Today was one of those training days… Since it is Wednesday, we went to Floreal Lichtaart to train in the woods. This is our weekly routine. Well, it seems that is is the routine for most ‘cross racers here. So even though there is snow on the ground we loaded up the trusty Kangoo and made our way.

I’ll be honest here – it was a tough one out there. I got into that “trying too hard” thing. I was trying to do everything and do it all perfect. You know – spin, stay loose, look up, and nail all the technical sections as well. Of course, when you’re learning – it is not optimum to try to work on everything at once! Sigh. Luckily Marc was there to remind me of this and to give me some good tips.

Number one lesson I can take from this training session – I need to focus on my cadence. With a higher cadence, the bike will float more easily through and over the snow. When I get into the slow cadence I start to stomp, this causes traction issues with the rear wheel and causes me to sink in the snow. So the name of the game for me is “spin”.

I know that if I can get this, the other things will come as well. So this was a great training session. With Marc’s help, we identified the biggest thing to work on right now. No more of this trying to fix everything at once. Back to basics and put the puzzle together one piece at a time.

So I’m going to switch gears now….

As you a lot of you know, I’ll be racing at the World Cyclo-Cross Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic. I’m stoked to be able to represent Canada and to fulfill a goal I set last season. You may also know that in order to reach this goal, I switched to part-time work and stopped working entirely in October. This was a necessary move so that I could focus on training, racing, and recovery. Not an easy decision to make when I’m in the “prime” of my “career”. But you know what, last time I checked you only live once. To help make this year possible I’ve been super lucky to have the support of some truly amazing sponsor and of course Marc has been ever at the ready to do whatever it takes.

But now I need to do something I’ve never had to do before… I need to rustle up some money. The trip to the World Championships is fully athlete-funded. So I have to pay for my clothing, accommodation, various team fees, food, and travel to and from the Czech Republic. Needless to say I have a big bill pay to pay in mid-January. Yeesh, this is so hard to write. I’ve always said I’d never be one of those bike racers who quits her job and then asks for money from people. But now I have to. Plain and simple – I need some cash. I knew there would be a cost associated with going to the World Championships – I just didn’t know it would be so big. So there you have it.

So this being said – if you want to help support my trip to the World Championships, drop me an email.

I’m embarrassed to have written these previous paragraphs. I so hope you don’t read it and take it the wrong way. I am a planner and a saver – I just wasn’t ready for this extra expense. Next year, I’ll know and I’ll be ready for it….

(P.S. Check out my latest article on Cyclocross Magazine.)