I’ve made a major discovery. One that I’m sure will earn me mega-bucks and in the process will make the world a better place. Yes, I’ve found the solution to the anger, greed, unease, and ugly people syndrome that seems all too common these days. Yep, this is the big one – a sure fire way to get us all on the path to happy lives full of laughter, smiles and good feelings. Oh yeah, this discovery is going to change the world… Are you ready for it? Brace yourself.

The Bicycle.

That’s right, two wheels, a saddle, handlebars, a slick paintjob and you are on your way to a much happier and joyful life. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Imagine the freedom that this two-wheeler can give you. Having a rough day at the office – no problem – hop on your bike and clear your head. Kids driving you crazy – load them up in the bike trailer and go for a spin on the bike paths (or leave them at home with your significant other and go for a solo spin). Have some tension to work out – dig out your trusty ten speed and see how far and hard you can push your body. Craving some fresh air – perfect time to take the bike out and get your errands done in style.

See, I told you, I’ve made a major discovery. The ticket to freedom and guaranteed to put you in a good mood. I know it works for me. Twice this week the bike has been my saving grace. Digging me out of a funk and putting in my happy place. Tuesday saw me not so thrilled with the rain – no problem – I dug out my cyclo-cross bike and hit up my fave training grounds. Within minutes of being surrounded by trees, birds, squirrels and singletrack I was in a much better place – literally and figuratively. Wednesday was much the same – not feeling the chilly June air, I forced myself out the door and soon enough thanks to the speed of my road bike I was out on the open road ripping up some intervals – turns out the weather was perfect.

Ah, the bicycle. It can take us back to our childhood, remind of us summer afternoons spent “racing” around the block, riding to the swimming pool, or going out for an afternoon of “exploring”. Now as adults it really is just the same – an escape from the everyday and a chance to really be a kid again.

What are you waiting for? Get out your bike and go for a ride. You’ll be glad you did. When you catch yourself smiling be sure to soak it all up. Life is short – go ride your bike.

Well, it is 4:00 and we’re some what recovered from our 24 Hours of Summer Solstice experience… To be brutally honest – this was a fantastic weekend. I had so much fun – the racing, the hanging out, the laughs, the amazing food, the atmosphere – all of it top-notch and just plain fun.

Before I go any further, I need to send out a massive thank-you to Don and Doe for their amazing support. They did it all for us. Drove up from Deep River with their RV and basically did whatever they could to make our racing weekend run smoothly. Don and Doe kept us well-fed, on schedule, laughing, and comfortable. I for one benefited massively from the RV – I lucked out and did not have to sleep in a tent… (Ya, me – not so much a camper…) Anyway, all this to say – thanks Don and Doe – the KingsBridge team definitely could not have done this without you.

Next up is our fearless leader – Skip. He got us organized, put together the team, kept us on top form and helped to keep the mood for the weekend be one of relaxation and fun. I definitely have to say our team was one of the most chillaxed around. And guess what – this translated to a truly supportive team environment where we all came together to cheer one another on and just really gel as a team.

I benefited from racing with a great group of super-experienced mountain bikers. My old mountain bike got some tender loving care from super Steve and James “no lights” Snider. They did some amazing handy work on my bike to keep it ticking over – thanks guys!

So as for the racing? Well we finished in 28th position out of 86 teams – pretty darn good. My laps were okay. I did the first lap, the fourth lap and then an early morning lap on Sunday. All with fairly similar lap times. I did struggle with keeping up the momentum and flow. Same problems – over-braking and not trusting my bike handling skills. But this will come. I’m happy to say my fitness is spot on – I was climbing super well and passing lots of people on the climbs.

All in all, I had a blast. Learned lots. Truly see the benefit of mountain bike racing in improving my cyclo-cross racing skills. This will not be my last mountain bike race. (I even feel there is a 24 hour solo event in my future…) Massive shout out to Erik, Rick, and Wes – great to chat with you guys!

We are chilling out here at Albion Hills for the night and will give ourselves a good night’s sleep before the drive home on Monday. We are contemplating a ride tomorrow… we’ll have to see how our old bones hold up!

The rest of the KingsBridge crew arrived last night and we’re now well set up with it seems like a billion tents, gazebos and an RV. We had a pretty chilled out morning while the guys put their bikes together and then it was riding time!

