It is so very true. It really is about your state of mind. I came to this nirvana-like breakthrough while ripping up some singletrack on my ‘cross bike this afternoon. I was rolling along, dodging trees and bunnyhopping big tree roots when it hit me.

A few months ago I wouldn’t have been able to put such a ride together. In fact I can remember very clearly how I was riding such terrain this past January. To put it bluntly: badly. All over the brakes. Looking directly in front of the front wheel. Tense shoulders. Angry brain. Generally a very ugly bike racer.

But now things have changed. I’m re-ignited. Re-focused. Jazzed for the upcoming cyclo-cross season. Committed to doing the hardwork necessary to race at Tabor.

So today was awesome. I was one with the bike. Riding well. Focused on keeping my feet moving – even when I wasn’t sure what was around the bend. I was looking ahead – scanning the trail for roots, obstacles, etc. I was controlling the bike – moving it around to flow through corners and up steep little climbs. I hit the sand hard and made sure my weight was back and my legs were spinning like crazy to keep my momentum and speed.

I was in it. Fully and Completely (thank-you Tragically Hip). I presume I was grinning the entire ride as well. I was simply playing. Good stuff. So it really does make a difference where your head is at. Thankfully, mine is back where it should be: squarely on my shoulders and ready to go.

Today marked my third ride on my ‘cross bike this season. So much fun. I feel like I’m stronger technically today than I was last winter. I know, I’ve only been out three times. But I feel different. Stronger. Smarter. It is like the lessons that I was rebuffing and ignoring last season have had time to trickle in through my thick skull. Yep, I’m finally getting it.

Whoa – second post in one day. Either I’m on a roll and have a lot going on or it is quiet times at you know where… Actually, a bit of both.

Had a banner day of training today. Started the day earlier than usual with a trip to the gym for a weight work-out. This is an intense phase of lifting but lucky John Zahab of OHPC has prepared me well for this increased load so my body and brain are responding well. Thought I’ve got to say there is something to be said for the fatigue I feel after lifting. My muscles just feel kind of limp and useless. The feeling passes but it is a definite sign of a good session.

I got home with time to see Marc off to work and do a few odd things around the house. And most importantly, have my second breakfast. Today I had one of my favorites: 1/2 cup of 0% cottage cheese, raspberries and one scoop of chocolate Proteins + protein powder. Stir it all up and enjoy. Super tasty and chock full of protein and good for you carbs.

Next up was my first cyclo-cross ride to kick off the 2009 – 2010 season. Yep, ‘cross ride in May. It has to be done. If I learned anything last winter in Belgium it was that I need to improve my technical skills. The time is now. Time to get out on the ‘cross bike: identify areas to be improved, figure out how to best learn the technique, and practice, practice, practice. So today was the kick-off for this. I had a great session with one of Ottawa’s local ‘cross stars. We hit up secret park and went through some drills and skills.

It is simply amazing. We met for only an hour but I learned so much in that hour. It really was worth as much as a three-day cyclo-cross camp. Goes to show how much a skilled teacher combined with a one-to-one student to teacher ratio can pay off. So what did we work on? Well, sorry to disappoint but there was nothing truly “ground breaking” here. We worked on climbing, cornering at speed and braking.

See, like I said, nothing really new but the messages were new and the drills are new. I learned some new technique for climbing. One of my headaches in a ‘cross race is steep climbs. For some reason I just can’t seem to get my bike up and over these things. Frustrating. Frustrating because I watch other girls do it and I know I’m just as strong as they are. But now I know why… I’ve learned the subtle technique.

Also got some tips on my ‘cross bike set-up. So I’m going to make a couple of adjustments and see how this helps as well.

Really I think for me it is going to come down to confidence. I need to feel confident in the bike and with myself. It is hard to explain but in a crit, if I bump bars or rub tires, I don’t panic. I simply keep pedaling because I know everything will work out. But in a ‘cross race or even ‘cross training, if one of my wheels starts to wash out or I’m freaked out by a section, I stop pedaling, brake and basically loose all my momentum. This is not good. Forward momentum and speed are what we want. So I need to train the brain to get used to these things happening in training so in a race situation I don’t panic.

This weekend I’ll be taking out all three bikes. Road bike for some power/speed training. Mountain bike so I can get in some technical trail riding and get comfortable with varying terrain. Cyclo-cross bike so I can practice what I learned today and keep moving forward.

Dudes, I’m so excited. In a way it is nice to know that I have so much room to improve technically. This is encouraging. It tells me that with hard work, I can meet my goal and earn a spot on the Canadian team and race in Tabor in 2010. So stoked right now. The future is looking super bright.

So there is the other stage race going on right now. It is in Spain. It is called the Volta Catalayuna. There are two Canadians from Garmin racing in this race. Christian Maier and Svein Tuft. There are also two Canadian superfans in Spain watching the Volta Catalayuna. Sheri Jay and Kevin Field.

Here is a video they posted yesterday. Gives you a first hand taste of what it is like to watch the biking bros come ripping by.

Also, congrats to Sandy F for a fine ride in France yesterday.

That would be the “bike” office. Kicked off the day with a solid weight work-out. I’m in an intense phase of the lifting program now. So this means four sets instead of three for a lot of the exercises. Got to say after four sets of split squats followed by four sets of one-legged deadlifts, I was feeling it a bit. But in a really good way.

