MIdland enduro pre ride

Ok so the plan to race Kawartha Rube-eh went bust because the hole thing just sounded to be bad news bears, so there was a search for something to replace it.Sent a text to Andrew to see what he decided to do and there was the plan for the morning, pre ride the Midland to Horseshoe course.

I had to work at one so leaving at ten I thought would be perfect timing.Left Andrews and head down the yellow brick road.First twenty kms (well in the race it would be about mid way) were alright nice paved/washed out sandy double track, however paved turned into all washed out double track, washed out double track turned to crank the shield puddles, crank the shield puddles turned into swamp and swamp turned into river. At the river crossing we looked at each other then back at the flowing river and decided that would best be saved for race day.If someone wanted to spectate this race/event the river would be the spot and maybe if your interest in a small business boat crossing services would be ideal for that location.

Between the swamp and walking back up the serious decent which led us to the swamp I was going to be massively late for work so I selflessly decided to stick to the ride at hand and suffer the wrath of my boss later that day.Onwards we went and more washed out doubles came, followed by more rocky descending, gravel roads and many cross bike questionable sections. Making both of us realize that this race/event will turn into a long day in the saddle and maybe the race creator is a little crazy or maybe he just went on google maps and pick out sections on there without actually riding them but never the less it should be a good long day of riding bicycles.Looking forward to it

P.S they have a $10.00 purse for climbing a particular hill without using a granny, the only way I can see someone making it up is on a MTB if someone does it on a cross bike they get mad props.

Check out Andrew blog post here.....

Cheers.

Tristan

Let's get back at er

Training season is back and same goes to with the blog.That last month has been pretty chill, just trying to get the body back into a pain free form.To do this the has been a lot of stretching and taking her easy on the old bicycle.Doing so of course has limited me on the bike but for the long run should improve.

Also in the last month I have ordered the need rig for next season, not an mtb but a rocket fast Giant TCR Advanced Rabobank. Size large is as big as they grow in Canada so I had to call up my friends at Giant and get the to whip me up an XL.Being the only XL if you know anyone who wants a season old Rabobank pass my number along in September.
Plans thus far on cross racing have been totally knee depending so keep on checkin in because I am here for you now,

cheers

Tristan

oh man

It's been a while I know but I haven't been to pleased with my mountain bike so I haven't really been inspired to write.It seems every time I touch my MTB I get worse at riding the darn thing, Know how cowboys use to shoot their horses if they came up lame, well my steed is getting close to that 50 cent solution.

However on the road bike everything seems to be there.I have been doing the BCC TT and every week I have been improving regardless of the conditions.Even the mental aspect is there to keep on pushing and not give into the pain which is a TT.So I think I'll pick and choose the rest of my MTB races and maybe put some focus into racing some cross for the fall.Thats the plan for now anyways...

Cheers

TT....

I have been wanting to re do the time trail for a while now but with 24hrs and such it just hasnt happened.Andrew had told me the night before that he was going out to put one last burn in his legs before the flight out west.Andrew has been feeling a bit down ever since 60+ year old Jack Sassiville open a can of whoop ass on him two weeks ago, so I figured I'd go out and give him someone to ride a way from.

The plan was to go to the gym and stretch out the back and hamy's before the race.I arrived at the Phoenix and did my thang however on the way out got to chatting with the owner for a bit longer than expected and had 15 minutes to get to the race. I pulled in with 5 minutes to spare and to Andrew who looked like he was about to send me a "you stood me up you bastard" text.Hoped on the steed road to the stop sign on the 7th and then lined up.

After some attempts to crush Andrew mentally and he headed out it was my turn to go. I blasted away from the start with 3 minutes of warm up in the legs and was in pursuit of the Dr. and victory.However no matter how hard I pushed I could close the gap.While I was eating my Reeses Pieces for the 3rd time that evening I laid down the last effort on the last climb before the finish now going for my personal best.Successful in the PB made all the regurgitating and 22:08 minutes of pain worth it.Oh and because of me Andrew also had a PB on that course and will most likely take that boost in confidence and go on to winning nationals.

This weekend is the buck of the wallow O-cup which I'm still questioning racing.I'm going to pre-ride the course Saturday and make my decision.

CHeers

24/22/23 hour of summer soltice

Matt and i decided mid winter we would tag team the 24hr and kick some endurance athlete bum.As always the idea of racing a 24 in winter sounds a lot better than it does come race day.The morning of the race I woke to the sound of rain hamming down on the steel roof out side my bedroom window.So I grabbed my muffin (A small, cup-shaped quick bread, often sweetened) and headed to the race.Mid way I received a text from Jacob stating that it was not raining down there and there was nothing but blues sky's and butterflies.Upon arrival I realized the Jacob was a jerk and it was raining.

