Season Greetings

Well I guess we were about due for a post, so I'll give you the word on what's happening down at the Dynamic Duo Headquarters. It's a a crazy time of year...sike. It's so nice to not be racing right now...yah I'm sure I'll miss it in a few months, but It's been 3 years since we've had a proper build for the season.

I probably said this before, but our idea to have a vacation was awesome. Man if you've had a long season, take a holiday, don't bring your bike and have some boat drinks and fry like a piece of bacon on the beach. Just let it go. You'll feel so much better after. It did us so much good and really allowed us to spend some stress free time together. Think we will both benefit on the long term benefits of just not being such nerds. Seriously. I think think every training book should say...end your season, take a vaccation, get a life, have fun...then you can start back. That's not to say training and racing isn't fun, but it's not the same. Other than that we are feeling great and things are great.

I've taken on a few people that I am helping coach/guide towards their objectives. That's kind of fun for me to get to share what info and experiences I have gained through the years and diffuse it to others to help them achieve their goals.

We've also made a small change in coaching as well. Although we really enjoyed Dan's coaching and approach to it, we needed someone a little closer, especially as Tasha won't be racing a whole lot during the summer, she'll benefit from a watchful eye. So Dan is handing the reins over to Glen Rendall.

Glen has been my go to guy over the years anyways, so it's a pretty easy switch and at this point we know what kind of training has to be done, what type when, ect and we are a lot more focused on key events through the year, it's just good to get a little objective help.

So we've planned a few training camps and layed out the objectives and everything. It's so cool to have all this done, be over that first couple weeks of soreness from the weights and it's not even X mas, man I almost feel organized this year, I even have my contract signed, my bikes are ready, Louis is sending me the preliminary design on the kits, we just just got word of a new additional sponsor, which is going to be really hot (in more ways than one). I feel like I usually do in March, and it's not even Janurary so that's a great sign for the road season. As I said, my focus this year will mainly be road. But if we have a "Cross Contingency Plan" casue you never know, an injury, a bug or a call from God to spread the word of the Lord can just happen at any minute so I have a backup plan if the s hits the fan so to speak and am sidelined through the summer...

Other than that just enjoying not having to leave to leave the house and figuring out some gifts
for Tasha. It's nice to be home. AS the next two years we will be away, so we'll just cram it all in this year. I hope that means I get my 2011 gifts...sweet.
DSJ

Torched

The Olympic Torch came to Cornwall today so we had get to down to business in the gym first to get there on time. My legs are going to be sore tomorrow I think...well I know.

Anyways we caught it. Kind of inspiring, sure not all the people carrying the torch are athletes, but I think it's about the message, people getting together to celebrate the triumph of the human spirit. Regardless if I ever have the chance to go, I work for a similar goal, which is to push myself past my limits and push to be the best, at least on a given day or week.

So, it adds a little fuel to the fire, maybe it will help me with motivation during the nest couple months, and maybe it keeps the cake out of my mouth next week.

Regardless, it has to be the funnest thing we did in Cornwall to date, and it took a whopping 5minutes to get there and park.

Are you here for the weight loss?

So check this out....We go to gym yesterday. I tell the girl we are here for the deal (10$ membership). "What deal" she says..."are you here for the revolutions weight loss clinic?".
"DO I LOOK LIKE I NEED TO LOOSE WEIGHT?" I say.

Man...I guess our down time plumped us up! Usually when I see people during the season they ask me if I'm ok, cause they say I look very gaunt. I guess not riding your bike and mowing down Mojitos and tacos for a week can do wonders for your waist line.

So that's my funny story. So I guess our season was over after Southampton. Tasha thought it was time to call it quits and I agreed. I knew I was tiered, as I hadn't really been into updating our blog and training had been mediocre at best for the last couple weeks.

So here's my take on my season. I'm happy with it, a few podiums, some great rides and best of all, I was really able to push the limits as far as technique and strangely enough over the last couple weeks, it was actually more fitness issues than technique.

So I've signed a contract for next year with Garneau Team and set out my objectives. The roster is pretty much finalized and it's a super strong team and our schedule is pretty conducive to my goals in 2010. I did have a few amazing offers, but how could I say no when LG has definitely taken care of us this year and their commitment to back Tasha for MNT and Cross is a dream come true for her as well.

We've had our vacation and it's time to ease back into the prep for 2010. Man this is the first year I will have a nice prep period before the road season. Doing back to back seasons can only take you so far before you need to put the "work" back in to get you to the next level. For me, taking some time to build again will be key into reaching my objectives next year, as I plan to focus primarily on the road and a very condensed cross season, maybe 6 race weekends that's it.

I feel like this year I didn't really decide if I was going to commit to Cross or Road but after evaluating my performances, objectives and results it's pretty clear the path I should take.

I think it will be good , as Spring and Summer will be for me and the Fall and Winter for Tasha.
It may be a little weird to be on opposite schedules, but I will come into Cross Full on and float until the wheels fall off.

So I may have forgot how much squats and dead lifts hurt...but I still don't think I look like someone who needs to loose 20 lbs!

DSJ

Thanks to everyone who supported us this year and who offered to help support a trip to Europe, but I'm pretty sure Tasha will have to cross the pond a few times next year, so she'll be back to harass you then. In the mean time I know the Canadian Juniors are headed to Worlds and if you feel the need to help out some cross racers I'm sure they would appreciate it. Don't get me wrong, if you want to send us an X mas card with some brown backs no prob, but I know next year we'll be hard up to send Tasha to Europe twice.

Sand running

So most of you will probably read this title and think that I am talking about the sand of the recent World Cup in Koksijde. Nope not true. I'm talking about the beautiful sand on the coast of Dominican Republic. Punta Cana to be exact. This is where I have been the last week or so. No Internet, no bikes, no training except a little running on the beach here and there. Although I have come back to see that somehow I have written a lot of wall posts on my facebook account with out using the Internet about eating lots of Turkey over the American Thanksgiving weekend. Yeah, that wasn't me, so please ignore any of this junk, although I did eat a lot of food on vacation.

So lets just say this was my first vacation in more than as many years as I've know Derrick (at least 5 years) and it was very over due. Many of you are probably wondering why I decided to cut the season short and end it after winning the NACT series in Southampton. Well, cause I kind of messed up this year. See I thought not focusing on cross would make me a better cyclocross racer and the more I got involved with road and doing stage races during the summer the better I would become at cyclo cross. I burnt the candle on both ends the last few years with no rest between seasons and multiple trips to Europe in two different sports. To top it off I had the worst illness I have had in my life this year in the middle of the road season loosing 8lbs in June and never gaining it back. Instead throwing myself into 4 stage races immediately after and the latter two being in France with the National team. I set myself up for a disaster, who'd did I think I was, Wonder women?? I'm not sure of the destruction that illness did to me, but it most likely cost me the entire year of cycling. Just imagine losing 5 % of your weight and then enduring in the hardest racing of your life and not giving your body chance to ever gain it back or recover. I raced and travelled more than anyone I can think of in the world of cycling this past year to add insult to this illness. This is what happens sometimes when you want things so bad, you become your own worse enemy, pushing and pushing until something gives.

Something did give for sure and even further into the mess I created, I got an chronic injury from what else would you think but chronic over training and not having rest between my seasons. Chronic compartment syndrome.........every cross race this year my left leg has swelled around the calf about 2o minutes into the race and caused my left foot to go numb. Sometimes worse than others and when it starts to happen there is no going back, all I can think of is me going into the barriers jumping off my bike and not feeling my foot and then blowing my ankle out. I think about it every race.

