, I thought it was as ironic as a fly in my chardonnay. It sucks when things like that happen. We were going at it pretty hard, it would have been fun to duel to the end. Anyways I finished 12th which was pretty close to the objective today.
Got some air time and props from the announcer today...he said I was having a great ride. That was nice. I mean I don't do this to get famous or for recognition, but it sure is nice to get some R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
So tomorrow will be hard, a little bit more technical, lots of running. That's ok. I've been running a lot lately and my legs feel great. I guess Ken's training is working. Tasha will go well if she gets the job done as I know she can..later.
December Update
So here we are in Rhode Island waiting to race this 'avro. Just thought I would write a little blurb to let everyone know what is happening.
NB draw....ticket sales are going pretty well, if we had another week or two I think we could have sold them all. I must have given my ticket blurb over 200 times...you know that feeling you get when you tell a story over and over...yah well I'm to the point where I annoy myself when I hear my voice. Oh well...could be worse.
Everyone at work has been especially supportive and it's great to see so many people step up and help us out. It's awesome to be supported by so many people who have confidence in us. Also Natasha's family has been pushing tickets to everybody from Bellville to Calgary. Word on the street is some guy at The Royal Bank bought a whole bunch and is giving them out at his X-mas party as gifts...nice.
Racing...The picture above is last weeks -17C race in Ottawa...fun as it was not sure how many times a year I would want to do that. Thank God we chose Cross and not Cross Country skiing.
Tasha is riding the trainer right now in our hotel room as we get ready for the last official race weekend of 2008. We calculated that Since October we have spent almost 100 Hours in the car together traveling to races...OMG! We have had some pretty interesting conversations. Some not so interesting, some near death experiences and I'm pretty sure a couple times she wanted to decapitate me! If looks could kill, well there would be no blog.
So today should be good, probably about 40 degs F or so once we race so thats about 6-7 degs C by the time we race. Looking forward to putting everything together today.
DSJ
NB draw....ticket sales are going pretty well, if we had another week or two I think we could have sold them all. I must have given my ticket blurb over 200 times...you know that feeling you get when you tell a story over and over...yah well I'm to the point where I annoy myself when I hear my voice. Oh well...could be worse.
Everyone at work has been especially supportive and it's great to see so many people step up and help us out. It's awesome to be supported by so many people who have confidence in us. Also Natasha's family has been pushing tickets to everybody from Bellville to Calgary. Word on the street is some guy at The Royal Bank bought a whole bunch and is giving them out at his X-mas party as gifts...nice.
Racing...The picture above is last weeks -17C race in Ottawa...fun as it was not sure how many times a year I would want to do that. Thank God we chose Cross and not Cross Country skiing.
Tasha is riding the trainer right now in our hotel room as we get ready for the last official race weekend of 2008. We calculated that Since October we have spent almost 100 Hours in the car together traveling to races...OMG! We have had some pretty interesting conversations. Some not so interesting, some near death experiences and I'm pretty sure a couple times she wanted to decapitate me! If looks could kill, well there would be no blog.
So today should be good, probably about 40 degs F or so once we race so thats about 6-7 degs C by the time we race. Looking forward to putting everything together today.
DSJ
Monday, November 26, 2007
NB draw..tickets on sale today
Win 1 of 2 New Balance running kits, valued at up to 450$ each!
Hi everyone,
Derrick and I have been competing in Cyclo Cross races all over North America this year and we are taking the next step by travelling to Belgium for a couple of weeks to race the best in the world and do some UCI races including the World Cup in Hofstade, Belgium. Cyclo-Cross is not an Olympic sport, therefore there is extremely limited funding. Since we are Elite amatuers, sponsors are able to assist with the costs of some of the equipment; unfortunately all the travel costs are out of our pockets.
In order to facilitate our trip, my boss, Jim MacFarlane the owner of New Balance Ottawa/Sports 4 has generously donated 2 full winter running kits that we are raffling off in order to help cover some of the financial burden. Jim has always supported local athletes and has been very understanding and accommodating to the demands of my training and racing over the last four years.
We will only be selling 200 tickets for a chance to win one of two New Balance 450$ running kits. Kit includes 150$ shoes and 300$ in clothing (retail value). Vince Caceres (also a very understanding man) of the Cyclery has also donated a voucher for a complete bike tune-up valued at 60$.
Tickets are 15$ each and available at the New Balance Ottawa store 1371 B Woodroffe Ave (in College Square). The draw will be held on December 10th at the New Balance Ottawa Store. I will be there weekdays until the draw date, working and selling tickets. We have recently received our Fall/Winter selection of clothing, so come by the store check out the new line, buy a ticket and say hi.
Thank you in helping us pursue our dreams and making them come true.
If you can't come by the store send Derrick an email and he'll get a ticket to you.
Even if you don't run the kits are really good for lounging or they can make a great Christmas gift for the runner in your life.
Natasha and Derrick
Hi everyone,
Derrick and I have been competing in Cyclo Cross races all over North America this year and we are taking the next step by travelling to Belgium for a couple of weeks to race the best in the world and do some UCI races including the World Cup in Hofstade, Belgium. Cyclo-Cross is not an Olympic sport, therefore there is extremely limited funding. Since we are Elite amatuers, sponsors are able to assist with the costs of some of the equipment; unfortunately all the travel costs are out of our pockets.
In order to facilitate our trip, my boss, Jim MacFarlane the owner of New Balance Ottawa/Sports 4 has generously donated 2 full winter running kits that we are raffling off in order to help cover some of the financial burden. Jim has always supported local athletes and has been very understanding and accommodating to the demands of my training and racing over the last four years.
