Everything is coming together. I took a couple days off after Rideau. More to get caught up around the house and get some of the final prep work for Solstice done.
Lighting for the support crew is now taken care of. It's hard to keep a tent lite up while being as environmentally friendly as possible. In other word no generator! With lots of research and searching I have a huge power box that should keep things bright for them.
I've been toying with racing this weekend at the Ganaraska race on Sunday. I think this is going to be a last minute decision. It's that poison ivy that has me thinking. I'm not planning on falling or getting off the trail for any reason but that's not to say that it won't happen. I also spent enough time in the car last weekend that I'm not sure if I want to spend another 5-6 hours driving on Sunday for a sub 3 hour race.
I'm riding the Solstice course on Saturday. I'm interested to see what Shawn and Adam come up with this year. Will get 3-4 laps. I pretty much know every curve, root and climb there so I'm hoping there will be some new trail cuts added.
Later
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Rideau Lakes Tour
It's been a couple years since I've been able to do the tour. Time conflicts with Summer Solstice usually has me hearing about it instead of pedaling. The Rideau Lakes Tour is run by the Ottawa Bike Club and lets just say that it's huge. Over 2000 registered riders and lots of bandits. I've been a bandit myself once or twice.
So what's the big deal with this ride. Well back to back 180km days on some amazing roads. Did I mention the hills yet? I'll get to those. Basics first. We start at Carlton University in Ottawa and ride to Queen's University in Kingston. Eat, Sleep and ride back the next day.
Our crew slimmed up a bit with only half a dozen of us. I'd be riding with some of the Big Ring Racing guys. Up bright and early we headed out from the University. Let's just say that if we could have left at 5am and missed some of what was to come I would not have complained. We can start with he word headwind and I'll go from there.
Unfortunately our small group of 7 had different paces in mind which put us down to 3. Tobin Rick and myself which meant lots of work ahead. Hopefully we can hook up with a couple more riders to share the rotation.
We did ride with one group for a short time but things looked a little scary. There were a couple wobbler's in the group and the last thing on my list of things to do for the day was to hit the pavement at 35 plus.
The boys agreed and we broke away.Of course this meant no rest. The pace also kept creeping up as did the temperature. I have not really had much heat riding to date. By the time we hit Kingston I was not all that happy. Now the part about the hills. The first 100km is relatively flat. Some roller but nothing much. From Westport on the fun begins. Now of course the famous Westport hill is a decent on Day 1. I hit 85km/h at the bottom as I crossed the bridge. How strong is carbon?
We had a rest before the real suffering began. the temperature is now hovering in the low 30's with humidex higher than what I can count with all my fingers and toes.I really do love climbing on the road bike. I'm one of those freaks that loves to jack up the pace at the steepest point of the hill. Today I was just riding to the hotel. That's all my mind kept saying. Something was playing with my stomach, probably the heat, but I had no craving to eat.
By the time we hit Kingston I was pretty much running on empty. Even on empty I still keep a bit of energy for some good photo ops.
Tobin,myself, Jenn(little sister) and Rick
Notice the solstice jersey's This was a prequel to the race in 2 weeks. These are just 2 of the boys I will be battling it out with at Solstice.
It took a while but I finally ate. Lots of sleep and hydration helped.
Day 2 looked like it would be a little more enjoyable. Tail wind and a little bit of cloud cover. Temperature was still going to rise though. On the bike by 7:30ish and hitting those hills. I love starting with hills. I know sick. We hooked up with a father,son and son group. Now to explain a little more 2 bikes a father and son on a tandem. This guy could move. We got a great flow going and hammed the hills. Of course getting a little enthusiastic the pace did ramp up a bit more and more.
My legs were back and my body was feeling good today. We managed to hook up with a couple riders at the right times all the way to Perth. This was the ride that I was looking for and was hoping to have. I was having fun. Riding fast without killing yourself to do it is the best feeling. At Perth this is where I decided to break free and ride on my own. Of course I couldn't miss taking this picture.
I think there needs to be a name change for Tobin. For those that read the Big Ring Racing Blog, he is known as Coco the Monkey. I know he is not to impressed with that.
How about turtle boy? The resemblance is kinda close and they move at about the same pace. Shall the trash talk start now?