The go ahead was granted for me to start so I suited up and Matt headed to the start with his chair to save me a premo spot.Just as I was tossing my leg over the bike Matt came rolling in and reported a 1hr delay.10 minutes to 1:00 Shaun came rolling in reporting a 2:00 start.Track pants went on followed by a cozy sweater. 1:30 came quick so I ripped off the F-my-life kit and headed to the start where Mr.Matt had been warming me a spot.Start line was pretty packed full of good riders so I was a little nervous, pep talk from Andrew and a "dont go fast" from Matt I was ready to race.

The gun went off and we flew up the starting loop like trailer flying through the air in Midland. I was with the lead group until the first single track when a little Matt popped up on my shoulder and told me to slow down.Went through the next couple kms with a steady pace until I spotted the main group again and a miniature Jacob popped up on my shoulder and said "na na na na boo boo"power went on to catch some ground.Caught up with Jacob who had been dropped off the back do to brakes or something, he was riding a nice solid ride so I stuck with him to the end of my first lap.Into transition I went expecting Andrew to be there because a couple nights before he told me he was going to ride with me for a few laps in the morning.I guess you can't trust those Elite Amateur Athletes anymore....

Nothing really exciting happened from then to the next morning other than me eating,cleaning bikes,talking to the ladies (The SPakles),getting tired, Oh and on one of my night laps getting redirected through poison ivy because someone hit a tree and died. It wasn't until my 3:00am double did things change.I swapped over to Andrews light and motion and never mounting it before I wasnt sure on helmet placement and being to tired i just wanted to lay down so I didnt test it which lead to it pointing at my wheel when it came time for my lap.Matt being a good guy told me it would be fine and that it might actually be better because it was misty.In any case I spent the lap with my head tilted back and hitting every rock/root I could fined.Once I made it around I fixed the light and heading out for a hot lap.

The light was working well now and the legs where also coming around which is always nice to feel in one of those races.Feeling good I entered the first single track with speed,coming up to a tree I had been ramping off of every lap previous I decided to keep the same line and ramp the tree.I guess mist and tree creates slippery surface and I flew off my bike nailing my knee off the stem on the way down.Laying on the ground holding my knee a little miniature Jeremy popped on my shoulder and called me the "V" word.Then of course he giggled because he had said the "V" word.So I brushed the dirt from my back and hoped on my steed to finish out my lap.

I did one more double after the fall but in the end between the knee and the tiredness my body wasnt keen on any more laps.Matt logged in a triple and we called her a day leaving Albion 2 laps up on second and a red ribbon around our necks. I said I wouldn't do it again but Im thinking now it might be a good idea if I did......

Cheers

Fixi ride and a ride with Jesus

So saturdays fixie ride was another MNS classic hit.I was the first to arrive so I got into the beer while Matt and Robin (or Robyn) were taking a shower (at separate times).Every one else started to roll in shortly there after.Jacob and I had built a new Tandem for the ride and every one seem eager to see how it would all work out, so we hit the waub a dub dub trail to the pub.Since the Tandem was a fixed gear and comes standard with out brakes, every one seemed to have a 20 ft rule.Jacob and I didnt mind this and we passed the time with some circus like maneuvers and Tom Foolery.We managed to get the Man on the back 360(TM.) down pat and also the Man on the back stands on cross bar and pees while man on front pedals(TM.) down as well.

Soon enough we were at the pub and ready for food.The last visit we had at this pub the food service was slow and you will be glad to hear that they didn't change and food service was still not set to Rabbit. We didn't mind as there was a lot to talk about with our waitress Hilary.Like, her favorite dark beer is Bud and.......Thats really all I gathered.When Jacob corrected Hillary by saying "Bud is not a dark beer" she replied with "I don't know it's in a dark bottle."After a lot of sweet potato fries, burger and beer we tried to get Hillarys digits, failed then bounced back to Matts.

Ride home was tame with it still being light out so Jacob and I tried to shake things up with some hide and go seek.That also failed so we settled with a fire at Matts.However Matt has a big pool of water beside the fire pit which I think is suppose to be a pond but isn't flowing, so it acts like a mosquito breeding ground which in turn made unbearable to be out side.After moving the party indoors we chatted for a bit then head out.Good night and good times.

Today I had to do an endurance ride so I went on an adventure to find another way into Orillia. 130kms later I managed to find my way into town and back again.This being Sunday I knew I could risk getting lost because Jesus would be in my back pocket looking out for me because there's an app for that.....On that note I got lots of sun and lots of kms and that made the day swell.

Cheers

super fast update

So just a fast little update to let yall know what I have been up to the last few weeks.On the racing front I havn't found my groove yet and struggling for another yea in the single track.I know I have to get out there more but riding that darn road bike is just a lot easier of a choice.Mountain view O cup was one of my worst races to this day and made the road bike look like a better option again. Fitness wise I feel strong but when you cant flow through the single track that doesn't mean a hole heck of a lot.I think I might try and get out a couple times a week before Buckwallow and start fresh.

cheers