We will only be selling 200 tickets for a chance to win one of two New Balance 450$ running kits. Kit includes 150$ shoes and 300$ in clothing (retail value). Vince Caceres (also a very understanding man) of the Cyclery has also donated a voucher for a complete bike tune-up valued at 60$.
Tickets are 15$ each and available at the New Balance Ottawa store 1371 B Woodroffe Ave (in College Square). The draw will be held on December 10th at the New Balance Ottawa Store. I will be there weekdays until the draw date, working and selling tickets. We have recently received our Fall/Winter selection of clothing, so come by the store check out the new line, buy a ticket and say hi.
Thank you in helping us pursue our dreams and making them come true.
If you can't come by the store send Derrick an email and he'll get a ticket to you.
Even if you don't run the kits are really good for lounging or they can make a great Christmas gift for the runner in your life.
Natasha and Derrick
Saturday, November 17, 2007
US Grand Prix-New Jersey day 1
Man oh man. That was hard. That really hurt. Usually my cross races unfold in similar patterns. Poor start, chase hard, have fun, usually try to flash the Ben Stiller Blue Steel once or twice, stick my tongue out at Natasha and ride through people or go group to group behind people I'm pretty sure I could/should beat. So today, the special on the menu was different from the usual. Great start, suffer, suffer actually loose a few positions, then I rode with the former Champion of Denmark, then I rode with Chris Horner who I believe finished 20th at the Tour de France this year. Did I say that was hard. Come to think about it I feel like I just smoked a pack, no a carton of Marlboro's. That guy was punching it so incredibly hard out of corners it was insane, I made one little bobble and lost his wheel and that was that.
I suffered, a lot. I actually wanted to cry. I think I finished about 23rd, which is pretty good, since I'm usually about 20th in the Verge series and that is about 40% easier. Last year at the GP I was 51st. So definitely best cross ride for 2008 so far. Not to mention at one point a large branch or tree limb flew up and lodge itself in the wheel. The wheel was not very happy, I rode around on it for 30 minutes with it being stuck on the break pad. Good thing I didn't get the spare bike cause the seat collar was busted.
Natasha had a great ride she finished 15th. She biffed it in the sand but managed to get back on. She started off a little slow, and pulled her way back. There are alot of rally good girls here, so it's really good for Tasha. Hopefully her interventions of trying to recover better will pay off tomorrow. I think she can squeeze a top ten if she really puts her mind to it.
The atmosphere here is awesome, there are so many people cheering, screaming, it's really cool. It's always good to hear people telling you to go hard. Mercer Parc is great, great venue for a cross race. Course is wicked, there is a fly over, it looks like a skate board ramp, you run up one side, jump on your bike, fly down it meanwhile other people are going under it to get to a different part of the course. I really like the way they do the courses here, it's really well thought out. The leaves are still on the trees, and not to be a chick or anything, but it's pretty scenic. The Hotel room is great, just built one month ago...makes it hard to go home. They do a pretty good breakfast, which we finagled some free coupons by trying to get a deal last night. I know Maurice (Natasha's dad) takes great pride in me when I get discounts or get stuff for free. My dad would be proud to know that I made an egg sandwich at breakfast then wrapped it in napkins and had it for lunch.
Although I'm not really sure if anyone cooks in NJ. Because we tried to go out tonight for some din' and all the restaurants had a 45 min wait...so we had salad, baked potato and chicken at Wendy's. It was alright, kind healthy, which is weired. Cheap too, probably like 12$ Canadian, eh.
I suffered, a lot. I actually wanted to cry. I think I finished about 23rd, which is pretty good, since I'm usually about 20th in the Verge series and that is about 40% easier. Last year at the GP I was 51st. So definitely best cross ride for 2008 so far. Not to mention at one point a large branch or tree limb flew up and lodge itself in the wheel. The wheel was not very happy, I rode around on it for 30 minutes with it being stuck on the break pad. Good thing I didn't get the spare bike cause the seat collar was busted.
Natasha had a great ride she finished 15th. She biffed it in the sand but managed to get back on. She started off a little slow, and pulled her way back. There are alot of rally good girls here, so it's really good for Tasha. Hopefully her interventions of trying to recover better will pay off tomorrow. I think she can squeeze a top ten if she really puts her mind to it.
The atmosphere here is awesome, there are so many people cheering, screaming, it's really cool. It's always good to hear people telling you to go hard. Mercer Parc is great, great venue for a cross race. Course is wicked, there is a fly over, it looks like a skate board ramp, you run up one side, jump on your bike, fly down it meanwhile other people are going under it to get to a different part of the course. I really like the way they do the courses here, it's really well thought out. The leaves are still on the trees, and not to be a chick or anything, but it's pretty scenic. The Hotel room is great, just built one month ago...makes it hard to go home. They do a pretty good breakfast, which we finagled some free coupons by trying to get a deal last night. I know Maurice (Natasha's dad) takes great pride in me when I get discounts or get stuff for free. My dad would be proud to know that I made an egg sandwich at breakfast then wrapped it in napkins and had it for lunch.
Although I'm not really sure if anyone cooks in NJ. Because we tried to go out tonight for some din' and all the restaurants had a 45 min wait...so we had salad, baked potato and chicken at Wendy's. It was alright, kind healthy, which is weired. Cheap too, probably like 12$ Canadian, eh.
So tomorrow we'll do it over again and roll the dice. Tomorrow's secret goal for me is to beat Natasha and maybe I can use that as an excuse not to drive through NJ,which is also really crazy...no left turns everywhere, you have to do these huge right turns and hit the street from the different side...oh well, better get used to different driving laws, Belgium is only a month away. Oh yah, other weired thing about New Jersey, you are prohibited by law to pump your own gas. I just don't get it.
