The smooth folks at Cyclocross Magazine got a sneak peak at the U.S. UCI cyclo-cross schedule for 2009.

It is going to be a busy season. Looks like I might have to move down to New England for a little bit. Has to be more effective than driving back and forth to Ottawa every Friday and Sunday.

Throw in Canadian Nationals and the Toronto UCI weekend and it will be a stacked schedule. Fun stuff. Lets just hope that Canadian Nationals are not scheduled for some early date in October again… I’d really like to race at Gloucester in ’09… Edmonton, Alberta is nice but it can’t compare to the crowds and vibes at Gloucester (man, I love this race).

Okay, back to reality. And damn, my reality is pretty darn fine right now – 7 a.m, quiet house, mug of earl grey tea, in Westmeerbee, Belgium. Hmm, loving my reality. l8r.

Today was really about pre-riding at Scheldecross. The Scheldecross race is this Friday. A big day of racing for all of us here in Westmeerbeek. Marc and Ed will race the Masters races and then I’ll race the Elite Women’s race. Tim and Jos will be at the race as well with the British Federation riders.

Had a leisurely morning with work, walk to the bakery, a yoga session, lunch and then it was off to Antwerp to pre-ride. So the course – sand, sand and more sand. This race is all about the sand. Currently the sand is quite soft and not very forgiving. We think that by Friday it will become more compacted. I do remember being able to ride large sections of the sand last year.

Here is a glimpse of the sand section – it is so long I couldn’t get it in one shot:

Scheldecross sand

Apart from the sand the course is fairly tame. The start features a long paved section with a quick u-turn leading into the hole shot. A bunch of twists and turns, takes racers by a massive VIP tent, underneath the fly-over, by the pits, onto a mix of sand and grass, some fast sections, more twists and turns, onto the pavement, up and over the fly-over, fast entrance onto the sand – and then back to the start.

We spent quite a bit of time riding the sand, looking at entry and exit lines, and playing around with gearing. I must say Marc was a massive help and with his advice I was able to ride a lot of the sand. I even got the thumbs up sign from Marc after riding one section! As I was the one with the camera, here are some pictures of Marc riding the sand and goofing around:

We were out on the course for close to two hours. There were lots of workers out there getting the course set-up and taped. There were a few other riders out on the course – but other than that we had the place to ourselves. A good day on the ‘cross bike most definitely.

Just about ready to hit the sack. Tomorrow I’ll jump into the group ride for a bit and then jump off and do some openers for the race on Friday. Have a good one.

I always say good things happen to good people. I realized today that this is what our trip is – a good thing. Good for the soul. Good for the brain. Good for the legs and lungs. Good for us. Not to mention that we’re pretty lucky to be here. Suffice it to say, today has been another good day.

Not much happened really. Normal stuff. Work. Riding. Chillaxing.

The ride was good. We joined the group ride from Begijnendijk. Today there were three groups of 50! Can you believe it? A huge mix of riders, abilities and experience. Pros. Semi-pros. Retired pros. Wannabes and hangers on. Nice pace that ranges between 30 – 35 km an hour. Two by two. Everyone takes a pull at the front. I dropped off in Averbode and then made my way back here (I only wanted to get 90 minutes in). Jos stayed with the group until Nieuwrode – she got 63 km in – pretty smooth. Marc and Ed did the full route – ended up being a little over 70 km and two hours in time. So next time looks like I’ll do the whole route – not much difference between two hours and 90 minutes…

Tomorrow we’re heading to Antwerp to pre-ride the Scheldecross race course. Really looking forward to racing this Friday. I get to watch Marc and Ed race. Then I race. And then we get to totally have a blast and watch the elite men race. I’ve got my favorites – Page (of course) and Vervecken (such an awesome rider). Looking forward to cheering and taking lots of pictures. Of course I’m looking forward to racing – I really like this course – lots of sand, flat, a big fly-over, and lots of crowds.

I’ll race again on Saturday. Probably just a local race around here. Looks like Zolder right now. No racing for me on Sunday. The logistics were too much so I’m not doing the World Cup in Nommay. I’ll be saving my first World Cup race for Zolder on Dec. 26.

So there you have it. Good times had by all. I’ll try to get some pictures tomorrow and post them (no guarantee though – I’m not so good in the photo department…).

I added some photos from the race in Varsenare on Dec. 13.

Check them out here.

Bike racers everywhere – go read this.

You owe it to yourself and to your team.