I'll start off by saying, 1986 was a good year for maroon, somehow, I don't think 2009 will be!
Well last week was a bit of an exciting one! On Tuesday, I picked up our brand new 2009 Honda Fit, swanky! Very awesome car! It's pretty much been snowing all week since getting it, and so has been a blast to drive! I'm sure the Pirelli snow Tires help with that department, but hey, fun's fun!
On Friday, the week ended on a bit of a sad note. We'd say our final goodbye to the trusty old steed that was our Honda Accord. Now at nearly 23 years old (its was a 1986 model) it had a good life, but things were adding up, and the poor guy had to be put out of its misery. We took the metaphorical walk in the woods to the junk yard, you know, the; "hey boy, let's go hunting" and only one of us returned. It was sad, but I know that it will some day again be put to good use, somewhere, somehow. At least I remembered to get out all the cassette tapes!
Farewell old friend
PS:
for sale: 10 Cassette tapes, cheap, includes Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Nitzer Ebb, Rap Traxx 3, my greatest mix tape of all time from 1997, and others.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Mooney's Bay part Deux
The final race of the Eastern Series would once again this year be at Mooney's bay in Ottawa. I'm still on injury reserve, so I'd sit this one out and take pics with the Nikon. A bit of snow on the ground would make it interesting, temps just above freezing.
It ended up being a bit faster than expected, in some spots.. but a fun race to watch.
Can't say too much else other than Im looking forward to getting back on the bike already, and its only December.. long ways to go! Oh well, I'll get the skis out and rip it up for a few months!
Anyways, at the very least, I'll be able to watch the live feeds online of the races in Europe now!
yeee haw!
It ended up being a bit faster than expected, in some spots.. but a fun race to watch.
Can't say too much else other than Im looking forward to getting back on the bike already, and its only December.. long ways to go! Oh well, I'll get the skis out and rip it up for a few months!
Anyways, at the very least, I'll be able to watch the live feeds online of the races in Europe now!
yeee haw!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Crashes, Smashes, and Gashes!
With about two races to go on the calendar (further trips abroad pending) it would be all or nothing at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, ON. According to calculations, two catagory wins in the final two Ottawa series races would set me up mathmatically for a third place in the overall standings (first and second being out of reach due to missing several races in the series).
Arrival in Morrisburg would give us sun, and a light breeze, however Temps at around -3c and a windchill aproaching -10, would make it interesting. The previous week had been nice and dry, but very cold, so the ground was frozen solid, and no snow meas FA-AST!
A bit of a smaller turnout, so off the gun, it would be easier to settle into position and get to business. Early on there were four of us at the front, Osmand B. would be in the lead as usual, with the three of us tagging along. Osmand had about a 30m gap, and I was ready to jump up to him, and hopefully be able to hang on for a lap or two to gain time on the others, that was until, I slipped up on some loose gravel and frost. I was immediately back on the bike and ready to regain position and have another go. About 200m later, we hit the grass, and on a chicane around some spruce trees, caught some heavy frost and hit the deck again. This time not as good, landing on the same side. I gathered myself after a bit of pause and jumped on to begin the chase, and we're only on the first lap!
I quickly worked my way back up through the group and caught up to Darren who seemed to be going well on the day battling it out with Casey. As I continued up through the group finally caught up to Rob O. who also wasn't having the best of days. On the start of Lap 3, on the first uphill barrier, I slipped while jumping over the barrier, landed across the barrier and partially on the bike, Ouch! This would be #3, and I'm done. I crawled back on the bike and instantly pulled myself off course and called it quits for the day.
Later I'd find a few good scrapes and some wicked road rash on the hip, knee, a finger, and what felt like full body whiplash, nice!
So with that, and all the snow we've been getting this week, I've called it quits for the season, looking forward to a few days or so of healing, beers, and then later on as the snow accumulates, we'll hit the tracks for some skiing. If this fall is any indication of whats to come, I expect a good long winter, and lots of skiing!
I'm also anxious to finally be home to catch some live feeds on Sunday mornings now of the euro cross season, should be motivation enough to get things going again in the spring!
So now that the seaon for me is officially over, I will be out to watch the final race of the year at Mooney's Bay. Give me a chance to cheer on Kelly, Darren and the others, maybe get some pictures, and who knows maybe I'll even tag along a few Mooseheads!!
I hope to keep posting over the winter, so well see what interesting things I can come up with!!
ciao for now!
Arrival in Morrisburg would give us sun, and a light breeze, however Temps at around -3c and a windchill aproaching -10, would make it interesting. The previous week had been nice and dry, but very cold, so the ground was frozen solid, and no snow meas FA-AST!
A bit of a smaller turnout, so off the gun, it would be easier to settle into position and get to business. Early on there were four of us at the front, Osmand B. would be in the lead as usual, with the three of us tagging along. Osmand had about a 30m gap, and I was ready to jump up to him, and hopefully be able to hang on for a lap or two to gain time on the others, that was until, I slipped up on some loose gravel and frost. I was immediately back on the bike and ready to regain position and have another go. About 200m later, we hit the grass, and on a chicane around some spruce trees, caught some heavy frost and hit the deck again. This time not as good, landing on the same side. I gathered myself after a bit of pause and jumped on to begin the chase, and we're only on the first lap!
I quickly worked my way back up through the group and caught up to Darren who seemed to be going well on the day battling it out with Casey. As I continued up through the group finally caught up to Rob O. who also wasn't having the best of days. On the start of Lap 3, on the first uphill barrier, I slipped while jumping over the barrier, landed across the barrier and partially on the bike, Ouch! This would be #3, and I'm done. I crawled back on the bike and instantly pulled myself off course and called it quits for the day.
Later I'd find a few good scrapes and some wicked road rash on the hip, knee, a finger, and what felt like full body whiplash, nice!
So with that, and all the snow we've been getting this week, I've called it quits for the season, looking forward to a few days or so of healing, beers, and then later on as the snow accumulates, we'll hit the tracks for some skiing. If this fall is any indication of whats to come, I expect a good long winter, and lots of skiing!
