Today was day two of racing here in Edmonton, Alberta. The morning came way too quickly for us today – funny how that happens on day two of the double-header.

Marc was up first in the Masters B race (Steve raced Elite today). It was cold. Like really cold. After a short delay, Marc and Rob were off. Off like a shot. Rob took the hole shot with Marc sitting third wheel. It was a Ride with Rendall clinic there for the first part of the lap. Eventually it came to being Marc and Sean Barr riding together. Marc crashed and lost Sean but Norm bridged up to Marc so these two worked together to try to catch Sean. Rob was riding just behind in a group of three. It was a pretty exciting race today – got to do a bike change for Marc. It started to rain so with Steve’s help (okay Steve did it all) – we quickly changed the wheels on the spare bike to have the “correct” tires on them and Marc picked up this bike through the pits. Thanks Steve and Keirnan for helping me out! In the end Marc finished 3rd and I believe Rob was 6th. A great race – fun to watch and a good way to start the day. Congrats Marc – awesome ride – super proud of how you rode today.

I raced at 1:00. So after some food and warming up in the Juventus club house I hopped on the course at noon for a warm-up. The course did not change from Saturday so it was really a matter of scoping out the lines again and getting the groove back. I’ve got a race report posted here. But long story short, my result was not stellar today (13th) but the effort was very good. I had a bobble in the bowl section that cost me but other than that I felt like I rode quite well today. I worked super hard all race to catch back to a couple of girls. Didn’t catch them but I tried.

I must admit I had a tough day mentally on the bike today. I really had to convince myself to keep going. I know part of this happens because the brain is sending signals to get you to slow down and to stop “hurting”. But another part of it for me was really trying to get over my disappointment. My goal for close to a year now has been to qualify for the World Championships in Holland – well, I didn’t qualify. So it was hard to feel pumped and motivated to race. I’m four races into my cyclo-cross season, and I did not meet my goal. Over the next week I’ll sit down and evaluate and set some new goals for the season.

After my race, I changed quickly and got out on the course to cheer on Steve. Pretty cool to watch him race with the Elite men today. Steve rode super well. He had some bad luck with a couple (maybe three) crashes but he came back super strong and did not give up. The sun was shining by this time and it was perfect to be out cheering on a super friend, training partner, and good guy. Nice ride Steve.

Marc and I had a super evening thanks to the Adamson family. We met Sean in Belgium last year and he and his family invited us over for dinner this evening. What a treat. We had a great meal, shared some stories and lots of laughs. Thanks so much for the hospitality – great way to close off our trip to Edmonton.

Massive shout out to my dad. He was awesome this weekend. Really, we would have been quite lost without him. You name it – he did it. Picked us up at the airport. Drove us all over the place. Sat through lots of conversations about biking. Was up at the crack of dawn both days to get Marc and Steve to the race and hang out while they warmed up. Stood at the start with a spare set of wheels and collected our warm-up clothes. Was all over the course, cheering us on and taking lots of pictures (yes, I’ll post them – look for them on Tuesday or Wednesday). Was at the finish with warm clothes and a smile. Helped us pack our bikes. Let us store all our bikes and bike boxes in his room. Phew – I’m tired just remembering everything he did for us this weekend. Thanks Dad! You made a real difference in our racing this weekend. So very much appreciated.

Okay, we’ve got an early start tomorrow. (Oh yah – my dad is driving us to the airport tomorrow before driving the 8 hours back to Nipawin.) Awesome. Have a good Thanksgiving. Congrats to everyone who raced in Almonte today. Thanks again for the support and encouragement.