Summer Heat

I can see the seasons end looming over head. It is August, but by this time of year people seem more content with riding for fun, and having a couple more beers after a hard ride. I hear all the maritime boys are coming home soon, and it will be good to see everyone who I've raced with since I was a wee-tot.

Today I have to see if I can salvage my old job at Smooth Cycle. Repairs tend to tone down this time of year and with a large staff all ready, this fella might be on the lookout for a not so fun/cool job again. We'll see what happens.

I got home on Friday at midnight and on Sunday morning I was off again to NB for the Hillsborough mountain bike race. Its an old school ride and I can remember doing the race when I was 13. The course has changed a bit, but still proved to be tough, as it was super slick. It was a good ride as I managed to take the lead off the first climb and hold it until the end. I eventually managed to tackle the win with a 9 minute win margin, which is a good feeling coming right off the plane. The only other islander, Brucie Bruce took third in his category, despite ripping apart a drivetrain the process. Good stuff, that's single speed material!

During the race however, I could feel how tired my body was. Whether it be from too much, riding, too long of rides, not enough sleep or just plain-jane a long travelling day, I was tired. I think I'm going to take this weekend off from racing, and just rip about on the SS for a change.

"The Flying Scotsman" the movie is playing in the local Indie theater in Charlottetown, and the lady friend and I were there for the first showing. Its a movie about Grame Obree, a guy who broke the hour record many a time, only to have the title taken from him repeatedly by the WCF(UCI). For a cycling movie it was great! It was entertaining, and even the lady friend enjoyed it. I found that while the story is great and they did a great job at the movie, there is so much to the story that I found they left some out. I guess it would be hard to show every detail as it is a long story. They also didn't really show just how much training is involved to even attempt the hour record. Obree is known for his obsessive and insane training methods, but they seemed to leave that out. From a cyclists point of view, that's a huge gap.

Otherwise, its a solid movie and I'll probably go see it again. It bridges the gap between the cyclist and the non-cyclist, so it can be entertaining to both. Hah, I also noticed some product placement from companies and cycling components that didn't exist in 1994. Gotta stay on your toes.

Thinking of You

So Yeah, Roughest race EVER!

Long day of sitting and waiting around on planes all day long. NO exciting adventures or mishaps really, except Air Canada lowered their max weight for bike boxes, so I had to scramble to disperse 20 pounds around a few bags. Its all ended up good though.

The Air Canada lady at the counter forgot to charge me so I made a quick get-away from the desk thinking I had outsmarted them suckers, but alas, they stopped me in Montreal and made me hand over the fifty bones. Nice guys finish last, hah.

So, about more about the shuffling of bike parts. I ended up carrying my Mavic MTB wheels as a carry on because I was over the weight limit. So, I show up at the scanner, and the guy is wondering why I'm taking a satellite dish with me(they were in wheel bags) and I say they're bike wheels. "Ohh" he says. I quickly respond saying " yeah, It was pretty tight in there." Its then that he snaps back with his head down....."that's what she said at the picnic."

I kinda grinned and asked him what he said again, and he put his head up looked me in the eye with the same grin and asked me if he could open up the wheel bag to take a look.

The Last Brick Laid

Yeah, dead on posts.

Nationals was brutal. For some reason I cant find my groove on those muck races. My friends, this race was the king of muck races. I hadn't been in my little ring all year until I hit that race. On top of that I'm a terrible runner, I wont lie, but alas there was a lot of running. Right from the get-go, 1 minute into the race the whole pack was running up the first climb, and that was basically the story of the race. Either way I took 9th, but was hoping for better. Anyway, life goes on.

The boys and I went out last night for a solid 3 hours of the best tech in the Comox Valley. Much adventure was had and the atmosphere in my tired head was much more chill. Time to drink the beer, put the feet up, and ride some bikes......its singlespeed season folks!

I fly out to the old country tomorrow moring at 6am. Should hit the red soil by 11pm. Hoo yeah, then there is a race in Hillsborough NB on Sunday. We'll see how the legs feel.

Building an Arc

In-consistent rain and sun the past few days have led to a pretty interesting Nationals course on MT. Washington. When you get a healthy mix of heavy rain, then a tonne of sun repeated over a few days, you get a lovely mixture of mud that can only be described as riding through peanut butter.

At most bike shops, its not very often that you sell a little ring. Its not something that frequently wears out...or even gets used in the Elite field. The past few days we've had Elite racers scrambling for them. Yes, the climbs are that steep.

New treats from Maxxis are suppose to arrive today, dah-dah.