I'm also anxious to finally be home to catch some live feeds on Sunday mornings now of the euro cross season, should be motivation enough to get things going again in the spring!
So now that the seaon for me is officially over, I will be out to watch the final race of the year at Mooney's Bay. Give me a chance to cheer on Kelly, Darren and the others, maybe get some pictures, and who knows maybe I'll even tag along a few Mooseheads!!
I hope to keep posting over the winter, so well see what interesting things I can come up with!!
ciao for now!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Back Row Shenanigans
Well after a nice trip south, a quick stop on the way home in Trenton NJ would bring us to a stopover for a round of the USGP series. Being tanned from hangin' on the beaches in Florida, we probably looked a bit out of place in the cool north east.
The weather was calling for cool and rain, we got warm and mostly cloudy, some sun, with temps toping out around 21 celcius! Although it had rained all week, especially the night before, so the mud would make its presence felt!
After a bit of a registration craziness, it was off to get ready. It looked like it was going to downpour at any moment, and the course was muddy, and with a tight schedule, warm up was on the road, and the first lap would be a blind one.
Line up for the start we'd have over 85 in the grid, and I was all the way to the back. A decent start, and lots of mud would facilitate slowly moving up the field. It was definitely a tough day, and with the body not feeling a hundred percent, likely from the travelling and eating over the trip, I was surprised to hear I was in the top 20. By race end I would finish 16th, a nice finish to a really tough day. It was warming up and the sun would even poke out by this point! Not a bad day.
We stuck around to watch the pro races, lots of excitement, amzing talent, and even more mud!
Next stop, two rounds to go in Ottawa!
The weather was calling for cool and rain, we got warm and mostly cloudy, some sun, with temps toping out around 21 celcius! Although it had rained all week, especially the night before, so the mud would make its presence felt!
After a bit of a registration craziness, it was off to get ready. It looked like it was going to downpour at any moment, and the course was muddy, and with a tight schedule, warm up was on the road, and the first lap would be a blind one.
Line up for the start we'd have over 85 in the grid, and I was all the way to the back. A decent start, and lots of mud would facilitate slowly moving up the field. It was definitely a tough day, and with the body not feeling a hundred percent, likely from the travelling and eating over the trip, I was surprised to hear I was in the top 20. By race end I would finish 16th, a nice finish to a really tough day. It was warming up and the sun would even poke out by this point! Not a bad day.
We stuck around to watch the pro races, lots of excitement, amzing talent, and even more mud!
Next stop, two rounds to go in Ottawa!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Flo-rida
So how odd has the past few days been? Well if 25 (celcius) and higher in November is any indication, its been nice. Departure from Ottawa Tuesday was as usual, later than hoping, but we arrived late, or early Wed. morning in Columbia Maryland. A brief stopover at Kelly's aunts, where we left Kona (the dog) for a few days, and headed to Florida, Clearwater (Think Tampa Bay) to be exact. Very nice, warm, sunny, beaches, palm trees. Not exactly cross weather, but very conducive to riding! Tomorrow (Saturday) Kelly is off the start line at 7:20am for Half Ironman World Championships, so a nice early morning!
So a good morning of support will be in order, very nice! Hope to get a ride in in the afternoon, as Kell will no doubt be recovering at that point. More "cityrvals" as I've found riding here isn't the best, its a bit too much city, stop and go. However, I've discovered the network of bike/walk paths, good for cruising, and a nice way to check out the city's parks and nicer scenery.
We'll keep ya posted, and hope to get some pics in too!
So a good morning of support will be in order, very nice! Hope to get a ride in in the afternoon, as Kell will no doubt be recovering at that point. More "cityrvals" as I've found riding here isn't the best, its a bit too much city, stop and go. However, I've discovered the network of bike/walk paths, good for cruising, and a nice way to check out the city's parks and nicer scenery.
We'll keep ya posted, and hope to get some pics in too!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Update
Well this one will be condensed, but a bit of a catch up over the past couple of weeks.
Starting with the first race back in Ottawa for the season, it was nice to be closer to home for a change, as its been some time! This would be a round of the Eastern Ontario Series, held at Mooney's Bay in Ottawa. It had rained a horrible amount the previous day, but the course other than a small couple of wet spots, was pretty dry and fast. The start was usual mayhem, an Ottawa trait that I'd forgotten, halfway through the first lap things were sorting themselves out.
The race was a long one, with only four and a half laps, it would be a grind. Halfway in our chasegroup of four would implode and we'd mostly end up on our own. A lap later I had two catch up to me and we'd gain back a spot or two by the end. On the final lap there were three of us, and it was going to come down to the wire. with half a lap to go, I made a move to be on the front, and lead out the end of the race, this would either be an advantage or kill me.
It did however work out as planned, I was able to lead off the second half of the course, and be in best position for the final set of turns before the sprint to the finish!
Result: 1st MA (6th overall)
The next week, we would be in Kanata for another round of the Eastern Ontario Series. This was the first time racing there, but first impressions were good. It was an awesome course, one of the best in the eastern series yet! a nice open fast course, a small hill and some twisty switchbacks on the decent.
Had a bit better start than the previous week, was nearer the front. I was uncertain of my condition as minimal riding the previous week, and a bit of illness had taken its toll.
After a couple of laps, I settled in and gained up to a few riders, where we had a good group of four and trying to chase up to some of the leaders.
The group rode well and it would come down to the final lap again, a bit of a slip by Ryan Atkins would allow Thomas (forget last name) to get away as Greg Hawkes and I were behind Ryan when he went down. I managed to hold off the pair in the finish, for another win in the MA category!
Result: 1st MA (6th overall.... again)
We're off this weekend, "vacation" in Florida, Kelly will be competing in Half Ironman Worlds, in Clearwater Florida, then on the way home a brief stopover in Trenton NJ, for the USGP weekend!
Starting with the first race back in Ottawa for the season, it was nice to be closer to home for a change, as its been some time! This would be a round of the Eastern Ontario Series, held at Mooney's Bay in Ottawa. It had rained a horrible amount the previous day, but the course other than a small couple of wet spots, was pretty dry and fast. The start was usual mayhem, an Ottawa trait that I'd forgotten, halfway through the first lap things were sorting themselves out.
