Standard

Posted by

Posted on

September 15, 2010

Posted under

Uncategorized

Comments

2 Comments

Cyclo-Cross Tips and Tricks

I held another cyclo-cross practice session last night for a good group of people. The idea for the session was really to get the basics down well. To build confidence with dismounts, mounts and turning – the components that I see as the basics of cyclo-cross.

We warmed up nice and easy with some turning drills, practicing sliding around on our seats to see how this affects the turning ratio and comfort level. It is amazing to see how far people will push their limits when surrounded by others doing the same! Next up was tripoding. I find tripoding is a useful skill particularly in downhill cornering and cornering in loose terrain such as sand. Tripoding can give you that extra feeling of “security” you need to stay off the brakes and let the bike roll.

After this warm-up we switched gears to focus on dismounts and mounts. We took these super slow and easy. Breaking these techniques down to the basics and literally starting off at a walking pace. I find this is the easiest way to learn new skills and to break “bad habits”. Going fast is great – but often speed and learning don’t always mix. One rider had a great break-through last night and became comfortable with the “coast” and moving her hand from her handlebars to her toptube. Awesome!

Finally after all this we broke out the barrier and started to speed things up. We played around with the approach to the barrier with pretty much everyone finding a different spot where they’re comfortable at getting off their bike. In my opinion, the dismount distance is completely individual – it really depends on your foot speed and agility. Same goes for the remount – don’t get caught up in getting back on the bike right away or within two steps – just do what feels right. What is most important is to get off the bike quickly and smoothly, to float over the barrier and to get on the bike without wasting energy.

The last component of our session was to set up the grid and practice a little circuit that involved attacking the barrier and then working on some high speed turns. This gave everyone an opportunity to practice the turning skills we warmed-up with and to do things with a bit more speed.

All in all, it was an excellent night of training. I really enjoy seeing people learn a new skill – particularly the big grin that breaks out when they realize that they’ve “done it”.

As for me? Well, today was supposed to be about motorpacing… But I’m wiped out today with an ear ache, sore throat and a nasty ulcerative colitis attack. (Admittedly I probably brought this all on myself by getting stressed out and putting too much on my plate. Some things never change I suppose.) So today is a recovery day. About to get layered up in my leg warmers, thermal vest and long-fingered gloves for a skills session myself. On the agenda for me: cornering speed and fluid dismounts/remounts. And yes, I’ll be starting off slowly and not going too hard – it is about recovery and learning today.

Just a reminder that this year you must pre-register for the Ottawa Bicycle Club cyclo-cross series. There are two registration dates:
– tonight from 3 – 6 p.m at The Cyclery
– Sept. 18 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m at The Cyclery

Additionally you can register online through the Ontario Cycling Association website. You cannot register on site – you must be pre-registered to race….

To see the Ottawa cyclo-cross race schedule and full registration requirements, visit http://cyclocross.org.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

September 15, 2010

Posted under

Uncategorized

Comments

Leave a comment

Pushing the Reset Button

It has been a few days now since the opening season races and I’ve had more time to think about them. Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that I got what I deserved. I went into Saturday’s race over-confident and when things didn’t go exactly “right” I gave up. Yes, I gave up. I know, I’m not impressed either. As for Sunday, well I should have won that race easily. But I didn’t push myself hard enough. Instead I rode just hard enough and then when I made the mistake in the sand I was scrambling, luckily regaining the lead and then ending up second due to the mechanical. But the thing is, it should never have come down to any of this – I should have ridden harder and smarter.

So today, I hit the reset button. Time to get back on track and focused for the season. This past weekend was good because it highlighted many mistakes – both mental and physical. But now it is time to get down to what I do best and that is racing my bike. Yes, I expect to make more mistakes as the season goes on. But these will be different mistakes. They won’t be mistakes that involve – giving up, rolling over, not going hard enough, or being over-confident. I expect the mistakes I’ll be making will more along the lines of – too much brake, going too hard and blowing up, blowing corners, a few crashes, and forgetting to pedal. Still mistakes, just a different breed of mistake. A breed of mistake that will set me up for being faster eventually – so long as I recognize the mistake and work hard to fix it. And this you can be assured of – I will work hard and I will fix my mistakes.

