tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35055701527791464882024-02-05T02:27:54.793-08:00On the Trails with Peter DiseraLife of a mountain biker...Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-31147398574424410452015-07-22T07:41:00.000-07:002015-07-22T07:41:04.499-07:00Mountain Bike National Championships 2015<div class="p1">
Pain.</div>
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<span class="s1">The pressure, the nerves, and the anxiety going into this race had been building since Baie-Saint-Paul. A good race there, being the top U23, and the confidence from my season so far had placed myself as a favourite. I do not enjoy not living up to these expectations. I do not enjoy feeling like I lost control. I do not like to follow – I’d rather lead. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">The start – boxed in - legs screaming at me, my mind racing as I was in a terrible start position. I would recover from this for sure. Not an issue for Peter Disera to come back from a bad start – but not today. Getting back to the lead of the race, my heart rate was maxed out. My legs were cooked. They refused to turn. My lungs were shallow. My heart rate was really high. The brutal pace continued as the three riders: Marc-Antoine Nadon, Alexander Ville and I, pushed each other’s buttons and tested each other’s legs. I was on the brink. I was not in control. My mind was racing. I couldn't race 'normally', as I was on the defensive, not the offensive putting the hurt on everyone else. Heading into the third lap, the pace was not letting up. I kept my cards close to my chest as to not let the other riders know I was at the limit. However, I was chasing on, closing gaps on the downhill(s), loosing time on the up-hills, and getting really frustrated. My race was going to shit – even though I was sill in contention.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoZ3UXR7jLvyiiM6Of2mVfEE9C0PVwkNyskLW-O5RNTP65H16HjBfvgD6J6bjLnjU84qIb9eykfPsBJs1ISi1Q8SFKC7b-GYXd6VHYBcyXnq0__WGA0Heuw0cLazq4N5GkiOgepdKceQ/s1600/11742624_10205064436665757_5104401386506909454_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoZ3UXR7jLvyiiM6Of2mVfEE9C0PVwkNyskLW-O5RNTP65H16HjBfvgD6J6bjLnjU84qIb9eykfPsBJs1ISi1Q8SFKC7b-GYXd6VHYBcyXnq0__WGA0Heuw0cLazq4N5GkiOgepdKceQ/s320/11742624_10205064436665757_5104401386506909454_n.jpg" width="213" /></a><span class="s1">Mentally I wanted to cry. I wanted to give up. I was not having a fun day on the bike. It wasn't because I wasn't winning, it was because I just felt so off, and I couldn't get my head in the game. I needed the tides to turn, but they wouldn't. I don't want to make excuses; I have none. It was a bad day on every front except for equipment. My Norco Revolver Full Suspension with Kenda Karmas was the best. It was awesome and I slayed (when gravity wasn't working against me). I remember yelling at myself “what are you doing? Go faster!” but I couldn't. I tried to remain as positive as I could but I was slipping darker and darker. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><br />Upon finishing a very respectable second place I was met by Angry Johnny. I just looked at him and said I need out, I need away, I need to be alone. A quick and meaningful congrats to the new national champion: Alexander Ville, and I was off. I made my through the crowd to be alone as I was about to explode. All of the pain, self-anger and disappointment was released. It was the worst mental performance of my life, and I am determined to make sure it’s the last. Yes I understand second at nationals is still very good and I am happy. However, this is also the first time a Canadian U23 has beat me this year. I had my ‘off’ race at the second worst possible time (first would be W</span>orlds).</div>
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<span class="s1">Regardless of the pain, anger, and upset on that day, I’ll live. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT_lCvOWmEH5qvpiQ8qg2rSlCtZj8-oXkYtaJ3KZHFF_SL3BVijF2-Y2I0TDTJ2-OCbF3zR5FK5nToXOsh15twLbE5gceZY0oYYBOQRK4sNHK6TalX0CkEQ2T3ZdvyUP2d-eO3CDCepZY/s1600/10410816_10205065102722408_3014295738988835972_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT_lCvOWmEH5qvpiQ8qg2rSlCtZj8-oXkYtaJ3KZHFF_SL3BVijF2-Y2I0TDTJ2-OCbF3zR5FK5nToXOsh15twLbE5gceZY0oYYBOQRK4sNHK6TalX0CkEQ2T3ZdvyUP2d-eO3CDCepZY/s320/10410816_10205065102722408_3014295738988835972_n.jpg" width="320" /></a>The following day at the national relay we had a quick sub since Quinton Disera was out with an injury from the day before. Malcolm Barton gave it his all, and I mean his all! It was incredible and huge shout out to that guy! Myself, well I started for the relay. Medium start, actually quite bad, but I came back. And today, of all days, it seemed I had legs to turn the crank around. I came through in 3rd with the other two just in front. Haley Smith and Evan McNeely tied off the Norco Factory Team relay team and demolished. We hit that last podium spot for the first time in three years I think. Maybe next year we can step it up a spot or two! </span><br />
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<span class="s1">St-Felicien always puts on a good show. The steep climbs, hearty descents and rock/roots make it a world cup worthy course (which it was, well before my time). Looking forward to next year already! Baie-St-Paul should be a blast! Looking ahead though, Mont Ste Anne is up next and I can’t wait! </span><br />
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<span class="s1">Photos: Miss Hans Clarke</span></div>
Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-2043635004822204332015-07-14T12:10:00.003-07:002015-07-14T12:10:32.966-07:00The H&H Special<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<!--StartFragment-->
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYv2MHTs5AsKwI5vlgp48J8kqKLjSK5cnhwk80Y9RvUZVgFhTztEbRdaM8nmd0iKwx9gFkd7KI-sf3b0Y_SYDClIbbMwUfiIxtwxamqfKCXM8GStOKdYts9HuBaBlp-d7WtVUhRFpJu0/s1600/IMG_0184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYv2MHTs5AsKwI5vlgp48J8kqKLjSK5cnhwk80Y9RvUZVgFhTztEbRdaM8nmd0iKwx9gFkd7KI-sf3b0Y_SYDClIbbMwUfiIxtwxamqfKCXM8GStOKdYts9HuBaBlp-d7WtVUhRFpJu0/s400/IMG_0184.JPG" width="292" /></a><span lang="EN-US">Horseshoe and Hardwood:
the hosts of Canada Cup rounds 2 and 3. Located a blistering 500m from my
house, Horseshoe Valley and Horseshoe Resort would be the stomping grounds. The
course designed to be like any good Ontario course with mass amounts of flow,
tacky dirt and tight trees. The valley would pose a great threat to rider’s
legs as we ascended it 6 times. The very rewarding downhill to follow featured
some great jumps, berms and rocks. This ladies and gentlemen, was going to be a
good race.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">The week started
off like most: tired, jet lagged from returning from Europe and kicking
teammate Evan McNeely’s butt wrestling. My legs started to come around two days
before the race. With some of the major competition missing this could be my
time to shine I thought. And shine, mainly because I was covered in sweat, I
did. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">The race was
awesome. I had a good start, avoiding a rambunctious Guatemalan (i.e the
pinball), and settling in to 4<sup>th</sup>. From there I let the 3-Roxx boys
set pace as Norco Factory Team rider Evan Guthrie was well established on his
solo flyer. Upon catching Guthrie I launched an attack and got separation on
the main climb. From this point on it became a very lonely race. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCT4o542MnVpwB_QReYHZqyS1pFcGJ1tUYCXz4LhEO-oCFKw7WaQkracoNHI0aoxP5ohpf93k6YERfQqNBLFMb2-dpaAhyeexObEVXmg1qmnUGM5V2TG2g4ilquqht9fSScYxDyyqEO_c/s1600/IMG_3802_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCT4o542MnVpwB_QReYHZqyS1pFcGJ1tUYCXz4LhEO-oCFKw7WaQkracoNHI0aoxP5ohpf93k6YERfQqNBLFMb2-dpaAhyeexObEVXmg1qmnUGM5V2TG2g4ilquqht9fSScYxDyyqEO_c/s320/IMG_3802_2.JPG" width="212" /></a><span lang="EN-US">I established a
gap and kept the pressure on to ensure I would get out of sight and therefore
out of mind. I didn't let up and my gap continued to grow. Now all I needed to
do was ride safe and don't do anything stupid. Nearing the end there was a
small miscommunication as my mother told me I was on my last lap – although I
was positive I had one more. This was quickly cleared up, and I was all set to
light it up for one more lap. Cruising to victory with a gap of almost two
minutes felt really good. I couldn't have been more pleased to win on home
soil. I was unbelievably happy with my bike choice for the day: 650B <i>Norco Race Development</i> (prototype) cushy
in the rear – can’t say more but y’all know what I mean. Best bike for the day
for sure! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">Moving on to
Hardwood was like walking out from underneath a tent during a torrential
downpour – hint: it rained. But just like the differences in weather there were
differences in the course too. Hardwood is punchier. Horseshoe has some
snappers but a sustained section too. Hardwood the recovery is very limited.