The race was a long one, with only four and a half laps, it would be a grind. Halfway in our chasegroup of four would implode and we'd mostly end up on our own. A lap later I had two catch up to me and we'd gain back a spot or two by the end. On the final lap there were three of us, and it was going to come down to the wire. with half a lap to go, I made a move to be on the front, and lead out the end of the race, this would either be an advantage or kill me.
It did however work out as planned, I was able to lead off the second half of the course, and be in best position for the final set of turns before the sprint to the finish!
Result: 1st MA (6th overall)
The next week, we would be in Kanata for another round of the Eastern Ontario Series. This was the first time racing there, but first impressions were good. It was an awesome course, one of the best in the eastern series yet! a nice open fast course, a small hill and some twisty switchbacks on the decent.
Had a bit better start than the previous week, was nearer the front. I was uncertain of my condition as minimal riding the previous week, and a bit of illness had taken its toll.
After a couple of laps, I settled in and gained up to a few riders, where we had a good group of four and trying to chase up to some of the leaders.
The group rode well and it would come down to the final lap again, a bit of a slip by Ryan Atkins would allow Thomas (forget last name) to get away as Greg Hawkes and I were behind Ryan when he went down. I managed to hold off the pair in the finish, for another win in the MA category!
Result: 1st MA (6th overall.... again)
We're off this weekend, "vacation" in Florida, Kelly will be competing in Half Ironman Worlds, in Clearwater Florida, then on the way home a brief stopover in Trenton NJ, for the USGP weekend!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Quebec Provincial Champioships
Kelly and I headed over to Laurier Station (near Quebec City) for a weekend of cross racing, Saturday was Provincial Championships, and a second race on Sunday would be part of the Quebec provincial series. The course on Saturday was perfectly flat, and very tight, narrow, twisty and a few questionable corners would make for a challenging course to say the least (We had a few choice words to add to the description but I wont post them here in case any kids are reading :)
Kelly had a rough go, as the course didn't suit her well. She was feeling a bit under the weather, so that didn't help much. The Elite Men went at 12.30 and the we (the MA's) went off 30 seconds later. I had excellent start, and got the holeshot which was key as the start was a 75m straight into an "s" bent narrowing. Halfway into the first lap Luc Proulx - Xprezo (4 time prov. champ, former National Champ) caught up to me and the two of us would ride away from the group, exchanging the lead for a few laps. On lap two, my front brake cable slipped, and this would leave me brakeless in the front for the rest of the race. Kelly said this would make me faster, I was more worried about controlling the bike in the corners! Luc was riding strong, and I was fearing my chances were going to slip away (no pun intended).
Halfway through the race, I was really into a rhytm and started to put a small gap into Luc, and would then continue to gain a few seconds each lap, evetually nicely taking the win by about a minute 40! The race would turn out to be a really strong ride, and an awesome win, despite no front brake! Also really awesome to win a provincial championship, and get a nice new blue and white jersey to go along
with it!!
Sunday was pretty much the same course, only run in reverse, with a few modifications to widen some spots, and even make the course a bit faster. Kelly had a bit better day than Saturday, improving a few spots finishing 4th in the women's race! The afternoon race would be bunched together (Elite and MA's single start), with a more open start lane and course, but a small slip up on the start would put me a few spots back and chasing a bit more. By the end of the first lap Eric Lemaire (Taxi Mode) and I would respectively be chasing for 5th and 6th overall (1st and 2nd Master). By lap three we'd move up a few spots, and both be insid the top 5 (overall). nearing the end of lap three Eric thought he flatted, and let me around, I was anticipating him to pull into the pits, but he stayed right on my wheel for the next three of four laps. It would turn out everything was fine, and no flat tires, so we soldiered on! In front of us were three Elites, Benoit Simard (bluberi) Ugo Lapierre (2peers.com) and Marc Andre Daigle. I spent most of the race about 15-20seconds behind Ugo, and unable to bridge the gap. Eric would be about the same behind me, with 3 laps to go, where Eric seemed to be dropping a bit back. Two laps to go I tried one more time to brigde to Ugo, this would also put a big gap on Eric. Ugo had Marc-Andre in his sights, and kept his lead on me solid right to the end.
On the final lap, Ugo and I both caugth and passed a struggling Marc Andre, he'd gone off the start really hard, and blew up nearing the end, after passing him a third of the way through the final lap, it would put me in third overall for the race. Another solid day, a second win in as many days, (and what would have been third in the Elite race) is deifinately a career highlight!
Moreso, I'm really happy to have won a provincial championship, that's been a big goal for a long time, so it's kind of a nice feeling to scratch that one off the list. Looking forward to defending next year, and hopefully maybe going after some even bigger races!
Next week, finally a race close to home! Mooney's Bay, Eastern Ontario series, maybe I'll wear the new jersey for kicks!
oh and still waiting for pics from the weekend, as we didn't have our camera.. hope to find some soon.
Kelly had a rough go, as the course didn't suit her well. She was feeling a bit under the weather, so that didn't help much. The Elite Men went at 12.30 and the we (the MA's) went off 30 seconds later. I had excellent start, and got the holeshot which was key as the start was a 75m straight into an "s" bent narrowing. Halfway into the first lap Luc Proulx - Xprezo (4 time prov. champ, former National Champ) caught up to me and the two of us would ride away from the group, exchanging the lead for a few laps. On lap two, my front brake cable slipped, and this would leave me brakeless in the front for the rest of the race. Kelly said this would make me faster, I was more worried about controlling the bike in the corners! Luc was riding strong, and I was fearing my chances were going to slip away (no pun intended).
Halfway through the race, I was really into a rhytm and started to put a small gap into Luc, and would then continue to gain a few seconds each lap, evetually nicely taking the win by about a minute 40! The race would turn out to be a really strong ride, and an awesome win, despite no front brake! Also really awesome to win a provincial championship, and get a nice new blue and white jersey to go along
with it!!
