Okay, maybe not exactly in the air, since it is incredibly humid and muggy in these parts. But the feeling is in the air. I feel like I’m surrounded by it. Maybe because we are getting into the last gasps of summer that everyone seems a bit more focused on squeezing the most out of their days and getting things “done” before September. Just like us ‘cross racers, there are things to be done – training rides, equipment tweaking, clothing ordering, schedule planning, and smiling. It seems that every year, these feelings of anticipation and desire set in a bit earlier and with a bit more passion.

This is a good thing. A really good thing. In my opinion, the more people bitten by the cyclo-cross but the better. Kids, grown-ups, old grown-ups – everyone should get a taste of cyclo-cross. The speed. The thrills. The community. The spirit. The ups. The downs. It all makes it worth ripping through August and just getting to September as fast as we can.

With this in mind, my fingers have been busy working over this keyboard – looking into flights, booking flights, reserving RVs, creating my race calendar, registering for races, finalizing clothing, getting my bikes sorted. All in all, some busy and exciting times are being had at Ottawa Cross world headquarters (also known as my front porch…).

The World Cup plans have really fallen into place perfectly. I’ve got a travel partner, driver, and supporter for this two week racing trip that will see me race in Aigle, Switzerland and Plzen, Czech Republic. My dad are meeting up in Frankfurt, Germany where we’ll pick up our RV and make our way to the races. I’m really looking forward to this time with my dad. It is not often that as an adult we get to share big moments in our lives with our parents. Luckily for me, my dad is retired, has a stack of Air Miles to use up, and is always up for adventure. We’re getting a pretty deluxe RV since it will be our home for the duration of the trip. We’ll be off to Aigle right away and then take a couple of days to make our way to Plzen and then after this race we have a couple of days left to do some exploring. Maybe we’ll visit Prague. Maybe we’ll hang out in Frankfurt. Maybe we’ll just stop at the first interesting place we see.

All I know is that I get to race my bike with the fastest women in the sport, travel to Europe, and have my dad along for the ride. Can’t ask for much more. (Okay, well it would be perfect if Marc, my mom, and my brother were there as well – maybe next time….)

Truth be told, I’m happy to have this leg of my season sorted out so early. The travel logistics were starting to get a bit overwhelming and I was starting to feel a bit stressed. Worst case, I was prepared to rent a small RV and do the trip alone – but I really didn’t want to do this. So it is such a great feeling to have everything come together so perfectly.

On the bike things are rolling along very well. I’m coming off three days of active rest. I just finished a big block of training so a few days of recovery were in order. The action starts tomorrow and on Friday is the big day with a power/zone test. Time to put the pedal to the ground and see what my pistons have in them. In a twisted sense, I’m looking forward to testing day – yes it will be hard, but I’m stoked to see how hard I can push myself.

Got out for a great ride on the ‘cross bike today. Made my way over to my favorite training grounds and zipped around the single and double track. Had fun with the slippery routes and heavy ground. Focused on keeping my cadence high and not over-gripping the bars. To top it off, I had a camera strapped to my helmet. So, I shot some video of a new training loop that I put together. I’ve downloaded the video and as soon as I’ve got it posted to Youtube, I’ll post the link here. Now this isn’t fancy video with a cool music track or crazy descents – just me out ripping it up on my ‘cross bike. Anyway, hopefully in a couple of days you’ll be able to see it for yourself. Thanks to Skip for the camera. I’m trying to figure out what other riding to film… Any suggestions? Thinking maybe my warm-up laps at ‘Cross Vegas and the World Cups? Maybe I’ll even strap the camera on for a race? What do you think?

Maybe love is too strong of a word? I don’t know. All I know is that I awoke this morning with a great and deep appreciation for the bike. For some reason this morning, the enormity of what the bike means to me, hit me hard. I can’t really explain it, and I don’t know why it happened this morning. Regardless, all this to say that I “heart” the bike.

