What To Do When IT's Cold Out

It's been a good start to training this year, for sure it's been the earliest start and strongest start to a training season I have had. To help me with it I have lots of different tools to motivate me along the way. Including testing, toys, and some great weather.

First of all at the beginning of February I made my way over to TCR Sports Labs here in Calgary and meet Cory a very intelligent trainer and coach. That is where I did my first VO2 max test since University. It was great talking to him for two reasons, first to get the information and numbers from my test and some insight on what those numbers mean and how they can compare to other racers and riders and where I need to set my goals. He also gave me some more idea's and suggestions on how to increase those numbers to help me meet some of my goals.  Secondly I had a great talk with him about my career goals and how to achieve them, what direction to be looking, and what steps I need to be taking. This was very helpful and encouraging. A lot of topics we discussed are some of the things I have been thinking about in the back of my head and some things that I know I need to do. As well he was able to point out some things that I didn't think about and combined to talking to others I have come to the realization that there is lots for me to learn and I really am going to have to take a little different focus as well as continue with my current plans. I spent a few hours with Cory and as I sit now that time was invaluable to me, I would like to thank Cory very much for all the help he has already provided for me.

February has been a pretty interesting month so far as far as weather has gone especially here in Calgary. It has been pretty warm, temps above 0C then the next week it will be -25C or colder. On those warm days I still try to get out and do some rides on the road, but a few weeks ago it was in that -30 range after wind chill so that forced me inside and on the rollers. I have been pretty good with the motivation to do at least 1:30 on the rollers inside but one day I wanted to do 2 hours on them so I decided that I was going to do a little video of the suffering. It worked out pretty good just being able to get off the bike for a min here and there changing camera angles was enough to keep me motivated to spin for the full 2 hours (actual ride time in the saddle). I finally got around to putting together a short little clip of the day here.

Winter Training

Here we are at the beginning of February, wow last month went by fast. I'm well on my way to being a certified personal trainer with Can-Fit-Pro, finishing up the course and passing the theory exam. Now it's time to find a job and get some practice in before I attempt my practical exam. I also took a weekend and completed the in class portion of the Nutrition and Weight loss program though Can-Fit-Pro which I thought was pretty interesting and it exposed me to a little different way of thinking about nutrition. Also that I need to spend some time and learn a little more about what types of nutrients are in different foods.

I just finished up my first full week of base training and I was pretty happy with that. I pulled out the rollers and remembered how much I love to ride outside. It took a little while to get myself to let go of the wall again (it's been almost 3 years since I have been on them) but once I did it went fairly well. Before this year the most I could ever force myself to stay on them was about 45 min but this year with some big goals in mind I was able to stay on for one ride of an hour and another of 1:30 which I am very impressed with. This Friday is the next big step in the training, I am going in for some VO2 testing which is going to hurt, it's been a while since I have done some testing. But at least this time I won't have a pencil sized needle punched into my leg for a muscle biopsy. Back in University I participated in a few studies where muscle biopsy's were taken, that was about 10 years ago and I still have the marks on my legs.

I have learned a few things about biking around town both in the early morning and in the cold. First; there is a lot of coyotes in town, I have seen no less then 3 of the little guys right in the middle of the city, up by Nosehill park and just a few blocks from my own house. I tried to get a picture of one out on a longer ride just out of town but as soon as I took my phone out he took off. Second; I have gotten pretty good at laying for different temps and I have learned that it is way less then I originally started layering up. Some Merino wool base layers, if it's really cold a thin insulation layer and an outer layer. The hardest part for me is still my feet even using my 510 DH shoes and neoprene shoe covers after a few hours they still get a little chilly. The other thing that helped me learn this was skate skiing out in Canmore I have been loving it, I use to get pretty bagged after about 40 min and now I'm working towards 2 hours.

Canmore Ski Trails

One last thing for this post; I finally joined a cycling club Cyclemeisters, it's the first time I have ever been on a club so it will be interesting to see how it works and it will be great to be wearing a team kit for the summer.

Winter Commuting and a Start to training

A few weeks into the new year and yet another new start with life and training. Well the work life hasn't really started yet unless you count taking a Personal Trainers course with CanFitPro. Last weekend while I was taking the course I decided that I was going to make good on my word that I would use the car way less to travel within the city. So it was probably -25 C out and I decided to get out of bed, layer up and ride my little Ti SS commuter though the snow covered bike paths an for an hour to make it to class.

It definitely gets a little frosty out there when it is that cold but it is not too bad. Now since then I have used my car once when in town, and I have been loving it. I missed how much I like riding a bike and it really doesn't matter what kind of bike or where I am riding it I just love the freedom of riding.

