Dudes, it is a hot own out there today. Really can’t believe how hot it is for May. I thought yesterday was warm but today is a bit ridiculous. Never before in a three hour ride have I drank six bottles! Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers…

About two hours into my ride I stopped at a soon-to-be-opened butcher/bakery on Dwyer Hill road where the friendly guy directed me to a hose in his laneway. Sweet. Well, he forgot to tell me about the four big dogs. In the end, a lady popped out of the house and let me traipse through her kitchen and fill my bottles. I must have looked quite the sight!

I do have to say my intervals weren’t the best today. I really suffered in the heat. I got through them but they weren’t as high on the power scale as I would have liked. Best thing was the last interval ended right by the McEwan’s in Richmond. Perfect. One Coke and cherry slush later and I was on my way. That last bit of the ride home was not fun.

I was in full-on goosebumps mode… Yep, a bit of heat stroke. My jersey was fully unzipped and I was no longer sweating and I felt a bit cold. Luckily I knew the signs. Time to put back the sugar and liquid. Finally after about 30 minutes of very slow riding I started to feel the effects of the liquid sugar.

I had planned to take my new commuter bike out this afternoon and roll over to the coffee shop for some computer action. But I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to go out in that heat for a little bit. Even as I sit here, now 90 minutes since getting home and I still have the chills.

The human body really is quite fascinating. Number one lesson learned today – don’t ride at the hottest part of the day when the city announces heat advisory messages… I think tomorrow’s recovery day calls for a ride in the shade…

If you’re going out for a ride today, be sure to bring your bottles and some money to fill up during the ride. Trust me, it is hot out there.

(I’m raising money for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada and will be participating in the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon on June 13. You can donate to the cause here.)

This is not something I normally do on my blog, but the time has come to ask for your help.

As you know I have ulcerative colitis. I’m trying to do my part to raise awareness of this disease and of Crohn’s disease.

On June 13, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada will be holding its annual fundraiser: the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon. This event is held across Canada – very likely in your community.

I’ll be out at the Ottawa event participating. To this end, I’m also collecting pledges for this event. I’ve created an online pledge page.

My fundraising goal is $500. Anything that you can donate is greatly appreciated. Myself and all Canadians living with Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis thank you for your support.

To learn more about the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-A-Thon, be sure to visit the website.

Thanks again for your support. It really does mean a lot to me.

I’m in that phase of my training where I’m starting to see and feel the hardwork I’ve put in pay off on the bike. The long rides and multiple back-to-back days doing tempo and sprint intervals are translating into feelings of strength, power and confidence. Combine this with time on the mountain bike and I’m feeling more and more like the cyclo-cross racer I know I can be. The mountain biking has done two things for me so far: given me a break from the road and taught me that I can get better and improve. There is nothing more tangible than riding over an obstacle, through a rock garden or down a descent that only a week ago left me stumbling, braking, and shaking my head.

I’ve had a couple of decent days of riding on this long weekend in May. Saturday I hit up Kanata Lakes bright and early for three hours on the mountain bike. Me, the trails, my iPod and my new leg armour. The ride was excellent. I did get into some trails that were a bit “heavy” for me. I did get lost. Ending up popping out onto Huntmar. But thanks to a passing cyclist who happened to be the husband of a friend I used to ride and play hockey with, I was well on my way back to the trails. When the three hours was over, I really wanted to keep riding… I would have but I had to get the car back for the Scott boys (and besides three hours is plenty the day after my test). So about the new leg armour: not really happy with what this “protection” has done to my knees… Essentially now I have massive scabs on the tops of both knees from the rubbing during the ride. I bought the correct size (medium), I tried tightening the straps, loosening the straps, etc. I’m not sure what to do. Suffice it to say I like training with the leg armour since scabs and rubbing aside, they did protect my knees on two occasions. Any suggestions on what to do to make the rubbing stop?

Sunday was about the road bike. Just a short and easy 2.5 hours on the road. Amazing how quickly the ride went by. I hit up some of my favorite roads and just enjoyed being out in the heat of the day. A good ride. Nice to have the fitness to just ride for 2.5 hours.

