Here's the first lap fo the Cowansville race from last weekend. We started 30sec after the seniors, caught up to them once we started the inclines. Great course!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
updates, updates...
So October has been as busy as ever, but a little more low-key this year! After a bit of a slow start things are slowly coming back into their own.. here is an update.
Starting with a weekend in Montreal, I decided to do Laval and Blainville of the Quebec series, close enough to drive down and back each day, gas was proving cheaper than hotel.. I guess.. tougher recovery though. Laval was near identical to last year. Weather was a couple of degrees warmer, but really windy and the odd cloud spitting. The course was very similar, a couple of small changes, no snow pile(thank you), fast and good! Good race, still not on form but feeling better, a decent fourth place. Blainville was a "new to me" race, good course, rain over night, lots of sand (hard packed however) damp ground, technical power course. Probably best suited to day 1 of a weekend or a single race (that is based on my form however.) Feeling previous day a bit, but alright. Course was good fast, and worth riding aggressive. A final lap flub, and broken spoke knocked me down a spot to finish 5th.
The next week, we'd pack up the fam and head off to Barrie, for the Baseball Cross. It would be a good chance to visit some friends that we'd not seen in a while. The course was worth the trip also! I'd take a shot in the senior field. Original goal was top ten, based on feelings that morning, I'd be happy with not getting lapped! The course as said, was awesome, flat, really fast, hang loose and rail corners, unfortunate for me, no legs.. poor result, 'nuff said!
Next up was an "unconventional double". Saturday I packed up and headed to Cowansville Quebec for the final round of the series there. Sunday was Quebec provincials, but I would opt out to race Cornwall. The drive to Cowansville felt nice, I had good feelings during the drive and was feeling like something nice might happen, first podium of the year maybe? Got in and registered, not a super warmup, it was cold and cloudy (6deg) kind of how I like it. The course was great, fast technical, lots of focus and accelerations. I took the holeshot, and went hard early. The first two laps I had one rider with me, we had ~10sec gap, by the end of lap two, I was alone, with the chase group behind. They would max out at 5 riders, and never more than 15 seconds away. By midway things were really clicking, and with 3 laps to go I was feeling like a win was very doable. Two to go, one of the chasing riders would bridge up, and I started to doubt. Then as with most of the race I was putting time in on the incline sections so pushed hard on the quick ups at the end of lap two, and then really pushed the incline on the final lap, putting the distance back to about 10 seconds. For the final lap all I could think of was push, don't mess up, and don't go home without winning! A solid race, and very nice to leave Quebec with a win! After a slow start and some poor results, it was certainly redemption!
Another long drive home, quick clean up, and up early the next morning to pack up the family for a Eastern Ontario series race in Cornwall. Doubles are tough, even harder in non-same town, and ridiculous hard with a 2pm start followed by and 11am start. I prefer a ~24 hour time gap.. The previous day's effort was felt for sure. Weather was nice though, 8deg and sunny. A good hard course, fast and turny, I felt good but not up to the previous day. A solid race non-the-less. 5th master. Happy.
Next week is nationals, I'm skipping for family stuff, so likely some training days, and then back at it for the rest of Nov! Next time I'll try to be more thorough, and less catch up.
Starting with a weekend in Montreal, I decided to do Laval and Blainville of the Quebec series, close enough to drive down and back each day, gas was proving cheaper than hotel.. I guess.. tougher recovery though. Laval was near identical to last year. Weather was a couple of degrees warmer, but really windy and the odd cloud spitting. The course was very similar, a couple of small changes, no snow pile(thank you), fast and good! Good race, still not on form but feeling better, a decent fourth place. Blainville was a "new to me" race, good course, rain over night, lots of sand (hard packed however) damp ground, technical power course. Probably best suited to day 1 of a weekend or a single race (that is based on my form however.) Feeling previous day a bit, but alright. Course was good fast, and worth riding aggressive. A final lap flub, and broken spoke knocked me down a spot to finish 5th.
The next week, we'd pack up the fam and head off to Barrie, for the Baseball Cross. It would be a good chance to visit some friends that we'd not seen in a while. The course was worth the trip also! I'd take a shot in the senior field. Original goal was top ten, based on feelings that morning, I'd be happy with not getting lapped! The course as said, was awesome, flat, really fast, hang loose and rail corners, unfortunate for me, no legs.. poor result, 'nuff said!