For some reason that I can’t explain, I just feel so grateful to have the bike in my life. Probably these feelings come from having a pretty darn good week of riding, training, and life. I had some excellent training rides. I had a blast at the local training crit. I connected with friends over the bike. I escaped from my day-to-day worries thanks to my bike. I talked travel plans that will take me to San Diego, Las Vegas, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Belgium – all these destinations thanks to the bike. I spent time simply pedaling and smiling alongside my best friend and favorite guy. The bike has brought a young lad into our home – a young guy who has the chance to see the world and discover life – all thanks to the bike.

I’ve had time this morning to think about all the things the bike has done for me over my short life so far. From starting as a toy, then growing to be a method of escape with rides around the block, to transportation to school and park, to a method of escape from the troubles of teenagehood, to helping me discover this my new city, to introducing to my husband and favorite guy, to bringing fantastic people into my life, to taking me all over the world, to helping me escape my life troubles, and to now – giving me a chance to be a kid again – racing around the park, around the block, and getting to know you.

Thanks bike. I’m really glad you’re in my life. I really do think it is love. Thanks for being in my life. I owe you one.

I guess you can sort of figure out from the title of this post what I’ve been up to these last couple of days. Suffice it to say, I’ve had a couple of really good days – both on and off the bike.

Off the bike, things are coming together for the upcoming season. Received the clothing proofs from Champion Systems – the racing and training kit for the 2010 – 2011 season is going to look good. Same basic design as in past years, but with some new logos. I’m stoked to be racing in this smooth red, white, and black skinsuit, showing off my sponsors.

I’ve been tweaking my race calendar again, added some races and took a couple out. Definitely a jam-packed season ahead. You might notice that the Belgium/European side is not that full yet – this is because I’ve only added the World Cups and elite UCI races – I will be also local races and races in Holland.

Some logistics starting to come together. Looks like the Catamount race weekend – ‘Cross Vegas connection is getting sorted out. Thanks to KingsBridge for helping me out with the travel, logistics and race day support.

Bikes are coming together as well. I’m stoked to be once again racing on the Stevens cyclo-cross bikes. New for me this year, is that I’m making the move from the aluminum frame to the carbon frame. Many thanks to Stevens Bikes for the continued support and for setting me up with some fast and sweet rides. Can’t wait to get out on the new bikes – I’m sure I’ll be turning some heads!

On the training front? Well, Tuesday was a big day. I kicked off the day with a 60 minute ‘cross skills session. Pretty normal stuff – barrier work, tight turns, wide turns, momentum, and confidence building. Got in this early morning session and then back home to work, relax and get ready for the Tuesday night training crit. This week was an “A” race… I’ve not had good luck with the “A” races so far this season. But yesterday I told myself the race would be different. I know I have the fitness. I know I have the cornering skills. I just had to let go, relax and let the bike do its job. Well, happily, with the exception of a mistake on the first lap on corner four… (sorry about this if you were on my wheel and had to close the massive gap….) – the race went well. I rode the race comfortably, at times on the ropes, other times in a good position, all in all a great race. I didn’t make the break (not that I tried) but I still had a great race – most importantly I achieved a goal and built some confidence as well. I rode to the crit, raced the crit, and then rode home with Shaun (who thankfully sheltered me from the wind and bought us some tasty cream soda to help us get out to Barrhaven). In total, Tuesday turned into a four hour training day. Pretty darn good.

Today, has been about recovery. Fine with me. Admittedly I often have trouble sleeping on big training days – my body is tired but I somehow can’t calm my body down enough to get into a deep sleep. I let myself sleep in this morning – made it to 7:30… For my recovery ride I decided to hit up my favorite training grounds and wind around the singletrack and doubletrack on my ‘cross bike. I had a fantastic ride. Hit up a massive sand section and put together a couple loops there that involve singletrack, pavement, a big sand section, some running, and a bit more singletrack. Then on the “Slack” side of the road I put together a really complete ‘cross loop – sand, singletrack, doubletrack, pavement, more sand, and back into the singletrack. All in all, a great session of riding and learning. This summer I’ve really been working on my cadence. I have the tendency to let my legs slow down and slog through the heavy gears. This doesn’t work so well for riding in the sand, mud, reacting to accelerations, climbing, or sprinting…. So a big focus has been on a high cadence. Well, let me tell you, I noticed the difference today – the sand was more manageable and I was able to relax more on the bike since I wasn’t fighting to keep my speed and momentum.