Later
DSJ
Saturday, November 10, 2007
2nd and 4th in Toronto
So I guess the good part of going for the hole shot, is that even if you don't get it, you end up with a good start, so finally the Cornwall kid got a good start! Man, it's like they actually designed a course where I could put my start demons to the curb. Not only that but I was a able to stay in the main group, which ended up with myself,Greg, Oz, Nathan Chown and Andrew Watson and Canadian Chanmp Mike Gerrigan.
I guess the last few weeks of getting my ass kicked, repeatedly payed off. I was able to stay on the group, not only that but found confidence to take charge and attack. Man it was eally fun to be in the race and have some say in how the smack down was going to happen. Much easier riding in a group then chasing trying to pull time back.
Gerrigan flatted, so there were five. Watson crashed, then there were four. Greg put in a super slick to move to get away and made it stick. I got a little too excited here and there perhaps using up some energy attacking from less then perfect places, but whatever.
The battle for second went to the line with Oz, Chown and myself. Let's just say I was forced to take a less than perfect approach to line and I blew the sprint. So 4th, but probably the best Cross race I've had all year. No actually that was probably the best race Cross race I've ever had. I was hoping for top 5 today and I got it. The podium was only inches away, so I'm really stoked about that as well. The final few hundred meters could have been better for me, but at least I was there today and that's more that can be said from the first half of our Cross adventures. Finally I got a cheque that was worth more than paper it was printed on.
I guess the last few weeks of getting my ass kicked, repeatedly payed off. I was able to stay on the group, not only that but found confidence to take charge and attack. Man it was eally fun to be in the race and have some say in how the smack down was going to happen. Much easier riding in a group then chasing trying to pull time back.
Gerrigan flatted, so there were five. Watson crashed, then there were four. Greg put in a super slick to move to get away and made it stick. I got a little too excited here and there perhaps using up some energy attacking from less then perfect places, but whatever.
The battle for second went to the line with Oz, Chown and myself. Let's just say I was forced to take a less than perfect approach to line and I blew the sprint. So 4th, but probably the best Cross race I've had all year. No actually that was probably the best race Cross race I've ever had. I was hoping for top 5 today and I got it. The podium was only inches away, so I'm really stoked about that as well. The final few hundred meters could have been better for me, but at least I was there today and that's more that can be said from the first half of our Cross adventures. Finally I got a cheque that was worth more than paper it was printed on.
It's good to se GR riding well and Oz stand up there as well. A little O town throw down.
So good result, great experience. Tommorow will be a little bit more technical, alot harder, so we'll see. But I definetly have some new found motivation to throw down.
Tasha had a great race. Wendy Simms got away in the first lap and her and Jen Stephenson and Kelly Jones battled it out. Jen's repeated attacks on the climb made Jones fall off. Tasha came around Jen on the last corner and took the sprint for second.
I'm sure Tash will write a little something tommorow about the weeekend.
Some good risotto in the belly, hopefully a good flick on tv and do it over tommorow.
Tonight no need to philosiphize, no need to pick the skin off the bones, what it is is what it is.
And what it is is getting better.
Later.
So good result, great experience. Tommorow will be a little bit more technical, alot harder, so we'll see. But I definetly have some new found motivation to throw down.
Tasha had a great race. Wendy Simms got away in the first lap and her and Jen Stephenson and Kelly Jones battled it out. Jen's repeated attacks on the climb made Jones fall off. Tasha came around Jen on the last corner and took the sprint for second.
I'm sure Tash will write a little something tommorow about the weeekend.
Some good risotto in the belly, hopefully a good flick on tv and do it over tommorow.
Tonight no need to philosiphize, no need to pick the skin off the bones, what it is is what it is.
And what it is is getting better.
Later.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Nacrasha
In my 3 years of cycling I have adapted to many different nick names. "Crazy Natasha" was my first year when I went into the big races, like Altoona and Green Mountain and had no skill what so ever or racing experience and didn't have a clue what to do. I would just follow the fastest wheels until I blew up, taking lots of risk and crashing many times. I then became "Nacrasha" for stupid crashes and being unaware of my surroundings and hitting things like steel posts that I have road by and seen many times. Then cross started this year and the new name was "Nathrasha", I got some awesome results early in the season and then the last two weeks came along. Tired from lots of workouts and no recovery, I have seem to fallen into the old me again and not being able to push in my races. In my coaches' eyes, this was his secret plan. To beat me down until I said mercy and then he would give me rest.
Ahhhh rest, I had rest last week and it seemed to work somewhat but then the Nacrasha came out in me. First race in Connecticut this weekend I really wanted to lead it out. In warmup it started to rain, Derrick told me to practice the start. Up a hill and screaming down into a 180 degree turn from pavement to grass. I tried it full tilt and my breaks locked up and then I slid out landing on top of my bike and avoiding any serious road rash, just dents in my bones from landing on the frame. Needless to say, when the race started, which was just 5 minutes after the crash, I wasn't planning on getting the hole shot anymore. I ended up going into the first corner in 8th and magically working my way through the field and into a battle for second. I started leading through the corners and then dropped the girls with me and was actually gaining ground on first place. Then I forgot about the rain and started taking risks. The next thing I knew, my bike was taken from underneath of me and my head and leg took a severe beating to the ground. So hard that my helmet got cracked. By the time I got back up I was in third again. Caught back up to second and then just rode from the back, dumb move to do in cross. Then someone caught us and I still road at the back, even dumber move. As I was constantly closing gaps out of corners instead of accelerating and making people chase me, I finally got dropped and ended up coming into the finish 4th.