Horseshoe has a wicked downhill. Hardwood has many small, man made features.
Horseshoe has more natural feeling features. I was not aware of the contrast
between the courses until last week. It was interesting, for living so close to
both you would have assumed I’d know they would be different courses, different
feel, but I just hopped on my bike expecting the same thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXq9Y_DPokC2Z-wtcO2bfg5oEM_vF6jEMHP5iO0n3VCXuMnduhWbZPxt1E0bvpgRzkiGWBRcw4meV8Le_8RhAjkniw1JU2l-UzO0ZQeN21OALNzqxj1-sr-6VY36yYgFyWlxn-6VfDHQs/s1600/10988505_10204834143708577_7725595410522029570_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXq9Y_DPokC2Z-wtcO2bfg5oEM_vF6jEMHP5iO0n3VCXuMnduhWbZPxt1E0bvpgRzkiGWBRcw4meV8Le_8RhAjkniw1JU2l-UzO0ZQeN21OALNzqxj1-sr-6VY36yYgFyWlxn-6VfDHQs/s320/10988505_10204834143708577_7725595410522029570_n.jpg" width="293" /></a><span lang="EN-US">Riding my
hard-tail revolver this weekend was the best decision for me however some
athletes felt that a full suspension was the way to go. The race was medium, I
wouldn’t say I had it fully together in the mud but my legs seems to fire not
too badly. I’m not going to dive into too many details but I found myself off
the start chasing hard. I couldn't close the gap to the 3Roxx leaders and settled
into 4<sup>th</sup> after a Columbian scouting out the Pan Am course passed me.
I was pleased with my race but I lost the leaders jersey. Kind of distressed
about this I knew my focus would shift to Baie-Saint-Paul as that would be my
next chance to seize that jersey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48l7JmBx0qmWrCAR3r8o_SnCLfFUPMvz73_nf_npcJXgn2HejxB1LVbk8QALRJl91MQoDOGOI038Q_an1t_thRAT99z1ts6NJYW1OhHoE4QzAfIlhydcx_N54vY7s9R_pbkJeqrWWV8U/s1600/IMG_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48l7JmBx0qmWrCAR3r8o_SnCLfFUPMvz73_nf_npcJXgn2HejxB1LVbk8QALRJl91MQoDOGOI038Q_an1t_thRAT99z1ts6NJYW1OhHoE4QzAfIlhydcx_N54vY7s9R_pbkJeqrWWV8U/s320/IMG_0189.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US">Great times were
had racing at home. Life was good, BBQ was pumping out food, slack-lines were
tight and racing was a success with the Norco Factory Team. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-83940338133451896692015-06-19T11:10:00.000-07:002015-06-19T11:39:21.968-07:00Nove Mesto & Albstadt World Cups<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">On Monday after racing
the Canada Cup in Mont Tremblant I flew to Czech Republic to compete in the
2015 World Cup opener. Going back to Czech was super exciting. I thoroughly
enjoy the soviet feel of the area as well as the stellar course and arguably
the biggest crowd of any World Cup on the circuit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">The course is my
favourite European course. It is more fun than most European World Cups – since
it consists of real dirt, trails, and actual features. Some of the elements of
the fabulous course are technical rock gardens (both up and down), lots of
slippery roots that become more exposed as the race goes on and a sick BMX jump
section. I had to relearn how to ride wet roots and rocks since my winter
training in California consisted of only one day of rain…of which I did not
ride. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">The start would
prove to be exhilarating as most international events are. My call up was 68
and breaking out of three digit call-up numbers felt good. Off the start the
usual pushing and shoving, bar locking, hip checks and shenanigans happened but
it was nothing special. As the end of the start double track began to near the
first downhill single track I was pleased with my position. The first downhill
was the BMX, which was simple and wide enough to pass people if necessary.
After this short bumpy break the course turns vertical with a rooty and rutted
climb. I was caught between some guy and a tree when he spun out and fell into
me therefore pinching me and allowing copious amounts of riders by. So much for
my good start. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">I hit the first
two laps hard and crushed some dreams. There were a few more cases of poor
piloting and bad luck, whether it be slipping on rooty climbs or attacking a
group only to get held up and caught again. However it’s just racing and these
things are a part of it. Nearing the end of the race I was holding strong. I
attacked the group I was with and was slowly bridging to a group of two. This
would put me even closer to the top twenty if I could reach them. I put in the
work and caught them as two riders behind me caught me as well. This was now a
pack of blood thirsty animals. It seemed every single track we entered we
entered as a group – so not one person wide but 4 or 5 wide. This caused a
ruckus and forced guys to dab or slow up or spin out. It was a wonderful mess. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">At the beginning
of the last lap I started to cramp hard. The very bumpy, rooty course did not
help, as every bump was a stabbing pain through my back and sides. Unfortunately
because of this I got separated from the group and caught by riders I had
worked so hard to get away from. I kept my foot on the gas but it wasn't really
enough as 4 of them caught and passed me. I made a last ditch effort on the
final two climbs to catch two riders in front of me. This last ditch effort
also included taking a few risks on the descent but it was worth it. By the
time we reached the last feature I had caught up to them so fast that I made a
pass on the exit of that feature. Rad! This then put me second wheel going into
the sprint. I was confident in my sprinting abilities and was ready to slay. As
we kicked out on to the tarmac I locked out my fork, bent my elbow and got low.
We hit the gas immediately. I was locked onto the Brazilian’s wheel in front of
me. My eyes locked on his rear wheel and as I slowly brought it closer and
closer to me I jumped out into the wind and crushed some dreams. With a nice
bike throw at the end and a photo finish it wasn't clear if I had achieved 26<sup>th</sup>
or 27<sup>th</sup> at the 2015 World Cup opener. Unfortunately, both positions
were out of UCI points but the result for a second year U23 was adequate. Later
I would learn I won the sprint confirming my result of 26<sup>th</sup> here in
beautiful Nove Mesto. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Then it was time
to move to Albstadt, Germany. Keeping it short and sweet, Germany is neat but
the course is not enjoyable. The very steep climbs and short, steep,
unrewarding descents make it a pain to ride. Note I said pain to ride because
when you race it becomes more painful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Although this is
one of my least favourite courses, it is still a pretty good time. There are
lots of spectators, good food close by and the bike paths surrounding the hotel
and venue are vast. One night I wasn't really in the mood to cook so I went to
the local Doner spot – called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Little
Berlin</i>. A nice place run by a father and son that speak no English. I got
the “Big Doner” and it was massive. A pita stuffed with roasted chicken on a
stick and veggies and more chicken and sauce – it was the size of a small child
by the time it was finished. Man was it good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The race was
pretty medium as far as excitement goes. This year Albstadt decided to throw in
a 750m start loop, which is good as the course creates a huge bottleneck at the
first steep climb. Starting 61<sup>st</sup> this round was an improvement
compared to Czech but not by much. The start loop was fast, as it should’ve
been, and I only moved up 20 spots. Upon the first climb the bottleneck still
happened and we all were off our bike running up the monster of a steep climb.
Not too much drama occurred in the first lap, some passing, some bottlenecks, a
bit of swearing and relatively slow descending. As the race went on I began to
pick off people. Moving up and up until I was in the 20s. Now that I was
sitting comfortably in top 30, and by comfortably I mean in extreme pain on
every climb, it was time to shake-and-bake. I put in a couple digs with the
groups I was riding with in order to get into the downhill first. There I would
let it all hang out and bridge to the next group on the downhill and start of
the next climb. It was a good tactic until I caught the group riding for top
20. I had finally made the big leagues because these guys I couldn't shake on
the downhills and they had tons of power for the climbs. Going into the last
climb of the race I was a part of a group with 5 other riders riding for 18<sup>th</sup>
place. Some elbows were thrown, some passes made but when it was all said and
done I did not land a top 20 finish. 23<sup>rd</sup> was the verdict for
Albstadt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">All in all a
great euro trip once again. Thank you to Cycling Canada and the staff for
making it a success. Shout out to my teammate Haley Smith for a wicked result
in Nove Mesto. Great time riding my Revolver 9 and can’t wait to put the gears
to the euros again in Mont Ste Anne. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-14120425695284522842015-04-22T20:55:00.003-07:002015-04-22T20:56:32.782-07:00The Otter that Lives By the Sea<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Sea Otter
Classic, the ultimate kick off to the cycling season (at least from an industry
standpoint). The Mazda raceway, located just inland on Monterey, California has
been the host for more years than I have been alive. The stomping grounds would
be the desert brush terrain surrounding the racetrack and extending into the
large cannons. It was an exciting time for me as I have heard about the ‘Sea
Otter’ for years but never been able to go. It is massive. The expo is huge.
