Alright, the new clothing design is done and ready to go. Many many thanks to super patient and brilliant graphic designer Allison Goodall. Check out Allison’s site – she does great work and really has designed me a super racing kit.

So when I emailed Allison I told her I wanted a simple design and that my favorite color is purple. I pointed her to a few clothing designs that I like and literally told her to do what she wanted. Well, lets just say I’m stoked.

Check it out:

I’m also super happy to be working with the gang at Champion Systems Canada again this season. It is nice to know I’ll have a good-looking completely custom racing kit that fits well and can handle the Belgian mud, sand and rain!

Nyow, I don’t profess to be any sort of expert when it comes to training the physical body for cyclo-cross. If it was up to me I’d ride long and hard each and everyday with multiple double days thrown into the mix. Yep – not exactly the scientific approach – this is why I’ve got a fine coach keeping care of me.

But what I have learned a lot about over these years of cyclo-cross specific training is how the training progression works (at least for me). When I first started really getting into cyclo-cross I was racing at the local Ottawa level and was honestly still struggling with barrier dismounts. So number one – learn how to dismount and mount my bike properly. I spent an entire fall and early winter focusing on this technique – every lunchtime I would take my trusty barrier out to a nearby park and practice. By  the middle of that season, I had this technique down really well.

This gave me confidence to race harder and to relax when I came upon the barriers or stairs in a race. Of course I had neglected to practice cornering, cambers and loose terrain riding. So this is where the gradual progression came in. The following season I trained with Marc and another friend, working on cornering and bike handling skills. We would train in a local park and set up grids and courses using little flags. This worked really well, I learned how my bike handles and started to understand the concept of letting the bike do the work.

The last couple of seasons saw me change up my technical training even more. I still did work with the flags, still practiced my dismounting/mounting skills but I added in an additional element – actual cyclo-cross riding. That is I sought out trails and areas that provided challenging terrain and demanded similar skills to those required in cyclo-cross races. Progressing me to actual “race-like” training scenarios. This made a big difference and helped my technical skills improve greatly.

And now here I am this season, really only doing work in the woods and on the trails. I’ve learned that I still have trouble with cornering (I like to corner like a crit racer…) and I’ve really been working on pushing my limits on my bike. This means getting comfortable with taking lots of speed into elements and letting the terrain slow me down – rather than braking too much. I’ve also been working on subtle techniques such as using my upper body to help propel the bike through sand, up steep climbs and over tricky sections. Yes, I still do practice my dismounting/mounting skills but now I incorporate this into a small track that I’ve put together and really pay attention to carrying as much speed into the barrier, over the barrier and back onto the bike.

So what I’m trying to explain here is that there needs to be a real progression with your technical cyclo-cross training. If you’re new to the sport, there is no point on focusing on off-camber riding skills and descending techniques if you still aren’t comfortable with a bike dismount. As well once you reach a more competitive level or are racing in Europe, it is time to change up your training to better reflect the race scenarios you’ll see.

Anyway, just my two cent on technical training for cyclo-cross. I know there are lots of opinions on how to do this and what to do. But I think this really comes down to the individual skill of the rider. I’m pretty sure that Sven Nys and I do very different technical training sessions on the bike – but we’re both getting what we need. Make sure you’re getting what you need!

What does strength mean to you? Perhaps it refers to the numbers you see on your SRM or other power meter? Maybe it is all about spinning a 53 x 11 like Fabian? Or maybe it is all about doing a super long hard ride and winning every town sign sprint?

Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about strength these days. We all know that what makes bike racing so fascinating is that the strongest rider doesn’t necessarily win. Numbers on the SRM don’t necessarily translate to race success. Strength is in my mind these days now that I’m back on a regular training program and I’m once again training with purpose and focus. I look at the numbers on my SRM and at times I’m overjoyed and other times I’m crushed.

And this is where I start to wonder if strength really does just come from the legs? I like to think not. A strong mind can take you a long way in a bike race. Heck, just watch the Tour and watch the feats of survival that a rider like Hogerland has made lately. Surviving a race and requiring 44 stitches and earning the polka dot jersey as well – yep this is strength -but it goes beyond the legs.

It hits to the very heart and soul of a being. So as I pedal away and focus on my SRM, I’m also really working on my inner strength. The strength that has allowed me to get through some rough patches that for some would have seen the bike put away for another day. But, don’t get me wrong – I struggle with this strength as well. I’ve been known to think and even say “it is just too hard” “I can’t do it” “you don’t understand what it is like”. Now I like to believe that I’m beyond these thoughts and statements – my inner strength is improving just as the strength in my legs is improving.

There really is not much point in having one without the other.

When I started riding again in 2004 after a long break to play hockey and train in Taekwon-do, I decided the best way to get back on the bike would be through mountain biking. I had been doing a lot of trail running and realized how much I enjoyed being in the nature. So, with this as my main motivator, I bought a mountain bike.

