I’ve got in some in great bike rides this past week. Lots of time on the road bike and some time on the mountain bike as well. Good times indeed. It is so refreshing to be able to mix things up with both types of riding and training.

I really enjoy riding my road bike but there is something to be said for being out in the woods surrounded by nature. I’m starting to feel more comfortable on my mountain bike. The confidence is coming around. I’m relaxing a bit more and really starting to feel the bike and the trail underneath me.

Friday was a recovery day. So I loaded my mountain bike into the car and hit up Kanata Lakes. I had a blast. I could have stayed in there all morning. But since it was a recovery day, this would not be happening. I made the most of my precious 90 minutes in the woods. I went back to the same trails that Karl showed me. I practiced some of the new skills, got more comfortable on the descents, and just generally had fun on my bike.

I kind of felt like a kid. Just pedaling along, completely relaxed, not worrying about power numbers, cadence, or heart rate. Just riding my bike for the sheer joy of it. Can’t ask for much more.

Hooked up with KingsBridge head honcho for a brainstorming session. Keep your eyes on the KingsBridge blog – the action will be hotting up on this web site. Did you know that KingsBridge also has a Facebook page? This is the place where we post our riding and racing news – go check it out and become a “fan”. You’ll be glad you did.

So you know about the Heel ‘N’ Wheel-a-Thon on June 13 – the annual fundraiser for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada. But did you know that May 19 is World IBD Day? World IBD Day is a day where we focus on raising awareness of these diseases. I’m involved with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada’s campaign – helping to put a face to these diseases and showing people that a rich and full life can still be had. The main goal though is to get people talking and thinking about these diseases – unfortunately IBD doesn’t have the public profile of many other diseases, making it a challenge to raise the funding we need to find the cause(s) and ultimately the cure(s) for Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis. May 8 is also a pretty bid day – this is the annual M & M Charity BBQ Day – stop by your local M & M, donate $2.50 to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada, and get yourself a tasty burger or hot dog.

Alright, I’m stepping off my soapbox now….

Time to get ready for yoga and then out for solid three hours on the road bike. I’m hitting up Kanata Lakes on Sunday at the crack of dawn (7 a.m.) – three hours of trail riding. See you there?

What an excellent day of training I’ve had today. Just one of those days that makes me feel so thankful I have this opportunity to focus on my training. (Thanks Marc for this amazing gift!)

Kicked off the day with a steady three hour endurance ride. Super windy out there so my strategy was to ride out into the headwind and then cruise with the tailwind home. This worked for the most part. Sometimes I find the crosswinds are actually worse than the headwinds. Anyway a great ride where I was able to focus on keeping my power high and keep my feet turning over at a nice smooth cadence. Entertained by my standard podcasts. Even remembered to eat on this ride. Yep, I’m learning….

Got home and quickly dashed around the house. Gobbled up as much food as possible. Had one of my favorites: frozen raspberries, 0% fat cottage cheese, chocolate protein powder and shredded unsweetened coconut. Tossed this in a bowl and gave it a good stir. Really, it is just like ice cream but good for you. Then I was in the car zipping out to Kanata.

Highlight of the day definitely was my ride at Kanata Lakes. I hooked up with Karl Hoppner for an excellent skills ride. Karl was gracious enough to offer to take me out and give me some pointers regarding my technical skills. I must admit I was a bit nervous – wasn’t sure how I would do. But Karl is an excellent teacher. He is super patient and really gave me some confidence in my abilities. We rolled around exploring some pretty cool trails at Kanata Lakes. Great way to spend an hour or so. I’m stoked to get back out there and practice the skills I’ve learned and put the tips and tricks to good use.

So there you have it – my most excellent day of training. Feels like I’ve been going all day, but this is a good thing. Life is for living, not for sitting around watching the time tick by on the clock.

Tomorrow is a 90 minute recovery day and then back at it on the weekend with two days of big rides. Sunday is shaping up to be another double day. Can’t hardly wait.

