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