So it is the night before the start of my 2009 road season. Having a pretty chilled out and relaxed evening. Thanks to my obsessive organizing, I’m pretty much all ready to go. The bag is packed – organized strategically. Bottles are ready – the super second bottle is looking pretty powerful. A wonderful mixture of flat Coke and water – my favorite late race drink. Post-race/recovery food is prepared. Nothing too special – three whole wheat tortillas with almond butter and slice banana, one apple, a bottle of strawberry Recoverite, and a can of Coke. It seems like a lot of food but I’m heading to the gym after the race for my weight work-out so I want to make sure I’ve got some decent calories in. I’ve got the driving directions sorted and the bike is prepped and ready to go.

Yep, I’m ready. Looking forward to racing. It is always nice to get the first race done. I have a pretty good idea of my fitness and my strengths right now. Now it is time to see what I can put together on race day. Smallish field tomorrow so it will be an interesting ride. The key for me will be to be smart. And to remember the number one rule: Don’t Panic.

The Ride with Rendall boys are down in Cambridge, N.Y. getting ready for the Tour of Battenkill. The elite men’s race is a big deal this year. I’m looking forward to hearing all about the race. I believe the guys race at 11 tomorrow – so send them some of your fast vibes and then remember to send me some a little bit later (my race starts at 11:18).

I read an interesting article about Denny Morrison (Canadian speedskater). This guy is committed. He does some pretty insane training. But the thing that stuck with me was this quote:

“Johann Koss came and told us ‘It’s not enough just to want it badly, you have to stay focused on the little things that can do it for you’,” Morrison said. “For me, as an Olympic athlete, when I am training, the training is all that matters. It’s what’s going to prepare me for the Olympic Games. It’s what keeps me training.”

Is your team doing the Tour de PEI or the Tour de Grand Montreal? Are you short a rider? Are you looking for a rider to fill in a gap on your roster? If so, drop me an email.

I was hoping to ride with the Ontario team, but just found this out (from the OCA web site):

One of the main goals of the Provincial cycling program is to provide opportunities for athletes to show their strengths and garner results on the National front. This allows athletes to pursue selection to trade teams or the National Team. At times, we are very successful, as athletes are picked up by Professional or CCA trade teams and/or qualify for spots on the National Team.

May 30 – Montreal World Cup
June 1 – 4 – Tour de Grand Montreal
June 7 – 11 – Tour de PEI

Nothing quite like double digits to bring a smile to a Canadian cyclist’s face. Gotta love these temperatures. Such a nice change of pace. Been getting in some excellent riding this week. Adjusting to the new training schedule – no more afternoon rides for me… Also getting used to doing my weights in the morning and then riding later in the day. Those double days are challenging but I know they’ll pay off in the long run.

Gotta say, I’m loving the weight room. The pythons are back. My legs are feeling sharper and stronger. My back is much stronger. Moving on to the next phase of lifting this week. Looking forward to seeing what the new program will hold.

This time of the racing season is very interesting. People like to talk. To talk about their winter training programs – how much or how little they did. Some people like to downplay themselves – essentially this way if they have a “bad” result they are justified. Others talk a mean streak but aren’t there at the end – all show no go/got flash but no dash. It is hard to not get sucked into listening to this kind of chatter. Especially with all the blogs/twitter/etc. action out there.

The best way to avoid this mess, is to subscribe to the mantra that the cyclists who are truly in the know subscribe to:

Shut up and let your legs do the talking.

Might be harsh – but so is life. This mantra is similar to one my old taekwon-do coach used to remind of us before/after/during competitions – “you’re only as good as your last result”.

Okay I don’t want to ramble on. Guess what I’m trying to say is really keep things in perspective: the bike, yourself, the bike race, and remember there is a great big world out there. Someone somewhere is always going to talk more smack or have a more flash bike – doesn’t mean that person will be stronger/better/smarter than you.

This weekend remember to pedal through the corners and stay off the brakes.

(P.S. best of luck to the Ride with Rendall crew this weekend – they are going to the Tour of Battenkill for some hardcore racing. I’ll be thinking of you guys on Sunday. Drive safe and pedal hard.)

Pretty much sums up the Easter long weekend. Lots of training with a bike race thrown in for good measure.

