tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-409011706905255492024-02-18T20:28:26.752-08:00Alex SchmidtAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-86684064595249470652014-06-16T19:52:00.002-07:002014-06-16T19:52:30.218-07:00Lake To Lake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well What can I say, it was a Good Day!! Lake to Lake went really well for me this year! So i rode last year's course the day before and was it ever muddy!! The trails were not in good shape: muddy and ruts everywhere!! Needless to say i was nervous coming into the race, i knew Corey was strong this year and he was good in mud. The night before i tried a new recovery drink : Rumble. It worked great and tasted awesome! I recommend it to everyone!<br />
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SO race day i got there and got a nice warm up in, in the beautiful weather in my new Honey Maxx jersey ( I was racing as team Honey Maxx this race). We had to line up really early which kind of sucked but was smart from the incident at last year's race(check out this facebook video: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4857790291347&set=vb.1494818339&type=2&theater)<br />
So off the start Lefebvre took the lead and lead us up the hill. At the top i attacked hard because i wanted to be the first one in the single tract. Then at the first corner there were a bunch of hikers that got in our way, so we had to slow down a bit. Corey was close on my wheel now, so i attacked hard for the next little while punching the pace at every moment I could! Slowly i started to open up a gap. For the rest of the race i kept attacking and attacking to grow my gap and it worked i had a solid lead at the end, winning the race!! I felt really good throughout this race! legs felt good and the trails were not as bad as I expected them to be. I had a lot of fun on the course, definitely the best course they've done so far, highlighted some of the best trails in Niagara. Looking forward to the rest of the races this season, feeling good!! Looking forwards to next year's lake to lake as well should be fun, everyone should come out!!<br />
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Special thanks to Tom Freure from Honey Maxx for hooking me up for this race.<br />
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Here's some pics:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfDbXMWxHQRHe6JV9JgdyEFOhf1LHt6SrYGOlTAUGISE3C6HW9CLRIiGtZHbjuOhp8XiFOkgBe1jdbQTs2SdDS5TvlW7gl9h4GaS393-a2-nnC2niUurxQKLi5nznpW1A2SvlkHRM4Q/s1600/Lake+to+lake+start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfDbXMWxHQRHe6JV9JgdyEFOhf1LHt6SrYGOlTAUGISE3C6HW9CLRIiGtZHbjuOhp8XiFOkgBe1jdbQTs2SdDS5TvlW7gl9h4GaS393-a2-nnC2niUurxQKLi5nznpW1A2SvlkHRM4Q/s1600/Lake+to+lake+start.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Nice clean new kit, ready to race!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiWVjsysrwLF1xtDny9Y80Zy3Sjy3tHBO6SF1pssoCA2zt2jryp6hwat8Voyji6iSuppn7YsUwzWOj7Z5uqaTXTMgzVENGGMPWEr6vPWfMM1FACKLJVDTohn6H7vExVpXv8b2acrpvA/s1600/IMG_1507%255B1%255D.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiWVjsysrwLF1xtDny9Y80Zy3Sjy3tHBO6SF1pssoCA2zt2jryp6hwat8Voyji6iSuppn7YsUwzWOj7Z5uqaTXTMgzVENGGMPWEr6vPWfMM1FACKLJVDTohn6H7vExVpXv8b2acrpvA/s1600/IMG_1507%255B1%255D.PNG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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Crossing the finish line (photo from Digital Sports Photography)</div>
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podium shot: Eric Jobin (L), Me, and Corey Brioshi (R)</div>
<br />Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-73709513380653571962014-06-16T18:47:00.004-07:002014-06-16T18:47:52.478-07:00Race, Race, Race!!Hey Everybody<br />
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These are a bit delayed but I have done a few races since my last post!! I will try to touch, briefly, on all of them! So where do I start!<br />
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<b><u>Mont-Tremblant Canada-cup</u></b>: Craziest race in a long time!! so much mud! The course was really cool, had a lot of fun preriding the day before with everyone! The start was delayed and super hard, i felt like i was pedalling backwards. The race didn't go so well my brake wasn't working and i got a flat after the first lap (just when i start to get into a rhythm and feeling good).<br />
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Huge Starting Field at Tremblant!</div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Mansfield O-Cup #2:</u> This was a really good race! Great time camping out with the wolfpak boys. Race day came and i was feeling nervous, legs were unsure(which usually is a good thing!). I got a call up to the line it was pretty cool!!(mostly because the top 10 were away at the Canada cup in BSP. The start was good i took it easy on the climb and attacked hard at the top on the flats and single tracts. Worked my way up to 4th by the end of the first lap and then duking it out for 2nd for the next lap and a half. On the third lap i screwed up (silly mistake) and had to counter the 2nd place riders attack to try and catch back on, but burnt a couple too many matches and blew up just before the last lap. Rolled in in 8th, still my best race yet.<br />
