After another day of racing and cheering in Gloucester, Mass., we finally crawled in our front door at 1:00 am this morning. Yes, it was a very long day. A good day. But a long one. While I learned a lot this weekend, I learned a very crucial and important lesson on the drive home: there is a limit to how much caffeine a post-race belly can tolerate. One can of Illy espresso and a grande soy misto can be too much for an empty stomach – particularly one that has already consumed a double shot cherry chocolate gel and an earlier can of Illy espresso. Yes, this is too much for a stomach that doesn’t normal receive coffee… Any attempts at drinking fizzy water to settle this stomach should be avoided – this only adds fuel to the fire.

Okay now that this public service message is out of the way – on to the good stuff. Sunday was another good day of racing and learning on the bike. After a great night with our hosts (thanks Mike and Cathy!) we were up early and off to the New England Worlds Site for another day of racing and cheering. After some pre-riding, cheering and catching up with folks, Marc was on the line and ready to race. Sunday was a much better day for Marc – he was having a fantastic race until he crashed… This caused him to lose a lot of time but he still continued to put in a big effort. I was very happy to see him riding so well and right in there in the mix with the top of the race field. Many thanks to Alex and Heidi for the pit work.

My race was up next. I got into my usual pre-race routine and everything came together really well. And then when I rolled down to the start at 2:15 for the scheduled 2:30 start time, I wondered why no one was around. Hmm, strange. I quickly learned that our race had been pushed back to 3:00 due to some necessary course changes. Initially rather frazzled, this push back worked in my favour because my bike needed some last minute tweaking. I got out on the course for a lap to see the new changes and to settle myself down a bit. Big goal for today was a good start. Well, I had a better start – I didn’t lose as much ground as I typically do. I know I still have more in me with the start. After a good start, things seemed to go backwards rather quickly – I struggled to hold my ground in the twisty bits at the top – giving up many spots and watching the group I wanted ride away.

Head down and keep digging. My power and strength were spot on and I could make up serious ground and space on the straight aways but struggled on Sunday with the twisty bits at the top and bottom and with the runs. My sand riding was top-notch (practice does pay off). I need to really give it my all in the runs (I tend to hold back a bit for fear of not being able to recover… but this is not right). The last time up the sea wall run-up I ran like I had never run before – and it made a big difference. I’ve written a race report over on the race reports page – you can click over to read all the nitty gritty details.

Biggest lesson from Sunday: technical skills are greatly improved but still need more work. Fitness really is coming on but is not where I want it yet. Managed to keep my head on during the race but it fell off promptly upon crossing the finish line. Things take time and I’ve still got time.

We took off pretty quickly after the race in hopes of getting home at a decent time. It was a long drive with Marc doing all of it – I was useless driving in the rain and the dark….

This weekend lived up to everything Gloucester is rumoured and billed to be. If you’re thinking of traveling to one race weekend – make it this one. You won’t be disappointed. The courses are top-notch. It is well organized. The competition is some of the best in North America. The fans are intense and raucous. The location is spectacular. Just do it – go to Gloucester.

Huge thanks to a massive cast of folks: Marc, Alex, Heidi, Mike, Cathy, Peter, Conor, Evan, Fergie, Mel, Nick (aka Nate), Laura, Gabby, Helen, Stefan (aka Steven), Steve, Josee, Petar, David, Tom and so many other people who cheered and encouraged. Great to hear “Go Canada” “Come on Ottawa” “Good Job Vicki” – this makes it all so worth it.

Huge thanks to Richard Sachs for the sweet hat. I’ll wear it with pride! ATMO

Thanks Gloucester – I missed you and it was great to be back.

There is nothing quite like racing in Gloucester. This is where I was well and truely bitten by the cyclocross bug years ago and it was a real treat to be part of the action again. Saturday was my first time racing here in Gloucester in three years.

So the day and the race… Marc was up first at noon so we got to the venue with plenty of time for him to pre-ride and catch up with long-time cyclocross friends. When we pre-rode the course was rather soggy and greasy. I had the course sorted out and felt good about things. Marc’s race went off and I found a good spot to watch and cheer (even took some photos!). Marc has some rotten luck with being ridden into a stake and then being crashed – not the way you want to start your first lap. But he kept on digging and did his thing – I’m very proud of him for this.

My race went off at 2:30 so onto the trainer at at 1:30 and time to get warmed up and ready to go. Solid warm-up and off to the staging area to gt penned in and called up. I was called up 17th so the third row – not bad considering the stacked field we had today. In total 46 women lined up to race – pretty darn good. I won’t rehash the entire race but give you some fo the wouldas, couldas, shouldas, and dids:
– did have a good start
– should of kept being aggressive and ended up going backwards once we hit the hill
– did lose many spots
– could of been more aggressive in the corners and stuck my elbows out
– did make some smart decision like getting off early in the twisty bits to run
– should have been more agressive on my run
– did accelerate well out of corners
– should have and could have pushed it harder that first lap
– should have done another pre-race lap – conditions had changed with the ground firming and drying up and I couldn’t remember the course
– did get stronger and smarter as the race went on
– did listen to Marc when he yelled at me to sprint, shift down and to take different lines
– did make a series of small mistakes that cost me: getting off a step too early on the stairs, going wide when I should have gone tight, looking down instead of ahead
– would have been nice if I hadn’t crashed on the run-up – don’t knwo what happened but as I was dismounting I suddenly found myself crashed landing with both my knees on a massive rock
– did stay positive
– did not loose focuse or check-out
– did keep focusing on the fixing the small things
– did continue to accelerate and sprint out of corners

