slowdad

My Vitess - The Delivery

What's better than a brand new carbon road bike that weighs in at just 6.8 kg?  A brand new carbon bike that's been fit to me, with components of my choosing, and has my name painted on the side.

This bike has been a long time coming.  I could have replaced my terrible road bike with a less terrible road bike at multiple points over the last 2 or 3 years, but I've been planning out this purchase, and waiting until I could do it right.

Julien, owner of Vitess, has been very patient with me over the years and has always had time to spend with me even when it was clear I wouldn't be a customer for a while.  This personal attention is what I think has kept my interest up over time.  There's a lot of sexy bikes out there but there's a lot less where you're getting help from the guy with the vision.

Initially this is what got me really interested. Here's a guy trying do bring something a bit different to the world of cycling.  Building a different kind of manufacture and build model, and building a brand that is synonymous with a high level of personal attention and lots of configuration options.

Julien isn't trying to sell the most bikes.  He isn't trying to be the cheapest.  He isn't trying to be the the most expensive.  He's delivering both a fantastic bike, and a fantastic experience that, overall, is great value.  Given that that's exactly what I've been trying to do in my own business at Audaxium, it really appeals to me.

Still, the bike itself is nothing short of great just on it's own.  While I've just gotten back out on the road recently after the crash, the rides I have had on the bike, including tonight, have been smile filled the entire way. It handles beautifully. 

And, when I'm not on it, it's beside my desk where I can gaze upon it. I just don't get tired of looking at it. It's the only black and white Vitess you'll find.  And given I had the paint scheme tweaked a bit, in all likely-hood, this bike will remain an original work of art.

I've got a new stem on order, white on black of course, and a new black on black seatpost, both courtesy of 3T. My flexibility is also getting better, and despite what Julien says, the stem will get dropped down, perhaps even to a slammed position. (He writes hopefully)

Soon I'll take some more photos of it when it's fully kitted out with bottle cages etc. And I'll post more when I take it out on it's first long ride.

Running with Kids

 

During the past few years, we've been taking the kids with us as my lovely wife has done her trail running series around Southern Ontario. These are her goal races and they're on the calendar as soon as they're announced.  It's a family obligation that we're out in support and it'll take a very special bike race to get me off the hook from attending.  We've been watching, taking pictures, and enjoying the scenery in the various conservation areas where these are held.

The great thing about these races, put on by 5Peaks, is that they have a kids race just prior to the regular event.  Usually only about 100m or so, sometimes 200m, it's attended by everyone from toddlers to grade-schoolers. They get a bib, and toe the same start line as their parents.  They get some swag at the end of the race which usually ends up getting confiscated after some inappropriate use.

It's always fun to watch.  No matter what, the horn will go off, there'll be a made scramble, many cheers, and 1 kid bursting into tears at the surprise of it all.  They'll get carried by Mom through the course.  She's a runner anyway.

Once the first race was done, our kids have been looking forward to these mini events for quite some time.  Well, mainly.  They never ended up not doing one, but the enthusiasm sometimes waned, especially when it was cold or wet.

At the end of last year, both kids moved up to doing the adult race. We did the last race of the year as a trial to see how they would fare.

The question, at least the obvious one anyway, is, when is the right time to start your kids running?

The answer, in my opinion, is as soon as they can.  People don't simply wake up one day ready.  Running starts on the playground around the swings, during a game of tag, and around the house while screaming.

We often get "interested" comments, when we mention our kids' running exploits.  But they're not the only ones out there, it's just that we've socially conditioned everyone to percieve activity as an abnormal state.

So here are my top 10 tips on running with kids

1 - Start early, regularly, and slowly.  - "Going for a run" sucks.  The first thing you should not be doing is dragging your kids along on your recovery run.  Just make sure they have an opportunity to run around as much as possible.  The worst thing I've heard a parent yell to a kid was "Don't Run" during a sunny day in a grassy field.

2 - Run. - Kids, it appears, look up to their parents.  At the very least they need to see running as a normal thing, even if they don't seem all that interested in wearing lycra.

3 - Make the unknown known.  - The kids don't take kindly to uncharted territory.  If they get familiar with an activity long before doing it, there's less for them to fear.

4 - Expect rejection. - We know our kids love running and racing, but even still, when asked if they want to go for a ride, sign up for a race, or go to track practice, we'll often get a resounding NO!  "I am never riding again!" is a relatively common statement.  Let them be, and ask again later when a better mood strikes, and the situation is a bit different. Nagging won't work. 

