Beauce Nationals

Well, I made it to Quebec city via Jean Lesage Airport (incidentally, the airport I have spent the most time in ever!) and both my bikes made it in one piece. Never nice to see how the baggage guys handle these things.

I just rode the time trial and man was that tough. Never felt like I was on top of things and always struggled with the humidity. Totally not used to that. I miss the Okanangan`s dry heat. I left it all out there and came away with a 22nd place. Super impressed with McNeil who managed a 20th place even though he had to stop, get off his bike and fix his rear wheel. Class act!

Lining up for the start.

This guy`s race didnt end well.

Svein destroyed the field once again but being 5 minutes slower than one of the fastest time trialer`s in the world ain`t too shabby I think. Can`t wait for Edmonton next year!

Done after the race. Give me a coke!

Hanging out after the race. No more chamois time.

Podium shot. Nice to see Zack`tree trunk legs`Bell up there.

So long MJ

For me, I already know this will be one of those moments where I will always remember where I was when I heard the news.

I`ll miss you Michael.

Lost that rollerski itch

Cory Forrest prophesied that moving to the Okanagan would cause me rethink my training and racing ambitions. I totally dismissed his musings as I have always had an intense love of skiing and ski training.
Now that it has been almost one year of living in the OK Valley, I can attest to the following:
-I have no desire to put on boots designed for -15C when it is +30C
-I don't feel like strapping on aluminum shafts to said insulated boots
-Racing down crazy hills with stop signs at the bottom without brakes is no longer my cup of tea
-Double poling uphill with slippy pole tips is not my idea of fun anymore
-Ski walking. Um, as appealing as it sounds

I am a cyclist. Yes, this is somewhat due to the late spring/early summer euphoria that I experience every year but now that I am in Canada's cycling epicenter that euphoria is much stronger. An easy ten minute spin from anywhere in Kelowna and I am on a quiet country road, climbing way up out of the valley. Every ride is different and I have so many places to explore (exploring new roads is secretly my favorite thing about cycling). Lately, with some beefy slick tires and crappy wheels, I have been out on the logging roads battling it out with livestock at large and the occasional F350.

I think this heightened exuberance for riding has everything to do with my new locale. I sincerely hope that next year I feel the same way because moving every year would get expensive.

We shall see what happens once October rolls around. Will I be yearning for snow like always? Can't see that changing.

In another unrelated note, I am really quite surprised by the number of people who read this blog. I have been updating the Team HRBK website lately and this has taken some of my creative impetus away from this blog. I need to get back on this blog train because I enjoy adding to it and looking back at old posts. Also, I enjoy reading other peoples blogs (my google reader blog list is excessive as Mrs G will attest) so I might as well give something back. Actually most of the time, I don't even read most of the posts. I just look back at the pictures. On that note:

Exploring the KVR way above K-town

Will Routley putting the hurt down in Enumclaw, Wa.

Crit action below Mt. Rainier

Working in the TT position (closest thing to technique in cycling)

I think I skimmed a pedal right after this picture was taken. Junior move.

Awesome place to stay in Van. LOPN world headquarters.

Glad that race was done with. Westside Classic last weekend. Missed the move.

Random lake in the southern interior. Near Princeton.

T'was my b-day a few days back. Amazing time with my girl. Best resto in the OK here.

Twenty minutes from work, this is where I find myself.

Westside heebeegeebees

To the rider that joined me in my attempt to bridge up to the day's break yesterday, I hope you are OK. All I remember was I flicked my elbow to pull off to the right (we weren't making any ground on the break of 12 on the straight shot slight downhill headwind section) and next thing I know you are on the ground near the ditch.

I asked the medics after the race how you were and they said you had lots of road rash but no fractures. If you happen upon this blog, drop me a comment.

Pass + Pass = Ethical

Nice to open that envelope to see that I passed my Engineering Professional Practice Exam. Another weight removed off my shoulders. I feel lighter already.
The exam wasn't terribly hard or anything; just filled with lots of those annoying multiple choice questions with more than one correct answer where you just have to chose the "best" answer.

Now, more waiting to see if I will actually become a professional. To my reference crew: please be kind.

That is it, not much to say I guess.

Saddle up!

Beach. One block from our house. Quiet now, but in a few weeks, this place will be rockin'

South Okanagan, here I come. Team camp time starting tomorrow! Finally a few days of uninterrupted riding.

