That is the simple answer. The longer and more complete answer is:

I met a whole bunch of very cool people. I raced four BMX races. I smiled and laughed like I haven’t done in a long time. I spent time with a good friend. I explored country roads. I ate gluten-free cookies and drank two cans of Cream Soda. I got a sunburn. I felt my body power me along. I enjoyed every single moment of it.

I’m not feeling that great health-wise right now and these moments on the bike are a chance for me to forget about my health problems and dream of what still could be. I’ve had to back off on my training. I’ve had to put any thoughts of doing local criterium races and the upcoming local road races on hold. Right now I’ve got enough in me for commuting to work, short bursts on the BMX track and a long easy ride on the weekend.

This is not what I had planned on doing at this time of the season. But it is what it is. And I’m going to make the best of it.

(A big thanks to all the cool people out at the Ottawa BMX track who have really helped me out and welcomed me into their fast-pedaling and high-flying gang. BMX is so much fun. Wish I had discovered it 20 years ago.)

Here’s a picture to get you pumped for BMX:

This past Sunday I was part of a very fun and inspiring event at Wild Rock Outfitters in Peterborough, ON. The team at Wild Rock did an amazing job of putting on an event that was all about women and being active. With a loose agenda of simply “coming out for a Sunday evening to meet others, hang out, talk to industry folks and enjoy some tasty wine and food” – the evening ended up being all this and more.

I wasn’t sure what to expect and admittedly I was a bit nervous – I didn’t know anyone from Wild Rock and I wasn’t sure what my role would be. Well, a big thanks to the team out for the Get Out And Play event – they made me feel at home instantly and I really felt at ease.

I was at Wild Rock Outfitters on behalf of Lolë who along with Merrell and FIG were the title sponsors of the event. The focus really was on connecting women in the Peterborough area with one another. It was awesome to see these women mingling, chatting and smiling as they talked cycling, running, yoga, clothes, camping and everything in between. There were long line-ups for the change rooms and I was kept pretty busy helping lots of women out with their bike questions.

One of the big highlights of the night was meeting the talented team behind Flirtees. Seriously if you like cycling or simply ride a bike, you need to check out these t-shirts. Fun and snappy designs that will put a smile on your face and chances are your new Flirtee will become your favourite t-shirt.

Suffice it to say, it was a great way to spend a Sunday evening. The time zipped by and I really was excited to see women of all ages out talking with another about leading an active lifestyle. It is refreshing to know that there are so many women out there who are excited and interested in being active.

A huge thanks to Lolë for inviting me to come out and represent their fine line of clothing. I have to say that this past Sunday night at Wild Rock Outfitters, all of the women there truly were embracing Lolë’s mantra of: Live Out Loud Everyday.

I’m looking forward to returning to the store in the fall to host a cyclo-cross clinic (rumour has it that Peterborough has a growing cyclo-cross scene). Until then if you’re interested in riding, take a look at the Peterborough Cycling Club website – there are rides specific to new riders, women, and everyone else in between.

Thanks again to Jessica and her team at Wild Rock Outfitters, the Flirtee girls, and to Lolë for such a great Sunday night.

I’m here this weekend because I’ve got an event at Wild Rock Outfitters in Peterborough to attend on behalf of Lolë. Similar to the event held recently at Bushtakah, this is a ladies only night that is all about getting women connected with others who are interested in the outdoors and an active lifestyle: cycling, hiking, running, kayaking, etc. (If you’re in Peterborough or the area, come on out tonight to Wild Rock Outfitters between 6 and 9 pm – definitely come by and say hello!)

Really things have been fairly quiet otherwise. The BMX riding was a ton of fun and I’m planning on getting out again this week for more practice and I might even race this Saturday! Right now my thoughts are on buying my own bike – luckily there are some good used bikes to choose from and the price point for BMX is not as high or intimidating as it can be for road racing or cyclo-cross racing.

So really things have been going well. There has been one hiccup though… My ulcerative colitis has returned. I’m in a flare again. This is very frustrating. It feels as though every time I start to push my body a bit hard (i.e. get into some intense training), my body reacts by getting inflamed and sick. I’ve had to take it easy this week – so no hard rides, no intervals, really just riding to keep my sanity. Frustrating to say the least but the upside is I’m still able to get out and ride and I’m not trapped in the house right now. I’m on some antibiotics that I hope will help. Really this is very challenging – it is hard to know if I should keep training or completely back off from training. I’m sick but not super sick – so where is the line in the sand. Will rest help my body heal? Is it up to the medicine to make me better? What should I eat (been eating a bland/low fiber diet…)? Lots of unknowns. It would be nice to talk with other athletes who are going through the same with ulcerative colitis.

