So, it was a chilly one on Sunday. I pinned up the short-sleeve skinsuit but caved and ended up wearing the long sleeve skinsuit. We had a chilled out Saturday night – watched a bit of the movie The Break-Up. This is one funny movie – I had that Yes song in my brain all night and most of Sunday.

Relaxed morning with a few laughs, some surfing, and then off to the race. After talking to Ben T., I elected to not pre-ride. The course was relatively unchanged – one long section was removed – other than that it was the same. I rolled around on my bike and cheered on Marc and Steve. I was thrilled to see Steve ride to a super amazing third place. Way to go Steve! Marc rode really well also. He had a tough hard crash on the pavement before the bridge that cost him a few spots and some skin. Marc rode to an impressive 13th place. Awesome Marc – so proud of you. I missed Steve’s podium – but rumor has it that no one sang “You are the wind beneath my wings”…

My race was up next. Not much to say here. Check out the race report. Suffice it to say – I left New Jersey muddy and not very satisfied…

Once again, we enlisted the help of Alex Sanna – this made the day much more simple and easy for both Marc and myself. It allowed me to warm-up sufficiently and Marc was able to watch my entire race. Thanks again Alex.

After quickly hosing off the bikes and my body we were in the van and on the way home. Trip home was fairly uneventful. I had one too many lattes – resulting in too much caffeine. (Note: I don’t drink coffee – only on long car drives.) Well, too lattes was too much. Lesson learned. Did discover the wonders of the Cold Stone Creamery in Binghamton, NY. Very tasty. Nasty blast of snow and hail slowed us down a bit but other than that we made it home without issue. In bed by 12:30. Asleep by 12:31.

Another weekend of racing is in the books. Some excellent performances from Marc, Steve and the other Canadians (Wendy, Natasha, and Derrick). Congrats guys on your great races. All of you make me want to do better and reach your level. The extra bonus was running into lots of friendly faces again and getting time to chill out with our cyclo-cross friends. Thanks for the cheering – it helps so much. The man in the gorilla suit was pretty cool – though I was relieved he did not chase me like he did to some other racers! Fantastic to see such a large elite women’s field lining up on both days. This field is getting deeper and stronger with every race. Just what we need.

Ah, what a day. A muddy one. But a good one. Solid sleep last night and a leisurely morning helped kick off a fine day of racing.

Got to the course today to warm-up with the guys. Due to the nature of the course – it was a slow warm-up lap. I got less than one lap in. But enough to see that it was going to be a slow one. And a muddy one. Overnight the course turned from a fast ridable course to a slow slogest that featured a lot of running.

I’ve written a race report. But suffice it to say – there is a reason I’m a bike racer and not a runner! This being said, I still had a lot of fun.

Marc and Steve were up at 12:30. I enlisted the support of Alex Sanna to work the pits for Marc’s race. This took a lot of pressure of both myself and Marc. Alex is a pro and he did an awesome job getting Marc’s bike ready for him each time he pitted (which was every half lap!). This also freed me up to warm-up on the dry roads and to cheer on Marc and Steve. Marc had an excellent race. Slogged through the mud and looked super strong. He has a massive bruise on his knee now – not sure how it happened. Steve rode super well as well. Both guys looked super smooth and very focused. Congrats guys!

My race was up next. I really wasn’t that nervous. Funny my race day nerves have really subsided. I guess because I’m that much more used to racing. This is a good thing. I think I wasted a lot of energy in the past by simply being nervous.

After my race, I got in some recovery drink and then went for a longish cool down ride. Did I mention how warm it was today? So warm that I wore a short sleeve skinsuit with out an undershirt. The only drawback to the short sleeves are the scratches on my right forearm from the grit and mud that got rubbed into my skin from shouldering the bike so much!

We made it back to the hotel really quickly and Marc got to fast work on the bikes. They are all sparkly clean and good to go for tomorrow. Thanks Marc. I got going on the laundry. Three loads later and the clothes are clean and ready. Took a driving adventure to Whole Foods to get some salad and food for tomorrow’s drive home. That was an adventure – lets just say I haven’t quite got the hang of the turning lanes here in New Jersey… Made it one piece and had a nice browse around. My Dopers Suck t-shirt raised a few eyebrows and started a few conversations. Cool.