Next day, drive up to Massachusetts for the next race. Feeling a little stiff and sore from yesterdays two crashes but ready to race. Bad start again, somehow move my way up to second and then I made some costly technical errors and had to run with my bike where everyone was riding. Back in 4th again, but move up to second and then I start going backwards. I figure my rest from last week was probably only good enough for one solid day. With another semi easy week things should be back to normal and the Nathrasha will be back with new skills to add to the mix......
On another note, my skills have seem to have rose to a new level in some areas that I have been working on. Thank you Derrick for being so patient with me and even though I was so frustrated, to just say it's okay, it will happen eventually and it did. My cornering and remounting both improved this weekend all thanks to you, if it wasn't just for all my bad luck.
Ahhhh rest, I had rest last week and it seemed to work somewhat but then the Nacrasha came out in me. First race in Connecticut this weekend I really wanted to lead it out. In warmup it started to rain, Derrick told me to practice the start. Up a hill and screaming down into a 180 degree turn from pavement to grass. I tried it full tilt and my breaks locked up and then I slid out landing on top of my bike and avoiding any serious road rash, just dents in my bones from landing on the frame. Needless to say, when the race started, which was just 5 minutes after the crash, I wasn't planning on getting the hole shot anymore. I ended up going into the first corner in 8th and magically working my way through the field and into a battle for second. I started leading through the corners and then dropped the girls with me and was actually gaining ground on first place. Then I forgot about the rain and started taking risks. The next thing I knew, my bike was taken from underneath of me and my head and leg took a severe beating to the ground. So hard that my helmet got cracked. By the time I got back up I was in third again. Caught back up to second and then just rode from the back, dumb move to do in cross. Then someone caught us and I still road at the back, even dumber move. As I was constantly closing gaps out of corners instead of accelerating and making people chase me, I finally got dropped and ended up coming into the finish 4th.
Next day, drive up to Massachusetts for the next race. Feeling a little stiff and sore from yesterdays two crashes but ready to race. Bad start again, somehow move my way up to second and then I made some costly technical errors and had to run with my bike where everyone was riding. Back in 4th again, but move up to second and then I start going backwards. I figure my rest from last week was probably only good enough for one solid day. With another semi easy week things should be back to normal and the Nathrasha will be back with new skills to add to the mix......
On another note, my skills have seem to have rose to a new level in some areas that I have been working on. Thank you Derrick for being so patient with me and even though I was so frustrated, to just say it's okay, it will happen eventually and it did. My cornering and remounting both improved this weekend all thanks to you, if it wasn't just for all my bad luck.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Connected in Conneticuit
So...we finally managed to make it to Connecticut.
Race 1 in Farmington.
As we were warming up on the course, I told Natasha she could take a downhill 180 turn from pavement to grass "pretty fast". Well I guess she thought I said very fast...cause as the rain gave the pavement an ice like gloss I heard the sound of tubular vs pavement mixed with rain...as I looked over my shoulder I saw Tasha somehow avoid an almost catastrophic crash on the pavement. She still went down but somehow clipped out and slowed it down by...well I don't really know what she did, but she did a good job of crashing. I take full credibility for showing her how to do that, lord knows I've been called "my favorite crash waiting to happen".
Needless to say this happening 5 minuted before staging she was a little sketched out. So she started off in about 8th, picked her way through to second about 15 seconds from Lynn. She gave it full gas to catch but slid out on some kind of plastic/rubber ontop of the grass. She went down pretty hard, hit her head, but she got up and rode to 4th to minimize the losses. She's a little sore, but I know a really, really good nurse to look after her.
Somehow anytime Pedal Mag or Canadian Cyclist list the results they always manage to mix up the results, say she races for a different team or as today have USA written beside her name. As her results are always mixed up, I have failed to really provide an actual result.
So far I have either had a bad start, blown up, had a crash or a combination of all three.
As I love to be consistent, today, I pretty much had the worst start possible, the guy in front of me missed his pedal, then my rear wheel slid out, which had me in about 37th place during the first lap. I picked my way up to 18th and managed to actually ride clean, no crashes, legs were good, actually rode well. Oz rode strong and finished 8th. He's not really my teamate, but he's a great guy and he deserves some success, he planned his whole year on going in well in Cross.
I was actually happy with today, not really the result, but with the way I rode after the 1st lap.
So now if I can put that together with the start I had at Nationals or Gloucester I will be in the mix for all kinds of unreasonable amounts of pain. Believe me that's actually a good thing!
Fingers crossed, think positive, tomorrow will be better.
Good thing about riding from the back you get stronger, bad thing well you feel like you suck.
Other mentionable details about this weekend...
We're staying at a Hilton suites...very nice. The girl at the front desk gave us an awesome rate for last night for some unknown reason, most likely because we look like we don't have money.
Someone in another room either beside us or above was snoring so loud, it was actually ridiculous, sleep apnea for sure. I wasn't sure if I should bang on the wall or call 9-1-1. So I banged on the wall. We went to complain this morning and they comped our room, last night was free. Sweet.
If you're ever in Massachusetts get a chicken burrito from Fresh City...mmmm. Not quite as good as a shwarma, but I could see myself 'jonesing' for this.
If you ever have the overwhelming urge to bring an extra seat to a Cross race do it. For some reason I actually brought another seat and guess what, I broke my seat 20 minutes before the race. Thank you little voice inside my head.
Tomorrow we drive back to Northampton Mass. Perhaps my week of rest will pay off. Come on good start!
DSJ
Race 1 in Farmington.