The list goes on and on, and I'll try not to bore you any more with excuses or reasoning's of why to cut the season short. Where are we now, back in C-wall, feeling relaxed, rested and recovered and have a huge plan for next year. Pierre at Louis Garneau Sports (who has kind of been like our manager this year in Cross as we run everything by him first) had a suggestion a few weeks back for me to solely focus on cross next year and go for it. Basically saying if you do cyclo cross, "you might as well win at it", so do everything right and better than the next person doing it. LG is going to support me enough to train all summer for cyclo cross, road race if I feel it fits well with the training, maybe venture into a few mountain bike races as well. But mainly not fry myself out by feeling the need to race or travel during the off season of cyclo-cross (summer months). And from what I have learned this system has seemed to work out for the riders flying in cyclo cross this season (Katerina Nash for example!).

Am I upset about cutting the season short........kind of, but not as much as one would think. Mainly because inside I know that I didn't focus on cross this year and didn't but in all the work I had done 2 years ago before cross. I took a different approach and learnt a whole lot about what not to do. Yep my technical skills improved remarkably this year but I didn't have all juice in the tank to take me through a whole season. So for next year, the plan is to start cross fresh with the two of these together. Knowing this I know that my game will be where it needs to be and anything will be possible. I'll say it here and you can quote me on it next season, but I want to stand on the podium at a World Cup and can see it already.

It is amazing to have this opportunity given to me, and to be honest, I was doing more and more road each year as I thought is was going to make me better at cross. Don't get me wrong, I like the road, but I love cyclo cross! Pierre and everyone at LG Sports obviously see my potential and want me to go for it, give it 110%, and I was thinking the exact same thing in my mind the last few weeks. I knew I came into cross tired but thought that I could pull myself out of it. I don't think the amount of races and travel I did this season helped me at all.

I gave everything I could at Southampton 2 weeks ago just to see if I could salvage anymore of the season. I even drank a full red bull on day 2 and went a 150% off the start giving me a 20 metre lead in the first 2 minutes of the race. "All or nothing" I said to myself that day, as I didn't ride my bike all that week to see if I could get rid of the damage of being burnout. It didn't work out well for me as my heartrate reached a mere 168 bpm at an effort of 150%, that was enough proof for me.

I still accomplished my goals this year....I got to race in Europe with the National team on the road, I won a series in cyclo cross in North America (almost 2). Although I had planned on winning the Verge, but it became the NACT series instead. I think if I didn't miss 6 of the Verge races I probably would of won it too. I wasn't really planning on going to Worlds in the first place this year in Cross as I knew a break was going to be needed this January before road. So I just ended the season a few weeks early than planned and really found out what I want to do in cycling. Where my heart is at and what I want to become the best in the world at.

Live and learn, who'd would of thought not focusing on cross and going with the flow would not make you the best in the World! With every great champion, there are lots of sacrifices that need to be made. All I know is that a lot of important lessons were learnt this year and all I could do was limit the damage and prepare for the season of my life next year in September. Refuel the tank, take it slow as I got lots of time before the season starts. Thanks again to all our supporters, fans, family, sponsors or anyone else I missed.

Oh yeah and one more thing, we get to spend Christmas with everyone this year. First time in 3 years, bad news is with my focus on cross for the next few years it probably won't happen again for awhile!

NCE

New Jersey

All smiles before but.....IT hurts that much to Finish 11th at a USGP-Photo by Jan Skafa-

So we headed back to NJ to visit our friends Neal and Sharron and their children Jack and Benjamin. The weather was rather somber Friday, so we set the trainers up in the garage for a little spin.

Saturday Tasha said she felt a little feverish, and she said she was sweating a little at night.
She looked fine so we didn't pay it much attention. She started her race and then just didn't feel right, not like herself. It was a little bizarre cause she was a little confused after her race and couldn't find her bike. Like I said she looked ok, but I knew something wasn't right cause she was not nervous and super relaxed, almost too much. Same thing Sunday, just not feeling right and she decided to call it a day.

So she'll take a few days off cause her body is telling her it is trying to fight off infection and would rather get better than pedal right now.

I had an ok race Saturday in the sloppy mud. Finished off 16th, not bad. I wouldn't call that mud my specialty, but it's a t least to the point where I love riding in the mud. The cool thing is I feel like I get about 1% better every mud race, so as long as no one else is getting better I'll win one for sure. THere were about 3 sections of the course in which I just couldn't quite master and probably cost me about 15 seconds per lap. Other than that I went as hard as I could.

Sunday I was a little bit more at homeon the course as it was a little faster, got to run "regular" tires with 22 psi so that's a little more my style. I was in a good spot off the start but took myself out twice in the first lap and lost some spots, fought back hard and got to top ten but just fell short on the last lap batteling with 5 guys or so, and I was able to drill it enough to beat all but Jones. SO I was happy as 11th at a GP in which everyone is there is an awesome result for me, especially on a muddy course...ok it wasn't as muddy as the day before, but hey it wasn't bone dry. I could say I wanted a top ten...I was actually aiming for top 5 which would have been rediculously great, but a few mistakes here and there, I figure every bobble costs a few seconds so every mistake just puts you a little bit further...so even on a perfect day for me a top 5 would have been almost too good to be true. But hey I was in for top ten on course that wasn't 100% geared to my abilites and it is about 30% better than my best GP result last year, so I just keep on hacking away.

Although it was a little bit of a wash for Tash, once again she kept her head on her shoulders, she didn't pout, she talk shit, she just accepted the circumstances and acted like a professional. Anyone who knows her would know how hard it was for her this weekend, she obviously had potential to really excel, but she kept her composure the best she could. She probably could have finished the races but honestly she is not there to participate, she is there to compete and she would have just drilled bad habits into her head..so you won't hear me say it is usually a good idea to withdraw, but good call her, rest up get better and then throttle it.

WE are off to the Hamptons this weekend and I'm pretty sure I'll be "in the race" a little more as usually this is a great course for me. We're still on the fence for the next couple weeks as we need Tasha to get better, I'm still trying to convince her to let me go to Spain to do a "crit" style World cup in the sun...but there's no womens race there, so it's not really that realistic. A boy can dream though.

Thanks again to the Stoeckles again for hosting us, nice to see them and the kids are great, they always put a smile on our faces and you can't help but be happy around them.

DSJ

Cycle Smart day 1-Tasha 2nd DSJ 6th

One down, one to go. Back in MA for a little nice weather cross racing. Tash had a solid race and came 2nd today. She made one small bobble in the sand and it was the difference between first and second. It's good to see that the women's racing is taking on that kind of level. Basically when there is stiff competition you have to ride almost to perfection to get the win.

Adam (Myerson) hooked us up with a great host for the weekend, we are about 4 k away from the course, so it's perfect. Super nice family, Mike and Maria and their children Emma and Phillip and dog Dozer. We're just getting cleaned up before dinner..Maria is Italian and she is making some really nice smelling chicken and tomato sauce..mmm.

My race was ok, I finished 6th. I was a little disappointed with how I was riding a few parts of the course, I just wasn't as good as I needed to be today over some of the technical stuff. C'est la vie. It's actually kind of funny cause I slid out in the exact same section twice...exact same mistake.

At least the weather was nice and this is a great race so even though it wasn't an awesome day for me, it's still a good experience and fun to be here.

