I did it. Took the old mountain bike out for a snow ride yesterday. What fun! I had a blast. It had been a very long time since I’d ridden my trusty mountain bike. 2005 I think was the last time. This was when I dabbled in some mountain bike racing. Maybe it should have been called mountain bike crashing…

I’d be fine in training. Could clean the tricky stuff and get over most obstacles and trails, etc. But during a race? Nope. I became a crash fest. It became apparent that once in the “red zone” I couldn’t make smart decisions. This meant I was taking crazy lines, too aggressive lines, and just generally tripping all over myself. After one too many crashes, bent rear derailleurs, broken disk brakes, scrapes, bruises, and much frustration – I put that bike in the garage.

Well, it is time. Time to get the bike out. To get out on the trails and face my demons. Time to put myself in that “red zone” and train my body and brain to react and respond appropriately. I know this will help a great deal with my cyclo-cross racing. In fact, I’m wondering if these old mountain biking demons are hidden deep down in my psyche and are causing me to be overly cautious on my ‘cross bike. Just a thought. Regardless, I’m committed to those fat tires and getting out there and pushing my limits.

What I would really like is to be able to transition from my mountain bike to my ‘cross bike on the mountain bike trails. This would be awesome. This would be a real indicator of my improvement – technical skills, confidence, and pedaling smarts. We’ll see if it can be done.

But don’t worry. This doesn’t mean that I won’t be out on my road bike this summer. I’ll be there. Doing the occasional road race or criterium. I’ll be out at the Tuesday night training crits. And I’ll be there for the long weekend rides to Merrickville. I’ll just be spending some time on my mountain bike as well. Oh and I’ll be riding my ‘cross bike too. Uhm, it looks like I’ve got a busy spring and summer ahead of me. Perfect! I’ll also be squeezing in a regular yoga practice to help keep my muscles long, lean and flexible.

I can’t hardly wait.

Plan for today was to hit up the woods with my trusty mountain bike. Well, it didn’t happen. Woke up to some fresh snow on the ground… Not a lot but enough to make the ride more “slog” than fun. But, the bike is all primed and ready for Thursday. Pedals are on. Tires are pumped up. I’m such a keener that I’ve even got my riding clothes all laid out.

Yep – I want to ride. I miss pedaling and feeling the wind on my face. I miss the smell of the sun. I really miss that dull ache that a good hard ride gives you. So Thursday it is. The forecast is calling for flurries, but I’m ignoring this. Power of positive thinking and I’ll be out there messing around in the woods.

I’m in the last bit of my “recovery block”. This is the longest break I’ve ever taken – 3 weeks. The first week really dragged. The second week was action-packed with lots of walking and sightseeing in London, England. This third week has been pretty good full of catching up with friends, relaxing, unpacking, and watching the Olympics. But, can I let you in on a little secret?

I really really want to ride my bike. I want to ride it so badly I’m actually looking forward to riding the trainer in the basement.

I take this desire to ride, sweat, and ache as a good thing. A really good thing. It tells me that the fire that got me to where I am is still burning bright and fierce. Can you feel it?

Oh man, I so want to ride my bike. It has only been two weeks but I just really want to get back on and start pedaling again. Honestly, I’m not looking forward to spending time on the trainer. But this is what an Ottawa-living bike racer has to do.

I am thinking that if it does hit 0 tomorrow, I can take my mountain bike out for a spin. There is not much snow here so conditions could be good for a fun little spin at Slack or Stony Swamp. Nothing aggressive or hard. (I am still on a rest break…) But just something to bring some pink to my cheeks and a smile on my face.

Groundwork and plans are being made for the 2010 – 2011 season. Lots of exciting stuff is going to be happening. My cyclo-cross schedule is looking pretty awesome so far. The summer is shaping up with lots of fun on bikes. I’m doing a couple of 24 hour mountain bike events this year (not solo…). I’ll also be sporting a new kit… I’ll tell you more when I can. But lets just say, life is good for this little bike racer.

Now what I really should do is put together my bikes… Worst thing about being away for the ‘cross season, is the unpacking and “putting away” of stuff!

I hope to ride outside this weekend. What about you?

