Wildcat Web Tales

Enumclaw Vids

2011-05-25T20:11:00.000-06:00

Hey Gang,

Here are a couple vids from the race I did this past weekend. 2nd in the crit and 2nd wheel is the crash video. Lots of good times happening with the TRT boys so far.

MUTUAL OF ENUMCLAW STAGE 2 Criterium Pro 1/ 2 Men ENUMCLAW, WA 2011 from
RideITLikeUstoleIT!!! on Vimeo.

$200 Prime gone wrong - Pro / 1/ 2 in Enumclaw Crit 2011 Crash from RideITLikeUstoleIT!!! on Vimeo.

Ill hopefully write something legit up soon but the most exciting news involves my new ability to ride time trials mediocre fast as well as being able to beat 4 Garneau riders in a 5 man breakaway. Also i've been chosen to ride the Tour de Beauce with the National Team in a few weeks time. Other than that i've been doing excessive amounts of sleeping and drinking coffee.

Wildcat

Happy Star Wars Day!!

2011-05-04T16:59:00.003-06:00

Darth&Vader - Return of the Jedi (Original Mix) by Darth & Vader

May the fourth be with you!

The Beating of a Million Drums!!

2011-04-12T01:47:00.001-06:00

Hey there guys and gals,

Soo the Barrys Roubaix was ultra epic and it took many hours to wash dyke sand out of my bike and gear. Team did ok. Cody did ok for the first half and then the 'mega watts' turned into 'baby watts' and I got shelled out of the lead group.

Choice Video!

Song Download Here:

Justice - Civilization Original Version (HD) MP3 Download

The Speed Concept 7 now resembles a functioning unit. Pics tomorrow.

Now back to the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

Cody

The Oakley Hookup!

2011-04-10T00:05:00.000-06:00

Gang. So along with getting a new Trek aerodynamic road bike today (pics when its built up) I was pleasantly gifted some ballin Oakley Jawbones and swag. Thank you to Steve/whoever else was involved with this super hookup.

Barry's Roubaix Tomorrow! The Weather Man says its gunna rain, should be fairly epic.

Cody

You are a smelly pirate hooker!

2011-04-06T13:41:00.001-06:00

Hey Gang!

So im doing a little Blog Page resurrection here. If you click on the 'Follow" my blog button it helps with sponsorship so DO IT. I am starting a little game in which my blog title is going to be a movie quote and if you can guess the movie/character I will award a prize. The last post was a write up I did for the Cherry Blossom Classic for the team web site. That was our first serious race of the season and I think we worked out some bugs while still having a decent race. Im going to be posting weekly music updates and you can download them for your spring bicycle jams or daily commute or whenever you listen to rockin jams. For now I would like to share a video series called "Behind the Barriers" by Sam Smith which follows J-Pow (Jeremy Powers) during the 2010 cyclocross season. J-Pow is definitely one of my favourite cycling personalities. Here is a video:

"Behind The Barriers" Episode 3 from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.

The full 14 episode series is available here:

http://www.behindthebarriers.com/

Cody

Cherry Blossom Classic

2011-04-06T00:41:00.000-06:00

Dear Red Truck Armada,

This is newbie Red Trucker Cody Canning giving you, the curious web surfer an inside read into our first bike meet of the season. Im typing this in the back seat of the team Hyundai, Entourage on our way back from The Cherry Blossom Classic (CBC). The CBC is a 4 stage, 3 day race out of The Dalles, Oregon. This race consists of a rolling 75 mile Road Race, a rolling 11km ITT, a Twilight Downtown criterium and a 71 mile hilly gravel infested slugfest of a road race. Yahoo!! Here we go!

Thursday, March 31:

The Island Crew consisting of Marcel, Bailey, Bryson, Craig and myself catch a big boat to meet Captain Dave on the mainland. Southbound and down we travel with rockin electro beats and world class high fives all round. On our travels through Portland we find our beloved Liaison Adam Thuss having a snooze at the train station patiently waiting pickup. The general consensus was a quick snooze was on order so a couple of the Westerns Best rooms were booked for sleeping duty.

Friday, April 1:

The Red Truck Boys invaded the conti breakfast and filled the fuel tanks to maximum capacity and put on our figurative brass knuckles for game day. Race starts, break goes off, we all miss it...dang. After many failed bridging attempts and only 30km remaining the TRT boys decided to make everyone hurt a little and make the race possibly winable. After some quality time spent in the pain cave the break was deemed successful but the gap was down to only 58 seconds.

Saturday, April 2:

A frigid morning Time Trial into what felt like a tornado was at the top of our morning to do list. C Login and Bryson Bowers threw down respectable 11th and 12th place finishes, keeping themselves in good position for overall glory. Of tap in the afternoon was Chef Performa Nutrition’s refueling, Mario Cart Wii tournaments and a wonderful nap or two.

Everyone was mega excited to Shake and Bake in the criterium and show off our jerseys at the front of the race. The course was a rectangular downtown twilight adventure on a wide open drag race of a course. From the word go we were flying in 1’s and 2’s off the front making things interesting. Craig and Adam threw down multi lap breakaway attempts picking up a couple cash primes with myself narrowly missing the final prime for the TRT cash sweep. With 1 lap to go we were well positioned near the front of the group but were swarmed on the last corner due to some some sketchy pack cornering.

Sunday, April 3:

Be aggressive, be be aggressive was the modo for the day for this showdown of a road race. There was a 3km vert ramp and 2km gravel climb that we were told we should race up 4 times each with some slithering descents and roller coster climbs tossed in for good measure. Within 5km we had Craig, Adam and Marcel charging up the road in the 7 man break of the day. The boys just drilled it and had McKissick on the ropes in the peloton with only 1 teammate left chasing. The gravel and climbing took its tole taking both Marcel and Adam out of the break with flats and shattered the peloton on pure speed. On the final lap Morgan Schmitt destroyed the remaining peloton and only 4 others could follow in his wake over the 2 main climbs and across to Craig and his breakaway companions. Craig pulled off an amazing ride to finish 3rd on the stage and also moved himself up to 3rd overall on GC. Nice work there Junes! The remaining field trickled in with myself just missing the McKissick/Schmitt throw-down to roll in 11th and Adam coming in 23rd after his big day driving the break.

Wrap Up:

Overall we had a highly successful weekend with Craig just killing it and the team showing we the strongest team in the race. HUGE thanks goes out to Marty and Joan, our host housing for the fabulous breakfasts, comfy beds and warm hospitality this weekend. Thanks to the organizers of The Cherry Blossom Classic for the highly organized mega fun race. We will be back.

Thanks for reading.

Cody

Motivation Building

2011-01-27T10:56:00.001-07:00

Hey there Gang!

As I sit here, drinking my third cup of coffee, trying to motivate my punished legs to power a bike over mountains for the next 5 hours I find this. A pretty rad video that again makes me want to add those extra steeds to the quiver exponentially more. It will happen soon enough...

Unlimited 3 from Uniwersał on Vimeo.

Off I ride into the sunset... or sunshine as its 11:00 in the dessert (the better and highly more delicious spelling).

Wildcat

Random Thoughts...Arizona Edition

2011-01-20T20:18:00.001-07:00

Wud Up!

Post ‘Brain ‘n Body Cushin Ride’ Update. Random thoughts...

Everything in ‘_’ is already copyrighted phrases of Wildcat Productions. Just FYI.

Wildcat is currently on the ‘Ride Lots - Get Fast’ program.

Program includes a percentile scale from 0-110% of my ‘Painbox’ current fullness.

110% = My everything hurts real bad. Mandatory bed rest is the only way out.

0% = Fresh as a daisy!

You get the idea.

Tucson House Name : Super Deadly Fun House

Helmet Cam footage...included!!

(Insert GO PRO CRAP HERE!)

Untitled from cody canning on Vimeo.

What has Wildcat been up to lately???

