OCup 4 - Albion Hills

I was delira and exira to be to my old self this week. The weather was cooler which was great. I knew I wouldn't need so much water and that I wouldn't overheat.

I had pre-ridden the course and knew that I could really push it because it was fairly non-technical.

As usual the atmosphere at the race was fun and friendly and you start to recognise familiar faces at this point. We put up the tent right at the starting line which was very handy as we could just watch the goings and comings from the comfort of our picnic table.

I brought the wind-trainer this week and felt like a bit of an egit warming up as it's pretty loud! Anyway, once I got over the shame, I realised that it was good as I was able to get the heart pumping before I tackled the first hill.

We lined up at 10 am and were ready to go. Isabelle, Kara, Rebecca and I were in the same group so we there was some pre-race chat of course.

And we were off!

The hills definitely take it out of you but thankfully, there's a great mix of smooth single track and downhills that allow you to get your breath back.

I was really racing this one. I tried to pass as many people as possible. I think my competitive streak got the better of me and I passed one girl on a corner and of course took it too fast and bang! I was down. I got up as quick as I could because I didn't want to be wasting time.

I rode most of the course in my middle ring and hammered up the hills as hard as I could. It really helped that we had had our racing skills clinic with Steve Neal at Albion Hills as we covered some parts of the course and his words kept ringing in my head'- 'outside to outside', 'shift quickly as  you come to the top of a hill'!

I was following a group of girls quite closely and we seemed to be riding at an equal speed. A guy wanted to pass me and I let him go in front of me opening the gap between me and the girls in my category. I found it really hard to catch them. I think they were quick on the twisty trails through the forest and unfortunately, I never caught them again. The last of that group beat me by 1 min at the end so I was mad that I didn't push harder.

Towards the end of my second lap, I noticed a girl in blue following quite close behind. I wasn't sure if she was in my category so I tried very hard to keep ahead of her. I knew once I got to the fairly quick descent at the end that she wouldn't be able to pass me as the trail narrowed before it opened out for the finishing line. I really cranked it and she came in seconds after me.

I came 7th this time - a bit different from my 4th of the first race, but overall, I was really happy with my race. It went much better than hardwood hills and I felt strong. I'm gonna spend this month really training hard for the next one at Buckwallow and hopefully, I'll feel just as strong.

Roll on Buckwallow!

O Cup 3 Hardwood Hills

This was by far my hardest OCup race yet and a few different factors were responsible for this.






I pre-rode Hardwood on the Thursday before the race. It was the most technical course so far but rideable if you keep your head and confidence. I didn't have any trouble with the drops, rock obstacles or small rock gardens and was feeling ok about the race.





BUT I'd been sick the week before. I had a wretched sore throat and cough which just seemed to linger. I thought I was fine though and continued as normal. Mistake no. 1

There were a lot of people there at race day and it seemed a little difficult to go for a warm-up anywhere ... there wasn't much room. So I didn't warm-up. Mistake no. 2.

I started off well and was riding with the top group but knew that I couldn't keep this up. I gradually started to feel worse and worse. My heart rate exploded and I felt that I wouldn't be able to get it down and keep it steady. This was largely due to the fact that I hadn't warmed up. Had I done so, my body wouldn't have been as shocked as it was by the sudden activity.

It was a hot day - well into the 20s and I couldn't seem to get enough water. I also couldn't seem to get enough air. My chest was rattling from being sick that week and I felt weak.

I really didn't feel like I could do another lap and was spent. I had a gel at the half-way point and waited eagerly for the sugars to kick in. They never did. I never felt good and in form at any stage during the race. This race was slightly longer than the others and slightly more technical meaning ... longer laps. 1 gel is not enough for a 1 hr 20 min race. I underestimated the nutrition I would need. I also didn't eat as well as I could have in the run up to the race. Poor nutrition coupled with an already weakened body didn't do me any favours.

My pasty pale Irish self isn't used to being in the sun for prolonged periods of time. I think I became very dehydrated during and after the race as I felt quite sick on the way home. Headaches and general weakness was the result of being in the sun all day. I did drink a lot of water but I guess I needed to stay out of the sun (in the shade of the Wild Bettys tent) and drink more!