Sunday was pretty much the same course, only run in reverse, with a few modifications to widen some spots, and even make the course a bit faster. Kelly had a bit better day than Saturday, improving a few spots finishing 4th in the women's race! The afternoon race would be bunched together (Elite and MA's single start), with a more open start lane and course, but a small slip up on the start would put me a few spots back and chasing a bit more. By the end of the first lap Eric Lemaire (Taxi Mode) and I would respectively be chasing for 5th and 6th overall (1st and 2nd Master). By lap three we'd move up a few spots, and both be insid the top 5 (overall). nearing the end of lap three Eric thought he flatted, and let me around, I was anticipating him to pull into the pits, but he stayed right on my wheel for the next three of four laps. It would turn out everything was fine, and no flat tires, so we soldiered on! In front of us were three Elites, Benoit Simard (bluberi) Ugo Lapierre (2peers.com) and Marc Andre Daigle. I spent most of the race about 15-20seconds behind Ugo, and unable to bridge the gap. Eric would be about the same behind me, with 3 laps to go, where Eric seemed to be dropping a bit back. Two laps to go I tried one more time to brigde to Ugo, this would also put a big gap on Eric. Ugo had Marc-Andre in his sights, and kept his lead on me solid right to the end.
On the final lap, Ugo and I both caugth and passed a struggling Marc Andre, he'd gone off the start really hard, and blew up nearing the end, after passing him a third of the way through the final lap, it would put me in third overall for the race. Another solid day, a second win in as many days, (and what would have been third in the Elite race) is deifinately a career highlight!
Moreso, I'm really happy to have won a provincial championship, that's been a big goal for a long time, so it's kind of a nice feeling to scratch that one off the list. Looking forward to defending next year, and hopefully maybe going after some even bigger races!
Next week, finally a race close to home! Mooney's Bay, Eastern Ontario series, maybe I'll wear the new jersey for kicks!
oh and still waiting for pics from the weekend, as we didn't have our camera.. hope to find some soon.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Rochester - Cobb's Hill CX
Sunday would mark the first cross race of the year, and a return to Rochester NY, for the Cobb's Hill Cross Race. Last year, we took a chance and attended the first running of this race. It was organized by the guys at Full Moon Vista (of Rochester Twilight series fame), it turned out to be a fun well organized event, with a lot of really nice people there, not to mention, the win made it even sweeter.
So no pressure, first race of the year, and a title to defend... yikes! I started the morning with usual uncertainty regarding form (as I usually do at the start of a season) and one week after returning from holiday in Italy was still heavy in thought. The weather however would be fantastic, low 20's (Celsius for all you non-metrics) no wind, and lots of sun! Gorgeous!
Kelly would take the start of the women's race in the morning to a great 5th place finish, Darren was traveling with us and would join me in the main event!
I would start with a bad spot on the grid, third row, boo to a non call-up! I was caught behind a couple of weaker riders, and kind of got stuck for a bit of the first lap, there was a small section of single track, with no major bottle neck which was good, and on the big climb, I was able to make up a few more spots. By the end of the first lap I caught up to the lead riders, there would then be five of us. I immediately put pressure on, thinking I did well to make it up here, might as well go with it. We were immediately down to three and by the top of the big hill on lap two, it was a local rider Erik (Grimm - Full Moon Vista) and myself. I would then spend the rest of the race on the front. I was really unsure of Erik, he was definitely super strong, but very unwilling to take the front. I would find out after the race, this was his third or fourth 'cross race, and he's a machine! Big into adventure racing, and xc skiing (look for him at the Keski!). So my guess is he was riding smart, just hanging on, and trying not to get dropped, which for all my efforts I couldn't do!
We proceeded to put in 15-20 seconds a lap into third place and would lap all but 13 of 47 starters! On the final two laps I decided to really test the waters, on the hill I was pushing a bigger gear, working the downhill a bit harder, and really pushing in the tight spots. Erik to his credit did really well to hang in! He would make a move before the barricades (3-400m from the finish, we went over pretty much side by side, I noticed he slipped up, but so did I (don't watch others, watch yourself!!) and we'd go into the final corner together, but I had the outside line, which would give him just enough advantage in the final 50m sprint.
All in all, a very good race, a bit of a bummer not to repeat, but second is still a very nice way to start the season!!
Next weekend will be another weekend of firsts, first double of the year, First 'cross race (ever) in the province of Quebec, and Quebec Provincial Championships to top it off at that!!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Back on Continent
Just got back from vacation, a nice on too.. ten days or so in Italy!
Trip started with arrival in Bologna, a quick drive to Rimini, where we stayed for 5 days, not a terribly exciting town, mostly beachy tourist, (we were told it'd be the Fort Lauderdale Florida of Italy). While there we competed in the World Duathlon Championships, it was good, my runs were horrible, the bike was stellar, pretty much as expected, 'nuff said!
From there off to San Marino, Very Nice city/country. Wickedly perched on a mountain top, wonderful scenery, and things were cheap (I love tax havens!)
Our day trip on San Marino was part of the drive to Montecatini Terma, just west of Firenzi. An awesome drive through-over-under-around the country side of southern Emilia-Romagna Region into eastern Tuscany and past Firenzi.
We stayed in Montecatini, and would day trip from there.. was nice and central, relatively cheap, and beautiful!
day 1 would be a quick bike ride in the AM, and then to Vinci in the afternoon. Really nice country side, small town, home of Leonardo da Vinci.
day 2 we went off a bit farther, down to Sienna, once we got there, found parking (litterally an hour later) toured the town, very nice! very busy, I cannot immagine what it would be like there in peak season!
