Canada Summer Games 2013

What a week! After an almost two year buildup leading into the legendary Canada Summer Games, the week had finally come. We made the trek to Sherbrooke travelling in none other than The Beast (other names include Wesley, Big Wez, and/or the Black Mamba) piloted by our wonderful coach Mike Garrigan. Seeing the thousands of athletes dressed in their respective provincial gear was pretty cool... It really did feel like a miniature athlete's village! I think I underestimated the scale of CSG; in truth it was a pretty good replica of the Real Deal. Very lucky that we have such solid and competitive athletic programs in Canada. CSG seems like it is truly a way to breed Olympic Champions.

The Cauldron is lit!

The first day of racing was the XC on Saturday. Man.... What. A. Course! The most fun I've had on a race course all year. Rocky, rooty single track, many spectator-worthy features, and some of the fastest and most flowy descents around. Really well built course. Anyways, Team O hit the line ready to be a group of medal threats. Off the line, Laura B. got right up with the leaders who quickly put a small gap into the rest of us. She went on to put up a stellar fight and came out with the silver! As for me, I was a bit slow to get going in the first two laps, but was able to finally kick it into gear on the 3rd and final lap. That last lap was the best I've felt since May - definitely nice to see! I was a little disappointed with my race overall, but ending it on a high note was pretty uplifting.

Women's start. 

After a sweet rest day lake-side with BA and Uncle Havy, we kitted up for the Team Relay. After Saturday, Cayley and I were gunning for revenge and Laura was set on the gold as well. Laura was our opener, coming through with a ~3minute lead over the field after an unfortunate flat on Quebec's side. Cayley went out next and managed to increase the gap to both 2nd and 3rd, settling us nicely in 1st. As I waited for Cayley to roll in, the nerves set in... I knew Frederique would be nipping at my heels and I didn't want to let the team down! I set off and gave it my all; hammered the hills and stayed conservative and smooth on the technical (ever mindful of the risk of flatting). We ended the race with a 3 and a half minute lead over second, and accomplished exactly what we set out to do: win a GOLD for Ontario! Pretty unreal feeling.

Rest Day

Laura off the start

Cayley through the middle section of the course

I think I got whiplash from trying to watch and cheer before my lap!

Proud moment. 

Very satisfactory feeling! 

Some hefty hardware

On the men's side, we had Mitch, Steven, and Evan fighting for the top spot of the podium. It was a super exciting race to watch! Team O came through in about 1 minute behind team Quebec, gladly accepting a silver medal. Congratulations on a sick race, boys!

The third and final event was the XC Eliminator. I didn't have very high expectations heading into the event, as I had minimal experience with the sprint style event. All three of us girls qualified well, setting us up with good quarter final heats. All three of us won our quarter final, only to all end up in the same semi! Luckily for us, there were 6 people in the semi, 3 of which moved on to the final. Unfortunately, after some aggressive (but clean) play off the start line, we were unable to come through top three. Laura and I managed to qualify, but Cayley ended up in the small final. Really just a stroke of bad luck. Cayley took second in her small final, proving that she deserved to be in the big final. Laura took the silver medal after an aggressive "Wide Cut" while I ended up in fourth (really the worst place on the face of the earth...).

All in all, it was an impressive haul for Team O at Canada Summer Games. The experience was unreal, the races were fun, and the camaraderie rounded it all out quite nicely. Thank you to everyone at the OCA who made this happen, and everyone involved on the national level! A thanks definitely needs to go to Havy, who acted as Team O mechanic for the week. You did us a solid, Havy!

Best floormates - good luck, Softball!

If you're interested, there are some reports from the Games up on Canadian Cyclist and a sweet photo album (courtesy of BA) here.

Next up, MSA tomorrow morning bright and early!