Anyway, this is where I am. I had a couple days of feeling sorry for myself and did shed a few tears about this flare. But I’m past this now. Now I just want to be out on a bike having fun – road, cyclo-cross, BMX – I don’t care which kind of bike – I just want to be out riding and smiling. I feel good when I’m riding so it makes sense to ride.

Looking forward to a good night tonight at Wild Rock Outfitters. I’ll be hitting the road super early on Monday morning to get back to Ottawa for a day at the office and maybe an evening at the BMX track. Yes – things really are pretty good.

Come on out to Wild Rock Outfitters in Peterborough on Sunday evening for a night of networking, learning and good times. This is a ladies night sponsored by Lolë and a number of other fine companies.

I’ll be at the store from 6 – 9 pm talking all things bikes. Looking forward to meeting lots of new people and having a fun Sunday night.

I’m sitting here one day after my first time on a BMX bike and I’m still buzzing. I had so much fine riding the BMX track in the east end of the city. It was a blast. I know my skills have a long way to go and I certainly wasn’t riding fast – but I sure did feel like a kid again.

Leaning the bike into the big corners. “Flying” over the rollers and jumps – it was so much fun.

A big thanks to Jorg and Derek for the advice, patience, loaner bike and for being so welcoming. I have to say everyone I’ve met in the local BMX community has been awesome. Really reminds me of the local cyclo-cross community. A group of people out having fun on bikes and supporting one another while doing it.

I’m super excited to get out again and work on my BMX skills. I think I’m even going to do some BMX racing this summer!

Bikes rule!

Today I started my day with a rather frosty commute into work. (Yes, I have a full-time technical writing contract right now. So I’m learning to balance/juggle 40 hours of work a week with my training…) It was below zero when I left this morning and to tell you the truth – I didn’t mind. The sky was a brilliant blue. The air had a fresh crisp bite to it. I was outside riding along empty bicycle paths and pretty much car-free roads. Sure I had a few moments of feeling cold but these were barely a concern when I looked at the folks sitting in their cars looking a bit disgruntled and cranky.

I was hoping for a dry ride home since I had a good hard work-out ahead of me. No such luck. For the second day in a row I spent two hours in the pouring rain. It is easy to get grumpy about training in such weather and I’m sure there are some who chose not to ride when it rains. Admittedly I had a couple moments of thinking about how much I disliked the rain.

But then my good friend “perspective” appeared. I thought of Marc who couldn’t train for two weeks due to a case of walking pneumonia. I though of my friend Rob who is injured and can’t ride. I thought of my friend Howard who is dealing with a rotten ulcerative colitis flare and can’t ride. I thought of the days when I’ve been stuck indoors due to ulcerative colitis and other injuries.

All of a sudden, the rain didn’t seem so bad. In fact I started to enjoy it. Once you’re wet – you’re wet. Might as well just ride hard to keep the body warm and appreciate being outside doing something pretty awesome.

I’ve come to appreciate my bike and the time I get to spend on it even more in the last two weeks. Working full-time is a big change (and one I’m happy to be doing) and it can be hard to balance a full-time job with a full-time training program. This makes the time I’m on my bike so much more important to me. Riding is not a “chore” or something “I have to do” instead it is something “I get to do”.

Amazing how and where we can find perspective. Rain. 40 hours a week. It is all good. Life is good. My thoughts are with my pals who are going through tough times right now. Sunny days are ahead.

I’ve written a race report over on the Race Reports page, so I’ll give you the abridged version here… The race course for the weekend was on the Calabogie race track – this course is very wide, has a few bumps that can be challenging when faced with stiff headwinds, the corners are lots of fun and if you can stay off the brakes the corners are super fun to ride at high speeds. Our race field was primarily dominated in numbers by two local teams. There were numerous attacks that went off but nothing stuck with these two teams chasing each other down. I gave a few digs here and there but wasn’t able to “jump” away – right now I’m pretty good at going hard in a straight line and I’m lacking any acceleration speed. I tried to use this strength to my advantage when and where I could. At one point two riders did get a decent gap but due to the strong headwinds, this move did not stick and on the last lap we were facing a bunch sprint. The Real Deal team out of Toronto played the race very smartly by sending a rider on the attack in the last lap – no one followed her (yes, I should have done this…) and in the end Real Deal took all three spots on the podium with the last two coming out of the bunch sprint. I finished 8th in the bunch sprint.

