Dudes, we’re supposed to be leaving for Belgium today… But the weather isn’t playing nice. Keep your fingers crossed that the freezing rain doesn’t appear… Really don’t feel like being stuck here because of the weather man.

Weather aside, things here are running smoothly. Two bikes are packed. Clothing is sorted. Extra gear is organized.

We’re both a bit worn-out right now – the trip home from Rhode Island was long and a bit stressful and yesterday was pretty busy getting last-minute errands done and packing. Ah, but all this chaos and craziness is totally worth it. Belgium. Racing in Belgium and Holland this weekend. Yeesh – am I dreaming? I forget sometimes how lucky we are to be living this life. Really can’t take anything for granted.

So I got some new gear last week. Another set of wheels thanks to OGC and Mavic. I raced them on the weekend and they are totally bomb proof. I hit so many roots and those wheels kept on rolling. Thanks OGC and Mavic for the wheels.

I also got some Skins. I’ve been trying to get some Skins for a while now. Thanks to Vince at The Cyclery, I’m good to go. I wore my Skins on the trip to Rhode Island and basically whenever I wasn’t racing. I like them. A lot. They prevent the nasty leg swelling I was getting and my legs really do feel better recovered. Thanks Vince for getting these for me on such short notice. I’ll definitely be wearing these travel and recovery tights on the plane tonight.

Okay dudes, I best go. Still lots to get done. Two bikes still need to be packed. And unfortunately it looks like we’ll be shoveling the driveway one last time for 2008…

Well, our trip to Rhode Island has come to a close. We missed this weekend last year and were really looking forward to racing in Goddard Park again. The weekend did not disappoint. Excellent race courses. Lots of great competition. Good organization. Lots of friendly faces and fans. All in all, a most excellent weekend in this little state.

As you probably know we awoke to the white stuff on Sunday morning. I wasn’t totally surprised to see snow on the ground. But I was hoping it wouldn’t show up. Ah well, could always be worse. At least we didn’t have that crazy New Jersey mud… Day started early again with the some early laps before the races got started. Then it was time to chill out in the van and then off to the pits for Marc’s race. Marc had a good day on the bike. A solid result and a nice way to close off the domestic cyclo-cross season. He was still a bit sore from Saturday’s crash but you wouldn’t have known it – he took risks in the technical sections and his power was looking pretty fine. Steve had a solid day as well but a few crashes set him back a bit – he recovered well from these and still had top ten result. Nice to see David D. from True North Cycles on the podium in the Masters 45+ category – congrats on the third place. Pretty quiet day in the pits – no craziness that we saw on Saturday – mostly a lot of people throwing their glasses at us.

I jumped on the course right after Marc’s race to check out the lines. Well, I sort of got on the course. I discovered that my bike – that I had placed in a safe spot leaning against the gazebo and had been knocked over. The seat was all twisted – not cool. Luckily a friendly guy was on the side of the course who happened to have a multi-tool in his pocket – after a few twists and turns I was off again. The course had definitely changed with some clear lines being worn away in the snow. Got a couple laps in. Then chilled in the gazebo and jumped on again after the women’s 3/4 race. Headed to the car after the warm-up and got suited up. Then it was race time. Amazing how quickly the last hour before the race passes. I’ve written a race report and posted it. 11th. Not stellar. Not terrible.

We took off pretty quickly after my race – we were on the road by 3:30 (my race was at 1:30). Quick stop at Sbucks. And we were on our way to Burlington, VT. We decided on this route because we wanted to avoid the lake effect snow that we drove through on Friday… Well, instead we drove through a snow storm until the Canada/U.S. border. Very unpleasant. Poor Marc – he essentially drove all the way – I just couldn’t relax in the snow storm and white out conditions. A quick stop at Moe’s for some tacos and another Sbucks stop and it was homeward bound. Luckily the drive from Montreal to Ottawa was clear. But boy it was cold – we stopped for a little break and couldn’t believe the wind.