Racing this weekend in Williston, Vermont at the Catamount Outdoor Center. It is going to be a great weekend of racing, cheering, and hanging out. We’ve got great host housing set up again this year. And thanks Ken and Denise Hoppner, we’ll be traveling in style. My parents are coming down to take in the races and to hang out (guessing they’ll do some shopping as well…). I predict a tasty supper at Moe’s, a visit to EMS, Borders, and Small Dog Electronics. All in all, it is going to be a good time.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

September 13, 2010

Posted under

Uncategorized

Comments

2 Comments

Racing in New York

Sunday morning came way too fast and way too early. We elected to stay in Trexlertown on Saturday night and drive to Kirkland, New York on Sunday morning. This meant a 3.5 hour drive in the dreary rain. But it was worth it to have a relaxing night on Saturday and a good sleep. (I got my television fix as well – we don’t have television here so it is a treat to watch movies and the Food Network in hotels…. For the record I got sucked into a movie called Couples Retreat…. Sigh.) Okay, back to the cyclo-cross racing action.

Well, as you most likely know, I had a very bad day on Saturday. I went into the race over-confident and when things didn’t play out as I had “planned” I completely shut down physically and mentally. Some terrible thoughts floated through my brain during that 40 minute ride. Not good. But this race is in the past. I needed it – big wake up call – I can’t assume that just because I raced well last year that things will come more easily this year. No, I still need that killer instinct and that “chip on my shoulder” when I go out to race.

So Sunday… Well it was better than Saturday. Still not “the ride” I was looking for but better. I’ve written a race report where you can read about my second place finish….

Got to experience my first mechanical in a long time… Got to get in some extra running training… Got to ride on slipper mud… Learned that my technical climbing skills are better…. Learned that I need to take more risks in the corners…. Learned that I can race on 18 psi…. Learned that I am strong and fit…. Learned that I need to be more aggressive… Discovered that I forget to shift during the start sprint… Discovered that I have some pretty darn good skills…. Emphasized how much I love racing my cyclo-cross bike… Emphasized how much I like being at the front and hate being at the back…. Emphasized how important it is to not let the head get in the way…..

So all in all, for me it was a good day on the bike. I’m still not 100 per cent happy with how I rode. I was on the brakes too much in the corners, I was too tense in the mud, and I should have opened it up more in the power sections. But this is what these early season races are for – to shake out the cobwebs and see where things sit.

Marc had a rough day on Sunday. His cold/flu really caught up with him on Sunday and he ended up dropping out. This is not something that Marc does, but his body really just shut down on him. Between the churning stomach and the relentless coughing, racing his ‘cross bike was not the best thing.

On the way home we decided to take a detour to the Carousel Mall in Syracuse, New York. Well this confirmed how much we both dislike malls…. Made it home at about 8:00 and I’m slowly getting the house put together. Time to get out for a recovery ride before the rain comes again (if you can believe the Ottawa weather people…).

Up next are the Catamount races this weekend. Really looking forward to these races and leaving it all on the course. If you’re around Chelsea tomorrow night, I’m holding a cyclo-cross practice session at 6:30 p.m. – drop me an email to find out more.

Many many thanks for the positive comments and emails about the mess on Saturday. I really do appreciate it. It means a lot to have your support.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

September 12, 2010

Posted under

Uncategorized

Comments

3 Comments

Slaying the Dragon

(I just deleted my post – and I’m starting again. Attempts to be positive will now occur….)

First off, today was a bad day on the bike for me. I didn’t ride like I can. I didn’t ride like I have in the past. Nope, I simply under-performed. I had a decent start and then things went south from there. I wasn’t aggressive, I backed off when I should have pushed forward, and then I went backwards. My crazy brain kicked in and I simply shut down. Yes, it was ugly. It was embarrassing.

