Wow, it is that time again folks. Time for us Canadians to get registered for the Canadian Cyclo-Cross Championships. Can you believe it is the first week of September and we’re registering for nationals? Ah well, such is the price of living in the Great White North.

I for one don’t mind that Nationals are so early. I suppose this is because I have a long season to go after Nationals. It is nice to have a key race early in the season and then build from there. This year, I’ll be able to get six races in before Nationals. This is good. Really good.

Anyway, not much else to say. Except: get registered. Book your flights. Book your hotel. Get ready to go to Edmonton and have some fun

P.S. took the new Mavic Fury shoes out for a spin. In a couple of words: I love them. So light. So comfy. So much cushioning. Like a soft duvet for my feet. Digging the yellow. They match my Livestrong bracelet perfectly.

Tomorrow’s training is all about ‘cross. I’ve got about three hours slated. Time will be spent ripping around the woods and checking out the new trails Marc discovered. Then I’ll come back to my neighbourhood park and set up the flags. Turning, turning, accelerating, maintaining speed, and smiling. Then I’ll toss on the running shoes and do some hill repeats. A lot happening. But in a good way. Luckily Sunday is all about recovery. I think Saturday afternoon might involve a great deal of sitting and sipping tea…

Ah, this is a great time of year. I know that Jan. 1 signals the “official” start of a new year. But for me there is something about September that signals the start of a new year. For me it is a time to think back over the past months and reflect on the good and the not-so-good. It is also a time of renewal – the warm days are dwindling along with the daylight so there is a tendency to set new expectations and goals, attempting to squeeze the most out of the days. Suppose this is why cyclo-cross fits so nicely. It kind of meshes with the feelings of renewal, change and excitement.

An opportunity to start fresh. Who knows what the season will hold? Kind of like starting Grade 7 – not sure what it will be like at the new school. A feeling of excitement and fear all wrapped up together in a fun little package.

Suffice it to say, this is how I’m feeling. Can’t wait for the first race to get here but also feeling a bit nervous. This is good. This is the way I should be feeling. I’ve got to say I am loving riding my ‘cross bike. Nice just to jump on it and hit up the trails or do some drills with the flags. My brain simply relaxes and I’m in my groove. My mind doesn’t drift to my endless supply of “to do” lists, things I should do, things I better do, etc. Rather I just ride. Focusing on the trail, the trees, the roots, the rocks, the birds. Really the feelings that brought me back to cycling after a long hiatus.

It was my discovery of mountain biking in 2004 that has brought me to where I am now. After years of playing competitive hockey, training for taekwon-do and running, I realized I missed nature. So I bought a mountain bike and re-ignited my passion for the bike. I spent a summer messing around on my trusty mountain bike. And then of course ebbed into racing cyclo-cross again. And now here I am. Feeling like I’m sitting on the cusp of a season that has the potential to be huge.

I’ve got a solid season of racing mapped out. I’m feeling good. I’m learning how to handle my self-imposed stressors and expectations. Results are important. Really important. But so is a smile on my face before, during, and after the race. Can’t hardly wait for the butterflies.

On another note, my Ottawa Cross clothing arrived on Friday. Minutes before we left for Chris Thater, the FedEx man arrived with my box of clothing. Dudes, the kit is sharp. Massive thanks to Steve for his awesome graphics work. (I predict some baked goods in your future…) I’m loving all the clothing I ordered this year. Thanks to the generosity of Champion Systems, I was able to skirt the minimums and order exactly what I wanted. New this year for the Ottawa Cross kit are shorts, full-length thermal big tights, long sleeve jersey (thermal and lightweight), and a superfly jacket.

Gee, really feels like the start of a new school year: I’ve got new shoes, new clothing, new bikes, new helmet, new glasses and a new outlook. I’m all set. See you on Sept. 19th.