There are races of all disciplines going off ever hour. Everyone who is anyone
in the cycling industry is there – including the Norco Factory Team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDH6fp6htVYsmxu4LnrXo_EwnA163yjTb9SOHtFJ6XZxpxHHUUt3x3xUkF_pYae73tytqnmyMy9M4DIGjGVkPtI6tN-clAfdy7_gCrj_mE-qkNqfPbQM9Hf5z5sUvevarFRzlW__8xWAo/s1600/IMG_3647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDH6fp6htVYsmxu4LnrXo_EwnA163yjTb9SOHtFJ6XZxpxHHUUt3x3xUkF_pYae73tytqnmyMy9M4DIGjGVkPtI6tN-clAfdy7_gCrj_mE-qkNqfPbQM9Hf5z5sUvevarFRzlW__8xWAo/s1600/IMG_3647.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downtown Monterey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US">I arrived with
the intentions of racing hard and giving people a run for their money. However,
the fatigue that Redlands had installed within me had other plans. The short
track would prove ok, but no where near what I was hoping for, on the other
hand, the cross country race wouldn't go nearly as well as I had planned. This
race is a different one, that's for sure. There would only be two laps raced –
two very large laps with very minimalist terrain. The most technical thing
would be the fast gravel double track. It was wild… <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The short track
would be simple: hit hard from the start, don't let up. I got a reasonable
start, but still had spots to make up. The course was interesting with more
than half of it on pavement and the rest of it loose sand/gravel. There were
some good tactical areas with some tight turns and elbows out. There was a fair
amount of pushing and shoving in the beginning of the race, which I found
extremely amusing. As the end became nearer I attacked the group I was with but
was unable to get clear. Finishing up 19<sup>th</sup>, well, it’ll take more
than that to ruin my day at Sea Otter. Although, I was sad I didn't really get
to test out my new RS1 Rock Shock since it remained locked out for the majority
of the race.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Driving Along the Coast</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US">The cross
country event, I don't even want to really talk about it. There isn’t much to
touch on; we climbed single track, descended double track or road and raced for
over 2 hours. Legs weren’t really there, I wasn't super pleased with my result
but I had fun on my new bike. I will mention that I enjoyed my medium (650B)
Stans wheels. Wait?! Gasp?! Peter Disera is riding 650B? But maybe, just maybe,
he’s riding both! Gasp! More to come on this exciting development.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKF2sjH_WNWRKAm1EIMjmwi-5GDyQN_eaANaYn2LcBhMu_9BxP6gp_ARtaNnx8cw_vddUsXxnfZajGhrSyviA-CIG7Vw-7y1eJD75s_ZgAoS6QclUIox49zWt_yKmkCsq__1GlOkuoxd4/s1600/IMG_3624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKF2sjH_WNWRKAm1EIMjmwi-5GDyQN_eaANaYn2LcBhMu_9BxP6gp_ARtaNnx8cw_vddUsXxnfZajGhrSyviA-CIG7Vw-7y1eJD75s_ZgAoS6QclUIox49zWt_yKmkCsq__1GlOkuoxd4/s1600/IMG_3624.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US">All in all Sea
Otter was a blast. It was exciting to go around and talk to some of the
sponsors face to face. Thanks to Kenda and Stans NoTubes for being such
supporters and including their athletes in their development process. It was
cool to be a part of such an incredible experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF61B-vIo-xaTSgtupIoNignixILTOP7iMkzROmJhyDrSbngYexxilJnDWWPOQOAVgVIXj7-u6hCbO1KloVtU_1xO99c7oX7SxwpxdZBj3lMjH4LpfR1K6i_KJ9K20CXOBM9-_Wgf-xdI/s1600/IMG_3655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF61B-vIo-xaTSgtupIoNignixILTOP7iMkzROmJhyDrSbngYexxilJnDWWPOQOAVgVIXj7-u6hCbO1KloVtU_1xO99c7oX7SxwpxdZBj3lMjH4LpfR1K6i_KJ9K20CXOBM9-_Wgf-xdI/s1600/IMG_3655.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US">Ok, but enough
with business, now lets play. There was a Norco Factory Team photo shoot
scheduled for early Monday morning after Sea Otter. The idea was to get some
cool riding photos on bikes that are neat during the sunrise. Unfortunately (or
fortunately?) the fog rolled in and this original idea was scrapped for a
better idea. We made our way up to Los Gatos, just north of Santa Cruz, where
MTBR was having their post Sea Otter industry ride. Norco joined in on this and
we had an incredible time and I didn't think I could get any better until…we
reached the brand new “Flow” trail. This is a rad trail. After talking to some
of the volunteers at the post ride tailgate party I learned that the 10+
minute, berm, jump, manicured downhill took just about a year to build and over
6000 man hours. It is a piece of art. The berms are perfect, the rollers and
jumps just right. You can ride it as fast as you like, or at a comfortable
pace, it is fun either way. Incredible and hats off to all the volunteers and
trailsmiths that made it happen!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-pO600fhW68giAfhyfbxQBJWMZj4yTDpjXYdX4y_8zWODaheAkfVfXtF4AO3Ob4AIMApZHTq7oNrm5lAgnhyJyo9V3y-qS6BcgKZ_UFByxvcnkGlG6XfoOvexVdlMBvNFqq3xTWnaxw/s1600/IMG_3656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-pO600fhW68giAfhyfbxQBJWMZj4yTDpjXYdX4y_8zWODaheAkfVfXtF4AO3Ob4AIMApZHTq7oNrm5lAgnhyJyo9V3y-qS6BcgKZ_UFByxvcnkGlG6XfoOvexVdlMBvNFqq3xTWnaxw/s1600/IMG_3656.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BERMS</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRThVbzXrj_Wg6EHoyWE6NaTs8T6QK50Bbw0bWu4peGF00GYuO8Y0vhHbL4A72oQxQmsjjOGdCUu5nGY7foCecczuxjSDSonuUNMk6eXGSxEY6u391pi_o64-9Jz5B3yi1H-g9QtRUcs/s1600/IMG_3660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRThVbzXrj_Wg6EHoyWE6NaTs8T6QK50Bbw0bWu4peGF00GYuO8Y0vhHbL4A72oQxQmsjjOGdCUu5nGY7foCecczuxjSDSonuUNMk6eXGSxEY6u391pi_o64-9Jz5B3yi1H-g9QtRUcs/s1600/IMG_3660.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MTBR Crew</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0Monterey, CA, USA36.6002378 -121.8946760999999736.4982488 -122.05603759999997 36.702226800000005 -121.73331459999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-86769755354320044162015-04-16T22:31:00.001-07:002015-04-16T22:31:29.319-07:00Redlands Classic <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">Redlands Classic
would be my second race with H&R Block Pro Cycling. The five-day stage race
would push this team of 7 to their limits. Most of the crew had been broken in
at San Dimas a week and a half before. However, for Bailey this would be his
first test. The weather was looking good, the legs were turning well, it was
going to be a good hard week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">For myself the
week started off stressfully. I got sick on Saturday and only had until
Wednesday to get better before the racing began. I got out for a little ride on
Tuesday but besides that I would be starting Redlands cold. It would prove to
be a little test racing on antibiotics. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jv1zZAJxEOMjzxyaDwH8L81v6coSbITljqqWKXpC9uifr77rlbO_Pl3hfsKms3qxh9J730uNl_t2hKhVl79jdEHI82vvqWWuj-LR3juOkkV2z3tON0iT_CMQ1IJXRHH9Lsb4wNPxQkU/s1600/IMG_3411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jv1zZAJxEOMjzxyaDwH8L81v6coSbITljqqWKXpC9uifr77rlbO_Pl3hfsKms3qxh9J730uNl_t2hKhVl79jdEHI82vvqWWuj-LR3juOkkV2z3tON0iT_CMQ1IJXRHH9Lsb4wNPxQkU/s1600/IMG_3411.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crit - Stage 4</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">The first stage would
prove to be harder than I thought. The 250m wall took a gnarly bite out of my
legs each lap. The rest of the course was fast and exciting. I was sliding
backwards near the end until my terrible positioning started to work against
me. Without my punch on the climb the rest of the course was spent chasing and
