Time is ticking down. Can’t really believe that I’m leaving in two days. Crazy. I’ll be gone for 98 days. This is awesome. I’m feeling so ready for this trip. It just makes complete sense. This is making the preparation much easier and more simple. I suppose since this is my third winter in Belgium, it should be easier to get ready for.

But there is still the last minute chaos. Checking lists. Looking at what seems like a ridiculous amount of stuff piled in the living room. Trying to sort out wheels and tires. Picking up last minute spare parts. Finding some decent reading material to keep me occupied. Loading up the laptop with movies. Then there is the actual packing. Which really doesn’t take too long. I’m getting quite experienced with breaking down bikes and cramming them into bike boxes now!

I’m not one for reminiscing. But for some reason today things kind of hit me. I’ve come along way in a short period of time. It has been a gradual steady progression. But one that I don’t think anyone who knew me as a racer four years ago would have predicted. But here I am. Going for it. It makes sense to me. I’m not one to do something if I can’t do it all out. So now thanks to that attitude and some excellent guidance, I’m getting real close to meeting my goals. Very cool.

So tomorrow I’m racing in my local Ottawa Bicycle Club Cyclo-Cross series. This is where it all started for me. So it only makes sense that my last race of 2009 in Canada be one that is part of this local ‘cross series. I remember lining up for my first ‘cross race back in 1994 – I had a Specialized Stumpjumper. I had no idea what to expect. I remember being completely exhausted at the end of the race. But I was hooked. As hard as it is, there is something about cyclo-cross racing that keeps drawing me back. In fact after a break from cycling to play hockey and to study taekwon-do, it was ‘cross that brought me back to bike racing. All this thanks to the local OBC series. Another reason to get out and support the local race series – you never know where it will take you.

Guess the moral of the story is to simply keep pedaling and dreaming.

Well, it really didn’t take me long. Not that I expected it to. I’m fully in the groove of bike racing and training and not sitting in a cubicle. This is only my second day of such a life, but already I’m noticing changes in my body and mind. All for the better. It is interesting that I’ve noticed this adaptation so quickly, particularly since I didn’t leave a stressful work environment. But I guess there was the hidden stress that probably was affecting me more than I realized. By hidden stress, I refer to the small little things: what to wear to work, commuting back and forth, scheduling rides around being at the office, and generally just getting everything done. I know, I know – poor me – this is what everyone goes through. But believe me, when one big piece of the daily life puzzle is taken care of, it is amazing how much lighter you feel.

We are getting a dose of rainy weather here. I’m not a massive fan of the rain. I think this has something to do with growing up in northern Saskatchewan – suppose this is because it rarely rains there. In fact, I didn’t even own a rain coat – if it rained, we stayed in… But I’m starting to appreciate the rain, because rain isn’t snow. I have a strong dislike of the snow. Again, I attribute this to growing up in northern Saskatchewan where it seemed we were blanketed in the white stuff for most of the year (October – April).

Got out for an excellent ride yesterday. It was suprathreshold day. Love and hate these intervals. So so hard. But so satisfying when they’re done. The feeling of speed when doing these is amazing. The intervals did a number on my legs – just what I wanted. I cooled down/recovered by riding through the crazy traffic of Kanata to get to Marc’s office. Nice reward of a hot shower and a lunch date with my favorite guy made the rain and traffic worth it.

I’m just sitting here looking at the soggy air and considering today’s ride. It is long ride day with a block of tempo at the end. Perfect podcast riding. Then post-ride I’m looking forward to a chilled out afternoon. Have a few more errands to run and then I’ve got plans tonight. Nice.

Things are coming together really well for my trip. Pretty much everything is organized. Really all I have to do now is pack. And I can’t do this until the weekend. So I get some time to relax and double-check my lists!

Okay, I’m out of here. Time for another cup of tea before I face the soggy outdoors…

Boy oh boy did I ever need that ride today. By the time I got home from my last day in cubicle land I was feeling sluggish, tired and worked up about stuff. Not a good combination. I dawdled a bit in the house and then finally got my act together to go for a ride. Talking with Marc before heading out reminded me to take a deep breath and let things go.

On the agenda today: start intervals. If you’re a regular reader of my site then you know my love-hate relationship with starts. My ‘cross starts need to improve. So I had to get down to business and work on them. Well, I had a great work-out. No, let me rephrase that – fantastic work-out. Hopped on my trusty Stevens Super Prestige and rolled on over to the trails off of Woodroffe for some training.