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Manfield's "exit wound"</div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Sam's O-cup #3:</u> Wicked course!! I love it there, SO beautiful!!! Great time preriding and watching the Eliminator race! The race was ok, however I didn't have the legs this time, I was a diesel engine: I had one speed and one speed only. Still managed to pull of a 15th place race!! <span style="text-align: center;">The best parts of the weekend were swiming at the beach, and rapids with a bunch of other racers and hanging out with Katlyn, Elyse and Joan at the cottage.</span><br />
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Photo Credit to Joan Dundas, Hannah Clarke,</div>
<br />Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-61374497739406713332014-05-08T09:37:00.002-07:002014-05-08T09:37:21.146-07:00Woodnewton O-cup #1
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well this past weekend was the start of mountain bike season
with the first O-cup taking place at Woodnewton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having just recovered from my knee injury
part way through the week I was a little nervous of my shape coming into the
race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But way more excited to let that
bother me :P<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I drove to Newmarket Friday after work and there Katlyn and
I stayed at our friend Elyse’s place, her and her family were amazing hosts
this weekend, I greatly appreciate everything they did for us!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saturday Katlyn, Elyse and I drove over to
the course for some preride laps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
great to see everyone again, so I spend a good portion of the morning
socializing with everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I went
for a lap with the Tufrack team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After I
waited for the Wolfpak boys to arrive to do some more laps, but they were late
so I went and did one with Elsye and Katlyn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We went over lines and got to know the course! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The course was awesome, dry and tacky,
perfect condition even though it rained all week. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was going to be a fast race as a few sections
were taken out of the race due to rain. When the guys finally arrived it
started raining and it was already late so I dint feel like hanging around much
longer so we went home for food board games and hot tubing at Elyse’s place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Race day came and we got there to watch the 11:45 races go off;
it was cool to be back in the race environment!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Got my warm up in with new team mate Eddie Skala on the warm up track,
then off to the start we went!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The field
was another big one with guys from Quebec coming down to race and some big
names like Derek Zandstra (National Champ), Adam<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Morca, Peter Glassford.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I knew it was going to be a fast race! I
managed to get myself halfway up in the start gate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the race was off had a solid spot
entering into the first single track, top 15 I think, much better than last year’s
start!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a big group with all
the fast guys, I held on to them for about 2/3 of the lap I think then got
dropped, but was pretty happy with that!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I saw my buddy Jon Slaughter just up ahead of me, maybe 10seconds, so I started
to chase him down!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coming through the
lap section on lap one I dropped my chain and 4-5 guys passed me, including
Chris Fruetel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I was back on the
chase, caught them around the Lap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Starting Lap 2 we had an unreal amount of lap traffic to go through
which made it hard to make moves as they would be slowed down by lap traffic in
the next single track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ryan Atkins, Mark
Windfield and I broke off and got away from the rest and then they got away
from me with the help of lap traffic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rode steady for the rest of the race until lap 5 where I crashed twice
in the single track and Chris and Scott Lynch caught me again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I put in a hard effort to catch them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scott had gotten away from Chris so it was
the two of us and man we had an epic sprint finish, Chris got me by the width
of our tires :P<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great race though on his
part, it’s great to see him fast after an unlucky season last year!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall a great start to the season all things considered!! Looking
forward to the next race!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks to all
my sponsors for the support along the way: Honey Maxx, Clif Bar, Schwalbe,
