Sorry, not much of a post today. Today has been a very busy and good day… Marc arrived today! We got home at around 12:30 from the Brussels airport – and luckily the bikes arrived.

Bit of lunch. Some unpacking. Some bike building on Marc’s part. Then we hit the fresh air for a little roll around. I had only a recovery ride on the schedule today so it worked out nicely for Marc. We pedaled around some of our favorite training roads – enjoy the bright blue sky and the sun. Not too shabby for late November.

The rest of the day went by in a blur.

I’ll have something more thoughtful about the bike racing life tomorrow (I hope). But in the meantime, click on over to Pedal Magazine to read my article about the UCI Cyclo-Cross Training Camp.

I’ve received many kind and thoughtful emails and comments from you guys the last few days. Greatly appreciated. Your support really does help me keep the pedals turning. I hope I can do the same for you!

Had a super ride on the ‘cross bike today. Inspired by the on- and off-road we did on Thursday, I decided to link up my own such route. What a fun time. I pumped up the jets to a solid 40 psi and rolled out the front door. Quick pedal later and I was in the Averbode nature preserve. This is an awesome place to ride. It has everything – big heavy muddy fire roads, sandy climbs/descents, twisty muddy singletrack that traverse a pretty sizeable hill, uber-fast descents. I rode around in this cycling heaven for an hour or so and then popped across the street to the Averbody Abby.

The Averbode Abby is a popular riding choice for a lot of mountain bikers. It also offers a wide range of terrain with a pretty good network of linked trails. There is a ‘cross race at the Averbode Abby next Sunday so part of the course is already marked. I rolled around on it for a bit and then headed off deeper into the forest. Ended up riding on some pretty deep and muddy fire road/horse trails. Popped out eventually in a little community called Veerle Laakdal. Picked up the forest trails again and roamed all around. Then did a bit of road riding ending up on the edge of the Blauberg Forest. Dove into the Blauberg forest and roamed all over the place – some more singletrack combined with deep muddy roads and a bit of sand thrown in. Eventually popped out onto a road and rolled home.

All in all, an excellent two hour romp on the bike. It was so relaxing to be out riding in nature. I saw the odd cyclist, a few horses, some runners, and a few dog walkers. It was super stimulating to be surrounded by nature. Perfect opportunity for me to clear my head and focus on getting better technically. At times I found myself reverting to my old ways of grinding through the mud… Luckily I caught myself and reminded myself to get my feet turning over and repeated the “pedal, pedal, pedal” mantra over and over in my head. I also worked on riding on the tops of the bars – this helps me keep my hands away from the brakes and allows me to practice pulling up on the bars to help get through the heavy conditions.

Bit cool today with some sprinkles of rain, but in the woods I didn’t notice the weather. Just me, my bike and my trusty iPod for company. Could have stayed out longer but I got a couple of serious soakers and my feet were a bit cold – as well my stomach was rumbling.

Really looking forward to doing a similar ride again this week – I hope I can link things together so well again. Really it isn’t a problem living here since there are forests and trail networks all around us. Guess the bonus is that each ride is probably going to be a bit different. Fun stuff.

I took a couple pictures after the ride. One of my muddy Stevens Super-Prestige and the other is a muddy photo of myself (I’m not so good at the self-portrait and yes, I do need a haircut – but what do you think of that jacket???).

As for the rest of the day. Well, I’m going to see if the Super-Prestige race in Gieten, Netherlands is on television. I’ll chill out and watch it and then I’ll head to my favorite watering hole (cafe) in Westerlo for some decaf cappuccino and a bit of writing. Pretty quiet night tonight – everyone I know is away right now… But that’s okay because the most important person is arriving tomorrow! Yay!

(Congrats to Fearless Leader for his solid 6th place ride in Sterling, Mass. Also massive shout out to Josee for her most impressive 19th place finish in Sterling.)

Nothing like race day to get the blood flowing. Throw in a World Cup. Add in some Belgium fans. And you have a pretty heavy day. There is something about the World Cup atmosphere in Belgium that is like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. The fans are out in the thousands. The riders are all a bit on edge. The spectacle is that much bigger. It is actually pretty cool.

For some reason, I let this all get to me. I got caught up in the excitement of the World Cup and of racing at Koksijde. I let myself wrap myself in a tight ball of expectation and pressure. Not the smartest thing to do. But it happened. I was pretty good all week – just reminding myself of the big goal and not putting any extra pressure on myself for an outcome today. And then it happened. I started wanting more. (Marc could sense this was happening last night, but I steadfastly denied it….)