We did narrow down some possibilities for our Trip to Europe. We are leaning on a shorter trip, as we first decided to do and shut it down Jan 3rd and no WORLDS this year. Why? Well I have obligations next year on the road and my season will be focused around a few key UCI races. This means I need a break this year before getting on the gas again for a training camp and early season races. Tasha does have a few offers for the road right now and for her, she would like to do some more National team projects , some early season stuff like Redlands, Gilla and so forth, so we will race hard until Jan then shut it down and hopefully enjoy this thing called "vacation"...I hear they are quit fun. Next years push on the road will be a little bit longer I suspect so we have decided that we need to go into the year on a full tank. And who knows, taking the rest this January might lead to both better road and CROSS seasons next year. Natasha's said one of her goals was to be doing Worlds in both cross and road next year, and be in the races to podium. Doing Cross till Feb is great but it just eats into the prep time for the next season. So that's where we are at, more like 2-3 weeks in Europe. This way it allows us to to be focused in training and preparation and then we know how long we can float on the shape we have. We'd rather be focused for the races we chose to do in Europe rather than racing just because.

DSJ

Kanata

Click here for an interview we just did with Denise Kelly from the OCA...

We had a nice Sunday in Ottawa. Did the OBC race in Kanata. Great to see all the crew out there, catch up with people and throw down some good O town Cross. I like this series cause it's pretty low key, no stress, well almost none. Bob and Ian do a good job of keeping this series going, it's the kind of racing that gets people into the sport and it's cool cause I get to race against Natasha, Robbie O, the Super strong juniors K bomb, Evan, Karl and Connor. Natasha gets to race against Glen 6to1 Rendall. I think he did everything he could to beat beat Natasha cause he was looking pretty wrecked after the race...haha I love it.

I went into the race rested as we've been training full gas and I just needed a little rest so I took Friday off and felt awesome on Sunday. We've been focusing on bettering my starts and we've made some good progress. First time I have lead a race from start to finish, now I know how much fun Tasha has when she does that.

Admittedly I knew I had to go hard with Os and his young home boys ready to pounce if they had an opportunity. Evan McNeely looked like he rode his brains out to try and stay on my wheel but I just hit the throttle on second lap at 100% and it was just a little too fast for him. Watch out though this kid is a junior and he was riding like a man...I rode the 2nd lap at about 95% and I think I only put 15 seconds into him...man if that kid sticks with it...

Yah so it's a small race, but there is some pretty good guys there and it's always to fun to win. Sometimes when your traveling a lot doing high caliber races, you almost forget what it is like to win...so you have to remind yourself so when the time is right on the big day you stick it cause it just feels natural...so it just feels like your on your couch. Well on your couch with slobber on your face.

Speaking of slobber on your face, it was awesome to see Tasha race for 1hour 10 minutes. You know the womens races are usually just under 40, sometimes even 35 minutes, so that's almost a double shift for her. Man after an hour she fell apart, I was egging her on telling her to finish strong and she almost killed herself on the last barriers, she forgot to pick her bike up and just ploughed through it. She was done. Man it was kind of priceless. I think there were alot of guys that girled on Sunday! She had alot of fun to be able to do a race like this and it kind of changed it up for us.

We celebrated our return to Ottawa with some Shawarma Palace and man it was good!
We're still trying to finalize our plans for Europe..it's actually funny no ticket booked, no accommodations...but sometimes it's good to be a little flexible, that way you can focus on what you are doing at the present. I'm sure at some point we will panic but until then no worries.

DSJ

Maine and beyond

So day two in Maine was a little warmer, well alot warmer, but the mud was even thincker, like oatmeal that's been in the microwave for too long.

It was good. The start was kind of crazy with a downhill mud section that was super wide and some dude put his bike into me and then someone ran over my head. That hurt. I grabbed the wrong bike then found my bike, went from bout 25th to 3rd in a few laps and broke my derail er hanger with 1/2 lap to go. Ran through the mud for 8th. That's cross. But something definetly clicked as I found myself riding really fast in the mud, I found how I could use my skill/strength to attack parts of the mud and use every once of energy into momentum. So I have to say that this was perhaps the most beneficial two races of my career. Crazy.

A huge thanks to our host family this weekend Chris and Phil for taking us in and feeding us some wicked chilli Saturday night.
Tasha rode consistent, but was a little under fired for the mud as she had also but in a big week of training and this was supposed to be a "b" race for us. It was supposed to be low key, but that's pretty impossible with the conditions, but hey you win some, you loose some.

This brings me to my next issue. WE are planning our European Campaign and we need some help. Basically we want to take a different approach then last year. We want to find a family that will host us, or maybe even a few different people who will take us in for a few weeks. SO if anyone who reads this has any family in Belgium/Holland and would like to take us in for a bit let us know, we would really appreciate it. We have had a alot of luck doing this in North America and the people we have met have been great so figure we will try to repeat the recipe in Europe and yield a similar outcome.

Ok, that's about it for today..see the local crew out in Kanata on Sunday.

why do I shave my legs

Why...I just don't know sometimes. Like today...still got mud in my eyes and I'm feeling wrecked. What ever happened to the off season... Tiered, Tasha 3rd, Derrick 5th. I got a flat while I was in 2nd...then I just couldn't ride fast enough. We both had good rides. 11pm and clothes is clean, sort of, bikes are clean, mostly. Mud in my eyes. Must go to bed.
Tomorrow will be a little warmer...being hypodermic today was slightly unpleasant, mumbles and stumbles, I thought why do I shave my legs and why is every single piece of clothing I own wet! Man, why do I shave my legs. Why is everything wet. Who ever thought that riding bikes in mud was a great idea anyways...have they never heard of roads. Why did I shave my legs...I just don't know why ever ever started...but I'm here and this is what I do. I like the shine (sun) more than the rain, but it makes me tough. There were alot of really nice looking cows today.
I noticed there was alot of mud as well, mostly cause it's still coming out of my eyes...
They, the cows, had names...they even had music in their barns, and apparently little elevators to take their poo away. During the last lap I wished someone took me away and had a magical blow dryer to warm me up and a machine that I could just throw my bike and clothes into and they would come out looking new. Seems like there are easier ways to make a couple hundred dollars. But I guess I wouldn't get to run around in the mud in pink...ahhh well it was good fun.
DSJ

Rain in Maine

We had to make a change of plan. Our mechanic for Kentucky broke a rib, so we are in Maine as we did not want to spend 30 hours in the car this weekend. It poured rain last night, it's still raining...it will be a mud fest today. Good news is there is more oxygen in the air when it rains.
We drove through New Hampshire on the way here, who knew Mt Washington was that enormous, we drove by it once, on the way back, but it was snowing so we couldn't see a thing.

Big news, the UCI has held our Nationals points until January. I looked to see if there was a new rule about this, but there isn't. Well in one way it's kind of fair, as there is no way Cross nats should be that early...but on the other hand we could have just flown to Travesio to racked up some points. In the end though you pretty much have t go to Europe to benefit from the points.

We've actually been sorting out our Euro campaign...We've got a few different ideas, more to follow.

DSJ

TO

Well, back in Toronto for one of our favorite weekends of the year.

Tasha rode really smooth on Saturday. I kept telling her to shut it down but I think she was just on fire. She said she felt she wasn't really going that hard, but that's what you call having a good day, it just doesn't feel that hard. Pepper gave her a little run for it on the first lap, but Tasha waited and made her move and it was very decisive.

With her win, she jumped into the lead of the North American Cyclocross Trophey (NACT) Series lead and got another sweet jersey to add to this years collection.

I had an ok race. Well that's not true, it was pretty much straight up awesome. I started off ok, but had to fight through a little traffic. On this course I think it was important not to go like stink on the first lap as going up a ski hill 8 times takes a toll on the body. I managed to tag on to the back of the group of 5 leaders. Powers hit the barriers and Johnson plowed into him, it was like Moses parting the red sea except it was Cannodale green and It tipped toes my way through the chaos onto Andy Jacques wheel. I wasn't sure if I should attack as there is always a little bit of etiquette in cycling, in retrospect maybe I should have given it full gas, but as there were a series turns I had to wait before hitting the throttle. But I did hit it a few times and attacked through the barriers the next lap, and then attacked again up the hill, this time Johson responded and stayed close to him, but not close enough. Driscoll then followed. I battled with Watson for third and I matched his accelerations and took him on the final climb but slid out with a few hundred meters to go roiling into 4th.