We have a little “race course” that is the perfect length to get in some hard fast efforts. I warmed up by exploring the web of trails and then hit up the “race course”. Then it was time to work in the start intervals. I tried to simulate the race start as best I could: watch set to a 30 second count down and then hit it on a stretch of pavement before making a sharp left into a ditch and then drilling it through a stretch of sand popping out onto some deep grass and sprinting to a narrow opening into the woods. I mixed this section into my ride and got in five excellent start intervals combined with a bunch of other mini-burst through out while riding through the woods.

Definitely what I needed to put me in a good frame of mind. It was just me, the woods, the fall leaves and the odd dog walker. Perfect. Before I knew it, my ride was over and the sun was getting a bit low. Time to roll home. I’m not sure what was the best component of this ride – the physical efforts, the confidence boost of riding hard and fast on technical terrain, or the mental clarity it provided. Really can’t ask for much more out of a ride.

Had a great talk with my coach Steve Weller of Bell Lap Coaching. He has really prepared me well for this next block of racing in Europe. I mentioned this to Steve but it is worth stating here, that it helps so much to know that I’m well trained and prepared. This helps me get through the days when things feel like they’re not coming together. At the very least, I know I’m lining up for each and every race ready to race at my best.

As I progress on this bike racing journey, I’m really starting to appreciate how important the mental aspect is. Confidence is huge. It helps me get through the little hiccups that come along the way. When confidence is at its peak, I really think it gives athletes the ability to “roll with things” in the truest sense. Little things that can happen on race day become so minor because I know that whatever happens, I’m physically and mentally ready to race.

I’m feeling a wide range of emotions today. (As if you couldn’t guess from the rambling nature of this post!) I can’t believe that as of today, I’m able to devote myself full-time to bike racing. This is crazy. This is huge. I’m so proud that I can do this. Yes, I’m proud of myself. I’ve come along way this past year. Battled a lot of obstacles. But through it all I’ve come out a better bike race and a better person. Now the reward is to live a dream and fulfill a goal.

I’m so ready for this. Can’t wait to get to Belgium and get going. Life is good. Pinch me.

Truly it was a day out in Kingston. The main goal of the day was the Eastern Ontario-Southern Ontario Cyclo-Cross Challenge Race at Lake Ontario Park. This race is part of the OBC cyclo-cross series and is always good fun. Well, I should amend that – this year I had a lot of fun. In years past, I have found every excuse in the book not to race in Kingston. The course used to really stress me out. But not this year.

We arrived with enough time this morning to get in some good pre-ride laps. I did a few by myself and then went over a few of the tricky sections with Marc. This helped a lot and gave me some extra confidence. We watched the start of the first race and then I was off to the car to do the usual pre-race stuff: pin numbers, ponder tire pressure and relax a bit.

The race itself was a blast. I had so much fun. True, I did not race that hard at the beginning but after two laps I opened it up a bit and started racing. Not sure what clicked but something did and I started applying some pressure to some of the guys around me and to myself! All in all, a fun day was had on the cyclo-cross bike. You can read the race report over here.

I think the best aspect of the day was the people. I just felt so at home and welcomed at the race. I bumped into people I hadn’t seen all year. I met knew people. I was cheered on by so many different people. It was just great. The day reminded me why I fell in so hard with cyclo-cross racing. The community of people that come out every week to race, cheer, and hang out is just top notch. Also, the local OBC series is where I got my first taste of cyclo-cross. So it was nice to come back and race at “home” again.

Many many thanks to Bob, Cheryl, Ian, Rosemary and the countless other volunteers who were out super early this morning setting up the course, marshaling, timing, tearing down and really make this racing opportunity possible for us.

After my race I quickly changed into dry clothes and hit the streets of Kingston for my recovery ride. What a great little ride. I discovered some interesting bicycle paths and wound my way around the shores of Lake Ontario. I was impressed with how many people were out enjoying the fresh fall weather.

Quick change and a little bit of a clean-up at the car and we were off. Second item on the agenda was the outlet mall. It was pretty good. Lots of smooth clothing and shoes to be had. Bumped into the Austen’s and had a nice chat with them. It should be noted here that Ian Austen is the one who can be blamed for my bike riding life – way back in 1994, Ian took me to Pecco’s and there he and Greg Christie set me up with my first ever road bike. So many many thanks to Ian for helping set me on this path!

