Konichwa!
It certainly has been a long time since I've had the time to sit down and blog about my full throttle life on and off the bike. For that I do apologise! My bad!
After a successful Provincial Champs in Victoria it was set in stone there would be no sprinters sent to the Pan American Games, therefore no trials and no need to be riding and training so hard. I decided it would be ideal time to take time off the bike and relax a bit. In the past two and a half years I hadn't had more than 2 weeks off here and there after a big event etc. Mentally I was due for a rest. The biggest struggle for any athlete who devotes a serious chunk of time a week, or there outside of sport life revolves around training, work included, will always find being bored the problem.
In my case I was able to load on a ton of over time at job one and get work hours at the Burnaby Velodrome fixing up the rental fleet witch really helped fill the bank back up, pay off some bills from not working all summer, and keep me occupied. The next big challenge was to not eat like I was training seventeen hours a week still! I also own a VW witch is as much a hobby as it is a car. haha. I was able to get a lot of work done on it that was much needed after a long summer of driving it and not having the time to give her some lovin too.
In the past few months Ive finally collected all the bits and pieces I need to put my GTI dual round E-code head lights and grille onto the car. That's my next big project. Apres that is to re finish and put fresh rubber on some sick Passat wheels I scored for dirt. So far the idea is to strip the clear coat off the alloy. Paint the inside and sides of the spokes black and then super polish the outside. Followed by a fresh clear coat. On the same work order for a day off is to install the nice big brakes and upgrade the calipers on the front. What good is a fast car if you cant stop? I finally found time to get the car in to my friends at PG Performance in Surrey so they could double check that all the engine work I did is up to par and then calibrate the fueling control witch without special equipment is impossible. I shouldn't say that. It is possible but you wont get thru Air care. Now the car flys.
Around a week into the break Richard and myself thought it may be good opportunity to get back into the gym. A shoulder injury two years ago kept me from being able to support heavy squatting or dead lifting. And you can forget about Olympic lifting. I'm happy to say the weights are all back up to respectable amounts and the shoulder is holding up well. Mid October I got back onto the bike again for proper training. All though I'm not as full on in a weekly basis it was time to start making sure I didn't loose all my fitness or leg speed. In the last few weeks Its starting to look almost like a regular training week for me again and feeling the groove that I needed too.
Racing wise Ive been to several of the BVC Friday nighters. They have been good fun. Endurance racing isn't my game really but I do enjoy it more than some of the fitness workouts I do. In the third week of October Vancouver hosted the third Canadian stop of the Red Bull mini drome race. That was easily the most entertaining race I have ever done. Riders were given 6 laps before their qualifier to learn the 20meter track. Then you had 10 laps from a standing start to set your best time. I qualified 3rd. I was pumped! I found the track required no track cycling skills at all. It was pure BMX or Downhill bike handling skills. I made it as far as the quarter finals and then was eliminated in a close battle. I ended up scrubbing speed off when I narrowly avoid crashing. Watching the rest of the event was insane. I ended up running into friends I haven't seen in 10 years who had no idea I was going to be there.
Two weeks ago was the Burnaby Velodrome Bare Bones event. I had to work thru most of the weekend but squeaked out of there Sunday and was able to race. It started off with a Scratch race for me. I used a smaller gear to get my legs moving. That was a hard race! I think I was 5th overall. Not bad considering the guys I was racing were in serious enduro race mode! In the sprints I decided to use some big gears. More of an experiment and entertainment. I qualified first with a less that quick time but quick enough. At most races I don't really talk to many people other than team mates. At this race I found myself being asked lots of tactical race questions and being more helpful. Sometimes its nice to be at grassroots racing. For some people its the biggest event they have been too and I think helping out the lesser experienced riders is a good thing as Martha Stewart would say. The first ride was a 3 up semi final. An opportunity presented itself and away I went. First blood all mine for the taking. Mike Rothengater and Julian Base were left to battle for second spot witch would get them into the minor final. In the A final I was racing Kyle Buckosky. A young and fast enduro. While watching him warm up I knew what his game plan was. And when we drew for positions It was even more obvious. On the whistle He took a hard shove off and jumped hard. I matched his start and then took a free ride for two laps like a team sprint. Going into the third lap I made a quick and hard move to pass and get in front. Alot of people said they expected the race to end with Kyle loosing since he's not a sprinter but I give him a serious about of respect for that. No on Else has ever tried to actually think how to beat me in Burnaby. They kinda ride around expecting to loose. He came up with a plan, executed it and stuck to it. In the end he wound it up too fast too soon. Wrong move for a Kilo rider who has been known to play that ace of spades now and then.
Next on the docket, who knows. I plan on sticking it to the gym pretty hard, keeping the fitness but not really hitting a hard block of training until I know whats coming up. I should probably be more pro active with my blog before it starts getting dusty again!
Ciao all!
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