Just chilling out here in the Hampton Inn in Johnson City. Had a good day of bike racing and bike watching. I’ve got that dull post-race leg ache and an overall body tiredness. Signs of a good hard effort on the bike. Haven’t felt this in a while. Boy, didn’t realize how much I missed it. So a third Chris Thater Memorial race is in the books for me.

I’ll admit it – I was super nervous before the race. I hadn’t raced in a while. My legs felt like lead this morning. I was having some gut problems. And I just was generally nervous. Nervous to race with such a deep and strong field. Not very often I get to line up with the likes of Tina Pic and Laura Van Gilder. But once the race got rolling I found my groove. Took me a bit but I did find it. The first five laps were insane. I was hurting but reminded myself that the pace would settle and that everyone else was deep in their pain cave. So five laps in, the pace does settle a bit. And guess what happens? A crash… Yep, on the hill. A girl swerved to dodge a deep manhole cover – crashing occurred. It happened right in front of me, I ended up hitting the deck. Don’t worry – I’m fine. Didn’t even break my skin – it was one of the slow-motion crashes where you’re looking for an out and can’t find one. Unfortunately, two girls were injured quite badly. The race was neutralized as we waited for the ambulance to take the girls away. Anyway the race got going after a few neutral laps. It was prime bonanza today. I was bracing myself for the big counter-attacks after the primes but it just didn’t happen. There were a few moves but in the end it came to a bunch sprint. As for me – well, I found my groove after a few laps and remembered how to ride a crit. I was in pretty good position for the bulk of the race – trying to stay close to the front and just paying attention. My problems started with five laps to go. The pace got super high and I struggled to hold my position. Ended up rolling in for 29th.

Ah well, more lessons learned. But most importantly, this race reinforced that my fitness is very good. I felt good during the race. Some of the riders were panting like dogs while we rode up the hill. I felt solid. My legs had decent snap. I recovered from the hard efforts well. I was able to close gaps and rolled through the corners well.

The big lesson I took from this race was thanks to a comment Marc made “it is okay to be nervous. Just admit that you are.” Somehow this feels like a big weight lifted off my shoulders. I admit it, I get nervous before races. I really try to fight the nerves. But it is super hard to do. I try the positive self-talk, the pre-race ritual routine, the relaxation game – but I still get nervous. Such is the way it is.

Marc raced as well today. He rode a pretty good race. He countered a prime and then unfortunately he was caught and his move was countered… Such is bike racing. Marc is racing again tomorrow in the elite race. Racing action starts at 11:30. As for me? Well, I’ve got to get in a 30 minute run and 1.5 – 2 hours ride. Yeesh, no rest for the wicked! Guess I’ll be up at the crack of dawn to get the run in and then I’ll ride the trainer during Marc’s race.

Definitely having a nice relaxing weekend here in Johnson City/Binghamton. Our hotel is right next to a Wegman’s grocery store. This grocery store rocks! It has a cafe – so of course we ate there this evening. Pretty impressive – I had a bevy of different couscous, wheat berry, and quinoa salads and a super chicken soup. Marc had a serious turkey sandwich and soup. Pretty darn tasty. The cool thing – every item they sell in the cafe – from the steamed broccoli, to the burritos, pizza, and submarine sandwiches has the complete nutritional breakdown – all the ingredients are listed along with the calories/fat/carb/salt/sugar numbers. This grocery store also has a super impressive natural foods section. I discovered sugar free Oregon Chai concentrate. And best of all – Greek yogurt – Fage brand. How happy am I? Excellent bike racing, Greek yogurt, sugar-free chai concentrate, and a diet Dr. Pepper – makes me pretty smiley.

Looking forward to watching Marc and coach Steve race tomorrow. Great weekend. Excellent way to close off the road season and bridge to the ‘cross season.

Do you ever have one of those weeks? One of those weeks where each day is just so darn good? So good that you’re afraid to push the limits, lest you mess it up and cross the line into not-so-good? This is the kind of week I’ve had.

