Just have to say – what a great day of riding I had on Wednesday. It was one of those days when everything clicks, the work-outs are solid, the weather was just right, and I was completely in the zone. Can’t ask for much more.

I kicked the day off with a micro-burst work-out. These intervals start out innocently enough but then the full force of their impact is quick to show up. Yep lactic acid, lung burning, and desperate panting starts to take over. Boy oh boy, do I love micro-burst work-outs. 10 seconds never feels so hard, so long, so powerful. After this ride it was time for some food and work and before I knew it was time to suit up again for ride number two. This time I was off to the trails with my mountain bike and some solid riding partners. I hooked up with Skip’s riding gang and we had a most excellent ride at Kanata Lakes. It really does make a difference when mountain biking to follow someone else’s wheel. It seems that the line just pops out that way and I’m more likely to try tricky stuff if I see others do it. All in all, a most excellent ride and a great way to spend the evening.

And in other news… I’ve got some new shoes. Yay! You know how girls love shoes. Well, these shoes are hot. New mountain bike shoes for the cyclo-cross season. Thanks to Vince at The Cyclery, I’ve now got some new Shimano WM81 mountain bike shoes. These shoes are hot. They fit perfectly. The carbon sole is super supportive. Can’t wait to bust these out for some cyclo-cross riding and training. Thanks Vince!

Today is looking to be a great day of riding as well. Assuming the rain goes away… Intervals this morning and then I’m hooking up with my pal Sheri for a smooth ride this afternoon. Definitely no complaints here. Friday I’ve got a little recovery ride on deck.

Of course, Sunday is the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada. This event is open to everyone and anyone so why not come out? You can walk, run, bike, or rollerblade along the route. And don’t forget, you still have time to get your name entered in my draw to win a prize! It is easy to enter – simply click this link and make an online donation to my fundraising campaign for the June 13th event and I’ll enter you name in the draw to win the prize of your choice.

Well, I best be off. Time to get there for my morning ride. Hope you’re having a good Thursday and that you’ve recovered from the soggy Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour on Sunday!

As most of you know I’m raising money for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada and will be participating in the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon this Sunday June 13. Thanks to your amazing donations, we’ve raised $695! This is awesome.

Thing is, I want to keep this momentum going and would like to see if we can hit $1000. Imagine how incredible it would be to raise $1000 that will go towards finding the causes and cures for Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

As is typical with such events, prizes are awarded to participants based on the amount of money raised… So here is what I’m going to do – I’m going to give my prize away to you. At the end of the event, I’ll enter the names of everyone who donated into a hat and a winner will be chosen. This winner (maybe you…) gets to choose their prize. Go check out this link to see what you could win.

So the more money we raise, the better the prize you get and the bigger my smile is knowing that we are working together to find cures for these diseases.

I really do appreciate your support with this and am simply overwhelmed by your donations so far.

Oh, and if you don’t have plans for Sunday June 13 – why not come on out and participate in the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon? There are events right across the country and it would be great to see some of you out at the Ottawa event.

This past weekend I participated in the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour. This was my first time doing this ride – and definitely not my last. I had a thoroughly enjoyable time – even with the crazy wind and cold on Sunday. The riding was great. The group I rode with was top-notch. The setup at Queen’s University was excellent – good food, decent room, relaxing times. The organization was amazing – the OBC really has this ride well-organized and to me everything seemed to work very seamlessly.

It was two big back-to-back days of riding featuring two very different days of riding. Saturday was a humid but dry day. The sun was out and the wind was blowing and we rolled along at a decent clip from Ottawa to Kingston. Three stops on the way for bathrooms, food and drink. Lots of good conversation and riding chatter. I was amazed to see how many people were out riding – all types of cyclists – awesome to see. Sunday was an epic day with crazy rain, cold and wind. A lot of people quit the ride either in Kingston, Westport or Perth. For the most part, our group pushed on with three of us making it the full distance (though admittedly we did consider packing it in in Perth but we felt good so decided to push on).

This was a totally different cycling experience than I’ve ever had. I’ve only ever raced. I’d never done a “tour” until this weekend. It was very enjoyable. Relaxing bike experience with everyone just out to have fun and enjoy the bike. I really can appreciate the attraction people have to these large bicycle tours. I was fortunate to ride with a fast group – making the day rather fun and energetic.

I really wasn’t sure how I would feel on Sunday – I had never done two big days back-to-back. But luckily I felt great. I think that the advice I heeded on Saturday made a big difference on Sunday – I ate a lot during and after the ride, I drank a lot, I went to bed early, and I didn’t blow all my “bullets” on Saturday. This all made Sunday a much more pleasurable experience.

Today – well – today is rest day. Just some yoga on deck for me. The rest of the week shapes up with some more solid days in the saddle with the usual intervals and long rides. Looking forward to another good week of training.

