OCup 2 - Warm Ups are Necessary

So here is my account of this past weekend's Ontario Cup moutain bike race. This was #2 of the series, held at Albion Hills.

We usually drive down to the races on Saturday to pre-ride the course. We woke up Saturday morning to a snow storm in North Bay - on May 8th. There turned out to be a record snow fall that day of 9.2cm apparently. I checked the race website in the morning while I was packing the truck, and Chico said preriding was closed till 2pm as they were fixing up the course after the deluge of rain they have had. So we decided to not leave so early as there was no point in preriding. We've raced there many times, so the course would not be much of a surprise.

We got rolling down the highway about 11am; I had to put the truck in 4 wheel drive for the first 60 or so km down the highway for safety. The bikes on the rack where getting a good coating of snow and ice on them. We stopped at Albion Hills to register - no snow here, but we could see that it had rained alot. We registered for Sunday's race and then headed to our hotel and then to go get some dinner.

Sunday morning we awoke to some chilly temps - I think it was -2c. I was kinda happy about this cause it meant there would be no blackflies to bug Jenn. Deny and I watched Scott's race at 8:30, and Amy's race at 9:30.. shortly after Amy was done I looked at my watch - 11am! dammit, I wasnt leaving myself much time to get ready and warmed up for my 11:30 race start. I rushed to the truck to get dressed and get my bike ready. When I was done, I had about 8 minutes to warmup and get to the start line - definately not enough time for a warmup - I did a couple sprints up a hill by the truck and headed to the startline. I had enough time to get there and in the start pen, as I was in the 4th group to leave I think.

The start gun goes off and I hold my line to get to make sure I got the best line up the hill. Everyone quickly files into their 'spots' and and we formed a paceline up the hill and towards the singletrack. By the time we got to the singletrack, I was near the end of the pack, which is what I expected for my fitness level (this was only my 5th time on the bike this year really). I then set about trying to get warmed up but for the first 3/4 of the lap all I could think about was quitting. I was not having fun at all. Near the end of the 1st lap I started feeling alot better; I think I almost smiled, and decided not to quit.

2nd lap goes alot better - I am able to knock over 3 minutes off my first lap time. I start catching guys, whom I can only think were in my category. The expert ladies are catching me now and I ride with one for most of the rest of the race.

3rd lap goes even better and I knock another 30 seconds off my 2nd lap time. I am climbing the hills now in a larger gear and passing a few people. Near the end of the lap I see 3 guys just about to crest the top of one of the larger hills, as I am hitting the bottom of the climb. I stand up and use whatever power I have left to try close the gap on them as it was the best return on effort for me. My legs were not happy, but I am able to pass one guy before the next singletrack and I catch and pass the next 2 guys shortly after. I don't know if they were in my category or not, but they were my targets regardless. I soon see the 1km to go sign and I start giving all I have left and I see one more rider ahead of me. I pass him on the grass just before the finish line. Thankfully Amy was cheering me on and told me to go to the right - to the finish line, as I had my head down and was headed to the lap line - that would of been embarassing!

So its three weeks till the next race, at Hardwood Hills. I will try to get some structured training in before then, I know it can only help. I have a powertap on my road bike and  I plan on putting that to use, as its worked for me before. I will also make a point of getting a really good warm up before that race, as Hardwood can be a little tougher for me with its short punchy climbs.

Oh Ya, I'm wanting to ride again!

The thought of spring weather, sunny sky, thick cool air - just makes me buzz with excitement to do a road ride. Living in Northern Ontario our cycling season isn't short but certainly comes to a halt once the snow piles up.

Much to my amazement, I have seen many a bicyclist this winter pedaling along on the sidewalks or roadways in snowy weather not fit to walk in. I'm not sure if I am simply looking for bicyclists or if more individuals are continuing to bike in the winter - for whatever reason: economy, price of gas, or fitness - which is my reason. Just not during the winter, as I don't want to ruin my equipment riding due to all the salt used on the roadways. That and my wife says I already have enough bikes (yup, three - not that I think that is enough.) so a winter beater is outta the question. For now.

The first Ontario Cup race has been and gone. I finished 15th out of 20 riders, somewhat disappointing for me personally but in retrospect it was my best opening race for a season and in comparison to last year I'm starting about where I finished in terms of fitness. Unfortunately, the field of riders also remained about where they finished last year too.

The next race is this weekend. I'm intending to try something new this race - so I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks for spending your 30 seconds with Scott!