5 - The less bribes the better. - Running and racing can be about cookies and ribbons at the finish line, but it's best if that's secondary to the experience. Experience is sustainable and can be remembered by looking at race pictures like the one at the top of this post.

6- Walk. Our kids don't seem to have the ability to really regulate their effort.  They'll run till they are exhausted and it'll be difficult to get them moving again.  Even if you're moving at a snails paice, enforce walk breaks until they figure out how to ease off the throttle.

7 - Mid run melt downs. - They should be expected, and they're not the end of the world but I'm terrible at these.  In our last race, this past weekend, I was running along behind kid #2, looking at flowers, and having a chat with the chatter box.  All of a sudden it was all tears and "This is boring", "I'm never doing an adult race again".  We're at the farthest point from the start, and I'm fearful I'll be labeled BadDad, by everyone who starts to pass us. I get super frustrated, but try and take the pressure off by saying OK, to pretty much everything, and saying "lets go back".  By the time we got to the end he was happy to sprint me to the line saying, "see how short that was dad?"

8 - Last is ok.  Setting expectations that any result is a good result is important.  So is slipping, falling, crashing, and getting wet. But don't wait until after your kid comes last in his first bike race.  Explain that early.  I like showing the kids videos both of people who finish well down the order.  Youtube is full of inspiring videos.

9 - Falling. - Similar to previous, explain about picking oneself back up.  Videos are the best for this.  Everyone likes a come from behind story.

10 - Being competitive. - Fun is first and foremost, but it's ok to try and pass people and gain a few placings.  Nothing will inspire a kid to keep at it, and maybe even go on a "training" run with his Mom, if there's a medal hanging on the wall and the memory of doing his best.

11 - Bonus Tip, Congratulations. - Explain to your kids the importance of helping and congratulating their fellow runners or riders.  A collegial atmosphere, and new friendships are the best things ever.  At the end of his last bike race, kid #1 was dispondent, refusing to talk. He hit a tree and then got spooked by all the older riders lapping him.  As soon as Max, an older kid on the team, came up to talk to him and ask him how it went, his mood changed instantly and he was asking when the next race was.

My Paris to Ancaster, Or, My Team Rocks.

I've got to keep this short as i'm currently one handed, and off to bed.

My wife has kindly bandaged me up and and purchased me a burrito to make me feel better.

So  this was my third year doing P2A and i'd graduated to the top 100.  While still a bit sick I woke up feeling pretty good.

Tom and I warmed up in the rain, and got ready.  everything was going to plan.  It was going to be muddy and hard.

Off we went at the horn, a number of Lapdogs in the first wave.  We went up the road, turned right and flew down the shallow gravel road, mud flying.  I moved past a couple guys. and we turned right again.  The pace was quick but comfortable.  A few guys were being aggressive but no big deal.

I was pumped to see the leaders just ahead.

I think I remember someone swinging left, across my front.  I distinctly remember my front wheel going hard left. I yelled.  And I remember hitting the right side of my head.

I later learned the left side of my helmet took the impact, hard, and cracked at multiple spots.

I heard Tom telling someone to get an ambulance and felt someone holding my head. Voices surrounded me and while I was scared, I knew I was in good hands as everyone was talking like Doctors.

I have no idea how long I was in the mud. But it seemed like a couple minutes.  Apparently 20 elapsed before I got carted away.

It seemed like hours until they got me off the spine board at the hospital.  I guess it was as it was about  12:45 or so I think. That was nerve wracking.

The Damage:

I seemed to hit every part of my body. Both sides of my head, face, both arms, back , both legs, hands, hip and shoulder. It must have been spectacular.  

My neck and brain seem fine but tender, and I've got an AC Seperation I've just Googled.  The usual road rash will heal.  

I really should shave my arms too.  It would have been nice today. Hair sticking everywhere!

The Bike? Shifters both turned in with some serious grind marks and dents. A bent derailleur hanger and, strangely, my rear skewer, non-drive side, has been ground down at least 5mm! Fork and stem are twisted and basically the whole deal needs to be stripped down to look for damage.

Special thanks to Giro for protecting my Melon.  I've not personally seen a helmet look so bad

Biggest thanks go to all the people who stopped to help.  I didn't see any of you but heard about it after. 

