New Bike; First Ride

Who doesn't love that first ride on a new bike? Especially after several months on a winter bike with rubbing fenders, grinding bearings and old wheels. Actually having straight, round wheels with bearings that are smooth and grit free is one of the nicest things about my new bike. Then there's the fact that this bike, the Cervelo R2.5, is one sexy mother of a ride.

Yesterday was a perfect day for that first ride. The sun was shining and spring had truly come to Toronto. Suddenly I was riding up a gear on the rear cluster and turning the pedals just seemed easier. Aaaahhhh.

Wish us luck on our new rides this weekend as Joe and I head down to North Carolina for two days of racing, the first races of the year for us. Everyone else have fun in the Marsh, and watch out for Ficko.

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A weekend with no racing

Well it sucks, this past weekend there wasn't a race within a 14 hour drive of Austin. This time of year I hate having to train through a weekend. We've been training hard for months now, and all week long all I look forward to is the next race. Having to wait another week is a bit un-motivating. So what did we do instead you may ask? Well, we sat around, bought a keg and ate pizza. Just kidding, that's what I would have liked to have done, but we didn't. I took the boys out to Vanderpool.

The Vanderpool area is in the hill country of Texas, north west of San Antonio, and it's wicked riding out there. Andrew, Josh, Matty, and Joe are all familiar with this area, as is Lance and many of the old US Pro riders that have trained out of Austin. The USA National team has held many training camps in this area. What I love about it is the climbs, there are so many. After 75km of riding we had done over 4000 feet of climbing, that's hard to come by if your not in one of the mountainous regions of the States.



Along for the ride was Mark "I'm hungry" Pozniak, Zach "do my ankles look swollen?" Bell, Jason " www.jasonsager.com " Sager and myself. Sager and I have trained in this area many times before, but Mark and Zach hadn't. We did around 5 hours, with Sager giving us the business up every single climb. I really wanted to push it on the climbs on the way home, so I did; just trying to hold Jay's wheel was a task. Jay is a pro mountain biker, and has pulled off some top 5's, maybe even 3's, at NORBA events. His season is totally under way, and he's hoping to really be flying for Sea Otter. The Jet Fuel boys on the other hand, well, we can be a bit out of tune as May is our month.

At the end of the day we had seen more than enough hills and headwinds to last a lifetime, so we headed into the closest "city" to an awesome Mexican restauraunt for some calorie replacing burritos. It felt so rewarding.

Next up, the Cold Spring Road Race. Word on the street is "it's one of the hardest courses in Texas", so we're going to try and get Pozzy his first win of the season. On Friday night Zach is going to test his track legs out for the first time in a while on the track in Houston. We'll tell you how it all goes.

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Devastated

Heath Cockburn, former Jet Fuel team rider and now team leader at the La Bicicletta cycling team, was devastated by the cancellation of the Good Friday race. He was so upset he was driven to a non-racer lunch of fries, gravy and fried chicken (heavy on the gravy). Photo taken with the team's new camera phone provided by Sympatico/MSN and Bell Mobility. Look for more race and non-race day photos throughout the season.

Here's some pictures of Heath from his Jet Fuel past.

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Et La Forme?

It was a tough winter, what with a fall that almost broke my hip and had me on the couch for a couple of weeks and getting sick during my training week in California, but it seems like things are finally turning around.

Finally, after being sick at the end of February, I have been able to get in some decent riding over the last couple of weeks. At first the legs were really struggling to turn the pedals over but each day has seen an improvement. One thing that has really helped is training with Joe, my teammate, who on each ride has been riding me into the ground. On a couple of weekends I've done intervals on Saturday and then gone out with Joe on Sunday, those were weekends where I just finished up completely bagged.

Last week, after I had done a day of hill repeats, Joe asked me to go out with him the next day and do a long ride with a couple of 20 minutes jam sessions. I kind of freaked out, " I can't ride hard and do intervals with you two days in a row. You're just way too fit and you're going to crack me!" He was laughing after that.

I've been happy though, as each week there has been an improvement in my fitness. In the hill repeats (out at the Bluffs for those from TO) I'm turning the gear faster and the heart rate is getting higher, while the intervals don't seem quite as intense as the week before; when I do 20 minutes with Joe I'm starting to hold my own when it's my turn to push the wind on the front; and in general I can feel the strength and comfort on the bike returning.

I can't say that I have race winning form just yet, but it's coming. Hopefully just in time for the start of the season. See you out there.

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Fayettville Stage Race: Day Two

The 150km 3rd stage was on pretty much the same roads as the first stage, with Buck and I sitting in 9th and 12th on GC. We had some catching up to do, and we thought a 150km road race would be a perfect opportunity. Buck has done this race a few times and said every year the field is in pieces by the end, but it wasn't that way this year.

The first 100 km were brutally slow with a few attacks going, but each was chased down and the pace slowed again. Our plan was to follow wheels until the last lap of 5. We wanted to stick to our plan, since we only have 2 guys in the race, thinking that everyone would be toast towards the end and we could get away. Instead we started the attacking on the fourth lap, but it seemed to be too late. Everyone was still fresh, including the Mercy team boys who just chased everything down. Again Buck and I were taking turns attacking until the final few kilometres. My last attack was at 4km to go up a little hill, but I was brought back on the downhill with about 2km to go. So, after 150km of racing it was going to be a field sprint. Buck took second place and a valuable time bonus which put him into 3rd on GC.