WTF (What the forecast) Rain on Sunday Ocup # 2

WTF (What the forecast). No Seriously WTF!!!!
There seems to be a reoccurring weather theme with Sunday Race day.
Now if you recall 2 weeks ago I displayed an image of the forecast for Ocup #1 and our friendly weather man holding up his finger either to point out the rain in the sky or to suggest some other meaning. He's doing it again this week, Sunday, for the Albion Ocup # 2 near Bolton.

I won't knock on wood because I'm not a superstitious dude (besides all there is around me is plastic) but hopefully the weather man is just joshing us like he did last race since there wasn't a drip of rain for Ocup 1. I didn't even sweat.
I'm not complaining but instead of washing my bike off because of mud, I was blowing it off with compressed air form all the dust. No complains... Albion will be so fun if its dry.

Deny

OCup #1 - Had some Fun

Last year I tried racing in the Master Expert category. I was always in the bottom part of the pack. This year I switched back to Master Sport, were I am usually mid pack. I haven't been able to train this year and I just want to take a more relaxed, fun approach to racing this year. Sport category is 3 laps instead of 4, and starts earlier.

I started up 'the hill' at Mansfield, trying to hold my position in the pack. I got about 1/2 way up and realized that I was not going to be able to sustain that pace, so I slowed to a pace I knew I could maintain to the top of the hill. Lactic acid was building up in my gut. By the time I got to the single track, there was only 1 guy behind me, so I settled into my pace and started working on catching guys in the singletrack sections. After the first lap, I caught a couple guys in my group and by this time, I was caught by some of the top expert females who started behind us. I tagged on to one of the ladies who was setting a good pace for me and we started reeling in more people. Every time I got to 'Devils Drop' I had someone in front of me, so I never really got to open it up on the downhill, but I wasn't really slowed up much - as you exit the forest at the bottom of the hill, if you time it right, you can pass on the inside of the right hand turn and I got the pass I needed each time there. I leaned into the corner too much one lap and my tire folded over, but thankfully it held and didn’t burp its air out (running tubeless). At the end of the second lap I caught up to two more guys in my category, but I could not bridge the gap right away as we had to climb 'that hill' again to start our final lap. I tried to keep them in sight up the hill, but not blow up at the same time. At the top of the hill I set a goal to get past them before the first singletrack, as I knew if I could do that, I could put some distance on them before the next hill. I got by one guy, the other one was a little faster than me so I settled into a grove in the single track and tried to reel him in. At the next doubletrack section I was right behind him and got around him before the next bit of single track. I started big ringin' the sections I could to get as much distance on him as I could. One of the expert ladies was right with me and we kind of worked together I think to keep the speed up. Near the end of the last lap, I could see one of the guys from Team Speed - he isn’t in my category, but I knew he was in Deny's category that started about 2 minutes before I did. I set another goal to pass him. I wanted to get around him before Devil's Drop so I could have a clear line to the finish, but I couldn’t bridge the gap in time, so I settled in behind him to set myself up for a pass at the bottom of the hill on the right hand turn. It worked out and I sprinted to the finish where they were handing out chocolate milk to everyone.

I felt great with my race because I had fun. I know I didn't have a great finishing place, but I finished smiling and feeling strong. I don't know what was up with the results, I know they had some issues in the timing tent, but my first and second lap times are messed up - my second lap was just over 8 minutes apparently. I felt stronger as the race went on, but I can't tell if I actually was, because the lap times are messed up.

All in all, I had a good time, and I am looking forward to OCup #2 at Albion

This Sundays Ocup 1 2010 Riders

Mansfield Ocup 1 - Race week

This comming Sunday is Ocup #1 @ Mansfield.
I'm starting a tradition that on the race week I will post an image of the weather.
Look at Sunday... its no surprise.

Season Begins - Thanks Sponsors

The cycling season is upon us and the Burnt Helmets have done new things this year in preparation. We started this website and ordered our own jerseys which are expected to arrive anytime. We also asked some local businesses if they would like to help out with the cost of our Jerseys in exchange for some Jersey real-estate. More on them a little later…
Our Jerseys are from Jersey53 (www.jersey53.ca).
They have been super friendly and accommodating. All of our custom jersey needs were met, the Jerseys look amazing and they were at an affordable price. Did I mention no minimum order required.

This will be the first year that we support the efforts of a female rider as she competes in the sport category. This is also the first year that 3 of our riders will compete in Crank the Shield which is sure to be a challenging 3 days of riding. In total we will be at 9 cross-country events throughout Ontario this summer. There may be a few impromptu races and perhaps a triathlon. Are we serious? Ya but it’s always been fun before fitness. If this year is like any in the past we will notch a few victories or learn a lot from defeat. At least we will look good sporting our new colours. Let’s hope for a good fun year of doing what we love… to ride and to race.