Niner, Inception Cyclery, Wolfpak Racing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You can see pictures here: http://apexphoto.zoomphoto.ca/v5/event_gallery_search.php?frmIndex=28&submit=Search&event=19232&photog=apexphoto<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-65111820900520030222014-05-01T09:35:00.001-07:002014-05-01T09:35:48.720-07:00Better late then never - Homage 2 Ice race reportWell this post is a little delayed, but oh well at least its happening!<br />
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So as the Day approached for H2I I was getting nervous as the weather up here was still so snowy and I knew the course would be covered in snow still! That and I haven't ridden mountain bike all winter, and haven't touched my new bike yet! Katlyn was going to bring it up to me to the race, as it was still being built! So to accommodate for the snowy course the organizers pushed the race started ahead to 8:30am as opposed to 11am as it normally is. Coming into the race I was nervous(from the reasons I mentioned already) because I won this race and the XC marathon series last year so I wanted to defend that title this year!<br />
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Race Day came and it was nice to live close by in Collingwood, the drive in the am was shorter! But got my bike from Katlyn and it was looking great! so excited to ride it! Set it up quickly to approximately where it should be (should have put the seat up a little higher still and inverted the stem, but oh well). Katlyn and I then went out for a little warm up spin, maybe 10mins, this was the first time for both of us being on these new bikes of ours. Then off to the start, I found myself in the second row. In the start gate I was looking around for my buddy Chris who was suppose to come to this race too, but he was nowhere to be seen! I thought that was strange. And then the gun went off, its go time! I tried working my way to the front, putting in a solid effort (with little to no warm up this proved to be tough :P). When I got there I settled for a minute to catch my breath and next thing I new everyone else was there too! This was way different then last years start where I was off the front on my own right away. Got into the first single track climb in second and first place was just ahead of me, so I attacked and closed the gap. In one of the snowy double tracks soon after I fell into some deep snow and then he got away. I tried closing the gap but was really struggling with the snow! But I kept the pace high because I knew everyone else was still close behind. When we got to the road section a group of guys were working together and caught up to me, so I jumped into the group and made sure I was always first or second wheel. Then we hit the trails and I was able to get away again, until the hike a bike section. this was through snow that was almost knee deep!! it was probably the hardest part of the race :P a couple guys got away after this section as they were able to mount their bikes faster then me and we were near the end of the lap, but they were half marathoners so I wasn't worried.<br />
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Second lap I rode with a singlespeed guy form Cycle Solutions and it was a game of stay upright on the bike! I didn't always succeed. When we got to the road section another guy caught up to us, but I put in a big attack and got away and cruised across the finish line in second (and first in my category: open men 40 and under). Katlyn did amazingly as well, she finished second female overall not far off the leader! she's going to be strong this year that woman :) Oh and going with the title (better late then never) Chris showed up at 11 for the race, what a guy!! but he had an awesome race in the worst conditions of the day, well done buddy!<br />
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Overall good race, and I am in the right direction for defending my title!! looking forward to the next one and the ocups to start soon!!Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-30904547468386995882014-04-09T09:31:00.002-07:002014-04-09T09:31:57.976-07:00Tour of Bronte Road Race
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Well hello there, it has been far too long! But a new season is
underway and there is a lot of new and exciting things for this season!!
So I will start up my blog again to try and capture every (or as many as I can)
exciting moment for this year.<o:p></o:p><br />
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So let's back track a bit and see where we're at for the "new"
this year: <o:p></o:p><br />
- New Team<o:p></o:p><br />
- New Sponsors<o:p></o:p><br />
- New Bike<o:p></o:p><br />
- Engaged to the wonderful Katlyn Dundas (the biggest highlight so far :) )<o:p></o:p><br />
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Yes this year I have switched team and will now be racing for Wolfpak
Racing/Inception Cyclery. I am very excited about this new change and it
should provide a great year/season with lots of new adventure! The team
is sponsored by Niner Bikes, Honey Maxx, Clif Bar, Tim Hortons, Schwalbe and
Inception Cyclery out of St. Catharines. This year my weapon will be the
Niner Air 9 Carbon, I am stoked about this new bike, it should be great!!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
