Oh my! How About a Little Update?

Wow - i can't believe i've neglected my blog this long!!

In general, things have been quite good. The snow has made riding difficult, but i also picked up a Niner RIP9 full suspension 29er mountain bike, which has been a BLAST! It handles well in the snow as well. ;)

My training is starting up for 2009, i've got two basic focuses for the year: sprinting and time trial power. That's it! I plan to improve both...if i'm not training one, i should be training the other. My sprinting is probably one of my biggest strengths, so of course it makes sense to improve on that even more. My biggest weakness appears to be my TT power...i can hold a decent amount of wattage over 5-6mins, but after that, i get diminishing returns...so that needs to change. There's no reason i shouldn't be able to hold that for 30+mins!! (Well, other than not having trained it at all for the last couple years!) So, that's the groundwork for me for 2009 - feel free to comment/discuss this in the comments section. =)

And yes, i'm seriously considering a few cross country mountain bike races for 2009 as well!

I should also include a recap and highlights for the past few months:

TRACK
* tied for 2nd overall (with futurestar Jacob Schwingboth) in the Trackfest Madison series, won a snazzy jersey for that
* won the overall in the GVVA weekly points league

Overall i was pretty happy with my track riding. Unfortunately, the year ended prematurely due to conflicts with the WSPRS as they closed down the track for specious reasons, as they wanted to build a stadium ON TOP of the velodrome (yes, fill it in.) Luckily, it appears they've changed gears, and no longer wish to do this, and it's looking promising that we'll have a track for 2009.

ROAD
* finished 3rd in Cat4 at Bastion Square (didn't trust my legs, waited too long to sprint)
* finished 3rd overall in the A's in the Victoria Cycling League (ha!)

I hardly did much on the road this year, the VCL final was a fluke, i had a few opportunistic events, if it wasn't for some TT's, low attendences on the road, and of course my strength on the track, i wouldn't have factored in at all. The roadies definitely fair better on their terrain, in great part due to the hilly courses, which slaughter me. The rare flat crits are much preferred. ;)

CYCLOCROSS
* Whirly Whirl World Champion ;)
* finished 12th overall Inermediate in the 'Cross on the Rock series after 6 events

It was a fun 'cross season, with the Wed night races, and the excellent series by Norm and Wendy. While my general 'cross skills are pretty solid (cornering, barriers), what kills me in these events is the need for TT power. I can stick with the leaders for the first lap, but of course, i blow up shortly there-after. This will change for 2009, so look out. ;)

Best event for me was the Juan de Fuca 'cross event - unfortunately there were no laps on the velodrome, but there was a nasty-ass run-up that was HUGE, and each lap while i'd catch people on the flats, they'd all pass me on the run-up. Very frustrating....but in the final lap i managed to pace myself just right, and maintained my lead in the run-up, and even made some ground by the finish...i think this is the only event i managed to finish ahead of Roland in!

The final event was also a bit of a success for me, i decided to start off more 'easy', instead of gunning it and trying to stick with the leaders. This worked out well, as i ended up actually racing (instead of on my own) with a small group, and managed to work my way up, passing one fellow (who fought HARD), and got close to another, but couldn't quite close the gap at the end. It was sweet actually duking it out tho. =)

OA VICTORIA
Our club had a *fantastic* year, and here's a highlight of all our amazing members:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pnfzlMjRxwTsEWTpK45rFcg

Too much to highlight, but i'm very proud of all our competing members - you all kick ass!! =)

(Our club is looking for sponsors for 2009, fire me a note if you'd be keen to alighn with the OrganicAthlete Victoria chapter!)


Alright, that's the breakdown for the last few months, i'll try and post a bit more frequently - happy 2009 all! =)