closing gaps. On the last lap there was no more holding the wheel, I got popped
out the back with a few others. We rolled around and made it up the wall once
more to finish. Stage one was complete and H&R Block’s Adam DeVos was
sitting top 10 GC. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHiDJisOwxpY2_MavMILrXqweMLDWWs2INPyoWAHovwbDpqLDs1Za206P6vXFMfOl33WwV70VvROB8iel1m3QrS0mEl38f0R5t6fpm9LEcyTGnbpMmLp9n3sl6_C-pvXWx8oqGx6GAXU/s1600/IMG_4175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHiDJisOwxpY2_MavMILrXqweMLDWWs2INPyoWAHovwbDpqLDs1Za206P6vXFMfOl33WwV70VvROB8iel1m3QrS0mEl38f0R5t6fpm9LEcyTGnbpMmLp9n3sl6_C-pvXWx8oqGx6GAXU/s1600/IMG_4175.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My First Road Crash - Doing Alright</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">For the second
day we made a little trip up to Big Bear Mountain. Well, it was quite a trip up
to 8400 feet. We raced the Individual Time Trial just under 7000 feet on a
tight course. The TT would prove to be a challenge for many since it was at
altitude. Most of the team was told to take it easy and save our legs for the
wild day that would be stage 3. I was thankful for this since day one proved to
be more difficult than I had anticipated and I was still trying to get over
being sick. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwiDu2wJo-lcODN6Zz2mG9Y_GUJZxXcH3g3LDy_-EB9RoIhtCeX4jJRCDgLEcxhI-bb1etpgW-B3hGMmASZsWQb3yawgmbkK0rEZkgzJpITyBaNKVuOlweItAcdR5Jei3mdGdr7INt70/s1600/IMG_4250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwiDu2wJo-lcODN6Zz2mG9Y_GUJZxXcH3g3LDy_-EB9RoIhtCeX4jJRCDgLEcxhI-bb1etpgW-B3hGMmASZsWQb3yawgmbkK0rEZkgzJpITyBaNKVuOlweItAcdR5Jei3mdGdr7INt70/s1600/IMG_4250.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting in a good warm up before stage 5</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">Stage 3 was the
going to be a big boy. It was the Oak Glen day. We would ride the 20 km circuit
five times before turning up Oak Glen road and finishing with a 9km climb. My job
was to help Adam stay near the front before the turn up the climb. The circuit
proved to be difficult with a long dragging climb and some nifty descents. I
was feeling pretty decent today, but covering moves and trying to make
breakaways happen was starting to take its toll on my legs. Coming around on
the last lap it was time to shine. The boys of H&R Block moved up to the
front showing off their sweat covered Norco Tactics. It was a little drag race
up the climb on the circuit the last time. Most teams had trains of some sort
lined up to position their top GC contenders. I lasted as long as I could until
the pace picked up once more. My legs had had enough and couldn’t turn over. I
cracked. I was shot out the back of the group very quickly. I would then join
the other dropped riders and cruise to the top. We needed to still ride fast
enough to make the time cut. It was a day of pain. I had to urge my legs each
pedal stroke to just make it up the climb. Decent day at the office I must say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCccbwEUqaIbIFWgSjsSp-6vDe9escJuBqYG6gLsEqbFEDfWEsa2SanraIj_zXeSbPxo-RO8SRAILWSVMyMV7VAkMhSiNFyWaIZgG7txhzz8du2JCdgm5hiTfC9wFWae-uJI-rGg6FJQ/s1600/IMG_3074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCccbwEUqaIbIFWgSjsSp-6vDe9escJuBqYG6gLsEqbFEDfWEsa2SanraIj_zXeSbPxo-RO8SRAILWSVMyMV7VAkMhSiNFyWaIZgG7txhzz8du2JCdgm5hiTfC9wFWae-uJI-rGg6FJQ/s1600/IMG_3074.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crits are chaos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">The day of speed
was to come on the fourth day. This was the day of the downtown Redlands crit.
I enjoy crits because they are fast, lots of corners and serve mountain bikers
pretty well. From the start I knew this was going to be a fast and dangerous
one. There were over 150 races starting on a 1-mile circuit and a total of 9
corners. This was going to be an interesting race. There were lots of attacks
in the first couple minutes however the pace was so high it didn't seem like
anything was going to stick. The pace began to let up just a little bit and I
realized the breakaway was going to go soon. I moved to the front, followed
some wheels and before I knew it I was in a group of 6 with 10m over the pack.
We just made it clear but with the help of the corners we extended that gap and
established a lead. It was now time to settle in for the next hour of racing.
Out of the group of 6 we had some very strong veterans and some younger guys. I
was able to test out everyone with some of the intermediate sprints and cash
primes. In total I won $500 in cash primes. However, when it really came down
to it, I was lacking in the intermediate sprints. This would prove unfortunate,
as those points could’ve boosted my overall standing in the point general
classification. With about 7 laps remaining in the race the pack was chasing
hard. We were all getting really tired and a small, but deadly, mistake was
made. I rounded turn one, having to change my line slightly as the rider in
front of me shifted left slightly, this caused my to hit the small reflector on
the road. Unexpectedly and very quickly I was on the ground. My front wheel had
skipped out and I lost a lot of skin off of my arm and leg. The bike had no
significant damage so I jumped up quickly and made my way to the pits for my
free lap. Making it there just in time to get back in with the breakaway and I
was back in the race with 5 laps to go. The pack was breathing down our necks
and it was getting heated. Coming up to the finish it was important to keep the
pressure on but also get in the right position and conserve. I made a tactical
error and didn't attack into turn 7. I was going to wait until the sprint
coming out of turn 9, however, the chicane of turns 7, 8 and 9 proved that a
strong rider could lead the whole thing out and still take the win. With this,
fatigue and the pain of my road rash, I ended up getting 5<sup>th</sup>. The
pack finished just behind us. It was unreal that we stayed away. Next up was
getting the tarmac brushed out of my arm and then sleeping on my left side
only. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo8cTKRRbu8AVNygqFUN40xZ6ujVeeRHYwneiZ6ERaLRGt4rETmXJt872LvVaV5-WJVQ0IjIB7RPDWTKpLoS_ujQVDiOpKGW12CLwreYFwWOnFHooEIwviW0oCEycHh-MkRjJluQaOaMg/s1600/IMG_2726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo8cTKRRbu8AVNygqFUN40xZ6ujVeeRHYwneiZ6ERaLRGt4rETmXJt872LvVaV5-WJVQ0IjIB7RPDWTKpLoS_ujQVDiOpKGW12CLwreYFwWOnFHooEIwviW0oCEycHh-MkRjJluQaOaMg/s1600/IMG_2726.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bailey and I get way too into animated discussions</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">The last stage
was going to be insanely hard. In addition I only got about 5 hours of sleep
from the road rash waking me up. Getting fresh wrapping from medical at the
start I would be hitting it hard from the gun. The stage started and finished
with laps of the previous nights’ crit course. The thing was that there were
sprint points at the start/finish on the first two laps. With the amount of
points I had made from being in the breakaway on stage 4, I could potentially
move up to a podium position with these two laps. I had to get going from the
gun. We would hit two short crit laps with points on the line and then turn and
climb over 10km to the sunset loop. We would do 12 laps of this sunset loop
before descending back down to the crit again, finishing off with 5 laps on the
crit loop. I missed the first sprint only getting 1 point, however I won the second
one and claimed 7 points. This would not be enough to move me up to a podium
spot for GC, I would remain in 4<sup>th</sup> only three points behind 3<sup>rd</sup>.
