The big day is here. The world champs. Very cool. Massive shout out to the Canadian team. I’m sending you my fast and speedy vibes. I know you’ll give it your all. Can’t wait to read and hear all about the experience. (Yes, I’m super jealous.)

We’re off to another race today. Marc is racing his last race of the season today. Should be a good one. One last crack of it for fun after a week of basically no riding but lots of walking. We’ve set the television up to record the races so we’ll be watching when we get back. I’ve got a few hopes for the women’s race. We’ll have to see what happens.

Wow – can’t believe the two months is almost up. Tomorrow will be nutty. Packing. Washing. Last minute gift buying. You know how it is. At least the packing to go home is easier than the packing to leave.

Might get in one last ride tomorrow. Or not. Depends on the weather. I’m supposed to be on a break right now. So hard with the weather here.

Looking forward to getting home and back to the comforts of our place on Tamarack Place. Definitely stoked to see Mr. Murphy. Not sure how much he has missed us. We’ve heard from our housesitter that Murphy has been a massive suck. Normal I suppose for a spoiled cat.

The second part of the Andy Jacques-Mayne interview is up. Go check it out.

Okay time is tick tocking away and I’ve still got a few things to do before we jump in the super van for the drive to one last race.

Have a good one. Cheer hard for the Canadians.

Well, it is the weekend of the Cyclo-Cross World Championships. A super important weekend for us racers. I really wanted to be racing this weekend. I tried. But didn’t make it. Such is life. I’ll try again for next year. So instead of spending my last week here in Belgium, resting and gearing up for the big race, I’ve taken it pretty easy.

I only rode on Tuesday and Saturday. Rest of the days were spent sightseeing – Brussels, Bruges, and Paris. A great way to spend my last week here. Though I must admit, I’d rather have been fussing with my bikes, trying to keep my nerves down and preparing for the big race. Guess I’ll just have to wait until next year.

Marc and I spent a couple of great days in Paris. You can read all about it over at Victoria’s Island. We were a bit wiped out today from all the walking and sightseeing but it was well worth it. Can’t believe how fast and easy it is to get to Paris. It took us two hours traveling by train and the TGV.

Chilled out today and did the group ride. First time we’ve ever done the Saturday group ride. There were four groups of 50 out! Amazing. The route was a bit longer and definitely faster. In fact at one point I thought I was done for as we went super hard up a hill – but luckily we settled down a bit afterwards. After a few twists and turns, I ended up riding for 3.5 hours – not bad for the rest week!

So not much else happening really. Marc is racing tomorrow so we’re off to that and then we’ll come home and watch the races on the television. Yes, the World Champs are a mere one hour from us – but we are not interested in watching the race “live” with 40, 000 other people… Monday will be busy with packing and getting ourselves sorted for the trip home.

It has been a really good two months. A hard two months. But definitely the two months I needed. A solid dose of reality. A good bit of perspective. I’ve come along way from last year but I’ve still got a long way to go. I’m reignited and ready to give it another go. The plans are coming together. Thanks for the comments and suggestions about training – very much appreciated – keep them coming.

Well, I’m off to bed. Be sure to send Team Canada some super fast vibes tomorrow. It is going to be a good day on the bike for everyone.

Yesterday during our drive to Bruges, our conversation naturally shifted to cyclo-cross. Cyclo-cross racing and training. We discussed what worked and didn’t. I especially expressed how much this season here in Belgium has highlighted how much I need to work on my technical skills. This is when Marc said, “You need to challenge the fear.”

This quote stuck in my brain. So true. Challenge the Fear.

This is what is holding me back. Fear. Not fear of failure. Fear of high speed descents. Fear of dodgy (or what seem dodgy) corners. Fear of taking risks in the race and going for it. Fear. Really fear of coming off my bike. Funny since this is not something that I ever think about when racing on the road. Some road racers really worry about crashing. For me crashing on the road does not even enter my brain during racing.

I guess the reason it does in ‘cross is because I’m a road rider who became a ‘cross racer. I didn’t start with the technical background and confidence. Well, you can probably guess where this is leading. Yes, I will be riding my ‘cross bike all summer in any and all conditions possible. I’ll even be dusting off my mountain bike and getting myself out to Camp Fortune and Kanata Lakes. I really have to commit to doing this.

Last season I worked really hard on developing my physical fitness and refining ‘cross skills such as mounting, dismounting, cornering, off-cambers, etc. These skills are important. But it doesn’t matter if you are super fast at a bike remount but have to slam on the brakes for a soft sandy corner and are all over the brakes on descents. The fast remount comes in handy when I’m smooth in the corners and ripping down descents. Power does not trump technical skills. Don’t get me wrong – power is important. It can get me out of a jam if I blow a corner, etc. But first and foremost are the technical skills. If I can ride smoothly, keep my legs turning, stay off the brakes, etc – I won’t need to resort to the deep power reserves so much during the race. Instead I can use my legs for starts, bridging to groups, and attacking. As well this increased technical skill will enable me to get to the next group – I wont’ be gapping myself through a tough mud section and then having to fight to get back on.

Make sense?

Interesting that Marc and I both came to the same conclusion yesterday: in North America one can put together a solid and strong ‘cross racing experience by relying on physical power and a modicum of technical skill; in Europe the power doesn’t mean jack if you don’t have the technical skills.

