And So we RACE

On the evening of yet another points race I decided to bring you all a musing before I fall asleep. I am not sure what to write about this time…It is just business as usual I guess different form I guess, different hotel, hmmm.

I thought I would more nostalgic about being back at the Olympic venue. Coming from the airport I was really jacked when I saw the Olympic symbol again but other than that nothing huge. It is like a world cup…but I am relaxed. I hope I can race like a seasoned pro tomorrow. I certainly am starting to feel like it. Just happy to have a new opportunity to race. Try some new tricks, maybe use some old ones better. I know there is still lots to learn for me. Don’t get me wrong…I just feel like I am in a better head space to learn it. Nothing really distracts me from the racing anymore…at least not as easily as things used to. In Cali and now here I am just wanting to race…not cause I think I am flying or cause I think I will get my best result. But just because to me that is the most interesting thing going on here. The opportunity to race and try new things out. I am starting to get a training/racing data base now. So I can compare things…I think this is when you start making real progress. I have things that have worked and things that haven’t now. I don’t feel like I will be floundering out there, I feel like I am starting to get to a place where what I do will be quantifiable information I can use to improve my riding, training and preparation. All because I have a back drop of experience to compare it against. I feel like I might be in my first year of cycling university. I made it through high school…now I am in a position were I have the tools to start learning the really neat stuff about the sport. I am not scrambling like I have been for the last 4 years just to get there. Now I can take time and try things, gears and strategies. How exciting. Well I think so at least.

Back to Beijing

I am here in the airport doing an update on the “new look” page. It is still in the works but I think it is coming along well. I have really not done any work on it yet. It has all be a result of my good buddy Kevin Field down at 7th Groove.

So I came to the airport to day looking at an 11 hour economy flight to this next world cup. I love that it was direct from Vancouver. That always makes it nicer…at check in I decided to ask if I could use my AIR CANADA up grade certificates for my AIR CHINA flight. Ridiculousness I know but when the flights are this long you are willing to try anything.

“no we don’t take thouse.” Said the lady at the desk…big shocker…so I was ready to pony up the bucks for the bike and she took a look at my Air Canada elite card and then she says. Oh but you are a GOLD member so I can just upgrade you…we have the space….

WHAAAAA…serious…sweet
I was haveing a lot of talk on my last trip about how the perks of GOLD cards are not all they are cracked up to be. But just when you are about to loose faith you get something sweet like this. So here is hoping the flight goes well. I will try to do some updateing from china…maybe some POST Olympic pictures to see if the air has degraded back to its bad levels.

pursuit of…um..pain

Well I have been training for Points Race as many of you may know…as a result this is my face after a pursuit…for the love…that hurt. but the time was ok. Close to my PB’s and with not real work on it…but let me tell you I am opened up now…I just love this picture…I think Andrea pretty much got what pursuiting at this level is all about…the best part is every guy that does one will have this look in his eye at one point. Andrea is one of my roomates back in Burnaby…and let me tell you she is pretty good with the old camera as well…this could be a pain poster…or something…So yeah check out her other pictures on canadian cyclist or her web site.

Points race tomorrow…time to feel the burn.
later
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2 days to race start

Well after 12 hours of plane rides plane food and plane plain people…I am finally in Mallorca…not to shabby…did I mention that riding in europe is the best thing since sliced bread…no wait…its better than that…it is the best thing since fresh out of the oven home made sliced melty butter bread. I just needed to get that out. It has been “ok” weather her and honestly I want to move here and I have only been on 2 hours riding total…oh well enjoy the novelty.

The track is something else…if it is finished by Thursday…it is a totally constructions sight…and it won’t be done for the racing…the track itself is finished and the stands and “public” areas are done. But pretty much everything else is muttled with dry wall loosed wires and plumbing explosions. It is pretty crazy…if the sprinters can avoid the falling rebar everything should go off without a hitch.

Preparation has gone well and I think it will be a good ride for me…now it is just a matter of freshening up the legs. I am excited, stay tuned for Canadian Results and insider thoughts….

Up up and a way…

So here I am about 24 hours from departure to the world track championships. It feels pretty good to be representing Canada again. I know that there are all kinds of people that make this possible every year. I also know i will need even more support as I head into the next season. See this is competition is the RESET button. After this everything counts to the olympic games. I remember speaking with my coach just after the start of the athens games… and hearing “you better start thinking about Beijing”. and now it is almost on top of us.

So back to the Worlds. They are in Mallorca spain on a brand new track. Gina and I have been trying to optimize our situation day to day as we head into worlds. All little things but it feels like it is making the difference. She put up a cold emersion pool in the garage…it is made of a garbage can. I gotta say this has been a great off season in terms of training and general effectivness. Now it is just a matter of turning that into somthing. Wish me luck…if you haven;t allready…thanks to to all those who have allready written in with good luck wishes. When you have so much support you have to ride for the country…cause it feels like the country is really behind you.

Oh and the contest will end April 30th…if there are even any entries.

Off to Worlds…wish me luck.

AXE WEILDING

WellI have done some big weeks over tha last little while…and it might be making me wig out a little…I produced this little video of what people in the business would call .
skills with the axe

I did all the playing in the movie…which is the main reason I put it up. I know it isn’t a very complex thing…but I am not a very complex guy. I had more to say…but I don’t recall???

