Spring Series Round 2

Last week was spent on the mend as I tried to get rid of a bug that has been lingering for sometime. Friday AM I sensed the little bugger was near its end so I loaded up the North Face backpack, hopped on the road bike and headed out in the rain towards Vancouver for another round of the Spring Series road races. The ferry over to the mainland and back can get expensive, really fast, but doing the commute on bike is pretty economical at $15 each way. From Victoria it is a nice 1 hr ride through forests and countryside on the galloping goose bike path to the Victoria ferry terminal. After a 1.5 hr boat ride you unload on the mainland and then theres three options.

A) ride the direct way to Vancouver through the George Massey tunnel. (pros: shortest route at 1-1.5hrs, cons: sketchy/illegal.

B) ride the long way around through Surrey, via the Alex Fraser Brdige. ( pros:good training ride, cons: long at 2-2.5 hrs)

C) catch the 620 bus to bridgeport (pros: direct, cheap, good for rest days as it leaves only .5hrs of biking to vancouver dt, cons: bus takes over 1hr so overall it doesn't save anytime over option A.


Rumour has it Roddi Lega use to choose option A as he believed trying to sprint up the 1.5 minute incline on the otherside of the tunnel was a perfect race pace simulation as there would be a lineup of cars behind him honking/yelling at him providing ample motivation to mash the pedals harder. On this rainy day I chose option C and arrived in Vancouver mid afternoon just in time to pick up a box of goodies from Kona which included 2 fresh Maxxis Courcheval tires for the wknd. The race wknd went well, no flat tires, and 7 hrs of race pace efforts.

On Saturday, fellow mtb'r Neal Kindree was out and the two of us used our fat tire tactics to get away in a 5 man break for most the race before both blowing up with a couple laps to go and finishing 5th and 6th. Apparantly we used our legs more then our brains which some of the Roadies deemed un-roadie like as it messed around with there pre-determined Roadie tactics. Nonetheless we both got what we wanted out of it and we managed to blow both the peloton and our legs into outerorbit. On sunday more of the same occured. After the last race's were over, Lilla and I found an open hillside in the sun and nestled down for a 1 hr siesta. Theres not too many better ways to end a hard weekend of racing! Thanks for the support and feeds over the wknd Lilla.


This past week the flu has opted to resurface and the riding has been kept to a minimum. Between 2 weeks of this, 6 weeks of a broken thumb and weeks of insomnia the last couple months have not been ideal training. Apparantly the body needs a rest at some point and it has figured out that this is only going to happen if it makes it happen. Sorry body I will be more careful in the future and try not to hurt you as much without periods of proper rest. I have probably been unfair to you.


Tommorow is April! April is a good month.

Spring!&@^#

It is Spring!!! The sun is out, the flowers are starting to bloom and there's bunny rabbits hopping around nibling on the plants at an old folks home causing a few of the residents to shed there hair. It isn't shorts weather yet but the next time my sketchy fender setup falls off my road bike they are done for the yr. As for Snow, if it comes back here for another round there will be one less cyclist in Victoria and one more in Mexico.

Last weekend were the first races of the yr in Vancouver, the ill famous "Spring Series" road races. On saturday there was a flat tire and a helmet issue. On sunday there was another flat tire but not before I had a good 2.5 hrs of intensity. Ouch.. the first real fast ride since Costa Rica. The legs felt a little sore but the cardio system seems to be functioning 100%. It is always a treat to get back up to speed after a couple months of slooooowww base kilometers.

Check out these rad Giro shoes I will be sporting this yr. Thank you Steve Gaffney (OGC Rep) and Giro for the goods! It feels like Christmas in March!

Hibernation

Hibernation. That is why this blog is still not functioning. There's good news though as spring is nearly here and that means Mr. Wally is coming out of his winter coma. The last 3 winters this has been avoided in thanks to Central America but this yr Mr.Wally decided to stay in Canada for the brunt of the winter. I now understand why Grizzly bears hibernate through the winter. Pretty Smart animals. The monarch butterflies are also right up there with there migrating patterns to Mexico. I have much respect for these two animals.

Sooo... the last two months have gone something like this. 1 week training camp with national team, 1 week training in sunny victoria, 1 bonehead move which = broken thumb, 3 weeks in a cast, 2 weeks riding/ cross training (aka xc skiing, snowshoeing), 1 week riding in the rain, a little bit of college work, alot of central America dreaming and here we are now, March 9th, with racing season just around the corner.

Being in Canada this winter has been a little different then riding around central american volcanoes and beaches. I respect those bikers that train up here every winter. They are hardcore. My head is having a rough time grasping the concept of riding in rainy and freezing temps day after day but in reality there aren't that many bad riding days, just bad clothing choices. Thanks to one of my new sponsors, The North Face, the rain/cold doesn't have the bite it use to have. I'm not sure how they can make clothes that breath like a siv yet block rain out like a tin roof but somebody, somewhere in The North Face factory is on top of there game!

With spring around the corner my body is starting to get amped up for another wicked race season. New bikes are coming, new team kits, new race dreams and a summer full of epic good times awaits! Now I just need to remember to get my riding clothes dried out before another wet coast ride in the morning.