Giants Head, Carmi, Apex, Penticton dump, Chute Lake Road, Anarchist, Hawthorn Mountain. All these climbs will be ridden in the coming days. I have a feeling that the 27 tooth gear will get some wear.

I cannot believe how different riding and racing in BC is compared to Alberta. Now, at the end of April, I feel like I have already raced (and driven!) a ton. Spring Series was excellent. The circuit races around Langley easily brought the speed back into my legs and made me realize I need to be more aggressive. Almost every race, I made the selection but I was simply getting attacked by Jamie and Britton. Not fun. Actually, writing it down like that made me realize my mistakes. I think it was Erik Saunders who said it a while back when I read his blog: "Always be attacking!". I don't know, it could be that I am just confusing that with the "Always be closing" adage that Alec Baldwin spouts off in Glengary Ross and this will just lead to me burning my matches in
road races to come.

Start of the crit. Relaxed or nervous?

Walla Walla was also good, better result than last year, but left me wanting more. The biggest plus for me that weekend was having my wife come along. She was awesome; cooking for the entire team and was on bottle duty in the team car during the road stages. I genuinely enjoyed the drive to and from Walla Walla with her as my companion.

Me making faces, Mrs G none the wiser. Don't worry mom; we were safe.

The drive home was interesting as we decided to try a different route off the beaten path and this meant we would travel the whole 7-8hrs home without going through any towns bigger than 10,000 people. Also, it involved a ferry crossing of the Columbia river just up from the Grand Coulee Dam.

The ferry was small. Five cars max!

Mrs G managed to get pulled over by a state trooper while going 105km/hr in a 80 zone. Those highways are SLOW! She is pretty and batted her eye-lashes, so she got away with a warning.
Before the light got too low, I figured it would be a good opportunity to get reading on some Engineering Ethics, Law and all that good stuff for my P.Eng exam. I essentially flipped the pages really fast of my two textbooks (thanks CM) while getting nauseous on the Northern Washington roads.

Pissed off from studying and not absorbing anything.

We arrived home at midnight, I was totally bagged, couldn't remember a thing I just read and was up at 7AM to write my long awaited Professional Practice Exam. Not the best preparation I must say. I find out the results in two months. Yay! During this process, I realized that I lost touch of how to write multiple choice exams. It took almost an hour before it started coming back to me. Being away from the student life for four years can do that I guess. Anyway, I just filled in 'C' most of the time. Should be fine.

SO BUSY!

Oh, yes, I need to update the Team HRBK (sounds like a Hong Kong Bank almost) website. I'll get on that...

Wow, I cannot believe how disjointed that post just was. I will leave it like that because that is just how I roll. Disjointed.

Spring back

Newness is here.

Tomorrow we move to Kelowna from West-Kelowna (or Westbank or the OK Hills, whatever). I'll have to be a diligent athlete once again now that I can no longer rely on an crazy hilly commute (no more climbing 600m in under 17km just to get home).
G and I felt pretty isolated in the boonies surrounded by people many decades older than us. It did have a gorgeous view, was quiet and served us well. We will miss it somewhat.
All I can think of right now is how awesome my new garage is going to be. Oh, ya and it is one block from Gyro beach. Everyone tells me that dark sunglasses are a must when one frequents this locale. Not sure why yet.

With the new George W. Bush daylight savings time change passed us, I cannot believe how fast spring has changed things in the Okanagan. The goft courses are almost green, the roads are being cleaned, the quails are back and the best part is that I don't need to ride with Neoprene booties anymore (or so I thought).

A few weeks back I figured it would be a good idea to go for a long ride solo up the 97C connector. This road starts in Westbank and is an unrelenting 6% steady climb up to Pennask Summit (from 350m elevation to 1728m). Seeing that this is a nice divided highway with a nice shoulder and it was about 5 degrees at lake level, I thought it would be OK up higher; just cloud cover, nothing extreme. Who knows, maybe I would even punch above the clouds the higher I climbed. I was being optimistic.

I will preface this with a couple of facts:
When one is climbing hard on a bike, one generates lots of heat and stays warm. When one is climbing hard on a bike, one tends to ignore their surroundings somewhat.

