Tim always says “One of the hardest things for a cyclist to do is not ride.” Well, today I didn’t ride. No push-biking for me today. I wanted to. I really wanted to. Tim offered to take me out and help me with my sprinting. But this morning I really felt like death warmed over.

A hacking cough. Dead legs. And just a general feeling of malaise. So I made the tough but smart decision not to ride. Have to look forward. I have two big races next week that I want to be sharp for. So the guys went out for a ride, joined by Rachel Lloyd and her boyfriend Sam. Sounds like a good ride. Frosty but sunny. I stayed here and chilled out. Finished another book and then did some yoga with Baron Baptiste. A super hot shower rounded it all out and I’m feeling a bit better now.

Doubtful that I’ll race tomorrow. Not sure if it will help me recover from this cold thing. I’ll play it by ear. Just made the decision – no racing for me tomorrow. Longish ride instead. Hopefully some sprinting lessons from Tim on Monday and then race action Tuesday. Pretty smooth.

Just chilling out here in Westmeerbeek. About to start another book and just really lie around and do nothing.

Hope you’re having a solid Christmas break. Sorry there isn’t much cyclo-cross related news to post today. Have a good one.

My first World Cup has come and gone. What a day! What a great day! Quite cold here – well cold for Belgium: -2 celsius.

Tim drove me to the race today – thanks Tim for giving up your Friday to take me to the race and to be there at the start to collect my warm-up clothes. We left pretty early – 9ish so that we could make it in time to arrive before the U23 race (Tim was helping out the British team). You know me – I don’t mind arriving early – in fact now I’m so used to it, I’m more comfortable being at the race four hours in advance rather than the normal two hours in advance. We got a primo parking spot right next to the course and with a good view of the big screen television.

The race venue filled up super quickly. Soon enough by 11:30 you could barely move. Hanka K. parked across from us and her bus drew quite a crowd. This overflowed to myself and Nikki H. (who had a most excellent ride today finishing 16th – congrats Nikki – you rocked it today!). We were surrounded by people. I really felt like a monkey in a zoo. A couple of people asked me for my rider card (I don’t have any) and one lady asked me to sign her t-shirt. Talk about a spectacle. Fascinating. People stop to look at your bikes. To stare at you. They check your tire pressure. Look at your water bottles. Watch you pedal. You name it – everything is analyzed. I suppose if I paid 14 euros to watch a race – I’d be staring and poking as well.

I’ve written a race report and posted it. The race was good. Good hard. Lots of hard lessons learned and reinforced.

Marc and Ed arrived about half an hour before my race. They were racing in Reusel, NL today. Thanks guys so much for making the effort to get to my race. I owe you both big time. D-Rock SJ stopped by to offer a few words of encouragement – thanks dude – means a lot to me. Lets just say I was super nervous. So nervous I nearly cracked and didn’t line up. But I’m not that athlete anymore…

After my race, I hopped on the trainer and did a 40 minute cool down. I really think this will help me recover. I slugged back a bottle of super recovery drink – glutamine powder and calcium powder. I chased this with a small box of Cecemel. Perfect liquid recovery. Chatted with Marc, Ed and Tim while I was cooling down. Talked to the people who were staring at me again. Then moved over to watch the men’s race. Wow – what a race.

I have a new favorite rider – Thijs Al. This guy kills it. He rides super hard. Doesn’t give up. And best of all is the exuberance he shows when he wins a race. Awesome.

It took us forever to get home. Massive traffic jams on the way home. There must have been about 25, 000 people at the race. All trying to leave on the same small road… Ah well, it is all part of the experience. Got home and Ed had cooked dinner and Marc cleaned up my bike. After a chilled out dinner we’re just sitting here shooting the breeze.

Bonus of the day – I got talk to Jos’s mom! Cool. Now I just need to talk to my brother. Happy Boxing Day!

Well, I was unsure about pre-riding today since my head is still wrapped in head cold fogginess. But I vowed not to ride hard and to take it easy on the course. All I can say is, I’m super happy I went to pre-ride. The course has some sections that really need to be ridden a few times to get a feel for them.

There are two sandy descents. The longer one is kind of sketchy but my tactic is to just choose my line, take it confidently and not look at the people or metal barriers! There is a super steep run-up – I actually have to use my hand to help me up. A bunch of fast sandy corners. Some steep climbs. It is generally a pretty good course. It is fast and challenging.

Many thanks to Marc and Ed for their help out there today. Marc and I went over the key sections a bunch of times so I could try out ways to ride them. There will be new lines tomorrow I’m sure but at least now I’ve got a good visual imprint in my brain.

Merry Chrismtas! Sorry – kind of forgot that it is Christmas. We kicked off the day with a trip to our favorite bakery – the Blauberg bakery. We picked up a cake, a variety of different types of buns, and our favorite bread. We had a nice group breakfast (without Jos – she is sick in bed….) and then we generally flaked out until leaving for Zolder to pre-ride.