Okay, time to go. Looking forward to racing tomorrow. No idea what tomorrow will hold. It is raining right now, so the chances of things drying up is looking pretty slim. Thanks for reading. Have a good one.

Just chillaxing here in the hotel in Princeton, N.J. Had a fairly smooth drive down. There was one incident involving me, a police officer and a speeding ticket in New York. But other than that it was pain-free.

Made it to the Mercer park for some laps of the course. Dudes – this course is awesome. If you do one travel weekend next season – make it to this race. The course is good for everyone. Basically flat (there are some false flat sections). Fast. Challenging but doable sand pit. Some fun twists and turns. An improved fly-over. This course has something for everyone.

Conditions are moist. The ground is quite saturated so by my race tomorrow it will be nice and greasy. I don’t mind this. I’ll definitely take mud and wet grass over hills and running. The sand pit is crazy – seems like they put a hose on it for days – one section is like riding in a sand bog.

Had a pretty uneventful evening. We did get sucked into the Whole Food vortex. But we set a 30 minute time limit. This helped. Got some basics – we came fairly well-prepared food-wise. Marc and I went over to the number pick-up. We thought it was from 6 – 9, turns out it was from 6 -8! We arrived at 8. Luckily Louise, a UCI official from Canada was there, so she gave us our numbers. Nice to have this done and not have to worry about it for tomorrow.

Had a smooth time riding the course today. Got some pointers from Marc. Checked the sections that will be “strong” for me and the sections where I’ll have to dig a little bit deeper and really focus. Saw lots of friendly faces. Pretty cool to see the little kids out riding with Ben Turner from Clif Bar.

I’ll post up tomorrow night. Stay tuned. Send me some speedy vibes at 1:45. My number is 20 – a lucky number.

In an hour or so we’ll be on the open road making our way to New Jersey. The US Gran Prix Mercer Cup races are this weekend. Fun stuff. Not only is the racing excellent but the whole spectacle is kind of cool. Typically there is a decent expo to wander around in and spend some dollars at.

We are pretty much good to go. I’ve got all the food sorted out – made a serious chili for this weekend complete with some salsa rice. In fact I think I’ve got enough food to feed a small bike racing team! This always happen – I tell myself to prepare less food and to pack less – but I always end up with the same amount! The race bags are packed. The green bag (street clothes) is packed. The mini-van is loaded up with shiny bikes and wheels. Sweet.

Went to The Cyclery yesterday and picked up my new lid. Dudes, it is sexy. Black, white and red Giro Monza. Thanks Vince – you rock! It is going to look pretty fast with my kit. Remember the motto: if you can’t be fast – at least look good. Well, I’m aiming for both ends of said motto.

The Europe race calendar is nearly complete. Debating World Cups right now. There are four World Cups scheduled while I’m away. I had planned on doing Zolder only. But Marc thinks I should race at Roubaix and Nommay as well. I don’t know. I can race “locally” on those days instead – saving money and not traveling. But World Cups are big races so the more experience at the big races the better. Don’t know – need to decide quick so I can get myself organized, registered, and on all the lists. What do you think? Some of you are very experienced racers – what would you do?

Looks like it will be wet this weekend. Fine for racing. Not so fine for spectating and working the pit. Good thing I’ve got my handy waterproof fleece lined pants. These keep my super toasty while standing around yelling at people to pedal faster and to dig deep.

Me, I’m all about aggression this weekend. Aggressive on the line. Aggressive in the corners. Aggressive with the course. Aggressive with the bike. Aggressive mentality. Don’t worry I’m not going to turn the elite women’s race into a UFC fight or anything like that. Rather aggression is my “catch-phrase” for the weekend. It reminds me to race like I can and need to – to get where I want to be.

Yikes the time is speeding away. I have to go. Safe travels. Hopefully I’ll see you in New Jersey this weekend. I’ll be trying to stay away from Whole Foods. Don’t get me wrong – I love that grocery store. But it is like a vortex – 20 minutes turns into an hour and 3 items on the shopping list turn into 17 items…

Check out this video of the Magog, Quebec ‘cross race.

Check out the latest article from Canadian cyclist Michael Barry in the New York Times: Pushing the Limit – Bloody, Muddy Courses and Air Horns.

This article did not make it to the fake New York Times that was handed out all over New York city yesterday.