Bike trip to The Socialist Pig with Rachel.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
and then the winter arrived
Lake Ontario Park is a great place to watch the weather roll in.
As I rode laps around Sunday's cross course, the wind picked up, the waves grew big, the temperature dropped, and then winter arrived.
Yes, for the first time this year, the clouds brought snow. It wasn't much, but it was a solemn reminder of the cold months that lay ahead.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
kingston cross
The eighth race of the Eastern Ontario Cyclocross Series takes place in Kingston, Ontario at Lake Ontario Park. From what I hear, the crazy course that sweeps up and down a massive terraced hill on the north shore of Lake Ontario is the best race in the series.
Cross is hard, fast, and painful... and unlike anything I've ever experienced before.
My racing experience has mostly involved long days full of epic singletrack where the fist hour is about finding your rhythm and the next five hours are about riding with a handful of other folks in the woods. Cross, by comparison, feels like a rat race.
The field is visible, the crowd is cheering (and I did have a great cheer squad), and there is an expectation to preform. As I thought about the race on my ride home, I realized how much of a learning experience the morning had been: Endurance races and cross races have very little in common. Epic cross performance requires preparation. Proper training probably will not make the races any less painful. And trail running does not constitute cyclocross training.
My legs and (oddly enough) my back feel like lead, but the race was lots of fun. I will do it again - but probably not this season. Thanks to my wonderful cheer squad for making the trip down to the lake to root me on.
I will post pictures when I get them.
Cross is hard, fast, and painful... and unlike anything I've ever experienced before.
My racing experience has mostly involved long days full of epic singletrack where the fist hour is about finding your rhythm and the next five hours are about riding with a handful of other folks in the woods. Cross, by comparison, feels like a rat race.
The field is visible, the crowd is cheering (and I did have a great cheer squad), and there is an expectation to preform. As I thought about the race on my ride home, I realized how much of a learning experience the morning had been: Endurance races and cross races have very little in common. Epic cross performance requires preparation. Proper training probably will not make the races any less painful. And trail running does not constitute cyclocross training.
My legs and (oddly enough) my back feel like lead, but the race was lots of fun. I will do it again - but probably not this season. Thanks to my wonderful cheer squad for making the trip down to the lake to root me on.
I will post pictures when I get them.
two hours and counting
In less than two hours, I will be in my first cyclocross race ever.
I'm under prepared and will most definitely be making a fool of myself... which is fine, as long as those cute trail-building mountain biking boys I met yesterday while running in the woods don't show up.
Time to get dressed and finish my morning cup of coffee.
Here goes nothing.
I'm under prepared and will most definitely be making a fool of myself... which is fine, as long as those cute trail-building mountain biking boys I met yesterday while running in the woods don't show up.
Time to get dressed and finish my morning cup of coffee.
Here goes nothing.
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