O-CUP 1



Beginner/Citizen Men 17+, 2 laps 13km total

The Kona finally gets to stretch its legs this weekend. 13KM isn't much when you consider you did a 60KM race earlier this month. Except that 13KM is all in the bush. This means ups, and downs, and lots of rocks and crazy shit.

P2A had some of that too though so I'm not too worried. Again just getting my legs under me, and learning. Citizen class or so. If I put in a good time, I'll probably move to a new class. We'll see.

I'm super excited to ride the Kona though. Not going to lie.

Gonna take it out tonight for a quick ride around Heber or so, mebbe snap some shots.

Momentum..

Day 2 of recovery. I feel exceptionally good actually. I still get some pains in my calves and my knee is a bit banged up, but overall I feel like I can get on a bike and do a couple of laps today. Which is surprising, usually for me Day 2 is where the pain starts to worsen. This is good news.

Anyway, I'm happy with my recovery time. This is really decent. I thought I was going to be a wreck considering that I was still fatigued and sore yesterday morning. This morning, not so much. The knee is banged but the scabs pulling are more painful then the actual knee itself. Surprising, my back is totally fine, even after riding full rigid for 60KM. This is a complete first.

Also I hit a new max for my HR at 212BPM. Usually 170-180 is max, 212 is new. I didn't feel on deaths door at any point of the race, but that's comedy to see. Also I burned *according to polaris, and according to normal temps which were not the case* over 4000 calories on that race. I'm not sure about that, but even if its true, I was WAY under nourished for that race.... losing my Gatorade bottle was not good. I need to plan this a lot better. I'm not a small rider. I shouldn't eat like them either.

 I need to give the cross bike some TLC today though. There's still some mud on it, and the chain needs a bunch of  lube love as there's mud all over it as well even after the power wash. I shoulda taken the P2A bib off before I got it washed. I wasn't thinking but hey what are you going to do. Its destroyed now, might as well just toss it.

So tonight I'll spend some time cleaning the bike off and giving it a bit of polish. I did notice that I chipped paint where I was kicking the bike to knock mud off my cleats, I'll have to go grab some silver touchup paint. This also reminds me to check the spokes, I missed and kicked one during my race, I need to make sure its not bent. Rims are true, and bike is in great condition otherwise. Just looks ridden now.

My cleats I think might be done for, the ratchet mechanism isn't grabbing anymore. Might be mud. I'm hoping it is. I'll check those too I don't want to go buy new cleats as I kinda like the ones I have.

Registered for the O-CUP 9:00AM Citizen class race in Mansfield on May 1st, so I have a week or 2 to recover and loosen up. Then I bring out the Kona and ride the piss out of that too. I'm actually really excited to get out in the forest for a race.

May is going to be super busy. Race, Marathon, 8H Race back to back to back.... I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to it. P2A was a real uplift for me as I was questioning if I even really did progress over the winter. I needed a litmus test. I exceeded my own expectations. I am not a pro racer, never will be, but damn if its not enjoyable to pretend to be one when the only competition is yourself :D

Paris Mud Ancaster

Cloudy, Snow, Mud, Wind, CX bike... lets do this.

Paris to Ancaster 2011. First of all. I didn't place where I wanted to. I didn't break sub 3 hours. I would usually be pissed at myself, but I was totally new to this race. I learned a lot. So much actually. I can't put into words how it felt to cross that line. So with that. Lets recap.

First thing I did that I consider a mistake *lol learning* is started in Wave 3. Not only in Wave 3, but I'm still way too considerate. I should have muscled my way to the front, or as far up as I could. The first 2 waves absolutely demolished the course by the time we got to it. A lot of it was rideable on the cross for the first 20KM of the race. This will change later. After cracking a few jokes with the other Clydes around me *you see we pool together cause we're like that* I set my HRM and we were off.

The start was a bit offsetting. I wasn't used to starting with so many people around me so I was pretty ginger to make sure I didn't bounce off anyone, but I set my pace to start quickly and found myself passing people off the bat. I didn't feel like I was expending a lot of energy off the start so I started to push harder. Into the first rail trail area and I'm actually riding way faster then normal. HRM says I'm good to keep this pace for right now. I caught up to a father and I think 6-7 year old son riding a tandem. They were quick, so I just saddled up beside them and had a quick conversation about how I'm looking forward to my daughter getting old enough to try something like this. Wished them a good race, and paced up a bit to catch the pack ahead.