On the Pursuit of Brilliance

The last two weekends were the most important races of the season for U23 Canadians. The Sudbury Canada Cup was followed by Nationals at Hardwood Hills, and these were the two races used for selection to the 2013 World Championships team. As you probably know, I did not race well. I was on the hunt for brilliance (well, at least brilliance in my own right), but it proved elusive. I've had many people ask me "So... what happened?", and there isn't really a clear answer to that question. I'm still trying to figure out what it was that didn't "click", but I can give you the bare facts.

I felt well rested and physically prepared heading into Sudbury. I was excited and felt like I was ready to have a killer race. Unfortunately, everything flipped upside down as soon as the whistle blew. My legs wouldn't turn over, and shortly after that the PANIC button was pressed. A downward spiral of negative thoughts paired with a rising feeling of panic ended the race for me. I'm not proud of the big ol' DNF beside my name in the results... in fact, I feel a twinge of shame every time I think about it. But, I know that it was the right decision. I wasn't able to put a lid on my thoughts, and I had to stop them before they did any more damage to my psyche (how crazy does that make me sound...).

Next up came National Championships. I knew having a good performance was going to require a HUGE turnaround from last weekend, but I also know that a podium was well within my reach. I spent all week getting my head back in the right place, and was the most physically ready I've ever felt (no joke). Whistle blew, and I felt in my gut that it was going to be good race. I led off the start and managed to come around after the first lap in 2nd place with a ~10sec gap to the leader. Right where I wanted to be. I hit the wood chips at the start of the second lap and immediately felt myself slipping... I'm not sure what happened, but a switch somewhere turned off. From there I gave it my absolute all, but my legs were no longer in the game. I finished up a distant 6th with some dashed dreams and a bruised pride. This gallery tells the story of my race pretty well... just slowly moving back within the field.

They say you should "say little when you lose", and I agree with that: making excuses is no way to behave as an athlete and is definitely no way to improve. So hopefully the above doesn't read like a pile of excuses. Ultimately, I didn't race as well as my competition. I've got some work to do - both mentally and physically - but I can tell you that my heart is 100% in it. The last couple weeks were a bit of a setback, nothing more. I'm still on the hunt for a brilliant performance, and I have absolute faith that I'll be able to make it happen!

On the bright side of things, HUGE congratulations to my friend Mitch for winning U23 men's Nationals. You deserve it, and I'm so happy for you! Commendations are also in order for all my Norco teammates... you guys raced really well, and produced some excellent results.

Big thanks to Havy, Norco, Shimano, Kenda, and Rockshox - my 650B rig felt absolutely MINT these past weekends! Honestly couldn't have asked for a better bike to ride. I also need to thank my coach for not giving up on me, and being 100% dedicated to helping me find success... There are no words to describe how much that means to me.

Next up on the agenda is Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Team Ontario is sending a strong contingent, and we're looking for some good results!

Until next time!

Ridin' Solo (ish)

First off, Happy Canada Day! I trust that the holiday has been put to good use by those of you looking for an excuse to throw/attend a party (and, of course, by those of you seeking an outlet for all of your pent-up patriotism). As for me, I'm just looking forward to the obnoxiously loud firework display that will happen tonight in the booming town of Uxbridge.

The last few weeks have been quite busy for me. After a solid week of training, I headed off to Montana for a US Cup, flew back to TO for a grand total of 30 hours at home, and then made the trip to Windham, NY for what will be probably be my last race on American soil for the 2013 season. As much as I love travelling, I'm looking forward to the next week and half on familiar territory before making the trek to Sudbury for Canada Cup #3.

Let's start with Montana. My mom was having some serious anxiety about me heading to Missoula, as it was the first trip that I'd planned on doing completely and utterly alone. I'm not sure what she was expecting to happen to me in the tame and relatively small city of Missoula... but I suppose I can't begrudge a mother her worries. Apparently that's just what they do! Anyways, despite being too young to rent a car, the trip went off without a hitch. It was a pretty cool learning experience; organizing everything myself gave me a newfound appreciation for all the support I receive from Norco and the National Team when I'm on trips. That being said, I don't think I'll be taking that support for granted anytime soon. While showing up to the venue on race day in a taxi does have a little bit of a hilarity factor, I'll always prefer the beast of a truck that Norco has! Despite what I'm making it sound like, I didn't have to go it entirely alone... Scott/3Rox was super helpful in the feed zone and on the start line. Thank you for the help, guys!