Apparently I am not the only one with the base mile blues…Ryan seems like he might be in a desperate situation…more even than me. Geeze man have a taco ro somsing…
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Christmas in JANUARY

So, I have most recently acquired the coolest and most swankadelic stuff in the last 3 weeks…some of it you may have seen already…some you may not have. Anyway these things are sure to raise my stature among the monocle wearing, ear waxed mustache, “hum hum” members of society. So check out these newfound symbols of stature with which I am much pleased.

1. Medium National Champs skin suit.

- This item was first seen at the LA world cup but let me explain some of the more exciting features…as you can see on the back is the word Bell…this of course is meant as a commissarial message. In the points race this is to encourage the officials to give me the bell each time I come around…unfortunately it only seems to work about 10% of the time…I have my best font scientists working on improving this feature but at the moment we seem to be lacking the impact we are looking for.
-It may appear to be read but don’t be fooled this is a hyper colour skin suit…for some reason it turns pink when you have it on…it all has to do with fit… I am not fit, or it doesn’t fit, or “that bloke looks FIT”… something like that…

2. The 1998 CIVIC HB, Deep PURPLE edition

- Now this was not so much a gift as a necessary evil. But it has to be, don’t it look mean. >:(
- As you can clearly see this bad boy is a tribute to the magical guitar riffs of DEEP PURPLE…I did not just go out an buy a purple car people…come on now.
- It has 90 shetlands under the hood…and maybe a few garden knombs, a wishing well, and one half eaten package of double mint gum from the era when the still put the twins in there commercials. Now I to will be able to pretend I am fast and or furious…
- Oh and it is a standard…now I know you are all thinking…”come now zebidia, your pre-technology attitudes have rendered you incapable of operating such an evil and devilish contraption.” Well this is just not true…I have been rolling this baby backwards and stalling it in traffic like no bodies businASS…or maybe it is no one is getting to business…cause I am “staled in the right hand lane”. I think global has assigned there traffic copter to follow me 24/7

3. The Cream DE LA…the cats PJs…the pantaloon restraint I have been searching for low these long years…

- This purchase and in fact the one above was made possible by the educational styling of one Groovy chick who shall remain nameless (secret identity and all that)…needless to say she has educated me on the manual transmission and the automatic purchasing power of E BAY.
- Yanick Morin this ones for you…my very own YUKON JACK belt buckle…who needs dog tags or bling bling when you can by a belt buckle like this from a guy who wore it 3 YEARS BEFORE I WAS BORN in Tennessee. Look at it and all its majesty…creepy borderline sourdough hermit on meditating quality among his woodland friends. It is the Yukon captured in a boo CLAY. No less then an explosion of waistband history, sure to draw the eyes of the world to the top of my pants as I roam through the crowded markets of the VAN city.

High society here I come…I am going to put on my skin suit…put on a belt and roll down to Glen Eagles Golf and Country club in my Purple Haze, Jimmy Hendrix edition C VAC. Maybe play a few rounds with Tony Parsons, he could get a lift in the G-1 traffic copter right?

UP HERE

So As I said I would tell the story…mostly of the points race. It started with three guys taking a lap at a soft pedal pace. This ended up screwing me bad in the end. these guys didn;t get any more points the whole time. I am not sure what the pack was thinking…they just let them go…I think I actually said “are you serious” out loud in the race. Despite that the race average was still about 51.4kkm/hr. INSANE.

Anyway, I ended up scoring a lot of little points and working my ass off…I mad good choices but I didn’t make great ones…and in the end that was the difference between a much better result… and a good on. It was still good. But I have so much room to improve it is exciting.

I would have a good suffer face picture if I could find one…but the russian photage where not out in any kind of force.
But I am still tied for 1oth on the old WC standings…pretty sweet…here is hoping I can keep it up.

Thanks for the supporting emails…etc.

Rethink your mental space…

“Success at any endevour, on any scale, is enlightenment…”
- IronMIike - From a man who understands the true meaning of success better than anyone I know.

Tipping Point

Well I think the beatings on friday got me fired up for the points on saturday…I came out pissed and tried to stamp some authority on a race that I feel holds my future on the track. I qualified 2nd in my heat behind olympic gold medalist Mikhail Ignatiev. A good start no prizes but it got the job done and got me feeling better about my riding anyway.

The final came around again in only a few hours so I went back to my casino/hotel and ate a casino/hotel sammy…that was gross and not ideal but fuel anyway.

In the final it was pinned from the gun. I scooped some points in the first sprint then a dangerous group rolled away and I wasn’t there..bad move…but with me and a few others working for almost 60 laps we held them at half a lap and slowly pulled them back. Then once we where a group I rolled away. And who else was with you ask, Mikhail Ignatiev. Dude was a wrecking ball…oh yeah and did I mention he rode the team pursuit and won only 5 min before…the rest of the race was just him putting the wreck on…and me hanging on…in the final sprint I had a good turn of speed but bad position…with smarter riding and similar legs I can improve on the 8th place finish I had here…but it was a good start to a world cup season that I hope is on an upward trend…coming in I didn’t feel like I would ride very well…and thel legs didn’t feel great here. I rode with alot of fight but in the end the job got done…more or less. Anyway I will be heading home to BC and hopefully get a solid 2 weeks in before I head to Moscow…If I can keep my form moving in this upward direction I think moscow will be a good race for me.

Thanks for all the support and emails over the past few days…it helped a lot.