But it is over. The first cyclo-cross race of the season is over and in the books. Good. Now I can move ahead and look forward to bigger and better things. Better rides. Better races. Races and rides like I know I can put together. Today was a tough day and perhaps the longest 40 minutes of my life. But maybe just maybe this is what I needed.

A literal kick in the head. I remember a few years ago when I was competing in taekwon-do, I was having a pretty good string of results – basically winning all the time. And then I lost. I lost in the first round – didn’t even make it to the finals. My taekwon-do instructor said “you have to lose to appreciate the wins”. This rings true for today.

Tomorrow I’m racing in Kirkland, NY and I vow that it will be better. It will be different – it will not be like today at Nittany Lions in Trexlertown, PA. I owe this to myself and most importantly to Marc. I let him down today. He has sacrificed so much to allow me to focus on my training and racing – and today was not the best way of showing how much I appreciate this sacrifice. Also, I’ve let you down. I’ve let my sponsors down. So tomorrow will be better. I really have no choice.

So there you have it. Not the blog entry I had intended on writing today. But it is what it is.

I’ll close off this post with some excellent racing news: Marc was 6th today! Awesome. He had a great ride – particularly since he has been quite sick all week. I was so excited to see him racing and riding so well. Also congrats to Mo Bruno-Roy for her solid ride today – 2nd place is pretty darn fine for a training race! Thanks to Matt Roy for pitting for me. Also huge thanks to Matt and Mo for the positive and kind words after today’s race. Huge shout out Rob Watt for his win today – just great to read his race report about his successful day.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

September 11, 2010

Posted under

Uncategorized

Comments

1 Comment

Checking In From Trexlertown, PA

Well, we made it. Took our time this morning and finally rolled out of our driveway at around 12:30. Kind of nice to not be up and out the door at the crack of dawn for the “day before drive”. We both agreed that we weren’t hung up on pre-riding today. I think this was an excellent choice since it made for a more relaxing morning and drive down.

I was out on my bike for an opening work-out, battling the angry morning winds by 8 a.m. Yes, I know not really a leisurely hour, but for an early-riser like me, this worked out perfectly. Solid ride this morning. Only lingering stiffness from Thursday’s fall down the stairs (mental note: do not fall down the stairs again!).

A few errands, some bike cleaning, last minute food preparation, hugging of Murphy (our cat) and we were out the door. The drive really was pretty easy. We didn’t hit any traffic and since we packed our lunch we were able to just roll along. Have to say, I really appreciate mini-vans. So much room. So comfortable. And the pick-up on them is pretty darn nice.

We drove straight to the race course and decided to walk it. This was an excellent decision. This allowed Marc to talk me through the course, we could look at the corners and angles, and talk about how to ride the course. Typically we’re out on our bikes and it just doesn’t work well – Marc is riding faster than me, I can’t hear him, etc. So this was a good thing to do. Though I admit that by the end I was really only thinking about food.

Supper and then a quick trip to the grocery store. We elected to check out the Super Wal-Mart… Hmm, eye opening experience…. I was disappointed to not find any gluten-free food items there. Ah well, at least the peanut butter was cheap and I picked up a treat for my dad.

Chilling out at the hotel and we’ll make it to the course tomorrow for around 10:30. As for the race course – well it is pretty darn good. I consider it to be a power course – lots of long straight stretches, some big corners where time can be easily lost, a funky rooty section that can kill tires, a few little uphills that if not ridden correctly can suck you backwards, super fast barriers right on a corner. All in all, a pretty fun course. Looking forward to getting out and racing tomorrow. So far the weather is looking good – the course is dry – really dry. Should be a good fast one.

After Saturday’s race the plan is to hop in the mini-van and drive to Syracuse for the night and then race at Kirkland on Sunday. Marc is a bit under-the-weather, so we’re playing this by ear. Anyway, expect a race report from me sometime later in the day. Feel free to send fast vibes my way at around 2:35….

Stoked to get out and show off the Ottawa Cross sponsors for 2010-2011!