Homage to Ice

The Homage to Ice was supposed to be the first mountain bike race of the year but it turned out to be more of a running race. A good chunk of the course was covered in snow which made for some interesting riding and lots of wipeouts. The course had to be changed because of all the snow so instead of 50km we did around 35 with only a couple pieces of dry singletrack. Despite the condition of the trails it was a great race and it felt good to get out on the new bike.

It was my first ride on my new Trek Paragon 29er (waiting for my Superfly to come in) and it felt amazing. I didn't get much chance to get a feel for the ride as we were on the doubletrack for most of the race, but the big wheels were great on the long open stretches.

I'll be heading out to California for Sea Otter next Wednesday and will post after race. Can't wait!

Team Ontario South Carolina Training Camp 2011

Back to snow after another awesome training camp in sunny South Carolina. We had eight great days of riding to get the last of our base miles in before race season starts. On Saturday night we headed out to the local bowling alley for some fun. It was karaoke night so we had some entertainment by Sam Wagler and Haley Smith singing "I'm on a boat", and Stu Loney and Ben Perry singing "Hero". Too funny. 



At the top of Blueridge Parkway



The Gang



Bowling!

Daily Reports from OCA

Mountain View Clean Air Achievers

Here is a photo of the Mountain View class that completed
the Clean Air Achievers program. They reduced their CO2
emissions by 10.2% over the last month by travelling using
active transportation.

Singletrack Challenge

Some pictures from the Singletrack Challenge.

Tour of University Heights

This past weekend Toronto hosted the 4th annual Tour of University Heights. Eighty-five youth from the Toronto area came to race a time trial and road race on their brand new bikes Canadian Tire had donated. It was the first bike race most of the kids had ever done and there were lots of excited and nervous faces. I was very happy that I had to opportunity to help out with this amazing event and hope that I can make it again next year.

Post #1: 2010 World Championships

I was pretty excited to hear that Mont-Sainte-Anne would be hosting the World Championships in 2010. After hearing all the cheers that the Aussies got last year, I knew we would have the support of the crowd during our races.

The course this year was almost the same as the World Cup course last year, only bone dry. We always said that we would love to ride MSA in the dry but after the first preride, we wanted rain.

The rain didn't come until Friday so my race on Wednesday was all dust, and with 41 degree weather, it was like an oven. I didn't have a great start but after the start loop, I realized that the heat was going to take its toll. At the end of my 1st lap I took a spill and apparently rolled, getting covered in dirt. I wasn't too hurt so I picked myself up and continued. By the last lap I had made my way into 21st and ended up finishing 20th. I can honestly say it was the most difficult race I have ever done but I am so happy that I got the opportunity to compete again this year.