I wanted to get a few hours of controlled riding in. With a pretty much flat ride now back to Ottawa and a tail wind this was what I needed. For the next 90 km I had a smile most of the time. I stayed in the high 30's low 40's all the way to Ottawa. Yes the tail wind helped!
This didn't help me from racking up a few extra k's and taking the long way back tot the University. Guess I should have had a map for the city. My appetite was definitely back though. When I hit the university, I found my sister dropped the bike and managed to put a sausage and burger in my stomach faster than I can breath. I know great recovery food. The boys rolled not long after me. A few goodbyes and see ya in a couple weeks and it was back to Jenn's for more food and downtime. The perk of having a sister that lives 30 minutes from Ottawa.
My legs actually felt pretty good this morning. Just the normal tired. Of course I had a nice long drive ahead of me. I think Molly was more exhausted than I was.
Maybe she should have driven and I slept? So the totals of the last 60 hours. 11 hours of driving, roughly 12 hours of seat time on the bike and 24 hours of sleeping. 1000 km on the car, 375 on my legs and zero on my pillow.
The heat training was perfect, the crew I road with were awesome and the ride itself was amazing! I'm hoping to do it again next year.
So what's the big deal with this ride. Well back to back 180km days on some amazing roads. Did I mention the hills yet? I'll get to those. Basics first. We start at Carlton University in Ottawa and ride to Queen's University in Kingston. Eat, Sleep and ride back the next day.
Our crew slimmed up a bit with only half a dozen of us. I'd be riding with some of the Big Ring Racing guys. Up bright and early we headed out from the University. Let's just say that if we could have left at 5am and missed some of what was to come I would not have complained. We can start with he word headwind and I'll go from there.
Unfortunately our small group of 7 had different paces in mind which put us down to 3. Tobin Rick and myself which meant lots of work ahead. Hopefully we can hook up with a couple more riders to share the rotation.
We did ride with one group for a short time but things looked a little scary. There were a couple wobbler's in the group and the last thing on my list of things to do for the day was to hit the pavement at 35 plus.
The boys agreed and we broke away.Of course this meant no rest. The pace also kept creeping up as did the temperature. I have not really had much heat riding to date. By the time we hit Kingston I was not all that happy. Now the part about the hills. The first 100km is relatively flat. Some roller but nothing much. From Westport on the fun begins. Now of course the famous Westport hill is a decent on Day 1. I hit 85km/h at the bottom as I crossed the bridge. How strong is carbon?
We had a rest before the real suffering began. the temperature is now hovering in the low 30's with humidex higher than what I can count with all my fingers and toes.I really do love climbing on the road bike. I'm one of those freaks that loves to jack up the pace at the steepest point of the hill. Today I was just riding to the hotel. That's all my mind kept saying. Something was playing with my stomach, probably the heat, but I had no craving to eat.
By the time we hit Kingston I was pretty much running on empty. Even on empty I still keep a bit of energy for some good photo ops.
Tobin,myself, Jenn(little sister) and Rick
Notice the solstice jersey's This was a prequel to the race in 2 weeks. These are just 2 of the boys I will be battling it out with at Solstice.
It took a while but I finally ate. Lots of sleep and hydration helped.
Day 2 looked like it would be a little more enjoyable. Tail wind and a little bit of cloud cover. Temperature was still going to rise though. On the bike by 7:30ish and hitting those hills. I love starting with hills. I know sick. We hooked up with a father,son and son group. Now to explain a little more 2 bikes a father and son on a tandem. This guy could move. We got a great flow going and hammed the hills. Of course getting a little enthusiastic the pace did ramp up a bit more and more.
My legs were back and my body was feeling good today. We managed to hook up with a couple riders at the right times all the way to Perth. This was the ride that I was looking for and was hoping to have. I was having fun. Riding fast without killing yourself to do it is the best feeling. At Perth this is where I decided to break free and ride on my own. Of course I couldn't miss taking this picture.
I think there needs to be a name change for Tobin. For those that read the Big Ring Racing Blog, he is known as Coco the Monkey. I know he is not to impressed with that.
How about turtle boy? The resemblance is kinda close and they move at about the same pace. Shall the trash talk start now?
I wanted to get a few hours of controlled riding in. With a pretty much flat ride now back to Ottawa and a tail wind this was what I needed. For the next 90 km I had a smile most of the time. I stayed in the high 30's low 40's all the way to Ottawa. Yes the tail wind helped!