Well, the higher up I went, the thicker the clouds got. The snow started to appear on the sides of the road at about 900m high. At 1300m I was now riding through snow. I was in full on climbing mode so I simply kept on pedaling. At 1500m I was in a snow storm and I could no longer see farther ahead than 100m. "OK, maybe I should turn around now."
Almost immediately when I cross the highway to begin my descent(carefully!), a snowplow passes me and the driver gives me a very bewildered look. I was very out of place and should have known what I was about to experience next. All the sweat I had built up on the climb instantly turned ice cold. My feet are soaked right through, my face is being plastered with road grit, slush and salt (getting in between my teeth nice and good in the process) and my fingers are beginning seize up as if I am suffering from arthritis. Oh crap. I'm COLD!

Now I have gone xc skiing in -40 (C or F take your pick) and I was comfortable as I was dressed for the occasion. Skiing with huge mitten, goggles, bank robber mask, toque and many layers of clothing is fine. Riding down a snowy mountain pass at 60km/hr with leg and arm warmers, mini gloves and sunglasses at 0 degrees C was infinitely more painful (until I lost at sensation and was numb to the pain). After three kilometers of descending, I willed my fingers to grasp the brake levers. I slowly skimmed off speed and rolled to a stop. Once dismounted, I proceeded to do jumping jacks for 15 minutes until I could feel my appendages. Seeing that I had no cell phone service and no cars where in sight, I again willed my body back onto the bike and proceeded to coast down another three kilometers before repeating the jumping jack process again. Not fun. Eventually, I made it back to where the snow subsided and just dragged my frozen carcass home. I was hurting pretty good and my entire body was now a Popsicle.
Very important lesson learned that day: Do not climb up a mountain pass on a road bike with summer road bike clothing in the winter (even if it is the end of winter). Stupid, stupid me.

Anyhow, no permanent damage was done (except to my ego for having to do jumping jacks for an extended period of time) and the following weekend I was in sunny Vancouver (its sunny in Van, right?) for the first bike races of the year. So much earlier than I'm used to. Usually, the last weekend of March is associated with Mt. Sharkfest ski races. Well, not in southern BC! Spring Series bike races are something I have read about but they always seemed like some sort of myth for those of us in Alberta.
Let me debunk this myth and tell you all that spring series races are real and they are full on!
A few kilometers into Saturday's race along the US border in Langley, I was quite happy to be back in the peleton suffering along side former teammates, new teammates and rivals. All comrades. Its going to be a long season but I'm already looking forward to pinning on that number many more times.

Transition time - earlier than ever

To my legions of followers (mom), I am sorry for not posting in a while. I can attribute this to: lack of blogging motivation, laziness and being busy with other things (work is quite enjoyable these days).
My last ski race of 2008-09 was two weekends ago. It was pretty epic and I will remember it for a long time. It was the slowest 30km event I have ever done (1.47min) but I worked pretty darn hard the whole way. Nordic skiing through 30cm of fresh powder isn't fast.
The day after that ski race, I applied the customary summer protective wax to all my skis and stored them away. I dusted off the road slicks and went out of a 100km ride. So nice and so fast! Just wish it would get warm like everyone in the Okanagan promised it would. I have not experienced double digit temperatures here since November and that is what this place is supposed to be famous for. I'm getting tired of wearing ski clothes for biking.
I'll post more when I have a chance...

New Wheel Sponsor

Dreams of Olympic Glory

Test your wax first.

Edit:
Just noticed my friend SHC raced this event. Giver' buddy!