Riding the course yesterday has been honestly, the second time I've been in my little ring all year. Its a weird feeling knowing that much pain looms overhead. Bring out the Pam, and we'll see how it goes.

The propaganda continues.

Grocery Day

When you don't have a car, them wheels start turning. Both in your head and on the bike. No worries, you'll get use to the 10km climb from town.

Run to the Hills

This weekend I made the leap over the pond to Squmish BC, just outside of Vancouver. Squamish originally was a loggers town. Back many moons ago, the main industry was cuttin' down trees and most of old school residents are direct descendants from these rough and tough folk. Being only an hour from both Vancouver and Whister, Squamish has seen a giant boom over the past few years. Housing prices have skyrocketed, and most of the old school roughness is being pushed out in favor of loaded yuppies and young entrepreneurs.



Being in the heart of mountain country Canada, Squamish has developed itself into THE mountain bike destination. The local sprokids program usually gets about 100 kids each night, and walking around the town there is more bikes floating around than most mountain bike festivals I've been to.



In all of my travels Squamish has defiantly the most trails I have ever seen. Not only that, they are the best quality in NA for sure. You could easily ride for 3 days, and not ride the same trail twice. Ive been preaching Cumberland for the past few years, but Squamish is Cumberland times 10. No joke.

This weekend played host to the Squamish Gearjammer. Its called the Test of Metal's little brother, as it is 47km, instead of 70, and usually attracts about 1/3 the people. Don't let that fool you though, the Gear Jammer is considered a mountain bike strongman's race. That 47km race...its alllllllllll singletrack. When your not going down the singletrack, your oooozing up the singletrack. Its definitely not a piece of cake.

So I entered the race not knowing what to expect. For the most part, I didn't ride any of it before. Being in BC, the local fast guys showed up. Of course the fast guys are the likes of Neil Kindree, current U23 National champion, Matt Ryan, a pro for Specialized, and most of the Whistler/Rock Mtn team. definitely some fast guys.

Early morning I had a couple of cups of coffee, no big deal, but then also another at registration as it was free, and oh so dark. That was fine, the problem was whenon top of all the coffee I had the Red Bull during my warm up. I can honestly say I don't think I've ever been so jacked in my life. I was counting down the minutes until the race started as I was pretty much shaking on the bike.

Off the line the race went pretty quick. The Pro/Elites were at the front, and I made a note not too look back. Its a weird feeling knowing there are 250 people riding behind you. Because I didn't know the course I stayed about 8 back and played the patience card. I didnt know what would be coming up so I kept and eye on Kindree who knew the loop like the back of his hand. I made a note of his gearing as some of the guys in the front were just giving it with all they had in the big ring. Seeing Kindree, I tried to keep a low gear to keep the legs fluid.

The race progressed and I found myself in the top 3. It was a toss up between me, Kindree and Matt who is an insanely good tech rider. On the race went, and for most of it we stayed in a group of 3 going back and forth, keeping the tempo high, but not insane.

The breaking point happened when the lead group came back together again in a pack with about 6 guys. There was someone on the front givin'er, when Kindree went around him and took off. I knew that would be the move so I followed and we rode together before he whipped me out on the top of the climb.

Eventually Matt Ryan came up and we rode together for a bit, but I took a wrong turn and by the time I got my shit together, I couldn't get back up to him. The last 20 km I rode mostly alone, and I was starting to hit the wall as I ran out of water and such. I managed to roll in at 3rd in Pro/Elite. The youngest in the category.



In Squamish, mountain biking is big. As soon as I crossed the line, I was asked to give an interview with the local paper, and a bunch of kids wanted autographs and everything. It was pretty cool. The whole community comes out to see these races and offers full support. Its great to see.



After that, I had to rip to AL's place to grab a shower before podium. On the pedal home it was time for something special, and I grabbed a beer and some deadly Mexi food. It was a solid good day, and I'm glad I could add the GearJammer to the resume this year.


(Big thanks to Al, who ownes Tantalus bike shop in SQ, who let me stay with him, hes also from PEI)

Today was travel travel travel. I jumped a bus, boarded the boat, and then took a shuttle back up to Cumberland. My body's feeling the hectic past few days, but hey, there is another race tomorrow

How to re-assemble a fax machine.

Have you seen your Tour de Fance today? This is the third year in a row where I'm in the height of Tour time with no TV. Most nights I'm roaming the streets of Cumberland looking for a friendly face who has a tv. In this town, that's few a far between.