Didn’t really have a “traditional” Christmas supper. Well, unless Thai red curry chicken, rice, salad and more cake is traditional…

Just have to get my bag packed up and I’m good to go for tomorrow. I must admit I had a bit of panic attack/case of the nerves while pre-riding today. Part of this is caused by the cold I’m sure. The rest – well I’m not sure really. But I’m good now. It is a race. Yes, it is a World Cup – but I’m not expected to win the race so really the only pressure I have is the pressure I put on myself. I can ride the course. Some sections really well. Other sections fairly okay. I know part of my struggles is with just letting the bike do its thing in the sand…

I’m well setup with a mechanic/pit man for the day – so this is one big stress off my shoulders. Marc and Ed are racing in Reusel, NL and will make it to Zolder in time for my race.

Okay, I’m going to sign off. Time to get lots more liquid in me and to chillax a bit. Hope you had a good Christmas. Send some fast vibes tomorrow – to all of us. Have a good one.

Bit under the weather here. Woke up with that little scratchy tickle in the back of my throat. Decided not to ride today. I did move the old bones around though – one hour of yoga -just to keep things limber. Pretty chilled out morning – quality time spent with my book.

Jumped in the car with the guys for a little road trip to Bergen-Op-Zoom. Visited Hoppman’s – a great bike store. Picked up an cycling undershirt, shoe covers, and a cap. Nothing too exciting – but good deals. I left the guys in the store and had a good wander around the town center. Lots of great shops. Only did some window shopping. Did pick up some very nice black licorice oh and the best Dutch treat every – vla. Vla is the best dessert/snack going – similar to yogurt and pudding – creamy, thick, but low in calories and high in protein.

That was the highlight of the day. Tomorrow the plan is to pre-ride the Zolder World Cup course…. Send me some fast healing vibes – I need this sore throat to go away. Starting Friday I’m racing every other day for a week – so there is no time for a cold. Any good remedies? I’m drinking lots of tea and gargling warm salty water…

Merry Christmas. Have a good one tomorrow. Sleep in. Dream of shiny new bikes and super fast wheels. Remember to indulge – it is Christmas after all. I’ve got a bowl of All-Bran Choco with my name on it!

Funny last season at this time I had a big goal – the Masters World Cyclo-Cross Championships in Mol, Belgium. Last year’s season and its goal, sparked this season and my new goal – the Elite World Cyclo-Cross Championships in Hoogerheide, NL.

I set that goal in January when I returned from Belgium in 2008. I discussed it with my coach. I discussed it with Marc. Everyone was on board. This goal kept me going. Through long trainer rides in the winter. Through four weeks of intensity and intervals. Kept me going through the hard parts of the Tour of PEI and Canadian Road Nationals. It kept me on track. The goal forced me to go to yoga regularly. To loose weight. To think more on the bike.

Essentially, this goal changed me. In a good way. I’m stronger. I’m smarter. I’m more focused. I’m even more driven than I was before.

So, as you know, I didn’t qualify for the Worlds. First thing I did was reset and pushed the goal out one year to 2010 in Tabor, Cze. Perfect a new goal. It worked last time, so it should work this time as well. Haha – not so easy. I didn’t realize the fall-out of not achieving something that I’d been thinking about for ten months. I struggled. I lost a bit of motivation. I couldn’t really see the point (even though I had a new goal…).

I suppose this is normal. But it was still difficult. Even more so because I needed to recognize what was happening – it wouldn’t work when someone else would point out why I was feeling a bit frustrated or down with riding and racing. So I set some interim goals. This sort of worked. I started racing like I know I can and found a deeper devotion to my sport.

And now I’m here. In Belgium. The land of cyclo-cross. I have my interim goals. But they’ve really taken a back seat. I’m renewed and thinking ahead again. Thinking about Tabor. What do I need to do to get better? Improved technical skills. More snap and explosion. A smarter head. More watts. Maybe loose more weight.

So now every race I do here – even the little local races with the junior boys – have a purpose. What can I learn from this race experience? What did I do correctly? What did I struggle with? Even the training rides are taking on greater meaning. Squeeze in a few sprints. Play around with bike position. Pay attention to the other riders to learn from them.

All little pieces in the puzzle. Slowly but surely coming together. No one is an over night success. And really if I had made the team this year for 2008, it would have been pretty much an over night success. I have to remember where I came from. Keep the perspective.

So what am I saying in this long rambling post? Well, this year is coming to a close. Soon enough you’ll be tipping back a glass of champagne and hanging up a new wall calendar. So think about your goals. Now is the time. I’m not talking resolutions. (I don’t bother with those.) Set a goal – a big one. Work out a plan. Figure out how you’re going to achieve the goal. Remember life is short. So now is the time. Don’t be afraid to set a big goal. Perhaps setting the goal is the hardest part. But it is difficult to go through life without goals. I don’t care if it is a goal related to cycling or not – just set one. Write it down. Tell a few people. And then go for it. You never know where you’ll end up.