Now about the races: Friday night saw the Pros take on the short track. Let me tell you, it hurt. I managed an okay race, finishing 13th. I was sort of in survival mode, just trying to make it through the sub-30 minute race. Ouch. I guess that's what short tracks are about, though!

Saturday rolled around, and after a long morning of mindless time-wasting (we didn't go off until 3pm), we were lined up to race. I felt a distinct sense of foreboding standing on the line: my legs hadn't felt very good in warm up, and I knew it was going to be a loooong race if I couldn't make them cooperate. In preparation for this, I hid my Garmin in my back pocket... I did NOT want to look down at the time and see that what felt like hours had only, in fact, been 15 minutes. Despite the boggy legs, I had a good start and a good first lap. Things started to slip after that, and I ended up a distant 20th. Lots of room for improvement! On the bright side, I had fun on the descent. Even a bad day on the bike is a good day by any other standards, so I can't complain.

Next up was the US Cup in Windham, NY. For some reason, I really love Windham. The climb is tough, but not too steep and the descent is wicked fast. Pretty good combination if you ask me. Some people say that a dually is the bike to choose for Windham what with the bumpy and rocky traverses, but I think my Team 9 was perfect: stiff on the climbs and fast rolling down the descent. What more could you ask for? There was no ST this weekend, so Saturday was the main (and only) event for me. I wasn't sure if a week was enough time for my legs to come around, but I was stoked to race nonetheless. I had a pretty good race, consistently reeling girls in to finish 5th. It was another long one (about 2 hours), but I think it was good for me in this case. I actually managed to consciously think about strategy and technique, which must mean my head was in a better space than last weekend. All things considered, it was a really fun race and a fun trip! Just another reminder about how much I love bike racing and the lifestyle surrounding it.

Spending so much time by myself and in transit over the last two weeks led to my realization of a few important things. Firstly, if there is not even a small part of you that can rock out to Taylor Swift, you are doing it wrong ("it" being life). Don't lie, you know that somewhere deep inside you is a teenage girl  (even if you are middle-aged man) that can sympathize with her. It's simply a fact of life.

Secondly, I am no good at taking photos. Exhibit A: the lack of a single picture in this entire long-winded and boring blog post.

Thirdly, I love hills. Preferably hills that stretch on beyond the tree line. Not sure what it is, but they just make me feel calm. I think I am going to have to live somewhere with mountains in my backyard. Or at least make my future "sugar-daddy" (Grandma's words, not mine) buy a vacation home in the Rockies.

Lastly, the maxi skirt is literally the perfect article of clothing. Breezy and light for those hot days, yet insulating and warm for brisker (is that a word?) weather. Don't knock it 'til you try it. That goes for all you men out there, too (probably try it in the privacy of your own home, though).

Well, now that my 2 week American tour is over, I'll spend some time at home training and watching a Tour of the French variety. June treated me well, and hopefully July will be even better!

"You'd be faster if you used your brakes less"

After a brief hiatus from the social media world, I'm back to the land of virtual communication. It seems like it's been forever since I last wrote, so hopefully I can remember all the important things that have happened over the last few weeks! First up, the remainder of my 2013 Euro trip:

After Albstadt, Team Canada headed to Nuremberg for a couple days of training and recuperation, and even a few hours of playing tourist! Normally, we don't get the opportunity to do/see the things that vacationing people do when they come to Europe, so it was nice to be able to see some of the history and culture of Germany outside of racing.

St. Lorenz church in Nuremberg.