So now to the race! Well it was a pretty cool race and went really
well I think! Not being a roady or having my team there, my buddy Jon
Slaughter and I decided we'd team up and be the mtb team :P <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I had done this race before as a junior and almost won it, just didn't time
my sprint right, so this time I knew that coming in, and was determined to get
it right this time!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
So we lined up for the race and of we went (no pace car like last time I did
it). The first half was uneventful really, there were a few guys that
jumped off the front right away but we reeled them back in I spent the first
half the race trying to get use to road racing and pack riding. Tried staying
in the front 1/3 for most of it, but slipped back every now and then. Put in a
few pulls,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>played some good tactics and
held in there a few times! The race realty was a trick of avoid pot holes and
crashes, which there were plenty. But it all boiled down to the last lap for
the bunch kick! I lined myself up for the last 500m on the front with Adam
Morka by my side, we launch our attack and from behind came Nathan Chown (a
season road racer) and he wedge between the two of us and blocked/edged my out
of his way onto the shoulder of the road (loose gravel and ruts) where I lost
my momentum and the pack sprinted, managed to get back on the road and finish
the sprint and came 14<sup>th</sup>! I was pretty pleased with the result, a
good start to the season I would say!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was a fair and smart move by Chown, I should have held my ground but I got
nervous :P either way awsesome event and looking forward to see what I can do
on the mtb circuit! Thanks to honey Maxx and Clif bar for fueling the race!<br />
<br />
Next Race: Homage to Ice this Saturday! Gonna be an interesting one, trails
are still buried in snow!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
A little bit of race day action: http://www.sportszonephotography.ca/Cycling-2014-1/Tour-of-Bronte/100PM-Elite-Race/38327280_SrW4V3#!i=3166430654&k=MLbgKwh
<o:p></o:p><br />
Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-15879936043194907752012-03-31T09:18:00.000-07:002012-03-31T09:18:57.956-07:00Race season is SO close!!Hey guys,<br />
So race season is almost underway, less then a week away from the first race of the season!!! Wooo! i'm getting pretty excited to race, a little nervous too but things should be good this year. I have put plenty of good training in thanks to my coach Alex Sanna. I feel pretty prepared to race, it'll still be a tough change as i am moving up in age category again this year(up to elite/U23 mtb and S1,2 road). It should be Fun this year, again i am racing to Liberty bicycle race team this year and even better is that Andrew DeCal, my team mate, and i are now in the same categore, so we can race together which will be fun! The race season looks pretty exciting and includes MTB Nationals in St. Felicien. Its much closer this year which mean that its in the card. Well as i make last minute preps for the race season to start i'm getting excited!!Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-50957020143133876602012-02-19T17:25:00.001-08:002012-02-19T18:34:51.225-08:00Read Week Bike Camp in Georgia!!!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So its read week and a few guys from Guelph and me decided to go to the States for some good old solid biking hours! So now we're here in Dahlonega, Georgia. Its pretty sweet down here, really big mountains which are pretty sweet!! We drove down friday night-saturday morning stopped at home and got a nice Lasagna meal :) Mmmm yum. So when we got here we went and did some shopping and then we were off for a ride. We went and did a nice 3ish hour ride. Man the mountain caught me off guard definitely. i guess i was used to the escarpment where the hill last maybe 5 mins at most. But these are like 20-45mins climbs!!! and some pretty solid climbs too. But it was cool, was a little tired from a lack of sleep.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So today was a rainy day, so we decided that today would be a great day for a mountain bike ride :) We found an old US mtb national course! it was really muddy but really fun. rode around and goofed off, so much fun. Unfortunately Alex's wore out his breaks completely and had to leave at around maybe an hour in. So its was Chris and me for the rest of our 3hour mtb ride. We were flying goofing around and have a grand old time, as we always do. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is going to be a fun week</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> :)</span>Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-1720455947845657562011-10-17T09:56:00.000-07:002011-10-17T09:58:33.459-07:00long time since i've been here!!!!Wow, i have a blog, i forgot about the :P<br />
not really, but man it has been a very long time since i has posted on here!!!<br />
So since the last time i posted, i started university, in biomedical engineering, i raced the provincial championships at duntroon, i've raced the entire U-cup mountain bike series, and trained up here in Guelph.<br />