Ottawa has some pretty good mountain biking and thanks to some friends, I was soon out on my mountain bike learning the basics. But I needed more hands-on skills training so I signed up for a mountain biking clinic with Dominique Larocque – the Wild Women on Wheels weekend. Wow – what an experience. This weekend of riding seriously pushed my limits and exposed me to an entirely new set of skills and accomplishments. Needless to say, I was hooked – back on the bike and loving it.

This weekend of riding flashed back to me as I rolled around the woods on my cyclo-cross bike. I was struggling with one section of a trail – a fairly innocent twisty piece of single track that forces you to skim by two trees while cornering – oh and the corners are a bit soft thanks to the sand. I had this section nailed a couple of weeks ago but with the recent rainstorms, the entrance and exits to this section has changed.

Today when I worked on this section I was hesitant, slow and braking. And  yes I was getting frustrated. And this is where that weekend of mountain biking lessons came to me. Back to basics is where I went. I took the trail slowly, and really slowed down the first time through the tricky section – as I rode through I focused on looking ahead and taking pictures.

Yes, taking pictures. This is something Dominique told us to do – as you ride down the trail – look ahead and take pictures of the trail – this helps you react instinctively to the changing terrain. So this is what I did today. I didn’t worry about the dips, the pine cones, the soft sand, the speed – instead I looked ahead and focused on what was coming up. Gradually things become faster and more smooth.

Yes – it worked. After a couple more run throughs like this I was off the rear braked and floating through this section of trail as I had been doing earlier. It might sound corny but even as I sit here now, I can clearly see that section of trail. I know exactly how to approach it and how much speed I can carry into and out of it.

It is interesting to realize how the small tips and lessons received over the years can pop up and really help in making a big step forward. I guess this is why so many Europeans seem to be much further ahead of us in cyclo-cross and road racing – they’ve been doing this longer and have this memory bank of tips, tricks and lessons to keep them moving forward.

The basics: looking ahead, steering with your knees, flowing with the bike, constantly pedaling, relaxing the upper body – really are more than basics. They are the keys – the fundamentals to putting together good rides. Slowly but surely all the pieces come together and the really good rides happen.

The small things really do make the biggest differences.

Well, my first “official” week of back training is in the books. Lets just say it was an excellent week of riding. It was so refreshing to get out on my road bike and pedal. I felt good – really good. Who knows maybe all of the easy riding and rest has actually built some fitness or at least helped me to stay where I was before this latest slow down.

Basically, it is just great to back on a structured plan that has focus. I did enjoy getting out in the woods everyday on my ‘cross bike and working on my technical skills – but I have to admit after close to four weeks of riding alone on the same trails and doing pretty much the same drills, I was getting a bit stale.

Today after a week of riding the road bike, it was back to the woods. I’ll admit I was a bit nervous. I hadn’t ridden my ‘cross bike in over a week so I was concerned that maybe I wouldn’t have actually learned anything the four weeks prior. In other words that I’d be right back where I was in June.. Well, I’m happy to say – this was not the case. In fact I was able to push my limits even further today.

I had an excellent ride and it was a treat to back on those familiar trails working on my technical skills. I hit up my favorite little loop that essentially features a quick downhill, a fast sandy double berm, a quick corner and a steep little climb. This is loop is all about flow and control. It is a really small loop but it does the job. Some days I work on the descent, carrying as much speed through the berms as possible and trying to float up and over the steep climb. Other days I ride the loop in reverse, working on downhill cornering technique, bike control through the sandy berm and then acceleration up the climb. Either way it is a small loop that hits on a lot of the essential cyclo-cross skills.

Today my goal was to see how much speed I could take into the sandy berm. Well I found out! I also learned that nothing crazy happens when I end up riding over the top of the berm! In fact I have to say even the times when I didn’t line things up quite right and the bike ended up sliding out or acting squirrely, I still stayed off the brakes and just focused on looking forward and pedaling.

A sign of good things to come. In past years (heck two months ago), I would have panicked, hit the brakes, pulled a foot out and became frustrated with myself. Not now. Now I seem to have developed some real “bike sense” – and I’m trusting the bike to do its thing. I think along with this comes heaps of confidence and a really strong desire to have the season of my life.

I can’t explain it but I really feel like this is going to be a big year for me. Maybe I’m jinxing myself by writing this. But I’m always honest on this website. When things are going well – you’ll know. When things are going not so well – you’ll know.

I’m looking forward to a couple of good rides this weekend on my road bike and then it is back to the woods on Monday. I have to say that my coach Steve Weller has been amazing through all of this. We are taking the training week-by-week and I know that he has a plan and I’ve got complete faith in his ability to get me where I need to be.

Oh, and the new clothing design? Lets just say – it is awesome. I’ve got a great graphic designer doing a bang up job on the clothing design. I’m pretty stoked about how it looks. Yes, there is purple in the design (sorry Sheri – no pink). I’m excited to pull on the new Ottawa.cx skinsuit and to do some racing.