I'm a roadie.  I'm with the Canadian National team to ride the track in L.A., California. No gears, no brakes, no asphalt... except on our recovery rides, for now.

Every morning priority number one is to score hotel java from the lobby, and grab a few oranges for my fridge-stash, and oatmeal bars for snacks at the track.  I whip up a bowl of magic oatmeal, and clear out e-mails that have come in on East Coast time.  The bag gets packed with my collection of gears, chainrings and tools (I've never wrenched so much in my life. Good thing track mechanics are easy...).  Thanks Martin Rooseboom (2524 Hochelaga, Montréal) for lending me what I need.  And I never forget my tube of DZ Nuts Bliss shammy cream anymore.  It's my new favorite.  Especially since the saddle on my loaner track bike and I don't have a great relationship...

Track sessions always start with a 20 minute warm up.  We spin around in a paceline, going progressively faster.  1 lap-to-go always feels like balls-to-the-wall speed.

Hammering out near-maximum efforts for 4km with my teammates, reefing on the pedals to shoot my bike forward from standing-starts, whipping up and down the track walls when we do our exchanges, and holding a tight, straight line down at the base of the track (the pole line) despite those HUGE G-forces as we spin at unheard of (OK, for a road cyclist...) cadences are all things that are going to pay off once I get out on the road to start racing next month.

But the best thing about the track is the consistent environment.  The conditions are reproducible and our efforts are easy to measure.  That means when there's something to fix or improve, we keep giving the same thing a shot, making minor adjustments, until we NAIL IT ON THE HEAD.

End of 2 Weeks at Track Camp with Team Canada

"Okay Lex, now touch the black line.  BLACK line.  BLACK LINE, Lex."  That was my first lap around the track as I rode on the flat apron, the evening that I arrived in LA.  Everyone else had flown in earlier, and were done for they day.  Rob Good (from the Forest City Vélodrome) coached me to ride up high in the bankings, one step at a time.  He's good at that one-step-at-a-time thing.

By day two, I was sitting on the back of the team (rode behind them) doing pursuit efforts.  And day three I was IN there doing the pursuit.  Then, I learned to do a standing start and flying laps.  Day four: heck, why not, my first ever track race: the team pursuit.  (It's a 16-lap or 4 km 4-person team time trial on the track).

Waiting for our start at the Los Angeles Grand Prix UCI track race.  We raced the team pursuit.

By week two I didn't get all panicky every time I started off on the track.  That was a welcome change.  Well earned too.

As the days went on we gradually hit higher and higher speeds for our 16 lap team pursuit.  The coaches tracked our pace on each lap, and I got used to their system of communicating the information with us.  If we were 1/10s slower than our target lap time, they would stand one step in front of the start line as we passed. - PICK IT UP! - If we were 7/10s faster than our target, they would stand 7 paces behind the start line. - STEADY - With 1 lap to go, the bell would ring, and we'd drill it to the finish.
By the end of the project, it felt like we were nailing our pursuit more often than not.  Super feeling. 

I had a great time during this project, and gained some really valuable experience.   Thank you to everyone who helped get me to L.A..  I would like to be back on the track again soon.

The track is for everyone.  You don't even have to consider yourself a cyclist to give it a whirl.  Most places rent bikes and have intro sessions.  Forget going out to a restaurant, the movies, or BOWLING.  Go try the track. 
London, Ontario - Forest City Vélodrome
Burnaby, British Colombia - Burnaby Vélodrome
Los Angeles, California - Velo Sports Center LAVRA

One last day in Montréal

This is what I did on my last day in Montréal, before heading to L.A. with the Canadian National Cycling team to participate in their track program:

- I pulled the best shot of espresso that I had pulled all week.

- I smashed a bottle of fast-drying orange nailpolish on the floor.  With a lot of elbow grease (I guess my elbows are greasier than I thought), I cleaned it up.  The only trace was the stench of solvent lingering in the apartment...

- I brought my track bike to PowerWatts to spin on the rollers.  I wanted to test my set-up that has been tweaked a few times in the past weeks one last time.  (I wanted to make sure the shifting was smooth and the brakes weren't rubbing either...you know?)  Everything : A-ok

- I stopped by Martin Rooseboom's bike shop on Hochelaga, again, to pick up some spare gears.  Martin has helped me a lot this season, and especially with gearing up for the track.  Thanks.

Martin working on my road bike this summer. 

- I packed two bikes in one box, and made my final selection of nailpolish colours to bring to LA.

- I went for a motorcycle ride, and stopped at Crudessence, bought a 1L bottle of RISE kombucha, and drank it cowboy-style, right in the restaurant. Delicious.  Life is good



SEE YOU IN LA!