Wednesday Jan 12:

Really tired from drive. Drink 1 liter of coffee. Build ‘Sick Whip’. Sunflower Market with Big Quiff. 1.75 hour soft pedal around town. Decorate ‘Super Deadly Fun House’ to specs. Painbox @ 30% (travel induced).

Thursday Jan 13:

1 liter Coffee + half jar of fresh Almond Butter. 2.75 hour ride with Matt Krahn around Old Spanish/Sugaro National Park. Ran into Phil Z.. and he told me stuff about riding in Tucson and then dropped me. 2 hour cat nap. Painbox @ 20%.

Friday Jan 14:

3.75 hour ride with Big Quiff around Gates Pass and such. Phase 1 of a bonk in last 30 min. Crushed 1 bag of chips + 1 jar of salsa. Tanned my whiteness. 2 hour cat nap. Painbox @30%.

Saturday Jan 15:

4.25 hour ride with Matt Krahn around the Shootout Loop. Matt is faster than me and made me go beyond the pace of a slow moving Buffalo which I wasn’t happy about. Frog ‘n Fergin Pizza with Saskies. Very delicious! Cuylar faked being sick from eating way too much and was a downer. Saskie movie night. Painbox @ 60%.

Sunday Jan 16:

Out of food. 2 massive trips with a bike and backpack to the grocery store. People questioned my sanity cramming 50lbs of food in 1 backpack. Don’t remember... Painbox @ 30%.

Monday Jan 17:

3.25 hours with the Corey Torgness Ramp Test. Findings...out of shape! Movie night with Saskies. Painbox @ 40%.

Tuesday Jan 18:

I Liter of Pecan Nut Roast Coffee. 5 hours with Julia Garnet + others for a bit. Blacked out memory. Painbox @ 60%

Wednesday Jan 19:

3.75 hour ride with Big Quiff. High end Aerobics up Lemmon (only up to mile 8). Road to the Trek Concept Store and the owner traded me for a different length stem...SICK! Movie Night. Watched Wall Street. Passing Grade. Transformers...not so much. Painbox @ 60%

Thursday Jan 20:

4.5 hours riding the Shootout Loop with Saskies. 1 flat tire. In and Out Burger post ride. Typing this update. Painbox @ 70%.

Bye Mom!

Wildcat.

Southbound and Down!

2011-01-14T23:30:00.004-07:00

Dear Winter Dwellers,

Not to be completely rude but the following is being generated via patio chair under a 20 something degree heat. Life is good as Tucson Bike Camp 2011 is underway in spectacular fashion. With our slick pad nestled in the Catalina Foothills above the bustling city of Tucson, Arizona (especially with Brock Obama in town) and just below the towering legend that is Mt Lemmon. With gorgeous weather and numerous riding palz in the area training time is...fly’n by like a G6 (not a big fan of the Orig’). Below contains the story about how I arrived in this paradise as well as some Go Pro footage of our adventure thus far.

Following Hockey Dangles and Skate Ski Till Ya Drop Season I hoped in good ol’ Shark Attack and made my way back to the Land of Living Skies. Said “Holla Yo!” to the parents and gathered some valuables just in time to depart with Big Quif (H and R Block Recruit Bradley ‘The Tiger Tamer’ Clifford). Bright and early Monday morning we loaded Quif’s Pontiac Vibe (later christened Will Smith) full to the gills with bike junk. Departed with a quick stop at the SCA for high 5’s and Superstore for there excellent selection of candy and vegetables.

Off we traveled, and traveled, and as we became more and more tired, greasy and haggard looking the weather became exponentially more spectacular. From -31 packing the car to +25 on the Phoenix freeway we traveled through snowstorms, over mountain peaks, across deserts for 3100km. Below is a glance into the doors of our journey:

Untitled from cody canning on Vimeo.

Today is day 3 in Arizona and I’ve got a few good rides in already. On Thursday while riding with Matt Krahn we met up with Phil Zajicek (Pegasus Racing) and ended up riding a few loops of Sugaro National park. Had a chat about his teams sponsorship problems but sounds like they might end up with a reasonable program at the end of the day. Good dude, hope they get a program together. Thats all for now.

Catch ya later Little Riders!

Cody

Q’est Qu Sup!

2011-01-08T16:17:00.002-07:00

Gang,

September first was the day I realized I had fully ‘burnt my toast’ and I hung the bike up after a long, mostly frustrating season. Signed up for a Geology Assistant gig in north eastern Saskatchewan and worked for nearly 40 straight days. Did a few of those cyclocross races every other weekend through October. Worked for the father chasing Pigs down the pipeline for the months of October and November. Ate a lot of food in December and then decided I liked being fit sometime around Christmas and started training again for realz. Dropped the Jenny Craig and P90X (5 hours of activity per week) bullshit.

Now lets scrap the hint of negativity. Got accepted to the Institute of Red Truck Racing. Finally got a handle on my back issues that i’ve been battling the past 4 years thanks to a great physeo @ the UofA with notable mention to Tara Baker and Dr. Au. Purchased a Powertap and reflected on the enormous learning experience last season was. The bank account is healthy, a 7 week training camp is about to kick off in Tucson, Arizona and I couldn’t be more excited to get this season of bike racing and travels underway.

With fabulous weather in Edmonton this week i’ve been able to shred a deep groove into the Goldbar ski trail system. Got out for some indoor shinny 3 times this week and got my dangle on. Even managed to get on the rollers a few times (usually rare in these parts). Should end up being 16-18 hours of training depending on my motivation to get up real early on Sunday before my icy trek across the prairies. Upon arrival in the Regina area I will say hello to the parents, quickly regroup with a few things and then depart. @ 7:00 Monday morning I will be on my way south. Exactly 28 hours later I should be somewhere in the desert, fully shattered, beyond finished with car disco parties and ready to drop into a 14 hour coma. Joining me on this wonderful journey will be fellow Saskatchewan Native at heart...Bradley Clifford.

xoxo

Welcome Back!

2011-01-07T16:25:00.000-07:00

Gang,

A new year brings a new season of Web Tales and of course a Galactic Theme. Interesting updates coming soon with helmet cam hockey, extreme state skiing and a 28 hour Dubstep Car Disco Ultra Marathon all in the works. This season I am apparently a roadie convert as I signed up to race with Trek Red Truck out of Vancouver. Really looking forward to it though!

New Team Whip:

WARNING!!! Minds may blow due to excessive awesomeness.

2010-07-04T10:07:00.001-06:00

Little vid of the Stoney Squaw Climb just outside the town of Banff. This doubles as both a "how to" video of climbing Stoney Squaw without dabbing and as an intro to my musical career. Enjoy Gang!!!

Stony Squaw Hill Climb from cody canning on Vimeo.

The start of the climb is a little lame but it gets really steep and techy. I was told no one has climbed it without dabbing but im sure people have. The decent down from here is amazing.

Cannondale Flash Carbon 1 FOR SALE!!!

2010-06-29T23:48:00.004-06:00

This sick ride has a size medium frame and is equipped with all the goods. This means it comes with a 2.5 pound Lefty DLR SL fork, full XTR drivetrain, Cannondale flexy post (it works amazing) and all the bragging rights that comes with buying a $6800 bike that was used 6 times for a fraction of the cost. Complete bike weight is 19.5lbs with UST Racing Ralphs. 2010 Hardtail Mountain Bike of the year. Built at Revolution Cycle in Edmonton, Alberta. The bike doesn’t seem to fit me correctly as far as setback and reach so im unfortunately going to be riding something else.

$4000 obo

Email me: cody_canning@hotmail

A Little Tuesday Night in Edmonton

2010-06-24T20:19:00.000-06:00

Tuesday Nighter from cody canning on Vimeo.

A Story About Canada Cups Part Two

2010-06-15T15:52:00.004-06:00

Hey there Gang! So I forgot to add in my last post that Andrew L’Esperance (aka TYG The Young Gun) and myself crushed an unreal cliff jump off a babbling brooks waterfall into an icy pool just outside Mont Saint Anne. It was about a 30 footer and we figured the only reason the water was still in liquid form was because it was moving. So Fun!