The rest of the race would be painful. My legs were not there. My body was sore
and my skin stinging. I lasted 5 of the 12 laps before dropping out and getting
a pro-rated time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrr2maz1RZc-tuUucWYd88HSC0ZALTxDlSKj3Fz303e1_d_1FMoR-7o736oNyV0RCO7LhucvIHW1TDqWHSDnufeUNgz4XmCvBg0oH4oj06WdryBO8znmRevWqda7qZTv_63fgruiUnuhU/s1600/IMG_4854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrr2maz1RZc-tuUucWYd88HSC0ZALTxDlSKj3Fz303e1_d_1FMoR-7o736oNyV0RCO7LhucvIHW1TDqWHSDnufeUNgz4XmCvBg0oH4oj06WdryBO8znmRevWqda7qZTv_63fgruiUnuhU/s1600/IMG_4854.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cracked on Stage 5</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 1.0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">Overall, I was
not super pleased with my performance on the last day, however, considering the
situation I am quite pleased with the way I raced. Overcoming my first road
crash will be a big one. I am looking forward to the next time I touch the road
bike with H&R Block Pro Cycling at Joe Martin Stage Race. It is a good one
and I can't wait to rip it up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0Redlands, CA, USA34.0555693 -117.1825380999999933.9503228 -117.34389959999999 34.1608158 -117.02117659999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-29072174583078492912014-06-21T12:36:00.001-07:002014-06-21T13:19:45.146-07:00North Star Grand Prix - Whiff of White<div class="MsoNormal">
Stage Racing: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This past week would mark my second NRC stage race of the
year. It would prove a test of will and mental capacity. I would experience
pressures I had never before experienced, failure, more fatigue then I imagined
and success. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYdKZ3MM4S-h_CgsdNuAaKVbZ_J4nAC6Y9_Tx8xip0PVCSll5IaexOtH5NQpZ9QPC3EhJ7IQR6-zDyJbEpvot2UvIYf4aQCD2VJKD2jC5iH3_mbXMhWts7sgAcCe4cNF3UdxYkde06Y4/s1600/10446333_10152478244997272_9162903955086903350_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYdKZ3MM4S-h_CgsdNuAaKVbZ_J4nAC6Y9_Tx8xip0PVCSll5IaexOtH5NQpZ9QPC3EhJ7IQR6-zDyJbEpvot2UvIYf4aQCD2VJKD2jC5iH3_mbXMhWts7sgAcCe4cNF3UdxYkde06Y4/s1600/10446333_10152478244997272_9162903955086903350_o.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
Starting with the obvious, the race was a 5 day, 6 stage, race starting with a ITT, Crit, Road Race, Crit, Road Race and final Crit (hill
circuit). The pain came from the get-go. The ITT was hard but I slipped into 3<sup>rd</sup>
for U23 GC that stage. That evening we had the first crit. This was a very
technical crit, with multiple turns – some being more than 90 degrees. I
managed to stay with the lead group and finished. Apparently I had made up some
time because I slipped into the white jersey. Wow! That was exciting. I had to
jump off the trainer and run to the podium. Zipping it up, the pressure was now
on. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3TwwGh-MdwO7g9zSw4Tu8ces5eN6DecLv8hm0fvgwRbdlvKm5pnqncKk-XsS7F77LzlmLXUX999_1VGwdEyE1WDsM5mkqPvSmodhrlTcg3_h3M9JsPAPNZwO0KvZX36vochNmaxSw8iY/s1600/Podium.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3TwwGh-MdwO7g9zSw4Tu8ces5eN6DecLv8hm0fvgwRbdlvKm5pnqncKk-XsS7F77LzlmLXUX999_1VGwdEyE1WDsM5mkqPvSmodhrlTcg3_h3M9JsPAPNZwO0KvZX36vochNmaxSw8iY/s1600/Podium.tiff" height="430" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The second day, third stage, would unveil the hardest day of
my life. Extreme winds would tear the pack a part. It was a necessity to be in
the front spilt if I wanted to make the group finish and keep the jersey. Well,
when the time came and we hit the second KOM, just as the course was turning
into the crosswinds and Peter was not at the front. The pack was shattered
leaving about 6 groups in full echelons chasing as hard as they could. I had
just slipped off the back of the front group. The front group quickly split
into two groups and I was lost in no mans land. Tailing the chase group by
about 10 feet for twenty or so minutes was devastating. I was giving everything.
I was going 55km/h and not making any ground at all. I eventually lost ground
and was picked up by another pack. We chased, and chased and eventually made
contact once again with the front group. This was short lived as the group had
just crested out of the feed zone and kicked wildly hard. I was clinging to the
last wheel as hard as I could. No luck. I was shot out the back. The rest was
respectively: chase, chase, lose ground, get caught, roll in. I was shot. I lost
the jersey by 10+ minutes. This was bad.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZdeUeQaV2ZlgdlnKfJx8nqcTXs47VO3XkbBitRRg0NMhc6TLuCjfEe1VVCRU7sHRfvfwA30H0lBDs6Ydrn-4k7WgftBBqTMF3tQEg77-rd9GJK3M9wGAg_tQocvDEBdGb2gqKFRGmv8/s1600/IMGP1264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZdeUeQaV2ZlgdlnKfJx8nqcTXs47VO3XkbBitRRg0NMhc6TLuCjfEe1VVCRU7sHRfvfwA30H0lBDs6Ydrn-4k7WgftBBqTMF3tQEg77-rd9GJK3M9wGAg_tQocvDEBdGb2gqKFRGmv8/s1600/IMGP1264.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a>Third day was a nice easy crit. Not much going on here
except for a lot of crashes that were miraculously avoided. One cool thing
about this stage however was how dark it got, seeing we started around 8pm.
Going into one of the turns someone clipped a pedal on the ground sending a
shower of sparks. It was wicked to see, and scared the hell out of everyone
around him. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The fourth day was miserable. It was raining. It was cold
and we were racing for 160+km again. Kevin, Anton and I wanted to get in the
early breakaways since we had nothing to lose. After 30 minutes of racing I
realized this would be a bad decision, so I sat mid pack for the whole race.
Kevin got into a break, and as that one got reeled in Anton got into the next
one. Just as Anton’s break was being brought back another one went. This break
stuck - unfortunate luck for the boys. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The final day was allegedly a write off. It was hot, the
crit was more of a hill circuit than anything and we were all cooked. I made a
comparison that this crit was very much like a mountain bike race. It was going
to be hard, lots of sprinting, then a good amount of recovery. I was excited to
see how I would fair. And I faired well, because I was able to stay with the
lead group until 4 to go, when the week of racing caught up to me, and the legs
refused to turn. I rolled around until the end of the race. Finishing just a
few minutes back but I was satisfied I stayed in the race and clawed some time
back on the white jersey. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBim3OOyxUbrlb62HwrAkQGxMNiVl93igBysRpwIgHdMEfza9N7Yn_4kiX_XqV0hBFLtHlCsA-tIY28q9LMS_8hGBN_U3fql9LlKWkmD9Ti75mTqgM6nKp662U8uAL9dlEtozGmhMN5M/s1600/IMGP1238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBim3OOyxUbrlb62HwrAkQGxMNiVl93igBysRpwIgHdMEfza9N7Yn_4kiX_XqV0hBFLtHlCsA-tIY28q9LMS_8hGBN_U3fql9LlKWkmD9Ti75mTqgM6nKp662U8uAL9dlEtozGmhMN5M/s1600/IMGP1238.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cresting in a lot of pain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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Overall a very satisfying week with JetFuel – Norco at my
second NRC stage race. These races are hard. I look forward for when I am
strong enough to be a contender and be up at the front pushing some wind. Thanks
to Alex Sanna for all the support!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-55916220211747260242014-06-10T06:57:00.001-07:002014-06-10T08:31:29.351-07:00Euro Trip 2014<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b>Nove Mesto, Czech and Albstadt, Germany:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the local beauty<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">As my European World Cup chapter comes to
a close I would like to share some of my experiences over the past couple of
weeks. First off I would like to thank Team Canada for all the support and good
times. Not only do we get the best mechanics, physiotherapists and coaches, but
also Cycling Canada is more than that. It brings some of the best riders from
all over the country together and slams them together on a team. Riders that
compete against each other at Canada Cups and Nationals, competitive athletes that
strive for the top step of the podium against each other; and then when slammed
together we make a team that is a unit – a team that is something special.</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Normally a blog post would be about the race, thank the
sponsors and post some cool photos. I want to do something a little different.
The paragraph above is a good example. I want to take you on an adventure
behind the scenes to show you just how our lives work. Don’t worry; I’ll put
some words up about the race too!</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
I guess I’ll start from the beginning. Landing in Prague,
CZE was fun! A small connecting flight from Munich brought us there. My bike
bag always gets searched in Munich; it drives me nuts because they don’t always
repack properly. We were required to chill out in Prague until everyone’s
flights arrived. There was a small grocery store that we quickly hit. It is
always interesting trying to find food for the first time in an unfamiliar
area. It makes it especially interesting when they know no English. I finished
my food while waiting and realized I was still hungry. I made a quick dash for
the local Subway – yea Subway in Czech Republic. Arriving back it was time to
leave!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Once in Saar, the town that we were
staying in roughly 30 minute ride to the venue, we checked into the hotel and
began to move our things in. Building our bikes in the hallways and stairwells
was next on the list. The rooms were quite small. Well, actually the room I had
was quite small for Antoine and I to share with all our stuff and two 29ers. We
had to get a little creative with the arrangement of the room. Antoine’s bike
bag went in the bathroom as well as my bike during the day. It was a good time,
especially when we had to do laundry in the sink (there were no facilities) and
I made a cloths line and strung everything all around the room. It was a sight
to see.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Ok, business time! The course in Nove Mesto was a great one
in my opinion. Fellow Norco Factory Team rider Evan McNeely claims that this is
his favourite world cup course. It is definitely a fun one! The start was flat
with a long, 2.8km, start-loop. There was a lot of running once the
single-track was met. The amount of running I encountered is to be expected
starting number 109. Then you carried on through the technical feature, out
through the stadium and out for the first lap. My favourite part of the course
was the jumps. There were two sections that had gap jumps you had to hit. One
set was featured in the Cross Country Eliminator (which I didn't qualify for).