Needless to say, I've learned the lessons of Hardwood. I'm eating correctly this week. I'm also resting more. Even though I'm feeling better, I'm doing less cross-training etc. I'm going to ride with a camelback of water and some Heed or ELoad or something in a bottle on the bike as I like to have my water but think I might need something in addition to the gel. At least I'll have that option if I need it. I will also bring a wind-trainer to warm-up thoroughly before racing.

Yesterday I pre-rode Albion Hills! The weather looked a bit sketchy but stayed dry and fine. We were pumping up my tires beforehand and the valve stem from my Stan's Notube tires broke. There were some hairy moments where I thought we'd have to turn around and go back to TO. I was not a happy camper.

We had some trouble getting the valve out as the phlange was proving tricky to get through the hole. Eventually another rider came to our rescue with a plyers and we were able to get the valve out. Lucky enough we had another tube and we were able to ride. This little problem cost us an hour!

The trails were brilliant. It's a super fast course which is not technical at all. There are some steep short climbs which take the wind out of you but all in all, it is an easy course. It is a lot of fun because you can really gun it without worrying about technical areas.

I did my best to ride as hard as I could. I rode two laps and did them in about 30 mins. This course is also a little longer so it's just over 8km per loop.

Nutrition-wise, I'm loading up on proteins and complex carbs to make sure I am rearing to go on Sunday. It's difficult having two races within a week of each other but I think I'm on form for this one. A little TLC, I've learned, goes a long way.

Roll on Albion Hills!

Mountain biking in Alberta

I was in Calgary for the last holiday weekend visiting .... On Tuesday we decided to check out the local trails to get a flavour of biking in Alberta. We drove up to Canmore's Nordic Ski Centre, host to the 1988 Winter Olympic Nordic Ski events. It's about 40 mins north of Calgary, just on the border of Banff National Park. The weather had been pretty dismal for the previous two days so we were slightly skeptical about the trails but according to the Ski Centre's website, the trails were pretty rideable except for some lingering snow and ice.

We rented some Rocky Mountain dual-suspension Element Sport bikes and set off. We decided to do the Black Loop which is the 24 Hours of Adrenaline race trail. Apparently, the fastest guys did it in just under an hour. It took us substantially longer than that.

My bike seemed like it hadn't been serviced very well. It didn't shift smoothly and compared to my Trek Fuel Ex 9.9, weighed at least 5 lbs more. I felt like I had cement legs on the hills and had to walk quite a lot of them as my gears crapped out when I needed them most. Needless to say I got very frustrated. The trails were quite technical with lots of roots and rocks but not super difficult. At one point we decided to try to adjust my rear shock which wasn't very active. Luckily we brought the right pump and fixed that little problem. From then on, I had a more comfortable ride.

There was quite a lot of uphill climbing and only certain sections were flowy so all in all, I would say it wasn't my most enjoyable ride. The trail markers are small and inconspicuous and there are miles and miles of trails with many many junctions so there was a lot of biking/orienteering involved!

But the scenery was beautiful and the trails were well maintained. It was great to get outside and ride in a different area. At one junction while consulting the map, we spotted some deer who didn't seem to be scared of us at all so we got some nice pics.

Overall, a very successful trail ride!

O Cup no. 2 Woodnewton

Woodnewton has officially been renamed Mudnewton. After a solid 36 hours of rain, Woodnewton was a complete mud-fest.

I watched the temperature guage in the car drop steadily from 11 degrees to 5 degrees as we headed north towards Woodnewton. The cold, coupled with the rain meant that it was pretty chilly. I was just sorry I hadn't brought a woolly hat and gloves!

The rain meant that warming up wasn't very pleasant. While waiting at the starting line, we all got very cold. By the time I started, I couldn't feel my hands but once we got going I forgot about how cold I was and concentrated on the challenge of the muddy trails. But, my hands took a long time to warm up!