As we were warming up on the course, I told Natasha she could take a downhill 180 turn from pavement to grass "pretty fast". Well I guess she thought I said very fast...cause as the rain gave the pavement an ice like gloss I heard the sound of tubular vs pavement mixed with rain...as I looked over my shoulder I saw Tasha somehow avoid an almost catastrophic crash on the pavement. She still went down but somehow clipped out and slowed it down by...well I don't really know what she did, but she did a good job of crashing. I take full credibility for showing her how to do that, lord knows I've been called "my favorite crash waiting to happen".
Needless to say this happening 5 minuted before staging she was a little sketched out. So she started off in about 8th, picked her way through to second about 15 seconds from Lynn. She gave it full gas to catch but slid out on some kind of plastic/rubber ontop of the grass. She went down pretty hard, hit her head, but she got up and rode to 4th to minimize the losses. She's a little sore, but I know a really, really good nurse to look after her.
Somehow anytime Pedal Mag or Canadian Cyclist list the results they always manage to mix up the results, say she races for a different team or as today have USA written beside her name. As her results are always mixed up, I have failed to really provide an actual result.
So far I have either had a bad start, blown up, had a crash or a combination of all three.
As I love to be consistent, today, I pretty much had the worst start possible, the guy in front of me missed his pedal, then my rear wheel slid out, which had me in about 37th place during the first lap. I picked my way up to 18th and managed to actually ride clean, no crashes, legs were good, actually rode well. Oz rode strong and finished 8th. He's not really my teamate, but he's a great guy and he deserves some success, he planned his whole year on going in well in Cross.
I was actually happy with today, not really the result, but with the way I rode after the 1st lap.
So now if I can put that together with the start I had at Nationals or Gloucester I will be in the mix for all kinds of unreasonable amounts of pain. Believe me that's actually a good thing!
Fingers crossed, think positive, tomorrow will be better.
Good thing about riding from the back you get stronger, bad thing well you feel like you suck.
Other mentionable details about this weekend...
We're staying at a Hilton suites...very nice. The girl at the front desk gave us an awesome rate for last night for some unknown reason, most likely because we look like we don't have money.
Someone in another room either beside us or above was snoring so loud, it was actually ridiculous, sleep apnea for sure. I wasn't sure if I should bang on the wall or call 9-1-1. So I banged on the wall. We went to complain this morning and they comped our room, last night was free. Sweet.
If you're ever in Massachusetts get a chicken burrito from Fresh City...mmmm. Not quite as good as a shwarma, but I could see myself 'jonesing' for this.
If you ever have the overwhelming urge to bring an extra seat to a Cross race do it. For some reason I actually brought another seat and guess what, I broke my seat 20 minutes before the race. Thank you little voice inside my head.
Tomorrow we drive back to Northampton Mass. Perhaps my week of rest will pay off. Come on good start!
DSJ
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Nationals Recap
For those of you who didn't see the results yet, Natasha finished up 9th and I finished 12th. A little bad luck in both races, Natasha started off like a bullet, she was 4th going into the first section, she let a girl in and that girl did her no favors by crashing in front of her in the first turn.
I had tenth spot locked up, but I got greedy, tried to catch the guy in ninth and somehow crashed and my bike was hanging upside down from a pine tree! Would have loved to see that on film!
The reason we haven't posted anything since before nationals is a funny little aside. I actually tripped over the computer and broke the A/C cable. In my infinite wisdom I attempted to fix the cable(while still plugged into the wall). Have you ever electrocuted yourself? It's not the best thing to do..pretty scary...but I'm OK, just more shocked than anything.
We managed to finagle the Air Canada guy into letting us bring two bikes for the price of one on the way back. I asked him if it was "two for one bike bag Tuesday" which I guess he though it was very funny. He also gave us the best seats on the plane and gave us a row of three from Calgary to Ottawa.
We were both a little disappointed with the outcome of the race. But that's the way this sport goes, when it's good it's great. When it's bad it seems like it's a waste. But that's the price you pay when you race your bike.
A friend once told me..."It's about the journey, not just the destination". This great tidbit of advice has often came in handy at times when I was a little frustrated or disappointed and holds true for this week as well. A true athlete holds his head high and tries not to make excuses or place blame. I had a lot of excuses why my performance was not what I wanted it to be.
A lot of could have should have would have...but ultimately wasn't didn't couldn't.
Truthfully, it wasn't the desired outcome but oh well.
Last time I felt like this was after the Toor de Toona, I was a little discouraged, but a few weeks later and bounced back to win Aurora so....
Back in Ottawa this week, then to Connecticut.
DSJ
I had tenth spot locked up, but I got greedy, tried to catch the guy in ninth and somehow crashed and my bike was hanging upside down from a pine tree! Would have loved to see that on film!
The reason we haven't posted anything since before nationals is a funny little aside. I actually tripped over the computer and broke the A/C cable. In my infinite wisdom I attempted to fix the cable(while still plugged into the wall). Have you ever electrocuted yourself? It's not the best thing to do..pretty scary...but I'm OK, just more shocked than anything.
We managed to finagle the Air Canada guy into letting us bring two bikes for the price of one on the way back. I asked him if it was "two for one bike bag Tuesday" which I guess he though it was very funny. He also gave us the best seats on the plane and gave us a row of three from Calgary to Ottawa.
We were both a little disappointed with the outcome of the race. But that's the way this sport goes, when it's good it's great. When it's bad it seems like it's a waste. But that's the price you pay when you race your bike.
A friend once told me..."It's about the journey, not just the destination". This great tidbit of advice has often came in handy at times when I was a little frustrated or disappointed and holds true for this week as well. A true athlete holds his head high and tries not to make excuses or place blame. I had a lot of excuses why my performance was not what I wanted it to be.
A lot of could have should have would have...but ultimately wasn't didn't couldn't.