Thursday I had a few errands to do around town so I packed up a bag and made it a day of riding around and seeing where I could ride the bike in town so I don't have to do as much on the rollers or hopefully I can get some workouts out side and not have to pick up a trainer. I was amazed at how easy it was to get around town, made it about 30km or so that day most of the paths are cleared enough to ride on and major roads are just fine to ride. as soon as you get to some side roads though t gets a little dicey. I also learned two things about riding around town. First the bridges crossing the elbow river are no longer there so it makes just using Google maps a little difficult for getting around, second that I can't wait until the summer when I can ride all the way around the reservoir. I had planed on riding around on Thursday but as soon as I got close to weasel head I had to turn around because they didn't have those paths cleared off enough for me to make it through on my bike.

Which brings me to my last thought after riding all week and going for a hike out in West Bragg I am seriously changing my mind about a fat bike. It really could be a great tool for both winter commuting, riding on days off, and just all out fun in the winter time. There would be no need to get studs on tires and having to worry about riding on pavement when it gets warmer out, and you wouldn't have to worry about it being a sketchy ride when it snows.

Well so far I am having fun getting back into riding, getting out on the skis to start getting back in the habit of training, so in a few weeks I can confidently start a real training program, I just can't wait.

2013 Recap and looking forward to 2014

2013 was pretty much a bust on here, but in my world of biking I enjoyed myself a lot. I got to do some races and actually won one, I got to build a bike, upgrade my own, and picked up a few new bikes. I got to ride a few new places and with a few new people, found some good in city trails, and got the girlfriend out a few times as well.

First of all there was the racing, I was only home for a months (April to June) so I didn't get to do a ton of racing or actual training for that fact, but I still went out and had some fun on the bike. There was the two endurance races in the format that I am quite use to, the Giver 8'er and the Organ Grinder, both of these I went out pretty strong but slowed down quite a bit by the end. The giver 8er was quite the mucky race, I got a flat and couldn't recover after that so I called it early. the Organ Grinder the following week was a good little race I went out a little slower had a goal of doing 5 laps in the 5 hours and I did that but not much else was too impressive about that one. The day before the Organ Grinder was the Iron Maiden Alberta Cup race and since I didn't have a licence I raced in the citizen class which was only two laps. I went in feeling pretty good also not thinking there would be too many people to actually race with in that class so my goal was to catch as many of the sport riders in front of me. I did pretty good at that caught over half the field and won the race but I did have to work for it thanks to one of the guys from Canmore. So that was my race season, two weekends back to back lots of rain and a lot of fun. I MISS RACING!!

Finish of a wet and cold Organ Grinder 5 hour race

I got to build my first bike from scratch which I detailed in my last post from the spring. I upgraded my road/cross bike so it shifts nicely now, as well as I picked up a nice little Ti city bike this winter to replace my old fixie for getting around town on. The first time I got to ride it was doing a little Christmas shopping a few days after a snow storm in Calgary and it was -20 out, so far I think it handles well and it should be a good little bike to rip around town on.

As for new places I got to ride I did a little more exploring around town, and outside of town there really is some great places around Calgary to ride bikes. The other thing I was able to do was to go out and explore some trails around town, while walking the dog I found some good trails over at the dog park that just happened to be on my way to work, so I started riding those trails. Every day I would explore a little further and by the end of a week I found pretty much a full trail starting about 4km from my house all the way to work.

September Long weekend I finally got to do a little car camping trip with the girlfriend and the bikes. We packed up and headed to Golden BC. One day I hit up kicking horse for some DH runs and the next day we ventured into the trails around moonracker. Such fun trails, A great place for the girlfriend to go riding and the puppy had lot of fun chasing us though the trails as well. Up until that weekend I was pretty sure I was going to sell my DH bike and get a 5 or 6 inch trail bike, but nope I am sticking with the DH bike for at least another season and I am going to see if I can make it to some more places with lift access.

Rudy having fun on the moonraker trails in Golden

Those were my highlights of the 2013 season however short it was for me but I am looking forward to a great 2014 because there is some big changes coming. It will be my return to a full season of racing, entering my first stage race, swapping my 26" wheels for some 29'ers. I am going to try and not use the car too much in the new year and do everything with the bike, that includes groceries and other errands. Oh and all of this is possible to do for me next year because I am going to be at home all the time. I have decided to finish up at the rigs and try out a new carrier which will allow me to get back to training and racing and doing what I , love, RIDING BIKES!

Another Year Another Try at this

So I haven't been very good at writing posts on this blog due to not many adventures because of work and what not. It was another winter full of flying back and forth to Fort St John working on the drilling rig so not much fun there. However it did seam that living in Calgary has it perks, every time home I was able to head out to the mountains for a good XC Ski or I could take advantage of the Chinooks and head out for a little hour long ride (I have trouble going out much longer since my feet freeze).

This spring brought a new little twist to my shop set up in the garage which forced me back to the garage in building mode. this is what I ended up with.

I had to build new legs for the bench and after searching for pre built things for half the day I decided that to get what I wanted I would have to build it myself. I was very happy with the turnout. And yes I was able to bring my favorite riding partner and best friend out to Calgary with me finally!! Yay for the Rudy Dog.

