Lots going on these days. We are in the thick of the November ‘cross racing scene. Seems like we spend a lot of time packing, unpacking, laundry, packing, etc. Guess we should really count ourselves lucky that we have the luxury of being able to race and travel every weekend. I really love the racing and the travel isn’t that bad, but I must admit it will be nice to be in Belgium where the travel involves an hour long car drive as opposed to eight hours in a car.

We’ve finally recovered from the weekend of racing and traveling and are getting ready for this weekend. This weekend we are just heading up the 401 to Toronto. A couple of UCI races at Centennial Park in Etobicoke (suburb of Toronto). Really looking forward to the weekend. (I think I write this before every race!) This weekend I want to build on the things I learned from last week and keep improving. I had a few rough moments during my race on Saturday, but the bonus was I was able to recover from this and get a decent race in. Sunday was better but an early decision cost me a slightly better finish. So this weekend I want to keep these lessons in the back of my brain. Most importantly, I’m all about the start this weekend. Time to start like I know I can. I need to be more aggressive and not just “settle” for a weak start and then play the catch and pass game. My day on the bike would be much smoother if I could just get the start I know I have in my legs and not have to worry about getting caught in traffic.

Suppose this is why I race – to accomplish these small goals and to keep seeing progress.

Got out for an excellent ride yesterday on the road bike. I really wanted to open things up but, the day called for recovery. So that’s what I did. Today I’ve got some sweet spot intervals on deck – these ones leave me on the side of the road begging for mercy. Just what I want – I’ll be able to summon the feeling in my legs on the weekend. Then later tonight I’m off to ‘cross practice and then because I’m a maniac I’ll blast from ‘cross practice to my hot power yoga class. Jam-packed. In a good way.

So, I have some extra Ottawa Cross jerseys sitting here in a box. I feel a bit awkward writing about this, but I’d like to sell them. They are Champion Systems short sleeve full-zip European cut jerseys. I have three men’s large jerseys and one men’s medium jerseys. For sizing reference – I wear the men’s medium. If you would like to buy a jersey, drop me an email (I’m not setup on PayPal but I can do this). The cost per jersey is $45. (This ends the advertisement…)

I posted some links to photos from the Northampton weekend on the Photos page. Some pretty smooth pics there – thanks Paul Weiss and Martin Valiquette. If you have pics from the weekend – let me know an I’ll post a link to your site. Alright, I best blast. I’ve got a lot of training to do today – not to mention some paid writing.

See you in Toronto!