So from all this, I presume you can guess why I’ve been smiling. Really life is just good right now. I’m feeling good. Training is going well. Plans for the season are coming together. I’m lucky to be supported by a great group of sponsors.

If I haven’t said it before, I’ll say it again: I’m lucky – very lucky – some days I feel like pinching myself because everything is just working out so well.

I received an email from a friend of mine today, telling me what she would get tattooed on her arm: One Life. I like this – really like it. I think if I was to get a tattoo, I might just borrow this phrase from my friend…

Sitting here after my morning ride with the Tour de France broadcast in the background. Listening to Phil and Paul wax poetic about the riders, the mountains, and the thrill of it all. It is easy to become pessimistic about professional bike racing – each week it seems another rider is getting “caught” or another “investigation” is started. I suppose for people not addicted to all things bike, it would appear that professional bike racing is pretty darn corrupt. Everyone is entitled to their opinions (including some less-than-enlightened journalists and commentators)… But what I think is important to recognize is the amount of testing that is done at all levels of professional bike racing. Yes, people are taking drugs. But this is no different from any other professional sport. Ever wonder how professional hockey players (yes, I’m talking the NHL here) manage to maintain their fitness, muscle mass and recover from injuries in mere days that take most people week and sometimes months to recover from? What sets cycling apart is that the athletes are “caught”, the leading officials are not actively turning a blind eye to the situation – hence the perceived “scandals”. Imagine if every other professional sport body introduced even a fraction of the testing that occurs in professional cycling….

Okay, well that was a slightly unexpected rant, but one that has been building for a while. Don’t take my thoughts in the wrong way and think for a second that I condone the doping and drugs. I don’t for a second. But I am tired of people saying that cycling is “dirty”. It isn’t dirty – it is heavily policed which means people get caught.

(Phew, I’m done with this topic now… On to more happy things…)

So on Tuesday night I went to the local training crit. This was a “B” week so it means that the race was not open to the “A” or elite riders in the city. It has been a long time since I’ve raced a B crit, but my coach thought it would be good to go out and get some race intensity into my legs. I was a bit nervous – not sure what the field would be like and how I would feel in the pack. Happy to report that it was a fun night of crit racing. Definitely different from the “A” crit – no real attacks and I was able to comfortably stay in the top 10 of the group the entire time. I was sitting in a good position (third wheel) with two laps to go but then there was a bit of chaos, the pack slowed down, the inevitable swarming occurred and I simply wasn’t comfortably sticking my bike in the little holes that opened. In an A crit I would not have second thoughts about this – but I don’t know all the riders in the B crit or how they will react. So I ended up rolling in somewhere in the top ten (I think) – not the finish I was hoping for but all in all a fun night at the races. Extra bonus was that Marc came out to watch and we rode home together. Excellent training day really: one hour of ‘cross skills in the morning and then I rode to the crit, raced the crit and rode home – made for close to a four hour day.

As for the rest of the week of training? Well today was about tempo intervals and I’ll get out for a little ‘cross skills session in the late afternoon. Other thing I’m doing today and making a habit from here on in – attention to my core strength training. I had been going to yoga three times a week, but going to yoga has been a challenge lately with my latest ulcerative colitis flare, sprained wrist, and recent crash on my ‘cross bike… But today, I’m getting back on track – coach Steve sent out an excellent core and stretching routine that I’ll be making part of my pre-bed ritual. Lots of riding on deck for the weekend – mix of road and ‘cross rides.

In between all this riding, I’ll of course be watching the Tour and cheering on these hard men of the peloton. Can’t imagine descending some of the massive mountains in the crazy rain like the racers did today… As for riding up the mountains? Well, this is a whole other matter entirely… At least in cyclo-cross when the climbs get crazy, we hop off our bikes and run…