It is the middle of the training week. For me this means I’ve had a couple of days to recover (since I raced twice and traveled on the weekend) and now today is the day I rip my legs off again. Had scheduled a motor pacing work-out but plans changed and I ended up doing a very brutal work-out. 2 x 15 sweet spot tempo intervals with seated accelerations every 3 minutes. Yes, it is as nasty as it sounds. But nasty in a good way. I get a great deal of satisfaction from hard work-outs.

Tonight I’m heading out to the Ride with Rendall ‘cross clinic. Should be good. Rain or shine I’ll be there. You should come as well. Fun will be had. Remember the clinic is at Laroche Park.

Posted a few photos from the weekend of racing in Vermont. Thanks to Paul Weiss for the pictures. Check out the photos page. I’ll post more as they are available.

Going to take out my spare bike tonight. Trying to break in a new saddle. And Marc put on some new TRP brakes for me yesterday that I want to test out. Thanks Marc! I’d be lost without Marc.

So, I have to update my Race Calendar. This is on the list of “to dos” for tonight. Looks like we are going to go to Granogue, Delaware for a race the weekend after ‘cross Nationals. Cool – never been to Delaware. The drive is 8.5 hours – not bad. We’re leaning towards this rather than driving to Kentucky. I’d love to do the US GP races in Kentucky but 13 hours of driving is a bit much.

Getting myself on the registration lists for some World Cups. Crazy! If you had told me two years ago – heck last year that I was going to be racing in a cyclo-cross World Cup I would have laughed out loud! Well, I’m not laughing now. Nope – I’m grinning from ear to ear.

Well, dudes, I best motor. Have my day job to get back to. Thanks for reading. Cheers.

Good to be home and back in the groove. This being said, I’m stoked to be traveling again next week. We are heading out next Thursday for Edmonton, Alb – host of the 2008 Canadian National Cyclo-Cross Championships. Fun stuff. My dad is making the trip out so this will be even more sweet – I don’t think he’s ever seen a cyclo-cross race.

This weekend we are staying home and racing the madison on Sunday at Britannia Beach. Crossing our fingers that Marc and I can race together. It will be fun to race a more relaxed race and hang out with the solid Ottawa cyclo-cross fanatics. The madison is always fun because people really get into the race and start really cheering on one another. Perfect way to spend a Sunday morning. Plus there is the option of brunch after the race….

Today I went out on the road bike for a couple hours. Just an endurance ride to shake the legs out and get my groove back after racing and traveling. My road rash is slowly healing. Though my left hip is not looking to pretty. Ah well, could always be worse – at least nothing happened to the bike. Yesterday I hit up the trails at Slack. Went out with nothing really in mind – just wanted to ride the spare bike and get a feel for it. My spare bike is very similar to my main bike so I really just wanted to ride it and find out what the kinks are.

I posted a link on the photos page to Joel Sidhu’s photo web site. Check it out – some excellent race photos from the race on Sunday. As soon as photos are available from the weekend in Vermont, I’ll post these as well.

Any more race reports floating around in cyberspace? Feel free to write one and send it to me – I’ll post it for you.

Belgium. Belgium. Belgium. Come on – you know you want to. You only live once. Why not spend a week, a couple of weeks, or even a month in Belgium. Race your bike. Meet some cool people. Learn some Flemish. Sample some fine baked goods. Push your limits. Go to bed every night with a big muddy smile on your face. Marc and I are heading over on Dec. 9 and staying in Blauberg, Belgium. If you are interested and need a place to stay or just have some questions about racing ‘cross in Belgium – drop me an email.

Remember, the cyclo-cross clinic has moved to a new location – Laroche Park. See the Ride with Rendall forums for a map. Training starts at 5:30. I’ll see you there.

Loving this time of year. Get out and ride – soon enough you’ll be grumbling about the snow.

The Wednesday night Ride with Rendall cyclo-cross clinic will not be at Britannia Beach.

The clinic will be at: Laroche Park. Meet at Bayview and Slidell St. at the ball diamonds. 5:30 start time.

See the Ride with Rendall forums for a map of the training area.

Thanks to Glen for hosting these training sessions. See you out tomorrow night for some more quality training and fun on the bike.

Quick heads up that the Ride with Rendall cyclo-cross clinic will not be at Britannia Beach on Wednesday evening.

Visit the Ride with Rendall forums this evening to find out about the new location.

When I find out, I’ll post here as well.

So you’ve got a few races under your belt and you’re feeling pretty good – don’t let your season end after Nationals. Come to Belgium and keep your season going. Your form will still be hot so why not get
some extra racing in.

Maybe you’re thinking of competing in the Masters World Cyclo-Cross championships in Mol? Maybe you need a few extra UCI points to make it onto the elite World’s team? No better place to get the experience and points you need than in Belgium during December and January.

Are you convinced? Perfect. Now all you need is a place to stay. Well, keep reading:

House located in Blauberg, Belgium – excellent location in the heart of the Belgian cross scene (just ask Sven Nys and Niels Albert who live nearby). Lots of great training roads and trails. Easy drives to all the races – furthest we drove last year was 90 minutes.
House has all the amenities a bike racer needs – huge garage (lots of room to clean and work on your bike), laundry facilities, large kitchen, comfy living room for relaxing and rehashing races.
Sleeping arrangements are two to a room. House sleeps six.
Self-service house – just like being at home.
Grocery store next door. Bakery down the street.
Tuesday and Thursday group rides of 100 plus riders – route goes right past the house.

You will need to arrange your own transportation. There will be people with cars but, transportation cannot be guaranteed.

This is a great opportunity for masters and elite racers interested in getting some additional ‘cross races in once the domestic season has ended. Length of stay is flexible – come for a week or two or even a
month.

Come and stay in Blauberg. Race cyclo-cross. Meet racers from all over the world. Get muddy. Have fun.

Imagine the stories you can tell your buddies.

For house location details, follow this link:
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&country=BE&addtohistory=&a\
ddress=&city=Blauwberg&zipcode=

For more details, email me.

I stayed at this house for two previous trips to Belgium. We’ll be staying here again this winter.