Race Preview: Epic 8 Hour

Race website

An 8 hour mountain bike race - most loops wins!  We're doing it as a 2-man tag-team.

Laps are expected to be a little under an hour each, so thinking I'll get 4-5.

The venue: Mansfield Outdoor Centre

I've done two races here - one was a running race, similar format (6 hour tag team).  It was a lot of fun.

The other was a 30km XC race that went horribly (died in the heat).

I will definitely not die in the heat!  It's going to be cool and possibly rainy.

The format: Laps, Laps, Laps

The last time I did an 8 hour MTB race like this, I was solo.

The toughest part was really dealing with traffic.  After a few laps everyone of all abilities is mixed together, slower riders with Canadian Tire Specials who didn't take off their reflectors racing against borderline pros.  I'm pretty middle of the road, so I get it from both ends - sometimes I'm held up, sometimes I'm holding someone up! 

It's especially tough on the single track - as a solo I was pretty bagged by the end, so was trying to be courteous and let people through... but you still have your own race to focus on.  Trick is finding opportunities that don't cost you time.

The goal: Fun, Fun, Fun

This is as much a dry run for the 24h in June as anything, so looking to just soak it in and remember how it all works!

Race Report: Paris to Ancaster 2018

Quite the Day.

It all started so well.  The weather was reasonable, just above zero.  Sun was shining.  Wind was... horrible.

My fitness - horribler.

I really went into the red early, and it set me back for so long.  I never really recovered, was gassed for most of the race.

... and, again, 2/3 of the race in... derailleur hanger exploded.  Clunk clunk bang.

I didn't have a spare (new bike, you think I'd know better by now).  I switched to single speed but the chain went up a gear and was way too tight.

Ground myself back on the roads.  Well, started to, then my chain exploded about 6km from the parking lot.

Walked up hills, coasted down them, repeat.  Friend picked me up 2km from Ancaster.

Big fat DNF.

Ah well.

Race Preview: Paris to Ancaster 2018

The 25th ever Paris to Ancaster.

A right of spring for me since 2006.. 13th time in a row I've done it, haven't missed one in that time!

Me in happier times

Mud and stuff.

Well, less mud, thanks to some people who broke the rules and rode on private property before the race.  Shame.  Glad they were DQ'd, too bad they didn't catch them all.

I'm not really looking that forward to it as much as I used to. 

They've kind of screwed it up - trying to make it a weekend-long thing by forcing people to pick up kits on Saturday... that really left a bad taste in my mouth, as someone who lives 2 hours away.  It's shit, and probably why it hasn't sold out (at least as of yesterday).

Last year there were bad headwinds and new sections in the first half - which meant a lot of us ended up in congestion at the halfway mark when the 40k started.  I'm guessing a repeat, since the 40k start times haven't changed.

In case you can't tell, I'm getting a bit weary about this race... it's not getting better with time.  The organizers seem to not really be listening.

I'll see how I feel after tomorrow, but might take a break from it next year, try something else.

As for my fitness - it's way off, and this will be more of a ride than a race.

So yeah.

Weee.

Getting Over It And Givin' 'er

So many false starts this year... it's been brutal!

Lots of little weird illness things.

But I'm finally over it.

One of my few February rides!

I've actually had 2 hour outdoor rides the last 6 weekends in a row!  So that's a win, especially in Feb/March in the Toronto area.

During the week has been much tougher, though... and some of those rides were probably ill-advised.

Last week I had the mid-week stuff down though, and this week too, so the regularity is coming.  Building to something good.

One month to Paris to Ancaster!

To the moon!

2018, A Slow Start

Feeling down on myself.

I've been reduced to a weekend warrior in recent weeks.  Some health issues have kept me from really digging into training like I should, and my weight is pretty much unmoved from January 1.

Time to turn it around.  Health problem behind me, 2018 ahead.

Sorry for the boring post.

Canadian Ice Cleats for Running!

I had some trouble last week running on ice.

In all my winter running it's never been quite this bad for quite so long... a little ice here and there, but we had a really bad dump of rain followed by a flash freeze.  Sidewalks have been like skating rinks!

So I watched a video on the YouTube on how to convert regular old running shoes into ice gripping awesomeness.

The result... Grip!

On ice!

I didn't put quite as many in as the guy in the video, but my soles were pretty thin at the front... I was worried any in the middle would poke through.

I used the 3/8" ones in the front, 1/2" in the back.  I could have just used 3/8" everywhere - they worked just fine.  And they actually have a larger head to them.

My run was in about 2 inches of snow, less in some places, more in others.  The ice underneath proved no challenge, had grip.

I'm not sure how great they would be if the snow wasn't there - you could definitely tell there were screws under the shoes when there wasn't snow, might have been uncomfortable.  But I'll have to try it on a snow-less icy day sometime to find out for sure.

But not back for $6 and some old shoes I wasn't using anyway!

Indoor Trainer and Heat

I wrote once about the humidity and increase in temperature in my gym while using the indoor trainer.

This year I upped the ante and got a really good floor fan.  I keep it on full blast.

I also have been opening the window, letting the cold outdoor air in.

What a HUGE difference.

The end of my workout I'm fresh and feeling great, rather than my performance tapering off by the time I'm finishing up...

That should translate into more load on the legs and a stronger start to the season!