Sunday Tasha stormed away during the first lap and was never to be seen. Well there was a young junior chomping at her heels, and closed to within 15 seconds, but she just kept the pressure on and secured the win and I believe most of the points for the jersey.

I was unable to match the speed of the three man Cannodale train on the first lap and resolved to fighting for 4th. I won the battles using my kamikaze barrier attacks to get the final gap.

Great weather, great weekend. Good to see a lot of people at the venue. Great courses both days. Lots of great photos all over the web.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/toronto-international-cyclo-cross-c1/stages/stage-1/photos/92131

Yah that's pretty much my favorite photo ever.

Also, we were able to take coach Dan out and his wife Sara. We brought them to a Shawarma place, best of all I got a Shawarma hat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They said they would give it to me only if I wore it...for sure I'm going to wear a hat that says Shawarma...it's only the second most important food group after coffee.

I could actually do a long blog post, as the weekend was really exciting but I'm pretty tiered and we are travelling to the USGP in Kentucky Friday so we are gonna do a little run today.

I also received an email that means so much to me. In this sport you have to work hard, but good things come if you just keep at it

I really think that I raced close to my full potential this weekend. Having amazing product support from LG really helps, I have to say they have been amazing. Also having Alex Sanna (Soingeur Race Services) do all the pit work is a super help. If you ever need a soingneur look him up, he is a big supported of the Dynamic Duo and I would recommend him to anyone.

When you buy LG products or hire Alex you are supporting the people who believe in us and you directly contribute to our success by doing so. I know Alex is being certified as a level 3 coach as well, if his coaching is anything like the great services he offers to us, I am sure it is pretty great.


Derrick

3 week recap

So it's been so long since I've done a post. Apparently I should of being doing more, as too many guys in the west coast read Derrick's post the wrong way last night. All well, such is life and we don't have a blog to cause trouble but to use as a race report and a diary and nothing more that. Family, friends, fans, supporters and sponsors are interested in how we are and what we are doing and sometimes this is our only connection to them. The smartest thing I have done though over the last few weeks, is stopped reading everyone's blog that I race against. Why.....well there is no need, if I see these people at the race, I'd rather just talk to them and listen to how things went, cause, really that shows that I care and am interested and I am actually listening to there answers. It's been a real great experiment and I really proud of myself for this step. As a racer you can read into someone's blog the wrong way, and not get their true perspective, but if you talk to them you actually see that it is different from what you would read. Hey and sometimes people like to make jokes and sound funny but not for it to be taken the wrong way.

Anyways, a short 3 weeks ago the racing had started and wow how much variety have I had this year in a mere 3 weeks. Vermont was great 1 win and 1 2nd place. Gloucester, well Gloucester couldn't of been better. Those to date were my best two career wins ever and two do the double like that made it feel even more amazing. Two different days and two different styles of racing really made me feel at the top of my game. Maybe one week to early or maybe not. I definitely didn't feel amazing the last two days and I know I never travel well east to west, but what can you. All you can do is try and hope things will go well. Luck wasn't on my side this weekend either, the first day I made a mistake of letting Pepper and Allison pass me in the first half of the first lap and sure enough Pepper crashed and on my way of avoiding her as she was getting up, I slid out as well and never got to recover as Pepper and Allison went full gas to get rid of me. I tried and tried but 12 seconds was as close as I ever got in the next few laps and then I was spent.

Today was better but still not my "A" game. Heart rate was super lower both today and yesterday and I know something is always up when that happens. Anyways I gave it a go and lead the first lap and then had to play a bit of games. I was only willing to let Allison lead and as Pepper kept trying to get by I had to accelerate and close the door on her. She ended up crashing numerous of times behind me and that was exactly why I couldn't let her get in front. Anyways to fight her off I let Allison get a couple of seconds on me and could never close it back. She got me by about 20 seconds today (Pedal and Canadian Cyclist some how messed up the results but all well). On the top part of the course I was closing and could see and smell the fear in Allison as she jumped hard out of each corner. But she definitely out road me in the bowl part of the course which I couldn't make up the time for this mountain bike section of the course no matter how hard I tried.

Derrick's race today was a bit of a "shit" show if I can say this word on the blog. If I told you anything about the few mishaps we have both had to deal with in the last few days it has been insane. Pretty funny and pretty amazing how we both handled the situations. For me, one really truly did probably effect my performance (which its nothing a few physio appointments can't fix), the other, well was just a little out of line and insulting. The same for Derrick and the way he came back today in the race after he was blatantly taken out, well that was amazing. I was pretty sure after the race we was going to be ready to rip someone apart, but he didn't even complain. All he could say was "did you see me ride and pass like 10 guys in 2 minutes, look how well I recovered from that". He also had some bad luck with a mechanical and as he road into second place, he then fell back to 4th because of it in the last few laps of the race. No complaints or protests to the officials when I think he would of had a valid case. Anyways, like my little mishap last week with another rider, you never know who was right and who was wrong, or if it is intentional or not, nobody can really make the call but the person who did it. You just have to trust your gut and try to race as fair as you think is fair. It is after all cyclo cross, and people are in for the win and will get there at all costs, and everyone has their own style of riding. Derrick and I both do this for a living at the moment and do try to go as far as we can but as fair as possible, but yes rubbin is racing my friends and it's all part of the game.

Next year is another year and another Nationals. Nationals is an important one, but there is still many other races to be won out there for the season. I definitely know that I had my work cut out for me this past weekend to win it and am not sure even if I had my "A" game if I would of got it on this course. I'm content to keep on trying and keep on racing to my abilities and wait again until next year in Toronto, which is much closer to home for me. And maybe just then I will get the title. Believe me when I do, it will be something special, I thought for sure my 10 UCI wins in North American over the last 13 months was enough preparation but I guess it was not. Nobody said it was going to be easy and if it was, would it be that great.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped us thus far, all the cheerers, supporters, fans, family, coach Dan and sponsors at LG, both from at the race and from a far. We are not even half way done this season, but you have all brought us so far.

NCE

Nationals briefly

So Tasha was off first. She had an ok ride. But she has been having a problem with her leg going numb in extreme temperatures, and it was bothering her a little today. Pepper bobbled in front of her and she fell back a little and could not overcome the 10 second gap. As soon as Allison saw Natasha was in back they gassed it so she could not let her catch on. Allison and Pepper throttled it for two laps putting in laps faster than the Junior men.
Obviously not the result we were looking for, but this is her first Nationals podium and up to date her luck at Nationals has been awful, so although it is bittersweet, congrats to he on her first Elite Nationals Podium. She knew it wasn't going to be easy. But she is very positive and just said when the time is right it will happen and she will cry lot of happy tears.

I wish I could have had the same positive attitude after my race, but I was a little disappointed/upset initially as I was behind some chaos and lost valuable seconds on the first lap. I guess the lesson here is start better and you won't be behind the chaos. I obviously knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the parc, I came on hard and fast lap 2 and on but the damage was done and I was in a battle with Schooler and Trace for 2nd. I didn't really ride all that well technically on the ride/run ups, as I was gassed from going so hard on the power sections. I guess I just need to concentrate a little more. I wanted it to be a race and I was a little insulted with what the announcers were saying to tell you the truth. They said they didn't even think Jeff was working or sweating and they played an AC DC song that he requested... Not sure maybe I'm a little sensitive, but that's pretty insulting. Good news is now I'm mad. Not angry, but mad like a dog and tomorrow, if i get a good start I'm going to try to rip peoples legs off the bone. I'll tell em when they see me leading to play some Tiesto and see how it feels to Trance out on them.