Last night Andrew B and I climbed the death hill of Mt. Washingmachine. Its never easy, and for most of the climb it feels like you heart is going to explode. I'll tell ya, there isn't a much better feeling than when your at the top.

Last year, I pulled a dually climbing it twice back to back in one day. A few weeks after that i broke the SS record at the Test. Yesterday I intended to do the same, but by the top, I felt like crap. This left me with an un-nerving feeling as Nationals are only a week away. I realized that I did do 2 balls-to-the-wall races in the past 4 days, so that could explain the poor showing.

I've reached the time of year where I'm pretty much done. No more work needs to be done as Nationals are a week away, and I couldn't gain much fitness from here on out. Its time to put the legs up and work on resting.

With that being said I'm off to Squamish tomorrow to to the legendary GearJammer MTB Marathon. 47 km of BC single track love.

When Bees Attack

Whoooo, lots going on. I really need to update this thing more often. I'm now in Cumberland once again, bumming a room from my buddy Manus who is away, and sharing the house with his lovely wife Mary Anne. Life is busy as I've fallen into the full time work schedule.

As soon as I jumped off the plane Andrew B and I headed to Mission, just outside of Vancouver for BC provincials. I thought I would bring out the secret weapon for the race, which would help me battle the 30 degree heat, and shake some heads at the same time.

The course was bomber. Probably the best BC race I've ever done. Looooooong fire road climb, where I dusted off gears I've only gone in a couple time this year. The then ripped into the most buttery, flowy single track I've ever ridden. Nice.

The race went well, I was running as high as 5th, but mainly stayed in 6th until the last 10 minutes where my back totally cramped on me, and I lost a tonne of time on the last sections of trail. Drew Mac, took opportunity and I came in at 7th in Elite, 2nd in U23. The race was tight as 3rd place was only 2:30 ahead of me. I also realized after I was the only one riding a hardtail in the Elite pack.

Andrew B was on fire, and pulled out a second in Masters. Every time that guy gets down on himself he whips out the big result.

Life is good and I've fallen back into my mountain town lifestyle. I've been working a lot, and riding a bit as I'm fighting off some strep throat at the moment, but today I was able to suffer through it and take 2nd in a road race in Naniamo. Not too shabby when some of the big guns from Victoria on Pro teams showed. Balla.

Nationals in a couple weeks and hopefully I can fend off the sickness long enough to get a good set of legs. I can feel how worn out my body is getting. A tonne of travel, a lot of racing, and a lot of riding. After Nats I'll be looking fore ward to switching to bonfire and drinking mode. Bring on the milkshakes and single speeds.

The Commute

I made it alive. The plane rides werent too bad, but I did mange to spill an entire glass of apple juice onto my crouch 15 minutes into a 4 hour plane ride. luckily I had a lot of time, and enough sun from the window to dry my shorts.



I started working today, after about 15 hours on BC soil. Dan the man haggled me into it when we met at the coffee shop this morning. So, I am now an employee of the DCC once again. Not much to say as the jet leg is killing me, so here are some pics. Tomorrow we head for MISSION!





(Cumberland!)

(Provisions for the next few days)

(Danny Boy)

Fixxie Fun

Today is one of the last days where I can enjoy the beauty of the green isle. Flight is on Tuesday morning(I think) and I can feel the hectic rush approaching. I'd like to think I'm a pro at packing seeing as how I do it so often, but there is always the one thing that you may have forgotten in the back of your mind.



Last night I had a dream that when I left I forgot my entire shaving kit. The key piece being, contact lenses and solution. Anyone who has terrible eyes like me knows that if you don't have contacts, your in a tough spot. No contacts, no seeing, no riding, no working.

Sitting here I just had the realization that I'll be racing the BC provincial championships in a week. Yeesh that's soon. The knowledge of that is kind of creepy seeing how I don't know how the legs will fare up. I've been riding a ton...but not with anyone, so its hard get an idea if your fast or not when you don't have anyone to compare to. We'll see what happens this week.


I manged to skip out on my last day at work early at Smooth Cycle thanks to Robert Wicky, and used that time to sneak in a solid fixxie ride. There is no escaping the fixxie. Its like a roller coaster, all you do is pedal, and your along for the ride. The past few days have been super nice on PEI and it was good to re-connect with the old training routs that I haven't seen in years.



Which brings me to the secret death plan of 2007. The reason I booked my flight home for the 27th was so hopefully I can ride in the tip to tip/biking for breakfast challenge. Its a 300km-ish ride from one end of the island to the other. I'd like to attempt the long haul on the fixxie. We'll see how the legs like the 46x14

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