First off – massive shout out to Marc for his impressive ride on Friday in Hamilton and in capturing third place in the M1 race. Awesome ride Marc!

I had a fine seat course side next to the start/finish area and had quite a pleasant afternoon sitting and cheering. Luckily there were lots of people to chat with and I had packed a bag full lunch, drinks and reading material. (This helped me block out some of the terrible music being played. Lets just say Zamfir/flute music is not appropriate music for a bike race…)

Saturday the plan was 2.5 hours with a 30 minute block of tempo… Well, 3.5 hours I made it home. A culmination of two factors – ridiculous wind and a dog resulted in the ride being a bit longer than planned. The tailwind was super nice during my tempo interval but also caused me to ride a bit further along Dwyer Hill Road than I intended. Once I realized I was out a bit further I decided to keep exploring and see where I’d end up (thanks to the tailwind..). This is where the dog entered the picture. Got chased by a dog. In fact the dog got quite friendly with my right foot – no I didn’t kick the dog. Rather the dog sniffed my foot. So now, I’m rather far from home, have been riding for 2 hours and I’ve just been chased by a dog. The only solution in my fatigue-addled brain was to keep riding further away from home – I didn’t want to get chased by the dog again and besides I was still enjoying the tailwind. If you rode in or around Ottawa on Saturday you know which wind I’m talking about. So you can imagine the gory details of the final 1.5 hours of my ride – yep directly into a headwind or cross/headwind.

The plan for Sunday was 3.5 hours. This time I did a better job and only ended up going 30 minutes over. Excellent ride exploring some new roads and reacquainting myself with some old favorites. Love riding on Fernbank Road – quiet and very smooth.

To get me through these rides I loaded up the iPod with lots of quality podcasts. Listened to some excellent NPR Fresh Air podcasts, CBC Radio Q, CBC Radio Inside Track and my all-time favorite music podcast – Studio Brussels de Afrekening. (This is a countdown radio program from Studio Brussels that we discovered two winters ago. Definitely a must listen.)

Today I did an easy 90 minute recovery ride. At least it wasn’t as windy today. I’ll be super happy when the spring winds have settled down.

Had planned to start riding into work this week, but have decided to push this out one more week. Yep, I’m a wimp – it is still below zero at 6 a.m. in the mornings. Don’t feel like starting my day in the cold and dark. So hopefully next week, things will be a bit warmer and I can start commuting by bike.

Got in some excellent time in the gym this weekend. I’m really starting to see some progress in my strength and my pythons are making a comeback!

Okay, well I’m out of here. Sitting outside on the back step with Murphy the cat right now. Unfortunately we aren’t in the sun and my fingers are getting a little bit cold. Oh if you haven’t watched Running the Sahara, I suggest you do so. This movie got me through some weak moments during my training this weekend. The wind was starting to get to me and then I remembered watching Ray Zahab and his team mates running through blinding sandstorms in the Sahara Dessert. Kinda put my “suffering” into perspective…

Suppose we are deserving of this weather. Granted I was away for the bulk of the winter, but the winter I experienced was not that harsh. The warmish weather and lighter snowfalls we had in February and March are coming back to haunt us with April rain.

It is always a tough call – ride in the rain or ride the trainer? I for one, lean towards the rain, particularly if I have a long ride to do. Yes, I know there are risks with getting sick/cold, etc. But I race in the rain – so why not train in the rain? This being said I did ride the trainer today…

Primarily because I had a short ride to do and I needed to do some calibration stuff with my SRM. (Those are my excuses anyway…)

First day on the new job today. This has added a new wrinkle to my training. Gone are the mid-morning and early afternoon rides. When I was working from home I had an easy little system that allowed me to get a full work day in and my training done – all by 6:00. This system won’t work so well now. But once I get in the groove of commuting and the sun stays out longer, I’ll be back in a comfortable groove.

Race action on Friday. The Good Friday Road Race is on in Hamilton, ON. I won’t be racing, but Marc will. So we’ll be loading up the trusty Matrix on Thursday night and making the big drive to have some fun on two wheels. Nothing like the first race of the season. Lots of expectations, lots of disappointment, lots to learn.

Happy training. One more week of the wet stuff is okay. Then we need some fresh dry roads. Don’t forget May 17.