In Mont Tremblant we were joined by the one and only Jamie Lamb (I know eh! I know him!!!). We were a Dynamic Trio dialing in the xc loop all week. Race day came and Local girlie Liesen and fellow Newfoundlander Berges volunteered as out support crew and did an unreal job. So here goes my race story:

Monte Tremblant Canada Cup: Started second row and was on Watson’s wheel. Felt amazing off the start with zero lactate and unlimited power. Effortlessly took the lead and road with the leaders through 3/4 of the first lap. Caught my helmet on a tree and crashed into another at about 35km/h. Somehow messed the lockout lever on my fork and the Lefty was stuck locked out. Tried riding a lap fully rigid and went very slowly. Decided I wasn’t having fun anymore and sat in a frigid creek to cool down. Vowed revenge for the real race this evening (Red Bulls Monte Decent) with fellow Bertan Felix Willberg. TYG had an unreal ride finishing 16th and Jamie Lamb had a very respectful comeback ride finishing 28th.

Later That Evening @ Red Bull Monte Decent:

This is a relay format race with one xc rider and one downhill rider to see which team can complete the most laps in 90 minutes. The race took place with a really kool setup in the village at night. With $10,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs for the top 3 teams it was the real deal. The XC loop was about 6 min long and the DH run took roughly 2.5 min to complete. Needless to say I was crushing the XC course putting in some of the fastest lap times of the night while Felix was holding very consistent runs on the DH without a light. This was all for nothing as on one of the runs the timers forgot to call my number to the top of the DH run and Felix had to sit at the top thinking I crashed for about 10min until someone figured it out. So at the finish we ended up 7th out of 40 teams and would have been very close to a podium result without the mishaps. O well. Super fun event with a TON of people out to watch. TYG organized the entire Ontario Junior Team to run with me up the main climb as encouragement. Jamie was busy in the village capturing some really funny interviews in between laps as well.

The next day was spent hanging out under the Norco tent and doing some downhill go carting with Team BC. Guthrie has a video of the experience. Pretty good time.

From Tremblant The Dynamic Trio traveled West into the Toronto area making a quick and much appreciated stop at Jamie’s Aunts place for dinner and a swim. Thanks for all the hospitality! TYG and myself ditched Jamie with his fam for the week and headed Northward into cottage country to stay with Ontario local Matt Spak at his home for the week. Matts house was about 30 min from Hardwood Hills and within walking distance from Lake Huron. It was a great setup for the week with plenty of sunshine and sleep. Wednesday Night Hardwood race was pretty fun racing a 40 min loop with local powerhouse Mitch Bailey jamming the front. Hardwood Hills is a really fun place to ride with high speed flowing singletrack, punchy climbs and neat Elastomania style obstacles. The Sunday Canada Cup course had the same fun Hardwood flow and 30 plus degree heat that we’ve been enjoying all week. Here is how it went:

Hardwood Hills Jam:

Started second row again and felt easy riding myself into the top 5 through the first piece of singletrack (I guess World Cup racing does that to a guy...). Settled into a conservative pace I felt I could sustain in the heat and up the punchy climbs for 2 hours and rolled around 13th place for the first 4 laps and 1h50min of racing. Just before the last lap I started to get really bad quad cramps that forced me to fall off the bike on two occasions. I also started to feel weak and dissy and was crashing into trees and rocks the whole last lap losing 5 spots and huge chunks of time. Hit the dehydration wall super hard! Finishing time was around 2h15min in 19th place. On a positive note I was happy with the way I road until the last 25 minutes... Jamie improved on his Mont Tremblant race, riding in the low 20’s until he flatted on the last lap. TYG was riding well until he also hit the wall on the last lap and held on to finish somewhere in the low 20’s.

BIG thanks to Jamie’s Aunt and Uncle for the burgers and the ride to the airport after the race!!! Im super pumped to be getting home and get my life organized for the first time in 8 months...

You’ve just earned 1 free High 5 if you’ve made it to this point. Please redeem with the password “Quisky” at the next sighting of Wildcat.

CC

I Have Been Called The Singing bird of my Generation

2010-06-11T14:50:00.006-06:00

Canada Cups P1

Yoyoyo!

I have another update for yall. This puppy is going to be lacking humour as my current attitude is lacking pizzaz. I just finished the Hardwood Hills Canada Cup and am a hurtin unit...

Back from Europe in Edmonton I was greeted to snow. Dressed warm and tried to put in my first real week of training since early March. Did a bunch of snowy 4 hour cross rides and some 5 hour ERTC road marches. I also received my super deluxe Cannondale Flash Carbon 1. Unreal bike! Also waiting for me at Revo was a pair of Easton EC90SLX Tubular wheels. SICK! Can’t wait to glue some rubber and shred some gnarly pavement races. Thanks OGC!!!

From there I organized my 2.5 week Canada Cup extravaganza. First up was Baie Saint Paul (aka BSP, 1 hour downstream from Quebec City) my traveling partner this year was the pride of Nova Scotia, young superstar Andrew L’Esperance. We were rolling in style in his mom’s TDI Jetta and were fueled my a Halifax Costco run (thanks Andrews Mom!). Andrew interrupted my picnic at the Quebec City Airport and from there our journey began.

Once in BSP we kicked a grocery run with our Norco roommates and settled into a fully equipped farmhouse. Myself and Lespy shared a room and bed as the air mattress only held air for about 2 hours. Helping the sleeping situation was a thick blanket barrier which was for the most part mutually respected. The BSP course was a really wicked 5.5km loop. Crazy rocky and bumpy. Could have raced a 140mm bike no problem. This season I get the luxury of a second row start which I am going to try and make good use of in the next paragraph...

BSP Dirt Race:

Settled into a top 15 posish for the first lap and realized I was getting shredded on the bumpy decents with my hardtail (also my 3 hour total ride time on the new bike wasn’t helping). Climbing wize I was gapping everyone around me by a grip, but I was losing HUGE chunks on the downhills and ended up not trying as hard as I would like due to frustration. Ended up somewhere in the low 20’s at the finish and 4th espoir. Lespy also had a hard time with the bumps and motivation and was in the 30’s. We both vowed revenge in Tremblant.

To vent our frustrations we crushed a 2 hours internet session at the venue and the race organized gave us some beers to enjoy (nice guy). From there we packed up the Wagon and shook and baked our way to Mont Tremblant. Settled into a condo in a unreal location. Walking distance from the start line with a cold creek running through our yard. Ice baths were had daily. I spend one of the evenings hanging out with Benoit at his pad and he helped me with my bike fit and we hit up some local trails and a midweek xc race.

After dialing in the Tremblant course with hot laps and video surveillance early in the week we were able to sit back and fully recover before race day...

Canada Cup update Part 2 coming shortly.

CC

Euro P2 (don't mind the bum shot)

2010-05-18T10:35:00.002-06:00

O Hey there Gang!

Welcome to the second half of the European update I promised. Now that i’ve sold out and gone mainstream on Bike Alberta I expect my reader count to skyrocket from 3 hits per day to somewhere around 7 (mom, just hit refresh or something to make me feel better). I dedicate the following few paragraphs to Belgian Beer and Waffles so chip chip cheroo, this ones for you.

Arrival at our Belgian Farm House, about a 30 minute ride from Houffilize nestled in the rolling Ardennes hills brought an amount of relief. Finally a chance to live the good life with plenty of time for sleep and riding. The focus of the week was mostly spent following Doc Watson’s All Gluten Diet which guarantees increased awesomeness on race day. An unsettling part of the Farm House was the fact you could hear a bunch of rodents running around above your head all night in the attic. River based ice baths, baked goods and Mystery PI were the highlight happenings.