So our trip to Rhode Island is in the books. A great weekend. Quality time spent with good friends. A great chance to re-connect with our southern racing pals. Lots of good conversation, laughs and smiles were shared. Toss in some excellent racing from everyone and it was a great weekend. Awesome to see such a big crew come down from Toronto. Perhaps one of the best parts of this weekend for me was the other elite women racers – I’ve gotten to know a few of the women over the season and it really makes me feel great to know some people well enough to chat and hang out with before and after the races. Thanks – for welcoming me – it really makes the race experience that much better. I met GeWilli on Sunday – nice! Best of luck to everyone making the trip to Kansas City – travel safe, race hard, have fun.

Got in on Friday to Rhode Island after an uneventful drive. We left a bit later than normal since some smart research by Marc and Steve determined that it is dark here by 4:30 p.m. – so there would be no pre-riding on Friday. Had a pretty chilled out Friday night. The usual – supper, race bag prep, and some television.

Saturday came early. We wanted to get in a few guaranteed laps so we hit up Goddard Park for 8:00 a.m. Early but the smart move. We managed to get in a few laps – with Marc helping me out with lines and the sand strategy. Thanks Marc. After the pre-ride I chilled out in the van until Marc and Steve’s race at 10:30. Gave me lots of time to drink my thermos of tea and get my numbers pinned on.

Marc and Steve’s race was pretty exciting today. Some new faces at the front (feel better Kurt), a few crashes, and lots of action in the pit. Steve rode a solid race – I’m not sure of his official result -but it was definitely in the top ten. Marc had a good ride today but a hard crash set him back a bit. I hung out in the pit and got to catch up with Josee, Steve R., Ken S. and Alex. There was lots of craziness in the pit today – one guy came in yelling – grabbed his bike and proceeded to knock over about 10 bikes. Another guy came in yelling quite loudly demanding his bike. Then a super calm and poised Dan C. came in and switched bikes – super calm and collected. Calm and collected won out with much less energy wasted.

After the guys’ race it was back to the car for me to warm-up my toes and get some pre-race stuff done. Switched some wheels around. Switched layers of clothing and then got ready to pre-ride again. The course had changed a bit since the sun had warmed up the ground and a couple of corners had become quite soft and broken in. Didn’t really get much more than a lap and a half in since the schedule was pretty tight. So I’m super happy I got in the two early laps. Then it was back to the car to put on the race clothes and get ready to go. Did a few openers on the road and made my way to the start. Awesome to see Sarah C. from Ottawa racing with us today – congrats Sarah on a great race.

I’ve written a race report and posted it. Suffice it to say – it was a good day on the bike for me. I overcame a bad start to finish in 8th position. A couple of things to change for tomorrow – better gearing so I can accelerate better and more aggression on the start. But overall, I’m happy with the ride. Best result ever in the New England Verge Series. Thanks for all the cheering and support out there – it really makes a big difference to hear your name yelled.

Had a good cool down and made my way to the gazebo to meet up with the gang. Discovered a great post-race meal/snack – oatmeal and yogurt – I made the oatmeal with water, mixed in a small container of yogurt and put it in the fridge – it cools into kind of like a pudding like texture. Highly digestible, good carbs and protein and just a little bit of sweetness from the yogurt.

It is Marc’s birthday on Monday so tonight the four of us went out for dinner. After a bit of driving and wandering we found a really good restaurant in Providence. We chased our Italian meal with some dessert. A nice change from eating leftovers from the night before in our hotel room. Happy Birthday Marc! Thanks to Steve and Josee from the nice dinner.

Tomorrow will come quickly so I’m off to bed now. Thanks again for the cheering. Shout out to Mark R. for a great race today – so nice to see someone pumped about their ride. Looking forward to another fun day at Goddard Park – word has it that day two will feature lots of twists and turns and a much longer sand section (glad I got my running legs in New Jersey). Amazing to see so many people out racing and cheering today. I’m most impressed with the size of the women’s 3/4 field (congrats Josee for racing today) – amazing growth in this category with some pretty strong women racing. Gorilla man was out again – heard he had to get a new pail to bang on as he broke the other one in New Jersey!

Okay – to bed I go. See you tomorrow. Lots of racing action in Portland as well this weekend. You’d think the season was just starting with the enthusiasm and numbers we’re seeing this second weekend of December.