Hey that's racing though, but I'm aloud to freak out a bit, otherwise I wouldn't be me. As an Elite/Pro it's this kind of fuel that you need to push yourself past your limits. Good ride for Aaron Schooler coming third I think that's his best result and he's an Edmonton boy so good on him for showing up this year. The O town boys Connor and K bomb threw down as well, standing on the podium, just shy of the win...I feel ya.

I wold really like to thank Katherine and Chris for tow us around today and Alexa Sanna Soingeur Race Services, (check out his web site), extra ordinary and his friend Peter Mogg winner of the M1 race for helping us out, I really appreciate it guys. Alex is available for alot of races on the east coast, if you need support, he is the guy for sure, I know we have him reserved for Toronto already. Today went way smoother than last week, nothing worse than changing pedals 5minutes before your start.

Nationals Preview...for Kyle Fry Guy

So we headed over to Argyle Parc to check out the course. It's similar to last year, but they removed one mountain bike section and added a few really cool Euro like trade marks.

A wicked Fly over, all steel grate..it's sounds like thunder rolling over it, that thing is a monster and it will suck the life out of ya in the middle of the race.

They have lots of tight turns, one that shoots you right out in front of the pit.
This course is similar the Schelde Cross in Belgium, which was the first Euro race we ever did.

They added a cool sand pit...it's mostly a run, but Tasha had strict instructions not to sand in her drive train tonight, unless she was going to clean it herself and we know that was not going to happen.

There's a lot more twists and turns and the steep run up is still steep and it's icy.

Lots of people standing around watching other people take the magic lines through sections. But in reality, the course can change so much in 24 hours after weather, erosion and racing...so no worries.

I never really ride well in warm up, usually I crash a few times and bobble alot. I'm not really the smoothest rider...not at all actually. But I get chop my way through and more than likely tomorrow will be no different. In the past I would stress about not having sections dailed in, but in training it's just kind of riding around and getting a few bursts of speed in the legs...nothing more. It usually takes me half a lap to get it, cause you just don't ride the same speed in warm up and what you did at 15 km/hr is not the same as 20 km/hr.

So yah, we messed around with tire pressure and stuff, tomorrow we'll bring the other tires and we'll take it from there. It's just not worth stressing bout, it will be last minute decisions, but nothing like a little pressure to force you into a decision.

I'm not sure what wheels will be best, we will know about 20 minutes before the race.

It's a good thing this sport teaches you to just go with flow, cause there are always obstacles to overcome, so to speak literally and figuratively.

For me it would have been nice to have the sun shinning and a dry course, but I don't want to be just a one trick monkey, so whatever happens I really have no control over. If the course was dry I would have a smile from ear to ear as it would have been a crit on grass, but I'm still smiling cause tomorrow maybe I win on circuit that on paper I shouldn't, but we don't race on paper..it may look like paper cause it's white, but it's called snow, of that I am pretty sure.


As for Tash, she has proven she can ride mud and on dry, so we'll see if she keeps impressing with the dynamic riding capabilities. After a little bit of drama this week though(none being self imposed) I definitely know she know has what it takes to be champion as she has proved to me that not only has she improved her ability to get over obstacles on any course, but she has really grown as an athlete and a person in the last year with her ability to overcome obstacles in her life. Where there was once self doubt I know she someone who uses positivity to overcome whatever awful situation is thrown at her and she rises above. So in my eyes, she is indeed already a champion and now possesses the mental fortitude to be crowned.

Other than that we got to see coach Dan and his wife, that was nice...someimpressive riding by K bomb and good to see all the competion like Mike and KD and Shawn,Aaron and also to see Kyle Fry...I like this kid, you got to love a kid that eats raw fish!.He is my favorite Northerner for sure.

DSJ

Links and photos

Tasha with her "beauty cream" after winning Gloucester, photo courtesy of Paul Weiss and Cx Mag. I think this is my favorite shot of Tasha, eve...it says it all.
Here are some of the photos around the Web over the last few weeks, I know it's a little late, but just in case.

Tasha's interview after Gloucester day 1
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235695-nact-3-4-grand-prix-of-gloucester/203040-natasha-elliott-post-race-gp-gloucester-1

Gloucester day 1 video

Pic of me running
http://www.cyclingnews.com

There are a lot more photos and vids but those are some of my favorites.

Edmonton Chill

Well we arrived in Edmonton and a very familiar face greeted us at the Airport. Well, sort of.

It was none other than one of Canada's best triathletes, and Beijing Olympic Team member Paul Tichelaar. Maybe I'm kind of naive, cause when I saw his name on the emails, I thought that's funny this guy has the same name as the guy from the Olympics. Well after he told me he was doing his swim in the morning and then he could get us on his lunch break....it started to make sense. Anyways, he is housesitting for his in laws and letting us stay in his apt in Edmonton, very cool. Nothing like Olympic memorabilia hanging on the wall to inspire. Cause the weather is frigid and I'm not totally siked to get outside in sub zero weather for a training ride, but it's just the way it is.

THe bikes are up and built, that must be a PB for me. I didn't really mind packing the bikes last night, as a pro it's just part of the job. If you can enjoy packing the bikes, changing cables, ect it becomes a lot more enjoyable. Cause in reality the racing is a very small percentage of time, don't get me wrong it is usually the best part of it, but obviously there is a lot of work that goes in to getting us from point A to B along with the stable of bikes and gear. Especially during Cross season, so much work, travel, but the the reward's are worth it.

Speaking of that, I should have the new Carbon prototype bike soon. But my "job" is train with it and really smack it around and pummel it...oh how fun that will be.

So that's where we are at. I know I didn't really say anything about the "injury" I incurred this week while I was taking a Bottom Bracket off...but I am healing well. In a nut shell, I was torquing down on something and the tool slipped and slammed somewhere very unpleasant that caused me to run around for a few minutes before the bleeding and bruising set in...it wasn't pleasant...it was pretty bad...but without going into too much detail it is better. If this weekend goes as planned, it may make for a good story over a pint. On the other hand if the weekend doesn't go that well it may make for an even better story over a pint. Either way it's gonna make for a funny story for whoever is at the dinner table Sunday night, the more people the better the story will be, trust me.

DSJ

Be leavin'

We are scheduled to leave tomorrow. Yikes, I'm not even out the door yet for my workout this morning. Bikes...they are not packed, they will have to be worked on after the ride since it's raining cats and dogs.

In my haste of yesterdays post, I totally forgot to thank our wonderful Hostess in Beverley Mass,
Ann Guyer. She gave us shelter and kept us full with the most delicious fish "chowda" (she didn't really have a Baston accent, but it just makes my story more interesting). She even let us invite Robbie O and K bomb over for dinner. Her house was full of really cool art work, some which I noted she was the creator. So far we are two for two on the host housing, thanks Kim and thanks Ann, you were both a huge part of the success.

The title of the post is supposed to be a little bit of a pun. As I was caffeinating (thats my word Patent Pending) this morning I thought that we be leaving today but also the importance of believing in ourselves over the next couple days. I don't really know what I was going to say or write next, it made so much sense but in the time it took to throw on my shorts and jersey, the thought is gone.

Also I really really really want to thank all the people at Garneau who have been phenomenal to meet all of our very numerous demands. We just received some new custom clothes, let me just say the Lite Vent Long Sleeve jersey looks sick, perfect for cross. If you ever need Custom clothing made, LG is the way to go, the clothes are amazing, the fit spectacular and I think it looks sick even in Pink . Send me a line and I'll hook you up.

