Winter is coming

Winter is coming, a truth seldom lost on anyone this time of year. All of a sudden the sun goes out at 5pm and you're starting to calculate your Jens factor for everyride...

 

 Weather starts to become the biggest obstacle in terms of what stands between you and getting on your bike and pedaling. For starters, there's always more racing!

University Cups - There are only 4 races from the end of September into October but they're great to hang out with friends and still compete against some of Ontario's best. This year I raced UCups #3 at Hardwood and #4 at Ganaraska. Hardwood is always a great place to race at and I must say I was happy with my effdort there as well, putting in a 9th place. The conditions were also sublime - the air was crisp, the sky was clear and the dirt was dry - You can't really ask for much better conditions. I suppose we had to pay for it by racing at Ganaraska though..

Credit: Vuk

Conditions on this day couldn't be more opposite. It was muggy, rain was falling and the ground was slick with mud and more than a few horse patties. (Just another obstacle on the trail) This is one of those races I'd like to forget, I started off really slow and could never find my legs. I concentrated on riding smoothly as possible and was pleased with how I was riding in the slick, tricky parts. I feel like I've come a long way racing in adverse conditions since the Canada Cup at Hardwood. (Which was like riding through a flood)

Credit: Vuk

I don't mind so much racing in the wet, it's the cleanup afterwards that always gets me. And not the cleanup of my person, I mean cleaning up my bike. It seems like the bike never quite feels the same after a wet race even when you clean it really well - Until you overhaul everything that is.

Superstorm Sandy was the nail in the coffin for riding regularly outside. It was off the scale on the Jens Chart and the roads and trails in my area have just been crap since then. Training has largely moved inside.
For most people this might mean the dreaded trainer (see: http://beyondthebonk.blogspot.ca/2012/03/misery-machine-aka-trainer.html) Fortunately for myself and many other in the GTA we have Joyride 150. If you haven't been there, then you need to go. A massive indoor bike park that has everything from jumps, skinnies, pump tracks and even a full street park. It's completely set up for progressing your skills - Never jumped a bike before? Spend some time on the easy pump track to get an idea of how to handle the bike through the dips. Then you can move onto small jump lines where you barely come off the ground, then onto bigger air jumps and finally onto the massive foam pit where you can try adding tricks without the fear of a trip to the hospital if you fail. I spend a lot of time on the pump track while I'm there and it actually gives a killer workout. I also spend a lot of time progressing on the jump lines - I've never been super stable while airborne on my bike and I'd like to change that. They expanded the pump track since the last time I was there, adding in a banked wall that goes 3/4's of the way to the ceiling. SO much fun to ride sideways

The curve in question

Almost had it!

Roller skiing is starting up as well. I'll be doing a post on that a little bit later

We've had two new additions to the family this past month as well. Meet Riesling and Riley.

That's all for now