School is over! Well at least for the next 4 months anyways. I think I successfully graduated my 2nd of a planned 5 years of mechanical engineering, if I keep going at this rate that is. 4 courses plus riding tricycles was on the limit of manageable all winter. Really toed the line with how little I could focus on school and still make it by.

So now all there is to focus on is riding two-wheelers and throwing Frisbee discs around by the water. I’d say that’s a nice change of pace. Still working the brain with Rosetta stone French, or I will start to eventually this summer. But it’s about to get busy again really soon.

Just raced over in Mansfield, Ontario this past weekend at Chico Racings Ontario Cup series. Mansfield being over in the greater greater Toronto area, or GGTA, is a nice track with lots of short steep climbs and twisting fast single track. The field turned out to be mostly strong under 23 riders, 8 of the top 10, that made for a fast race at 24.5 km/h average. A lot of people out to race in the morning and stayed to watch our race which was awesome! A lot of great support coming from Ontario and hopefully a new generation of young shredders are on the way as a result.

I am now finishing up some of the final preparations before heading to Europe for the first time this year. The plan is to fly into Prague, Czech Republic with the Canadian national team for WC #3. Really excited about that one after watching last year’s live feed, looks like a nice venue and amazing crowd. We are then driving over to La Bresse, France for the next round of the WC series. Then flying back home for two Canada cup events before nationals, and finally the two North American WC’s. The bulk of the season is finally upon us and with Olympic selection so close there is bound to be some good racing in the near future.

Racing at 7,000 ft above sea level is a little interesting. Even if you prepare for the altitude, it’s hard to gauge your effort, making it easy to go too hard too early. It was quite hot out today and I got burned through my sunscreen. The dry conditions were very dusty, on the first descent I could barley even see the rocks there was so much dust.
Lots of rocks riddled the fast descents and the course also featured long gradual climbs. A Specialized 29er with Renegade tires, at a little higher pressure than usual to counter flights, was the set-up of choice. The race start was very fast and I found myself working back up thru the field in the second part of the first lap. Got tacked onto the back of the chase group and was fighting for 2nd and 3rd but faded back on the last lap and finished 4th.
Results (brief)
U23 Men
1. Russel Finsterwald (USA) 1:17:15
2. Diyer Rincon (Col) 0:55
3. Kerry Werner (USA) 1:06
4. Evan McNeely (Can) 1:32

Just a short month ago I was in Texas racing Mellow Johnny's US Cup, thinking about what to change/perfect to prepare for Pan-ams. Well here I am, bike packed with care, ready to jump on another plane to Central America. Now is Central America a real thing? Or is there just North and South America? and where is line drawn as to which country belongs where? Wikipedia's really letting me down here, it's saying all kinds of different things so this might be the ONLY situation where it's not an accurate source of information. Any ways, lets do this thing. For those who might be drawing a blank, Pan-ams are Continental championships.... there were all set.

I've worked pretty hard this past month making sure everything's in order for this race. I've got the most reliable bike and I've worked in all the wheels and tires and pedals and shoes and grips and the list goes on. I would say I'm confident in how I've prepared, so now all I have to do is go pedal the damn thing! A total of 8 Canadian athletes going down, plus the always important, diligent coaches and mechanics whom we couldn't do without. We've already split up coffee duties, I'm in charge of the 12c french press. That's team work right there, right from the gun!

The most important thing you can do before going to a race in "central america" is absolutely, indefinitely expect ANYTHING. We know very little about the accommodation, venue, transportation and all the competition is foreign. Those guys below the US border are damn fast and I think most North Americans cockily go down there thinking otherwise... mainly me last year until this one Costarican guy kicked my arse back to Ottawa, and don't forget the 2 Colombians who rode away off the start! Not this year.

Now just killing time before I kill more time watching Heros season 3. Not the best series I've ever seen but I need questions answered in order to be able to live with myself.

PS, and not just saying this because I ride their bikes or something but, Specialized bib shorts are extremely comfortable! First pair I've ever worn and wow, that's all I have to say. You could buy a pair of these things and easily save $200 in chamois cream over a year, it's like an investment!

Departing on February 26th, exhausted from the week of midterms I had just had, I navigated the all too familiar YOW terminals at 3am. Two bikes packed carefully away with foam into a hockey goalie bag, all fees avoided and alas we were airborne. Leaving the snowy north, which only got snowier over the next two weeks, for the 20 degrees and sunshine of the California west coast.

I was going to be staying with the Ontario Provincial team in Oxnard, CA for the next week. A time to get outside and log some longer hours that simply cannot be replicated in the basement. There was an amazing group down there, everybody was fun to be around which made for a good 6 days of mountain tops, surfing and beach volley ball. I didn’t trying surfing, because the water is damn cold and I’m a wimp, but I did enjoy watching everybody get smashed by the big waves.

After the team went back to Canada, I was left to ride around on my own for the next 4 days, while still staying in the same house with new Trek friends. I still had a good time out on the bike, even though riding on your own for 4 hours isn’t thrilling, getting lost in my imagination in hills around Oxnard. I still prefer riding on my own most of the time, although sitting a coffee shop isn’t the same alone.

