As is the routine, today was all about the Tuesday night criterium. I really relish racing these criteriums – they are a chance to see all the local racers, get in a race, and have some fun. I was looking forward to tonight as this would be my second criterium of the season and I was feeling pretty good. Well, lets just say it did not go as planned…

I am struggling in the corners. It is a new course this year and I’m struggling with my cornering technique. I know what I’m doing wrong but when I’m on the ropes and doing the dreaded “going backwards when everyone is going forwards” move, it is hard to think straight. I’m braking. Yes, I know braking is a massive “do not do” in a criterium. I’m braking because I’m a bit nervous. I’m braking because I haven’t got the rhythm of the new course.

As Marc pointed out, I don’t have the strength to repeatedly re-accelerate from 35 km/hour after braking to the 50 km/hour that the field is moving. So I just need to get it through my thick skull that I need to stop braking. Frustrating thing is that on the “old” course I was super smooth in the corners and braking just didn’t enter into my racing thought process.

I know I’m fit. I know I’ve been training well. But I haven’t been racing a lot. Sigh. It is hard to learn and get comfortable when the race is moving at 50 km/hour. But it is time to step up to the plate and get it done. This is much easier than sitting here feeling sorry myself and being frustrated. Yes, it is a training criterium but it is also a mega-confidence booster knowing that I can races these races with the Ottawa fast boys.

The day did start off really well. I took my trusty Stevens Super-Prestige out for a little skills session in my local park. I had a blast! Worked on the basic stuff – mounts, dismounts, tight turns, descending and turning, climbing and turning. Just generally a fun time on bikes. I could have stayed out there all morning. Felt good to be back on my ‘cross bike. I’ll be out working on skills every week now and soon enough I’ll be adding in extra sessions. The time is now to get the body and mind retrained with the ‘cross basics so by the time race season rolls around – this will be deeply ingrained.

I admit that on my ride home from the criterium I had a few moments of feeling sorry for myself and I did a good job of beating myself up. But now I’m over it. It is what it is. I know what I’m doing and I just need to relax and let the bike do its work. Besides, I had a fantastic session on the ‘cross bike and I’m looking forward to a similar experience tomorrow. It is hard to remember at times that my season starts in September so there is no point in beating myself up over a training race….

If you’re in Ottawa this weekend and are looking for something to do – come on out to Preston St. and watch the criterium racing. The elite women are off at 2:00 (yes, I’ll be racing) and the elite men are off at 3:00. Good and fast times guaranteed.

As is per the norm for me, my weekend revolved around bikes. Nothing new here. Except for one thing – the feelings of community and support that this weekend left me with. You see this weekend featured two pretty big events – there were the races that were part of La Grande Visite de Gatineau and the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon. Two big events – both focusing on bikes and soaking up all we can from life.

I did not get out to the time trials on Saturday in Gatineau but I was able to catch the latter half of the women’s race on Sunday. It was pretty special to see my pals racing with some of the top North American teams. As I watched the peloton pedal by I was wishing I was in that race. But unfortunately it was not to be… I was at the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon in the morning and wasn’t able to juggle both events. Do I regret this decision? Not at all. As much as I would have liked to have raced, the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon is a once-a-year fundraising and awareness-raising event for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada.

Now at both events – the women’s race and the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon, there really weren’t a lot of people out. This was the 15th anniversary of the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon and from what I understand we had the largest numbers of participants ever – this is fantastic but still we don’t have the numbers participating that you see in events such as the Terry Fox Run or MS Ride. And at the women’s race there were pockets of fans through-out the course though most were other cyclists or husbands/boyfriends/friends of the racers.

But what struck me at both events, small numbers aside was the atmosphere. There was a real sense of “coming together”. At the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon I was overwhelmed at times with the spirit and being surrounded by people who like me are dealing with Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis. At the women’s race, it was great to see people out supporting the race, cheering for the racers, and standing up and getting excited for the final sprint.

All this to say that it really is the community that keeps me going. The morning and afternoon were super being with other people who are focused on raising awareness of IBD and then spending time with my friends at the women’s race. Good times all around. Everyone was smiling. People were out enjoying the fresh air and living life. It is so encouraging to see people out “doing”.

I have to send a massive thank-you to the KingsBridge crew for coming out to ride with me in the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon. This was awesome to have these friends out to ride and experience the event. As well, I’m lucky to be sponsored by companies like The Cyclery and Stevens Bikes who appreciate that even though I’m a bike racer, I have to sometimes miss the bike race to participate in events like the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon. It was a tough decision to miss the race but there will be more races (this Sunday at the Preston St. criterium) but the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon comes once a year.

Also, many many thanks for your support and donations. So far we’ve raised $910! I’d like to raise $1000… We have three more weeks to collect pledges. And when you donate, your name will be entered in a draw to win a prize – you can choose from the list of prizes provided by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada.

