First Season opener OCup in 2 years

Well its time to load up the truck with a massive 4 bike carrier and pick up my burnt helmet peeps.
We are traveling 3.5 hours to Ocup #1 in Mansfield.  There is NO rain in the forecast. There are no excuses. Its time to race for a middle of the pack finish. (Cross the line finish that is)

Lets knock on wood for no DNFs.

See you at the race.

PS. It will be nice to see all the BH'es sporting their jerseys again.

April and 25 days until OCup #1

Its April and the time now seems to be passing quickly. "Up har inda Nord" we've had no snow for 2-3 weeks now. Dave has been out on the trails at the ski-hill and reports they are ready for riding with only the typical areas exhibiting their usual wetness. Weather forecast is looking promising so some 'outdoor riding' might very well be instore over the weekend.

Yes, only 25 days until the first Ontario Cup (OCup) race at Mansfield. This is the favored venue for the the first race of the year as the area has a sandy base soil which ensure quick drainage making it very enjoyable to ride early in the season. As you'll note the BH team took much of 2011 season off from racing and the expectation for 2012 is an easy return to racing with three OCups on our schedule. So the training continues and let's get out there and ride!

As always, thanks for spending your 30 seconds with Scott!

Beer, Training and maybe a little Racing!

Its March 2012 and after a collective hiatus from racing in 2011 -[ I would mention that the BH Team did compete in a couple races in the 2011 season, specifically the NB Triathlon and the Ontario Cup Provincial MTB Championships in which everyone finished ]- the BH Team is preparing for the upcoming racing season. I've updated the list of races we'll be attending this year, not as busy of a season as past years but definately one packed with good times and simply 'having fun'.

I hear a lot of people asking, "So if you weren't racing in 2011 - what were you doing?" The answer is -> enjoying the summer and making some beer!

So the focus for 2012 is really on 'Crank the Sheild' with the 'Ride Around the Lake' being the lead-up. Everything else is just "training"! Denis has been keeping fit with his typical off-season activity of playing hockey along with a new activity both he and Amy have gotten into called 'chasing after little Nolan' - something I'm sure will become a fixture in their repetoire of skills. Dave hasn't said much (nor does he usually) about training but I know he is - as the bike found its way onto the trainer positioned in front of the TV in the basement and I've noted fresh sweat stains around the bike on the concrete floor! As for myself, I've been continuing with indoor cycling (Spinning) as well as having added a weekly circut training class. Overall, feeling good and with the recent 'spring-like' change in the weather - itchin' to get riding outside!

As always, thanks for spending your 30 seconds with Scott!

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Burnt Helmets new Mascot

Yes that's a partridge
He rode in front of me for about 30 seconds and wouldn't move off the trail.
It was either make him Dinner or accept his self invitation into our elite club. I stopped to take some pictures and he circled me for about 5 mins while a wrote this entry.

Its raining harder now on my solo ride. Time to head home.

Burnt Helmets take 2nd at North Bay Triathlon!

Well, the Burnt Helmets took 2nd place in their category (mixed relay) at the 2011 edition of the North bay Triathlon. You can see complete team relay results here.

Amy, after giving birth to Nolan just seven weeks ago, was less than 2 minutes off her previous time from 2009. Dave continued his trend and steam rolled much of the competition going up Lee's Road. The bike route has changed since 2009 so not much more in the way of comparisons can be done, but Dave maintained an incredible high tempo with an average speed of 31.8 km/h. Denis trained hard this year, including changing his running style to better improve his efficiency. As the run route is now recorded as being 8.4 km comparisons with Denis' previous times aren't possible - however, the training appears to have paid off with Denis' dropping 1 second off his pace thus improving his time overall.

Hat's off to the Burnt Helmets for the 2nd place finish. Summer's here - so its time to enjoy ... and thanks for spending your 30 seconds with Scott!

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Nolan Buchwald's B-day May 16 2011
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Burnt Helmets Make Racing's Future

We can't all be elite racers especially when you've already peaked at 33 years old.
But we can take our best qualities, bottle it up, pass it on to the next generation. Although it will be a long wait, the wait will be worth it as the next unborn generation of Burnthelmets take over what we seasoned, wise, and energetic BH's know about racing.
When they do find their legs we may not be able to catch up but instead take on a new role of waiting by the feed station and shouting "You've got a 30 second lead! Go!"

Here is Ams a few days past her due date. Obviously the baby doesn't have hes/her race plate on yet.

24 Hours of Cribside

Thats Right one of the Burnthelmets is going to begin a different type of endurance event.  24 hours of Cribside.   Going to need lots of Gels and Eload to make it through this one. http://www.newdadmanual.ca/

A different kind of season...

So this year is turning out to be quite different than expected. Many factors are and have been coming into play - some expected, some not so expected. My training has been going well, the legs are feeling quite strong and I'm itching to get outside on the bike - indoor cycling, if not for the company, is beginning to drag. I am kinda excited to see what differences that training will yield.

Anyway, back to where things are at. I was looking forward to the race season, however, as I mentioned several factors are coming into play. For one, the price of gas - will be a big hit on the race travel budget which only reduces funds available for accommodations and meals for race weekends. Furthermore, Analysts are already predicting the price to rise by mid-summer as high as $1.70 / litre. Again, this only eats further into the budget.

These costs might have been managable, however, my teammates had previously indicated they were looking at an abbreviated race schedule - admittedly the frequent weekend travelling coupled with a full work week does make for a hectic schedule and does cut into vacation plans. We certainly had been hitting the circut hard these last three years and as much fun as 'Crank the Shield' was - it did takes it toll.

So this season is now starting to look quite different, even with the training I've completed, I will compete in just two or maybe three OCup MTB races and an 8-hour race later in the fall. There could be a road race lined up somewhere in there, but nothing is lining up at the moment.

What will continue are the weekly group rides both on the road and off. As these truly are what I enjoy about cycling!

Had to post it

I had a surprise in the mail box when I got home from work.
It's official and I have to show it off as a proud cyclist and grateful team mate because, in part, I share the award with those who trained hard along side me and those that supported me at the races.
Thank you Jenn, Julie, Amy, Scott and Dave!

OCA Award for 2010