Truthfully, it wasn't the desired outcome but oh well.
Last time I felt like this was after the Toor de Toona, I was a little discouraged, but a few weeks later and bounced back to win Aurora so....
Back in Ottawa this week, then to Connecticut.
DSJ
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Game day-DSJ
Critical section-to ride or to run that is the question.
We finally made it up till 10 pm last night..whoo hoo. We watched the BC provincial championships yesterday. I think O'town needs to host Nationals next year, because the spectator turnout, enthusiasm
RWR's Mike Nash negotiating the slick sand by the Thompson River
wasn't even a third of a local OBC race. But we'll see today when and if the smack down takes place in both the Championship races. I'll be in the pit for Hawkes and the Cyclery Stevens Crew in the am. I hope it's uneventful because I spent 2 hours cleaning the bikes yesterday and if Craig needs a spare the pledge can is running low.
Tasha is a little nervous, not too bad yet but progressively the anxiety should increase throughout the day. Usually her hands get really sweaty and there there a pool of sweat on the laptop keyboard. I'm gonna be in trouble for that, hopefully she doesn't see this until tonight.
Directly above is a picture of RWR's Mike Nash negotiating the tricky sand by the shore, the first pic is the potentially one of the defining obstacles of the course, the second sand run up. Probably hard to see from the first pic, but lots of large jagged rocks near the top, some guys were trying to ride that yesterday, in a constant quest to eliminate all unnecessary running.
Next update I'll tell you how it played out.
Tasha is a little nervous, not too bad yet but progressively the anxiety should increase throughout the day. Usually her hands get really sweaty and there there a pool of sweat on the laptop keyboard. I'm gonna be in trouble for that, hopefully she doesn't see this until tonight.
Directly above is a picture of RWR's Mike Nash negotiating the tricky sand by the shore, the first pic is the potentially one of the defining obstacles of the course, the second sand run up. Probably hard to see from the first pic, but lots of large jagged rocks near the top, some guys were trying to ride that yesterday, in a constant quest to eliminate all unnecessary running.
Next update I'll tell you how it played out.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Horsing around in Kamloops
One of the biggest debates we had when packing our gear was whether or not we should bring along a trainer. From previous experiences, when traveling for a race and not really knowing the area, it is often good to just set the trainer up in the hotel room and use it for some easy spinning. It's not as if there are a lack of roads here, there are many, but you just never know if it's gonna be super hilly or lots of traffic ect. That being said we had room for either an extra set of wheels or a trainer and the wheels won. So we have been doing our training on Shuswap Road. It's basically about 2km form our Hotel, and this road just seems to go on to infinity. It runs parallel to the Thompson River which dissects the South Shore (where we are) and the North Shore where we ave been riding. The road is winding up and down, never flat and sits a little higher than the South Shore line. You get a really cool view of the different landscapes of the region. The hills to the North look like they are out of the desert, brown, dusky, not a lot of vegetation. There are lots of Free Ranges and signs that say " watch for live stock and free range animals". I'm not exactly sure what that means but I think it basically means you better be able to pedal your butt off if a large Bison runs after you. My dad told me that there have not been any recent attacks on humans by Bison's. I told him I didn't want to be the first, those things are frigging huge! There are a lot of Cattle and horses in the fields. Yesterday we were riding and horse was a few meters from the road, I think he was grazing or eating or whatever it is that horses do to feed themselves. All of a sudden the horse takes off running, but it really freaked me out because he had a red coat on. I told Natasha that there was a horse with a red coat on, of course she thought I was totally anaerobic and hallucinating from a lack of oxygen. This also often happens when I am away training, in Spain I saw Blue Peacocks in a roof and no one believed me. So today I brought a camera with me to prove that horses in BC wear coats. Also, we pre-rode the Nationals course, it's pretty cool. Seems like a good mix of sand,grass,pavement and weired quirky twists and turns that organizers always seem to add to the mix. Some sketchy curbs and stuff, hopefully they will have boards over some of the stuff otherwise it will be pinch flat central for anyone having super low PSI or not on tubs. More on htat later. I guess the key to success is being highly adaptable to any course, even if stuff looks a little sketch, everyone has to ride the same course.
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Thursday, October 18, 2007
Gloucester GP 1 and 2, 2007, belated
Natasha's version:
So Derrick and I set out for big trip # 2 for cross season 07 last week. First rule of the trip, travel with a road map of Quebec and eastern US. I guess we kind of got spoilt last week when we travelled with Greg to Southampton. He of course had a map. So as we almost got lost in Quebec because of the 40 being closed and randomly crossed the border to the US at crossing we didn't even know we were driving to, we then preceded to ask the border crossing guard on directions to the I-89. At that point it was finally time to pay 5$ and get a map for the car.
We got to Gloucester at a reasonable time, 6 ish after Derrick telling me I was going the wrong way and then turning around, then me letting him drive and me reading our map quest directions and sending him the same way I was going. We finally arrived at our cottage for the weekend. We stayed at the same place the year before but in a room, but found out they had cottages with kitchens. We were sharing the place with the John Fee and Cynthia Phelan, they were yet to arrive. So Derrick and I went to the local Shaw's and bought are groceries for the weekend. Did you know power bars in the states are $1 US? That's like major savings, only 95 cents or so Canadian! We ate, the Fee/Phelan crew arrived at 10 or so we chatted and then hit the sack.
