A Certificate to be Proud of

Thank you to Sarah Connolly and Dan Wright for awarding me with an official certificate to acknowledge my second place in the Unofficial, Unsanctioned Social Media Award.  It just arrived in the mail from England!

The competition was run by Sarah and Dan to recognize ''Outstanding achievement in the fields of social media and women's cycling.''  Many of the 96 supporters who donated to support the competition are listed on the certificate that I'll be proudly hanging in my home base in Québec, Canada.  I just wish I could have captured the glistening blue sheen of the certificate.  There's nothing too ''un-official'' about it.

Thank you Sarah and Dan, and thanks to all of the supporters of the competition, and for everyone who cast their vote.  What a fun experience.

Permission to Accept the Sacrilegious

I used to think pedalling in the small chainring was for weaklings.  I used to think that off-days from cycling or training were restricted to lazy people.  That was back in my earliest days of road cycling.  I also used to think that motorsports were sacrilegoius.  Then, I learned better.

The off-season is in full swing ladies and gentlemen.  I set my Orbea Orca bicycle aside for a day and kitted up to rev up my engine (which for the first time ever was not my own cardio-vascular system) and kick up some dirt.

Riding motocross is useful for bike handling skills, pushing the limits of stability and technique, and gaining confidence in ...wiping out. 

I did wipe out a few times.  It was actually fun.  Part of the challenge was heaving the heavy bike up off of the ground.  Getting back on my feet and the machine back on its wheels was rather satisfying.  As was going faster and faster on the trails, and higher and higher on the bumps that intimidated me the first times around. 

Nothing can replace the thrill of pumping my own pistons to crank the pedals around the bottom bracket pivot of a bicycle to reach crazy speeds on the asphalt, or manouvering through tight single tracks and up and down rocky, rooty pitches.  But, motocross my friends, is a mighty fine compliment to my favorite sport.  Phewf, good thing that I'm not naïve anymore.

The Beginning of the Off-Season.

The World Championships in The Netherlands with the Canadian National Team was my final race for the 2012 season.  What an experience.  Instead of heading straight home to Québec, I spent 10 days in Switzerland, where my Dad lives, with my Orbea Orca bike.  We visited Germany, Austria and Lichstenstein.

Along with some super long rides with nothing on my mind but enjoying the pure sensation of pedaling, I kicked off my off sesaon with some other activities like hiking in the Alps with my father.  The views were spectacular.  Climbing up the mountains for hours was a wicked experience.  I felt like a Care Bear, up in the clouds.Whatever my Care Bear special power was, it sure wasn't Walking-Down-Mountains.  Going downhill for hours took a toll on my knees and hips, I felt like a rickety grandmother.  I don't even have kids, let alone grandkids, sheesh.


I'm back home enjoying the gorgeous roads in Québec, and the occasional training session on my Kinetic Rock N Roll in my living room.  I go out jogging, and have started my strength training program in the gym.  I've been out mountain biking as well, I love playing around in the trails. 

Racing is done for 2012, but prep for 2013 is in full swing.  There's never a real down-time for me in this bike racing deal, the tasks at hand and their priority levels just change.  And I love it.

Ride With Lex on October 6, in Barrie!

I'd like to invite everybody who would like to join me on a ride from Barrie, Ontario to meet in the parking lot of Johnson's Beach on Saturday October 6 (Lex Albrecht's half-birthday, by the way).  The ride will leave at 10am.

Everybody is welcome to come, it won't be a hammerfest: it's the end of the season, easy gears, easy gears!

I'm looking forward to being reaquainted with my old favorite roads, cycling alongside previous riding partners, and meeting new ones.  Barrie Ontario is where I first started riding, and it's always great to go back.

See you there!