5 or 6 people from the Lapdogs gave up their day to make sure I was ok and did a fantastic job.  Adrian from another club also quickly stopped to attend to me.  Thanks to everyone.  I'll thank you all in person as soon as I can.

And next year I'll be pushing to the start of wave 2 to earn my way back into wave 1.

Hell of the North Race Report - Ontario style

Today I did my first Hell of the North, southern Ontario style. A race put on by the RealDealRacing/labicicletta crowd.

Now, I am tired on top of tired. But the bike is clean and the recovery tights on.  After running, of all things, with the kids on Friday, and killing my legs, I'm looking forward to a day off.

The race started at a farmhouse near Uxbridge.  A quick sign-in, no numbers, just coffee, a photocopied map, and a mad panic to get changed and say hello to the usual suspects. A large contingent from Quebec gave it a nice feel.

Going into this I had checked out a quick online map of the route, and it indicated there were two rated climbs, and I knew there was at least one section of mud and some gravel road.  I mentally planned on a long flat day sitting on a wheel.

I should have done a little more recon prior.

The race started with a neutral start, which I thought was a great idea, up a gravel road.  A civilized start.  Then, after the first rise, the horn went and and the watts went up.

I had illusions of getting on the back of the lead group at least initially.  I think if I was warmed up, and better rested, I might have stood a remote chance.  But the lead 30 or so riders slowly opened up the gap while my legs begged for mercy.

I think I was that guy who lost the wheel.

At the end of the first 5 km or so, my pre-race wish was granted and a group of 5 or 6 of us got into a group including a couple guys I've raced with in CX, and a strong female francophone who deserved to be farther ahead.  

We hit the paved road, and got into a great paceline, and because we were all of similar ability, and moved along at a steady rate between 30 and 40 km/hr. Really a good bunch.

We picked up Mr Dermont, who'd been dropped, by the main group and picked up the pace.

The first section came up as a surprise to me and fortunately I was 3rd wheel at the time out of roughly 11.  It was 3km of sandy single track, with a few twists and ruts and some downhill bits where apparently Dermont had a spectacular crash. I hope he's ok.  We went through at just under 30km/hr.

A smaller group formed, of about 7 guys after slowing up a bit and got back into our rhythm, flew through Musslemans lake, and on and on.

First though a short downhill sand and rock section where I gave up braking and just crossed my fingers and let it run.  

Then on to the Marsh.

The marsh bit was about a 2 km section of very wet trail with some large boggy puddles and deep mud.  One gent from LFG - Spidertech?  rode the whole thing.  I did not, but I did get through fast enough to take a pee and jump onto the back of the group which had split up.  We reformed and kept up a good pace, not quite as quick as before.

Riding riding.  Still heading away from the start, me fucking with my brakes as I now had a bit of brake rub that was annoying me.

Through the somewhat undermanned aid station, where I HAD A COKE!  It tasted amazing.  First time in ages but I had zero hesitation in grabbing it.

We then made our way to the "Hell" section, having eaten some extra food and fuel on the advice of Mark M who informed us it would be hard to drink.

We turned up the section, but before doing so, I decided to lose my mind, misinterpret the signs, and crash into another rider and lose ground.  

Nothing broken, and my brand new kit didn't seem to suffer any major damage.

I chased back on, sat in for a while, and made my way up 14 km, yes, 14 km, of loose gravel "rail trail".  It was unrelenting. It went on and on.

In the last 3-4 km or so, the terrain switched to dirt, sand and rock, and I moved up a bit.

And then there were 3 or 4.

It gets a bit fuzzy at this point.  There was still 40km to go, heading back to the finish.  There were a lot of hills.  34-27 kind of hills.  

We stuck together for quite some time, picked up a rider, making us 5, and were closing in on another, when we followed him through an intersection.  I had lost the wheel, but I was pretty sure we should have turned.  I yelled, chased and yelled and we turned back and checked the sign.  Yup, I as right.  

We yelled but the rider ahead didn't hear and kept riding. I'm guessing he made it back.

We picked up a rider we dropped, who had made the proper turn, now about 25km left, 5 of us rolling through, keeping it easy on the climbs.

At around 20 to go or so, Mr LFG kept the pace high up a hill, and I stayed on his wheel.  We could see what was probably Mr Moote far ahead, and we rode together up a few hills until the elastic snapped and I was on my own.

Those last kilometers were quite tough.  Three guys about 200m ahead and lots of rolling hills.  My legs kept going but only under duress. I eventually lost visual contact but passed two guys who were absolutely shelled and looked like they had just ridden RAAM.  