10km World Champs Qualifier

Blue Extra and Corduroy

For the last three years I have always wanted to race the Nickel Plate loppet but seeing that it falls on the same day as the Gatineau loppet, I never had the chance to partake. This year, now that I live less than an hour and a half away from Nickel Plate, I couldn't pass it up (sorry Keskinada and Penguin hill, I'll be back again later).
The folks at Nickel Plate always rave about having amazing conditions way up at 1900m. Driving up past Apex mountain, we punched above the clouds (YES!!!!) and basked in the sun to come upon a perfect set of classic tracks and -7C temps. These are my absolute favorite conditions (and I suspect the vast majority of Nordic nerds out there too) for classic skiing and took the black art of waxing out to the equation. With only a handful of Swix grip waxes at hand, I knew Blue Extra would work wonders (or the racers equivalent of Swix VR40!).
This year has been a bit hit and miss for me in terms of skis and waxing. I know that skis make up a rather large component of racing success but I was rarely, if ever, let down in the past due to skis. Once I got to a certain level, I had the best skis, wax, advice (MK, Mansoft, Anders and the BSR crew and of course Phil, big up!!!) at hand and I somewhat took it for granted. Now that I am essentially flying solo and because I am a cheap guy and because I am lazy, I have let things slide a little bit. There have been a few races this year where I had the wax I knew would work wonders but I was too lazy/cheap/didn't think it would make that big of a difference so I opted to just laze around at home instead of spending the extra hour applying it. But really, my wax box is pitiful. If I had invested a reasonable sum on it at all it would make a huge difference. Its kind hard when all one has is fast wax from +10 to +3 then fast stuff from -7 to -20. Somewhat of a big gap missing I guess.
Anyway, I digest. For the Nickel Plate loppet, I wasn't going to let the ski excuse creep into my vocabulary. I diligently spent a couple of hours waxing my skis the night prior to the race, making sure that my ski's edges were smooth, the binder layer of grip was applied evenly (no lumps! I am notorious for this) and a fast layer of glide wax was ironed in at the proper temperature.
So onto the race, I was happy to see Brian May, Dr. Tommy and Jonas lining up at the start line. These guys can kick it and I have learned never to ever underestimate the power of old man speed. Start gun goes off and my skis are rockin! I go out hard, don't feel or hear anyone around me so I keep going. Am I starting too hard? Will this altitude bite me in a few kilometers? I quickly push these thoughts out of my mind and focus on pushing well over the top of every hill and making every double pole action count. I never saw a single person the whole race and I was pretty spent at the finish mentally. I was thinking the whole entire time that the chasers where just behind me, ready to pounce when I faltered. Yesterday, there was no faltering. Just a good strong 30km in the sun with a perfect track, perfect skis and amazing scenery.

Like I said yesterday to a good friend. It is easy to write about a good race!

Interior BC Skiing

One thing I wanted to do when I moved to Kelowna was to spend less time in the car and more time on the trails. So far so good.
I did make one trek out to Canmore for a set of races (cold hard concrete snow of course) but other than that I have stayed within the interior of the province to get my racing fix.
I can't say that I miss the long, stressful winter mountain pass driving too much either. I'm pretty much racing the same races I used to anyway.
I had a subpar race at Telemark (my home club) at the beginning of January followed by a slightly better showing at the Reino-Keski Salmi. From there it was a weekend of watching the Mercury drop in 100 Mile House. This was my first BC Cup experience and I had to decide between attending these races or a couple of Nor-Ams in Rossland. In the end, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to help out with the Telemark racing team. It was unfortunate that the races were all canceled but that is the way things go with ski racing. I must clarify that not all the races were canceled as we did get to do a frigid sprint qualifier but I didn't really consider that a race. My HR never got over 168bpm throughout the 800m course.
To continue with the interior BC experience; this past weekend was my third kick at the Overlander Loppet just south of Kamloops. It has been well documented that I have hit the wall pretty hard here twice before and barely made it to the finish line on both occasions. I entered the 50k apprehensively as I was unsure of my current fitness level. Riding an hour a half a day with three or four ski days mixed in a week is not the most proven ski marathon training program.
Luckily, this race started off at a pedestrian pace and we began the onslaught of loops. In the end I wasn't as sharp as Jesse Heckrod but was able to distance myself from the rest of the field. No bonking whatsoever! Felt fine the entire time. It was cool to have one spectator (50km races aren't the most spectator friendly) out there on the trails (who's jacket marked the highest, hardest point of the trail and was a good mental break each lap). Thanks for the encouragement Laura!
Its a shame I won't be making the annual pilgrimage out to the Gatineau forest for the big loppet now that the distance bug has tightly set hold of me. Financial doom and gloom have caused me to think of saving my pennies and stay close to home (not eating squirrel meat just yet but I am going to see Garth Turner tomorrow). Plus I really want to race the Nickel Plate loppet held on the same day as the Gatineau Loppet (I promised Steve King I'd be there).

I wanted to mention that Kneale Quayle has been taking amazing photos of most the races I have gone to this year and I figure I should give a shout out to him for capturing the essence of these events (and to his wife for organizing the race series!).

Other than that, life is grand in the OKH (the Okanagan Hills to those not in the know). I did have sunlight withdrawal for a little bit after Christmas but a trip up the connector highway above the clouds quickly cured those doldrums!

Skiing is good

A few pictures of an afternoon ski at Telemark last week:

Beardy Man!

View of the Hedley Mine from Nickel Plate (via cell phone camera)

Athletic Dilemma

Sorry everyone. I didn't mean to stir the pot so I removed this post.

