Fall and Cyclo-Cross in Alberta

Hello again.

 I am back in the swing of things now after two months of not racing and dealing with a knee injury. Upon my return from Junior Road Worlds in Mexico, I took a little time off the bike to rejuvinate my mind and rest my legs. After all, it had been a long season. So, needless to say, after the 10 mandatory days off the bike which was set forth by Andy, I was dying to ride again. I rode each day after up to when I was to start some structurred training. Most of that riding was Cyclo-Cross to work on my skill for the up-coming season. I was getting quite excited to race ‘cross again. In this time I also helped support Wayne Mackenzie at the LAMP (Lori-Ann Meunzer Program) Cup final. I wished to help guide the younger athletes so that they continue to grow into the sport and develop the same passion for the sport that grew in me.

The next week was time to start up some structured training. This was good and I was happy to be back. When I jumped in, however, I started up doing large volume with high intensity. I was doing low cadence intervals at one point, putting a great deal of load on my knees. After a week or so of this, I had to pull myself out of a training ride as my knee began to bother me. I took a few days off and then rode again on the weekend. In the next week I did another set of intervals during a ride and that really set off warning signals. The pain grew and spread. It was not the same area or pain as my earlier knee injury this year. At this point, Andy recommended I take time off and see a specialist (Dr. Randy Gregg can always pinpoint the injury). It was a week and a half before I could get in to see Dr. Gregg, and I wasn’t allowed to ride. After having the injury diagnosed as Patella Tendinitis, I was set back a further 12 days. So, that now totalled about three weeks of not riding. During this time, luckily I had University to occupy my mind, and went out with friends to keep me from constantly thinking of riding.

I made my return to the bike slowly this time. I had been advised to really ease into the training as to prevent aggravation of my knee. So, I went easy and steadily built up. I did not do my first interval session as my knee felt rather weak after being on my bike for a week and a half. The following weekend, however, I was able to let loose on my ‘cross bike in prepartaion for the Terrascape Knobby Gobbler Cyclo-Cross race in Calgary. I did some prescribed intervals one day and then just had fun in the River Valley the next. Then in the week, between classes at the U of A one day, I went for a 2 hr cross ride in the Rivey Valley that turned into a solo hammer session. It was a lot of fun and something I had not done purely for fun in a long time. At the end of the week, was the Terrascape race in Calgary. I went in feeling good, happy, and overall just excited to race.

So, on Sundy I showed up feeling great. I was calm and had all of my thoughts colleceted to put me in the right mind-set for a race. I rode the course a few laps, warmed up, and then rode a few more laps. While riding the course before the start, my front tire went flat. This was obviously not the best thing, but I handled it calmly and had a spare front wheel to race on. I lined up and soon enough, the race was on. I did not have a great start, but felt I could maneuver myself to a much better spot quite easily. Less than a minute into the race, on the first off camber section of the course, I felt my rear tire go flat. This angered me, but I kept my cool. I rode on the flat tire to the run-up on the first lap. I did this rather cautiously, but also because I did not want to recognize the fact that my race was essentially over. I ran with my bike after the run-up for the remainder of the lap. I easily lost about 6 minutes in running, not to mention my calves had seized up and it felt like I was red-lining it. I got to the start/finish where the pit was and got on my spare bike. I flew on to the course angry. This speed was short-lived as the fatigue from running with my bike for that long set in. I would not however give up. After a few more laps, Aaron (Schooler) passed me, meaning that I had been lapped. I wanted to try and limit the damage being done to me now, so I pushed a bit harder. A lap or two later, and Andre and Brian and then Bunnin passed me. At this point, I felt a little de-moralized, and lost a little bit of gusto. Next lap I was caught by teamate Chris McNeil and he encouraged me to stay with him. So I jumped out of the saddle and was able to keep pace with him for about half a lap. The pace felt fine, but then as I continued, I would be reminded of the fatigue by the not so gentle feeling of being kicked simultaneously in the chest, calves and thighs. The next to catch me was Mike who I stayed with once again for half a lap. Than another teamate, Cyrus caught me. This was with a lap to go, and I really pushed after he put a gap into me. At the finish I managed to catch his wheel.

 Overall, I was not too upset by the race. It was rather circumstantial, despite my lack of training. I also felt as if I had worked really hard and had fun riding, so it was definately worth while.

 I now am in my transition period, without structurred training, to ease into the start of next season. Speaking of next season, on January 10th, I will leave to race in France for the season. I will be joining “Le Creusot Cyclisme” on their DN1 (National Division 1, one step below professional) team in the town of Le Creusot. I will stay with the team until mid-September, upon which I will return for another semester at the U of A. I will, however, be attending the National Road Championships in Quebec this June as the team has allowed it. I am excited to return to Europe and compete in the Look French Cup series where I will race the best amateur cyclists in France.