Right after I finished building/cleaning/organising the shop I had my first big project to do in it.

The girlfriend wants to get more into mountain biking so we found a frame and fork then used the take off parts from my element to build up a really nice little steel hardtail for her to have fun on. I'll try and do a full post on the build and build process.

Now we just need spring to finally arrive for good so the trails can dry up and I can explore new ones this year and add another avid biker to the cult.

It has been a pretty good spring for me so I hope to have more stories soon but for now it is time to get out on the bike.

The Mud Puddle!!

Yup a mud puddle attacked me on my ride yesterday. I was Just Riding Along and bam the mud puddle sucked in my front wheel all the way to the hub and threw me over the bars. I had to fight with the mud puddle a bit to get my bike back from him but eventually I got it back and was able to continue along on my ride/hike.

Life is good right now, I'm back to working in a shop, kind of, I'm working in the build shop for one of the biggest bike shops in North America - Bow Cycle. So now on my time off from the drilling rig I am spending my time building bikes 8 hours a day. I finally got to pick up my very first by my self CAR!! a nice little Subaru Outback 2.5XT.

So now I have a way to get out of the city and explore some trails.

Yesterday I took my new car out to Bragg Creek and tried out some of the trails north of the parking lot. They were pretty good, I started out on a trail called Telephone which was all just double track up the side of the mountain. Looking at the map I saw that there is was a trail called Long distance that should make for a good loop off of telephone so that is what I planed on doing. I got to long distance and aparently they did not put up signs saying that this was a very incompleat trail. There was a little bit of a hike a bike, the whole time I was thinking that this better be worth it when I get to the finished part of the trail, a little more walking and I was thinking - they better have finished a bit more of this trail.

I did eventually make it to where work had been done on the trail and it was worth it, one spot on the trail ran along a little opening that looked out across the mountains to the west and it was hard to stay on the trail and not just stare out at the scenery. Close to the end of Long distance I made my way over to a trail called braggin rights. Now this trail made my day. A rolling downhill with some hard corners and lots of litttle hips and small rock and root hits. I can't wait to do this trail a few more times when it is a little dryer, I can see with knowing the trail I could get some really good flow and some really good speed along it.

Since the mud puddle got me at the start of the trail this is what I ended up looking like by the end of the day.

Its time for some more adventures exploring Alberta trails, which I can say are pretty good, the downs are epic but the climbs are as well.

April and May were busy Months

April and May were busy months in so many ways, there was racing, traveling, working, building, buying.

First lets start with racing...well kind of. back in April I traveled back to Ontario and attempted to race the famous Paris to Ancaster race. I went with the new bike and hopes that my fitness wasn't too bad. The bike was great but the fitness was not there at all. About half way though the race there was just a little hill up an over pass I tried to stand and peddle over it and my legs just said no you can't do that. From that point on the race just became a nice little ride in the mud. Yes as usual P2A was a mudfest.

My new bike on it's first real ride after P2A mudfest

The second half of my racing for the season goes out to Edmonton for an Alberta Cup race. All I can say is that there is a huge difference between the Alberta XC race scene and the Ontario XC race scene.

The start of the MENS SPORT catigory, yup all ages!

I was very disappointed that I didn't get to finish because of two reasons, first I had a pretty bad cold and second my shock became stuck down again for the second time this season. Oh ya one other factor that probably didn't help the cold situation, I am really out of shape for biking I guess working on a drilling rig is not overly great for bike conditioning.

As far as regular riding goes I had some good rides with some good friends when I was back in Ontario including the best of friends, My Rudy dog. Then when I came back to Alberta I discovered what Alberta riding is all about....Massive climbs great views followed by some fast buff singletrack decents.
These were taken from some pretty high points after a 4 km climb in the Bragg creek area wich is only about 45min drive from the house. I can't

wait to get back again and explore some new trails, but for now I will get some road riding in so I can acctually make it up the mountain.

Now for the last part of my last two months is the building...and buying...I spent the first couple of days off last month locked away in my garage, there was a lot of noise, a lot of dust and fumes that wofted out of there over those three days but in the end I ended up with this!!!!

My own persoal shop!! and the start of JRA Stories Bike Service Shop. There has already been a few nice little projects done with the workbench including a shock rebuild and an XTR crank install, not to mention regular service and cleaning of all the bikes.

 And if you didn't notice the stable got a little fuller last month as well, with the addition of Jolene's new Kona Dew Plus - The Bownesion a great little bike for her to commute to work with on the beautiful trails here in Calgary. Yup that is a RMB flatline in there as well, my new DH rig, I got out on it once so far and other then taking a good crash on it the first time out I love it, I can't wait for all the shuttle runs and park runs it will take me on this summer.

That covers pretty much my last two months of riding, now the challenge will be to keep this up to date as much as possible with more adventures pictures of all sorts.