Say it isn’t so… But it sure felt winter like out there. Okay – Belgium winter like. Which isn’t a bad thing as winters go. But I’ve got to tell you, I’m not enthused with the snow predictions we here in Ottawa are hearing. I’m blocking it out. Pretending that the weather man is wrong. (He’s been wrong before…)

So I’ve finally dried off and recovered from today’s cyclo-cross work-out. 90 minutes endurance with 5 start intervals. A good solid ride. Keeps the blood pumping, brings a dull ache to the legs, some fire to the lungs, and an enormous feeling of satisfaction when the ride is done.

I’ve got to admit I wasn’t too excited to get out in the elements today. Wicked wind. Sideways rain. Cold. Not the way I want to spend a couple of hours. But this is what the coach said to do – so this is what I did. I bundled up and put on all my waterproof layers – really wasn’t that bad.

In fact I felt pretty stoked to be out there. Ripping around the park, attacking the climbs, hammering through the mud, and sliding through fast corners. Cool. I’m out training. I bet other people decided to “rest” today.

All part of being a rider. Besides in a few months, this will be my winter. And it is not like I can stay in and “rest” everyday. Bonus was I had the park to myself. Just me and the geese.

Now it is back to the real world. Work is calling my name and Mr. Murphy (the fat grey cat is downstairs yowling) – he wants to go out. Silly boy. (Or maybe he is a wannabe cyclo-cross racer?)

The location for the Wednesday night cyclo-cross training has been changed.

The Ride with Rendall training session has been moved to a park between Carling Ave., Prince of Wales Dr., and the O-Train tracks.

The training time has been changed as well – now starts at 5:15.

Location of Wednesday training

(There are more photos posted from the Mooney’s Bay races.)

Maybe the title should be: What Makes a Racer? In my opinion there really isn’t a difference between a rider and a racer. So I’ll leave it as rider.

I was thinking about this today when I was out on my recovery ride. What makes a rider? I’ve come up with this: legs, heart, and head. Now the order is the tricky part. What is more important? It is the chicken and egg thing. Can’t get the legs without the heart. Can’t use the legs without the head. Heart can take you only so far. But how far does heart take you when the legs can’t or won’t? The head is can win races, even if the legs aren’t there (especially true on the road). Anyway, this is what I was thinking about while pedaling away today. What do you think? What makes a rider? I’m curious to know what you think.

Wouldn’t it be so easy if it really was the expensive bike and swank clothing? (But probably very boring…)

Northampton this weekend. Make sure you pre-register. There is no race day registration.

Check out the Photos page. I’ve posted a link to some photos from Francois. Thanks Francois!

Ah, it is a bit early in the day for me to really post anything that interesting… Though congrats to Adam for a solid ride in Tabor. Also congrats to Wendy for a strong ride in Tabor. Pretty exciting to have people you know racing at the World Cups!

Looks like we got the best of the weather yesterday for our races. Glad that rain held off until the evening. Don’t know about you, but I’m a bit tired from racing at Mooney’s Bay! That course kicked me (in a good way).

Okay, it is quite early. My brain is not 100 % awake yet. I’ll post more later. On deck for today – yoga and a recovery ride. Sensible way to start the week. Cheers!

Oh – big news from the Quebec Cyclo-Cross series – the Orange men have done it! Congrats to Rob Orange and his son Keirnan Orange for winning the Quebec series jerseys. Way to go guys – you’re making the Ottawa crew very proud. Looking forward to hearing all about the races.

Ah, good ol’ Mooney’s Bay. The scene of my second cyclo-cross ever. Way back in 1994 on my Specialized Stumpjumper. I think it was that race that had me hooked (for a while). I remember only finishing the race and feeling great relief. We were a smaller group back then. But I’d say even though the numbers have swelled tremendously the sense of community and kinship that was present in 1994 is even stronger now.

What a great day for a race. Warm enough for the short-sleeved skinsuit. We got there early so Marc and I could get registered (finally registered for the series) and get a quick lap in. Then it was time to watch the early race. Fun stuff. I had a blast cheering on everyone and enjoying just being outside. My thermos of tea helped as well!

Got in a quick lap and a bit and then it was race time. I almost missed the start! Somehow I was clued out and had no idea where the start was. Thanks to all the people who responded when I pedaled by asking “Where is the start?”. Also thanks to Jenny for picking up my jacket -much appreciated.

I had a slowish start and then just focused on catching and passing people. Once my position was sort of established I worked on drilling the hard sections. Determining where to go really hard, where to ease off a bit and where to recover. My tactic was to really hammer the “tough” sections – the ones where your brain wants you to slow down because you’re suffering. I was losing time on the long run up the hill so this really was my best race plan. My hill running was a tad slow. In fact the last two laps I resorted to walking the super steep section and then trying to jog the last part.

The best part about the hill was the cheering. Wow! Thanks so much for the cheering. Never have I heard my name yelled so many times in a race. Thanks a lot. This cheering makes a massive difference.

So I’m not sure where I finished in the overall results. But I’m happy with my ride and effort. It has been a while since I’ve raced for an hour. But really the time went by super quickly. One of my main goals for today was to “not crash”. And I met this goal! Phew.

A massive shout out to Bob, Cheryl, Ian, Brian, Graham, and the countless other volunteers who set up the course, handled registration, marshaled the course, kept score, and tore down the course.

Well, the bikes are finally clean. The last of the clothing is in the washing machine. I’m finally clean – after a nice soak in the tub. Now it is time to meet up with a good pal for some burgers at The Works. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday!

(As soon as the photos are posted – I’ll post a link on the Photos page.)