For a first race and for a first road race in two years – I’m content with the day. I did a few things well. I need to fix a few other things. And most importantly I realized that I need to learn how to adapt during the race and learn how to race with the tools I have. I lack real acceleration right now but this shouldn’t have been a been a real limiter. It was super nice to be out on the road again and being in the racing action again. I’m happy that I felt comfortable in the race and I’m looking forward to more races ahead.

Yes of course I still have my neuroses on race day morning but they seem to appear in different ways…

On Saturday while Marc was trying to watch the hockey game, I insisted he review all the cycling gear I had spread out on the floor – was I missing anything? should I not take something? In fact I even listed off everything I was thinking of packing. Marc responded with “You have way too much stuff.” This sent a quiver of panic through my body – too much stuff? but what should I take out? In the end I crammed everything into my race bag… (except the Murphy and the full face helmet)

After the dust had settled on the “what to pack” dilemma, I then started to think about my pre-race warm-up. It has been two years since I’ve done a road race. I feel like I’ve never raced before… When it comes to cyclo-cross I know exactly what I’ll do on race day and how and when I’ll warm up for the race. But I really have no idea what to do for road races. So of course, Marc was peppered with more questions – how long should I warm up for? should I do openers? should I ride hard? easy? Finally Marc simply said “don’t worry about it. It’s a road race.”. Yikes – what does this mean?

Yes, so there is some nervous energy happening it is just manifesting itself differently than it did many years ago. I like to believe I’m less nervous now than when I was a young twenty-something – but honestly I’m not so sure. I’m guessing that I’ll chatter non-stop to Marc all the way to Calabogie and then try to make casual small talk on the start line as we wait for the gun to go off.

Yep, still nervous. Still excited. Still ready to race. All systems are go.

First off – a big thanks to the Ride With Rendall team and their crew of volunteers – the event was super well-organized and from my perspective went off without a hitch. There were two wheel trucks with a couple of very busy volunteers and the post-race food looked to be very good (I didn’t stay for the post-race meal – had to get home to Marc who has walking pneumonia…). Each and every corner was well marked and typically managed by at least three people – very impressive. The cheering from these folks helped a lot.

So, as for the race/ride? Well I was a bit nervous about an all-category event – it has been a long time since I’ve done this type of event. I was rather nervous about how fast the “fast” guys would go out and was pleased to still be with the group by the third gravel climb. But, this is where and when I realized that I’m not a fan of gravel… I quickly remembered how much I dislike turning on gravel roads (yes, poor bike handling skills) and unfortunately, I packed it in mentally. My legs were there – but my heart and spirit were not. I ended up simply riding the event – at times I rode with others and had some good conversations – many thanks to young Felix for the fast wheel on one of the paved sections. I was very happy to connect with my long-time friend Pierre at the end of the race and we rolled into together. Very nice to ride with Robyn and Tanya as well – some great company out there.

Am I disappointed? Not sure. I definitely didn’t have the competitive “spirit” that I usually have and I didn’t really have that “dig deep” attitude that helps me so much. I think really, it was simply a type of racing that is not for me. I’m happy I did it. It was great to connect with so many people and to chat with others. It was awesome to see the smiling faces and spirit of all the folks out for the day. I think I’ll stick to paved roads and cyclo-cross courses for a while though.

So thanks for the encouragement and convincing me to do the event. I’m happy I did it. Learned some valuable lessons that I’m sure I’ll be writing about in the days to come. I just registered for the Calabogie Classic and I’m looking forward to some road racing as well as a little bit of BMX action this summer.

I’m not sure where and why these nerves are showing up. I know that they’re not rational and thanks to the Chimp Paradox by Dr. Steve Peters I understand that I should be able to control these feelings. But right now I simply can’t. I have the registration page for the Clarence-Rockland Classic this Sunday open in my browser but I just haven’t clicked submit yet…

My head is full of what ifs. What if I’m not ready to race (it is the first race – I’m as ready as I’ll be)? What if I get a cold (Marc currently has one)? What if the weather is terrible (oh right – the worse the weather the better for me)? What if I can’t do it (of course I can do it)?

That’s right – not altogether rational. But a suitcase of nerves normally isn’t rational. I know it is ridiculous to be nervous on Tuesday when the race isn’t until Sunday… Some say these nerves are a good thing because it shows I care about the race and I want to do well.

I’m nervous about the gravel roads. I’m nervous about the race format. I’m nervous about my fitness. I’m nervous about getting dropped and having to ride the race alone. I’m nervous.