Ok, rain has stopped, workout must start, luckily we got the word to not overdo it today so there should be no hang over tomorrow. I felt pretty awful last Thursday from our Ballistic Speed workout. Did you know a Cross bike can get up to 50 km/hr? Who knew.

Also I thought of another good name for Blog, "The tales of the caffineated Wall Flour and the Dizzy Squirrel". We are supposed to be hooking up a rider diary from Pedal Mag, maybe I'll throw that at them.

Last thing, Anonymous asked about the "lunch meat" in the previous post. Just for the record, foods that are high in preservatives, sulfites, nitrates and all things un natural to man can cause migraines. Funny enough they even had a blurb about it on Canada AM, with Shamus this morning. Google causes of migraines and you'll see that I'm not crazy...we'll maybe not but at least you'll see that I'm not author of these theories.

DSJ

DSJ

Gloucester and the TSS

Man, what a crazy weekend and it's just getting crazier by the minute. Tick Tock we're on the clock, less than 48 hours and we're off to Nationals.

So In case you hadn't heard, Tasha basically light it up in MA. She endured through the mud, and pushed her way through to Victory. It was a great win for her. We often talk about Gloucester as where it all started, as it was our first Big Race a few years ago.

I wasn't so good in the mud. Unfortunately I ate some lunch meat Friday, it tasted really good but I have a sensitivity to preservatives and it was partially responsible for causing a migraine on Friday night. I didn't feel that bad on Saturday, but I was not quite 100% and when you race the best guys, being 5% down is not the way to go. Anyways, stuff happens you deal with it and you move on.

Sunday...Tasha killed it on the faster parcours, Laura was giving her a good run for her money, so to speak, but Tasha was in control, very cool, calm and collected. She was doing the Euro shoulder checks. She was riding very assertively, confidently that's for sure. Ricard Fries the announcer said she must have been watching Bart Wellens video's.

I had a great race. Good start, good legs, good head. A few sloppy bobbles, caused my seat post to turn sideways and I rode 2 laps with a crooked seat, I got past it though, stayed focused, then another bobble and my handlebars and stem were crooked...well then I had to pit cause that's just dangerous...if you ever want to challenge yourself try riding through sand with crooked handelbars...I was in a battle against Parbo, Timmerman and Jones for a bit, so a top 5 was just within reach, so I walk away feeling good for the next 6 days.

Lots of things to sort out this week, speaking of that my stuff is in so gotta get the new skinsuits...ciao!
DSJ

Vermont day 1

Derrick leading Lindine and Danish National Champ Parbo through a corner

Tasha in full speed mode...even the picture looks fast.
Photos courtesy of Martin Valliquette, Magog Race organizer and cross racer.

Greetings from Vermont. We had a rather short drive that turned rather long when Tasha took the steering wheel, and then well I missed the exit as the co navigator and well we got lost.

So we arrived an hour late, but no worries. We are staying with Kim and her daughter Savanah, in Essex Junction. Great family, great food, comfy beds, riding distance to the course.

So today's race, Tash went from the gun, she capitalized on a gap behind her and just motored.
She held the gap and just rode super smooth even riding parts that the master guys wern't riding, nice.

My race, had a good start, but got behind a crash/bobble and had to dig a little to get into the lead group, but they let Timmerman have 5 seconds and I just couldn't pull it back, I picked some interesting spots to maneuver which was a little Euro coming out. Had to wrestle for second and crashed in a rut in front of the barriers, but managed to throw down a good attack and just shy of getting into the lead. To tell you the truth I didn't ride all that great today, but I'll take the podium and it's my first 2nd ever in a UCI race so got to be happy with that.

Tash got the leaders jersey and gets to wear it tomorrow. It's supposed to rain, luckily we brought 12 sets of wheels.

Good day for the Garneau Club chaussures.

DSJ

Nice pic

Check out this link for yesterday's race coverage in French. All they needed was a nice Picture of Natasha...hopefully we can find one.
DSJ

To start off

Saturday

In my opinion the most important thing you can do before you start your season is get a good haircut. I would say it's probably more important than actual training. So I made sure to get a good haircut. You see, I cut my own hair. This started a few years ago when Natasha and I were working to race. I was trying to save as much money as possible so I had to do away with my wicked 30$ hair cuts/scalp massage...anyways, for the most part I usually do a good job, every now and then I mess it up a little but no worries, I good clipped on number 2 can fix almost any atrocity. So I got the clipper outs and gave myself the "serious athlete" look.

Then I got the scissors out and started chopping Trey's hair(my sister's baby who we were looking after while she was in TO), who just turned one. My sister thought if she didn't bring him to get his haircut until he was one it would be not as curly as his his brothers. Not sure where she heard this but anyways, we were baby sitting and she was in Toronto, so I cut his hair...don't worry I was nice enough to put it in a zip lock for my sister, just a little bit off the bangs, and a little off the sideburns(not really sure if babies have sideburns) but just a little, she probably won't even notice...
Sunday
SO no now it was time to race. A little warm up in race in Magog today. I like this race.
Tasha did her thing and couldn't quite catch the the 3 speedy junior men in her field, but put on a pretty good show of skill as the race organizer told her he thought she rode the sand better than anyone. We had a big week, going to QC getting the bikes, setting them up, and we were on the tail end of our prep phase so we have been a little cranky the last couple days. I was just hoping we didn't try to get too much done this week. There's not only training but everything that happens in life that creates different types of stress and those things have to be taken into account. It worked out ok, but it was no ideal. Hence this was a training race and a good way to make sure everything is set up for the next month.
So it was actually the first time Tash has won a jersey! all those wins, all those UCI races, road races, crits, lots of tropheys, but never a jersey, nice to see her get one, but I would say there a few more she has her eye on...

It was fun to be at the back of a pack as this was not a UCI race, they did the call up by QC championships and pre-reg order I think I was smack dab in the 4th row... SO it was good to come from the back, I got into the lead in put some time on the guys about half way through the lap and it was over. I pushed super hard for a few laps, but saw 187 on the Polar and there was a strange cramping in my quads so I eased off the gas and just pushed where I had to maintain a good gap, you never know I could have flatted, rolled a tub, you just never know...so it's good to have some time just in case. I think there was a pretty good battle behind me and Steve P got the best of Hugo Houle and Arousen, two LG road guys. Hugo is a power house, he won a lot of Mardi Lachine this year so 1 hour efforts are kind of his thing.

Kiernan Orange put in a stud ride for sure. Man that kid was on fire today! No kidding Tash couldn't catch him.

Best part about today....this is the first time Tash and I have won a race on the same day since Ontario crit champs, so it's been a long time coming...sounds kind of lame, but it's nice. I know it's just a smaller race, but winning just feels good, it's why we race.
DSJ

Cross Clinic

We held our first Cross Clinic tonight. It was fun. A few people showed up just to check out the new bikes, that's pretty cool. We just gave a few tips and rode around with the guys from the area who showed up. It was also one first events held in conjunction with the new bike shop that just opened in Cornwall, Total Cyclery and Sports, on Pitt street. And yes they will be carrying some cool LG gear, that Tash and I have the pleasure of testing.

Bikes are getting dialed in. We did have to stop about 35 times today to adjust Tasha's seat post, but hey I had mentally prepared myself for the Tasha vs new bike Syndrome. I lost my patience a few times, but I just think "Serenity now, Serenity now". It's not her fault she just has to have all the measurements right, I'm a little bit more slack an I just go by feel a little bit more. Everyone is different, for me it's more about things like my brakes, I have been known to spend way too much time getting them just right. But if we used my go by feel approach to everything, well we'd probably miss the start of most of our races.