I was standing in the shower pondering the finer points of life, when my mind wondering to this online space. What should I write about today? I wasn’t feeling jazzed about simply telling you about my ride. I wanted to write something interesting but not too crazy deep that it scares you off… I got to thinking about friends, life, things that make me smile, and just generally what I’ve experienced. (Yes, I’m still in the shower at this point… I had a long ride in the cold wind – needed to warm up!) And these thoughts of life and what makes me happy really kept on coming back to the bike.

I think what really reminded me of how valuable the bike is in my life was this past Sunday’s Almonte-Roubaix. Now, I didn’t do the race and haven’t done it since 1995. But just being there hanging out with all the hardy folk who raced the event, really drove home how valuable the bike is to me. As some of you know I started riding after graduating from university in 1994. As luck would have it, I had a job at Southam News and my desk was just outside of Ian Austen’s office. For those of you involved with the Ottawa cycling scene, you know Ian – he is the organizer along with Bob Woods of the esteemed cyclo-cross series and the Almonte-Roubaix. It was Ian who got me into cycling and helped me find and choose my first bike. He pointed me in the direction of the Tuesday night women’s time trials and advised me against stuffing tissues into my shorts (my nose runs when I ride) and suggested I start using the big ring for the time trials…

On Sunday, I got to talk with a lot of people I hadn’t seen in a long time. It was great. I really have never had so much fun at a bike race. It was just awesome to connect with people over something so simple as a bike. Thanks to the bike I’ve met people from all walks of life and I’ve learned some valuable life lessons. The bike has brought me all over the world. It has kept me feeling and looking young. It has been my escape when my brain won’t stop chattering. Really, sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I hadn’t got that first road bike way back in 1994? How would my life had turned out? Would I have even met Marc?

The one thing I can honestly say is that the bike will be with me for life. I can’t imagine not riding my bike. One day when I’ve hung up my skinsuit, I know that I’ll still be out there riding. Simply seeing people riding around town on their bikes brings a smile to my face. They may not recognize it, but that trusty bike being used to get to university class or to the grocery store, is a friend for life.

This is getting a bit wonky here. But what I’m just really trying to say is Thanks. Thank-you bike for giving me such fantastic gifts. Great friends. Great life experiences. Freedom. The chance to get out there and really learn what is truly valuable to me. Without the bike, I really don’t know what I’d be doing.

For most of you, I’m guessing you have a similar connection to the bike. But for others, I’m assuming there is something else in your life that gives you this feeling. Whatever it is, take a second to really consider it and what it has given you. I sincerely hope that none of you are sitting there scratching your head trying to figure out what it is that has given you this feeling of freedom, joy, belonging, escapism, and pure happiness. Everyone deserves to feel these things each and everyday.

Ah, nothing quite says spring in Ottawa like snow in April. Couldn’t believe it when I saw the snow this morning. Sigh. Ah well, could always be worse… I waited for the roads to dry up and hit the streets south of Barrhaven at around 11:30 for my ride.

The wind was fierce. Really fierce. This wind combined with no sunshine made for a grey and unforgiving ride. I only had to ride for 2.5 hours so I knew I could handle anything for this amount of time. What I didn’t plan on was the flat tire. About 45 minutes into my ride I could feel my rear tire going soft. Darn! Once I got the tube out I discovered a thorn in my tire. It took forever to get that thorn out. I debated calling Marc, but really that wasn’t going to solve my problem! I must admit, my enthusiasm for the ride did waver for a bit after fixing the flat and getting rolling again in the headwind. But after a tasty nougat bar, my spirits were lifted and it was time to do the intensity blocks.

I did two five minute tempo blocks to open my legs up and then I hit up Shea Road in Richmond for some sprints. On the schedule today were 5 x 150 meter sprints to be started with a cadence of 90 rpm. So with the headwind this meant I had to do the first three in my small ring. Yes, my small ring. The final two were done with the tailwind and my big ring. What a feeling to be sprinting all out with a super strong wind pushing you down the road. I felt like my bike was going to take off! All in all, an excellent ride. I was a bit chilly by the end of it, but a warm shower and lunch pushed me forward and home!

