CALABOGIE CALABOOGIE

I had such a great week-end! After not racing seriously for about 5 years, and having not done a road race in 2 seasons, it was really exciting to get back in the saddle, so to speak. Leigh, her boyfriend Jeff, and I drove the 5 hours to Calabogie for a circuit race on a car race track and it was great!

I liked that my first race of the season involved a road trip and an overnight stay as the packing up of clothing and equipment helped me get more focused about the race, it made the event feel special, and having Leigh to share it with was fantastic. The last time I raced in Ontario I was independent, would travel to races alone, and as much as I like my own time, space, and solitude, it was a bit too lonely for me and lacked the excitement and fun that comes with being part of a team. So I am very excited to be part of the Eat Clean Diet Women's Cycling Team.

Race day morning was chilly, but the sun was out, a welcome sight after driving up in the rain. We did our warm-ups, took to the line with about 20 Master Women, a group of Cat 3s and Junior women, and cadet boys. Our group was about 35 to 40 riders, a pretty good size and I was excited to have lots of places to hide from the wind. Leigh and I did our “Hoo-Ha” cheer to commemorate our sponsor and off we went. The women in the group were friendly, rode confidently, and I felt very comfortable in the pack. (If you are interested in ordering the Hoo Ha Ride Glide Chamois cream made for women, 15% of all orders made with the code: EATCLEAN1015 will go back to the team's fund.)

There were several attacks by Junior Rider Florence Laplante-Lamarche who showed early on that she was the strongest in the group, but she wasn’t able to get away as the group worked well together. The course has 23 turns and it was easy to get disoriented as to where you were in relation to the finish line and which side you wanted to be on to get the best shelter from the wind.

One of the things I was most proud of was being able to move around in the pack, make my way to the top six before the “hill” where someone would attack almost every time around, and ride between riders to fill “holes”. In the past I have been a bit nervous riding between people when I didn’t know them, but I completely trusted this group, and it felt great to be back in the mix. This also allowed for maximum protection from the wind and save energy.

The other thing I was proud of was my gear choices. Bad habits are hard to break and riding in too heavy a gear is something that I have been known to do in the past, but I kept the gear easier than I would normally and cadence high, so I could “dance” up the rollers and keep my legs feeling fresh – which I think helped, but with only 2 weeks of riding leading in the race after being away for a month for work without a bike, my legs weren’t as strong as I would like. That said, I felt way better than I thought would.

There was confusion with 2 laps to go and for some reason our race was cut short. So with 2 km to go they announced that this would be our last lap and the pace quickened as riders tried to get in to a good position for the finish. I got caught near the back and just couldn’t make up enough ground, then we made the final turn in to the finishing straight and in to the headwind. My “sprinters” legs have yet to show themselves and I lost a lot of placings in the last few hundred meters, which was disappointing, but watching Leigh kick it in to high gear, pass riders, and continue to sprint forward was inspiring. At the end of the day, Leigh came second in our category and I was 4th – not bad, but there is still a lot of room for improvement and I am looking forward to getting back in to a training routine.

NIGHT RIDER

I like riding at night. I know that several people are scared of it, not being visible to cars, not being able to see the road clearly, the creepy shadows, but I like it because everything looks different, a route that I have done a thousand times and has become monotonous and routine looks completely different at night. The roads, especially in the suburbs, are quieter too, as most people are home and settled in for the night, so I feel comfortable with the solitude.

The thing is that, I often feel safer riding at night, and more visible. As I mentioned, there aren’t as many cars on the road, I have reflective strips and blinking lights on the back of my bike, which draw attention, and my front light is almost blinding. During the day, drivers are more distractive by the added traffic and depending on the colour of the cyclist’s clothing, they blend in to the surroundings, becoming less visible from a greater distance.

As for front lights, I have two. Once I use when I am riding where there are streetlights and I can see the road clearly, so it is small, light, and very bright to draw attention from divers. The other light I have is brighter than the headlight on my motorbike and allows me to see everything on the road. We used to live in “fox and hound” country, about 45 min. from a major city, surrounded by farms, and no streetlights at all, it was very dark. I would commute to work and the light on my bike was so bright that cars would switch from their high beams before they actually saw me – they would see the glow from the light. It was the most amazing place to ride at night, it would be a busy night if I saw one or two cars, the crickets would be out, and I felt pure joy on my bike.

So the other night I went for a ride at 7:00, later than I wanted as I had to work late, put on my lights, Giro Atmos Helmet, warm clothing, and my Sepcialized Arc-X sunglasses with Adaptalite Technologie. These glasses are great because they really protect from the wind, and since I wear contacts the wind can be an issue. Plus, they are a great shape so that when I shoulder check the frame doesn’t impede my visions. Better still, which I learned on my rider the other night when it was bright when I left and dark when I got home, is the transitional aspect. I kept my glasses on for the whole ride and could see just fine, even in the dark – it was awesome.

Hopefully I’ll see on the road, day or night!

VINYL CAFE

Riding with a group is a great way to get faster, improve skills, and enjoy the social aspect of cycling; however, there are times when it is nice to ride on your own. After spending the better part of the past two months off the bike due to travel for work and some beach time I am getting back in to a training schedule, so on Saturday I squeezed in to my tighter than normal fitting bike shorts (did I mention the time away from the bike?), slipped on a jersey and jacket, fastened my helmet, tightened my shoes, put in my ear buds and placed my iPhone in my pocket. I don’t condone exercising with headphones and am well aware of the safety concerns; however, I like the entertainment and am sure to have the volume at a level where I can still hear the cars … plus, for reasons I’ll go on to explain, it motivates me to get out riding.