Provincial championships, didn't go as planned unfortunately, but thats ok, such is life. Unfortunately i bonked at this race.<br />
The U-cups have been awesome, we had them at Mansfield, Boler Mountain, Hardwood, and Ganaraska forest (yesterday). These races are a hoot and a half, lots of fun, some really good competition and a great bunch of people to have fun with. In the series i think i finished top 5 overall. the first race i was sick, so i finished 7 or 8th i think, the next one i finished finished 8then, then the next two in 4th. With the last race being a sprint finish only seconds behind 2nd. <br />
Now my season is finally over, man that was a long season, but thats fine by me, i love doing what i did.<br />
I'm excited for next years season and will hopefully crush it. For now i get to realx for a bit and start training for next year. Maybe throw a few Cyclocross races in there for kicks.<br />
catch ya laterAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-23820811944518768382011-08-08T14:23:00.000-07:002011-08-08T14:23:27.638-07:00need indestructable bike!! :PHey guys,<br />
So i've decided that i am going to hire a team of researchers and mechanics to make me an indestructable bike thats light weight and awesome!! haha, i wish<br />
The Kelso O-Cup was this past weekend and as you can maybe guess i had a mechanical, my chain broke. The race, the part i did, went great, the start was ok a little off what i wanted but still fine. I was a little slow on the first decent/corner because i hadn't done that at race pace because the tuesday nighters went straight down instead of around. The went well felt good and strong. In the trails i started to pick people off one at a time unstil i caught up to Etzl and was on his tail (he was third i was forth) but i was ready to pass him because he was slower in the trails then me so i was getting ready to do that when we came to a sharp left then up a hill and my chain snaped, ending my race. I was bumed about it, Kelso was MY course and it was going to be my race, i felt fantastic and was going to crush it. It sucks but oh well what can you do.<br />
<br />
Looking forward to the Provincial knowing that i can put up a good fight with some of those guys now. That will be an exciting race.<br />
peaceAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-40691561947161305102011-08-03T18:16:00.000-07:002011-08-03T18:16:19.512-07:00Tuesday nighterSo another succesfull tuesday nighter yesteray at kelso riding the O-Cup course. The course was sweet. i love the entire ting (even the long climb up accension) The race went very well pulled another victory out of my pocket there yesterday.<br />
Started out strong up the first little climb in the lead, then i looked back and saw i was already starting to put a gap on. When i saw that i was like alright i guess i'm going for the win right off the gun. ( i wasn't really planing on doing that but it's how i seemend to go). The climb went well, felt good and strong and i wasnt spining out like last time. Tyler Macdonald caught up to me on the climb but at the top and in the singletrack i dropped him. After that it was me on my own racing away trying to get away and build a bigger lead (just like last years O-cup), and i kept on thinking i was hearing someone catching up. it help my for sure go faster, even though no one was there. Finished the race and still felt i had energy to spare, which is prbably a good thing, that tells me i'm ready for four laps at junior ex speed. It's going to be a crazy, but awesome race this weekend. This is my course, i love it and have always done well here, hopefully i can repeat that again this year!!!Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-33560371178817308822011-08-03T18:08:00.000-07:002011-08-03T18:08:45.973-07:00Canal DaysAnother great time spend riding up in th Hood. So on the weekend Shorthill Cycling Club held their annual Canal Days Mountain Bike Race. As always it was a blast, sweet course, great riders and a fun race. Unfortunately my race turnd into a duathlon :P as my deraileur got nocked out of place, not really sure what happened but it happened. Oh Well!!<br />
The race started out well solid start then we got into the trails, wasn't were oi wanted to be but whatever i was fine with that because it was a just for fun race. We got to mud lake and JC and myself started to make some fround on the next guys. We workd together for the first lap until the seconf lap he flatted. Then i was alone, doing ok holding a solid pace. Then my deraileur went about 3ish kilometers from the finish. So i started to run, but then after no one had caught me after a while i thought maybe i can still come in second place even while runing so i started to push a bit. Steve ended up catching me in the lap km. BUt i still managed to make third place.<br />
Solid race lots of fun, really technical course. Congratz to Andrew on his second victory on this course and to Katlyn on an excellent race.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-60915598142514129222011-07-28T16:50:00.000-07:002011-07-28T16:50:30.780-07:0012 mile # 5 (2 for me)hey guys,<br />