I usually start towards the back of the pack to allow me to suss things out and gives me space to adjust to race mode. But this might not be the best strategy as I use up a lot of energy weaving and trying to pass people. Maybe for the next one I'll move up a little bit. There were quite a lot of blockages on the early part of the course and there wasn't much space to pass.

I have never ridden in mud so my first round was a steep learning curve. When I came through the second time, I was much wiser. I capitalized on sticking to the outside on turns which meant that I was cycling on 'drier' areas and so I was not only able to keep the bike upright and moving forward but I was able to keep a reasonable speed up. On my first lap I didn't keep my pedal strokes smooth and constant but second time round I concentrated on just pedalling no matter how slippy the trail. It worked! And if it wasn't a race, I might have enjoyed playing around in the mud for a while longer.

I was most nervous about the small rock gardens and obstacles on the course that might become slick in the rain but as I approached them I kept telling myself to trust the bike. It can do it, even if I think I can't and .... it did. I sailed over all rocks and obstacles without a problem. (Granted some of them weren't very pretty, but I got there!).

After hosing Woodnewton off my bike, I was ready for a butter pecan tart and cup o' scald in the Bakery in Goodwood. Good times.

Roll on Hardwood Hills!

OCup no. 2 Woodnewton

This week has been something of a comedy of errors. Having banjaxed my knee at a training clinic on Sunday at Albion Hills, I wasn't sure if I could actually race on Sunday at Woodnewton. The swelling has gone down and thanks to copious amounts of ice and arnica, the bruising is almost gone. I've been militant about the whole RICE treatment and it's done wonders. I think I'll be race fit in 2 days time. Well not much choice really!

Just when you start to get a bit of confidence, something comes along to knock you down off your little pedestal. It's tough. It is so easy to lose your nerve and for me, mountain-biking is all about nerve. You have to have moxie.

Although I haven't had a chance to work out or train much, I did get a chance to pre-ride yesterday. The course seems twisty and not as fast as Mansfield but I'm game.

The weather looks atrocious and we could all be swimming in a mud bath by 11 am on Sunday but I'm still excited. Perhaps I'm more excited about the excellent bakery in Goodwood as I will be rewarding myself with butter pecan tarts galore when I'm done.

OCup no. 1 Mansfield

So I made sure I was uber prepared for my first OCup race in Mansfield. I pre-rode the course, however, my early morning swim coupled with my weights session that day meant that the legs didn't have much in them. But after negotiating the starting hill I figured out what I was able to realistically ride and what I wasn't. All in all, I figured I could ride most of it although there might be blockages along the way and places where I would be quicker running than struggling through.

I made sure I had all my bits and bobs in order the night before. Tire irons - check, pump - check, camel back - check and of course, the new Wild Bettys duds.

We arrived at Mansfield in plenty of time for the 10 am start time. I had time to warm up and do any last adjustments.

The race was awesome. I found myself really pushing to go faster even when I was wrecked. I kept saying to myself 'Keep pedalling or you'll regret it if you're behind by a few minutes'. I knew I was pretty fit but my skills need some work so I tried to make the most of the double-track and fast flowy trails.

I had a couple of spills on my first round which were silly but flew through those sections the second time round. I always console myself with the thought that if I'm not falling, I'm not pushing hard enough. I think I just say that to myself to feel better! Anyway, my laps were pretty consistent. 31 mins apiece which surprised me seeing as I felt that I went faster second time round and didn't have the falls that I had had in the first round.

I kept racing to the end because you never know who might be in your category so tried to pass as many people as possible in the last kilometer loop to the finish-line.

I surprised myself by finishing fourth in my category and hopefully can replicate that placing in the next OCup at Woodnewton.

Racing is a very enjoyable experience. Although you  might be a bit nervous and need several pee stops before the off, it's super fun. People are very friendly on the course. You get a chance to meet other riders from all over and to watch excellent riders in the field and see how they handle various technical bits on the course.

But for me, the funnest part was going mad fasht down the hills! I had to let a little 'hup' out of me on the way down.

Roll on Woodnewton ...