Today was the first day of the much-anticipated UCI cyclo-cross training camp. I stumbled onto news of this camp in the summer, thanks to some poking around the UCI web site by my number one supporter. A quick email later and I was registered and set for a week of cyclo-cross training.

Many thanks to Matt Knight of the CCA for handling the registration process and helping me find out more about the camp. If the rest of the camp is anything like today, this is going to be one heck of an excellent week!

So the camp is basically on-site course training at Koksijde – the location of the World Cup on Saturday. I really didn’t know much about the Koksijde race course. I had just heard that it is quite sandy and that everyone says it is “special”. Well, they got that right. This course is mega-sandy and this does make it very “special” i.e. super challenging.

Anyway, back to the first day of the camp. I’m lucky this week that I’m able to get a drive to Koksijde and back each day with Rudy De Bie (Belgian National Team coach) and the coach for the camp. This saves me a lot of money on hotels and also I get to relax in the car and just chat and hear different stories. We hit the road pretty early this morning since we had a two hour road ride scheduled at 9:30 (so we left here at 7..). Got to De Panne (just outside Koksijde) and met up with Kate Potter (Australian mountain biker and cyclo-cross racer) and her husband Ian. They have a small hotel to themselves this week so we unloaded Rudy’s truck and then he set off to get the three Danish riders also participating in the camp.

Then it was off for a windy ride. This was wind like I’ve never ridden it before. There is quite the storm situation happening in Europe right now and the coast is particularly rough. At times I felt like my bike was sideways in the wind – making for some hard morning training. But after a nice lunch break and chatting with Kate, Ian and Rudy we were all ready for the afternoon session. We hooked up with the Danish riders (two guys and one girl) and went to check out the course.

Wow – what a course! Never have I ridden on such a course. The entire course is intense. There is a lot of sand. There is also a lot of grass. But the grass is not nice friendly grass. It is soft and kind of bumpy – seems like there is a deep layer of sand below the grass. So you feel like you are on the gas the whole time. There is short uphill sand run but it is the hardest 200 meters of your life. And then there is the descent right away – in super deep sand. Sounds easy to descend in sand… Nope. It is even more challenging than riding in the flats!

We weren’t able to ride all of the course today. But we did see some of the key sections. Already after riding the course for just 90 minutes, I know I have improved. I picked up a lot of tips and advice from Rudy about riding in the sand, the transition points, what to do in the start, etc. A super valuable day.

We did some “hot” laps and attacked the sand, sand run, sand descent. Then we’d recover a bit and then hit the finishing section with another key sand section in it. Recover a bit. And then do it all over again. Super fun.

I have to say that this sand dwarfs any sand I’ve ever ridden in before. It makes the 100 meters of volleyball court sand we have in races at home, seem like nothing. This sand is something else. But it is fun. Really fun. Sand riding as I learned today is a skill. Just have to learn the skill. The things I was told today: keep the feet turning over, stay loose on the bars (don’t hold on tight), don’t steer the front wheel – let it go where it wants. Just need to remember to do all this and hopefully the sand won’t suck you down. It is funny because one time you can get quite far through it, then the next time you stall out really early, and then the next time you can get all the way through. As Rudy said “also with sand you need to have some luck”.

I can safely say that I am definitely lucky to be participating in this camp. Especially with such a small group, we are all getting a lot of help and advice.

Now it is time for me to get my stuff out of the washing machine and get it dried so I can be ready to do it all again tomorrow. We’re heading out later tomorrow. We’re all doing our road riding separately and then meeting up for the afternoon. This makes it a bit easier for myself and Rudy as we don’t have to leave so early.

I’m only one day into this training camp and I do believe that this will be a very valuable week for me. I’m learning so much – just from being around Rudy and getting his advice on training, racing, recovery, eating (chocolate is not good for bike racers…) and also from meeting the other racers and learning from them and feeding off their energy. It is also super nice to be with a group of people all week. Helps chase the “quiet” time away.

Well, I best be off. Still have to get up a bit early tomorrow to get in a spin on the road before the drive to Koksijde. I’m sure I’ll have more lessons and stories to tell you tomorrow. Tomorrow the entire course will be set up and even the road section will be closed to traffic so that people can train. Nothing like being in a country that embraces bike racers so much!