so 12 mile #5 was yesterday, it was fun and went pretty well. Finished in a tie for second place with teamate Justin. The run didn't go as well as it has before and i fell behind a bit. Then i got on my bike and stated to go. Started to sit in to a pack but then realized that Justin and Andrew were on their own up ahead so it was time for me to jump up to them. Caught up and had no problem holding on and working with them. I could have pulled but i just didn't, dont really know why. Then got into the trails and i was third behind Andrew and Justin. Things were going good. Then we got to the gravel road again and JC went for a pull, i sat in behind him then desided to jump him right before the single track but so did justin and he's a little faster sprinter so he won it. For the rest of the race it went sort of like that. Then we had a sprint to the finish and we tied on the corner of the bridge.<br />
I feel like i could have pushed harder but i was stuck behind justin. He started to get tired and i noticed. However he still had enough punch to beat me in the sprints. Good race, lots of fun, looking forward to Canal days and having a great race there, and the next 12 mile.Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-15798485436260351782011-07-22T18:00:00.000-07:002011-07-22T18:00:08.477-07:00kelso tuesday nighterSo on tuesday i went up to kelso with Katlyn for the weekly race they hold there. We had done a few of them last year before the O-Cup there and that was our plan for this year aswell. The went pretty good. Going in to it i was a little sore from the weekend's training. The plan was to practice pacing people in the single track and also passing some there too. First lap i just sat in to get an idea for the course (it was a pretty sweet one as always). Things went well. Second lap trevor and i started to pull away a bit. Wasn't pushing to 100% but still pushing a bit. He was a local to the area and so i thought i would hold his wheel through the trails and learn the good lines. Third lap i passed Trevor and started to pull. in the single track i heard Trevor fall. I held back to see if he was ok and and then it was my cue to drop the hammer. Ended up taking the win!!!<br />
Good race, had a little trouble onthe climb with the loose gravel and sand. Also i found myself slipping around on some of the corners. I'm going to have to play with the tire pressure to find the right one.<br />
Can't wait for the next one, and the 8x12 this weekAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-22662195078916531182011-07-15T13:50:00.000-07:002011-07-15T13:50:58.383-07:00BuckwallowThis is the race and course that i've always had mixed emotions about. during pre rides i absolutly love the course but once the race starts things start to get sketchy. Last year when i raced here i had a few mechanical issues (ie. cracked frames and my seatpost dropping on me at the start). But anyways this year:<br />
<br />
The tuesday prior to the race i went up with the lib boys and we got the lib school bus rollin through thoses trails for a good 3.5 hours of solid riding. This was a tone of fun, the course looked great and i thought i was ready for the race. I still had a little hesitation at one point in the elite section, West D' Nile, but this section was so cool.<br />
Saturday made my way up with Andrew and met up with Justin at his cottage. We rode over to the course and did our customary 3 laps then rode back to the cottage. Later we rode over to a beach and gooffed off on a Tarzan rope for a while then rode back. i felt ok at the end of the day, but was a little worried i may have done too much work that day. We had a great pre race feast, as always.<br />
<br />
Race day came with a cooler morning, but soon the temperature rose and became the scortching day they called for. Got a pretty good warm up in with andrew even though his knee was killing him. LIned up at the start and was ready to rip it up. I was confident and excited cuz i had a chance at podium because Bretton and Marc-Antoine were in Windam.<br />
The start was great, had lots of power and settled in the a train of the top 5 guys : Dan, elliot, Corey, Dominic, and myself. Everything was going great, we were flying and i was keeping up no problem, we started to put a little gap on the chasers, then we came to West D'Nile and things were downhill from there. Unfortunately i had did a stupid screw, something that shouldn't have happened. We turned a corner and i went to tight and hit a rock and crashed, my chain fell off at the same time. I had to stop and put it back on. When that was all done i was in last place, and stuck behind these guys throught the rest of Wst D'Nile. We got out and i dropped the hammer in attempts to catch the others, i mannaged to catch the chase group of: Micheal G-P, Daniel HIll, and Ian Bagg, at the start of the second lap but by that time i had just blasted out the hardest lap ever in the hot weather. I was beat, my energy was dropping and so was my motivation. They dropped me again and that was it. <br />
I managed to finish the race, i thought of dropping out a few times, but said "No i'm going to finish". I caught and passed Ian because he was cramping bad. I finished in 7th place ( but something like 11 minutes back) not my day for racing.<br />
<br />
Oh well thats mountain biking for ya, unpredictable and crazy.<br />
I'll come back at kelso and do great, i love that course and it suits all my strengths, that will be a great day for racing, hopefully!!<br />