As much fun as Nuremberg was, I was itching to get to Czech and get on the course for World Cup #2. I'd only heard great things about the course in Nove Mesto, and it was not a disappointment! The climbing suited my style, and the technical features were challenging but fun. It reminded me of riding in Baie St. Paul, Quebec (which is one of my favourite race courses)! Unfortunately, as much as I loved the race course, I didn't really get the opportunity to race it. Come race day, I was taken out in a crash about 200m from the start line and was unable to continue racing. Even still, I counted my lucky stars... My body was all in one piece and I had no serious injuries. It was a big disappointment, but it could have ended so much worse. No sense in dwelling, so on to the next one!

Despite crappy weather, the race in Czech was SO well spectated! The locals sure do love their hometown heroes. 

The name of the town we stayed in... Try and pronounce it. I dare you.

You'd be surprised at how hard this is to find in Europe! 

As usual, the trip with Team Canada was spectacular. The staff are so well prepared and are willing to do anything and everything to help the athletes perform better. We are so lucky to have such awesome support from Cycling Canada, and I am very thankful for it! 

After Europe, I spent a couple of low-key weeks at home. My days consisted of bicycle riding, eating, laying on the deck, and other such important endeavours (I've said it before, the life of a student athlete is just so tough...). I've been enjoying the time spent with my family and am very grateful that we get to spend a few months together before my siblings and I all head back to school in the fall. 

This + a bike ride = the perfect summer day!

Celebrated Sam Wagler's 20th in style

Thai food for Sam's bday dinner. For some reason, this little guy really creeped me out.  

After a 5 month hiatus from sushi due to a VERY traumatic experience, I've made my comeback. 

Finally, the most recent event of the last few weeks... O-Cup #3 at Sir Sam's in Haliburton! The race started well, as I managed to take the lead and hold on to the lead group for the majority of the first lap. Things went downhill after that, however... I was feeling some training load in my legs and for some reason couldn't manage to stay upright on my bike. Seriously, I could have used a set of training wheels out there. Or maybe a hover craft. Anyways, I managed to eventually reign my erratic riding in (come on legs, get it together!) and made up a spot by the end of the race. I finished 4th, and am not totally unhappy with my race. When in doubt, remember that every race you do makes you faster! Shout out to my big bro Tavis for having a great race. Super proud of you! As always, Sean put on a great event and everyone had a lot of fun. Thanks for taking on the OCup series, Sean! 

After the race, a few of the U23's went for a little swim... It was terrifying (see: List of Fears). I hate to be sentimental, but I am so grateful for the opportunities and friends that have come to me through biking. I would never have had the ("ahem") balls to do half the things I've done if it weren't for you guys. You have all made my life so much richer, and I thank you for it!

I may have needed a helping hand, but here's proof that I am in fact conquering my fears this year. There may have been some screaming and booking it to the shore afterwards... but that's beside the point.  

It's now time for some solid training and soaking in the sun. In about a week I'll be headed off to Missoula, Montana for some US Cup racing action. Let the adventures continue!

Juste de l'eau pour moi, s'il vous plait

After almost a week in beautiful Germany, I can safely say that I love it here; everyone is so friendly, and the scenery is breathtaking! If I had to describe this region of Germany in one word I would say "cozy"... I ain't hatin' it.

We arrived in the little town of Jungingen, about 10km away from the race venue in Albstadt, on Tuesday evening. The team headed out for a quick spin down to the venue and back to check out what we were dealing with. All it served to do was whet my appetite for the following day's laps!

Wednesday was the day for course reconn: it appeared to be in mint condition, maybe a little slick but fast and fun. The climbing was steep, the descending was steep... you get the picture. A few technical features added some excitement and kept me from being too bitter about the climbs. The rain started on Thursday and quickly turned the course into a slip'n'slide (still a ton of fun) and continued on through Friday. Kenda Karmas were the perfect tire choice for the conditions... even when I had the bike completely sideways, they pulled me back upright.