One of those two nights we went up to Montecatini Alto, there is a small train that climbs the hill (about 5 min ride) to the old city, which overlooks the main town and valley below, got the sunset ride up, ate dinner, and then twilight ride down! wonderful!
day 3, would be a ride day of sorts, weather sounded good, but so drove to San Marcello Pistoiese, after another twisty hilly drive, we arrive to a gorgeous area, and weather that did not clear off. so a bit damp and cool. Great mountain ride, long climb up over, and flew back down into town!
day 4, we'd opt for another 'close to home' day trip. This time Lucca, another gorgeous old city. We'd then hop on the bikes for a quick ride/side trip to Piza, heavy headwind climb to the tunnel, popping out the other side to a heavier headwind across to Piza. Saw the tower, its still leaning, and cruised the tailwind back to Lucca. Highlight would be the 950m long tunnel, dont know which was more fun, trip one or two through it.. we'd pop out on the way back to Lucca with that tail wind from the headwindy ride over! and a nice downward facing slope! awww yeah!
No Cippolini sighting in Lucca..
day 5 we'd leave Montecatini, and headed for Bologna, with a stop in Porrette Terme, for one last ride, this one up the Corno alle Scalle (staircase to the horn?). It was the finale of an epic stage 3 of the 2004 Giro d'Italia. 30km up, pictures, and 30km DOWN! we'd start in Porretta Terme (350 meters above sea level *msl) drop down to Silla (300msl) and head upwards topping out near the Centro Servizi (around 1500msl) Epic!!! Over 1200 meters of climbing, beautiful terrain! absolutely gorgeous!
From there to Bologna for the night, and up to catch flights back home in the early am!!
excellent trip!
Cross season starts (for me) on sunday!
Trip started with arrival in Bologna, a quick drive to Rimini, where we stayed for 5 days, not a terribly exciting town, mostly beachy tourist, (we were told it'd be the Fort Lauderdale Florida of Italy). While there we competed in the World Duathlon Championships, it was good, my runs were horrible, the bike was stellar, pretty much as expected, 'nuff said!
From there off to San Marino, Very Nice city/country. Wickedly perched on a mountain top, wonderful scenery, and things were cheap (I love tax havens!)
Our day trip on San Marino was part of the drive to Montecatini Terma, just west of Firenzi. An awesome drive through-over-under-around the country side of southern Emilia-Romagna Region into eastern Tuscany and past Firenzi.
We stayed in Montecatini, and would day trip from there.. was nice and central, relatively cheap, and beautiful!
day 1 would be a quick bike ride in the AM, and then to Vinci in the afternoon. Really nice country side, small town, home of Leonardo da Vinci.
day 2 we went off a bit farther, down to Sienna, once we got there, found parking (litterally an hour later) toured the town, very nice! very busy, I cannot immagine what it would be like there in peak season!
One of those two nights we went up to Montecatini Alto, there is a small train that climbs the hill (about 5 min ride) to the old city, which overlooks the main town and valley below, got the sunset ride up, ate dinner, and then twilight ride down! wonderful!
day 3, would be a ride day of sorts, weather sounded good, but so drove to San Marcello Pistoiese, after another twisty hilly drive, we arrive to a gorgeous area, and weather that did not clear off. so a bit damp and cool. Great mountain ride, long climb up over, and flew back down into town!
day 4, we'd opt for another 'close to home' day trip. This time Lucca, another gorgeous old city. We'd then hop on the bikes for a quick ride/side trip to Piza, heavy headwind climb to the tunnel, popping out the other side to a heavier headwind across to Piza. Saw the tower, its still leaning, and cruised the tailwind back to Lucca. Highlight would be the 950m long tunnel, dont know which was more fun, trip one or two through it.. we'd pop out on the way back to Lucca with that tail wind from the headwindy ride over! and a nice downward facing slope! awww yeah!
No Cippolini sighting in Lucca..
day 5 we'd leave Montecatini, and headed for Bologna, with a stop in Porrette Terme, for one last ride, this one up the Corno alle Scalle (staircase to the horn?). It was the finale of an epic stage 3 of the 2004 Giro d'Italia. 30km up, pictures, and 30km DOWN! we'd start in Porretta Terme (350 meters above sea level *msl) drop down to Silla (300msl) and head upwards topping out near the Centro Servizi (around 1500msl) Epic!!! Over 1200 meters of climbing, beautiful terrain! absolutely gorgeous!
From there to Bologna for the night, and up to catch flights back home in the early am!!
excellent trip!
Cross season starts (for me) on sunday!
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Kuota is IN!!
Kuota has been good enough to supply a very nice frame for the 2008 season! It has been slightly updated from last season making it an even better, a few updates including better front derailleur routing (allowing a proper road der.) make a nice looking package!
So without sounding like an ad, I got my first spin in tonight. I threw on a set of Fulcrum racing 5's with some road slicks to hit the local bike paths around town, tarmac it is, but this ride was just to get a feel, and a pocket full of wrenches just in case the fit needs a tweek.
It's a nice setup, the build kit is SRAM Force, with a few non-SRAM parts in a spot or two. Impressive first ride, the bike it very light, and stiffness is spot on in all the right places. The frame is based off of the Kebel, one of Kuota's top road offerings. A nice large down tube, and an equally large bottom bracket area. Stiffness abound! It was really noticeable when pushing on the pedals, the bike went
Well that was the quick first impression, I'll be riding lots, as cross ooops, KROSS season is now here! We'll be hitting up the races starting in October, there is still the small matter of a Duathlon and vacation in Italy first!
Ciao!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Cross Season Approacheth
Well things on the posting front have been quiet, but I've been very busy. It's been a bit wet of recent, but the weather for the next week or so look good!
A few new changes in life, and the garage!
Kelly and I got married a bit over a week ago now, should have some pictures up soon. Ceremonies, happened out east, and even included a trip to the velodrome in Dieppe the day before.
We had a little prenup race, flying start 3 laps vs. 4 (250m track, I do 1000m, to her 750) Ended up being an entertaining one, both of us were severly hung over after the previous night's bachelor/bachelorette parties, but she would in turn win by a bit less than 30m!
Darren and I got in a couple of match sprints, I played the evil friend and destroyed him on the first one, then gave a bit more of a fighting chance on the second, where I narrowly took him at the line, while unclipping, nearly crashing, and potentially injuring myself before the big day! nice one!!