At the end it turned out to be a pretty good weekend for us with a stage win and 3rd on GC. It's just too bad the final stage couldn’t have been a little more interesting, but oh well. The next race down here will be in 2 weeks with our form only getting better, so it should be fun.

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Fayettville Stage Race: Day One

So it was off to the Fayettville stage race in Texas this weekend, a well run race with two road races and a TT, which made me happy since I don’t like crits in stage races. With Zach's ankles still bothering him, he decided not to push it and sat this one out. He helped out with feeding--along with Buck's girlfriend Lori.

The first road race was a 115 km stage on rolling terrain, with no serious climbs. Chasing everything down all day it seemed like the Mercy Cycling Team wanted to have a field sprin. Buck and I just sat in for awhile, seeing that nothing was going to get away until the latter stages of the race. So the last lap came around and Buck and I began to attack and counter attack everything, making the pace very fast. But still, nothing. We kept trying and finally with about 8km to go I put in an attack and made the pace high for Buck to counter. He did and only 4 others were able to hang on, 2 of them getting dropped later on. The two that were able to stay with Buck were Stephen Rothe from MSU cycling team and a rider from GS Tenzing. Rothe was able to pull through but the other rider couldn't and said he would not sprint. I could see Buck's little group just ahead, hoping they would hang on to the finish. They did, with Buck showing the other two how to sprint and taking the win by several meters.

The second stage was a 10 km time trial on a pretty hilly course, so the times were not too fast. Finishing 23rd Buck did not have a great ride and lost the GC, but he was still in 9th less than 20 seconds back. I finished up the TT in 10th place, which is pretty good for me this time of the year since I usually don't start riding well until about May, even if I do go down south (a curse I was born with).

See also »
Fayettville Stage Race: Day Two
Miller wins another! Buck's second win of 2005

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South Texas Wind

Last Thursday, my new teammate Zach Bell rolled into town. Zach and I have a lot in common, we're both from small towns in the north, and certainly share the same thoughts on big city living. Mark, Zach and I had a bit of Q & A for an hour or so, and then it was off to bed. We woke up to beautiful weather, and a wicked coffee ride (50 meters from our apartment.)

Zach is still having a tough time getting rid of his achilles tendonitis, which is a bummer, for all of us. I hate to see him sitting at home when Mark and I head out training on a nice day. Zach's doing everything he can to get back on the bike. Tomorrow he's going to see a doctor here in Austin, and then get in to a chiropractor.

The training for Mark and I has been ramping up. Last week was a rest week, and the week before that was plagued with sickness, traveling and cold rain. But today, oh man, today was perfect. I don't like training in the hot weather too much. The perfect training day for me is to get out early, with few cars, when it's a little brisk, perhaps wearing arm warmers and a summer vest, with no clouds in the sky, and a slight wind. That day was today. We threw in four four minutes uphill intervals at 90% at the end of a 4 hour ride. It was great. Mark and I hooked up with Ian Dillie of the Serria Nevada-Kodak EasyShare team and his friend Paul. Ian and I have known each other for a few years now just from racing and training together in Texas every spring, he's a strong rider, it was great to catch up with him before we go our separate ways once the season's underway.

Last weekend Mark and I raced Lago Vista, On the first day, I was in a day long break (124k of 130k race) and ended up 7th at the finish, with Mark getting 8th the next day. Up next is the Fayettville Stage Race, I won the last stage of this race last year, and have been 3rd overall in the past but Mark and I are going to try and better those results.

We'll let you know how we do.

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Icy Glares

So I'm riding along the Lakeshore bike trail, fresh from Arizonian warmth, hating every minute of the ice and snow and sleet and dogshit. The trail becomes a sheet of ice; I'm forced to walk/ride it until the next intersection so I can get back on the road.

There's a good 500 metres of ice-covered trail, with less than a centimetre of "pavement": I push my bike along that by taking my feet out the pedals and push on through the ice flinstones-style. Halfway along this sheer stretch, I see a female jogger, running directly towards me. By directly, it's not just that I mean opposing direction--I mean *right* at me.

I'm precariously trying to keep my bike upright on this centimetre of pavement, (which, with every second, is rapidly decreasing) making sure I don't slip--and she is coming right at me, scowling. Finally, she almost brushes against me, and I'm stupified.

"Are you going to move?" she grunts.
"Are *you* going to move?" I laugh back, incredulously.
"You're supposed to move out of the way!" She glares, running by.

This is where I stop, and look around. It's -5, and we are both running on a trail that is covered in ice. This isn't hyperbole--it really is ice. Complete ice. Ice, ice, ice. Practically unrunnable, definitely unrideable. We've both just landed on this ice by happenstance and I'm sure she will take to the road once she can. I can't believe that she's ready to knock me over in a territorial fight for the millimetre of "trail" that is left.