(Thanks again to Matt Knight and the CCA for supporting me and registering me for this camp. Super valuable week.)

Been thinking a lot about my races this past weekend. I’m feeling pretty good about them. Yes, I can always do better, and I will. But these two races really taught me a lot about bike racing and myself as a bike racer. Both race courses did an excellent job of highlighting some of my cyclo-cross weaknesses. I did not let this stress me out or intimidate me.

Rather I adapted as the races went on. I had a few not-so-good-moments during both races. But I recognized this. Gave myself a kick in the head. And got on with the racing. I forced myself to improve through-out the races. I was able to get faster, more smooth, and smarter. This resulted in me passing people. In racing faster.

I essentially coached myself during the races. “Eyes up”. “Pedal”. “Stay off the front brake”. “Good job”. “Sand – okay dismount now and run”. “Look ahead and attack the base of the climb”.

Literally this is what I did during the races. And it worked. I listened. I improved. Especially on Sunday, I started picking off riders. As this happened, my confidence began to sky rocket and I rode faster and faster. Nice.

A breakthrough weekend of racing I think. Also a testament to the mantra “focus on performance and the outcomes will happen”. Two days of racing with two good days of racing and learning. I’m a pretty fortunate athlete right now – to be able to reap such rewards from my bike.

I’ve got an even bigger week ahead with the UCI cyclo-cross training camp in Koksijde. Will be some good hard days of riding in the sand and testing myself. Can’t hardly wait. The training camp is bookended with with the Koksijde World Cup on Saturday and the Super Prestige race in Geiten, Holland on Sunday. Sweet.

Well, in the end I decided to race in Den Haag, Holland today. This was my original plan but then I switched it to stay closer to home and race in Tessenderlo. Found out yesterday from Nikki that the race in Tessenderlo wasn’t a sanctioned race, so I couldn’t race it. So back to plan A – race in Den Haag. Really glad I went.

A lot of people here thought it was a long way to go for a race – it was two hours away… As I told my pal Harrie Van Der Hoorst today at the race “two hours is nothing for a Canadian!”. Left with plenty of time this morning – in the event I got lost or had to make a stop on the way. As luck would have it, I did get a bit confused by the GPS so the little bit of padding was definitely handy. Got to the race site just in time to watch the Masters men start. This was useful since I could watch this race and pay attention to how the leaders were riding some of the different sections.

There was only 20 minutes between each race so I hopped on the course right after the Masters race to get in my first look at the course. In a word: muddy. In another word: greasy. How about: tight, twisty, turny, slippery, muddy, heavy grass? Yep, all of these and more. Wow – a really doozy of a course. But typical for cyclo-cross in Holland. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on how you look at it) – all of these things are a real challenge for me… There was also a super steep slippery, grassy, and muddy climb that descended straight down into a mud field. Crazy. In years past, this course would have sent me running. But I’m here to race and to be challenged. So I had no choice but to get on with it!

Funny, as it got closer to my race start, I started to have some negative thoughts and really had to convince myself to race today. First time this has happened this year. Suppose it was a bit of insecurity over the course creeping in, and also I really was there alone today – no pit person or really anyone to hang out with. Guess a bit of homesickness crept in. But I was able to rebound and my confidence and zest for racing and being challenged quickly returned.

The last minute tire panic probably helped with this… So I did two laps on the typhoons. Determined that they were picking up too much mud. Plus a quick peak at Edwin Raats tire choice (rhinos) confirmed that rhinos were the tire for the day. Cool, I had rhinos in the car. Switched out the tires. Went out for a couple more warm-up laps between the 1:00 and 2:00 races (basically on at 1:40 for a couple of laps) – my race was at 3 and I still didn’t have my number… I noticed that my front wheel was washing out on the pavement and really seemed to be buckling a lot. Strange. Picked up my number and hustled back to the car. It is now 2:15. I race in 45 minutes. Pin number on. Clean bike quickly. Check the tire pressure in the front tire – around 15 psi. Yep, too low. I simply thought that I hadn’t pumped it up. But, you know me, I’m anal about such stuff – so I knew I pumped it up. Uh oh – leaky tired… So I ended up running a typhoon on the front and a rhino on the back. Worked okay but I did notice after the race that the typhoon had picked up so much more mud than the rhino. And the leaky rhino – flat as a pancake when I got back to the car. Sigh.