And now for something special… Most of you know that the famous Almonte-Roubaix was held this past weekend on Sunday. This year, young Timothy Austen raced in his first Almonte-Roubaix. Timothy is 13 years old – not an easy race for a young guy in his first season of bike racing. Timothy agreed to write a race report about Almonte-Roubaix. So here is Timothy’s report on this much-loved and respected Ottawa cycling classic:

For the first time and most definitely not the last I lined up for the start of Almonte Paris-Roubaix. The race was great with mostly sun it made for a little bit of dust but it was definitely better than a mud bowl. The race started being the youngest rider in the race by three years, I thought it was prudent to line up at the back. After Bob pulled away and the real racing started my dad and I started whipping through the peloton. Through the first forested section otherwise known as “The water bottle stealer” we kept on catching people. Once we were “out of the woods” it was on to the first section with real hills. Call me crazy but I really like the hills in this race not too huge but not small really helpful when you’re trying to catch groups up the road. The race continued through roads like this and we inched closer to the groups ahead of us. After a good portion of race spent chasing we were finally in a group. Even through the ridiculous construction section. Where we saw no less than four people changing flats. Then into the dreaded new section. Great scenery we got to admire it lots creeping up the hills. But we got through. Then into the second forest or “the beach” as I prefer to call it. I made it up the switchback hill actually dropped some of the members of my group. But sadly, the vertical wall of sand at the end of the section, I opted to just dismount and cyclocross run up it. But I had a bit to eat and recovered quickly. My dad and I were back to chasing down the groups in front of us. When there were four of us, I took off. Losing my dad and the other two group members. I ripped it up through the third forest or “quarry” named after it’s excessive amount of rocks. Then I struggled to the finish. But still beat my dad by nearly two minutes. It was a great day and I can’t wait to ride it again next year.

Thanks Timothy for the excellent race report. Reading Timothy’s report kind of makes me think of doing the race next year…. (It should be noted that Timothy’s dad – Ian, is the one who got me into bike racing and dragged me out to my first and last Almonte-Roubaix in 1995…)

What a great weekend of riding I had. Really three solid days of excellent rides. Friday was the “testing” day. Saturday was all about getting out on the mountain bike. And Sunday I hit up the road bike for a smooth three hours. Three days of solid training, challenging rides, and big smiles.

Sunday’s ride was a pretty decent day on the bike. I rode out to Almonte to watch the finish of the famous Almonte-Roubaix race. I missed Marc’s finish but I did get to see other friend’s finish and rode with a few others. Great to see the smiles on people’s faces as they crossed the line.

I’m into another block of base building. So lots of long rides with various intervals thrown in to keep the energy systems firing. I really enjoy these long rides. At the beginning of this phase, three hours seemed like a big deal to me. I would be fatigued for the bulk of the day and the length of the ride would wear on me. Not anymore. Three hours feels pretty good. Nice to see and feel this improvement in my fitness and training capacity.

Some plans are being tossed around for the cyclo-cross season. Considering race plans. Looking at travel dates. Lots of good stuff happening. Most people don’t think about ‘cross until late August or even September, but when there is clothing to be designed and ordered, multiple plane tickets to be booked, and long-term accommodations to be arranged – the planning has to start early.

The week ahead is looking pretty darn good. Long road rides. Long mountain bike rides. Yoga. Time spent off the bike working on and thinking about the mental side of the game. Teaching myself to trust in my abilities and to constantly have those feelings I did on Jan. 31. For me, the brain battle is huge. I struggle to continually feel confident and powerful. A lot of this has to do with letting go worrying about what others think. I’m getting better at this. But it can be hard. I’m learning that I don’t need to justify my actions to anyone. I’m doing what I know is right for me and that is what is important. Each and every time I get on my bike I need to remind myself of how far I’ve come and how much further I can go. To do this, I need to let the little things really be little things. Easier said than done, but each day is a step forward. Working on changing the “I think I can, I think I can” to “I know I can, I know I can”.

All this to say, wow – how awesome is this life I have right now? Need to remember a very important mantra that I once saw written on a famous Canadian’s wrist: I’ll Never Be Here Again.

(As part of this mission to stay confident and powerful, I’m also trying to “toot” my own horn every now and then again. So this being said, click on over to Cyclemania to read my guest blog post and take sometime to explore this website – some great cycling content and photos.)