Fear not, I’m still around. Just taking a break from cycling right now. I’m in my off-season.. Truth be told, I’m not a big fan of the off-season. I like to ride my bike. I like to sweat and stress my body each and every day. But I’ve had a long season so I do need some time off to let my bones and brain recover.

So what have I been up to since the World Cyclo-Cross Championships? Well, spent a very chilled out week in Belgium just reading, touring around, and visiting Cafe Libro. Then it was off to England. Marc and I spent the weekend with my aunt and uncle who live near Milton Keynes. And now we’ve been in London since Sunday evening. Marc is working. I’m not… I’m being a tourist.

So this means I’ve spent lots of time on my feet. Walking, walking and walking some more. Good news is my shin has healed. The bumps and bruises on my body are nearly gone. And to top it off, I’m having a blast in London. I’ve been pretty much everywhere. And lucky for you, I’ve brought my camera along. So if you want to see London through my eyes, click on over to Victoria’s Island for the photos.

I’m back on the 15th and then hopefully back on the bike soon after that…

Well, it has been a few days now since the Cyclo-Cross World Championships. My bikes are in the garage. Clean and ready to be ridden. But I’m not riding them. I thought about it. Then I changed my mind. I’m on my “off-season break”. Two weeks of non-bike riding. Seems strange to be in warm and dry Belgium right now and to not be riding. But I have to consider the big picture, the future, the next season. And truth be told, I’ve got a bit of a nasty injury that I need to heal. I ended up with a wicked shinsplint (I think – self-diagnosis) the week before Worlds. It was so painful at points that I could barely walk. So now I’m doing the smart thing and resting, letting my leg heal. It is amazing what adrenaline can do – I didn’t feel the pain at all during the race, but as soon as I was back at the hotel and had taken off my magic Team Canada skinsuit, the pain came back with resounding fury. Ah well, small price to pay for the season and race of my life.

Speaking of which, here are some photos that I snagged off of Sharon Harrison’s Facebook photo page. Thanks Sharon for the photos and cheering.

So what’s next? Well, I’m taking a couple weeks off from the bike. I’m going to do my best to not think about bikes, read about bikes, and be bike obsessed. I’m hoping that the sights and sounds of London, England will help keep me on the straight and narrow for a week or so! I’m flying home to Ottawa on Feb. 15. As much as I love being in Belgium and Europe, I am looking forward to getting home. I miss my “things”, my cat, my friends, Chapters, the Food Network. It will be refreshing to have a bit of a different routine for a while – I’m also on the job hunt so if you need a freelance writer, technical writer, editor, “jack of all trades writer” – send me an email.

This is the time of the season when I should be reflecting, analyzing, and assessing what worked, didn’t work, and where I want to go. But frankly, I don’t want to do this now. I’ve kind of been thinking about and writing about this stuff all year. I do believe that this season was a break-through year for me. I made some big strides. I know where I want to be. I have a more clear picture of how to get there. I’m stoked for the 2010 – 2011 season.

But for now, I need to take a break. So, this means that this web site will be silent for the next week or so. I may pop in and throw a post up. But a break is a break – I’m going to try really hard to not be bike obsessed. There are some exciting changes in store for the next season. I’m really excited to tell you all about this, but all in due time.

Really, the best way to close of the 2009 – 2010 season is to simply say this: Thank You.

Thanks to my sponsors for their continued support and commitment. Check out this amazing blog post from KingsBridge Disaster Recovery.

Thanks to you my readers – you are my rock – posting amazing comments, cheering for me, sending me super positive emails (I’m doing my best to respond to the emails – I promise to get a response out to you today…).

Thanks to Marc – I truly couldn’t do this without him. While I was out training, recovering, and “living the life”, he was glued to his computer working hard and wishing he was out with me having fun on bikes. His patience, support, calming-influence, technical advice, bike mechanics, and belief in me are worth more than I can ever explain.

See you out there on the road and trails. I’ll be dusting off my trusty mountain bike and hitting up the trails, so ping me if you want to hook up for a ride.

Okay, I’m off to think about and read about things other than bikes… Just need to figure out what that is!