I had already seen 4 mechanical by the time I caught up the pack.... oh wait;

WRONG, pack ahead was at the first massive rock climb. I WAS TRUCKING UP THAT THING TILL SOMEONE JUST UNCLIPPED IN FRONT OF ME. Forced me to get off the bike, trudge around, get to the top. I don't like getting off my bike, and I was feeling really strong. Got back up, climbed the rest of the hill. At this point I realize I'm not tired, my legs feel great, and I'm passing people. Surprise, Clyde's got lungs, Clydes got legs. The snow starts.

Onto a road section, I get going at a good clip, up hills, more people passed, and I settle behind someone traveling at the same speed I am. Till again we get to a hill. I pass him. I donno, hills just seemed easy. *This will also change*

AAAnd into the first single track section. This is where I start to feel the CX bike was a good choice. I'm still moving up the field, I'm still able to deal with the slop, and I'm still outclimbing people. Skinny people, with 75lbs on me. I'm actually really starting to think that I'm overpacing myself at this point, but HRM says all systems green, giver, so I go.

Out of that, and onto dirt road, its downhill. I CRUSH this section. 57km/h max, 40km/h pace on flat. Into another section of single track. This is where it gets bad.

I still manage to trudge through here, but my rear tire is now slipping on climbs. I make it up but I'm expending a massive load of energy every time I torque that pedal. Not good. Make it out, road, into a 3rd section of single track. Same thing. Still haven't foot downed.

Back onto road.

About 20km in now, and I'm feeling pretty good. I come up to a section with a kid. The famous ramp. NOBODY is taking this thing, and the 5 year old whos standing there excited to see all the bikers looks all sad. Naturally I jump off his ramp. I got a lot of air actually this probably wasn't smart but I landed, no issues felt good, but he got SO excited after seeing someone jump. I felt good after that :)

It was a long road section here, and then we cut into some farmer's field. Its at this point that the CX bike does me in. The ground is so soft I'm sinking into the ground badly and the rolling resistance is up so high that its faster for me to walk. So off the bike, and I trudge through. Its at this point I realize looking at my watch sub 3 hours isn't going to happen. I'm not disappointed though, if things were dryer I'd actually be way ahead of where I was. That and I'm doing better then a lot of other people out there who are much lighter, so right now. I'm already happy with my performance.

Onto some more road. I tuck down behind someone, for a bit, and ride with him at a decent pace. I move to the front, and let him draft for a bit as well. Get to a hill on the road, and I'm still fast there, so I'm okay. 30KM in. Pass the aid station, grab a banana on the fly, eat half. Get to the road and I'm choking on it cause I'm not salivating. I pull out the gatorade bottle, drink, flush it down, and then the bottle slips out of my hand at 35km/h. Guy beside me says "you lost your bottle" I said, I'm not worried, it wasn't the one with beer in it. We both chuckle, share a few experiences, and some banter back and forth, and then party on to some rail trail again. Long  this time, its actually nice cause I catch my bearings here, and I fall into a decent pack and keep a decent pace.

Single track again, its so chewed up, that I have to foot slog it. Its thick gooey mud, and its impossible to ride.

50KM At this point, its back and forth between double track and road. I'm feeling good till one particularly muddy section. I get out on the road after walking. Surprise clyde, there will be no climbing, your quads now are on fire. My first real seize up of my legs that I've ever experienced. This was probably the equivalent of sticking hot coals into the inside of my quads and just blowing on them. I got to the top of this hill at about 7km/h, and got on a down, I gel'd hard, drank what I had left *the bottle i dropped was 75% full :(* and I worked the acid out of my legs. Once it went away I quite literally stated to myself "aaaand he's back".

Legs siezed up again about 6KM from the finish. I worked it out, gelled, watered. Surprise.. the dreaded hill.

At this point, I ride what I can furiously. I climb the last portion not wanting to be off my bike and over the line.... my legs are screaming, my heart is racing and I see 3:15:29. I also hear my aunt and uncle who came out to see the race cheer me across the line.