Looking forward to the race this Sunday. There is nothing quite like the Preston St. Criterium to get the fans and racers out. I’m racing at 2:00 and Marc and the Scott boys are racing at 3:00. Should be a good time. (Congrats to Shaun Adamson of the Scott Racing Team for his third place in Sunday’s Gatineau Criterium!)

Today is one of those days that feels as though it was made for cyclists. The sun is shining but it is not overwhelmingly hot. There is just a whisper of wind. The roads are dry. All this adds up to being a pretty darn good day to be a cyclist. No arm warmers, leg warmers, vests, rain capes or gloves are needed. It is one of those shorts, jersey, shoes, helmet, sunglasses rides. A day when it is tempting to do more – to go harder than planned.

Honestly this is what I had decided when I stepped outside. A bike perfect day like today needs more than the planned recovery ride. I wanted to ride. And I wanted to ride long. So I quietly told myself I would do just this. I wouldn’t ride hard but I’d longer than the prescribed 90 minutes.

This is where my legs took over. My heart and brain wanted to go long and far. But my legs let out a resounding “no”. Seems like I’m a bit tired today. So even though I was faced with a perfect riding day, I didn’t do it. I stuck to the plan. 90 minutes on the nose. A great 90 minutes but a long three hours or even two would have been just dandy.

Seems like the legs always know what is best. Today mine told me to take it easy. To remember the work-out schedule for Saturday and the riding planned for Sunday. Not to mention that I want to get out on my mountain bike next week for some double days and the Preston St. criterium is fast approaching. I tell you this recovery component of training really is the most challenging. It is one thing to go out and bust out intervals and ride in the rain but it is a completely another thing to not do this. To rest. To recover.

I sit here in my living room with the sunshine peeping through the windows. Maybe I could go for a mountain bike ride? And then I remember how my legs felt simply walking up the stairs. All signs of a good week of riding. Building and recovering – they really do fit together.

All this to say, it is a great day for a ride. Hopefully you can get out for a spin. It doesn’t have to be long and far. It just has to be. The more people out there on bikes enjoying the good life, the better. Not often you see people frowning and shouting while riding their bikes but seems like this is common for motorists trapped in traffic.

Just have to say – what a great day of riding I had on Wednesday. It was one of those days when everything clicks, the work-outs are solid, the weather was just right, and I was completely in the zone. Can’t ask for much more.

I kicked the day off with a micro-burst work-out. These intervals start out innocently enough but then the full force of their impact is quick to show up. Yep lactic acid, lung burning, and desperate panting starts to take over. Boy oh boy, do I love micro-burst work-outs. 10 seconds never feels so hard, so long, so powerful. After this ride it was time for some food and work and before I knew it was time to suit up again for ride number two. This time I was off to the trails with my mountain bike and some solid riding partners. I hooked up with Skip’s riding gang and we had a most excellent ride at Kanata Lakes. It really does make a difference when mountain biking to follow someone else’s wheel. It seems that the line just pops out that way and I’m more likely to try tricky stuff if I see others do it. All in all, a most excellent ride and a great way to spend the evening.

And in other news… I’ve got some new shoes. Yay! You know how girls love shoes. Well, these shoes are hot. New mountain bike shoes for the cyclo-cross season. Thanks to Vince at The Cyclery, I’ve now got some new Shimano WM81 mountain bike shoes. These shoes are hot. They fit perfectly. The carbon sole is super supportive. Can’t wait to bust these out for some cyclo-cross riding and training. Thanks Vince!

Today is looking to be a great day of riding as well. Assuming the rain goes away… Intervals this morning and then I’m hooking up with my pal Sheri for a smooth ride this afternoon. Definitely no complaints here. Friday I’ve got a little recovery ride on deck.

Of course, Sunday is the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada. This event is open to everyone and anyone so why not come out? You can walk, run, bike, or rollerblade along the route. And don’t forget, you still have time to get your name entered in my draw to win a prize! It is easy to enter – simply click this link and make an online donation to my fundraising campaign for the June 13th event and I’ll enter you name in the draw to win the prize of your choice.

Well, I best be off. Time to get there for my morning ride. Hope you’re having a good Thursday and that you’ve recovered from the soggy Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour on Sunday!

As most of you know I’m raising money for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada and will be participating in the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon this Sunday June 13. Thanks to your amazing donations, we’ve raised $695! This is awesome.

Thing is, I want to keep this momentum going and would like to see if we can hit $1000. Imagine how incredible it would be to raise $1000 that will go towards finding the causes and cures for Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

As is typical with such events, prizes are awarded to participants based on the amount of money raised… So here is what I’m going to do – I’m going to give my prize away to you. At the end of the event, I’ll enter the names of everyone who donated into a hat and a winner will be chosen. This winner (maybe you…) gets to choose their prize. Go check out this link to see what you could win.

So the more money we raise, the better the prize you get and the bigger my smile is knowing that we are working together to find cures for these diseases.

I really do appreciate your support with this and am simply overwhelmed by your donations so far.

Oh, and if you don’t have plans for Sunday June 13 – why not come on out and participate in the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon? There are events right across the country and it would be great to see some of you out at the Ottawa event.