Houfilize Game Day:

As I cross the start/finish line after the 4km start loop and having burnt 15 out of my 20 available power matches I end up being 6.5 minutes off the leaders pace. Welcome to the highest level of off road bike racing I guess... If I were asked to put a start lap of a World Cup into a worded description it would resemble the following:

Ride for you life from a cheetah for 5 minutes. STOP!! Rock a crying baby to sleep while pounding Red Bulls for the next 30 seconds. Ride as fast as you can from a rabid Polar Bear for another 2 minutes and then compete in a jackass style slip in slide contest. Now its time to run from a fire breathing dragon for 2 more minutes up a slippery slope while jumping hurdles (bodies and bikes). Then you get tossed into the octagon for a short UFC match with some euro dude who just T-Boned you into a fence. Add in some more hardcore sprints for corners and some time spent waiting to get into a piece of singletrack while listening to elevator music. Wallah you’ve just experienced the first 15 minutes of a European World Cup.

Once the traffic cleared and when I had open track to work with I actually felt pretty decent and was happy with the power I was able to climb with. The race was a true mudder which am always up for...good times. I managed to ride with Liam Killeen for the whole 3rd lap which was a good learning experience in passing and a departure from my less than aggressive Canadian style. Ended up doing 5 of 6 laps and was about 1.5 minutes off being able to finish the race which was my ultimate goal. Its good to do these races to find your weaknesses and learn what level you have to reach to compete with the best in the world.

On the way home I managed to dodge a $160 euro bike charge and saw Alexander Vinokourov at the airport. I would rate the European World Cup Extravaganza as 11 Magical Elephant Eggs out of 11.5. Big thanks to Dan Proulx and Scott Kelly who put in a TON of work making this trip happen. Thanks to Kyle Douglas for fixing my brakes on 3 separate occasions and Shimano for the new brake caliper. Also I would like to thank everyone else on the trip for putting up with me for 2 whole weeks...

OUT!!

CC

Go Go Gadget...European Adventure?

2010-05-12T14:13:00.003-06:00

Hello Reader Palz,

First off, Im extremely jealous of all who travel with Elite Status cards...unreal luxury!Today I bring you a two part update regarding my European World Cup Extravaganza. I last left you part way to Rome. From there I met Scott Kelly (Team Mechanic) and we started our Northbound Journey to Dalby, England. Accompanying us was two 70 pound hockey bags full of tools and bike junk, my bike and a luggage bag each. Game on!

Ill give you guys the short version. We ended up taking about 14 different trains from Rome to Brussels. Most trains were oversold as everyone in Europe was resorting to traveling by train. We were always the last ones on the trains as the only place to put out huge bags way at the doorway of the train and to do this we had to be the last ones on. Because we were always the last ones on the train we always got screwed out of seats and spend the majority of 2 days in hallways and stair wells. Only one of our trains broke down and we only missed one connection.

Once we reached Brussels we got a textular message from Mr Kabush that he was flying into Paris as that was the only way he was going to make it to Dalby for sure in time. So our journey made a small detour to Paris to pick up A Team bike rider and transport the valuable cargo to Dalby forrest. On the plus side we got to take the Chunnel under the English Channel as we were now transformed Cinderella style into a first class shuttle van. Unfortunately I spent most of the drive sleeping as I missed roughly 3 complete nights and was suffering from jet lag pretty bad. Missed out on some quality time with the current king of mountain biking in North America. Once we found Team Maxxis’s Sweet Pad and dropped A Team off we made our way to a pair of slick cabins in the country side just outside of Pickering, England.

Dalby:

First day involved a nice grocery run...unreal store, food and town!!! Then it was preride time. I caught up with A Team at the course and dialed in the track nicely. The Dalby course was SO good! It was real mountain biking and every section was something to look forward to. Then it was time to suite up as I was going to be the lone Canadian representative in the Dalby Dash Street Sprints. This was unreal!!! 4 cross style, 2 minute race through the streets and backyards around the Pickering bar district. There were thousands of people out to watch and some of the top racers in the world on the start line. Fontana,Fumic, Shurter, Frishy, Bart, Hermida, etc. I was far too pumped up and crashed in the first pavement downhill corner and was eliminated :( I slept and watched movies for the next two days...

Game Day:

Warmup felt awful...started 131st of 180 or so riders. After the first corner and after dodging two crashes I was second last. As the race went on I started to pass guys and every lap I seemed to get faster and faster as I shed some traveling fatigue. Just as I was about to get the turbo’s warmed up they pulled me...apparently I just missed the 80 % time cut by less than a minute.

Quote of the day: (Sauser just blew 3 spokes in his wheel and rolled into the pits looking for his staff...this is all in a girlie swiss voice btw)

Susi - “Wher ar you?”
Mechnaic - “SUSI!! Wer ova heera!!!”

You’ll have to ask about it ok.

From There we ate pizza and sat in hot tubes. The next morning we drove to Manchester, caught a flight to Buussles and then drove the rest of the way to Houfilize.

Part Two coming to Wildcat Productions shortly...

CC

Holy Volcano Gang!

2010-04-26T09:33:00.002-06:00

Short update from the Edmonton International as I dodge volcanic ash and start a milk run journey to my European World Cup debut...

Post Guatemalan fun times I landed at (as Evan Guthrie would put it) the Kelowna International Airport with Super National Team Bike Coach Dan Proulx. Evan and Shark Attack thankfully picked me up and we threw downed some IHop satisfaction. About an hour after I got the wood stove burning at the Delefs Orchard Cabin in Summerland came a wicked bout of Guatemalan Revenge. I caught a bug and was pretty down and out as I spent time between the bathroom and my bed for 2 days. Before heading back to Edmonton I made sure to put in one last bike effort and pounded up the infamous Giants Head climb at wicked intensity...I think I saw Scooby Doo riding a unicorn at the top.

Back in Edmonton I saw the Doc and got some anti-biotic’s to clear my washing machine-esq. stomach (after one pill it cleared up 95%). Went to the greatest bike shop I know (Revolution Cycle) and built up my new Cannondale Flash. Ripped it for two hours in the river valley and decided it is officially the best hardtail in existence...too bad the medium frame ended up being quite a bit longer than ideal. This worked greatly in Kyle Anderson’s favor as he took ownership of the Medium Flash and I will await a small in the coming weeks. Also Revolution Cycle has a new bike fitting area using the Specialized BG fit system which is really kool. Check it out as a proper fit is crucial to bike riding fun.

The Hardcore Spring Series race took place in T-Park this past Sunday. It was a good event as I sorted out some mechanical issues and got my interval session done in a fun environment. Pedalhead’s new Oilers edition kit is fabulous btw and I couldn’t think of a better model for the debut than Hot Sauce himself.

As many of you know a volcano got angry and the majority of Europe is in a cloud of earth dust. As airplanes kryptonite is ash i’m pretty much screwed out of a flight to London until May 2 (the day of the second World Cup) because of wait lines and the fact they didn’t cancel my flight until 2.5 hours prior to lift off. Not wanting to miss out on good times im taking matters into my own hands and taking the only flight currently going to Europe...Rome. From there Scott Kelly and myself are going to hopefully make our way northward. Powering our journey will be maple syrup bribes and a friendly Canadian smile. Euro trip...engage!

CC McSketchy Travel Plan

The Pan American Extravaganza!

2010-04-12T23:07:00.001-06:00

Dear Gang,

First I am going to give you the good news. The Pan American Championships were fun times all round. On the not so stellar news side...to quote Adam Craig. I ride bikes like a small child. I will now preview the rest of the post in 5 words/phrases. Mullet, face auger, snakes, qu’est-ce fuck pamplemousse, Columbian street brawl.