I was pretty calm all morning. Went through my regular race preparation. Got there nice and early and snagged a spot in the same parking lot as the BKCP team and Erwin Vervecken. Hooked up with Pete Harris (Nikki’s dad) for a chat and met the rest of his family. They were super helpful today – from the warm mug of tea to taking my warm-up clothes at the start. Hung out with Kate and Ian of Australia for a bit. Got some last tips from Rudy. All in all a pretty good morning. I connected with my mechanic – Serge (from the BKCP team). Many thanks to Serge and Christophe who made the trip today just for me as their rider Philipp Walsleben wasn’t racing today. Serge and Christophe took care of the pits for me, checking my tire pressure, cleaning my bikes, cheering me on and just being there for anything that I needed. This helped so much.

Funny, so many people said to me today – “you’re from Canada? You’re here alone?”. I would just smile and say “yes”.

Also big thanks to the Mongolian team (Johan Museeuw’s team) manager – he got their mechanic to fix my shifter for me and offered to take my warm-up clothing and help out any way he could. This is the amazing thing about cyclo-cross – everyone is super supportive and willing to help out.

I’ve written a race report where you can read about the race. In short, it wasn’t one of my best performances. I fought the bike. I fought my head. Plain and simple – I struggled. Guess it had to happen sooner or later. I’m glad I’ve gotten it out of my system.

I had planned on driving to Gieten, Netherlands for tomorrow’s race. But I decided not to. Talked to a wise man after the race who suggested I just go home. So here I am. Not sure what I’ll do tomorrow. Just go out and have some fun on my bike. Ride the forest maybe and link this up with some road riding. Tomorrow is another day and it will be a good one.

I guess I should tell you that today wasn’t all bad. I did collect some very valuable UCI points…. I now have 91 points. I needed 75 to make the qualification standard for the World Championships. Cool. Very cool. This has been a big goal of mine for a while now. I still need to get selected (find out on Dec. 11) but I can proudly say that I got the job done. It might not have been the prettiest – but it is done. The other silver lining from today are the lessons. Can’t ever forget the lessons. And I think the biggest lesson for me today is that: things don’t come over night. It takes time and practice. And then more time and practice. It is coming together for me. I just need to keep plugging away. I have a super big engine – now I just need to get my technical skills to match the engine. I’m better technically today than I was when I got here. But I need to remember that this stuff takes time. The 2010 World Championships are in Koksijde – I intend on being there…

(Guess first I should get to Tabor, Czech Republic. But hey – I’m a forward thinker!)

I have to finish this post with saying thanks to my super number one fan – Marc. He really saved me today after the race. It was an expensive phone call but it saved my day. I’ll be so happy to see him on Monday. Monday really can’t come soon enough for me. Without Marc’s support I wouldn’t have been able to even race this race today. Thanks Marc – you are my rock.

Well, finally all settled into a hotel here in Koksijde… Bit of an adventure. I had booked a hotel. But it turned out to be like a haunted house… So I had to scramble to find a new hotel – not easy in a city overrun with cyclo-cross racers and fans. But I found one. Phew. Then I had to race back to the registration and give the UCI officials my new hotel information – in the event of a doping control. Only last snag is my phone has run out of credit – so I need to get this sorted – in the event of a doping control.

The pre-ride went really well. The course has changed a lot since Wednesday. The sand is a lot firmer now. There are a lot of ruts and tracks that make the sections more rideable. But sand is sand – one lap you can get through and the next lap you get stuck. Took it pretty easy and did only three laps. The weather is a bit rotten cold and wet so I didn’t want to be outside too much.

Got all my clothes hanging up and drying. Bikes are clean and good to go. Now I’m just trying to sort out my supper plans. I could eat here or go into town. I’m thinking of going into town. See how I feel.

The race is at 1:30 tomorrow. Feeling pretty good about it. The course is challenging but interesting. There are some sections which I think I ride really well and then there are sections that I struggle with. This is the same for everyone.

Pretty impressive to see some of the elite men ride today. At one point I was walking up a big sand climb and everyone watching (yes there are people out watching the warm-up) started cheering and gesturing. I smiled because I thought they were cheering me. Nope. Zdnek Stybar of Fidea was coming up from behind me – only difference was he was riding the sand hill and I was not!

Okay, I’m out. Sorry for the short post but I’ve only got two hours of WWW access here at the hotel. I’ll do a race report tomorrow night from my next hotel.

It has been another couple of most awesome days on the cyclo-cross bike. Lots of learning. Lots of laughs. Really just a great time. It has been awesome to learn from Rudy and just listen to the little subtle tips he gives that make a big difference on the race and in just being a bike racer.

So on Tuesday we all did our own thing in the morning – this meant that Rudy and I didn’t have to leave so early to make the two hour drive to Koksijde. But as we were leaving at 10:30, I still went out early for my ride. I got in a great 90 minute “sightseeing” ride – it was amazing. Got to watch the sun come up, followed a rainbow and just generally was able to open my legs up a bit from the efforts on Tuesday. Then quick shower and pack of the bag, dash to the health food store to buy some peanut butter for my sandwiches and we were off.