Race day #1.....we pre-road in the morning and course looked favourable. Fast and dry, only one forced dismount over barriers, nothing too technical. Rest of the mid morning I spent feeling pretty nervous. I always hate racing after 2 pm. I feel like I get up and just worry about the race all day. Time went by and I went back to the course on bike and Derrick drove the car as his race was an hour after mine. The start was exactly like last year, up a big pavement hill and then on to the dry grass. Last year I started at the back with no UCI points and got killed in the start, I think I was lucky if I finished top 30 last year. So this year's goal was a top 5 finish by the end of the season at a verge series race. I wasn't top 8 in UCI points so wasn't in the call up list but got in the second row with the few points I got last year in Aurora. Start went off, I drove it up the hill but could only go as far as the rider who started in front of me on the line. First U turn I was in 8th and my new grifo tubulars saved my life. I took the corner tight and the tires spun me even tighter and came out of the corner in 4th. At this time Lyne was already gone and another rider was chasing her down. I rode with a group of a few riders for most of the race. The rider chasing Lyne blew up and went backwards so I was in a race for 2nd. I decided with one lap to go to give it going up the hill and split the field down to me and another rider. I probably did a lot of work to keep it only 2 us for the last lap and ended up losing the sprint for the line and came 3rd. I was pretty happy, okay extremely happy but really didn't let it soak in. The announcers were talking about me the whole race and I could hear it as I rode. They were like "who is the girl in the Steven's kit", they were calling me the dark horse, it was pretty cool. I think Derrick was way too excited because of all this. Oh well, it's really motivating for him when my day goes well, ie. this years provincial criterium championships. So Derrick's race went off shortly after mine ended and I road around cheering him on and watched him do extremely well compared to last years race here.
Race Day #2......same as day one, pre-road the course in the am. They didn't change a thing, usually day 2 is a little different, but this year for some reason they kept the course exactly the same. So I still was super nervous waiting for the race again. The afternoon finally came, road down to the course, watched a race, then went for my warm up. I honestly really didn't have any race plan day one or two. Today I knew though that Anna, who gave it a go yesterday to catch Lyne and blew up, would be super motivated to get on the podium today. Same spot on the line, in row 2, start went off and everyone was going for it. Ended up being 7 or so of us together in the first lap until Lyne attacked and we were left again fighting for second. No panicking, I road at the back, then people began to slide out and take bad lines. Anna attacked leaving two of us on her wheel, then someone else caught on and another rider got a flat. Anna drove it and I was left following, we kept the pace high and it was her and I working together for the podium spots. I guess I road safe again and did more work into the wind and flat sections than I should of. So ended up getting caught off guard on the last lap towards the finish and Anna had got a gap. I tried everything to close the gap in the last 500m but ran out of course. So another 3rd place finish. Got in a quick warm down and then went to the pits to help Robbie O. for Derricks race with him having to be ready for Derrick, Oz, or Greg with any mechanicals. I'm really glad I went over to give him a hand as I had no idea of what went on in the pit and if I ever need a bike change now I know what to do.
So Derrick finished his race and had a bit better performance than the day before and moved up a position on his finish. His start was much better and managed to get in the top 15 through the first lap. This probably costed him years off his life,
as he finished one place better than Saturday but worked a way lot harder. After he was done, we showered, packed up the car and was out of Gloucester within half hour. Then the fun began. As we began the journey home Derrick started shivering, I was driving so this wasn't a big problem until the shivers turned into constant shivers. I was pretty nervous at this point and tried to grab him some food from the back seat while driving. It didn't stop, so I stopped to find a restaurant, driving in circles, we got out to eat, Derrick didn't even make it in the restaurant before he said he was too cold and wanted to get in the car and warm up. Finally another half an hour of driving in what was feeling like the Bahamas inside the car, Derrick stopped shaking. We stopped, ate and then continued the journey home......still don't know really what was up with that?
Time-Preparation for National Cyclocross Championships
I have wanted to set up a blog account for quite some time. The limiting factor seems to be one that limits most of the things we tend to do in our lives, time. Time, it always seems to pass slow when we want it to go fast, or fast when we want it to go slow. Usually if we spend 12 hours driving to race, we want the time go by as fast as possible. But if it's that two seconds the front wheel crosses the line before anyone elses, we want to hold the second hand as tight as possible not to let it go. I guess the funny thing about that is although we want time to go by differently, it is the one thing that remains constant throughout the universe. It is one limiting factor that we must all inevitably deal with.
So as Natasha and I sit here in a fuchsia colored hotel room, tucked in central British-Columbia, we do indeed have some time to put in some final preparations before the National Championships. The difference in time is three hours so we're trying to get on track with that. Since I hit the sack at six thirty last night and was able to get an astounding twelve hours of sleep in, it shouldn't be a problem. Thing now is we have to get our bodies used to riding a little later since it's pretty frigid right now, about 4 degs at 8am...so hence the time available to create a blogger, g-mail account and put down some thoughts.
Natasha and I thought it would be a good idea to create a blog to be able to let everyone know how things were going since we will be travelling a lot in the next few months. Basically we'll try to post as much as we can when we are away racing to keep in touch with anyone who is interested in following us trying to accomplish our dreams.
I'll always remember when I met Natasha and she told me that she wanted to be a Time Trialist. She said she would "focus" on this discipline, in hopes of one day being the best in the Country and her ultimate goal was to represent Canada in International competition. Over the last few years her "focus" has changed to Cyclo-cross. Reasons being 1) she is pretty good at it 2) I told her it would be a lot more fun then TT'ing 3) she has the type of engine that really lends itself well to this discipline. So now we're on the quest for a good performance at Nationals, accumulating mass amounts of UCI points and trying to figure out how we're going to get to World's. That being said, my ambitions in Cyclo-Cross this season have basically been a bi-product of Natasha's goals. I figure that since I have to drag my butt across Canada, the continental US and possibly over to Europe, I might as well try to put 100% into it as well and really try to achieve the best results possible. For me the fitness is there from a great season of racing on the road and Natasha's enthusiasm is contagious so I try to give it full gas every time I race. Let me tell you that the US Cross scene is so competitive that if you don't give 100% you can pretty much guarantee that you will find yourself off the back in about 30 seconds.
