You know those feelings you get when everything just clicks? You’re feeling good on the bike. You’re feeling good off the bike. The pedals are turning over nicely. The bike is ticking along. The head is clear. The brain is smiling. You have time to train, time to recover. Most importantly time to savor and enjoy life.

This is where I’m at.

I just finished my first four week block of the new season. The first few weeks were not as smooth as I would have liked. But now I’m in that groove. That groove where I just want to ride and ride some more. My body is asking for it. My brain says “bring it on”. Gotta love this.

Away from the bike life is good. I’m getting into a good routine here at home with my writing work – balancing my time on the computer so it does not take over my days. Giving my brain time to recharge with my yoga practice. All is good.

I’m not very impressed with this cold snap right now. But I suppose we had it coming considering the unseasonably warm weather we had early in March. What is the saying “in like a lamb out like a lion”? I think we’re getting a taste of the lion.

The road racing scene is starting to hot up around these parts. April is around the corner and that means lots of local racing on the calendar. In April there are three local races and our local training criterium series kicks off. Fun times. Fast times. I’ll be out at the training criteriums but that is it. No racing for me in April. Still to early. Fine by me – I want to be sharp and fast for ‘cross season. It is not easy to not race, but I know the pay off in November and again in January will be huge.

I’m out for a two hour ride tomorrow. So keep your fingers crossed that this wind eases off and the sun comes out to play. I don’t want to go back to the thermal tights, two pairs of shoe covers, thick gloves, and hat.

Alright, I best be off. Got a few more things to get through today. Enjoy your training or racing this weekend. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing – stay safe and remember to smile – you’ll never have this day again.

Phew, the last five days have flown by. I was in Orlando, Florida chilling out and pedaling my bike in and around Walt Disney World. Surreal. But very fun at the same time. This was my first time to Florida. Interesting place. Definitely nothing like New England…

I was down in Orlando with the KingsBridge team for the DRJ trade show. Many thanks to Skip and his team for making me feel so welcome and for bringing me along. Basically I was there to ride my bike in the trade show booth. I wasn’t sure how it would work out. Well, it was great. We had lots of traffic to the booth, I met a lot of interesting people, and I also got in lots of great outdoor riding. Pretty smooth five days. Many thanks as well to Clif Bar for hooking us up with very tasty booth treats for the trade show attendees – I think we got a lot of people hooked on Clif Bars…

Many thanks to Steve Rogers from KingsBridge for saving the day with my bike… Yep, a minor bike issue was discovered on Saturday – the o ring in my headset was broken/ruptured. Essentially – there was nothing to keep my headset nice and tight. So Sunday morning found me on the trainer by the pool pedaling in place for three hours. This was a very long three hours. Luckily I had my iPod and a magazine. But staring at a pool of blue water doesn’t really help the time pass quickly… Steve stepped in and solved the problem of the loose headset by first discovering the problem (I would never have found it) and then fixing up my headset thanks to a trip to Home Depot for a new o ring. Thanks to this fix I was able to get in some great early morning rides around the Walt Disney World Resort. My bike served as an excellent mode of transportation and I was able to get in some long rides and check out the Walt Disney World action.

The weather did not live up to its reputation but it was much warmer down in Orlando than it was here in Ottawa… So no real complaints. After a long day of travel yesterday, I’m happy to be home and getting back into the groove. My bike is put together and I’m just about to go for a ride to shake the airplane legs out of my legs (not to mention the airplane food and the five days of eating in restaurants in Orlando…).

Noticed that the 100 Miles to Nowhere is sold out… I’m stoked for FatCyclist but bummed for myself and the KingsBridge crew as we were looking forward to participating. Guess we’ll have to be sure to register early next year.

Merrickville on Saturday? Any takers? I’ve heard rumors that some of the trails are pretty dry – any input on this?

This phrase came to me today during my ride. Not sure where it came from: shedding the layers. It just sounded appropriate for this time of the year. I suppose really it can mean whatever you want. Shedding the layers can represent the warm weather and getting out and enjoying it with bare legs and arms. It can go a bit deeper and represent your headspace for this upcoming season and getting rid of negative mental baggage that you take with you on your training rides and races. Really, it can mean whatever you want.

Ah, but what does it mean to me? I guess both of the above. I’m loving being able to ride in my leg warmers, light booties, cycling cap, and lightweight jerseys. I didn’t realize how encumbered I felt with all the layers required for comfortable winter riding. I’m also working hard to stay in a positive mental space. I’m focusing on me and what my legs and brain are doing. I’ve realized that if I want to get ahead in this bike racing game, I’ve got to look inward and really ask myself the all-important question: Vicki, what are you doing right now to get better?