This didn't help me from racking up a few extra k's and taking the long way back tot the University. Guess I should have had a map for the city. My appetite was definitely back though. When I hit the university, I found my sister dropped the bike and managed to put a sausage and burger in my stomach faster than I can breath. I know great recovery food. The boys rolled not long after me. A few goodbyes and see ya in a couple weeks and it was back to Jenn's for more food and downtime. The perk of having a sister that lives 30 minutes from Ottawa.
My legs actually felt pretty good this morning. Just the normal tired. Of course I had a nice long drive ahead of me. I think Molly was more exhausted than I was.
Maybe she should have driven and I slept? So the totals of the last 60 hours. 11 hours of driving, roughly 12 hours of seat time on the bike and 24 hours of sleeping. 1000 km on the car, 375 on my legs and zero on my pillow.
The heat training was perfect, the crew I road with were awesome and the ride itself was amazing! I'm hoping to do it again next year.
Friday, June 6, 2008
It's been a busy week but some major prep work for the first 24 hour of the year are coming together. The new tent has arrived and is set up in the back yard. The lighting for it is still a bit of a mystery at this time. I'm trying to be as environmentally concusses as possible so this means NO generator. Have a few ideas.
Riding has more matenince right now. I was at the Mountainvew weekly series last night. It was the first mud/rain/thunderstorm ride of the season. Now except for taking a wrong turn on the course and going from 1st to well beyond last in the first lap it was fun.
It's a road trip weekend. Heading to Ottawa for the OBC's Rideau Lakes Tour. This is a 360km road ride over 2 days. Ottawa to Kingston then the return the next day. I've done this tour before. It's pretty amazing to see because there are over 2000 riders doing this event. I'll be hanging with the Big Ring Racing crew. I know they will keep the pace pretty high since most are getting ready for the BC Bike Race.
Will have lots of pictures. It should be an interesting weekend since they are calling for a major heat wave. Gotta love that first heat training ride. Time to get packed and ready to roll.
Back in a few days.
later
Riding has more matenince right now. I was at the Mountainvew weekly series last night. It was the first mud/rain/thunderstorm ride of the season. Now except for taking a wrong turn on the course and going from 1st to well beyond last in the first lap it was fun.
It's a road trip weekend. Heading to Ottawa for the OBC's Rideau Lakes Tour. This is a 360km road ride over 2 days. Ottawa to Kingston then the return the next day. I've done this tour before. It's pretty amazing to see because there are over 2000 riders doing this event. I'll be hanging with the Big Ring Racing crew. I know they will keep the pace pretty high since most are getting ready for the BC Bike Race.
Will have lots of pictures. It should be an interesting weekend since they are calling for a major heat wave. Gotta love that first heat training ride. Time to get packed and ready to roll.
Back in a few days.
later
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
It was a pretty easy decision. Race the Canada Cup or go and play in Tom's forest for a few hours. Hmmmm 1.5 hour of torture, huffing and puffing or some flow riding.
Actually the decision wasn't even mine. Heather recommended that I don't do this race as there is no benefit for me at this point with Solstice only a couple weeks away. With the pouring rain and slick course the risk of crashing was up also. I talked to a few buddies about the event and they said there were a few crashes in my group. Good choice.
This also gave me a chance to play with the new wheel setup. I love these wheels!! the tire
Started to work out some race strategy with her also. I could tell you what we came up with but what fun would be.
Tom's was in full bloom and the trails were awesome. I love riding here.
The camera makes has had better days.
A new addition to the ski box
To the point!
Later
Actually the decision wasn't even mine. Heather recommended that I don't do this race as there is no benefit for me at this point with Solstice only a couple weeks away. With the pouring rain and slick course the risk of crashing was up also. I talked to a few buddies about the event and they said there were a few crashes in my group. Good choice.
This also gave me a chance to play with the new wheel setup. I love these wheels!! the tire
Started to work out some race strategy with her also. I could tell you what we came up with but what fun would be.
Tom's was in full bloom and the trails were awesome. I love riding here.
The camera makes has had better days.
A new addition to the ski box
To the point!
Later
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Recovery ride for the soul. That's what it felt like yesterday. It was a short camping weekend with Meg's parents. Of course when I asked her if they would mind me bringing down a bike she was pretty quick to say go for it. They understand.
The roads around here are getting a little boring since I think I know where every crack, bump and curve is in every road within 80km of my house. I brought the cross bike just so I could keep my options open.
