Check out the Photos page. I’ve posted a link to some photos from Francois. Thanks Francois!

Ah, it is a bit early in the day for me to really post anything that interesting… Though congrats to Adam for a solid ride in Tabor. Also congrats to Wendy for a strong ride in Tabor. Pretty exciting to have people you know racing at the World Cups!

Looks like we got the best of the weather yesterday for our races. Glad that rain held off until the evening. Don’t know about you, but I’m a bit tired from racing at Mooney’s Bay! That course kicked me (in a good way).

Okay, it is quite early. My brain is not 100 % awake yet. I’ll post more later. On deck for today – yoga and a recovery ride. Sensible way to start the week. Cheers!

Oh – big news from the Quebec Cyclo-Cross series – the Orange men have done it! Congrats to Rob Orange and his son Keirnan Orange for winning the Quebec series jerseys. Way to go guys – you’re making the Ottawa crew very proud. Looking forward to hearing all about the races.

Ah, good ol’ Mooney’s Bay. The scene of my second cyclo-cross ever. Way back in 1994 on my Specialized Stumpjumper. I think it was that race that had me hooked (for a while). I remember only finishing the race and feeling great relief. We were a smaller group back then. But I’d say even though the numbers have swelled tremendously the sense of community and kinship that was present in 1994 is even stronger now.

What a great day for a race. Warm enough for the short-sleeved skinsuit. We got there early so Marc and I could get registered (finally registered for the series) and get a quick lap in. Then it was time to watch the early race. Fun stuff. I had a blast cheering on everyone and enjoying just being outside. My thermos of tea helped as well!

Got in a quick lap and a bit and then it was race time. I almost missed the start! Somehow I was clued out and had no idea where the start was. Thanks to all the people who responded when I pedaled by asking “Where is the start?”. Also thanks to Jenny for picking up my jacket -much appreciated.

I had a slowish start and then just focused on catching and passing people. Once my position was sort of established I worked on drilling the hard sections. Determining where to go really hard, where to ease off a bit and where to recover. My tactic was to really hammer the “tough” sections – the ones where your brain wants you to slow down because you’re suffering. I was losing time on the long run up the hill so this really was my best race plan. My hill running was a tad slow. In fact the last two laps I resorted to walking the super steep section and then trying to jog the last part.

The best part about the hill was the cheering. Wow! Thanks so much for the cheering. Never have I heard my name yelled so many times in a race. Thanks a lot. This cheering makes a massive difference.

So I’m not sure where I finished in the overall results. But I’m happy with my ride and effort. It has been a while since I’ve raced for an hour. But really the time went by super quickly. One of my main goals for today was to “not crash”. And I met this goal! Phew.

A massive shout out to Bob, Cheryl, Ian, Brian, Graham, and the countless other volunteers who set up the course, handled registration, marshaled the course, kept score, and tore down the course.

Well, the bikes are finally clean. The last of the clothing is in the washing machine. I’m finally clean – after a nice soak in the tub. Now it is time to meet up with a good pal for some burgers at The Works. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday!

(As soon as the photos are posted – I’ll post a link on the Photos page.)

Sorry about yesterday. One of those days. Not enough hours in the day. Something had to slide. Ah well, better on Friday than on the weekend.

Got in a little recovery ride yesterday. After much fighting with a flat front tire and a few delays, I finally made it out late in the afternoon. That ride did more for my brain than my legs. Cleared my head. I got rid of my crazy brain and just let my legs turn over. Bike as therapy.

Just finished reading a great article in Cyclocross Magazine by Mark Legg-Compton. It is a very good read. Read it. Act on his message and sentiments.

Getting ready to go out for an opening work-out. Should have gone two hours ago. When the roads were merely wet – and it wasn’t raining. But such is life – I had other stuff to do. Good thing I’m not made of sugar. I’ll pull on my super-duper rain pants, my purple hat, and think warm thoughts during my ride. The warm bath. A nice cup of chai tea. Soup.

I missed posting this earlier in the week – massive shout out and congrats to Keirnan Orange. Keirnan is ripping up the Quebec ‘cross scene this year. This young guy is really coming into his own and is proving that the slow and steady approach really does pay off. Keirnan is currently holding the leader’s jersey for the Quebec series. Way to go Keirnan! Keep ripping it up.