The drive was pretty easy. Well, especially for me because I just had to sit there! Had good conversations with Rudy about bike racing, life, and Belgium. We hung out with the Danish kids for a bit and then it was off to De Panne to hook up with Kate and Ian. We quickly hopped on our ‘cross bikes and rode over the race course.

When we got there we met the Mongolian team and we got to meet their prime sponsor: Johan Museeuw. Wow – I was kind of starstruck. I think I stuck out my sweaty glove and said “I’m really happy to meet you”. Surreal. The Museeuw ‘cross bikes are interesting they are made of flax carbon (yes, flax). Then we all jumped on the course to check it out.

What a course! I really really like it. It has so much going on in it. There is the sand. A lot of sand. But there are also some fun kind of bumpy power sections where you can really open it up. There are some fun descents. A couple of fly-overs. Some fast twists and turns. Probably the trickiest parts of the course are the sand descents. The sand is so deep it is hard to get going. One of the descents is quite steep – just push the bike over the edge and go! It is a really challenging course but also a fun course. The brain is always working and it is just fun to ride it.

The only negative thing happened yesterday was the theft of my jacket… Can’t believe it! I left it on the back of the Belgian team truck. And when I came back, it was gone. Ticks me off because unlike some racers, I don’t have a closetful of team clothing. I have one jacket. Sigh. Well, if I see someone wearing it tomorrow or on Saturday at Koksijde, you can be pretty darn sure I’m going to get it back!

After the ride we were treated again to some amazing tea – so tasty – and really helps you warm up after a ride in the rain. Then it was back to the hotel to get cleaned up and hit the road to drive home. I tried to clean my bike, but Rudy wouldn’t have it. He cleaned my bike for me while I showered! So amazing. Drive home was a bit slow because we got caught in rush hour. But still a good drive.

I was a bit wiped out though last night – hence no blog posting.

Today we did things differently. Rudy said it would be too much to ride the Koksijde course again so instead we met at his place. His wife had prepared lunch for us and then we jumped on our bikes for one of the best rides I’ve done since I’ve been here. We did a combination of on and off-road. Super fun. I had the Michelin Jets on and they were perfect. One minute we’re rolling along the bicycle path and then we’re in this super fun forest all trying to keep up with Rudy. Then we rode along a river on this little grass road. Then more pavement. It was super fun. Great way to keep the ride interesting. I’m definitely going to try to do more rides like that – great way to train for ‘cross with some time in the woods combined with some road riding. I think we were out for about 2.5 hours. Nice.

While we were showering, Rudy cleaned all of our bikes. That was five bikes that he cleaned and lubed. I tried again to clean my bike and help him out. But he wouldn’t have it! We were told to go inside and drink tea. We hung out for a bit and then went to a bike shop so we could all look at gear. Looks like I’ve found another pair of Mavic Fury shoes – yay! We had a great afternoon of just talking about racing, training, and some of the stories about Rudy’s racing days. Then we were treated to supper. Many thanks to Rudy and Anita for their hospitality and for letting us take over their house today!

All in all another great day. It was just what we needed – to get out on our bikes away from the race course and just enjoy being outside.

Tomorrow I’m off to Koksijde to ride the course a couple more times and then I’ll stay over night there. Racing on Saturday! I’m pretty excited. I have no expectations going into the race. I don’t know how well I will do in the sand compared to the other girls. I only know that I have improved a lot in the sand this week. There were sections that I really struggled with on Tuesday that I was able to ride yesterday. Sand is funny stuff. It is so unknown – one lap it can be almost easy to get through a section and then the next lap you stall out before you even get half-way through it. I can only go out and do what I can. I’m looking forward to it. The course is challenging and interesting. I’m bracing myself for the spectators as well. Luckily I have some experience with this at some of the races I did last year. Definitely it is going to be a good day. I’m super luck to have one of the BKCP team (Neils Albert’s team) mechanics helping me out on Saturday and on Sunday in Geiten, Netherlands.

Alright, time to go. I’ve said it before, but it needs to be repeated – many thanks to Matt Knight of the CCA for helping me register for this camp and supporting my desire to participate. It has been an invaluable week. I’ve learned so much on and off the bike. Also many thank to Rudy for everything this week.

I’ll check in with you tomorrow night (hopefully – I don’t know if I’ll have Internet access) with my pre-race thoughts. Thanks for reading and send me some speedy vibes on Saturday and Sunday. Also make sure you send some down to New England since Steve a.k.a Fearless Leader is racing this weekend.