I am satisfied with my time... I spend about 10 seconds thinking about it, drive through spectators to an open part of the field, get off my bike, lay down and watch the stars. The emotion of finishing the race was intense, so I spent a bit of time collecting myself before going inside to meet up with family, eat, and change.

Things I learned or need to do:

1. Sign up for next years race. It is quite literally the most epic thing I have done outdoors, and will do it again.

2. Train longer distances. My hill climbing is fine, but long distance lactic buildup is not there yet.

3. Swap to egg beaters. SPD pedals work great in the dust and dirt. In the mud, you can pretty much go Eff yourself if you think you can clip in and out without any major issue.

4. More core, arm and chest work. I figured out how to climb on the CX pretty quickly. If I had stronger arms and back, I coulda been faster.

5. I never once thought about quitting or how shitty the ride was. I was having so much fun, and I really felt I was beating this ride the entire time. I didn't question the engine till the leg seizures. Even then, I shut up leg'd pretty hard through it.


I will be back to P2A next year. And I will improve my time considerably. I still have 30-40lbs to drop. Once that's down, and I'm trained up. I should pain train that ride to a better position next year. For what I am and where I started last year, I accept this ride as a testament to what you can do if you put your mind to it.

4 Days till Race Season Starts

I had a CRAZY strong ride yesterday. I'm unsure as to why. I've been going over my diet yesterday and monday and some of the things I did over those days. But I can't pinpoint it. I did introduce Gatorade again but I doubt that would be the reason...

CCX out, but I crushed hills, road hill, fire road single track. It was nuts, my legs never got tired and I just found myself riding heavy gears on flats keeping pace on those at around 31km/h. Not fast by any stretch for smaller guys but for me that felt huge.

Also rocked the lycra last night for the first time... ever. I'm so glad I didn't do that last year, I woulda looked like a sausage. I actually looked decent in it. Not svelt just yet, but definitely looked the part. Also it makes my legs look massive so I can always claim Quadzilla status.

I drove by some girl on the fire road section last night who was walking a couple of dogs. As I drove by she said "Your legs are huge". Coulda been worse, coulda been "Nice Sausage Suit fatass".

Also the look on the wife's face when I was wearing the suit the first time... that was comical. It was a mix of "you look silly" and "..... you're kinda hot right now" confusion.

Mission accomplished?

6 Days to P2A

I got the CCX sorted out. Its actually a known problem with the way that they wire the bike up. They apologized for not catching it before I left the shop. It turned out to be more then an adjustment, but a total rerun of the wire and new cabling.. so it was outside of my league for repair.

BUT its all fixed all good and ready to rock.

I didn't get much riding in at all this weekend. Weather and previous commitments kinda bogged it down. This week will be just a couple of jaunts around to keep the legs loose.

I honestly don't know what I want out of P2A. I know I can keep a good pace for a big guy and something inside says that I could place really well in Clyde, but I don't want to get my hopes up. I keep telling myself that finishing strong should be my goal and nothing more. Much like last years Hot August Nights. I finished strong, and felt satisfied with how I did. I didn't care that my bike was broken, that my legs were destroyed and that the 2 sausage and egg sandwiches I ate were turning my gut into a cesspool of violent rejection... I just cared about finishing strong.

I put a lot of work into myself this winter. Countless spin classes. Winter riding.... dieting down to keep the weight off. Bringing myself down another 20lbs to start for P2A.

I'm excited for P2A, and I have a couple of goals. First is sub 3H. I should be happy with any finish sub 3H for a clyde.... but....

Something inside wants to just rip my legs apart trying to bring it to the faux clydes though.... race on pure balls rather then within my cardiac ability.... we'll see... if I can keep up a good solid pace. Never know what can happen.

I'm so pumped though. Even though I'm starting in Wave 3, I really want to put my entire winter of training behind me, and actually put myself on the trail and see what I've done to myself.

Ultimately I can always remind myself that physically, I'm in a good spot, and only getting better.. and that I should take solace in that.

Maiden Voyage

I took the Kona out last night.

2 Things.

1. Riding on the road with that bike is futile. I spin like a mofo, the bike actually ends up bouncing all over the place like it has shocks... Its kinda funny.