This darkness is a areal drag isn’t it? We discovered that there are two fields in our neighbourhood that were are lit with super strong lights until quite late in the evening. 10:15 p.m in fact. Soon this will be the only option for after-work ‘cross practice. Even the morning practice is getting pushed back due to the darkness.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend. We’re racing at home at Mooney’s Bay. Wonder how many times we’ll have to go up that darn hill? Next Friday we are off to Mass. Should be good. I’ll be keeping my eyes on Kentucky this weekend as well as the World Cup in Tabor. Go Adam! Go Wendy! Go Christine!

Belgium soon enough. If you’re going to be in Belgium while we’re there. Drop me an email or post up in the comments – we should hook up for a ride, a meal, a chocochino (this sweet treat can be found in Leuven), or whatever.

Okay, it is still raining. Might as well get going. This way the ride is done and I can get to the warm bath and chai tea. Have a good one!

Chilly but dry. That basically sums up today. It was the “but dry” part that got me out of bed before the crack of dawn for the weekly ‘cross training practice. Peeking out the bedroom window and seeing the frost but at least a dry road helped. But it was still chilly.

It was kind of cool to be blazing tracks through the frost-encrusted snow at 7 this morning. The beads of ice on my bike were kind of neat as well. Had an excellent training session with Marc and Steve. We played some follow the leader to get the blood flowing. I even did a stint at the front. (Looking forward to the day when I can drop the boys during follow the leader…) After some fun chasing each other around we dug out the flags. Well, actually Marc and Steve got the flags and set up some corners for us to practice. Turns out I was the lucky one with the correct tires for the morning – I didn’t slip out once! So a solid session of riding and learning. It is amazing what can be done in a focused hour and a bit on the bike (especially when it is cold).

So that was the morning session. Then late this afternoon after getting a bunch of work done, I hopped on my road bike for an endurance ride. The sun was shining but it was still rather cool out. But it was dry. I hooked up with local fast man Paul D. for part of my ride. After about 20 minutes or so sitting on Paul’s wheel I turned off and did my own thing. (Yeesh I hope I can ride as well as Paul when I’m his age. Pretty speedy for a 50 year old. Thanks Paul for letting me tag along!) I got in a smooth ride of just under two hours. Nice. Not a bad way to close off the afternoon.

Now, I’m just getting ready to make some tea and read the latest issue of Cyclocross Magazine. Yep, issue four is out. Got mine today (thanks Andrew). Lots of excellent articles in it – interviews with Ben Turner, Sven Nys, bike and gear reviews – this issue is jam-packed. There is an excellent series of articles on training the body for ‘cross – definitely worth a read. Can’t get enough of that yoga to keep the body limber. Anyway, if you haven’t picked up a copy of the mag – go do it. You won’t regret it. (Oh, and don’t forget to read my article…)

I made it out to the Ride with Rendall training session last night. Great to see some new faces as well as the “old-timers”. I was a bit late – due to some poor timing on my part. But I got in some decent practice on the high-speed uphill dismount run-up and cornering section. This is a skill set I really need to practice more. Part of my problem is I’m not very coordinated so when I shoulder the bike – crazy things happen. I bang my helmet. I whack my elbow. I trip. All of this impedes my running. Graceful I am not. Oh well, more practice. As my old taekwon-do coach used to say “Practice makes improvement”.

Racing at home this weekend. I had planned to go to Kentucky but the drive is just too far for us this year. Maybe next year, I can cash in some airline points and fly out. Sad to be missing the first US GP races, but I’ll be at New Jersey. Besides November is so full of travel it is making my head spin. And then there is December – can’t even talk about December – I just get too excited.

Good luck this weekend if you’re racing. If you’re not racing, I hope you can get out for some quality rides – enjoy the fall weather before winter rolls in. I’ll be at the Cycle-Smart races next weekend – can’t hardly wait.

The UCI rankings are out.

I’m ranked 62 in the world. Not too shabby. Pretty happy.

I’ve got 19 UCI points. Goal is to get 10 more before getting on the plane.