This was one of those rides that I would look at a crossroad and say lets see where this goes. Armed with my camera, $10, cell phone and a couple bars I was good for a few hours. I also had no heartrate limitation for this ride. It was just riding. The only thing I was aware of was the really dark clouds that seem to be lingering in the distance. After the thunderstorm we had a few hours earlier you couldn't ignore them.
I followed the lake shore till I hit the first no exit sign and turned left. When i hit the first gravel road my mouth changed shape to a smile. This was the best my legs have felt since before the 8 hour. Hell this is the best the whole body has felt in a while. It must have been the thrill of riding new roads. At this point I still kinda new where I was. Now the perk of riding the same roads is knowing where stores are to refuel. HMMM.
I've been making a few right and left now on to a mix of pavement and dirt roads. Still smiling and having fun. Smoking along in the mid 30's on cross tires always puts a smile on my face. This is when I hit a road that I thought I knew where it went. 30 minutes of riding I start to think about which way I was going. That and the fact that I was starting to get low in the bottles and I haven't' seen a store in an hour and a half. YEP HMMMM.
This is the first time I have ever used the return to start on my Garmin. I took the next left and the arrow said I was heading in the right direction. To bad it couldn't tell me in advance that I was about to ride the meanest crushed stone road that I've ever been on. How I didn't get a flat over the next 15km I have no idea.
I also started to question my gps. I kept looking at the arrow waiting for the display to change and say "You're lost sucker" Eventually I did make it back to a road that I knew. It's been along time since I went for one of those rides. I also forgot how fun the cross bike is for making rides like that possible. Pavement is boring.
I had a night ride planned for last night also. Bike was setup and ready to roll. It was just waiting patiently for it to get dark. It's like watching paint dry. As the light started to dim it had some added help of some dark clouds. The rain came in and my decision was made by flipping a coin. Cold, wet night ride alone on a slick trail was not a wise choice. Racing in it is different. I'm not sure If I will get a night ride in before Solstice.
Today is a trail ride in Tom's. Testing the new wheel setup. I will take pictures, promise.
Later!!!
The roads around here are getting a little boring since I think I know where every crack, bump and curve is in every road within 80km of my house. I brought the cross bike just so I could keep my options open.
This was one of those rides that I would look at a crossroad and say lets see where this goes. Armed with my camera, $10, cell phone and a couple bars I was good for a few hours. I also had no heartrate limitation for this ride. It was just riding. The only thing I was aware of was the really dark clouds that seem to be lingering in the distance. After the thunderstorm we had a few hours earlier you couldn't ignore them.
I followed the lake shore till I hit the first no exit sign and turned left. When i hit the first gravel road my mouth changed shape to a smile. This was the best my legs have felt since before the 8 hour. Hell this is the best the whole body has felt in a while. It must have been the thrill of riding new roads. At this point I still kinda new where I was. Now the perk of riding the same roads is knowing where stores are to refuel. HMMM.
I've been making a few right and left now on to a mix of pavement and dirt roads. Still smiling and having fun. Smoking along in the mid 30's on cross tires always puts a smile on my face. This is when I hit a road that I thought I knew where it went. 30 minutes of riding I start to think about which way I was going. That and the fact that I was starting to get low in the bottles and I haven't' seen a store in an hour and a half. YEP HMMMM.
This is the first time I have ever used the return to start on my Garmin. I took the next left and the arrow said I was heading in the right direction. To bad it couldn't tell me in advance that I was about to ride the meanest crushed stone road that I've ever been on. How I didn't get a flat over the next 15km I have no idea.
I also started to question my gps. I kept looking at the arrow waiting for the display to change and say "You're lost sucker" Eventually I did make it back to a road that I knew. It's been along time since I went for one of those rides. I also forgot how fun the cross bike is for making rides like that possible. Pavement is boring.
I had a night ride planned for last night also. Bike was setup and ready to roll. It was just waiting patiently for it to get dark. It's like watching paint dry. As the light started to dim it had some added help of some dark clouds. The rain came in and my decision was made by flipping a coin. Cold, wet night ride alone on a slick trail was not a wise choice. Racing in it is different. I'm not sure If I will get a night ride in before Solstice.
Today is a trail ride in Tom's. Testing the new wheel setup. I will take pictures, promise.
Later!!!
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