Day One:

Met the team in Toronto for a group flight to the apparently unsafe country of Guatemala. Used a wheelchair as a bike trolly as I was too cheap to pay $3 for a real cart (sorry old or disabled person). Uneventfully air-bused to Guatemala City. Found out that everyone lost at least one piece of baggage (propably just busy looting our valuables). Used some CCA bribe $ to get our stuff late that night. We stayed at a surprisingly plush hotel despite the questionably sketchy surrounding city. Roomed with Rapha Gagne and Juice Boy (Zach Hughes). Built some bikage and worked on my sleepage.

Day Two:

One of the transport busses ran out of gas on the 40 min drive from our hotel to the race course so we had to cram 50 people into a 25 seat bus central american style. Practiced sweating for 3 pre-ride laps around a pretty fun little loop. I would say its a combo between some euro course, Hardwood Hills and Fernie...plus snakes. Noticed the altitude BIG TIME as I was breathing like the big bad wolf in the granny ring. Filmed a pre-ride lap around the course capturing a dirty little crash by Mr. Gagne. Watched two episodes of 90210 and got inspired by the character Steve (Ian Zering) to change my hair style.

Day Three:

This was a chill day filled with time by the pool, jelly beans and a recovery ride around Guat City. On said ride we danced with a man called death and shredded the gnar on a 5 min quiet loop. Questioned the random flaming garbage in the street gutters. Went for a two hour team grocery run as we got lost and nearly run over multiple times along the way. Assigned Reb as my food basket caddy and loaded up on safe food and jelly beans. Found out Scott Kelly does double duty between team mechanic and dull scissors hair stylist and got myself a slick new doo. Had a nice scrap with Rapha over the lumpy pillow which ended up with mattress throwing...no one cried btw.

Day Four:

Back to the race course to tune up the skillz for another lap or two. This time we played it safe with a Team Canada only short bus. Road one lap chill and one lap kinda fast to get the body ready to fill the pain box come Sunday. Waited two hours for our short bus to take us back to the hotel and hitch hiked around the venue looking for the driver. Bought a red Guatemala cap to match the early 90’s inspired style i’ve been sporting. Implemented some makeshift French phrases such as “qu’est-ce fuck! Pamplemousse! Out of boredom. Destroyed the deep fried beef jerky pre race meal we were provided. Got all pumped up on coffee and Kid Cudi beats in plush chairs on the patio and then called er a day.

Race Day!!!

Warmed up on a cobbled climb and pump track decent. Almost fought a Guatemalan for hitting me with his bike while racing through the crowd to the start line with bike overhead. After an incredibly huge false start I tried to keep the start pace controlled but somehow still overdid it. I struggled to ride the pace of small children while fading backwards through the field for two laps. Started to recover a bit in the third and fourth lap but I was still riding in slow motion around 20th place. Somehow found the turbo’s on the 5th lap passing 8 riders and big ringing most of the lap at minimum intensity to finish 12th. Need to figure out how to bring the turbo’s to the start line one of these days...

Start line conversation of the week:

US Mechanic: “who’s that short Canadian guy?”
Canada: “O, thats Watson”
US Mechanic: “Why is he on the front row”
Canada: “Cuz he’s fast!”

Needless to say Watson once again underdoged the front of the race. Max took a controversial 3rd place on the podium after himself and a Columbian got tangled in the final corners. The Columbian team was trying to start something after the race as Max took the final spot on the Podium. I was assigned Max’s official backup because of my large biceps. Juice Man plowed himself face first onto a cobbled road and fully knocked himself out on the final lap. He is concussed but his pretty face is still mostly intact. Fudge also had really good result placing 2nd in the U23 women's race.

No noteworthy post race shenanigans to report as im typing this periodically on my travels northward. Next up is a quick stop in Kelowna and a long drive with Shark Attack back to Champion City. Awaiting will be a brand spanking new Cannondale Flash and some sick training rides before my European World Cup debut. Until next time Gang, float like a manatee and sting like a pufferfish :)

xoxo

CC

I need to learn how to use a camera but I am somewhere in the photo below if you play a little where's Waldo

2010-04-06T12:16:00.003-06:00

Gang,

My Web Tales neglect has passed even my grossly limited expectations and for this I feel deep regret. The Sunshine Shamfest is now in the vault for another winter as spring has sprung and I am now back above the 49th. This post comes with its own satisfaction guarantee so I urge you to follow the rhythm, follow the flow, blog post blog post here we go...

Post National Team Slugfest I spent most of my time conquering the game of Mario Cart Wii. The second largest portion of my time (minus sleep) was spent on mountain bike exploration. I got back to my roots and spent some quality time with the good ol’ Vertex on cactus packed singletrack. Post ride has been spent surfing the internet for info and applying exercises to try and correct my hip imbalance. This problem has kept me from doing ridiculously awesome bike miles the past month. On a positive note I now have ripped abs from all the exercises...but I still pedal crooked.

My first ever mustache has been sported for the better part of the last month but was deemed unproductive at both bike speed and chick magnetism. The season debut was made this past weekend in Fontucky USA as myself and Shark Attack made the journey westward. Awaiting my arrival was Skelly (team wrench), Coach Proulx, S-Track Attack L’esperance, E Guthrie and personal masseuse Zach Hughes.

Fontucky Cross Country:

Start posish was based on UCI points and I ended up being called somewhat near the front surprisingly. I found myself ice cream sandwiched between Barry Wicks and Jeremiah Bishop with some 60+ racers behind me. Practicing for my World Cup debut I started fast trying to get ahead of the guaranteed bottleneck on the first singletrack climb. Mission accomplished as I rolled comfortably over the climb and half way around the track with the front group still within sight. As payment for this effort I exploded catastrophically. I found myself in the scene of Tallidaga Nights when Ricky Bobby first gets back on the track after his horrific crash and he is racing around the track at 20km/h while everyone else is flying by him. Other racers were doubling and even tripling my speed as I threw anchor (a large one) at maximum effort trying to recover from my rookie move. I did manage to recover slightly for a while but I felt like I was riding in slow motion for most of the race.

S-Track Fontucky:

15 min plus a lap. Started in the very back of this one as call ups were based on short track results (never done one in my life). Started relaxed and conservative trying not to feel the hurt like the previous day. I was rolling in a group from 15th-25th for most of the race until the last two laps where I lost some ground over the climb and then augured myself into the dust pit decent where I got passed by everyone not yet pulled.

Fontana US Cup = Success...Lessons learned and race fitness gained.

Made the drive from LA to Summerland, BC in 2 days. Saw a semi truck’s engine on fire on a massive mountain climb...literal flames pouring out of the engine. Home base in Summerland is a cabin in the middle of an orchard heated by a wood stove. Quite siked about working some axe magic for the next few days. Spent Easter with my sister whom is going to school in Kelowna now. I just put the finishing touches on my preparation for the Pan Am Championships. Notably with a 160km slugfest through the rain and snow with a couple juniors out of Calgary. Stayed the night before my flight at the Guthrie’s house so I could catch a ride to the airport in the morning. Evan made some tubular pancakes and coffee. Thanks for the ride Evan! Now its time to shake some fatigue and use a slightly smaller anchor this time around in Guatemala.

CC

Cactus Tales

2010-02-23T23:37:00.005-07:00

Hello Gang-a-lang,

As the buttons on my keyboard are being pressed to the smooth rhythm of the Discovery soundtrack I bring you yet another peek into the life of an overworked boy who gets his kicks out of riding pedal bikes fast. The sleep bug is creeping into my thoughts after an epic 140km ride over gravel mountain passes so excuse my lack of creativity and pizzaz. National Team Camp has come to an end and a cycling legend has become a friend. Read on and i’ll take you on a journey...

For my stay in Tucson I am renting a room off a Lady named Val. Val is a boisterous, outgoing lady who grew up in New York but holds onto her Italian roots tightly. She has a narcoleptic/hunger prone son named Dylan. Together they are a family..haha. Dylan has a tendency to fall asleep on the floor or in the middle of doing tasks and it is for the most part a humorous event. No disrespect, he is a good kid. Also staying at The Palace of Greatness is a weenier dog named Lilo and two fellow Albertan cyclists. One Spencer Smithman (aka Papa Smurf) and the lesser half of the do-whop group Pony Patrol (or was is S Club Kelly?) the one and only, Kelly Hall.