The other set was in a steep downhill called the BMX section. You got some good
air and a good rush. Other technical features included rock gardens, a drop
(otherwise known as a steep pitch) and rough, rooty trail throughout. The
climbs on course were not too long - they were steep nevertheless. However, the
coolest part was coming by the grandstand. The seating wasn't packed when I
raced, but for the elite men crowds of the 10s of thousands came. The forest
was packed. The beer trucks run dry by the end of the day. It was wild. I heard
an estimate of 20,000 people were there. It’ll be neat to race as an elite and
experience that! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Touching on the race a bit, if I must; it was hard. What
else is new? Starting near the back was fun. The start was fast. I got caught
behind a crash momentarily. It was quite difficult to move up because the speed
was so high. There was lots of running. Anywhere the speed would drop because
of a climb or tight turns it was more efficient to run around people then it
was to ride and get knocked off. I fought hard. Starting 109, after the
start-loop I was 92<sup>nd</sup>, after the first lap I was in the 60s. I got
by half a dozen people per lap after that. I finished 48<sup>th</sup> in my
first European World Cup as a U23. I was pleased with this result. I worked
hard, I was smart, I rode well – a job well done in my books, and a recipe for
results later. 52 people were passed that day; Andrew Watson’s record of 70
something is safe…for now.</div>
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<b>Up next was the haul to Albstadt, Germany. </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Driving along the autobahn was awesome. Average speed around
130km/h. We tried to drive as a convoy of the big rig, soccer mom and the van –
as we had cleverly nicknamed the vehicles. The scenery throughout Germany is beautiful.
It was kind of neat when Dan, the national coach, noted that half of us were either asleep or bored. Most people would kill to drive across Europe and see what we
saw in those 8 hours. Yet for some of us, it was another drive to a race. Been there
done that. It was kind of funny – I was still plastered to the window for the
most of it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
A little joke that was played on our vehicle, soccer mom,
sparked from Dan and fellow Norco rider Evan McNeely. There were many signs
pointing off the highway saying Ausfaurt. I was told that Ausfaurt was a region
that spanned from Northeast France through Germany. They had been fighting for
independence for years, but because the region spanned so many different
countries it would never happen. Ausfaurt is a wealth region so economic
sanctions don't work against them – kind of the opposite to the Quebec
independence debate. Anyways, throughout the entire drive these signs to
Ausfaurt continued. I figured it was an East-West corridor and I began to ask a
couple questions. The game continued to play as the whole van went along
willingly believing what we were hearing. In the end…Ausfaurt means exit in
German.<br />
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Contrary to belief, not all European hotel rooms are small.
In Germany at Hotel Café we had a big room. Big. Compared to the room Antoine
and I shared in Czech this room was 6 times bigger. It was fantastic being able
to build your bike in your room and not in the hall or outside. It also had a kitchen,
which was good so we could make food, save some money and eat what we wanted
to.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Hilly. The course was ridiculously hilly. 30% steep climbs
and never ending switchbacks. It was wild. It would be a test of endurance and
power. I knew I was in trouble. The race was fun. A very large bottleneck
occurred in the first single track. We marched up to the top, remounted only to
get off at the next single track. Wild times, high tension and aggressive
people make these running sections fun. Filtering through the first lap I found
myself in a group of 8ish with Evan McNeely. On the second lap, first steep
single track I got in an altercation with another rider. He put his hand on my
hip to move me so he could pass. Unfortunately I don't just let people pass on
the steepest part of the course, or in general, so I resisted him. Well, he
slipped off the trail with his front wheel going down a bank slightly. Keep in
mind that we are riding in a group and it isn’t open road in front of me. So,
this ride jumps up and sprints in front of me, throws his bike down blocking
the trail for me causing me to get off. At this point we were at each others
throats. McNeely, who was two riders up, thought there was going to be a scrap.
I stayed with this rider for another 2.5 laps until I attacked him. It was fun.
I enjoyed it. Second last lap of the race, I blew up. It couldn't turn my legs.
The climbs had got to me. I missed heading out on the last lap by a few seconds
– I got pulled.<br />
Overall, not too disappointed, it was bloody hard. 68<sup>th</sup>
is what I finished out of 150ish riders.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
Euro Trip 2014 was a great time. Racing with the big boys
was interesting and eye opening. I’ve got work to do. It was another fantastic
experience seeing new places from behind my Norco Revolver handlebars. I
wouldn't really have it any other way. Great experience with great people and
great support - thanks Team Canada, Norco Factory Team, and all the staff! You
guys rock!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
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to day. Freshman year done, first major stage race with JetFuel – Norco done,
continual shredding including O-Cup #1 done and now one of the most epic rides
I’ve ever done in Ontario.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div>
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<div>
<br />
Such a simple ride it was. Leaving Cathedral Pines with long
time riding partner Adam Jamieson we headed north. Up over Moonstone and out
towards Coldwater. After hitting Coldwater we turned on to the Upper Big Chute
Road. This road would take us up into cottage country. A simple little 2 hours
of nothing but trees, beavers and the occasional photo stop. This is a great
road to ride as most of it is also freshly paved.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
After stopping by the Big Chute and sight seeing we stopped
at one of the dams joining 6 Mile Lake and Gloucester Pool. This was also the
old residence of my great grandparents. Kinda neat. The dam was wild open and
the water flow was intense. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Getting back under way the next step on this epic ride was
to cross the 400 and carry on into Honey Harbour. There we began the trek
south. Of course most of this was yet again along waterfront and cottage
country. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Arriving in Port Severn we refueled. I had my credit card
and Adam had approximately $6 in change. $6 was his bill for that stop. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
One thing I find interesting is that there are no single
lane bridges in Ontario. Well our single lane bridge count after leaving Port
Severn went up by three. Next on the way was Waubaushene. There we hooked up
with probably my favourite part of the ride; a paved rail trail that ran along
the waterfront from Waubaushene to Penetanguishene. Ripping through Victoria
Harbour we made it to Midland where we took a leisurely roll along the bay.