This post doesn't really convey how I feel about this race.  There were some fairly boring road sections, but being in a good group was loads of fun.  The tough sections were tough, and the hills were great.  It was what I imagine a classic spring race to be given we don't have any cobble here. The length makes the 60km P2A seem easy although the pace is somewhat higher there.

My only disappointment was how only 2 other teammates showed up.  Easter/Passover surely tied up quite a few with family obligations, but it's a race that should be supported and was by others as apparently it was a large number of entrants.  Crazy road O-Cups with entire fields being DQ'd don't hold a candle to our local Hell of the North.

 

Scheldeprijs - Another race not shown in English

 

 

A great photo from Roxanne King on Flickr.

The post race crash was unfortunate.

Totally don't get it.

So I earn enough points to get out of the house for 3 hours.  A clean bike, some shaved legs, and a desire to put in a hard workout.

Maybe I just don't have the focus.  Maybe there's just too many damn stoplights. Maybe I need to learn how to get my hr monitor to beep.

Basically I rode at random efforts, while thinking I was working steadily. 

I've come to the conclusion that I need to find a more inspired route and/or get out on some group rides with people better than myself.

Currently my P2A goal is top 200. I'm just not feeling it like I was last year.

My Vitess Paintjob

 

 

We live in an amazing world.  Computers connect us, virtually, to almost all human knowledge.  We can send robots to other planets. Our cell phones are made on the other side of the planet.  So why can't I buy a car with a custom paint colour?

Most customized bikes you can order have a finite selection of colours and schemes to choose from such as the Trek Project One custom bikes.

Fortunately that's not the case with my bike, currently on order from Vitess.  For a few extra bucks I don't have to suffer with some smashup of colours some designer dreamt up in some corporate cubicle hell, as you might with a mass produced bike.

In fact, I want just the opposite.  Simple.  No colour.  Something that only I'll be riding.

I could have gone to town with the paint. There's no limit on colours, or paint schemes.  But I decided to go with the "original" Vitess paint, with a few small tweaks.

Below is the concept emailed over by Julien.  No need for a Rev 2

2012 Gatineau Loppet - Classic Race Report

 

This past weekend, for the second time in 3 years, I decided to head back to Gatineau for some serious ski action.

Thinking back, I'm not sure why I didn't race in 2011, although to read my blog entry at this time last year, I see it was to "spend more time with family".  I'm guessing that I was getting a lot more grief on the home front for not spending time with the kids on the weekends.  Kathleen was wanting to train for the Hardwood Loppet and had wanted to put in some longer ski sessions.

This year I wanted to do both the Classic and Skate events again, and so I got out on the skis for exactly 8 times prior to toeing the start line.  Fortunately a few of those were longer sessions, 5 of them over 3 hours, so I knew, at least, that I'd be able to finsh.  It's more than quite a few people I talked to at the race got, some of them having only been on snow once or twice this season due to warm weather in their region.

For the first time, I packed up the family and brought them along.  Recent experience with cyclocross racing holidays turned out fairly well, and since the kids had never been to anywhere where anything but English was spoken, this was a good opportunity. 

So we packed the car to the roof, and blasted off towards the Ottawa Valley, hoping to arrive before I started to panic about not getting enough sleep. I remember rather enjoying the trip solo two years ago, as a bit of a vacation, so when we rolled in to pick up my bibs, at 5:30, not having checked into the hotel yet, I was questioning our choice.

Rant 1 - For what's supposed to be a top tier event, it seems odd to me that you'd only be able to pick up your bib/chip the evening before the event.  Not even the afternoon prior.  

Thankfully this year I got seeded into the "C" wave. Right in the middle.  

Once getting through the snail paced line up that was bib pickup, the family rolled back to the Hotel.  If you are every coming in from out of town for the Gatineau, the Holiday Inn, Plaza La Chaudiere is a good bet.  It's close enough, opens the restaurant early for breakfast, has a small wax area in the parking garage, and also has a sauna and whirlpool.

We picked up some rice noodles on the way over, got short changed on the entres and I "accidentally" ate my kids noodles back in the hotel room.

Then it was off to wax.  

For the previous week, I, along with many others I suspect, was watching the weather incessantly. Would I freeze my nuts off?  Would I need to buy new skis to match the conditions?  I constantly checked the XCOttawa website for wax tips and trail condition updates.  Now, as the hours ticked by, information seemed scant at best.  XCOttawa had some good tips for Vauhti wax, and Toko posted something on twitter, but there was no Swix rep to be found.