For the first week or so i’ve divided my time between training rides with Papa Smurf and raving about the most glorious grocery store in existence. The Sunflower Market. The place has every fruit and vegetable known to man at ridiculous prices as well as an unreal bulk bin section. Deluxe meals are being concocted nightly and I am loving every bit of my Avocado a day diet. The giant box of Schwalbe tires has arrived and I am super stoked to be rolling on the best rubber available this season.

Tucson week two and three was consumed by the inaugural Canadian National Team Camp. This 9 day event brought together the countries top mountain bikers and U23 roadies. It was VERY kool to be able to ride with and learn from some of the best riders in the world (Max Plaxton and Geoff Kabush). The camp included 4 hour daily endurance training sessions followed by IST (integrated support team) sessions where we went over all kinds of top secret go fast techniques and strategies. Needless to say, I learnt a lot and had a TON of fun.

The National Team rides included the best single track Tucson has to offer as well as some solid tempo/threshold sessions up the infamous Mt Lemmon. Post training activities included hot tubs, Chipotle burrito’s and the meeting of the legendary Grey Wolf. Grey Wolf is a man who is banned from all group rides and refuses to conform. He still shows up to the weekly Saturday morning shootout where he acts on his motto “Attack the Pack...then duck in”. This man is a danger to himself and everyone remotely close to him as he attacks into on-coming traffic and gets just far enough up the road to get out of sight and then he “ducks in” behind the nearest cactus. He claims to have never been caught. Grey Wolf rolls with fully custom homemade clothing, a unility belt complete with Oreo cookies, milk jugs and a cassette tape player and of corse a do-rag instead of a helmet. Attached is a Grey Wolf interview.

Also making headlines is the confirmation that I will be competing in the Pam American MTB Championships on April 10 in Guatemala with the Canadian National Team. I am sure this will be a really kool experience.

Keep on keepin on!

CC

Grey Wolf Interview Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX4bjOTsarA&feature=related

The Lost Post

2010-02-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

Yoyo Gang!

This is CC Awesome Possum reporting from Chrysler Intrepid headquarters migrating at mach 130 down an icy black tarmac on my way to cactus paradise. Captaining the Intrepid (aka shark attack) and spitting out to some “Money Maker” by Ludacris is fellow migrator Kelly Hall. Together we make up a special do-wap group called Pony Patrol or S Club Kelly, were not sure yet.

Unfortunately 2010 has handed me an injury card and i’ve been rigorously combating the problem areas. I came out of the last physeo appointment with Trent confident that the routine we constructed would be able to keep my back issues at bay. The winter migration is officially rolling in a southern direction and I am extremely happy the season is almost here. We are planning on landing in Tucson, Arizona where the sun shines and the riding is plentiful. The drive is an estimated 31 hours and we will without a doubt conquer this in one shot. Out for now.

CC Tired Boy reporting for the second time somewhere near the outer limits of Salt Lake City. We are playing a game of ‘who can spot the first waffle joint’ for our first stop lasting longer than it takes to fill the tank with gas (which is crazy cheep as soon as you cross the border BTW). The border crossing into America was an uneventful one as Kelly was driving and the border patrol expected nothing as Shark Attack struggled to find the proper window. O YEA! I spy, with my little eye, an I HOP! Later for now.

We have arrived! So CC pulled through and conquered most of the second half of the drive. Seeing the Hoover Dam and all the road construction surrounding it was by far the koolest part of our journey. Speeding 20 miles per hour over the speed limit passed a pulled over cop with its lights turned off was a close call. Especially when seeing the guy behind me getting pulled over haha. Not much to report other than I am about to sleep for a long while.

Take er easy until next time friends,

CC

WAZOOT!!

2010-01-14T00:45:00.002-07:00

Hello Gang!!!

This post is being brought to you via a Ford f150 4x4 somewhere along the Saskatchewan/Manitoba border. We’ve got a 99 Red Balloons Remix pumping as pigs are being chased across the snowy countryside. Beside me, keeping the nutritional end of things healthy is a 1kg bag of raw vegetables. Balancing it out is an equally large bag of custom trail mix containing 50% chocolate. If anyone out there can outdo my trail mix, I salute them.

Sadly this will be my last stint as a full time pipeliner for at least the next 8 months. As one job or period ends, another begins. Starting February 1 will be the second annual Tucson Death Camp for the Benefit of Aerobic Endurance or TDC-BAE. A short TDC-BAE summery could include:
- ride until you drop for 3 weeks
ride slightly slower and shorter for a few days
ride until you drop for 2 more weeks
10 day National Team training camp
Walla! 2010 base training complete.

Stop! Take it back! Aka rewind back to the holiday season. My post Costa Rican state resembled that of a sloth. Basically, I went into a 6 day coma. A typical day consisted of sleeping 12-14 hours a night, playing at least 6 hours of COD, catching up on missed butter tart consumption and trying not to move. Finally the decision was made that a sloths life is not the life for me and I started joining in on some outdoor stick and puck. Each match was followed by my body falling back into a 24 hour coma. As im finding out the recovery process is a long one after shattering your body’s will to live.

Recent days have brought some much needed time on the skate skies. In my opinion skate skiing is ridiculously fantastic off season training for a cyclist. It works pretty much every muscle in your body with a lot of core and endurance focus. On the business end i’ve been busy trying to get my equipment and race scheduling ducks lined up. New shoes are on the menu as my current kicks are 3 full seasons broken in. The road bike has been fully decked out and re-tuned by expert bike ninja Lang. Thanks a lot!! Tires for the 2010 MTB and road season will be provided by Schwalbe which Im super duper stoked about. Best tires on the market in my opinion. A basic race schedule has carefully been crafted and the previous seasons training is being put under a magna fine glass by super bike coach Corey Torgness. Things are slowly coming together :)

Keepin shit legit!

CC

Rica Part 3,

2010-01-01T17:29:00.001-07:00

My fello Chumps and Chumpettes!

This section of the update is being created at 32,000 feet while being distracted by crying babies and the hope of one day making it home. Flights have again been canceled, delayed and missed due to American pussies scared of slush. My Costa Rican adventure has sadly come to an end but on the bright side this is only the first of many planned bike trips of the 2010 season. The fitness is again back to a respectable level and the last two weeks have been a great success. If your bored or daring enough please read on...

Stage 9 was the only flat stage of the race. A 98km circuit race around the surfing resort town of Jaco and officially the most fun day of the trip. Our team decided this was our last real chance to shake n‘ bake and we would lay it on the line today. With Vincent aka Twenty Hundred, Charles Tibo, C-Hippy and myself left in the race we were BY FAR the fattest team in Costa Rica and flat terrain was our only chance at success. The gun went off and Twenty Hundred and Tibo pretty much followed or initiated every move for the first half of the race. With 4 laps to go I took a dig to try and bridge a 2 min gap to a 3 man group that we missed getting a guy into. I got about 300m off and then hit an imaginary lack of fitness wall and eventually got sucked back into the pack. No more than 30 seconds later C-Hippy launched off the front and successfully bridged the gap to the leaders. Unfortunately mountain biker tactics left The Hippy aka the strongest rider in the break with nothing left for the sprint as he tried multiple times to get away in the last 3 km. Myself and Tibo abandoned our tail gunning duties temporarily to be at the front for the sprint in case the break was brought back at the finish. Afterward we ate dinner at some beach resort and went swimming in the surf. Super times were had. On the drive back to the hotel we stopped beside a river to play with some Crocodileo. C-Wally and a Guatemalan got pretty adventurous poking the little crocs with a stick.