2. Once you get into the dirt, its cheating.

Its a good gear in the dirt so far, maybe even a bit too easy. I attacked the shit out of the hill that I couldn't do at 312. I think it was probably the fastest climb I've ever done on it. It also trucks through mud, fire road, single track whatever, it just trucks. It feels like a truck. It red lines over things like a truck, it just feels so natural to ride.

And its mad whippy. I can maneuver the bike around without any trouble, bring up the front end to move over stuff, and bunny hop most logs now.

And for being full rigid, its crazy comfortable to ride...

Its cheating. But i'll let you know in my first race how it works out.
Feels like cheating... could be fooling myself, never know.

2 Rides in on the CCX

I don't have my large ring in the front. I'm unsure as to why, but I imagine it needs an adjustment, no big deal... yet. I'll get that sorted out this weekend. It was rubbing hard in low gear, now I know why. It'll be a quick fix. I'll probably just take it to the LBS and grab a tube/chain/gels there for P2A ride.

The Heber ride was interesting yesterday. The trip from my house to the tip of Ashburn was 10km of uphill riding. The trip through Heber was over fire road which the bike seemed to handle and roll over pretty easily, and then some single track on a slight incline leading into a hill to get out. It was pretty wet and had a few slog sections to navigate through. I practiced picking my lines through the junk to make it as easy as possible. The CCX handled it all really well... but I noticed that the chain seemed to be rubbing the front derailleur no matter what gear I was in, I paid no mind to it and rode on.

There were some rolling hills and flat sections but no downs on the way out. You either were going up, or the road was flat and you were into a headwind. It was pretty leg sapping. I refused to foot down on a 2km hill at the end of the ride. I seriously started to get tunnel vision when I got near the top, though I recovered fast once I crested the hill. Once I hit the 10km mark I turned back.

Average speed was 18km/h on the way out. Decent, but nothing spectacular. Most hills were 12km/h climbing just spinning, but they're hills, and into the wind. I'm calling this victory.

Everything is now a downhill, and I have the wind at my back.... oh surprise when I topped out at 51km/h on the same hill that caused me to start seeing black rings. Average flat speed this time was 30km/h, I ripped through that section pushing hard through the flats and up some of the rollers, but I never let myself get under that pace. I did learn though that I cannot shift to my upper ring, and that when I tried, it straightened out and stopped rubbing, but wasn't on the top ring, and couldn't get there.

I turned back into the entrance in Heber and powered through the same section picking my lines and noting where my old ones were *I saw other bikers out, but they seemed to just stick to the double track areas*. Instead of taking the fire road section back out, I cut into the double track and took a shot at the Devils Den down hill section.

Riding a road bike through single track like that feels weird. Its fast sure, but then you feel like you're doing something silly.

Once you get back to the parking lot there's a good 700m climb to get back out, I rode that pro, and then finished off the last 3km back home at a really good pace.

Overall pace was 21km/h for the ride.

I never felt like giving up or turning around at all during the entire ride, and was kinda wanting to get more in, but the sun was going down. I'm still fighting night time, but at least I'm getting my distances in.

Tonight just a quick jaunt to get the legs warm. I'm going to take the Kona out this time and hit a few hills. I'm super pumped about riding this bike. Its just so simple, quiet, and stealth like that it appeals to me on so many levels.

Back to the CCX for another 20km jaunt on Thursday, then I think I'm going to Harmony on Saturday morning to ride some new stuff on the Kona.

Just getting some KMs in before P2A. Feeling crazy good lately, and though I get fatigued, I'm not destroyed... and after 20km I always feel like i can do more.

ITS HERE... WOOP (For added effect, go fire up some "Lets get it on" by Gaye)

TIME TO RIDE!