So the race? Well, in short – I was 12th. I think there were close to 40 starters… So numerically this is not bad. But it could have been better. I explain this in detail in my race report. But suffice it to say, I was hesitant in the first lap and a half, then gave myself a stern talking to and forced myself to learn, adapt and ride this muddy twisty turny greasy single track stuff the way it should be ridden. This resulted in my passing lots of girls. A few more laps and I would have been in the top ten. Lots of lessons today. Good ones. I’m happy with the result but not content. I have more in me. And the next time I race in this type of stuff, I know I will do better. Bonus was getting a little prize money (10 euros) – not bad considering the race was free…

I was cleaned up and packed up super quickly – inside of 45 minutes and on the highway for the drive home. Was a bit white-knuckled with some crazy wind and rain. Not to mention the insane traffic through Rotterdam. But I’m home now. Clean. Fed. Rested. Looking forward to a super week ahead.

Tomorrow is an easy day on the bike. And then… I’m taking part in a UCI cyclo-cross training camp…. Cool. It is going to be at Koksijde. Run by the Belgian National Team Coach – Rudy De Bie. So everyday this week I’m driving to Koksijde with Rudy for training at the course. This is excellent preparation for the Koksijde World Cup on Saturday. Definitely going to be some tough days – two hours on the road in the morning followed by cyclo-cross training in the afternoon – not to mention the travel. But it will be so worth it. I believe the Mongolian team is participating, four Danish riders and a girl from Australia. Should be good. Think this will be one of those weeks where I learn and grow a lot as a rider and a person. I’ve never raced at Koksijde but I’ve heard stories – apparently there is a lot of sand at Koksijde. From what I can understand, you either lover or hate Koksijde. I’m pretty sure I’m going to love it. Then right after the World Cup on Saturday, I’m hopping in my car and driving 4.5 hours to Gieten, Netherlands for a race on Sunday. Then home from Gieten (3 hours I think) on Sunday. And then…. Off to the Brussels airport on Monday to pick up my favorite guy.

Like I said, next week is going to be awesome!

Speaking of my favorite guy… He was third today at the OBC race at Upper Canada Village! Congrats Marc! Sounds like an awesome ride. It was great to hear his excitement and zest for racing when he told me about his race. I’m super proud of him. Can’t wait to cheer him on in his races here.

Okay, I best be off. Think I should give the muddy clothes another run through in the washer. And I’ve got to look into that flat tire. Oh again, for the second day in a row, I was able to race in my short-sleeve skin suit without an undershirt. Yep, it is warm here. Nice.

Hope you had a good day today – be this racing, riding, hanging out with friends and family, eating turkey and pumpkin pie, or just simply being. Thanks for reading.

Thanks to a tip off from Nikki, I learned about the junior boys race in Hasselt today. Much closer than my previous choice. So I hit the road this morning for the easy 45 minute drive to Hasselt. I’d never been to Hasselt before. Turns out it is a pretty big town/city.

Anyway, found the race course with no issues (thank-you GPS). Got settled in the parking lot and then got out for some warm-up laps. It was super warm this morning. So I decided to wear the red leg warmers. I think I like them. They made me feel fast so that is all that matters. Got in some good warm-up laps. Did a few of the key sections a few times to get a feel for lines. Watched some of the juniors to see how they were riding sections.

Since I was there alone, I needed to find someone to pit for me. Turned out to be super easy. The friendly guys parked next to me said they would do it. This helped so much – a big weight off my mind. Did the typical pre-race stuff. Number pinning. Warm-up – decided not to get out the trainer today. Just warmed up on the road. It was super warm so I was able to race in my short sleeve skinsuit with out an undershirt. Yes – that warm in November. I was warm-up with bare legs – did get some looks for that!