As for the Garage part, we've said good bye to the Opus cross bike, and a brand new Kuota Kross is in the process of being built for the upcomming season, should be a nice one! pics to come soon!
One more big road race for me, Quebec Provincials this weekend, then time off to get ready for 'cross!!
ciao
A few new changes in life, and the garage!
Kelly and I got married a bit over a week ago now, should have some pictures up soon. Ceremonies, happened out east, and even included a trip to the velodrome in Dieppe the day before.
We had a little prenup race, flying start 3 laps vs. 4 (250m track, I do 1000m, to her 750) Ended up being an entertaining one, both of us were severly hung over after the previous night's bachelor/bachelorette parties, but she would in turn win by a bit less than 30m!
Darren and I got in a couple of match sprints, I played the evil friend and destroyed him on the first one, then gave a bit more of a fighting chance on the second, where I narrowly took him at the line, while unclipping, nearly crashing, and potentially injuring myself before the big day! nice one!!
As for the Garage part, we've said good bye to the Opus cross bike, and a brand new Kuota Kross is in the process of being built for the upcomming season, should be a nice one! pics to come soon!
One more big road race for me, Quebec Provincials this weekend, then time off to get ready for 'cross!!
ciao
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Coupe des Ameriques
Stage One - Friday
This would be my first stage race of the year, and a big one at that! The Coupe is held in and around Sutton, Quebec, and is considered the North American Masters Championships. Its four stages in three days, and they are all tough!
We would start off with a nice 'prologue' roughly a 17km race, starting in Abercorn (just 2km from the Vermont border) heading up to Sutton, where we'd take a right hander up Maple St. and for the next 7km we'd climb to the end of the road at the ski resort.
Very interesting race, it would roll out pretty easy. Charles (teammate) would launched the attack at the gun, and was joined by two other riders. they'd make it into town, before getting caught, and getting spat out the back. He was cool with that, not being a climber. We'd head upwards, not an easy climb, it was more like steps, going up a pitch, leveling, up again, and down, up and..... I'd easily gotten to the front, and noticed about midway Gino (also teammate) was on the front, I know his chances are better than me, so I played domestique, went to the front and would begin my work for the night. I put in one massive effort, covering 3 sections of climbing, and was on the front for a few minutes. I'd find out later, Gino was quite happy not being on the front, and the race really started to break up under my lead. Very Nice!
I'd finish the night content, inside the top half, and hapily being a domesique!
Stage Two - Saturday A.M.
Stage two is the time trial, and a good one too.. I would of course be on my road bike, and wishing I had a TT bike. The course was 12.8km with a wicked profile.
I think this played well for me, I would post a time of 19min29sec, and at 39.9km/h would be rockin' fast, for me that is. I would also have a couple of teammates less than 30 seconds ahead, and who were on TT bikes so a nice confidence boost, and maybe excuse enough to get a new bike!
Stage Three - Saturday P.M.
The short road race, a bit of a new concept for me? A 30.4km single loop, this one was also dubbed the 'one lap crit'. In past years the race would have a crit, this year something new. The TT had begun to sort out the GC, and so this race could go either way. Crazy rediculous, or Madenningly hard. With a winning speed of 44.94km/h and a bunch spring 85 men deep, I'm still unsure. I started with a climb and would be hard and fast from then on out. I still smell burning from all the carbon rims and cork brake pads.
Dave did a killer job halfway through to pull me up to the front into good position for the latter part of the race. I was about 5th wheel when Greg Hawkes took off the front in a brave solo attack with about 3km to go. Everyone kind of sat up, and I ended up on the front chasing for a few minutes, after no one else would pull through, I would sit up and try and hold position for the upcoming sprint. Some teams would start to put a chase in and as everything was setting up I would find myself in a very good position, but no teammates anywhere to be found!
At 1km to go, I was on the front, ready to sprint, but alas I would be left wanting, a lack of leadout would mean the peloton would sprint past as I ran out of gas. Greg had enough of a gap to hold off the peloton for a 2 second victory at the line!
Stage Four - Sunday
Two words Epic. Oh yeah and tough. Sunday we would end things off with a wonderful 88km circuit around the Sutton area. This race would prove to be one of the hardest I've done. We'd start in Sutton, and pass through Gilman corner, Knowlton, Mansonville, Glen Sutton, chemin Scenic, Abercorn, before finishing back in Sutton again with the finish ending into a 500m long climb.
This race would start on part of the previous night's stage. So climb out of Sutton, and around to Gilman Corners. By the end of the first hour we'd have covered 45km, (yes that means 45km/h avg.) friggin' fast! It was constant attacking, and no one going very far, myself included. I had a go to catch a three man break, but it was pretty much pointless with the peloton breathing down our necks.
The race would stay together pretty well untill we'd turn onto Scenic road, and hit a wall of a climb. From there the race was really on and the group had litterally shattered. Small groups were forming all over, I would tag onto the end of the third pack but would later end up chasing them back into Sutton for the finish totally exhausted.
All in all it was a really good race, I'll definately go back, and with a year gone by, and some better knowlege of the road, it should be even more fun the second time.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Preston Street Crit
Ahh the Italian Fest, well it was my second time (of its 36 years in existance) and this year would be the exact opposite to last year, in a few ways, mostly weather...
Last year would be VERY hot and sunny.. this time it started out the same..
Racing with the "B" group, we (Les Rouleurs) had several riders in the race, so it was looking to be promising for the squad to pull out a possible result. I had been sprinting a lot this spring, so was feeling well in that department, Hugo and Dave were there, so some serious help, and Martin as well, very well known for his sprint. So maybe stacking up to be a dangerous squad!
All was going well, for my first crit of the year, and it would be a 50 minutes +5 laps affair, on a 1.2km course. I was a bit off at the begining, working a bit harder than I should have been, but started to settle in by the midway point. At which time I was noticing the "big black cloud" getting a bit closer. Hugo had mentioned a few times that we should be moving up in the pack, I was just starting to get ready to do so with about 20 minutes left on the clock. A couple more laps around and we were at 15 minutes to go and I was ready to put the push on to get up front for the finish. When about the same time I felt a couple of drops, thought I hope that's sweat off the guy in front of me then a hole bunch more drops, which was too gross for any amount of "sweat". It would turn out to be the first drops of rain... which VERY quickly turned into a downpour! About the same time Andrew Davy says to me that it should be an interesting finish, to which my response would be, if we make it that far!