Other than that, some of the LG stuff we are testing is really great. We will be using the Merino Wool Long cuff socks . They are perfect, nice and long, cover the tan lines, thin but not too thin, nice cuff, breathable perfect for this time of year. You know socks are a big deal to me. Some of the worst decisions I have ever made revolve around socks...seriously.

I don't quite know if Cornwall was ready to have the Duo cruising around town in Pink kits though...I have been getting some interesting feedback..like "My wife said she saw someone on a bike, bouncing around at a traffice light" then Tash just turn around and looked at me.

Yah I guess that's me I've been bouncing around a little, trying to get the timing right for the double barrier jump, it's a learned skill. I didn't teach that one at the Clinic tonight though, that one you gotta pay for...haha.

DSJ

New bikes

We arrived at the factory today and met with Karine, who is very patient with our very meticulous equipment needs. She brought us to the bike shop to see Max and Christian to pick up the first set of bikes that we will be riding this year.

Tasha will be riding two of these beauties, I will have one and my "A" bike is a Custom Carbon Cross specially made for me, which we will reveal in the next little bit... It will be slightly different than the others. We wanted to have Tasha riding two of the exact same bikes, as she is notrious for needing her meausurments to be within a fraction of millimeters as she is more meticulous than Eddy Merkx....so ipso facto, I get the "odd" duck.
That being said check out the new rides...


Louis Garneau Steeple X Elite

You may have to be a bike geek to understand some of this but...
This is the 2008 model, pimped up to exceed expectations with an Easton EC 90 x fork.
This model has a very well designed carbon rear triangle with loads of mud clearance and mud shearing carbon stays. The cables are nicely routed along the triangular aluminum top tube to stay clean and out of the way. The down tube is a little bigger than the norm and has a really nice feel to it when snagging the bike up.

The wheels are Super light weight while also being insanely robust, Shimano Dura Ace low profile Carbon Tubulars, iced with the new Vittoria EVO Cross XM tubulars...I guess the "X" is Cross and the "M" apparently stands for mud, this tire has some grip for sure, and for an aggressive tire it rolls really nice. I have used some of the older model Vittoria clinchers and thought they were ok, but the 290 TPI casing definetly has a really supple feel to it and I think I'm going to like it...it won't be a matter of not having enough bite to it for sure.

The bike feels really nice, really snappy, super light and new drive train is always so crisp feeling.
We'll throw em around a little bit more tomorow, but I couldn't believe how nice the Louis Garneau saddle was as well, I've been using the same saddle for a few years now and I thought it was going to be a problem to aquaint it to my butt, but (hahah) they seem to like each other...

I'll really know once I get to our training grounds at Greys and really hammer a few sections.

A big thanks to Karine, who was really patient with us and went over every single microscopic item to make sure that we have every type of glove, sock, hat, bib, shoe, helmet, jersey, thermal layer to make our racing and training as enjoyable as possible. Let's face it, in North America the Cross season starts with almost summer weather and transitions into some heavier fall weather, then it just gets either wet or cold or both and if you're not dressed for it, it just sucks.

If you've ever been to a race with me, you'll know one of the most important things in my prepartion is my socks...I just can't stand having cold feet cause my legs go numb, but I can't stand having my feet being too hot, cause my feet get hot and I can't climb as well when my feet are bothering me. I'm crazy about the details...shoes...if you've ever seen me try on bike shoes...it usually takes a day or two, just to pick between a 41.5 and a 42. I try them on at different times of the day with different socks, it's pretty OCD...anyways...Karine was awesome and she satyed 2 extra hours so we could hand pick everything and we really do appreciate all the attention, it makes us feel really important and who doesn't like that.

Long story short, I got a lot of socks and stuff for my feet and head and Natasha looks wicked hot in Pink Spandex...

DSJ

Why Pink?

So if you checked up on the blog lately you might of noticed some changes. You maybe be wondering if Derrick has had some lifestyle changes! Nope, things are normal, but we do have exciting news.

Over months of waiting and trying to send out proposals and get the best deal possible for both Derrick and I, we have finally signed for the 2009 cyclo-cross season with non other than Louis Garneau.

Derrick and I will be riding along together this year on the same team, same bikes, same support and same pink kit. This is something we have be striving for over the last few years and what's most exciting is that Louis himself is supporting me (a women) just as much as he is Derrick. This says a lot about Louis and Garneau Sports and I am very excited to have this opportunity.

I struggled over the last few weeks with teams coming back saying they weren't willing to support a female cyclo cross rider as much as a male and it really hit hard. I train just is hard and can beat most men out there locally in the sport so why should I have to compromise on my equipment and what not. Derrick sold me, as well as our idea and dream to Louis and I can't be happier.

With ever new team there has to be break ups with the old and this can be hard and nerve racking. My break up wasn't that bad. They just really couldn't afford the investment in me this year and not only that, I didn't want the team to whip out $1000's of dollars to get my equipment up to par if that meant next year on the road the rest of the team wouldn't be able to get to the same races cause the budget was short. I didn't want to accept a deal or offer that was less than last year as I have worked hard to get better and better each year, so why should I compromise. Garneau Sports is stepping up and supporting me to the fullest and when an athlete gets treated like a star, they preform like one and that's what I expect out of myself this year. No forcing things or trying to prove anything to anyone. I have all the confidence and all the hours to back me up this year.

I've been training super hard like always but differently to last year. 90 % of my training over the last 4 weeks has been on my cross bike. I think I have ridden my cross bike over 45 hours this year and that's way more than I saw last year leading into the race season. Not only that, the hours have been hard and technique has really come a long way when you do it when you are suffering and on the rivet. Yesterdays ride/workout was 3 and a half hours of cross strength/technique and we have this great course out here in Cornwall that Derrick and I designed. Each workout I am going back to it and getting faster and faster through the technical parts of the course. It's truly amazing how different things can be when you train like a cyclo cross racer.

For Derrick his break up was obviously a little harder. See, we both wanted to ride on the same team this season and we wanted to do something locally, but the more we waited and waited and looked at the offers, we couldn't say no to the deal from Louis Garneau. As much as we wanted to be with the same local crew in Ottawa and help out the development of the program is was going to come down to we couldn't afford it. And if we couldn't afford it our race schedule would of been compromised and so would of our performances. We waited until the absolute last minute to see if things could be worked out, but deadlines are set for a reason and since we don't have our new bikes yet this year, a decision had to made. When Derrick saw the dream offer from Louis we couldn't turn it down, it was everything we had be dreaming about and working towards over the last year or so.

So there you have it, that's why the blog is pink! And no Steve, it's not that awful.........well if your a girl it's not that awful, maybe for Derrick but that's a whole other can of worms. I don't know, I kind of think he looks nice in pink.

Also check out the side bar of our race schedule, pretty exciting schedule and it starts in just under 2 weeks. Sorry to say that we will be missing out of some great host housing that we had in Michigan, Wisconsin and Kentucky last year. We will miss you guys. Remember Jim the little secret we told you (about tire pressure) and we are sure you will take top honors in your category again this year at the Planet bike races.

We will also be able to update the blog this year a lot better and sooner after the races as we added the twitter account. We'll twitter a line after each race this season to let all the local support and fans know how we did.

So our new team doesn't change our connection to the local support and community. We holding some clinics out here in Cornwall in connection with the newly opened bike store The Total Cyclery. We also will be doing at least one OBC race this fall between our trips to the US as this is where it all began for us. The dreams were started here and they have come a long way over the last two years and are going to go a lot further.

NCE

What is the lesson here?