I would like to give out a huge thanks to Body Back in Motion, Cycle works and SS Automotive for helping out with our team member’s Jerseys. Your logos look great on our jersey - thank you for your support. For what it’s worth, via this website and when we wear your logo, you are getting a little exposure here and abroad.
If it wasn't for SS Auto my car would be so broken it wouldn't be able to drive me to Body Back in Motion to fix my calves or so that I can pickup my bike parts at Cycle Works. You all make it possible! (I know that was a little Cheesy).

Site visitors please visit our sponsors' websites or better yet visit them in person for service. They are the best in North Bay!

Sincere thanks from the BH!

Getting to bed in the technology age

Computers are a pretty big part of our lives now. These words, this blog and an audience to read it wouldn't exist and we as a society would be finding others things to do when the sun goes down such as like sleeping or reading in low light settings. But we stay up late surf the net, read tangents of info and ignore countless cues to go to sleep. Its the AM and this monitor is bright even as I type so its no wonder that at night my brain would forgo bedtime and stay up late.

I was introduced this morning to a nifty app called F.lux that you can install which dims your monitor and changes the colour a bit to help align with your Circadian rhythm. The app synchronizes with your time /time-zone so that after sundown your monitor will undergo slight changes to help affect your mood. The result is that your brain doesn't think you are staring directly at the sun (your monitor) when surfing the net late at night.
I'm going to set it up and try it out. The more sleep I can get the better I'll ride!

P.S. You may want to disable it if you've got that big project due tomorrow.

New Jerseys

Our Jerseys are almost here. It will be a short 2.5 weeks wait before we pull these bad boys over our heads, zip them up, fill the pockets with gel and tools then sit on the couch and watch some old tour de france footage because its still too cold outside to ride. But we will look race ready sporting our own colours. I plan on wearing mine for a short 250m circuit of my house during an up and comming ride of the vacuum. (weekend chores) I will be sweating it up as I perform my weekend chores.

Stay tuned for a group shot of some of the team wearing their jerseys.

March 10th First ride of 2010

Well it was March 10th and I went for my first road ride.
It was a short ride with the intention of getting the cob webs out of my spokes and trying my new watch out on some intervals.

I can't remember getting out this early to ride... I mean in North Bay of course.
Usually its still too cold and wet but it has been warm and sunny.
I'll take it!

Here is my ride
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/26671825



Denis B

Spring Bike Show in TO

This weekend is the International Spring Bike show.
Some members of the BH will be attending on Saturday to pick up our OCA lic, buy some cheap bike swag and accessories. I know I need more biking shorts to replace the ones all wrecked from last year muddy season!

Hope to see you there.

http://www.bicycleshowtoronto.com/

Are your legs burning?

Here are just a few tips that might help:

1. Stretching
   Stretching after cycling is a vital, and often ignored, necessity for those who often experience post-workout fatigue and soreness. Stretching after cycling increases blood flow to your muscles, which in turn improves circulation. This will aid in the recovery of your muscles after your ride and help prevent or at least reduce soreness and fatigue.



2. Exhaustion
   Fatigue in the legs after cycling is often a sign of just plain exhaustion. As fatigue originates in the brain, once the brain has decided it's finished with exercise and is ready to stop and you continue, it can lead to over-exhaustion. Also, not properly fueling up with an adequate amount of carbohydrates and protein can lead to muscle fatigue after long rides.



3. Injury
   If your legs are chronically sore and tired after cycling it may be an indication that you are suffering from something more serious than moderate soreness, such as muscle overuse or injury. If you feel incapacitated by the soreness and fatigue and it's preventing you from performing your daily activities such as walking, walking up stairs or bending over, it's a sign that you should visit a doctor.

So with just 60 days of training left before the first race in the Plastiglas Ontario Cup XC Mountain Bike Series my training program is well underway. This year I've changed my approach to training in an effort to increase my overall strength and slim down (yup, going to drop some weight even though I'll also be trading fat for muscle - definitely a tough job).

To aide in my efforts, I have been following the Primal Blueprint - to give you a quick synopsis it is an easy-to-follow program based on ten Primal Blueprint laws that could change your life. As a side note, I'd always believed the key to a healthy diet was moderation - well, the primal blueprint takes it one step further and this will enable you to make more informed choices with what you eat. You could also stop by Mark's Daily Apple - the author's blog dedicated to exploring, promoting, and justifying the Primal Blueprint way.

Anyway, I'm not a fan of the Soapbox so I'll stop here and let you make the decision. Thanks for spending your 30 seconds with Scott!