Stage 10 was a real doozie with a 65km long climb gaining 9000 feet over a 130km stage. Essentially we started on the hill and then descended to the finish line. Being completely sick of the provided diet i’ve ventured yonder in search of varied nutrition the past few days. Not really thinking much about it i’d been eating pretty much exclusively fruit and vegetables. The whistle blew for a 10km neutral ride out of the city and on 3 occasions I was already off the back. O dear! The legs are officially the worst ever. Survival mode (aka Operation Gortex) seemed like the best option and I started loading up on food, water and just went my own easy pace in an attempt to make the time cut. I was the second last rider over the climb as I soft pedaled at maximum effort the whole way. Then I did a nice tuck for the 45km switchback decent where I caught and passed 5 other riders to finish and make the 18% time cut for the day.

Stage 11 was a 30km flatish individual time trial. Pedaled a steady pace and tried not to use too much energy. Took a 2 hour nap and ate nearly 10,000 calories. The calories included 2 Mcdonalds cheeseburgers, ice cream, 2 beer, 5 sandwiches, 4 bowls of cereal, 2 heaping salads, a bunch of fruit, Dorito chips, a bowl of mashed potato’s, roast beef, peanut butter and banana toast and probably more but I forget.

Stage 12 was the final stage and for our team it was the Stanley Cup Finals. Every man for themselves and first across the line takes home the ultimate prize...bragging rights. This stage was exactly the same as stage 10 but run the opposite direction. With the traditional lack of warmup I was off the back from the gun. About 2 minutes into the 45km, 9000 foot elevation gain climb something funny happened. My legs started to suck less than they have in a very long time. Downshifting 3 gears and standing on the pedals I still felt easy and relaxed. Within 10 minutes I caught the second group on the road consisting of about 8 riders. At first I just rolled on past them but they started to yell at me and call me “mucho loco” so I figured I would just chill for a bit and wheel suck the Pizza Hut train for a while. Eventually the group swelled to about 15 riders with some of us joking and having a good time and others suffering just to hang on. It was a really nice feeling to be near the front of the race while still feeling very comfortable. In the end C-Hippy and myself rolled in 19 minutes after the leaders in a group placing 15-30. During the last 10km of the race the road was lined solid with people cheering us on and at the finish there were literally thousands of people to welcome and congratulate us. It felt almost like a stage of the tour with all the people, helicopters, camera’s, media and the whole deal.

In the end the Vuelta a Costa Rica was a really cool experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I’ve met a ton of really cool people, learned a bit of spanish and experienced the biggest cycling event to date. The organization did a surprisingly good job providing us with everything we needed to get the job done. A big thank you goes out to Marc Dufor (team manager) and Jean Michelle aka J-Mike (manager/rider) for all the work put into making the trip happen.

So until next time gang, keep fit and have fun!!

Wildcat

Rica Part 2,

2009-12-31T08:56:00.002-07:00

Ohhh Babycakes!

This puppy is being generated via the Ambassador hotel lobby. We’ve got DJ Vellieux doing a sing along to the classic “Uptown Girl” and some Dutch peeps throat talking to each other as per usual. The sun has set and the boys all got there recovery nylon’s on. Its almost time for bed here but first, I bring you a short update.

Stage 4 was the longest of the Tour at 190km and is considered a flat stage with only one major climb and a few short steep pitches. As always we start off fast with a flurry of early attacks but things mostly stay together until the only KOM at the 100km mark where all hell breaks loose and packs of 5 guys scatter the route. Myself, J-Mike and C-Wally start crushing souls and together we bridge group to group back up to the leaders. Up next was mass chaos. Imagine cruising downhill at 70-80km/h dodging 1 meter diameter, 30cm deep potholes. They were everywhere and they were deadly with guys crashing, flatting and splitting bikes all over the place. This section alone took out 3 Guatemalans! Most guys who flatted or got dropped motor paced the team cars back to the peloton in the next 40km of flat crosswinds to the finish.

Stage 5 at 140km with no major obstacles looked to be the easiest of the Vuelta but in reality it was defiantly one of the hardest. The stage started with some crazy sketchy loops around the city of Liberia which included 1/2 lane roads in corners with oncoming traffic. J-Mike ended his tour in the intermediate points jersey on one of the corners going down and never having a chance to catch the flying peloton again. The circuit rolled full boar onto the Pan American highway and into massive crosswinds. In short the peloton was guttered and shattered for the next 2 hours. Then pummeled by about 20 vertical wall climbs averaging 50km/h and ending with a 3km 20% climb to the finish.

The 140km Stage 6 was our first official day in the mountains and my first day wheel sucking the Dutch. The main obstacle was a 12km steep climb near the beginning of the stage. I don’t remember much other than it hurt and I followed the big lanky Dutch groupetto all day. At this point the provided rice and beans three times a day diet was turning to the dark side and supplemental nutrition was a must. The tiny Columbian team jumped, pinned and shaved the head of our 300lb bus driver Spencer as a joke. Tap water was deemed mostly drinkable and our nice white Tour de Quebec kits now resembled the brown polka dot jersey. The french of our team gave up trying to remember Marvin Guzamins name and instead call him Garmin Slipstream Transitions presented by Chipotle for some french reason.

Stage 7 aka the hardest day of the race was a true mountain nightmare. 80% of the stage was uphill as we started at sea level and finished at 1500m. Again being 10lbs too fat I wheel sucked Team Amsterdam for much of the stage and suffered like no other to finish somewhere in the first groupetto. Mini banana’s and Oreo’s courtesy of the Pizza Hut truck fueled the days events as well as watching a Guatemalan eat it while trying to take a leak on the go over speed bumps. By now the legs are starting to seize up nicely as it takes at least 2 minutes of hard riding before any power is able to be generated. I am also developing a spot of tendentious on the back of my left knee which makes racing up hill all day feel a little like listening to the song Fergilicious on repeat for 5 hours straight.

Stage 8 brought a 13km uphill time trial from the town of Catigo up the side of a volcano literally finishing in the clouds. Gradients in the switchbacks topped 25% as team cars were having to be pushed by spectators up the steepest sections. My legs simply did not work on this day and I lost 8 minutes to the winner with a time of 41 minutes. Seeing as both myself and C-Wally are mountain bikers we had a inside bet with ourselves going that if we didn’t win the stage hair cuts were on the agenda come rest day.

Rest day. The Hippy picked a sharp classic style from the local Mens Style hair magazine. I ended up translating in broken spanish and hand signals that I wanted a mohawk and a mullet. With our spiffy new dews taking a surprising 3 hours to complete darkness had taken over and we were going to have to navigate a 30 minute ride through San Jose in the dark. In short it nearly ended in Christmas Eve death but it was a good time. Mucho Sleepio was the main activity of the day.

Happy Christmas,

CC Mc Sunburn

Rica Part 1,

2009-12-30T15:39:00.002-07:00

Hello Gang!

Im sitting here in the back of our beat down but beloved Toyota Yaris rental car on the way to stage 9, a 98km circuit race around the costal city Jaco. Taking the driving challenge today is the Cycling News reporter/ Team Tour de Quebec all round helper Charles Brassard. The Shotgun winner of the day Cory Wallace aka Hippie Hempseed is keepin things chill on the ipod with a Boston song “more than a feeling”. Its Christmas day and my first one spent abroad. This post is part one of however I end up splitting my thoughts into blog form.

Stage 1 was a team time trial held on the edge of San Jose and a 15 min ride from our home base hotel. It looked like a decently flat course on the races technical guide which we soon discover is a chronic lier and makes every stage look much more flat than the true route. Our pasty white team rolls the 10.6 km course decently well for a 8th place finish. At the finish were met by some local fans who are looking for autographs, pictures and souvenirs which is a completely new and kind of cool experience.