So, some pretty grueling times down at Dynamic duo headquarters. Train, train, train almost coming off the tracks. Man, I feel like I've been hit by a train most mornings. Then I start to feel good after about 3 espresso's, then i go do something like train hard and back to square one.

Bad news, we too are hooked on HBO's Rescue Me series. We borrowed it from the Real Robbie O, yah the guy that almost won the A crit the other night. Well when I say borrow, I mean we took it and left a note note saying we would bring it back next time we come back to bug him.
So we are into season one and this show is awesome.

Today we learned a lesson. We were running at the Cornwall Marina, doing hill repeats, and Natasha threw off her sunglasses cause they were falling off her face. After descending the hill, she realized someone had taken them. I ran after the couple, who said they were collecting empty beer bottles and they said that they did not take them. I ran back to Natasha, then we both ran after the pair, figuring that they were lying to us. This guy told me to F#4K off, then I just wouldn't take no for an answer, he pulled a beer bottle on me and told that he was crazy and he would mess me up. I wasn't really scared, as I've actually been hit with a beer bottle before and it didn't break, good thing I didn't remember when a friend of mine had one broken over his face, as I just remembered that and that was actually really bad, anyways if he was a real bad ass he would have smashed it first then threatened me with it.

So they weren't going to give them back(the sunglasses), until I said the glasses were not worth anything but they were given by someone very special who is no longer with us. That part was not really true, but I thought it was our only shot to get them back without getting a little busted up and the girl finally gave them back for fear that her boyfriend was going to loose it on me.

So the first lesson here is when I originally came up to them and asked about the glasses I should have taken off my glasses, he could lie to me, cause he could not look me in the eyes. Second lesson is don't throw your glasses on the ground. Third lesson is if you want to run fast in a cross race, just pretend like the guy in front of you stole your wife's glasses.

DSJ

Big week

Last week was one big week of training all right. I'm not going to bore you with details, well maybe a little, but the approach to our preparation this year is markedly different from last year. Don't get me wrong, it's just training and there is no right and wrong, you can have the best program laid out, but if it's not right for you, it's not going to give you the desired goals.

When I think back to last year, I definitely know that there some things I could have been doing different. So this year the training is a lot more practical, ie riding the Cross bike. Previously we were so concerned about about power numbers and pushing those limits that we used are energy to improve the numbers. But in the end, it's not even really about numbers, or heart rates. It's about being fast and dynamic. All you have to do to win a bike race is get your tire across the line first, that's it. I know it almost sounds too simplistic, but if you just work backwards from there, a lot of things fall into place.

When I saw the program Dan had laid out for us, I was a little concerned that it didn't look hard enough for me, but after yesterday, I was in bed a 8:57 and up this morning more than 12 hours later, paining in my entire body and there is no doubt in my mind I will be better prepared than last year. I don't ever remember running out of gears on a Cross bike. What's cool is it's got lots of "hard" training, but allows me to have some fun in the middle of a workout and improve aspects of my riding that need improvement.

Last year we did allot of our technique training tiered, and for us, it just didn't cut it. Really, for us to improve the technique, we must be rested going into it, and bring at least a 7/10 intensity to the ride. That doesn't mean that we're not buggered after the ride, oh boy.

Anyways, that's our reality right now. Cross bike riding, training, some running and trying to sort out the bikes for the season. We're geeks about our preparation, people must think we look very funny chasing each other up flights of stairs, like two little squirrels. But hey as we have not been racing, we got to go out and help marshall the Camp Fortune MTB race on Wednesday and we even caught a bit of the Cornwal Tri yesterday morning during our breakfast run and who did we see but none other than the man himself, Rick Hellard...our former run/bike/swim coach. How funny is that.

So we're going back to Ottawa tomorrow as we're going to tri (get it) and keep the legs turning with an NRC crit, hopefully we can get that 8 corner course I missed out on a few weeks ago.

D

Cycling Logic

So we've been up in Ottawa hanging out at my Dad's house, working a little bit, running and once Tasha meticulously places her seat a la Eddy Merckx, tape measure in hand we'll be off for a Cross ride. Funny that i can ride almost 300km in a day and think nothing of it, but then do a 30 minute jog and whoa...really feel where those muscles are attached to the ass bone.

Tuesday nights NRC training crit was pretty cool, short course, the turns come at you so fast. Tasha even covered some attacks at the start, it was awesome to see her ride like that, just like one of the guys, except sexy and does not reek of sweat. I was able to ride through some pretty severe pain as I just wanted to push through the pain and I was able to bring an intensity that I often lack during training races, but I sure found it...boy oh boy.

Anyways I picked up some Francesco's coffee from Greg at Cyclelogik...we did a medium grind of the Mexican Blend for the bodum at my dad's house. He uses Folgers so you know that I had to make him a good cup, I think he's hooked.

OK, Corss time.
D

Yikes!

Yikes, is right.
Well this week was interesting....the body always has a funny way of welcoming new activities. I usually wake up and pretty much feel like someone has pounded on my legs with some sort of meat mallet to tenderize them for human consumption. So this week was no different after a couple of runs, mixed in with a few secret training sessions.

So I'm feeling pretty awful right now and it reminded me of something....pretty much the way I was feeling in Feburary and March...sweet.

I've been trying to come to terms with my season, am I happy with the way it went? Is it over or should I just rest up and put in a few digs in September and get a few more wins checked off.
It's always hard to say, kind of but not really. If I look back at the "objectives" I set at the start of the year, I've not really achieved all of them, but slightly overachieved others.

Sure I wanted to win alot of races, but no matter how many I would have win, it would really never be enough. But as I was reading a book "The Rider", by Tim Krabbe, I read an interesting passage. He was talking about one of the great riders in Tour de France history and saying that this guy used to win races in a grand way, not a wheel sucker or an opportunist, but a great bike rider who won it his way. Funny enough this gave me a feeling of satisfaction and joy. Seriously. Cause that's the way I like to win, big time, solo hands in the air, the only one in the photo. Not to say I don't want to win a sprint from a break off the front, cause if I would have got that part of the equation right I would have pretty much won 50% percent of my races, which is an absolutely ridiculous percentage in this defeatist sport. But when I was on form from late May, winning GP Charlevoix, totally on fire through Beauce, lighting it up on Preston and breaking away at the Tour of Quebec, it was great. Not only that but I think contributing to Aaron winning Nationals as well was a highlight of the year for me as well.

So, long story, but I think it's worth while to reflect a little in order to be mentally ready for the next chunk ahead and also not go chasing things for the wrong reasons. Once I start chasing money, points, number of wins or anything empirical, it just kind of looses it's meaning a little.

I don't race my bike for that. I do this because I like pain and suffering or actually I like how good life feels when the suffering is over and life doesn't hurt anymore. Anytime I've won a race it's because I have been more prepared to accept pain and let go of fear...that's it.

Sometimes I think that's all training really is. It's just as much about preparing your mind to deal with pain in quantified amounts and resting a little to be fresh enough to let yourself hurt and not loose focus. For me usually when words like, awful, painful, agonizing remind me of a particular training session, that means it was good no matter what the wuss meter read. If someone could invent a power meter with a suffer factor on it, that I'd buy into. Then to coach would say "today's ride, 10/10, make yourself bleed blood and try to push the pedals so hard you feel muscle coming off your bones"...that would be fun.

Reason I talk about the pain so much is I'm mentally preparing myself for the next chunk, and making sure I'm ready to deal with it and know what I am getting myself into. If I wasn't prepared for this then it was not time to start. Think about Cross, one hour to put four hours of pain into...if you win this race it's gonna hurt alot.

Ok, nough about that. More of this to come in my coaching book, chapter one, enjoying the pain.
It's not for eveyone.
DSJ