One of my prime tasks to answer this question honestly is to stay confident. I’m not concerning myself with what others may or may not be saying, thinking, whispering, or writing. Really, this doesn’t affect me as a bike racer or a person. I’m responsible for my own success. So this is the person I need to be worried about. If I can continue to do this, I’ll be a much more relaxed and confident bike racer. I can line up knowing I’ve done the work and that I’m ready to cross the finish line first.

Yes, this is a big shift for me. But I’ve learned that power and technical skills really don’t mean much if you haven’t got the confidence to really let loose out there. So I’m working hard to remind myself of all that I’ve done, that I’ve done it, and that it doesn’t matter what others think or don’t think. As a wise friend told me “really, most people are concerned with themselves and aren’t paying any attention to you.” This at first might sound a bit brutal. But when I thought about it, I began to feel taller, more relaxed, and most importantly – happier.

This is why I race my bike after all – because it makes me happy.

Most of you know that I have ulcerative colitis.

This disease is commonly referred to as Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The other disease in this category is Crohn’s disease.

Both of these diseases are unpleasant. The symptoms of these diseases are unpleasant and often people are shy to talk about ulcerative colitis or crohn’s.

But we need to talk about these diseases. We need to raise their profile. It is a little known fact that more people in Canada suffer from crohn’s or ulcerative colitis than suffer from multiple sclerosis.

At present there are no cures for crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. The other problem is that doctors, researchers, and scientists do not know how or why people are afflicted with these diseases.

We need to solve these questions. More and more young children are being diagnosed with these life-long diseases. No child should have to experience such diseases. I can’t imagine being a child and having to live with ulcerative colitis.

So what can you do? Click this link: I Support IBD. All you have to do is click the link and sign the declaration. (Yes, this can be done online.) Help us get to 10, 000 signatures by World IBD Day on May 19, 2010.

What else can you do? Help me raise money for the Heel N’ Wheel-A-Thon. I’ll be participating in this event on June 13 in Ottawa, Ontario. This is a national fundraiser for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada – I’m sure there is an event happening in your community as well. Even better, get out there and participate. Check out this web site for details.

Really, it is hard for me to tell you how important this is. All I know is that crohn’s and ulcerative colitis are rotten diseases and the sooner we get to a cure, the better. I and all the other Canadians out there suffering from inflammatory bowel disease, thank-you for your support.

Ah, the wind. Friend and foe. Seems like the wind is blowing extra strong this year. Suppose this is due to the early spring weather we’re experiencing. Whatever is causing this, it can be a bit annoying at times. Nothing worse than riding along, checking your watch, realizing it is time to head for home, making a turn to get yourself home and being suddenly blasted in the face with a fierce wind. This can be a bit deflating. Not only does this explain why you made record time and broke speed limits on the way out but it also means, the ride home will not be that much fun. I try to tell myself that a strong headwind or crosswind is like climbing a hill…

Thing is, I don’t really like climbing hills… And secondly, hills end – headwinds and crosswinds do not. But I suppose in the grand scheme of things that can be frustrating during the course of a day – a little bit of wind pales in comparison to long meetings, impossible deadlines, and performance reviews. Gee, all things considered – give me a headwind every day – I don’t want to be back filling out my annual performance review ever again!

All this to say, I’ve had some pretty darn good (but windy) rides these past few days. Saturday ended up being three hours of wind and rain. Could have been pretty miserable but luckily I had company on this ride, Skip of KingsBridge came out to ride, chat, and yell at the wind. Definitely helps to have company on longish rides. I have to admit that on Sunday, I chickened out. On top of the ridiculous wind there was a never-ending downpour happening. Luckily I was able to swap my Monday and Sunday training plans. Finally found a not bad core work-out – thanks to some poking around on yogadownload.com I bought a 45-minute core-focused yoga work-out. Pretty good – I had the quivers and shakes going on! Today was another windy day, but I had my trusty iPod for company and a couple of podcasts to keep me company.

Looking ahead, this is going to be super week of training. This week, I get to do some temp intervals. Still without a computer, SRM, or any feedback. These tempo intervals will be done based on rate of perceived exertion. Cool – never done such intervals without some kind of digital feedback. The week gets pretty good on Saturday – this is when I hop a plane and jet off to Florida for four days! I’ll be traveling with the KingsBridge crew to a trade show – we’re staying at a hotel at the Walt Disney World Resort. I’ve never been to Florida before – should be a good time. I’ll get some nice long rides in, get to experience a trade show, check out Walt Disney World, and there is talk of a trip to the Oakley Factory Outlet store. Pretty darn good four days indeed.

I just have one lingering question: “Is it ‘cross season yet?”.