This was nice! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CuNJJFjbCDwwuAoHbY9h5I9NylHb3zg5DJ2vE7Nr-TW34mqp6gD4DO7mjeb0YqrNiRfDLidtDDUOUCO3WxT2dvwtqVMQqgKAvaceztCUEQ6ySf27KTv5JZWPqzWDRSSaUjreoqGhy30/s1600/IMG_2871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-CuNJJFjbCDwwuAoHbY9h5I9NylHb3zg5DJ2vE7Nr-TW34mqp6gD4DO7mjeb0YqrNiRfDLidtDDUOUCO3WxT2dvwtqVMQqgKAvaceztCUEQ6ySf27KTv5JZWPqzWDRSSaUjreoqGhy30/s1600/IMG_2871.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>Cruising on the rail trail that long was awesome. No worries,
sheltered from the wind and slightly downhill. But now things got hard. From
Midland back to Horseshoe was a headwind. I bonked nicely nearing the end. It
was a hard ride and a solid day on the bike. I can’t wait to do that route
again. It was wildly scenic and a good distance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All in all, 5 hours in the saddle, 160km.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Check the strava link below:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-69717686776068110662013-09-11T13:08:00.002-07:002013-09-11T13:11:32.536-07:00South Africa - The Journey to the 2013 World Championships<b>The 2013 Mountain Bike World Championships</b> were held in Pietermaritzberg, South Africa - incase you didn't know already!<br />
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What did that mean? That meant 33.5 hours gate to gate, or 42 hours door to door travelling. Exciting stuff. Luckily for us the travelling went about as smoothly as it could have. No delays, cancellations, lost bags or headaches - with minor exceptions.<br />
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When I arrived in South Africa the first thing I noticed was barbed wire. There was barbed wire everywhere. It was around everything, on almost every fence and most definitely around every nice property. The airport itself looked like a Canadian prison. However, even with all of this scenery, all of the locals that I talked to were animate that it's a safe place! Their disclaimers were: don't go out after dark, don't carry large amounts of money or have good looking jewelry on. Seemed simple enough! </div>
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After arriving at the hotel, which is behind a spiky fence with a guarded entrance, we moved into our rooms. Our rooms were small and we quickly filled them. Food wasn't an issue as there was a mall next to the hotel. The mall had a Wollies and a bunch of restaurants to eat at. Food is quite cheap down in these parts. Dinner out for 7 people came to just under 600 RAND. Which is $60. That's a pretty solid meal!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice spin with the team eh?</td></tr>
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Now I know what you're thinking regarding all the barbed wire and guards; but Pietermaritzberg is quite safe. I decided to do some research as I was concerned, only a small, insignificant amount, but still the same I was curious. What I learned was horrifying, and thus statistics that I found will not be expanded upon, but what I also found was a map. This map outlined where all the 'bad things' happened. Pietermaritzberg? Not a single 'bad thing' - except for large income inequality - so rest assured that all is good!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQTWwQimOW_X3u1Mb7F2_fZUINtj2mbpRWDdXC2BBmtyY1xabOk8ix5FrpKXrdFPysNkUJJYN2Wm6QNkYjk95sU0fpTgMzd4GzheMWrFpmpeKUk21K-eWpDqmtjqqdOA-VUwNSMei4UQ/s1600/IMG_2054.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQTWwQimOW_X3u1Mb7F2_fZUINtj2mbpRWDdXC2BBmtyY1xabOk8ix5FrpKXrdFPysNkUJJYN2Wm6QNkYjk95sU0fpTgMzd4GzheMWrFpmpeKUk21K-eWpDqmtjqqdOA-VUwNSMei4UQ/s640/IMG_2054.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Shortly after we arrived there was a team safari. This was a must attend simply because we're in Africa and you safari in Africa. What a fantastic experience this was. We saw lots of zebra and ostriches. Then the hippos made their appearance and we may or may not have chased a rhino into the pond in the rover. When in Rome! - or Africa...</div>
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Ok. Moving on to the juicy stuff for all those cyclist people out there.</div>
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<b>The course:</b></div>
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The World Championships course was excellent. This was an elements course - super fast, cruisy, flowy hard packed trails and man made elements thrown in to test some skills. The hard packed clay trails made for some smooth sailing. As the week went on, however, the crust began to break away and mass amounts of poofy dust came up. It was like hitting powder on skis. The technical sections on course were skill testing, but more so nerve testing. I recall on my first day of pre-riding asking myself why I came to South Africa. I was so scared of some of the elements. In my eyes there were three elements that posed a threat: the 'Rapid Rocks' (first rock garden), 'Sharkas Playground' (log drops), and 'Tree House' (long rock garden). Rapid Rocks was relatively easy in hind sight. This was a short set of rocks with some distinctive lines through. I would like to point out the line that I chose to ride - the line that everyone told me was garbage and slow - was also the same line that Niño rode in his race. Boom! Sharkas Playground occurred about half way down the Amphitheatre. This is where the course builders had taken some trees, placed them in the side of a hill, built a berm at the bottom and said go! This was terrifying to look at. The thought of falling 10 feet or more on to my head was not so pleasant. I stood there looking at this feature for about 10 minutes. For that entire duration my heart rate did not go below 155 bpm. As I watched some of the U23 women do I decided I needed to try it. Just as I thought, I was fine... It was easy. I was way too stressed that first day of pre-riding. The next feature - possibly the most difficult on course - was the Tree House rock garden. This was a lot steeper in person than on Red Bull TV. Not to mention the rocks were big and awkwardly placed. It was all about bombing in, staying upright, make the turn at the bottom and carry good speed. This was thrilling. Other important parts of the course were the switchback climbs off the start, the long sustained climb up to the Ampitheatre, the drop/hip jump before Sharkas Playground and the Corkscrew (this was a cool set of berms and drops). These parts will be refered to later.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2Ni2yOgg0cELa6-MXRn1p3c-Qa8PUdLcpVIFEi_DZndZyYvTOHnO85unDKO5TQGiWeTatesrhZqujnflgtQYDAbcg_MOItZ-R1MujlxGf5UwU0O6mj5wEEf6Ls6f0sTvKktnf-BUjEY/s1600/IMG_2118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2Ni2yOgg0cELa6-MXRn1p3c-Qa8PUdLcpVIFEi_DZndZyYvTOHnO85unDKO5TQGiWeTatesrhZqujnflgtQYDAbcg_MOItZ-R1MujlxGf5UwU0O6mj5wEEf6Ls6f0sTvKktnf-BUjEY/s640/IMG_2118.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharkas Playground</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlIuN8ZbrrlWX5ShhCVU3RQARgVm3yyKesui3aBjcimqIw-RhUwYtnywnZpMom5NU7SJdizePY1tQhr31FF1Hlm9TtlJJ1Ypx656SeC5WkEpbFEViebdrEYF_RFoHUdNbsno04ue5IOrs/s1600/IMG_2110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlIuN8ZbrrlWX5ShhCVU3RQARgVm3yyKesui3aBjcimqIw-RhUwYtnywnZpMom5NU7SJdizePY1tQhr31FF1Hlm9TtlJJ1Ypx656SeC5WkEpbFEViebdrEYF_RFoHUdNbsno04ue5IOrs/s320/IMG_2110.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rapid Rocks </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Base of Sharkas Playground</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5Jg3GXk68iay4MX74By9W6eoDNDxyfGQfzzsEnaNaZwVr2Bxs8mir0Eh9kfblwM4QFWQuA_PCy0lEMl3qxCt8OIKU9_j6yChx1g0HhjoeQ4W5XMaTyzvGDSSuLmVglk4OUiIxIXIRD4/s1600/IMG_2094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5Jg3GXk68iay4MX74By9W6eoDNDxyfGQfzzsEnaNaZwVr2Bxs8mir0Eh9kfblwM4QFWQuA_PCy0lEMl3qxCt8OIKU9_j6yChx1g0HhjoeQ4W5XMaTyzvGDSSuLmVglk4OUiIxIXIRD4/s640/IMG_2094.