Friday night saw the Canadian National team entering their first ever eliminator race! Qualifying rounds took place in the early evening, followed by some intense heats on the 800m course. ALN and Raph came out as the top Canadians, with Raph managing a 4th place and a podium spot. Well done guys!

Miraculously, the course dried up almost entirely for the start of the U23 women's race at 1:00pm on Saturday afternoon. The race was short - only 4 laps and no start loop (yes, it WAS bizarre) - and the start was fast. As predicted, it bottlenecked about 500m into the lap, and the majority of the field was off their bikes and running the steep single track hill. I was pretty aggressive off the start, but I was a little nervous when girls started kicking my wheels and stepping on my heels (points for rhyming?). Those girls can get INTENSE.

The first lap was mostly spent trying to get clear of traffic, and I was able to do that relatively well. Things opened up in front of me on the second lap and I was able to gain some time on the descents (which were the only sections of the course that remained muddy). The race went by really quickly, and I just focused on picking off one girl at a time. I went down twice and have some pretty mean bruises as evidence... but for the most part, I managed to keep it upright! I am really happy with how my race went, finishing 16th in U23 - my best race on European soil to date!

Cayley and ALN killed it as well, finishing 20th and 24th respectively. Proud to wear the same colours as those girls. Mitch, Leandre and Jeremy had solid days as well, finishing 36th, 45th, and 49th. Excellent day for Team Canada! Full results can be found at Canadian Cyclist. Big thanks to the staff with Cycling Canada for having our bikes and bodies so finely tuned for the race today. It really couldn't have been done without you guys! Also a huge thanks to Norco, Shimano, Kenda and Rockshox for having my bike pimped out for the race.

Next up on the agenda are the Elite races tomorrow, before we pack up and head on out to the Czech Republic for round 2! Here are some pictures of the journey to date:

Canadian headquarters for the week

Is it odd that I really want this tractor?

Cayley Brooks and I repping our homeland.

Happy morning... happy eggs? Courtesy of the hotel manager. Again, the people here are so friendly!

My bike after preriding on Friday afternoon. It was a little soupy, to say the least. Huge props to the mechanics for having us race ready within minutes for the eliminator!

Jeremy crushin it in the U23 men's race.

Leandre not even losing any time as he runs and fixes his chain at the same time. Definition of calm, cool, and collected.  

Mitch powering up one of the many uphills. Great work boys!

Spring time in the 'Bridge

Spring is one of my favourite times to be in Uxbridge. Everything is coming into bloom, the trails are in mint condition, and the excited air of impending summer vacation has not yet turned to boredom among the university students. While it's been short-lived, my spring in Uxbridge has been one of the best yet!

Right after Sea Otter, I came home to prep for the first OCup of the year, which was in my hometown of Uxbridge! The course is basically in my back yard (only takes ten minutes to ride to the start line... but let's face it, it only takes ten minutes to ride anywhere in Uxbridge), so it was nice to be able to sleep in my own bed on race weekend! On Saturday we raced the first ever Ontario Cup Eliminator, which was pretty fun. A lot of the Quebecers made the trip out for the weekend, so the competition was stiff and it made for some exciting racing. It was good to get some practice in racing an eliminator, seeing as I'll be doing a couple of those in the weeks to come at the world cups! The biggest lesson I learned = the start is KEY.

On Sunday we had the XC race. We couldn't have had better weather, and the course was in PERFECT condition. I felt alright throughout the race, but didn't feel spectacular. Man, the Ontario field is unrelenting! There is no room to have a bad day when you're racing these girls; one misstep and you are overtaken! It's pretty cool that we have such a strong and fast field of women in Ontario, it makes the racing so much more fun. Laura Bietola took the win for the weekend, with Cayley Brooks in 2nd and Sue Haviland in 3rd. I finished a close fourth, with some improvements to make and ground to gain. Big thanks to Havy and Norco for getting me set up for the race season and taking so much time to ensure we were ready to rock over the last two weekends!