A few months ago I was with the National Track Cycling team before they went to the World Cup in Beijing and we got to talking about what they listen to before they race. Some answers were expected, elektronica and rap, but some were surprising, Tina Turner’s “We Don’t Need Another Hero”, Pointer Sisters “Jump”, and “Holding Out for a Hero” from Footloose, plus some other great 80’s hits made up the playlists of this group of 20 year olds. I will admit to having some cheesy songs on my pre-race playlist with “I’m so excited” by the Pointer Sisters at the top of the list, but when I am out for a long endurance ride I don’t listen to music at all.

I have several podcasts on my iPhone and have been known to listen to the news or other informative shows while riding, but more often than not, I listen to Comedy. I like CBC’s “Laugh Out Loud”, but my ultimate favourite, and the one that gets me out the door on days I don’t feel like riding is Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Café. For those not familiar with this Canadian Gem, he is a humourist, story teller, author, and CBC radio personality. He travels the country, visiting small towns, putting on “concerts”, and entertaining and educating us on the history, character, and personality of these towns that make up our Canadian Identity; but what he is better known for are his tales about “Dave and Morley”.

So on Saturday, I was all kitted up, pressed play on the podcast and started riding. I often wonder what others think of me as they see me riding down the street, huge grin on my face and quite often laughing out loud – Stuart McLean is funny, and better yet, his stories of Dave, Morley and the kids are hysterical. After being away for work the last month, I was excited to catch up on the Vinyl Café episodes I had missed and the first one that came to life was the episode from March 27th about Dave’s friend Ted, the cyclist. It is pretty funny, and I think anyone interested in the sport will also find it funny, you can find the Vinyl Café on iTunes Podcasts, or here is the link from CBC if you are interested: http://www.cbc.ca/vinylcafe/listen.php?vLocale=podcast

As I get ready to race next week-end I will be creating a playlist to get me motivated, and help me dig deep as I know the race will hurt. I have not done the preparation that I would have in the past, it is tough to stay on schedule with all the traveling I’ve been doing, but hopefully I’ll get back in to the swing of things and as the season progresses the results will improve. So let me know what you like listening to, maybe there’s a song on your playlist that will do me well!

HARIBO!

It has been a busy and chaotic year as I have now completed the first year at my current job as the Track Coordinator with the Canadian Cycling Association and I can honestly say that it has combined the skills of all of my previous jobs and schooling – and there have been many – as well as my passion and excitement for the sport. There have been many challenges along the way and as the National Track Team prepares for the 2012 Olympics the challenges will keep on coming – those games are coming up fast, and like all Canadian sports, we don’t have the funds that we need to really help the athletes reach their potential, so I will need to tap in to my creative side and see how well I can make a dollar stretch.

One thing that I have not had difficulty stretching this year is the waistband in my pants! Having a job that I love means that I put in a lot of hours that I don’t get paid for and working from home means that the fridge and “party drawer” are just steps away. I am a stress eater, if things aren’t going well I eat, if I get stumped while working on a project I eat, if I get 200 e-mails in 20 minutes and just can’t keep up I eat. This may not be the recommended way to deal with daily stress, but I also know that I am not the only one!

The funny thing is that the more I exercise, the less I crave bad stuff, I stop hearing the cookies in the “party drawer” calling my name and the silky smooth voice of the ice cream becomes muffled. As my body starts to take back control from my head, the no-nutrient items that my spouse just has to buy because “they were selling 6 bags of potato chips for $1.99 each” are left to go stale on the shelf. I have a theory, if you listen to your stomach, and feed it what it wants and craves, you are going to make smart choices. If you listen to your mouth and what it wants to taste, you may be in a spot of bother, the mouth is not your friend. If your stomach and your mouth agree, then chances are you have been living with smart choices.

So how tight are my pants now? Well, I’ve been away for work for the past month and normally will come back lighter as I am so busy that I don’t snack and will often miss meals simply because I forget to eat (I don’t recommend this practice either); however, on this trip to Holland and Denmark I discovered Haribo. Before I go any further I would like to point out that in the picture, Two Time World Champion Tara Whitten is riding past the sign for a sponsor, Haribo, on the velodrome in Ballerup – and I like to do my part to support the athletes. Well, do my part I did! Haribo is a candy manufacturer and they make licorice wheels and gummie bears and wine gums and delicious sugar of all shapes, sizes, textures, and flavours. The choices that they have are so numerous that I failed in my attempt to try all of them, though I did try a new one every day.

So this is where I stand, I’m not going to feel guilty for my indulgence, it happened and it happened with the support and encouragement of my roommate during the month I was away, and I wanted to feel like part of the group who are also Haribo supporters. What’s done is done, and sometimes it’s okay to break away from the monotonous schedule. Now that I am back though, and don’t see much travel in the next few months, it’s about getting back in to routine, cooking the foods that nourish me and please both my stomach and my mouth. The weather is getting nicer and the race season has begun, which I am super excited about, not only for the physical effects, but also the social ones. And I am looking forward to feeling less of a “stretch” on my waistband – time to refocus and get back on track!