After a wander around we grabbed some lunch and made our way back home. But first we took a detour to Manotick Station to check out the general store. We had heard tales of the impressive Dutch licorice supply. It did not disappoint! Finally at close to 6 p.m. we rolled into our driveway and set to work cleaning bikes, doing laundry and getting sorted out.

Definitely a most excellent day was had. Apart from Marc’s bike problems, the day really was quite perfect. Great way to close off the weekend and get ready for my last week here in Ottawa. I’m looking forward to racing next Sunday at Kanata Lakes. Great way to spend my last day in Ottawa before getting on the plane for Belgium. Geez, amazing how time flies. Must be having fun!

Thanks again for the cheering, words of support and wisdom, and encouragement. See you next Sunday.

I’ve got a number of different ideas/themes for this post rumbling around in my brain. But really, I don’t know if I can do them justice. I know strange isn’t it? Usually, I just sit down and the magic flows from my fingers (okay, magic might be a bit extravagant…). But today, I’m struggling. Ah well, lets just stick it through and see what happens.

Excellent week of training. It is nice to be in a solid block of training right now. When I’m racing and traveling so much, it is hard to get in the training. Don’t take this to mean that I’m not riding my bike. Rather the bike riding when racing every weekend and traveling on Fridays and Sundays, means that for me, I’m doing a lot of “recovery” rides. I’ll recover for most of the week – with a mix of different lengths of rides and then open up the day before the first race of the weekend. And then continue this cycle the following week. The riding is a mix of road and ‘cross riding. But definitely no room in there for intervals or long rides. So now with a bit of break from racing, I’m able to really “train”. Wow, didn’t realize how much I missed these sessions. So far this week I’ve done two tempo interval rides and one sprint work-out and then interspersed some recovery rides on both bikes. Very nice.

For me, I like to have the sensations of hard training fresh in my brain when I’m getting ready for a race. It is one thing to have a fellow racer set the pace and put the pain in your legs and lungs. And a completely other thing to do this to yourself. This is what I crave. If I can put myself in the pain cave when I’m out training, I know that during a race, I can do this to myself and can respond to the efforts of my competitors. When I’m out on my bike digging through intervals, I always tell myself “remember this sensation. You want to feel this on the weekend.”

Which brings me to one of my ideas/themes for this post: what goes through your brain while you’re riding? Do you pedal along with a free and clear mind, taking in the surroundings and feeling of the wind on your face? Do you completely focus on whatever is pumping through your headphones – maybe an audio book, music, podcasts, etc? Do you work while you ride – plan meetings, craft letters/emails, plan company reorganizations, etc? What about positive self-talk – does that enter your brain?

You got it – I’m in the positive self-talk camp. (Yes, I listen to my iPod – usually a mix of CBC Radio, NPR, and Studio Brussels podcasts.) For me, the time when I’m out riding is a chance for me to work on building my confidence. This happens through the previously mentioned interval sessions and through mental talk. Sometimes I’ll even verbally express my mantras – yes – talk to myself. So, what do I tell myself? Yeesh, this is going deep here – really not sure if I want to tell you the complete nitty gritty. Hmm, on second thought – why not? Writing these out is also a useful method for reinforcing positive self-talk and mental imagery. So here goes:

“I am powerful. I am fit.”
“I am healthy. I am strong.”
“I am racing at the World Championships.”
“I love starts. I am a fast starter.”
“I am explosive.”
“I am an elite athlete.”
“I can do this. I will do this.”
“I belong.”
“Stay wide. Pedal. Pedal. Pedal.”
“Focus. Explode.”
“This is my year.”

So there you have it. This is what I think about and tell myself while I’m out there on my bike. There is no set pattern to these mantras. I just let them roll through. There are some rides when none of these enter my brain. Maybe I’m focused on the iPod or I’m feeling like taking in my surroundings. Who knows – but sometimes they don’t hit the radar. I’m so practiced at using this positive self-talk that I find these mantras entering my brain when I’m out doing other stuff – like walking to my office, driving, falling asleep, brushing my teeth, etc. From what I’ve read, this is the way it should be.

So there you have it. A bit more insight into what makes me tick.

Racing tomorrow. First local race of the season. Smooth. Off to Kingston for the Eastern Ontario-Southern Ontario challenge. Looking forward to it. It will be nice to see a lot of my friends and hang out watching the early race. I have to do a cool-down/recovery ride after the race so if you want to come along – just tap me on the shoulder and let me know. One hour of riding and chatting. Then some food in Kingston. Sounds like a pretty darn good Sunday.