A bit too much truth to that.. in the next 600m the course went from dry to water running over the road! I backed off a bit thinking I was in a bad part of the group and would rather not get caught in the impending crash.. I sometimes hate it when I'm right... on corner two (reminder, it had been raining for all of 45 seconds..) half the pack goes down, everyone always forgets the first 5 mins after it starts to rain is the worst! I managed to pick my way through the bodies, and chase on sitting less than a hundred meters off the main bunch (or what was left of it) I would chase for two laps, when everyone jumped back in from the pits after taking their free lap, note to self in a crit, you can take a free lap when caught behind a crash... They all nicely filled the gap for me, and I was thinking good, now I can easily work my way up to the front, except half a lap later, everyone hits the deck AGAIN! I continue to maitain upright position, and would be back in chase mode, and for another 10 minutes I would sit roughly 100 meters off the bunch..
The winds and rain, only got heavier, lightning and thunder was surrounding us at this point, and all I could do was soldier on, and hope to bridge the gap. With two laps to go, the race would finally get called, due to firetrucks blocking the road, when they got called in to inspect buildings that had alarms go off.. I'm sure the Adobe builing (about 20 stories high, and 200m away) was touched by a flash and very loud boom in front of me with about 5 laps to go.
Needless to say I did not manage to get back on the pack, but I finished upright and on the lead lap! Happy times.
I was well complimented on my smile and seemed enjoyment of the weather, as I did think it was pretty wild and fun, what can I say, I like to be powering along in crappy conditions! It's the Maritimer in me.
PowerTap says!;
36.5km (38.83km/h avg) race cut a bit short, and the rain definitly slowed things down
176 bpm avg/ 187 bpm max
271 Watts avg/ 1,074 Watts max
5 sec peak 897 watts
30 sec peak 556 watts
1 min peak 454 watts
5 min peak 339 watts
Last year would be VERY hot and sunny.. this time it started out the same..
Racing with the "B" group, we (Les Rouleurs) had several riders in the race, so it was looking to be promising for the squad to pull out a possible result. I had been sprinting a lot this spring, so was feeling well in that department, Hugo and Dave were there, so some serious help, and Martin as well, very well known for his sprint. So maybe stacking up to be a dangerous squad!
All was going well, for my first crit of the year, and it would be a 50 minutes +5 laps affair, on a 1.2km course. I was a bit off at the begining, working a bit harder than I should have been, but started to settle in by the midway point. At which time I was noticing the "big black cloud" getting a bit closer. Hugo had mentioned a few times that we should be moving up in the pack, I was just starting to get ready to do so with about 20 minutes left on the clock. A couple more laps around and we were at 15 minutes to go and I was ready to put the push on to get up front for the finish. When about the same time I felt a couple of drops, thought I hope that's sweat off the guy in front of me then a hole bunch more drops, which was too gross for any amount of "sweat". It would turn out to be the first drops of rain... which VERY quickly turned into a downpour! About the same time Andrew Davy says to me that it should be an interesting finish, to which my response would be, if we make it that far!
A bit too much truth to that.. in the next 600m the course went from dry to water running over the road! I backed off a bit thinking I was in a bad part of the group and would rather not get caught in the impending crash.. I sometimes hate it when I'm right... on corner two (reminder, it had been raining for all of 45 seconds..) half the pack goes down, everyone always forgets the first 5 mins after it starts to rain is the worst! I managed to pick my way through the bodies, and chase on sitting less than a hundred meters off the main bunch (or what was left of it) I would chase for two laps, when everyone jumped back in from the pits after taking their free lap, note to self in a crit, you can take a free lap when caught behind a crash... They all nicely filled the gap for me, and I was thinking good, now I can easily work my way up to the front, except half a lap later, everyone hits the deck AGAIN! I continue to maitain upright position, and would be back in chase mode, and for another 10 minutes I would sit roughly 100 meters off the bunch..
The winds and rain, only got heavier, lightning and thunder was surrounding us at this point, and all I could do was soldier on, and hope to bridge the gap. With two laps to go, the race would finally get called, due to firetrucks blocking the road, when they got called in to inspect buildings that had alarms go off.. I'm sure the Adobe builing (about 20 stories high, and 200m away) was touched by a flash and very loud boom in front of me with about 5 laps to go.
Needless to say I did not manage to get back on the pack, but I finished upright and on the lead lap! Happy times.
I was well complimented on my smile and seemed enjoyment of the weather, as I did think it was pretty wild and fun, what can I say, I like to be powering along in crappy conditions! It's the Maritimer in me.
PowerTap says!;
36.5km (38.83km/h avg) race cut a bit short, and the rain definitly slowed things down
176 bpm avg/ 187 bpm max
271 Watts avg/ 1,074 Watts max
5 sec peak 897 watts
30 sec peak 556 watts
1 min peak 454 watts
5 min peak 339 watts
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Power Tap... oh yeah!
So yes, I still do ride a bike, I just don't post here much.. lol
Got my Power Tap a couple of weeks ago, good times! It came in on a Wednesday, took everything home and built up the wheel (thank goodness for my own personal truing stand) (I will build wheels for food/beer/cash by the way) got it all installed just in time for the thursday night ride with the team, and oh what a ride to 'test-run'!! we ended up doing lead-outs and sprints! so I was extra motivated to put in a good showing, I managed to set the land speed record for the evening, and surprised myself with a pretty big wattage output (1230watt max)
Still getting used to the unit and all its functionality, but getting some interesting numbers on my rides, learning lots too..