The following weekend was the OCA U15 camp at Hardwood Hills. We had over 60 kids (!) come out for a day of riding, skills development and fun. It was so cool to see so many kids on mountain bikes, and especially to have so many girls out.

We bling-ed the girls (and Peter Glassford) out in ribbons for the day

Some interesting techniques were employed for bike limbo

I tried my hand at the bike limbo as well... turns out I can get pretty small for a 5'7" girl on a 29er!

The girls attentively listening to Simmer's advice on how to rip single track. 

This past Thursday night, I headed down to TO to attend the Morning Glory Cycling Club pub night. They are an incredible group who are so supportive of cycling, and I feel honoured to have their support for the 2013 season! It was nice to meet so many people from the club, and I hope they all enjoy the summer on their bikes!

Interspersed among the fun-filled weekends were my little sister's prom (the kid's all grown up!), her 18th birthday, a demo with Norco and Evolution Cycles, a lot of high-quality training, and even some laying on the deck and drowning-chipmunk-saving thrown in there. All in all, it's been an amazing spring so far, with lots of time on the bike and with my family. I feel so lucky to live here and am stoked that I got to have a few solid weeks at home. I'm off to Europe tomorrow for the first two world cups in Germany and Czech Republic and I couldn't be more excited to race my first Euro world cups as a U23!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Excuse the food picture (at least it's not on instagram), but these were DELICIOUS. Think peanut butter cheesecake wrapped in velvety smooth dark chocolate. 

I wish I looked half as good as my sister did at her prom!

Sea Otter Classic

After finishing second year university, I was lucky enough to kick off the summer in style at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California. I flew down on Wednesday and met up with the rest of the Norco Factory Team crew (minus a few XC guys and gal). After a long winter apart, it was great to see these guys again! I definitely missed my second family over the long winter months.

We headed to the venue on Thursday for a solid day of preriding and dialling the new bikes in. Man, did it ever feel good to get on my Team 9! The Sea Otter course seems to be built for a 29er... wicked-fast open descents and tons of fire roads give the big wheels a huge advantage.

Friday marked the first test of the year with the STXC. Lets just say it was not ideal... I felt pretty good, but I don't have the speed there yet. Happily, it's still April, and I feel like my fitness is right where it should be for this time of year. We spent the rest of the day on Friday relaxing and getting ready for the main event on Saturday; for me, this meant trying to convince myself that I love the heat... not sure that this was effective, but I was at least prepared for how hot it was going to be on Saturday!

Funnily enough, I wasn't really nervous for the XC. I rolled up to the start line with a decent call up and just felt like I was loving life! I had an okay start, but failed to remember how much the speed picks up right before we exit the Laguna Seca race track and hit the dirt. This meant that I had a pretty crappy position heading into the first dirt climbs in the race, but I managed to hold my own. I didn't feel all that great on the climbs, but I couldn't have felt more comfortable on the descents! Man, do I ever love my bike. I wasn't super happy with my result, but I felt like I rode reasonably well and I know exactly what I need to work on. 2013 is looking good!

After the race, we spent a couple of days in sunny California riding as a team, taking some pictures and video, and (of course) mini golfing. Lespy should probably stick to mountain biking... his short game could REALLY use some work. The highlight of my post race adventures was getting to ride the new 650B Norco Revolver!! What a wicked bike. It literally felt like the bike was made for me; easy to handle on the descents and super responsive on the climbs. Definitely the best of both worlds. Can't wait to race that bad boy this year! Big thanks to Norco Bicycles and everyone else who supported me this week! It's back to Ontario now for a couple weeks of local racing and training before heading off to Europe for some World Cup action. Giddy-up 2013!

Enjoying the early morning sunrise with my Norco bros.

All smiles for 650B!

I'm a sucker for a good sunrise

Mini-put yo. 

Sharks AND the dark... who knew mini-put could cross off two things on my fears checklist?

Monterey knows where it's at.