This year I have made several crucial observations throughout the first stretch of our season racing UCI Cross Races in the US.
1) It's all about the start. If you're not a good starter, you better figure out what your doing wrong, cause if you have any ambition of getting UCI points you have to start well.
2) It's all about the tubulars. So many cyclist are so retentive about their equipment, carbon this and that, lots of bling...but seriously the difference of riding tubulars is pretty amazing.
3)If your not fit you're finished. Being good technically can get you by in the local stuff..but if your engine isn't running well, it's not going to be fun.
4)It's all about the start.
5)Seeing Natasha double podium last weekend was probably one of the happiest moments of my life.
It was totally amazing to hear the announcers yell out her name ...saying "an unknown rider from Steven's Cross...at first they were calling her Amy Wallace", but then Robbie O went over and they got it straight. Then they were saying that this Canadian rider was riding with the best women in North America...it was awesome. If anyone heard the rumour that I was crying after seeing her sprint her brains out...well it's true, I was so happy. I don't even think that it has hit her yet, but that's OK, cause she's got some serious competition ahead this week. If the guys from Steven's would have been watching, they would have loved the publicity, the announcers talking up the bikes, the rider...man it was awesome.
None of our adventures this year could have taken place without the constant help of Vince Caceres from the Cyclery, who not only always helps us out when we need "stuff", but he even woke up at 6 am and drove us to the airport yesterday. Steve Proulx, who always makes sure our machines have not been StJohn'd. Stevens bicycles from Germany for setting up Stevens Cross. Most recently as well www.labidealprotein.com for supplying us with delicious supplements and travel assistance. The bars are awesome and the extra protein really helps the muscles after ripping the legs apart in Cross.
Stay tuned for exciting adventures of the Dynamic Duo, as Steve calls us, we thought it was funny, so we kept the joke running...
So as Natasha and I sit here in a fuchsia colored hotel room, tucked in central British-Columbia, we do indeed have some time to put in some final preparations before the National Championships. The difference in time is three hours so we're trying to get on track with that. Since I hit the sack at six thirty last night and was able to get an astounding twelve hours of sleep in, it shouldn't be a problem. Thing now is we have to get our bodies used to riding a little later since it's pretty frigid right now, about 4 degs at 8am...so hence the time available to create a blogger, g-mail account and put down some thoughts.
Natasha and I thought it would be a good idea to create a blog to be able to let everyone know how things were going since we will be travelling a lot in the next few months. Basically we'll try to post as much as we can when we are away racing to keep in touch with anyone who is interested in following us trying to accomplish our dreams.
I'll always remember when I met Natasha and she told me that she wanted to be a Time Trialist. She said she would "focus" on this discipline, in hopes of one day being the best in the Country and her ultimate goal was to represent Canada in International competition. Over the last few years her "focus" has changed to Cyclo-cross. Reasons being 1) she is pretty good at it 2) I told her it would be a lot more fun then TT'ing 3) she has the type of engine that really lends itself well to this discipline. So now we're on the quest for a good performance at Nationals, accumulating mass amounts of UCI points and trying to figure out how we're going to get to World's. That being said, my ambitions in Cyclo-Cross this season have basically been a bi-product of Natasha's goals. I figure that since I have to drag my butt across Canada, the continental US and possibly over to Europe, I might as well try to put 100% into it as well and really try to achieve the best results possible. For me the fitness is there from a great season of racing on the road and Natasha's enthusiasm is contagious so I try to give it full gas every time I race. Let me tell you that the US Cross scene is so competitive that if you don't give 100% you can pretty much guarantee that you will find yourself off the back in about 30 seconds.
This year I have made several crucial observations throughout the first stretch of our season racing UCI Cross Races in the US.
1) It's all about the start. If you're not a good starter, you better figure out what your doing wrong, cause if you have any ambition of getting UCI points you have to start well.
2) It's all about the tubulars. So many cyclist are so retentive about their equipment, carbon this and that, lots of bling...but seriously the difference of riding tubulars is pretty amazing.
3)If your not fit you're finished. Being good technically can get you by in the local stuff..but if your engine isn't running well, it's not going to be fun.
4)It's all about the start.
5)Seeing Natasha double podium last weekend was probably one of the happiest moments of my life.
It was totally amazing to hear the announcers yell out her name ...saying "an unknown rider from Steven's Cross...at first they were calling her Amy Wallace", but then Robbie O went over and they got it straight. Then they were saying that this Canadian rider was riding with the best women in North America...it was awesome. If anyone heard the rumour that I was crying after seeing her sprint her brains out...well it's true, I was so happy. I don't even think that it has hit her yet, but that's OK, cause she's got some serious competition ahead this week. If the guys from Steven's would have been watching, they would have loved the publicity, the announcers talking up the bikes, the rider...man it was awesome.
None of our adventures this year could have taken place without the constant help of Vince Caceres from the Cyclery, who not only always helps us out when we need "stuff", but he even woke up at 6 am and drove us to the airport yesterday. Steve Proulx, who always makes sure our machines have not been StJohn'd. Stevens bicycles from Germany for setting up Stevens Cross. Most recently as well www.labidealprotein.com for supplying us with delicious supplements and travel assistance. The bars are awesome and the extra protein really helps the muscles after ripping the legs apart in Cross.
Stay tuned for exciting adventures of the Dynamic Duo, as Steve calls us, we thought it was funny, so we kept the joke running...
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