The big debate this morning was should I ride to work in the rain or take the car? I elected to ride to work since I wanted to ride home from the Gatineau Park tonight. In the end it was an excellent call. I got a bit soggy on the way to work but I was prepared and packed extra cycling clothes to ensure I had dry training clothes.

Hooked up with Skip at the Kingsbridge headquarters and set off on our ride. We took the O-Train from South Keys to Bayview. Very cool. Smart way to dodge the crazy traffic and it made it easy to hop on the bicycle path. We hooked up with Jay at the gates and set off for a loop. I really wasn’t sure what to expect since this was my first time riding in the park.

Happy to say, my legs felt excellent. Lots of snap and the pedals turned over nicely. The ride was most excellent. It was refreshing to ride and chat and then go hard on the climbs. All in all it was a great ride. Definitely up for more like it. I rode home from the park, making it a good solid training ride.

It was a beautiful night and apart from the crazy bugs at Champlain Look-Out, the ride was picture perfect.

I did have grand plans to go to the grocery store tonight… Didn’t happen. Got home at 8:00 and offered to take Marc out for supper. Some spicy eggplant and beef satay followed by chai latte and I’m feeling totally recovered from my ride. I’ll just have to hit the grocery store tomorrow… (Mind you, that’s what I said yesterday!)

So as you know, I don’t typically comment on the professional cycling scene. There are plenty of excellent web sites out there, that do a good job of this. But I do have to make a comment about the Giro coverage. More specifically the Giro coverage by CBC Radio. Imagine my surprise when I heard the words Giro d’Italia on the 7:55 sportscast this morning on the way to the gym. Basically the report was: Danillo won yesterday, Armstrong was xxx seconds/minutes down and Michael Barry the lone Canadian is two hours down. That’s it! To a casual cycling fan, this would sound like the lone Canadian wasn’t doing very well… Which is completely wrong and an incorrect assumption. But imagine if you hear, two hours down. I guess the point I’m trying to make is – it doesn’t help the sport to “half-cover” it. Maybe an extra 20 seconds could have been added to the report, pointing out that Barry has spent this race working for his teammates and basically pulling the peleton all over Italy? And really, lets face it, the only reason the Giro even garnered CBC Radio news coverage was because of Armstrong. Sigh. I’m not a Lance fan but I’m not a Lance hater either. But I’m tired of constantly hearing about how he is doing, while overlooking the “real stars” of the sport…

Okay, end of the rant. Sorry about that. I may have got off track there, but hopefully I made some sense.

All right, time to go. Gotta go write on my other web site. Have a good one. Thanks for reading.

Tonight was the “A” crit at the NRC complex. Massive thanks to Ross for once again providing this awesome racing opportunity for us Ottawa riders. These local training crits are the best place to get comfortable racing in a pack and learning how to race.

For me perhaps one of the best aspects of these races are the other racers. It is a pretty familiar crowd that comes out to race and I find that the guys are super friendly and very supportive. Each race I pick up a new tip and learn from simply watching the other guys.

Tonight was a super fun race. I felt like I was totally in the zone and my bike was floating underneath me. Don’t get me wrong there were a few moments where my bike might have been floating but my legs were screaming! But a good kind of screaming. A little bit of a smaller pack tonight – suppose this was due to the overcast sky.

This year Marc and I are trying to ride to the crit. This way we can get in a better cool down afterwards. But tonight we elected to bring the car (fear of rain). In the end it drizzled a bit but nothing too major.

So back to the race. Well, I simply had a super fun time. I even tried to bridge up to a break today! First time I’ve ever tried this at the “A” crit. I didn’t make it – but at least I tried it. I’ll be trying again next race. I’m determined to make it across at least once this summer. The other thing I did tonight was ride in my drops. Typically, I ride crits on my tops. But I’ve learned from watching the experienced guys around me that the drops are where the action is at. So my second goal was to ride in the drops. Success – mission accomplished. I was so more comfortable in the race. I felt like I was more compact and could fit in the holes/gaps more easily. I also felt the bike was more snappy under me coming out of the corners.

I got some great tips from Hans before the race. These tips really made a big difference in my ride tonight. Thanks Hans! Much appreciated.

Definitely a fun time. It is strange I really like the warm-up before these races – chance to talk to people I don’t normally get to talk with and just get in the groove. I used to get super nervous before these races. Now I feel like I belong and my nerves have pretty much disappeared.

All right, it is almost 10:00. Time to hit the sack. Gym work-out tomorrow morning. I’ve got a big set to do tomorrow with many sets of split squats and one-legged deadlifts. Thank goodness I can sit at my desk and recover! Then in the afternoon I’m hitting up the Gatineau Park with Skip from Kingsbridge. This will be my first time riding in the Gats this summer… Looking forward to the ride and catching up with Skip. Skip was a big supporter of Ottawa Cross last year – so go check out his company.

Hope you had a solid ride today and had some fun on your bike. There is nothing quite like the high from an excellent ride.

Big shout out to Fearless Leader for his awesome racing this past weekend at Syracuse. Super happy for you.

Also big congrats to the Stevens Racing team and to super fast Sue for her impressive racing. Sounds like some decent teamwork.