Is it a new year for you? It isn’t for me. Just because the calendar is rolling over, this doesn’t signify a new year for me. My new year starts in April. The start of a new racing season. I suppose if you don’t race ‘cross, you are well on your way to your new year…

It is hard to remember that it is New Year’s Eve here in Belgium. I’m really used to the “way” New Year’s Eve is celebrated at home in Canada – with mass commercialism. It is easy to forgot that something “big” is happening when you’re not listening to the media. Maybe since I’m tuned out of the language here, I’m missing out. We didn’t really do anything to celebrate – went out for some food at Sultan’s in Herselt. Now Nikki and Matt B. are over for a glass of champagne and a chat.

I’m racing tomorrow. I’m right back on the horse. I cracked but I’m over it. From what I hear, a crack is normal every once-in-awhile. Suppose it is normal. Just didn’t really think it would happen to me. I really did have a lot of fun at Azencross yesterday. I loved the course. I loved the conditions. I had a blast. Don’t know what the course will be like tomorrow in Luxembourg. I’m just looking forward to another race and to putting the bad feelings behind me. I don’t really have many more races left here. Next week is quiet because of the national champs happening everywhere except Canada and the U.S.

Had a solid ride today. Close to two hours. Picked up on some of my old summer routes. We had a trip planned to visit Math Salden – a pretty good cycling shop just an hour from here. If it wasn’t for this trip and the cold, I really could have stayed out for 3 hours. I was in the biking groove – legs felt good, head was clear, a perfect route, and some excellent tunes on the iPod. Loving my new super hat that I bought a few weeks ago. Okay, I best jet. Time to wind down and hit the sack. Have an early start tomorrow.

Happy New Year! Remember, don’t make any resolutions. You’ll only come to regret these later. Set some goals, make a plan, and work towards achieving your goal. Baby steps. And you’ll get there. And take it from me, there will be bumps along the way – but stay focused and remember why you set the goal.

I suppose I should flash back two days ago. Two days ago, I quit racing cyclo-cross. Yep, I quit. I had a rough time at the World Cup. The course scared me. I didn’t ride well. I finished second last. I really had decided that was it. I was done.

I had a couple of mopey days around the house here. Marc did his most to convince me to keep racing ‘cross. We made a deal – I would go out and pre-ride the Azencross course today – if I wasn’t comfortable or not having fun – that was it – I could leave. But wouldn’t you know it – Marc was right. I had fun on the pre-ride. The course was perfect for my “comeback” ride. Rock hard. Frozen ground. Lots of long stretches. Technical but not uber-technical.

I have to tell you that I was really ripped up inside about deciding to stop racing ‘cross. I felt guilty. But relieved. I felt guilty about all the people I was letting down. But I felt relieved to not have to put myself out there and risk being afraid on the bike. I realized though after listening to Marc that it was one race and one race course that had made me feel this way. I couldn’t let one experience erase everything I’ve worked for. So a big thanks to Marc for making me “get back on the horse”.

I’ve written a race report and posted it. I had a good ride today. An early crash set me back a bit but I just put my head down and turned on my diesel engine. I had fun. I would see girls. I would catch them. Then I would pass them. Not a bad way to spend 40 minutes. Last year I was lapped on this race course. Not today. Nice. I must say it was nice to ride the frozen ground as compared to squishy slippery mud.

After my race I chatted with Nikki H. and Matt B. for a few minutes. Had to congratulate Nikki – today is her 22nd birthday and she was 7th in the race. A pretty solid day for Nikki! Then it was back to the super van for some cool-down time. I’m a big fan of the cool-down now. I’ve learned I like/need a long warm-up and really benefit from a long cool-down. Today I cut the cool-down short since my toes were frozen ice blocks. Made a rookie move and put on cold shoes right before the race – I thought it would be smart to put on dry shoes – but these dry shoes were also freezing cold – my toes started the race cold and were still cold when we left the race! Another lesson learned. We made a quick detour to the Sven Nys tent/booth so I could buy a Sven Nys souvenir – picked up a pretty cool painter’s cap. Then we were off.

We made a detour into Antwerp to hit up the Decathlon and Saturn. I was finally able to buy Marc his birthday present – some windproof bib tights. Happy belated birthday Marc! Our tummies were rumbling so we went for some fine-dining – the Ikea restaurant. Actually it was pretty good and the price can’t be beat. One more stop on the way home at the Carrefour and finally we made it back to Westmeerbeek.

Just chilling out now watching the men’s race on the television. Extra bonus today was the footage of the women’s race. Bed will be very soon. Next up is Luxembourg on Thursday – got some logistics to sort out for that one. I’m back on the horse. And ready to go.

I am slow in posting this – my sincerest apologies:

Marc was 3rd in his race at Balagem on Sunday! Congrats Marc on an awesome ride. Your improvements from last year are really showing.

Racing and training are coming together perfectly for Marc. So nice to see.

This cyclo-cross season I’m very fortunate to have support from Giro and Mavic thanks to Outdoor Gear Canada and Dave Shirley. Dave and OGC set me up with some great equipment that completes my set of racing and training tools for the 2008 – 2009 cyclo-cross season.

This season my skull is protected with the Giro Monza helmet. I’ve got a small head. This makes finding a helmet very challenging. I’ve tried many makes and models of helmets. I can now safely say that the Giro Monza fits! It really fits – I don’t have to add extra padding, mess around with the chin straps – I just really put it on and I’m good to go. The added benefit is that since the helmet fits – i don’t have to deal with the “bouncing helmet” syndrome that used to happen. Thanks OGC!

Glasses. Everyone has their favorite pair of racing glasses. I must admit that until this season I didn’t really worry about glasses. Primarily because I had trouble finding glasses that would fit with my small head and helmet issue. Enter the Giro Havik Compact glasses. These glasses are designed to fit with the Giro helmets. Perfect. I’m wearing the size small Giro Havik Compact glasses and they fit perfectly with my Giro helmet. These glasses stay on, they don’t slip, and most importantly they integrate nicely with the straps and fit system of the Giro helmets. I typically use the clear lense in my glasses, and have found that even the clear lense helps to sharpen images and make the lines, obstacles, ruts, and mud pop out more and be more viewable.

What is the one piece of gear besides the frame that bike racers love to talk about? Wheels. The all-important wheels. This season, I’m super lucky to be racing on Mavic wheels. I’ve got a complete set of tubular rims hanging in my garage. I have two sets of new wheels for racing on this season – the deep-dish Mavic Carbones and a pair of Mavic Kysrium SL tubular rims. The Mavic Carbones are super smooth – they seem to almost float through the sand and mud. The Mavic Kysrium SL wheels are the work-horse of cyclo-cross racing wheels. Look at any top racer’s bike set-up and there is pretty good chance that these wheels will be on the bike. Durable. Strong. Smooth. Mavic wheels are definitely my first choice on race and training days. Thanks to OGC for settng me up with these wheels.

Here is the one photo I’ve found of me from the Zolder World Cup.

I’m in the background…

Zolder World Cup