So, the outcome was not great. (In fact I don’t know where I finished.) But the riding was okay. I got smarter and better as the race went on. I got faster as the race went on. I made a series of small mistakes that accumulated into bigger mistakes. My number one error that cost me was not pre-riding after Marc’s race so I could see how the course had changed – my first lap was a real disaster.

At no point in this race did the negative self-talk show up. I just kept on digging and focusing on the next section. This is a big win for me. Even though I really wasn’t wanted to be I kept on plugging away. It is hard to be racing in a spot you don’t want to be in – but for everyone but the leader this is the case…

All in all, it was a good day at Gloucester. I rode techically better than I would have a year ago. I kept my head on. In fact I would have liked another lap! I was cooked at the end and really put myself in the red zone.

Many thanks to Marc for all his help – cleaning the bikes, tuning them up, cheering me on, giving me pointers through-out the race, and for being so positive afterwards. Big shout out to Alex and Heidi for the pit work for both my race and Marc’s. Many many thanks to Mike and Cathy Rowell for opening their home to us this weekend – so awesome to stay with friends and to not be in a hotel. Thanks to Mike, Cathy, Steve, Josee, Conor, Evan and all the others who cheered me on – this helps so much during a race. Awesome to talk to Tom and David today – haven’t seen them in forever.

Yes, so you can guess that this has been a really good weekend. The racing was fun and challenging, we get to hang out with cool people, and best of all – it’s Gloucester.

Stoked to do it all over again today. I really want to have a smarter and more skilled ride than I did on Saturday. Often I’m not excited for the second day but today I’m ready to go. See you out there.

Oh, and last but not least – Happy Birthday to my dad! Have a great day dad – thanks for the amazing support and cheering from afar.

Another good weekend of cyclocross racing is in the books. Marc and I decided to not race on Saturday and just take it easy for the day. This really made a big difference to our Friday night – we were able to relax, go out for a nice dinner and not feel super rushed to get the car packed and the bikes and gear sorted. We had an easy Saturday morning and hit the road at around 1:00. An easy drive down and soon enough we were settled in the Rochester Plaza Hotel.

We bumped into Rachel, Brad, Winston, and Wiki pretty much right away. Really great to see them – we all (minus Wiki and Winston) lived together in Belgium a couple of winters ago. Amazing to see young Winston and great to catch-up with Rachel and Brad (Wiki is a dog).

As is our normal routine we brought some food from home – saving us from having to go to a restaurant the night before the race. We were able to rent a microwave and small fridge from the hotel so we were set for the night. We hit up a local grocery store for some veggies and ice cream (for Marc the Shark) and we were settled in for the night. Without a reliable Internet connection I chillaxed with the Food Network and then one of the Focker movies. All in all, a very relaxing evening. Sunday morning we hit the road with ample time to get setup in a prime parking spot near the start and get ready for Marc’s 11 a.m. race.

Marc had a great race finishing second position. He and the winner Dan Staffo were the class of the race, putting in lots of distance to the rest of the field. It was great to see Marc riding so well. I’m disappointed I missed his podium though (hopefully there are some photos floating around the WWW).

My race was on at 2:00 so I had plenty of time to relax and get ready to race. It was good to chill-out and catch up with everyone – and of course to get the low-down on the men’s World Championships Road Race – sounds like a great race. Soon enough I was on the trainer getting my legs and lungs primed for 40 minutes of fast and hot racing. It was super hot in Rochester on Sunday – I think it was 30 celsius by the time we raced! I’ve written a full race report here.

Lots of lessons learned on Sunday:
– pre-riding early in the day is great but it is imperative to get out again on the course to see how the course has changed since 9 a.m.
– always check the tire pressure on the course before lining up
– remember that there is a big hill at the start – so clicking through the cassette is not that smart
– keep focus at all times
– when taking a feed during a cyclocross race, the bottle can be taken out onto the course – doesn’t need to be used only in the pit
– downhill barriers take skill and nerve
– look for exits in the corners

In the end, I finished in 9th place. I was in 8th for a long-time – series of small mistakes and some fading caused me to lose this spot. All in all, I’m very happy with the physical effort I put out – I just wish I hadn’t made the small mistakes that really did add up to making a different in my race. I had a few “hairy” moments while descending and hit a number of mistakes – happy to have kept it upright!

Many thanks to Marc for his tireless work in the pits, for the pep talk after the race, for putting up with fatigue-induced crankiness after the race and for being such a voice of reason during the day. Thanks to Conor for cheering me on and for letting me know where I was with regards to position. Thanks to Brad and Rachel for the cheering and to all the others cheering me on out there.