Don’t forget the Ride with Rendall cyclocross training tonight at Britannia park. The training starts at 5:30. All levels and cyclists are welcomed. You do not need to be a member of Ride with Rendall to attend.

Also not to be missed is the Ride with Rendall cyclocross immersion clinic this weekend (Sept. 19 – 22). This a four day clinic – Friday evening, full days on Saturday and Sunday and Monday evening. Fees are: Ride with Rendall members – $60, non-Ride with Rendall members – $75, and under 17 riders are free.
To register and get more details on the clinic, email Glen.

So really, no excuses not to get out on your bike this week and get some quality training in. I had planned to be at the training tonight but I’ve got a date behind a motor bike. Yep, motor pacing is on the schedule tonight. So while you’re ripping it up at Britannia, learning all about mounts, dismounts, cornering, etc. – think of me trying to stay glued to the back of Mr. Westwood’s moto.

Have a good one. Oh – I wore the new kit yesterday. I felt so fast in it. Funny what a new piece of gear will do for your ride. Just like when you get a great new pair of jeans – nothing can stop you then.

Life is good.

The Ottawa Cross clothing just arrived. Oh dudes – it is so hot. So very hot. The skinsuits and jerseys look super hot and fast. I’m so happy.

Massive thanks to Steve for his hardwork and patience with the clothing design.

Massive shout out to my sponsors for their support. Without them there would be no Ottawa Cross.

Dreams becoming reality. Wow – so stoked.

Okay, okay – I know you want to see the clothes. Here you go. Try not to drool too much!

Back view of the short sleeve skinsuit.

Front view of the long sleeve skinsuit.

Front view of the jersey.

Back view of the jersey

(Sorry the photos aren’t that great – I’m not much of a photographer.)

When you think of training for cyclo-cross – what first comes to mind? For me it is all about skills. Being able to turn faster, mount and dismount more smoothly, to ride through sand and mud with ease, to pick up my bike quickly. Skills. Skills. Skills. Next on my list is my fitness.

I’m of the belief that a strong fitness base is useless if you don’t have the skills. If I have to jam on my brakes for every corner and then re-accelerate to get up to speed, eventually I’ll burn through my bullets. But if I can ride the corner smoothly, set it up, remember the mantra “go slow to go fast”, then I don’t have to waste energy and I can save to for when I really need it in the race.

For my ‘cross training, I spend a lot of time on my ‘cross bike doing drills. And I spend a lot of time on the road bike doing intervals and building my fitness. This means a lot of two-a-days. Some people think that the best way to do this is do the intervals on the ‘cross bike – this way one can work on the skills at the same time as building fitness. I’m torn on this. I can see the pros. But also the cons. For me, the cons outweigh the pros. Essentially, I’m still building and refining my skill set, so if I’m trying to do the drills at top speed and effort – chances are I won’t execute the drills as well as I can to truly benefit from them.

All this being said, I had a great session on the ‘cross bike last night. Bit frosty out but I just dressed for it. I set up three stations and in my 90 minutes I rode them like a mini-course. Trying different speeds and angles. Taking the time to redo a section if I blew it. I did some steep camber turning. Uphill barrier dismount and fast remount. Fast downhill turns. Turning in a grid. Mounts and dismounts. Bunnyhopping. Yes – I did a lot. But by setting up the stations, I kept things interesting. I find this can be a challenge when out alone on the ‘cross bike. Sometimes time drags. But the variety helps keep me going. As does the motivation. I know I have to do this work to get where I want to be. This is really what drives me.

I want to be able to line up on race day knowing I’ve done all I can. If I can say this, I’m totally relaxed and confident. The racing is the easy part. It is the time to get out there and play.

Confidence is my best friend.

Registration is now open for the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross.

Get to the site and get yourself registered. I’m registered for New Jersey. We are debating Kentucky…

The US Gran Prix races are a lot of fun. Great courses. Well organized. Can’t hardly wait.

I came face-to-face with the infamous death ridge on Sunday. I was just rolling along the grass, decided to hop on the sidewalk. I assumed the grass to sidewalk transition was smooth and level. So I didn’t lift my wheel and decided to hit it at an angle.

Nope – it wasn’t smooth. Big death ridge there. That gap that you see a little bit late. One minute I’m on my bike, next I’m sprawled on the sidewalk like a limp leaf. Amazing how fast it happens. I think there was a little man hiding in death ridge – he saw me coming, smiled, and grabbed my bike.

Luckily I didn’t slide off the sidewalk onto the road. And luckily it was very wet out. So I slid nicely. This reduced the road rash. Particularly since I wasn’t wearing any gloves (yes, dumb – I know). Marc came to my rescue and after a quick check of the bike we were on our way again.

I suppose this crash was really just some payback. Early in the ride, Marc and I were cruising in some slick, peanut butter-like mud. I decided to take a sharp turn in the mud (at the end of the cornfield). I neglected to alert Marc. I chopped him pretty hard. Took out his front wheel and he landed in the mud. I wasn’t too popular for a few minutes. Sorry Marc!

So, I’d have to say yesterday’s outing on the ‘cross bikes was not the best. But that’s life. I’m feeling fine today – just a few scrapes and colorful bruises. Could always be worse.

On deck today is a 90 minute ‘cross ride. Think I’ll set up a little mini-course with some different stations – I’ll hit the stations at variable speeds and angles. Oh, and I’ll keep my eyes peeled for death ridge…

Have a good one.