Catch ya guys laterAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-19929681752638094672011-07-04T16:31:00.000-07:002011-07-04T16:31:01.866-07:00Road NationalsSo this weekend i decided to race at Road Nationals. I thought it would be as race just for the experience, and that's what it turned out to be. Unfortunately I could finish the race, i only finished 3 of 10 laps. There are probably many reasons for it but i don't want to be a complainer but i dropped mainly because one of my spokes on my front wheel. As well i was trying a new energy drink and it didn't taste good so i didn't ddrink much and so i was most likely dehydrated. <br />
So the first lap was going fine, i was in the peleton holding on well, on the climbs i was keeping up without much problem. then on the way down i think is where the breaking of the spoke happened. And so my wheel was no longer straight, it was rubbing on the brakes. At the bottom of the hill the group started to pull away on the flat. When a hill came i caught up again and was back in for a bit, until the next flat. So i think that the rubbing and the dehydration may have had something to do with that. However they were pretty strong.<br />
I got dropped at the top of the first bigger climb where there was a flat section on the second lap. After that i was on my own. <br />
For the rest of the second and third lap i was on my own and start catching up to a few people who were being dropped of the back of the group, and passing them. I was noticing that my spoke might be broken at the end of the first lap and the start of the second. I didn't want to quite then i thought, no way Jose am i going to quite yet, i wanted to a least finish half the race. But i was being passed by all the groups behind me so i thought i'm going to get nowhere.<br />
It was cool to be there, it was also fun to watch the rest. I was upset i didn't get to finish the race. I thought that i would be able to hold onto the group for the whole race, and it was disappointing to have to DNF. Oh well lesson learned, dont try a new drink during a race.<br />
Congratz to Katlyn for an AMAZING race, finishing 5th overall. (her second ever road race). Also congratz to Etzl for a super race, unfortunately his gear failed him at the last sprint. Congratz to all other racers!!<br />
Now i'm back in the MTB business for a while!! With Buckwallow this weekend. Tomorrow i'm going up with the team LIib guys for a a few hours of riding!!<br />
Peace out guysAlexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40901170690525549.post-86492566412923577352011-06-13T15:47:00.000-07:002011-06-13T15:47:43.827-07:00This is new/Albion hillsHey everyone,<br />
So i decided to finaly make a blog!!! it was pretty simple :P So we'll see how this all turns out.<br />
<br />
So O-cup #4 just went down yesterday at Albion Hills conservation area and it was pretty sweet, not a bad race either. The course was so much fun, i loved it. It was full of nice climbs, fun descents, awesome singletrack (lost of burmed corners), just tones of fun in general!! The race went pretty good. <br />
1st lap was sweet, i started out very strong, following the leaders in a train of about 6 guys, just flying through the course. this was so cool, leading up to the race i had seen picture of people riding in trains and i thought man i would love to ride the race in a train of a couple guys (because it always sucks when you have to ride the race on your own). So i held onto them for most of the first lap. Then Elliot Galbraith started to slow down a bit and i was behind him. Unfortunatly Elliot DNFed this race, i think he wasn't feeling great(poor guy). I could have passed him a little earlier then when i did, but i though if he has energy i dont want to waste mine yet. But i notice he seemed a little off his game so i shot past him on an clamb and never saw him after that. After that i was alone for the rest of the race.<br />
Lap 2 was good still pushing my way through the race. I cauht up to Justin who wasn't feeling good either. Unfortunatly for him it wasn't his day for racing.<br />
Lap 3 i started slowing down a bit, from getting tired and being alone. Also my legs were starting to get sore, i could feel them on some of the climbs(especialy thoses rollers)<br />
Lap 4 i was basically blowing up and trying not to blow up. It started with that nasty climb through the feed, which just drains the life out of you. The Micheal G-P caught up to me and passed me. I held onto his tail for a bit. Then we reached the sandy switch back climb, and i just blew up. I had no energy and my legs were starting to cramp. I decided then that i would stop trying to catch him and pass him, because i knew it wouldn't work. The rest of the lap i was on my own again and i was tired. My legs were cramping on the climbs, i was getting a little slopy with my technique ( but i still did okay in the single track).<br />
Overall a solid race, could have probably kept my 6th place finish but i had a couple slip ups throughout the race that could have been avoid that lost my a fair bit of time. Oh well after racing every weekend straight since Uxbridge my body is starting to take the toll on races. Now i get to train again. Lake to Lake is this weekend, but it will be more of a training race.<br />
Props to teamates Andrew on his 8th place finish in Elite, to Meg on the 2nd in cadet Ex. and Sara at second at the K-W road race. Great job Guys!!!Alexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060906836752672251noreply@blogger.com0