This morning I held a private cyclo-cross lesson for John. John is a definite inspiration… Read his blog post about his experience and be sure to click around his website to learn more about him and his goals.
Thanks John for coming out this morning. I was really impressed with how quickly you picked up the skills of dismounting and mounting. Good luck in the upcoming Army Run and your first marathon in October.
Some exciting things happening lately…. Originally I was traveling to Aigle, Switzerland on Oct. 14 to race at the World Cup on Oct. 17. Now I’m not doing this….
Instead I’m traveling to Aigle, Switzerland on Oct. 2… To attend a 15 day cyclo-cross training camp taught by the legendary Erwin Vervecken! This is a camp run by the UCI – so I’m confident that it will be well run and a really good use of my training time. We’ll be staying in Aigle, training daily, staying together and prepping for the World Cup on the 17th. I’m pretty excited to be able to attend this training camp. At first I wasn’t sure if I should go, but such opportunities don’t come along every week. Seize the day!
My dad is still coming to the races – change is that instead of meeting him in Frankfurt, I’ll meet him in Aigle. So luckily everything works out quite easily. I have to say that I received outstanding customer service from Air Canada getting my flight changed. Also big shout out to Simon Burney for me in navigating some bureaucratic hoops for me – I owe you Simon!
Had a great day of training yesterday. Met up with Karl and Conor to do some ‘cross skill work out at Karl’s place. He has built a pretty cool ‘cross training course that has some challenging terrain. We all had fun tackling the sand, run-up, steep descent, and testing our limits. Just what I needed since I’m in a rest week right now… (Steve, I took it easy and made sure not to go into the red zone.) I took some photos of Karl’s course so you can see what is possible with a bit of hardwork and creativity:
Fast descent or steep climb – look out for the ruts!
The course after the descent/before the steep climb:
The really steep descent or quick run-up (other side of the dirt hill):
Part of the sand track:
Many thanks to the Hoppner’s for their hospitality – we kind of took over their house last night with our training, endless chatter and then enjoying the fine meal. Thanks again – it was a great night.
Today is looking a good training day as well. I’m kicking things off with a cyclo-cross practice session with John – he is new to cyclo-cross, so I’m sure we’ll have fun learning the basics. Then I’m off on my road bike for recovery ride. I received some wise words from my coach yesterday and they deserve to be shared with you:
“Just a gentle reminder to make sure you take your recovery days as seriously as your rest days!”
After the cyclo-cross practice session on Monday evening, the group asked me to send them an email with the key “tips and tricks” for each thing we practiced. I thought this information might be of use to you as well….
So, here are my tips and tricks to think about and focus on when working on cyclo-cross skills. Hopefully these will be useful to you. If you have some of your own tips and tricks – lets read them – post up in the comments so others can learn from you.
Dismounts:
– think hip – turn your hip – this will help your left foot unclip easily and provide momentum when picking up the bike
– big step – take a big step with your right foot – this will propel you forward and get your feet moving quickly
– stay relaxed – take whatever speed you feel comfortable with into the barrier or obstacle
Mounts:
– sneak a peak – look for that pedal – take a quick glance down to find out where the right pedal is
– drive the leg down – really think about getting that right foot to the pedal as fast and as powerfully as possible
– spring don’t jump – use your left leg as spring to get you up and onto your saddle – but don’t jump – this will cause you to miss the saddle or worse!
Turns:
– move around – move your body around on your saddle – squish yourself forward to the nose of the saddle and push your bum back – find what works for you
– look ahead – always anticipate what is coming around the corner – eyes up looking around the bend – the bike follows the eyes
– stay loose – keep your hands loose – your shoulders relaxed – remember to breathe – and smile!
Monday night was a special night. I drove to Chelsea, Quebec for a cyclo-cross practice session with a group of pretty cool people. The plan for the session was to focus on the basics, keep things relaxed, and in the end have fun doing it. Speaking for myself, it was a great evening of riding, learning, discussing, and simply being outside enjoying the night.
This is the second such cyclo-cross practice session I’ve done and I’m thoroughly enjoying them. It is a great feeling to be able to give back to the community. There is nothing I like better than helping others and showing them that yes, you can learn to ride that tricky corner or get comfortable in the squishy sand. I know what it was like when I was learning – at times floundering around trying to figure things out. So it is just a super feeling to be able to help others who are going through the same things.
We discovered some fantastic trails for a good session of follow the leader and then it was back to the slow heavy grass for some skill work. Dismounts and mounts, breaking these techniques down to a slow speed and gradually increasing the speed, eventually adding in the barrier. Then it was time for turning and more turning.
At the end of the session everyone had rosy cheeks and I could see the improvements in each person. What a great feeling. Thanks for coming out to the cyclo-cross practice session. Looking forward to next week when we tackle some sand, do a bit of running, and uphill dismounts.
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again – it is the cyclo-cross community that makes this sport so darn awesome!
It is official, it is full on cyclo-cross time in these parts. We don’t have any races here in Ottawa yet, but it seems that everyone has got cyclo-cross on the brain. So, it is time. Cyclo-cross time!
Had a great training session with the fast boys last night. The four of us hit up my favorite training grounds for some hot laps, some even hotter laps, some skill work in the sand, and then some super hot laps. It was a great time. We all practiced a few key techniques. Marc helped me out with my remount – I’m not sprinting into my remount which is causing me to loose momentum (uber-critical when facing a steep/sharp uphill). Then it was full-on attack and recover mode – each of the guys would take turns attacking while I held on for dear life. I can tell you I’ve never gone so fast on my ‘cross bike or had so much fun! To cool down we worked on the dismounts and mounts. Great night of riding, good conversation, some laughs, some stories – all in all a great way to spend a Wednesday evening.
Marc and I closed off the night with a stop at the Heart and Crown for young Luc’s going away party. It was a long day, but definitely worth it. Can’t beat an evening of riding the ‘cross bike, some good food and then hanging out with some cool people.
Today I held my first cyclo-cross practice session. Well, I had a blast. It was so much fun to start my day with some cyclo-cross skill work. Andrew and Kim came out and we had an action packed 90 minutes. Warmed up with some follow the leader which resulted in some time spent working on sand riding. Then it was time to get down to basics when we worked on our dismounts and mounts. Andrew and Kim asked some excellent questions about these crucial cyclo-cross techniques. To round out the session, I showed them how I set up my flags to practice turning, bike control, and flow. The time flew by – I think we all could have stayed out all morning just riding, practicing, asking questions, and having fun. Thanks Andrew and Kim for coming out and making the first session a success.
I will be holding another cyclo-cross practice session next week on Thursday morning. If you’re interested or want to find out more about the sessions, drop me an email.
As for the rest of the training day? Well since I just had two big double days in a row, today is all about recovery. I’m going to hop out on my road bike for an easy spin to loosen up my legs. Let me tell you I was feeling the full on ache last night while trying to keep up to the fast boys!
I’m so stoked for the cyclo-cross season to start. There is nothing quite like the feeling of the body coming around and of everything just clicking. Fitness is really good. Bikes are awesome. My brain is screwed on straight and is in a perfectly confident place. Now I just want to race! See you at Trexlertown!
(If you’re looking for some racing this Sunday – check out the Ride with Rendall Team Time Trial. This is an awesome event. The riding is fast and hard and the event is well-organized with everyone still smiling by the end of the day.)
Ottawa Cross 