"I'm supposed to move out of the way?" I say, "Where, I say, where, is the sign that says `Please yield to bitchy slow-moving yuppy joggers on the Lakeshore Sheet Of Ice Trail?' Where is that sign?"

And I look around, gesticulate a bit, shrug my shoulders.

She stops, opens her mouth to say something but instead all she can do is shake her head in a way that mimics Scarlet O'Hara saying, "Well, I nevah!"

"Is there a sign?" I repeat, "Maybe it's covered in ice?"

p.s I was smiling the whole time through this incident. Please don't arrest me for road rage.

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Run-ins

Life in Toronto as a cyclist can be a little disheartening at times, what with all the traffic, pollution and ever expanding urban fringe. There are days though on which being a cyclist is a great way to connect with other people. As an activity it is something with which most people can associate, after all we all had bikes when we were kids.

On Saturday, another one of those odd days we've been having of late with sun intermingled with flurries (these seem to consist of giant dollops of snow flakes falling out of the sky), I had three great encounters.

The first was at my daily muffin stop (hey, I'm skinny enough to love my pastries). Two gentlemen let me go ahead in the line, a very nice gesture. They proceeded to ask about "where I was from", "how far was I riding" and "did I like riding in the cold"? I find meetings like this of such a human scale- where they are genuinely interested in my efforts rather than trying to run me off the road- a regenerative process for my spirit.

My other two encounters,as I was riding along, were brief. The first was in the middle of one of the afore mentioned flurries with everything slowly turning white. From the side of the road a guy walking along yells, "Yeah! never say die man!" He was loving it. The second was a man at the bus stop, who as I cycled by said, "hey, be careful out there."

Run-ins like this happen all the time and are great personal interactions, no matter how brief. Some of the best of these are seeing other cyclists you know. Riding in the city you tend to see the same people quite often, and later at the Jet Fuel get to share stories of how your ride was that day.

Cycling is a great communicator that everyone can associate with. On a bike we're all human, while in a car the flesh is lost. Connecting with our neighbours seems to be something we are doing less and less, it's a shame that it is so often left to the chance encounter.

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What they don't have in Arizona...

Quality training, that's what today's ride was all about, oh yeah quality. All morning it had been snowing lightly, but on getting home from work the sun looked like it was starting to peek out from behind the clouds; time to go for a ride.


No sooner had we left than I noted to Matt, "it's snowing up ahead." There was a wall of snow up the road. We road into it, large snowflakes sprinkling the road, our clothes and everything in a thick white coating. Ah, so pretty (if it were December and not March). Matt is fresh back from Tucson, Arizona and is currently fenderless. With the sun coming out prior to our departure it didn't seem to be a problem, but now those shins of his were starting to ache from the cold road spray. The funniest part was his constant questioning as we rode.

"Do you know what they don't have in Arizona?" he would say. "Snow, that's what, snow."

According to Matt they also don't have: fenders, layers and layers of clothing, snow, dirty bikes from slushy roads, cold, snow (again) and anything else that you can think of associated with winter.

Needless to say by the time we got home we were both caked in white wintery love. Splitting the coating on our faces though were two big smiles as we laughed at our fate. Getting home the sun was peeking out again and the snow wasn't falling so hard.

Yeah, that was some quality training I tell you. Those boys down south better watch out, they don't know what they're in for when I show up.

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Winter blues

Well, I've been reading all my teammates storied tales of sunshine and adventure and I sit here atrophying in the land of ice and snow. My hockey team has been beaten out of the playoffs, our mtb trails are snowed in, I refuse to ride the windtrainer, so my options are lean.

I have found running again and it is definetly the best time-effort ratio workout. I've even convinced my Gears-based bro to try it and hey he likes it. Motivation is at an all time low with this weather, so a bit of running, some weights and spinning in the gym and the odd road ride is where it's at. I'm not a big fan of the cold and recently 'Oh-my-god let's stop for coffee' seems to be all I accomplish. Maybe all those years in Tucson have softened me - I used to be tough.

This will be my 23rd consecutive year. Since my first year of Senior in '86 I have raced for Miele, Main Cycle, Evian, Toronto Italia, Ital, St. Catharines and now JetFuel. I have watched JetFuel grow over the years and am glad to be a part of this team. There is an excellent core group from Johnny to Dave to Andrew that keeps this team feeling like a family. I am excited to have Joe G back on board, we were teammates in '97 and have battled against each other hard. I am also anticipating the Buck and Pozzy show to turn some heads and will be motivated to train and race with these two potential rock stars.

We are all anxious to get out there and tear it up, the spring can't come fast enough. Venturing out to the bike show in T.O only feeds the flame, especially when you hear of a $40 000 crit in our backyard! I still love this sport and consider myself lucky to be at this level and on this team, cya out there.

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Zach sent in this video diary entry from France. check it out, its really fun. Recomended for high speed connections only.more»

Oops, you didn't really need to come to this page. But by default this page is created. You can click this link to open the video in a new window. If you have a pop-up blocker it may not open. If so, you can go here to view the video. NOTE, this entry is almost 8mb, its a Quicktime .mov movie file and is recomended for high speed users only. Have fun.

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