Next up was an "unconventional double". Saturday I packed up and headed to Cowansville Quebec for the final round of the series there. Sunday was Quebec provincials, but I would opt out to race Cornwall. The drive to Cowansville felt nice, I had good feelings during the drive and was feeling like something nice might happen, first podium of the year maybe? Got in and registered, not a super warmup, it was cold and cloudy (6deg) kind of how I like it. The course was great, fast technical, lots of focus and accelerations. I took the holeshot, and went hard early. The first two laps I had one rider with me, we had ~10sec gap, by the end of lap two, I was alone, with the chase group behind. They would max out at 5 riders, and never more than 15 seconds away. By midway things were really clicking, and with 3 laps to go I was feeling like a win was very doable. Two to go, one of the chasing riders would bridge up, and I started to doubt. Then as with most of the race I was putting time in on the incline sections so pushed hard on the quick ups at the end of lap two, and then really pushed the incline on the final lap, putting the distance back to about 10 seconds. For the final lap all I could think of was push, don't mess up, and don't go home without winning! A solid race, and very nice to leave Quebec with a win! After a slow start and some poor results, it was certainly redemption!
Another long drive home, quick clean up, and up early the next morning to pack up the family for a Eastern Ontario series race in Cornwall. Doubles are tough, even harder in non-same town, and ridiculous hard with a 2pm start followed by and 11am start. I prefer a ~24 hour time gap.. The previous day's effort was felt for sure. Weather was nice though, 8deg and sunny. A good hard course, fast and turny, I felt good but not up to the previous day. A solid race non-the-less. 5th master. Happy.
Next week is nationals, I'm skipping for family stuff, so likely some training days, and then back at it for the rest of Nov! Next time I'll try to be more thorough, and less catch up.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
season opener.. part deux
After some good days back in the saddle, Kelly and I recalculated the season, and though we'd look at some other options. I was originally targeting the Quebec Cup, but with 3 races missed, and a poor showing, that goal has been striked off the list.
We looked at the calendar and thought, maybe we'll open up a "tour of duty" hit up some events we'd missed out on in the past, travel out a bit, visit some friends along the way, and have fun (in our final season in Ottawa)
I was looking at the weekend as a season restart, and thought no better place than Rochester! The gang down there have been really good to us, plus I've had some great results there including my first ever win.
Expectations were not quite that high this time 'round. I decided to stick it out in the senior 1-2 category, thinking a podium would be perfect, but a good day would make me happy! It's been an unusually warm fall so far, nice, but not great for racing. I like the 10-12 degree range, but can generally tolerate anything above freezing to 18, above or below that is out of my "comfort range" we'd be looking at 26 on the day, sunny, hot, stinking hot for October. The course was great, super fast, the hill was shortened, but included a new run-up just before to knock out the momentum. It was a shorter course, with lap times in the 5min range (yep, the math works out 12 laps!!!)
Kelly raced the morning race with the women and put up a strong 4th. Nice to see her going well after a couple of years off!
We were off at two. I managed to score a front row spot, and a good jump to be first into the corner. I would lead out the first half of the lap, with three of us away. Into lap two, I popped a bit and would be chasing. The heat was already at me. Another group rode up to me, and after a couple of laps, I was off the back again. Not looking too good. Kel got me a water handout, and things started to change 'round. I was able to re-group and get into a groove. One thing about high lap counts is the potential to get in a rhythm and focus on just riding the course. By mid race I'd caught back up and put 4th and 5th back in my sights. I was climbing better than (Ian?) in fifth and was able to get around him on the hill, put time in, and set sights on 4th. John was riding well on the day, and would manage to keep the gap in check. A strong second half and finish made for a decent day, a 5th place spot isn't too bad for the re-start!
Next week, more riding, resting, and then back to Quebec to see if I can bump up a few more spots in the results!
We looked at the calendar and thought, maybe we'll open up a "tour of duty" hit up some events we'd missed out on in the past, travel out a bit, visit some friends along the way, and have fun (in our final season in Ottawa)
I was looking at the weekend as a season restart, and thought no better place than Rochester! The gang down there have been really good to us, plus I've had some great results there including my first ever win.