So this really leads me to one spot. Must get better technically. This is going to mean sacrifice. This is going to mean taking risks. This is going to mean some spills and tumbles. This is going to mean some frustrating days on the bike. This is going to affect my road season. I had mapped out some road season goals – but I will be revisiting these.

But, I’d rather go through this from May – September than come back to Belgium next winter and be right back where I am now.

My main goal is Tabor. I want to get there. I need to get there. So I’ll do what it takes.

I’m going to need help with this. I’ve done some mountain biking but not a lot. So any and all suggestions are appreciated. Do you know of a good spot where I can get out on my ‘cross bike and ride on technical challenging terrain. Do you have a training spot that has some fast sandy corners, a few heart-in-your-throat descents, some challenging steep climbs, loose gravel? Post up here. Send me an email. I want to learn this. I will need your help and advice.

So this is where I am right now in getting ready for the new season. Slowly the plan and ideas are coming together.

Oh, I’m all ears – do you have an idea/tip/suggestion that I haven’t written about. Do you have some drills that have worked well for you? Let me know. We can get stronger, faster, and better together.

“Do one thing a day that scares you.”

During the ‘cross season I met Andy Jacques-Mayne and Josie Jacques-Mayne. They basically were at every race I was at in New England so I had a few chances to chat with them. They had a pretty cool gig this past ‘cross season – a massive RV that they towed around North America (primarily the U.S.) with a big Ford truck. If there was a ‘cross race – they were at it. Very cool way to be able to race, train and travel. To say that Marc and I were jealous would be an understatement.

Anyway, all this to say that you should go check out this interview with Andy. Thanks to Marc for pointing it my way.

AJM is definitely an inspiration for all us desk-bound bike racers.

Sorry for not being around these parts as of late. Marc and I took off for Brussels yesterday for a day of sightseeing and chillaxing. No bikes involved. Though Marc did eye the city rental bikes with a glint in his eye… To read about the day out in Brussels, check out my other site.

I realized after posting that I neglected to mention the amazing macaroons we had for an afternoon treat. We stopped at a fabulous bakery named Paul. It was very busy and appeared that we were the only tourists in the place. This bakery had it all – amazing bread, incredible tarts, impressive macaroons, sandwiches, etc. If you find yourself near a Paul bakery, definitely go in – you will not be disappointed.

So bike racing and biking action. There has been some. On Sunday I traveled with Marc and Ed to Assenede to work the pits for the guys. It was an excellent day of racing for both of them. Ed finished 3rd in the 50 plus category and Marc was 8th in the 40 plus category. I chilled out in the pit – cheered on the guys and chatted with the father of one of the racers. Good day at the races.

So no riding yesterday. Just lots of walking. This is not easy on a bike racer. By the end of the day – Marc’s back was sore and my hips were super tight. But the temporary pain was well worth it.

Today we stayed home. Intention was to go on the group ride. Whole house went today (except Tim who is in England). Started off okay. No real drama – well except Ed flatted at the start. Jumped into the second group. Rather pedestrian pace today. The star of the ride was not impressed (Sven Nys). So rolling along and I get that wobbly feeling in my back wheel. Yep – flat tire. Drat.

I stop. Marc stops. We only have one tube between us. A tube with a very short valve – not good for the deepish rims on my bike. So we have to do a tube switcheroo with Marc’s rear wheel. Okay – so now the group is well gone. We don’t have any spares. We make our way to Tim and Jos’s house in Blauberg. The British Cycling Federation ‘cross riders are staying there for the winter. Luckily Johnny was in – he gave us a better tube for Marc’s wheel and after a bit of chatting we were off. Still had a good ride – just shorter than we intended.

Turns out we missed out on lots of action on the group ride. So Sven and his pal got to the front of the second group. Apparently the reason we were going slowly was because the front group was going slowly (we have to keep a certain distance behind the front group to allow cars to get around us). Sven rode up to the first group to find out what was going on. Then I guess when there was some clear road – Sven and his pal sort of attacked and the second group ended up passing the first group. Unheard of! Apparently Sven did some other crazy stuff – changed the route a couple times as well. Sorry to miss all this action.

Not much else happening. In a bit of a down week here. It is our last week here in Belgium so we’re taking some time off the bike and getting in a bunch of sightseeing. Tomorrow we might go to Bruges and Ghent. Thursday and Friday we’ll be in Paris. Potential that Marc will race on Saturday and I’ll try to get in a couple more rides.

Amazing that our trip here is coming to an end. This has definitely been one of my more challenging trips to Belgium. The racing was hard as I expected. But I did not expect so many setbacks and tests of my determination. I had some crappy days. I had some awesome days. I’ve come out as a better person and bike racer as a result.

Nearly picked up Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book – Outliers yesterday, but decided to wait until I get home. Think it will be excellent reading for when I’m starting my new training program for 2009 – 2010. Do you have any books you would recommend? If so – post up in the comments. It is always interesting to discover what books, web sites, etc. other athletes find useful/inspirational/etc.

Okay, I’m out. I’ll try to get a post in tomorrow. Enjoy the trainer or if you are lucky like Keir – enjoy the great outdoors.