For the start of March, it was time to pack my bags for Austin, Texas for the Mellow Johnny’s US Cup. Funny how the only time I didn’t feel like I forgot something, I forgot more than ever before. But still, there was absolutely no room in my bag so good riddance. This was another full day of plane hopping. Lots of delays in San Francisco due to rain, but eventually made to the hotel. I would say it was definitely hotter in Austin than Oxnard, but that’s probably due to the “humid heat” that was there. Texas wasn’t a dessert like I thought.

The race course was very fun to ride, really fast with lots of rocky step-downs and ups and only one or two noticeable climbs. That’s was my first time on a mountain bike this year so I was a little rusty. Got the bike broken in and felt out what it was like to run below 30 psi again.

When it came to race day I felt ready. Not world cup ready, nowhere near that, but confident I knew what I was capable of and what I wanted to achieve. Got lined up second row but somebody missed there pedal in front of me which caused some hold ups. Not the greatest start loop because of that but still in the mix, just outside the top 20 and gaining. There was hardly any room to move up through the field so you had to bid your time and rest until any moment appeared. Late in the first lap I was in a group ripping through this dried river bed. Dinged my rear wheel on a rock and instantly heard the sound you never want hear when riding in a hot air balloon! I was just less than 2 km from the tech zone at that point, but that was a very long 2 km run. Got a fast wheel change and kept going as fast I could. Slowly catching back to guys and having fun riding at my own pace. My lap times came out pretty decent for being on my own the whole time. My spare rear wheel ended up having a slow leak so I had to stop again and fill it up. But oh well, next time will be world cup ready and these things will be avoided. I still felt better than I have ever had this early in the year so things look good moving forward.

Almost all the snow is gone in Ottawa now. The roads are a little wet but it’s manageable. My next race will be in Pueblo Mexico for the Pan-American Continental Championships which take place, shortly after I turn 20, on April 8th.

Winter training has been going as expected. That is long, miserable, but quite well! Riding the trainer watching the same movies or TV shows is mentally exhausting, especially when you’re just about to fly south to a warmer climate. Sometimes I wish I was an American citizen so that I could go to university in the south and avoid all of this entirely. Or maybe it would be nice if Harper invaded the Caribbean instead of protecting the North (As a Canadian I’m actually glad he’s fighting for the North, however half-decent job he’s doing at it)

Putting politics behind me, it has been a long two months up until now and I’m happy to be putting some of this basement scenery behind me.

I am Cali bound this coming weekend to attend a Team Ontario training camp. These are always good people to be around and ride bikes with, a lot of memories from past years. Looks like a week and a half of fun in the sun riding the roads around Oxnard. I spent last year’s reading week in the same place watching the surfers every morning ride some, pretty impressive, big waves followed by a long ride in the mountains around Oxnard. Looking forward to it again next week.

Although I don’t get to ride my mountain bike during this camp, I do have to bring it because I’m flying to Austin, Texas afterwards for the Mellow Johnny’s US Cup. I just a lengthy 3D BG fit on the bike that I’m confident in and I’m excited to get my first race in on the new whip. It is an early start to the season and I’m expecting too much out of the race after a weeklong camp. But it will be a good test to see where everything’s at.

But before I leave I have a 2 labs and a project to hand plus my only midterm this semester, all in the next two days. So I should probably be doing some of that right now.

Stay Classy, the world

First post of ever for the IAmSpecialized.com website.

I’ll start off with a little more about myself. I live in Canada: Ottawa during the school year where I balance training with engineering studies at Carleton University and Kingston during the summer. I’m known as the guy with the skinny hips. My favorite tires are the Specialized Renegades, although I’m looking forward to trying out the newly designed Fast Track. I’m a 29’r guy, but don’t go for the full suspension 29’r because I think that’s just a lot of bike. I like my shifters set up on the outside of my brake levers so that I can actually hold the handle bar when I ride. I brake with my middle fingers, so don’t get offend when I pass by. I also have a weakness for cookies…

So, being from Canada there is obviously a lot of snow to deal with. I’m not fond of the white stuff; I bet 70% of the Canadian population agrees. It’s forced me to get very familiar with the inside of my basement, watching a lot of old cyclocross races off YouTube. I enjoy a good cross country ski and after 3 years I still have very little idea of how you’re supposed to wax them. The fact that professional skiers have team’s specifically on sight for testing the snow and wax combinations amazes me!

Nothing really exciting is going on right now to be honest. My days are composed of waking up, going to school, riding my bike, eating dinner, doing homework, sleeping and repeat. There’s still a ways to go before reading week where I will get to feel warmth again and until that time this process will continue indefinitely.

I’m just sitting here watching the snow come down. Hoping it will stop soon so I can justify not going out to shovel it. This weekend will bring some long rides indoors, intramural ultimate Frisbee and a snowshoe in Gatineau Park.

Until next time