Expectations were not quite that high this time 'round. I decided to stick it out in the senior 1-2 category, thinking a podium would be perfect, but a good day would make me happy! It's been an unusually warm fall so far, nice, but not great for racing. I like the 10-12 degree range, but can generally tolerate anything above freezing to 18, above or below that is out of my "comfort range" we'd be looking at 26 on the day, sunny, hot, stinking hot for October. The course was great, super fast, the hill was shortened, but included a new run-up just before to knock out the momentum. It was a shorter course, with lap times in the 5min range (yep, the math works out 12 laps!!!)
Kelly raced the morning race with the women and put up a strong 4th. Nice to see her going well after a couple of years off!
We were off at two. I managed to score a front row spot, and a good jump to be first into the corner. I would lead out the first half of the lap, with three of us away. Into lap two, I popped a bit and would be chasing. The heat was already at me. Another group rode up to me, and after a couple of laps, I was off the back again. Not looking too good. Kel got me a water handout, and things started to change 'round. I was able to re-group and get into a groove. One thing about high lap counts is the potential to get in a rhythm and focus on just riding the course. By mid race I'd caught back up and put 4th and 5th back in my sights. I was climbing better than (Ian?) in fifth and was able to get around him on the hill, put time in, and set sights on 4th. John was riding well on the day, and would manage to keep the gap in check. A strong second half and finish made for a decent day, a 5th place spot isn't too bad for the re-start!
Next week, more riding, resting, and then back to Quebec to see if I can bump up a few more spots in the results!
fall is here?.. updates a plenty!
Well it seems that the updates are piling up and so are needed to be posted. What was a nice long summer has passed with not too much action on the bike front. Baby number 2 arrived in April, and seemed to have slowed me down a little bit this year.
All was part of a master plan however, but me and plans don't always work out. The plan this year was to take it a bit easy during the summer, lots of miles in, and bump up the intensity for the fall season. All was seemingly going ok, at times full on, others half-hearted, but still somewhat solid.
The first 'cross race of the year would be a familiar event, but new venue. I drove down solo for the Magog cross race in hopes of a strong start to the year. I'd not been feeling the best, a bit unsure, and generally off. Figured best to shrug it off, its early, first race no big deal. A mediocre warm up after registration to check out the new course looked promising. Fast, small hill, some good technical, and rain throughout the week to make it a bit greasy in places. I scored a good start, and took the holeshot, however our start was 15sec after the Elites, so by the first corner we were backed up and into their chaos. A bunch of scrambling would leave me chasing in second position for a lap. By lap two, I was down to third until mid race, when some more riders caught up. Generally fading, I'd end up racing it out for a 7th place. First non-win in Quebec... A bit disappointing for sure, not how I wanted to start off the year.
The following few days were not much better, not a good recovery, and generally drained. The next weekend was to be a pair of races east of Montreal. I would decide last minute to stay home, good call as I got to catch up on sleep and rest...
A couple days after the weekend off was the first time in about a month I'd felt normal, and a doctor's appt. on the Wednesday would confirm suspicions of some sort of "wrench in the cogs" rest had been good, but the green light to move on was lit.
Season re-start underway!
All was part of a master plan however, but me and plans don't always work out. The plan this year was to take it a bit easy during the summer, lots of miles in, and bump up the intensity for the fall season. All was seemingly going ok, at times full on, others half-hearted, but still somewhat solid.
The first 'cross race of the year would be a familiar event, but new venue. I drove down solo for the Magog cross race in hopes of a strong start to the year. I'd not been feeling the best, a bit unsure, and generally off. Figured best to shrug it off, its early, first race no big deal. A mediocre warm up after registration to check out the new course looked promising. Fast, small hill, some good technical, and rain throughout the week to make it a bit greasy in places. I scored a good start, and took the holeshot, however our start was 15sec after the Elites, so by the first corner we were backed up and into their chaos. A bunch of scrambling would leave me chasing in second position for a lap. By lap two, I was down to third until mid race, when some more riders caught up. Generally fading, I'd end up racing it out for a 7th place. First non-win in Quebec... A bit disappointing for sure, not how I wanted to start off the year.
The following few days were not much better, not a good recovery, and generally drained. The next weekend was to be a pair of races east of Montreal. I would decide last minute to stay home, good call as I got to catch up on sleep and rest...
A couple days after the weekend off was the first time in about a month I'd felt normal, and a doctor's appt. on the Wednesday would confirm suspicions of some sort of "wrench in the cogs" rest had been good, but the green light to move on was lit.
Season re-start underway!
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