As for next year’s Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour? Well – I’m hooked. I’ll be there again. Hoping to get a few other racing friends to come out as well. It is a great weekend of riding and training. Besides – there is chocolate milk and ice cream with supper on Saturday night – can’t beat that!

Is it time yet? Is it time for cyclo-cross season? While most of my pals are thinking of road racing, time trials and stage races, I’m thinking of other things. Things like: mud, sand, singletrack, barriers, stairs, crazed fans, lions, and 40 minutes. Yes – full on cyclo-cross on the brain.

Not a bad way to be – in my opinion. Guess this is just my way of telling you that I’m really looking forward to the cyclo-cross season. I’m already feeling well-prepared. We’ve taken a different approach this “off-season” and so far so good. I’m starting to see the rewards of all the long rides and time spent in the saddle. I’m feeling more and more like the cyclo-cross racer I know I can be. I’m starting to feel free on my bike and really learning to let it do its thing. Can’t beat these feelings.

To keep the energy system firing and the brain sharp, we’ve been doing all sorts of rides. Mountain bike rides. Tempo rides. Threshold rides. Long endurance rides. Sprint work-outs. And now it is time to throw some criterium racing into the mix – can’t beat these races for building the snap I need to accelerate off the start line and out of every corner and after every barrier. The weekly practice sessions in the local park are starting. I’ll be out there with my flags and plastic barrier getting some ‘cross action going. I’m doing the 24 Hours of Summer Solstice Race with the KingsBridge crew to keep working on the off-road skills.

My head is feeling pretty good as well. Less and less is my nemesis creeping in with negative thoughts and doubt. I know what I can do. I’ve already proven this. I got where I am from hardwork and dedication. Can’t take this away from me and I can only keep getting better. Nope – no room for doubt or fear in this head of mine. I’m full steam ahead with the goals and plan for the 2010 – 2011 season.

And now is the perfect time for you to jump on board… I’m in the process of getting sponsorship finalized for the season. I’m emailing companies, making calls and putting the finishing touches on my clothing. So if you’re as passionate about bike racing as I am and see the value in supporting me as I chase my dreams – lets talk. I’ve got lots to offer you – you definitely won’t be disappointed with how I represent your brand and speak about your product. I can promise you that your logo/product will be seen all over the place – Las Vegas, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, and Holland. Pretty darn good for a one-woman marketing and racing machine!

Ah, last night I went out to the Tuesday night training crit. It was heaps of fun. Well, you know the suffering kind of heaps of fun. This was my first race of the season. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel or how well I would ride. Well, for the most part it was a decent night.

I was a bit nervous at first and it took me a bit to settle down through the corners and find my groove. At one point I had to give myself a stern talking to… I was not riding the crit like I know how to ride crits. Once I settled down though things seemed to flow better. I did get dropped at one point but I took a couple of laps to catch my breath and drink some much needed water and hopped back in. I was rolling along fine and saw 14 minutes to go – I was pretty happy to know I’d be finishing the race. But then my wheel (I think front) started to give me issues. Intermittently it was making a squealing kind of noise through the corners – sounded like metal on metal. Kind of unnerving. And then it started making this same loud noise through the start/finish straight – I ended up pulling out – I was worried the wheel was going to do something crazy and I would end up hitting the deck.

In hindsight I probably should have stayed in but I was a bit nervous about the ridiculous sound. Haven’t sourced the problem yet – but the guess is that it is my hub. (I’ll leave this to the in-house experts…)

So all in all, a great time was had. It was just super sweet to be out racing again. A good barometer of my fitness and how the training has been going. Marc looked at my power files and the good news is, I wasn’t beyond any of my “limits” so this tells me that my fitness is good and that really it was the “silly” way I was riding last night that put me in some deep holes. Many thanks to the pushes – I love that feeling of the hand on my bum giving me a push when everyone is going forward and I’m going backward! Also thanks to Chris R. for the offer of hand-sling – unfortunately I was bit addled at the point and it took me too long to figure out what I was supposed to do!

Looking forward to getting out again in two weeks time for another kick at the cat and then on June 20 we have Preston St. This should be a good time as always. I remember watching Marc and the Sportable boys race this way back in 1994…

Today is looking good. Just about to head out for three hours on the road bike with some intervals thrown in for good measure. Then tonight I’m off to Camp Fortune to meet up with the Creative Wheel Centre mountain biking crew for a ride. Definitely a good day. Oh, and I’m doing the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour this weekend – 177 km to Kingston on Saturday and the return trip on Sunday. First time doing Rideau Lakes – should be a good weekend of riding and friends.

(Sorry that this site was down for a few days…. But good news is we’re back up and racing again.)