So, I’m going to be doing some racing soon. I’ve got the go-ahead to start coming out to the training crits and I’m going to race at the Preston St. Criterium and the OBC Grand Prix. Cool. Not a lot of road racing but enough to keep me happy. I really enjoy the training crits – hard, fast, aggressive and best of all, racing with lots of good friends in a welcoming environment. I’ve also got the 24 hours of Summer Solstice Race coming up with the KingsBridge boys.

Also decided to join the club out at the Creative Wheel Centre. Totally looking forward to riding with some new people. I learned after my ride on Saturday, that I need to mountain bike with people who are more skilled than me – it forces me to dig a bit deeper and really “try” to get through the tricky bits.

Lots of good stuff going on. Next on the list is getting my Ottawa Cross clothing sorted out for the upcoming season. I know it might seem early to do this, but I need to get the design finalized, submit the design/order to Champion Systems and then it takes six weeks to get the clothes. I don’t think the design will change much, it would be nice to add some new logos to the clothing… So if you want to sponsor me or know someone who would, I definitely am all ears!

Oh, hope you liked the Youtube video of my A Channel interview. I’ve gotten some good feedback on it. It would have been nice to have had more of a chance to talk about cyclo-cross, but maybe I’ll be on another time to talk about about cyclo-cross, Belgium, the World Cups, World Championships, and the amazing local racing scene…

Yep, it was testing day. Sigh. I have a love hate relationship with these tests. It is awesome to see what numbers I can put up but on the other hand, I strongly dislike the five minute effort sequence. Ah well, it was a good day on the bike. The test went well – better numbers than last time. I pushed myself over the edge – full on cramps, goosebumps, and dead legs all afternoon. Good stuff.

Today I also got out on my new commuter bike. Many thanks to Vince at The Cyclery for hooking me up with this sweet urban ride. With some help from Shaun, okay – he did it all… My bike now has a lock and the brakes are set up perfectly. I took my new trusty steed out for its maiden voyage today. We rolled on over to Loblaws and picked up some groceries. It was great. I felt pretty darn free out there on the bicycle path with my new bike. Sweet.

Tomorrow I’m heading out for a mountain bike ride. A fun three hours with the rocks, roots, trees, and birds. Nice.

On Wednesday I was interviewed on the A Channel for World IBD Day, the isupportibd.ca petition, and my cyclo-cross racing. Here is the video:

The other day I wrote with zeal about the thrill of riding along trails surrounded by the birds and the bees. Today, I’m all about the road bike… I went out for a great ride today. Hot but not too hot. Windy but not too windy. A nice and steady 90 minute ride on the program with some tempo intervals to open up the legs. A perfect way to spend my Thursday morning.

Today was one of those rides where I just felt super comfortable on the bike. The heat and the wind were merely blips on the scale of satisfaction. It was just a feeling of pure relief to be out riding and looking at the blue sky. My legs felt a bit heavy at the start but this was to be expected after a rest day yesterday that really was spent walking in the heat of the mid-day. Soon enough my legs opened up and I really felt like the power numbers were achieved with little to no effort (yes, I calibrated my SRM…). Really it was just one of those days.

Suppose these feelings have to do with where I’m at in my training cycle and how my body is doing these days. I’m nearing the end of my “base”‘ phase so I’m well-adjusted to long days in the saddle and tempo efforts. I look forward to long steady rides that introduce a dull ache into my quads and lungs. My body is responding fairly well but I do have to admit that I’m experiencing an ulcerative colitis flare right now. Nothing too crazy but just enough to force me to rest a bit more and to have to change my diet in an effort to bring things back as they should be. This is probably why I so thoroughly enjoyed my ride today. I knew that all I had to do was “get on the bike” – once I’m on the bike, my insides settle down and I’m able to relax and focus on the ride. Yes, there are cramps and other unpleasant symptoms but by and large when I’m riding, I feel free of these for the time being.

Such was my ride today and probably will be for the next few weeks. Relishing the freedom the bike gives me from the day-to-day routine and my health issues. I like to believe that I’m not alone in this – everyone has something. It is how you deal with your something that makes the difference.