Cyrus

Socked in? Not a chance

Ski racing season is now in full swing. Fortunately for me, they moved the races that were supposed to be in Whistler to Sovereign Lakes; an hour drive from my home.
Lately in Kelowna, the clouds have rolled in and have not blown away from quite some time. Well, to cure the dreariness and to get some Vitamin K, I had the pleasure of racing way above the clouds in Silver Star.

Such an awesome day! Blue bird skies, this is what skiing is all about. It helps too that I raced much faster than a few days ago. No pictures though. I was flying solo on this one.

How to prepare for a winter of ski racing

Go to Orlando for a week!

Well, not really but that is what I did. After a week in Florida amongst the craziness that was the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions trade show, I am back in the ski groove for real!

Some randomness from the trade show:

Orange County Convention Center - Orlando. This was just the north complex! Big.

Inflatables! These things are HUGE!

Carny stuff all over the place!

I don't know what this was all about but these animatronic creatures gave me nightmares

So I gather that these little minnows eat the dead skin off your feet

Our booth. Understated but professional. Thankfully we had the padding option under our carpet!

The trade show was super interesting but a bit long. After soaking it all in, I am very excited to be part of this industry!

Orlando. Well, I didn't really like the city very much. I brought my rollerskis and went out twice along International Drive at midnight (to avoid traffic). There were no pathways, or parks any where near our hotel (right around Universal Studios) so I had to stick to the roads. Every car that passed gave me an incredibly confused look. In Canada, people give me confused looks all the time when I'm out rollerskiing but I think they can connect the dots and figure out I'm ski training. In Florida, I'm just glad I wasn't shot.
Once I got away from the tourist areas and navigated myself around the multitude of toll booths, I was in suburbia. I knew Orlando was the birth place of urban sprawl (thanks to a guy named Walt) but it was quite something to behold in person. I got lost pretty easily in the rows and rows of 1960 era bungalows. I'm glad I ventured outside of the tourist hubs and actually saw where the people live. Landscape-wise, Orlando reminded me of Sackatchewan. So flat! Well, at least in Sask, there are river valleys to provide some elevation changes. In Orlando there are freeway overpasses.

Tomorrow, "racing" starts in Vernon. Its a sprint so I will gladly sit out of that one (hence the reason for the quotes). Sunday is the first real race of the ski season for me and I am a bit apprehensive. I don't know what to expect with all these cycling miles in my legs. To counter-act the cycling miles, I decided it would be a good idea to do some running.

Back in Orlando I woke up at the crack of dawn one morning and headed over to Sea World for a 5km running race. This past year I have probably put in about 3 hours total of running sessions and two days after each session I vowed I wouldn't run again. My legs are totally not used to that stuff anymore. I guess memory of pain is short term because before I knew it I was storming off the start line of a 5km running race.
It felt totally awkward and forced the whole time but my heart and lungs strong (must have been being at sea level). With about 1km to go, I had a feeling I was pounding the pavement pretty hard but alas that doesn't matter when I have my race face on. In the end, I actually won (it was an very low key event and my time was a good 4 minutes slower than the Kenyans that did it last year) and I had a blast. I got to meet lots of very nice people from the show that I wouldn't have met otherwise and I got to see all of Sea World Orlando in less than 20 minutes!
Two days after the race, I could not walk down steps and I fit right in with the retirement folks at our complex back home. My legs were destroyed. Thankfully it was only a 5km race!

A very rare pic of me running. Legs, sore! Phil V would have dusted me.

Give the kids the World put on the run. Very deserving charity!

Now home, I'm totally starting to feel like Kelowna is my town. I just took off the slick tires from my commuter bike this morning, something I would have had to do long ago in years past and I have skied a couple of time up at Telemark.
This nordic venue is such a gem. It is a fifteen minute drive from our townhouse/condo/apartment thingy and has over 50km of trails. I am so excited to be skiing here and having it so close to home. There aren't too many towns I know of where I can go for a road ride and an hour later strap on the skinny skis (or downhill, if you go that way) for a blast on some awesomeness. There is still greenish grass down at lake level and it only takes a short drive up the mountain (and above the clouds) before one finds themselves in winter!

I know I usually don't write about work stuff because its boring but I think the only people that read this are my mom and my wife and they like to know these details sometimes. ;)
Anyhow, I'm sure I'll be more motivated to write a post after Sunday's race.