I had spent the 24 hours before the race seriously sweating that I would miss the wax, as I usually do.  Rumour had it that a universal klister would be the call, and I just happened to grab some Start Universal Klister at the bib pickup as a certain someone was buying discount clothing. One can never have too much wax. 

Rant 2. Seriously.  How can Swix, a leading XC sking brand not at least show their faces at an event like this?  I truly don't get it.  And, if you don't exist on twitter, then for me, you're not on the radar. A few people mentioned this to me and were having trouble with swix wax selection. It also didn't help that the Swix iphone app is Norwegian only and didn't have all their waxes in it.

First the glide wax.  Two years ago I had had great glide, and wanted a repeat of that, so I threw on the expensive stuff. High fluoro all the way.  Then to decide on the kick wax.

I went with the rumour and ironed in a base klister and applied the Start Universal over top.  Upon doing this, and being up far too late the day before a race, the Swede's waxing next to me informed me that I was doing it wrong.  The wax was far too thick to be of any use and would collect ice instantly.  

They then proceeded to school me on how to apply klister.  I can't put into words just how happy I was to gain this new knowledge.  Historically I've avoided sking on klister at all costs. Now I've got a bit of confidence.

So I stayed up a bit later, scrapped off my ski's and did them again, with some Swedish help.

Fortunately @philvilleneuve does actually exist on twitter.  The morning of the race he confirmed that the wax I had on, would work.

@GatineauLoppet wax testing... #StartSkiWax of the day: Start Wide Universal Klister yfrog.com/klktpdjj #bomberkick

— Phil Villeneuve (@PhilVilleneuve) February 18, 2012

 

While Phil was out wax testing, and getting ready to gab with people at the Solomon booth, We made our way over to the race start.  My back was killing me from sleeping akwardly, which never happens, but at least a quick test of the skis showed they had some grip.

The race started as it usually does, people milling about, lining up and then giving a half-hearted cheer.  The waves go off, everyone gets aggressive for 100m until someone falls and causes a huge pileup and several broken poles.

Unfortunately this year the guy falling was me, for no reason, and a straight section.  Fortunately nobody hit me and no poles were broken.

Of we went onto the Parkway, through some flat sections and into some woods where everyone demonstrated their inability to negotiate small downhills without snowplowing.

By the first 10 minutes I could tell my skis were slower than those around me.  I got killed on the flats and downhills the whole day.  I kept up on the uphills.

Unfortunately my back never did get better, and the double poling, of which there was a lot, was not strong.

And so we climbed.  If there's one thing that can be said about this race, is that there's loads of climbing.  Some steep, some gradual, but all hills seem to go on for ever. I was even wishing that some of the downhills would end they were so long.

My favorite moment, of every Gatineau Loppet is this view.  Taken by Fil, it shows what's pretty close to the highest point of the race, overlooking the valley, ready for the decsent to the bottom.

Once the majority of the climbing ceased, I started to get passed again although I was feeling good other than my back.

Gels were consumed.  Thank you Clif!  Energy drinks were drunk.  Thanks Refresh! 

So I skied home.  Repeating various mantra that would best be forgotten. 

This year there were no tears of pain, but I did hammer the last km or so and passed a few people, possibly making them nervous as they snowplowed the twists in the last section.

I finished in 3:49.  11/20 in my age group.  This was just the third time I've done the Classic race, and looking back, it's my best result out of the overall men ranking.

2012 - 44th Percentile
2010 - 48th Percentile
1998 - 58th Percentile 

Seeing as I don't actually do much sking, I think there's room for improvement.  I plan on buying some rollerskis and doing 1 hour a week minimum on them to do even better next year.

This was my 10th Gatineau race, and third double.  I'm just sad I took a decade off.  Next year I'll be back, but since my wife wants to do the skate race, I'll likely just do the classic in 2013.

 Edit - I need to add.  Not only did I beat the Prime Minister of Estonia, I also caught Saul, the owner of Velotique.  I'm moderatly proud of beating guys 25 years older than me.  

More to follow

Things have been slow.

Ski Races Upcoming

Bike Purchases Upcoming.

Wicked.

It's a bird!

via yfrog.com

Holy Honey Badger Batman! This is a crazy leap.

Credit to @ispaphoto Check his site here