Race Season Finalized

Apr  17            Paris to Ancaster

May 1              MTB Ontario Cup XC - Race # 1

May 15            MTB Ontario Cup XC - Race # 2

May 28            Dukes Spring Epic 8 Hour- Mansfield Outdoor Centre, Mansfield

Jun 5                MTB Canada Cup / MTB Ontario Cup XC - Race # 3

Jun 12              MTB Ontario Cup XC - Race # 4

Jun 25-26        24 Hours of Summer Solstice - Albion Hills, Bolton

July 12             MTB Ontario Cup XC - Race # 5

July 23             Dukes Cycle Summer Epic 8 Hour Relay - Hardwood Hills, Barrie

July 31             Canal Days Mountain Bike Race – Port Colborne

Aug 7               MTB Ontario Cup XC - Race # 6

Aug 27-28       24 Hours at Albion: Hot August Nights - Albion Hills, Bolton

Sep                  11 Ontario Cup XC - MTB Championships - Race # 7

Sep 24             Dukes Cycle Fall Epic 8 Hour Relay - Hardwood Hills, Barrie

Oct 16             Hardwood SingleTrack Challenge – Hardwood Hills, Barrie

Dropped super D, added O-Cups.

http://shorthillscyclingclub.com/shcc/2011_racing_schedule.htm

There's a comprehensive list of all the races that I can do above. There are a lot of point to point type races I may try out as well like the Pond to Pond one. The races above are the ones I WILL be doing :)

Or at least trying to anyway.

35KM, Uphill, Both Ways, In the Cold, In The Wind.

Maiden voyage on the CCX1 was... different. I haven't taken the Kona out on its maiden voyage, but my god its awesome. It weighed in at 20.04lbs. I'll wait till it gets a little less soggy outside. It rained hard last night, so I'll probably do the cyclocross ride, through Heber.

Okay I lie, I did take it out at the bike shop in the parking lot. It feels really light, and it explodes off the line and I can accellerate super quick on it, but being a single speed I spin out pretty fast.

32/19, I have a 16 tooth to put on it though once I get stronger. But no major mileage yet.

Heber CX Run

First of all, no matter how much spinning you do in the winter, and no matter how prostar you think you are at it, it does not prepare you for actual cycling. Sorry. Good workout yes. Great weight dropper yes. TERRIBLE CYCLING TRAINING.

Riding on the road is a really strange beast. I'm used to riding in the forest which is a lot more hill climbing and technical... and when I say hills I mean like sharp inclines where its technically leg strength that gets you through it. Breathing is tertiary, you can do that when you're done mashing.

Road riding is all breathing, and cadence. You hit a hill you gear for it, and you keep RPM's high. But the onset of lactic acid isn't immediate like some stand and mash climbs I've done. Though I can see how it can make you fit really fast. Up a long hill? Check. Legs burning? Check. HRM going banana's. Double Check. Loving the sensation.. check.

One of the things I like about the CCX that never really dawned on me till yesterday were the positions I can ride in. It allows me to stretch my back out really well when I need it, also allows me to take power away from my quads and push with my abs, back and pull with my hamstrings. This really helps on some climbs when the quads are screaming at me already. I don't get this option on the MTB, it has one option, stand and mash, or sit and mash.

Bike pics up tonight. I haven't had time to take them. I'll try to get some of the Kona up tonight.... pending I don't get stuck riding. Of which I'm hoping to.

P2AMAGAD

So I purchased a CCX1 on account of the reviews I saw. Strong, tough, quick, stiff, etc. Everything I'm looking for in a bike. This is also my last bike purchase for a few years. I have a 3 bike *possibly 2 bike* quiver that covers everything I would need.

My goals for P2A are to keep at least a 20km/h pace. I'm going to try a 40km ride Sunday to see what kind of pace I can keep during this time. I know I can keep a 17-20km/h pace on the Jubei on the current tires it has, but I'm redlining after about 40 min or so. Its a lot of bike to push around, and a lot of resistance from the tires.

I'm getting pretty excited about P2A. It'll tell me how well I did over the winter, and what I need to work on.

I'm pretty excited about the Cross bike as now it gives me a wider range of things to do. I've already planned a 20km loop that takes me through about 10KM of fire road, dirt, and single track along with dirt and paved road. This should be a much better ride then doing loops in Heber.

I can then take the SS and do quad mashers up some of the steeper hills in Heber on days I don't feel like trucking 20-40km.

I'm super pumped for this year's riding though.

Ocup, 8s, 24s, Point to Points. Wish I started this in my 20s.... Too bad it took till my 30s to figure out a passion like this.