Got my Power Tap a couple of weeks ago, good times! It came in on a Wednesday, took everything home and built up the wheel (thank goodness for my own personal truing stand) (I will build wheels for food/beer/cash by the way) got it all installed just in time for the thursday night ride with the team, and oh what a ride to 'test-run'!! we ended up doing lead-outs and sprints! so I was extra motivated to put in a good showing, I managed to set the land speed record for the evening, and surprised myself with a pretty big wattage output (1230watt max)
Still getting used to the unit and all its functionality, but getting some interesting numbers on my rides, learning lots too..
Friday, May 23, 2008
Still Alive!!
Well it's well into spring, and I've not posted here for a very long time. I've been really super busy at work, but still managing some riding, not as much as I'd like, but that is life. The racing has been minimal at best, but you know what that means, long summer build up to the 'cross season!
On a happy note, I have gotten my new bike, its a really nice 2008 Trek Madone 5.5pro, wicked yellow and black! I've custom built a set of Zipp wheels for it, they're some old rims, but turned out nice and fast none-the-less.
Well I'm about to head out into the wind for another Friday ride, will be more dilligent in posting from now on... I hope
On a happy note, I have gotten my new bike, its a really nice 2008 Trek Madone 5.5pro, wicked yellow and black! I've custom built a set of Zipp wheels for it, they're some old rims, but turned out nice and fast none-the-less.
Well I'm about to head out into the wind for another Friday ride, will be more dilligent in posting from now on... I hope
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Rhode Island USGP
I know this is waayyy overdue, but heregoes!
So sometime back in December (the 8th/9th) we packed up the accord and headed down to Providence Rhode Island for a USGP/Verge series weekend. It was a good two days of racing just outside of the city in a park on the Atlantic.
Saturday would be fun, mostly sunny and fairly warmish (6ish, celcius) racing was good, fast, with a strong field in the 2/3 group, I was at the end of my season, and not feeling 'on' but had a decent day, finishing around top 20, more interestingly, I was only a minute thirty off the leader! very tight race!
Saturday night, we shopped a bit, then hit the carwash to wash the bikes, and contemplated whether or not I'd race the Sunday.. Sunday we showed up at the venue, weather was good, overcast, about 4-5 degrees, and I decided to give it a go, decision well made. It would prove to be a slightly better course for my liking. The startline again was full at around 60 guys, and a feeling in the air of something bad going to happen. Myself and about 5 other Ontarians would occupy the back line, so we had a good view all the mayhem.. I would start behind a guy who couldn't clip in to his pedal, got around him only to have a couple of guys hook bars and go down, I would end up over the top! It was a three (Canadian) man pileup. We got up dusted off, and chased our way back up. We were about 300m off the back, but there was a beach section that would allow us to catch back on quickly enough. It would however be the backend of mayhem on the beach!
So I managed to work my way through that, slowly working up through the race, at one point deep inside the top 15. Four of us would work together on the final two laps to battle it out for 12th spot. All was looking well until I slipped up on the second beach section just before the finish losing contact but still coming in 16th! Very strong finish to the race, and a great way to cap off the season with a high note!
Big thanks to Dave D. for the encouragement that weekend, I felt bad for coming from behind both races, rolling past and forging on away from him (but Sunday he stayed with for a lap and kept me in line, not to mention hollering up tips!) I've always admired him, and now even moreso!
Kelly had a decent weekend, She would race the pro women's class, and would hang on for dear life on Saturday! Sunday a mechanical forced her to ride single speed most of the race, but with a smile the whole time!
Kona had fun too.. He was the star attraction at the race, as he usually is when out in public, AND there were rats at our Motel 6, near the dumpster (not inside the hotel, thank you) so he was curiously onlooking their movements..
The trip home was a bit messy, with mixed precip most of the way. Burger King was good though!
Already looking forward to next year!
We'll see what kit I'm wearing... New team possibly???
keep your eyes here!
So sometime back in December (the 8th/9th) we packed up the accord and headed down to Providence Rhode Island for a USGP/Verge series weekend. It was a good two days of racing just outside of the city in a park on the Atlantic.
Saturday would be fun, mostly sunny and fairly warmish (6ish, celcius) racing was good, fast, with a strong field in the 2/3 group, I was at the end of my season, and not feeling 'on' but had a decent day, finishing around top 20, more interestingly, I was only a minute thirty off the leader! very tight race!
Saturday night, we shopped a bit, then hit the carwash to wash the bikes, and contemplated whether or not I'd race the Sunday.. Sunday we showed up at the venue, weather was good, overcast, about 4-5 degrees, and I decided to give it a go, decision well made. It would prove to be a slightly better course for my liking. The startline again was full at around 60 guys, and a feeling in the air of something bad going to happen. Myself and about 5 other Ontarians would occupy the back line, so we had a good view all the mayhem.. I would start behind a guy who couldn't clip in to his pedal, got around him only to have a couple of guys hook bars and go down, I would end up over the top! It was a three (Canadian) man pileup. We got up dusted off, and chased our way back up. We were about 300m off the back, but there was a beach section that would allow us to catch back on quickly enough. It would however be the backend of mayhem on the beach!
So I managed to work my way through that, slowly working up through the race, at one point deep inside the top 15. Four of us would work together on the final two laps to battle it out for 12th spot. All was looking well until I slipped up on the second beach section just before the finish losing contact but still coming in 16th! Very strong finish to the race, and a great way to cap off the season with a high note!
Big thanks to Dave D. for the encouragement that weekend, I felt bad for coming from behind both races, rolling past and forging on away from him (but Sunday he stayed with for a lap and kept me in line, not to mention hollering up tips!) I've always admired him, and now even moreso!
Kelly had a decent weekend, She would race the pro women's class, and would hang on for dear life on Saturday! Sunday a mechanical forced her to ride single speed most of the race, but with a smile the whole time!
Kona had fun too.. He was the star attraction at the race, as he usually is when out in public, AND there were rats at our Motel 6, near the dumpster (not inside the hotel, thank you) so he was curiously onlooking their movements..
The trip home was a bit messy, with mixed precip most of the way. Burger King was good though!
Already looking forward to next year!
We'll see what kit I'm wearing... New team possibly???
keep your eyes here!
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