It seems like forever since we’ve gone on a road trip. I guess it is because you get in a groove during the road season of traveling every weekend. We had two great weekends here at home. Lots of time to chillax and recharge the batteries. Not to mention getting to race in our local cyclo-cross series and hang out with cool people.

Tomorrow we are off to Northampton. The weather is looking good. The race courses will be slick. A good time shall be had. Oh and the clocks change so we’ll get an extra hour of sleep on Sunday. (Nice!)

I did another ride on the trainer today. Not where I wanted to be – in the basement with a fan blowing on me watching television. 90 minute recovery ride today. The time passes so slowly during recovery rides. Interval work-outs are a little bit easier on the brain on the trainer – something for the brain to focus on other than time slowly ticking away. The one bonus of this two days of trainer riding, is now I’m finally caught up with ER.

I’m looking forward to Monday – when the snow is gone and the sun is shining again. I don’t care how windy or rainy it is – I’m not getting back on that trainer until the snow is on the ground again. Maybe this is just Mother Nature playing a trick on us cyclo-cross racers to remind us how much we like the cold and rain…

Lots to do tonight. Bags to pack. Food to prepare. Bikes and wheels to cram into the back of a vehicle. We have a pretty good system for these trips but somehow we always end up running things a bit tight. Such is life.

One thing I’ve been thinking about a bit is “why do you/I race cyclo-cross”? Why is that we spend the not-so-nice fall and winter months zooming around on our bikes in the rain, through the mud and soggy grass, with snow and frost on the ground? Why do we do it? What makes you get out there when you could seamlessly ease into the “off” season? I suppose some people race cyclo-cross because they’re good at it. Another group does it because they are paid to do it. But what about the rest of us? I started racing ‘cross again four years ago – and I certainly wasn’t good at it then. But I stuck with it. Slowly and steadily increasing my focus and desire to ride and race the ‘cross bike. I can’t really pinpoint what it is that made me stick with it. Of all the bike racing I’ve done, ‘cross is definitely the hardest – physically, mentally, and time-wise.

I think for me it comes down to community. The cyclo-cross community is so strong and welcoming. In North America, cyclo-cross is hot and booming – the fans, race organizers, media, and racers all embrace one another – it seems there is an understanding that one can’t be there without the other. There are races all over the place with all sorts of categories and caliber of racers. Little kids racing on super heavy mountain bikes. Older men and women racing around with big smiles on their faces. My experiences in Europe last year were simply overwhelming. The fans were intense. But what really struck me was the way the other racers embraced us. We hooked up with a weekly training group of mostly junior-aged boys – the parents and the boys welcomed us and soon enough were hanging out with us at the races and cheering us on. Amazing.

The racing is awesome and really gets me stoked. But I love hanging out after the race, cheering on the other racers and hearing other people’s race stories. I really enjoy talking to the parents of the younger kids and seeing the smiles after the race. Hopefully you can get out and experience this over the weekend.

The Ride with Rendall Wednesday night ‘cross training is canceled for Oct. 29.

Training sessions resume next week, regardless of weather….

So this snow forced me into the basement. Onto the trainer. Yuck. Did not enjoy it. Is it just me or does the effort seem harder on the trainer? At the very least I got in an excellent work-out. Three 15 minute sweet spot tempo intervals. Ouch. Great training sensations that I will summon this weekend in Northampton.

No ‘cross practice tonight. Honestly, I wouldn’t have gone anyway. Conditions like this are excellent for training in. But – they are also ripe for making me fall off my bike. I’d like to keep up my one-week epic of “not falling off my bike”. I’ll be there next week. For sure. I hope this snow goes soon. I don’t have time for shoveling nor do I want to spend my time on the trainer.

I really haven’t got much else for today. No deep thoughts or pondering. Just some tired legs and a rosy cheeks. I love the way the training sensations stick around well after the work out is complete.

Hitting the road on Friday to make the drive down to Northampton for the Cycle-Smart International races. Should be good. I read on the NEC message board that the organizers are planning on running two different courses. Smooth. Very smooth. Saturday will be the traditional course and Sunday will see a tighter course with some direction changes and other cool stuff. Make sure you pre-register. No race day sign-ups.

It was on this race weekend last year that I raced my first “elite” races. Made the jump from the 3/4 category to elite. Yikes, I was so nervous. Had no idea what to expect. I struggled the first day in Farmington, Conn. but rebounded with a better ride on Sunday in Northampton. It will be interesting to see how I do this weekend.

So much has changed in a year.

Say it isn’t so… But it sure felt winter like out there. Okay – Belgium winter like. Which isn’t a bad thing as winters go. But I’ve got to tell you, I’m not enthused with the snow predictions we here in Ottawa are hearing. I’m blocking it out. Pretending that the weather man is wrong. (He’s been wrong before…)

So I’ve finally dried off and recovered from today’s cyclo-cross work-out. 90 minutes endurance with 5 start intervals. A good solid ride. Keeps the blood pumping, brings a dull ache to the legs, some fire to the lungs, and an enormous feeling of satisfaction when the ride is done.

I’ve got to admit I wasn’t too excited to get out in the elements today. Wicked wind. Sideways rain. Cold. Not the way I want to spend a couple of hours. But this is what the coach said to do – so this is what I did. I bundled up and put on all my waterproof layers – really wasn’t that bad.

In fact I felt pretty stoked to be out there. Ripping around the park, attacking the climbs, hammering through the mud, and sliding through fast corners. Cool. I’m out training. I bet other people decided to “rest” today.

All part of being a rider. Besides in a few months, this will be my winter. And it is not like I can stay in and “rest” everyday. Bonus was I had the park to myself. Just me and the geese.

Now it is back to the real world. Work is calling my name and Mr. Murphy (the fat grey cat is downstairs yowling) – he wants to go out. Silly boy. (Or maybe he is a wannabe cyclo-cross racer?)

The location for the Wednesday night cyclo-cross training has been changed.

The Ride with Rendall training session has been moved to a park between Carling Ave., Prince of Wales Dr., and the O-Train tracks.

The training time has been changed as well – now starts at 5:15.

Location of Wednesday training

(There are more photos posted from the Mooney’s Bay races.)

Maybe the title should be: What Makes a Racer? In my opinion there really isn’t a difference between a rider and a racer. So I’ll leave it as rider.

I was thinking about this today when I was out on my recovery ride. What makes a rider? I’ve come up with this: legs, heart, and head. Now the order is the tricky part. What is more important? It is the chicken and egg thing. Can’t get the legs without the heart. Can’t use the legs without the head. Heart can take you only so far. But how far does heart take you when the legs can’t or won’t? The head is can win races, even if the legs aren’t there (especially true on the road). Anyway, this is what I was thinking about while pedaling away today. What do you think? What makes a rider? I’m curious to know what you think.

Wouldn’t it be so easy if it really was the expensive bike and swank clothing? (But probably very boring…)

Northampton this weekend. Make sure you pre-register. There is no race day registration.