Strange Times

I'm going to get right out there and say it: this post is a total rip-off of this one on Grizzly Adam's blog.  So there that is.

I stepped on the scale a week after the new year and I realized that I had found 15 pounds since my birthday in November.  After I overcame a brief and ill-advised bout of self-loathing, I realized that this was just a signal for me to start the 2011 season.

2010 saw me finding new ways to get outside of the apartment.  I started biking the Don Valley, which had been less than a 10-minute ride from me for 3 years.  I started to volunteer at a new bike shop (okay, I'd done this before, but never in Toronto).  I raced in a couple of triathlons.  I did a multi-day ride.  I went on a tour for the first time since I was 14 years old.  And I raced on the U of T mountain bike team.

I have set a new benchmark for myself that I must now surpass with some grand plans for 2011.  There is the first tri for the year in Ottawa.  And there is an 8-hour mountain bike race at Hardwood hills that is just begging for me to go.  Plus I have to race faster and harder in the U-Cup this year to try and crack the top-10 overall.  And there's the goal of doing an olympic-length tri by the time school starts again in September.

But first there's that 15 pounds.  Well, now it's 3 pounds and dropping.  It's just the long fire road I have to ride before I can get to the flowy singletrack.  Gym Sunday,15 minute workout Monday, swim Tuesday, 15 minute workout Wednesday, Joyride Thursday, rest friday, workout Saturday, repeat.  It feels so excessive and arduous, but the first time I hit the trails when the snow finally melts and when I hit the water in the first tri, it will be worth it for the satisfaction of having bested my expectations.

And with that I leave you with my current favorite action shot:

Blake Samson and Martyn Ashton riding by Robin Kitchin from Pinkbike

Globe Rider: Rebirth

Well, I haven't posted in the while as my ideas have piled up with my embarrassment about procrastinating on writing about them.  Anyway, now I'm going to get back into it on a more once-per-week basis.

Welcome to the first Wednesday post.

A preview of what's to come in the next couple of weeks - in no particular order.

First off, I'm doing a revamp of the trail/xc bike: RaceFace Atlas AM bars, 90mm Ritchie stem, 185mm front bb7 (hell yes, I'm sticking with cable-actuated), Chris King headset, X9 shifter, Kona Jackshit pedals, and FSA XC290 wheels.  Oh also, I'm going to rebuild the fork (it'll be my first time!) and extend the travel to 100mm.

Secondly, this is my new and unnamed baby.  She's a Specialized P2 Aluminum with a bunch of random parts that I will happily list off ad nauseam at a later date.  I bought it built up for cheap and I've been hitting Joyride about once a week with it.

Lastly, I bought a Modrobes Modarcka jacket that I will be reviewing.

I'll be posting up next week...

Winter Playground

I walk down the steps out the back of my apartment and make a right. I stare at this spot every day as I walk to and from the subway and now it's time to explore.

My footsteps lead down a steep path, and if I didn't look back, it would be hard to tell I just came off of a main street.

See that pile of wood? I don't. I see log-overs and ramps.  I feel air under my wheels.

That's not a pile of unused bricks and stone. It's the foundations of my stunts.

This steep slope begs for a line going down its face.  I see hours of work to pay for seconds of exhilaration, and the price seems just right.

To cap it off, there is a skinny that just hasn't been cut yet.  This could be the start or end of a sweet little run.

You might see some footsteps in the snow, but I see a winter playground.

I think I'll start building on Saturday.

Mark Webber's My Boy

Turns out Mark Webber raced the Japan GP at Suzuka where he qualified in pole and came second with a broken shoulder from a mountain biking accident. This is after he spent the 2009 season away after breaking his arm mountain biking.  Guess I just found my new favorite F1 racer.

My favorite driver

Info and picture from Autosport via Autoblog

And this is why

Picture from Life

Joyride 150 - First Trip

So I got to go to Joyride in Markham for the first time last Tuesday (I know, I suck at updating.)  Man was it ever fun! so many areas set up for you to learn and improve skills.  I don't think I've ever sweat as much within 30 minutes of being somewhere.  I had my buddy Jon take a video of me doing a lap of the pumptrack, you know, in case anybody doesn't believe I went:

A sweet photo and wicked video to make Monday tolerable

Both of these are Lewis Nolan riding.  Also both are from Pinkbike

Photo by clicked


Video by Lewis Nolan

Sweet French Biking Video

Anne-Caroline Chausson (World Champion BMX rider) ripping it up in the Spanish Pyrenees.

Moustache Gracias



I love watching videos of girls who are better riders than I am.

Photo and Video by Romain Decomble of GuilhemMachenaud.com
Link from Pinkbike