Stage 2 was the first road stage and started off with a 5km climb followed by a 25 km long twisty decent through a rainforest. I quickly learn its much safer at the front of the pack than anywhere else due to the many obstacles and the fact that no one points anything out. At one point I accidentally rolled off the front with a Pizza Hut dude for a few minutes haha. Most of the rest of the stage was vertical walls for climbs and for some reason the Tico’s would hit there brakes at the bottom and then do a 30 second max effort over the top for the remainder of the stage. This is a very bad style of racing for someone who hasn’t ridden above 160 Hr in 2 months. O and the temperature is 30 degrees with a million % humidity. After 30 min of this the legs started pedaling squares and I was off the back with about 15 other guys and 40km remaining. Eventually Im even dropped by the groupetto as the heat and lack of training is affecting me big time. Rolling in solo after 155km and completely spent im starting to think racing 10lbs too fat over mountains was a bad choice.

The Stage 3 course profile resembles a saw blade and it cut me deep. 130km of 500m vertical walls finishing with a 12km climb again in 30 something degree heat. I somehow manage to keep my aching carcass in contact with the main pack until the 35km to go mark where I popped huge on the races first KOM climb. From there it was damage control to the max to try and make time cut. Somehow I start to roll some somewhat decent gears and finish only 12 min back passing 10-15 guys before the finish. The bad news of the day was one of my team mates Arnaud Butterfly got hit by a motorcycle going back to the team car for water and broke his collarbone...not good at all!!!

Along with some of my teammates and my new friends the Columbians im learning and implementing all legal stage race recovery methods available. One of the most important being the daily massage by Columbian massage guru Raphael who works with some of the top riders in South America and the best team in the race. Being probably the least trained rider here I need all the help I can get. Im told this is the fastest edition of the Vuelta to date and that its one of the fastest races of the season in South and Central America. The level of competition here is by far the highest i’ve ever done as every hill turns into a max effort just to stay in partial contact with the tail end of the peloton.

Sincerely,

CC aka Casper Mc White

Oh Wow! You've gotta be kidding me.

2009-12-15T14:28:00.003-07:00

Oh hey there gang!

So I last left off with some preparation before my adventurous bike trip. Next on the preparation schedule was to make an appearance at the first annual Trade and Booze, which silently turned into a just booze. Seemed like good times were had by all. Then the next evening it was the Revo Christmas Party. Any sort of Revo event is something to be a part of as there isn’t a more diverse or entertaining crowd in existence. The evening’s events took place in an abandoned pool club which left us plenty of space to fun activities. Up first was the open bar and wicked good eats provided and prepared in house by our own Al Aronik. Next it was a 2x Hotrock (kids bike) bmx/rumble in the jungle style bike race. It involved 2 laps around some random obstacles with a stair drop, wooden gap jump and a quarter pipe turn around all built by Travis himself. The rules were no rules and there were many drunken shenanigans. We used a heat elimination system (not an air conditioner) for some Troy Lee prizes. In the final round it came down to myself and Jeff (probably because the bikes fit us the best) and he won because he’s dirty. Then it was a Secret Santa and the best one i’ve ever been a part of. Rules were under $10 and bought on the infamous Stony Plain Road. Prizes included a 30 year old pogo stick, a 70’s style full TV dinner set, a chair with skies attached, a pack of Bacon, a 1980’s school desk in mint condish and oh so much more. The preparation continues with a trip to Costco for some bulk quantity ride food and some secret heat training intervals prescribed by R2H himself. After my last container of Butter Tarts were eaten I was ready to hit the road.

So here is where the shat starts to hit the fan (this site is rated PG13 BTW). So im checking in at the Champion City International and im told my flight to Minneapolis was canceled because they were not able to land planes the evening before. Apparently it was -52 at the airport the night before and Boeing says planes don’t land proper in those temps. Ummm ok so about 20 min later I was able to get on with a different airline and change all my connections to be able to catch my main flight from Atlanta-San Jose, CR at 6:45 that evening. So after almost missing 2 connections and guaranteeing myself I wouldn’t see my bags in the end I made it to Atlanta with time to spare. We boarded the plain and then proceeded to wait another hour on the plain for the airline to find out bags or something (its raining like a MF BTW). After a real sketchy landing and not knowing if anyone felt like waiting an extra hour to pick me up I immigrated Costa Rica, luggage in tow. BONUS! Waited outside while being tormented by cabbies for 30 min and then decided that no one was coming for me. Luckily I had Cory Wally’s 8 digit sketch tele number but with no cell coverage I set out to make a local friend that would lend me there phone. Eventually I got ahold of Cory and eventually he was able to tell me the name of the hotel the team was staying at. Found a cab and navigated through an episode of Costa Rica’s Worst Drivers to The Ambassador Hotel. Paid the man what I now know is a normally 2 days pay and was extremely relieved to be done traveling. Randomly found the room numbers of my teammates and settled into a hostile quality room (not too shabby). I found out that the race organization said they would pick me up but I guess they forgot to pick everyone up last night (a good sign of things to come). My roommate for now is Marc Dufour our team manager/maybe rider for the race. Oh and when I opened my clothing bag up in the hotel everything was soaked. And not just a little wet or damp but ring it out and fill a glass soaked. All my vitamins and sun screen also spilled so that was a lovely gooey surprise.

Costa Day 1:

Day before the race. They are supplying all the teams with 3 meals a day at the hotel which is super handy and its actually not bad food. Built my sweet new ride. Got the Tour de Quebec clothing. Went for a easy team spin around the city and to the local bike shop. We are at the base of an active Volcano and i’ve never seen so much change in elevation in my life. Its SO pretty here and the roads are nicely paved, narrow, twisty and HILLY. SO great for road riding. The bike shop we went to was awesome. They had $9000 XX equipped carbon MTB’s and high end everything everywhere. I have never seen a shop with so much selection of high end product in stock. A bonus is that with the exchange the price of most stuff is what cost would be in Canada. Kinda weird. The people here are so nice and friendly. Whats cool is all the locals know of and are excited for this race. Its there biggest bike race of the year and it seems like a big deal. So Im pretty excited to see what tomorrow brings. 10km Team Time Trial to kick start the legs.

Later Gator’s

CC

First Post Yall

2009-12-10T19:52:00.004-07:00

Hello Gang!

Well here is attempt number two at the blogging world. I will try my best to get a post up Farley regularly depending on exciting events and motivation. Here is a quick abbreviated update of the last few months to get the 1 or 2 people who will read this up to date.

This past fall i've been working for the Pa along the pipeline in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It involves long days and a lot of driving. But on the plus side my bank account is finally happy again. I only managed a few cyclocross races this fall as my main goal was to work and rest from a long hard road and MTB season. The 2010 training season started for me on the first of November which is by far the earliest ever. I've signed myself up for a 12 day road stage race in Costa Rica which runs from December 16-28. It should be a really cool experience and some great training. Christmas is my favorite time of year and im sad about missing it but im told we will have a family christmas when I get home.

Present - Its the 10th of December and im now done working until the new year. Im super excited about my first real bike sponsorship ever. Cannondale Bikes has stepped up and is going to be supplying me with a road and MTB for the 2010 season. Travis from Revolution Cycle pretty much made this happen. So a big thank you to Travis and Cannondale!!! If I was to buy any road bike this year it would have to be the CAAD 9 1 so thats exactly what I received. A 16lb super stiff full dura ace road bike that retails for $3300. A perfect bike for any self funded racer!

I fly to the tropical temps of Costa Rica Monday December 14 and am now riding the rollers every day to somehow reduce the high volume my pain box will soon receive. Im told this is one of the hardest races in the world (course wize) with mountain almost every day and apparently one stage with a 70km long climb. I hit the tanning booth up for the first time ever today. Hopefully it will help prepare my Irish complexion. I tried to get my 3rd Twinrix vaccination today but apparently there is a nationwide shortage. Planning on attending the Trade and Booze Friday and the Revo Christmas party Saturday. Super pumped for both! My french connection Benoit was in town passing on some Specialized knowledge to the Edmonton dealers and he hooked me up with a BG bike fit. Thanks Benoit!

CC aka Wildcat