Last weekend of big domestic travel. Hitting the road in an hour an a bit to make the trek down to Rhode Island. Last of the New England Verge Series races. Totally looking forward to it.

I realized I haven’t written much about these upcoming races. Suppose it is because my head has been full of lots of other “to do” lists, etc. So this weekend. What am I aiming for? What do I want to get out of myself on the bike? Well traditionally I haven’t raced well at Rhode Island. First year I raced in RI I did okay on the first day but really did not have fun the second day on the ice and snow (I dropped out). Following year, this was supposed to be when I made the move to racing elite. Nope. Didn’t happen- I cracked under some crazy fear of racing with the elite women. I raced the first day in the 3/4 category – and raced very badly. Second day I warmed up – but didn’t start… Missed RI last year – we were in Belgium racing.

So this year. This year, it is going to be different. New category. New race courses. New me. One thing that has been missing from my ‘cross racing this year is the acceleration out of things – corners, barriers, technical sections. I haven’t been doing that “stand up and really dig deep to get the speed back” thing. So this weekend it is all about this. Getting back up to speed fast and hard. Oh and looking ahead is important – especially with all those trees.

Got my SRM installed on my spare bike – thanks Marc and Paul D. So I’m curious to look at the power numbers this weekend. If conditions are good, I’ll put the head unit on and see what it captures.

I’ve written about this before, but really I can’t say enough about the cycling community. As you know I’m going to Belgium and while there I’ll be racing in three World Cups. Well because of the scheduling, Marc can’t come to these races. So I’ve been pretty much contacting everyone I know to arrange transportation to and from the races. And I’ve just got to say Thanks. Thanks to the people whom I’ve never met who have responded to my emails and have helped me out by pointing me to another person or given me suggestions on lodging, etc. I really hope to repay the favors.

Alright dudes, I’ve got to go. Still a few things to stroke off this morning’s “to do” list. Have a safe trip to RI – looking forward to seeing you there. If you’re not racing this weekend – well hopefully you can enjoy some nice down time with your family (try to stay away from the malls – sure to be a very crazy place).

Last night marked the end of the local Ottawa cyclo-cross racing season. A massive crowd of racers, parents and spouses of racers came together at the Rideau Curling Club for the OBC Cyclo-Cross Banquet.

I can safely say this was a great night. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Bob read out the participation stats for this booming cyclo-cross series. Most impressive where the numbers of women, girls and boys racing this season. This is awesome. This is what the sport needs – more participation especially from the young ones. Bob made mention of the junior boys who raced this year – these guys really have come a long way. Only a few years ago, I could lap these guys – not anymore – they lapped me on Sunday.

This night is really about recognizing the tireless efforts of Bob, Cheryl, Ian and Rosemarie as well as recognizing the winners of each category. The categories ranged from girls under 12 to Masters C. Again – this is awesome. Patty K. wrote a great cyclo-cross poem that she shared with us – thanks Patty! (Very brave to get up in front of all those people and read a poem.)

The evening culminated with the raffle prizes. Once again The Cyclery and Eurosports each donated a frame – congrats to the winners. As well, The Cyclery, Eurosports, Coca-Cola and other individuals donated raffle prizes. Thanks so much for the great donations.

I had the chance to speak with a lot of people last night. And all I can say is – Thanks. As you know we’re leaving for Belgium on Tuesday – your kind words, enthusiasm, and support will go far in keeping me in the mix while racing with the best. Marc and I thoroughly appreciate your thoughts and words.

A treat was getting to spend some time catching up with Mrs. Fraser. I’ve known Mrs. Fraser for a while now – probably 14 years. I don’t see her often. But she always remembers me and has great stories to share about Gord and his racing days. Mrs. Fraser and her husband started the OBC cyclo-cross series a long time ago (I think in the ’70s). It is most impressive that this series has lasted so long – especially since it is completely volunteer run.

I didn’t get to do many races in the OBC series this year. But those that I did were some of the most fun races I’ve competed in this season. Thanks for making my Sunday mornings.