We did a full lap at a pretty chilled pace just to check out the course. I have to say the course is in super condition – especially considering all the rain that hit us earlier in the week. This course really has it all. It is not uber-technical but it is challenging. Flow is the word. It is all about maintaining momentum and really let the bike do its thing. Easier said than done.

There is lots of twisty climbing followed by twisty descending. There is a decent mix of singletrack and doubletrack – giving some relief from the twist and turns. The doubletrack does have some steepish climbs. But when you put it all together it makes for a solid race course. Perhaps the most challenging climb is just before the 1 kilometer to go sign.

But once you hit the top you’re rewarded by some flowy singletrack and the finish line/transition zone….

So all in all it will be a fun day of riding tomorrow. The campground is starting to fill up with riders, supporters, and sponsors. Looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere here this weekend with 3,000 people. Racing kicks off at noon tomorrow so send team KingsBridge some fast vibes and keep your fingers crossed for dry conditions.

Here is a shot of the crew sporting our new KingsBridge kits – thanks to Champion Systems.

We got to Albion Hills yesterday with little to no issues. We even managed to miss/beat the infamous 401 traffic craziness… Just been hanging out having a pretty relaxing time here. The campground is still pretty quiet with most racers arriving on Friday. The Chico Racing tent is set up and the course is marked.

Last night Skip and I went for an “easy” ride on our mountain bikes. No intentions of hitting up any singletrack so we didn’t put on our helmets (I know bad) and wore flip-flops/Crocs… Well of course we ended up on singletrack… Slippery, muddy singletrack and it was kind of dark… Ya, it was not the smartest thing. But it was fun. Lesson learned – greasy mud and Crocs don’t work together – traction is basically zero!

Just about to have some lunch and then we’re off to check out some trails and shake out our legs. It is wickedly humid here and the sun is burning quite hot. Hopefully the water will get sucked out of the ground by race time. Looking forward to racing in my first 24 hour event. Can’t imagine what this place will be like with 3,000 racers here.

I’m over in site 189A – so swing by and say hi! Safe travels if you’re on your way up tonight and tomorrow.

Just getting the last of the packing and bike cleaning done before hitting the road to Albion Hills. Yep, racing in the 24 Hours of Summer Solstice Mountain Bike Race this weekend. Cool. This will be my first 24 hour event and my first mountain bike race in a long time. Should be a fun time.

I’m racing with the KingsBridge corporate team – a solid group of guys who I’m sure will keep the weekend very festive and interesting. Ya, we’re not there to break any “speed” records though, I’m sure there might be a few battles to see who on the team can lay down the fastest lap time….

Of course I leave the bike cleaning as the last thing to do on my list. Hence my early morning of 5 a.m. so I have time to squeeze in some writing, blog reading, emailing, and bike cleaning…. Nothing like leaving the most important to the last minute (guess some things never change…).

Looking forward to seeing a bunch of my Toronto-area friends and just hanging out with a bunch of like-minded people. I’m sort of assuming the atmosphere will be very similar to that of a cyclo-cross race – a group of people who like bikes, fresh air, hanging out, going fast, and just having a good time.

I’m on a recovery week right now so not much to tell you about in the training department. Just some easy and smooth 90 minute rides to keep the legs loose and give them a chance to recovery. My wrist is slowly getting better. Problem is that it is hard to rest my wrist – especially when I spend a lot of time on the keyboard….

So in an effort to naturally help me get out of this ulcerative colitis flare and to stay in remission, I’ve ordered two books: Breaking the Vicious Cycle and the Paleo Diet for Athletes. The first book is about the Specific Carbohydrate Diet – a diet that has helped many people suffering from Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis get healthy. This diet eliminates all starches and grains from the diet – so really reducing the carbohydrate intake – not the best for an athlete. Hence the Paleo Diet for Athletes – this diet has some similar elements to the SCD diet and has recipes and advice that help athletes to get adequate nutrition. Many thanks to Kat for the tip!

Massive thanks to Ken H. for the donation to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada! We’ve now surpassed the $1,000 mark and have raised $1, 135! This is incredible. Thanks so much for your generous support.

Alright, time to go clean my bike…. Unfortunately it won’t clean itself. Have a great week/weekend. I’m hoping to have Internet access so I can post about the riding and racing. If not – hold tight until Monday when I’ll hit you with an update of the weekend action.