The race was pretty good. My goal was to not get lapped. Well, didn’t quite fulfill that goal. I got lapped half-way through my second last lap. So I finished in 40th place – 1 lap down. Mind you, considering everyone from position 24 down was lapped, I’m not too crushed. But still, it would be nice to hold off these kids. (Some of whom I was 20 years older than!). I’ve written a race report over here.

Perhaps one of the best things about today was seeing so many people that I knew. Ran into Rudy before the race. He gave me a few tips “don’t be afraid of the sand, just pedal through it”, and he cheered me on each lap. Saw Serge of the BKCP Team (he is wrenching for me at Koksijde) – he introduced me to a few people at the BKCP compound and told everyone that I also ride a Stevens. Hung out with Nikki and Nicole a bit as well. Just nice to have some friendly faces at the race.

Did a little cool-down ride that took me into the centre of Hasselt. Mmm, what a place. I’ll definitely returned. Discovered many little winding streets with lots of top shops and some very interesting looking restaurants – including an Indian restaurant. Since Hasselt is so close, I think I’ll be making a trip there one afternoon for a bit of a wander around.

After the cool-down and a quick bike racer shower at the car, I dug out my camera and took some pics for you. Decided to take some photos of the elite vehicles/campers/set-up. So here are some pics of how the top men’s teams roll:

Hard to believe this is my first double weekend since Canadian Nationals/Jim Horner over Thanksgiving weekend! Strange really. Especially as ‘cross racer, double weekends are what it is all about. Suffice it to say, I’m looking forward to this double race weekend.

No big races on the calendar. Just a couple of “local” races with the junior boys. When there aren’t any women’s races on the schedule, women can race with the junior boys. This means starting at the back of the field and riding like a crazed person to hold off the super-fast junior boys. Should be a good time. I had originally planned on racing Laarne but have since discovered a close race in Hasselt. Turns out there are two UCI races in Hasselt as well. See how the day goes, might even stay for a little bit of race watching. Haven’t done this yet this year.

As for Sunday. Well, I had planned to race in Holland, but this involved four hours of driving. Normally not an issue but I’ve got a long drive on Monday and a big week ahead so decided that spending a lot of the day in the car on Sunday isn’t the best preparation for the upcoming week. So, I’ll race in Tessenderlo. Again with the junior boys. Tessenderlo is super close. This is the course I trained on in the middle of the week. Should be a good hard fast race.

I’ll be flying solo at these races. No pit person. No traveling company. First time this season. No biggie. I’m sure to see people I know at the races. And if not, I’m sure to meet people at the races. This always seems to happen. Kind of cool. Guess it is part of being a bit of a novelty still. People here aren’t used to having Canadians at the races so early in the season. Too bad about this. Hopefully each year, more Canadians will come over earlier. Once you get here and get a couple races under your belt, you learn really quickly that people love to help out and that you can do this thing solo.

Looking forward to next week. Should be heaps of learning. Lots of pedaling. Some new friends. And not to mention the sand. Glad to have such a busy week next week because this will make the time to Marc’s arrival go by even more quickly. Can’t hardly wait.

Well, that’s really it for today. Did go out for a ride. Had a great roll around for a little over 90 minutes. No SRM today. Just went by feel. Also needed to test out my pedals on my other bike. I switched out on of the pedals and needed to make sure it is okay. Still stretching out my last pair of Look egg beaters. Bought some new gear at the bike store today: two new Dura Ace chains, two sets of brake pads, and some leg warmers… Feeling is that the sand will destroy my chains and brake pads so best have them on hand so I can replace them before the World Cup. (Don’t worry Steve – I won’t be doing this – I’ll find someone to do this work for me!) And the leg warmers? Well, you know me – I’m not a flashy person. I like to be understated with maybe a slight flash of color here and there… This means sticking to black leg warmers. Well, I’ve been forced to branch out. No black leg warmers in my size… What is a girl to do? I cracked and bought some red leg warmers. I know. I know. But I needed a second pair. Hopefully I have the nerve to wear them. They are really nice Vermarc leg warmers. Red ones. You know the saying “might as well be fast and look good!”.