Everything just seems to be coming together so well. My body is finally getting better and I’m feeling like my old self again. I really notice this on my rides. I’m recovering much better and I’m not wiped out wit fatigue. And I want to ride and ride and ride some more. This is awesome. I’ve started working with Beth Mansfield of Peak Performance and I think some really good things will come of this. Quite fascinating right now – I’m tracking my calorie/food intake and my activity level/efforts in an online database. The numbers are fascinating. Looking forward to what Beth does with the data.

Got a great gift yesterday… My new mountain bike/’cross shoes are here. These sweet yellow puppies are sitting in my living room right now. Oh man they are smooth. Fit like a glove. So light. Can’t believe how light they are. Looking forward to popping some cleats on them and taking them out for a spin next week. Thanks so much OGC – your support is overwhelming.

The new bikes are coming together nicely. Looking forward to getting out on them and giving them a few test rides. I’m still riding my old bikes until the new ones are ready. No biggie since thank to Steve at The Cyclery, they will be dialed in to the same specs as my current bikes. Makes it much easier to move to new bikes when there are professionals taking care of the little details for me. Thanks Steve!

I got out for a pretty awesome ride this morning. Hit up the woods by our house and just let my feet guide me. I ripped around the pine needles. Floated through the sand. I put together a couple more training loops that offer up some other types of riding. There is one section with a series of bridges that require a great deal of front wheel lifting… Not one of my favorite things. So I put together a loop that involves hitting up some bridges quite quickly (coming off a descent) and then being forced to lift the front wheel repeatedly to get onto the bridges, then rip through some singletrack with two forced dismounts, and back onto another trail with a couple more bridges and a steep little climb. It is not a long loop, but it has enough in it to keep the brain going and adrenaline flowing. Fun times.

Extra bonus of today is a visit from the FedEx man… Oh yah, my new Ottawa Cross clothing should be arriving any minute. So stoked. Looking forward to checking out the new kit and some cool new duds. A massive shout out to Steve aka Fearless Leader for once again taking the time to do my clothing design. Yeesh, without him, I’d really be in a sorry state – no bikes and no clothing. A naked bike-less cyclo-cross racer – not a good visual image (the tan lines alone are enough to scare young children!). I’ll post up some photos of the new kit next week. Not a major re-design – just a couple new sponsors added.

We are off to Binghamton, N.Y. today for a weekend of criterium racing. Marc and I are both racing in the Chris Thater Memorial Races. Should be some fast times. I’m racing on Saturday and Marc is doing the double – masters race on Saturday and the elite/pro race on Sunday. If you’re at the races, come by and say hello. I’ll be racing in my smooth blue Cyclery kit and Marc will be sporting the Ride with Rendall kit (oh, and his National Champs jersey!!).

Well, I best be off. A couple of little errands to run before we hit the road. Have a great weekend. Whatever you do, I hope it involves the outdoors, sun, bikes, family, friends, and good food.

Had a ton of fun on the ‘cross bike again today. Original plan was to go out and work on skills in the park. But then Marc said he was going out to our favorite training grounds… So I changed up my plans and decided to go out for a ‘cross ride with him. Super glad I did. Marc has put together a cool training loop that gives us a lot in three minutes:

– sand
– twisty singletrack
– deep grass
– tight right and left turns

Not bad for a mere three minutes. Cool thing about this loop is that it can be extended to include some speedy downhills and some run-ups.

Had a blast chasing Marc around the wood. Then even more fun making him chase me!

Dudes, it is coming together. I’m feeling good these days. Body is feeling much better. Head is in an excellent space. Bikes are clicking along smoothly. New team clothing will be here soon. First race is right around the corner.

Pretty darn sweet.

(P.S. I’ll be out at 7 a.m. tomorrow at the little park on Mount Shannon Drive in Barrhaven if you want to come out for some fun and learning with the flags.)