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amphitheatre </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYKkuj0fcWOziP_Nj7zmFPhJ1HwZRaEXpd2wKzOntORiIdnlthG0jM2j8K4KcmrMKGvGBFQBse_UqSkamNxT0WPdcMwAfLO5y3E-5kjsYfBvYQrcpxYc5rB2SwBWUTvtgw7MbYtpKA7iM/s1600/IMG_2117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYKkuj0fcWOziP_Nj7zmFPhJ1HwZRaEXpd2wKzOntORiIdnlthG0jM2j8K4KcmrMKGvGBFQBse_UqSkamNxT0WPdcMwAfLO5y3E-5kjsYfBvYQrcpxYc5rB2SwBWUTvtgw7MbYtpKA7iM/s640/IMG_2117.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amphitheatre (other side)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wIARU0Teui9vnIYCBkqKmknJFHSjJprvBMuUz0io9mqsuS9zqAhfNK8DhVt79HUelVkDcH2DObnOeuqPQ2Lt4wVtHvfrQBN_ZUnZBq3ssq1BoMikFPCLiajCTqLS7y0KhOAooOjt5rw/s1600/IMG_2122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wIARU0Teui9vnIYCBkqKmknJFHSjJprvBMuUz0io9mqsuS9zqAhfNK8DhVt79HUelVkDcH2DObnOeuqPQ2Lt4wVtHvfrQBN_ZUnZBq3ssq1BoMikFPCLiajCTqLS7y0KhOAooOjt5rw/s640/IMG_2122.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cork Screw </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDbh3BqAB0HVQyU9X1haoLmOwD5tE7-NexPDt4vA_-Emz3lr1ba9ojrObE2FEH-Qhze9RmzF1-VnDkrARMenTjfWSQ74JDgslnfkf6l6ZKaKFkriTCzwxMdtKJelaJazYNgSmoEs4Bhw/s1600/IMG_2123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDbh3BqAB0HVQyU9X1haoLmOwD5tE7-NexPDt4vA_-Emz3lr1ba9ojrObE2FEH-Qhze9RmzF1-VnDkrARMenTjfWSQ74JDgslnfkf6l6ZKaKFkriTCzwxMdtKJelaJazYNgSmoEs4Bhw/s640/IMG_2123.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree House Rock Garden </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div>
<b>The race:</b></div>
<div>
Here's your meat and potatoes of the blog. Hope you enjoy.</div>
<div>
Ok race time. Well I felt like crap... Before the race barfing was almost a reality. I was so nervous. I was concerned I hadn't tuned my body properly and that I wasn't going to be able to preform. The amount of nerves reminded me of a race from early this year. That race was the ITT. I felt sick for that race too and I didn't know why I was so nervous and that's when Alex Sanna of SRS said to me "You're nervous because you know you can win". On the start line of world championships that is what I thought about. The only reason as to why I felt so nervous was because I knew I could do well. I felt it. So I believed it. I embraced that feeling and calmed right down. This was another race, and like any other race I was gunning for the top of the podium. </div>
<div>
The start was as any other junior start is: fast, elbows out and crashes. I tried to stay out of trouble and not waste any energy that wasn't necessary. Hitting the first set of switchbacks I ended up locking bars with another rider and having to run the first hill. However, by the end of the 1st lap I had made my way up into the top ten. This was good. Another half lap later I was top 5. This was right where I needed to be. I rode the next 2.5 laps with two other riders. One rider was German and the other rider started as a Czech rider but he was dropped and replaced by an Italian. The group of us were competing for the last spot on the podium until a French rider ahead got a flat. The game was now on for 2nd, 3rd or 4th. </div>
<div>
On the steep climbs I was getting gapped slightly because I didn't want to go over the top and get counter attacked. I would catch back on during flat sections or downhills. Half way through the 4th lap of 5, as the German rode the drop and was about to hit the hip he laid the bike over. I passed him there and got a gap. Pinning it on the downhill I realized I was alone. This was good as I was now 2nd and riding by myself. I was in control. Pinning it for the last lap I gained almost nothing on the 2013 World Champion. Realizing this at the top of the Ampitheatre I decided to chill out and ride safe. Bring it home. And that's exactly what I did. 2nd at World Championships!<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWhY89OHzNL06imR7SVRmVb1qqfrkryqu8q6IeqbtSWzbtVWJmIwQTG74P7yHBz3CmqwlqduL05ZPNYCubjUi3JpB1OC2xDW9eacBD1xPdY-KnNazDmTJyGSqpgzIYXgjoxlncMUyc1Q/s1600/IMG_0135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWhY89OHzNL06imR7SVRmVb1qqfrkryqu8q6IeqbtSWzbtVWJmIwQTG74P7yHBz3CmqwlqduL05ZPNYCubjUi3JpB1OC2xDW9eacBD1xPdY-KnNazDmTJyGSqpgzIYXgjoxlncMUyc1Q/s400/IMG_0135.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting off</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrpROYE1IfRqMzPPnd_9Ntka6ax4tdGGTlKXsRhsOB_qxwxPKwVC3jP8_ODeVkfqEmVW1emCh7jPcPD5HRrUolOEUQKno-wrj6tFbdPk_c7ju87QhUtHrEH3aEq-RmO11P0mWbruaq_M/s1600/IMG_2096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrpROYE1IfRqMzPPnd_9Ntka6ax4tdGGTlKXsRhsOB_qxwxPKwVC3jP8_ODeVkfqEmVW1emCh7jPcPD5HRrUolOEUQKno-wrj6tFbdPk_c7ju87QhUtHrEH3aEq-RmO11P0mWbruaq_M/s400/IMG_2096.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Escaping the Crash</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUR72hx6hYkOF-qAp_R1iQ0g-J3f5RPnZEoP5Tpux3KrFYqUmRPEVSsXnsQzHeNzRZpCPepc6rdfXBgo68bfOUych6GqmYjnFdGA03ZMW-1i1ULWIxW0aulXYi6ZeM8w0xvS5TLAaHZl0/s1600/IMG_0138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUR72hx6hYkOF-qAp_R1iQ0g-J3f5RPnZEoP5Tpux3KrFYqUmRPEVSsXnsQzHeNzRZpCPepc6rdfXBgo68bfOUych6GqmYjnFdGA03ZMW-1i1ULWIxW0aulXYi6ZeM8w0xvS5TLAaHZl0/s400/IMG_0138.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dropping out of Cork Screw</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiysMO15msnKiitTrOjPvHsr4oC6Pf-1m_wa4_PoYDHCwlNkGJdEAba61ZNdpqUGY3pFhdz96L-kg6scg228AxNJOBRhfF7aNuYsw0R93DnOCrH30JXmQvrp8r36hRD5-fShv0PKgD55IY/s1600/IMG_0143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiysMO15msnKiitTrOjPvHsr4oC6Pf-1m_wa4_PoYDHCwlNkGJdEAba61ZNdpqUGY3pFhdz96L-kg6scg228AxNJOBRhfF7aNuYsw0R93DnOCrH30JXmQvrp8r36hRD5-fShv0PKgD55IY/s400/IMG_0143.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surviving Tree House Rock Garden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu-Lw2bDaksqsnN00t0Tg0vkI6UlyFa_6gx7PGwDRV-6L2c-i96CWhosN3WqjHGUfySymsPg1a5-KC3aS-VAxBR7NJ84AnR9Ap8OUuNY5lyWC0_PbrwqrtkMW-5Ab3krsYO9AjwHTyFaY/s1600/IMG_0145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu-Lw2bDaksqsnN00t0Tg0vkI6UlyFa_6gx7PGwDRV-6L2c-i96CWhosN3WqjHGUfySymsPg1a5-KC3aS-VAxBR7NJ84AnR9Ap8OUuNY5lyWC0_PbrwqrtkMW-5Ab3krsYO9AjwHTyFaY/s400/IMG_0145.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hitting RAD jumps</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33IG-bZWwUeYvtML8EBm5drQAr5ysxW9WboFU8mffWKhhoo_N_uh83JGkOXbfxOlKCvVvNTcHYrJlafkQ1D1iHixZILvcjBvikFUUlpzlT3tmaJQ78VV_GZ7XShSFwPSTp6N_AxuFXWo/s1600/IMG_0126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33IG-bZWwUeYvtML8EBm5drQAr5ysxW9WboFU8mffWKhhoo_N_uh83JGkOXbfxOlKCvVvNTcHYrJlafkQ1D1iHixZILvcjBvikFUUlpzlT3tmaJQ78VV_GZ7XShSFwPSTp6N_AxuFXWo/s640/IMG_0126.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exhausted....but pleased</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhFkuatZ8ccsPGvRSkmJ53HD-Fa4tXy6qo5teDzXU83pR-6nEmGTz72V48UVo7aMQMzKPyAbP0nPPwlJHJpo0e1VABviHwW6asn7NjCV_Zy3StRr1fyR25DzBElOw5RgR-AR1fuXdTvQ/s1600/IMG_0136.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhFkuatZ8ccsPGvRSkmJ53HD-Fa4tXy6qo5teDzXU83pR-6nEmGTz72V48UVo7aMQMzKPyAbP0nPPwlJHJpo0e1VABviHwW6asn7NjCV_Zy3StRr1fyR25DzBElOw5RgR-AR1fuXdTvQ/s640/IMG_0136.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrtXLSw8RY48zNTtetwd52rU4emjgb3k6IGS31DcpNngfFBtTvk1PeFupWoWjdxqHaTDjGGT90TfO0aZpCf3huMH14evzgHpedwVlBlUhiJMrexV3QSxogtwWzJu7hHSUtze3cbnaoW7k/s1600/IMG_0146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrtXLSw8RY48zNTtetwd52rU4emjgb3k6IGS31DcpNngfFBtTvk1PeFupWoWjdxqHaTDjGGT90TfO0aZpCf3huMH14evzgHpedwVlBlUhiJMrexV3QSxogtwWzJu7hHSUtze3cbnaoW7k/s400/IMG_0146.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nom Nom Nom...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6dKsrkJkXh_vbO7qbN789oHyjZJV1bCC9r33-zNbNRuNIxUnd0-X50X8NZI7VBaL2ollpKFtq71bdy96zivoFYFQh0943LLBgT1g_AbaUZ1p57cIvKHi-0nOIPAecRhabRL6Y1V4GC5I/s1600/IMG_2066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6dKsrkJkXh_vbO7qbN789oHyjZJV1bCC9r33-zNbNRuNIxUnd0-X50X8NZI7VBaL2ollpKFtq71bdy96zivoFYFQh0943LLBgT1g_AbaUZ1p57cIvKHi-0nOIPAecRhabRL6Y1V4GC5I/s640/IMG_2066.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team Canada</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><br /></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b>Thank you to all of my supporters:</b></div>
<div>
Team Canada</div>
<div>
Angry Johnny's - Cycle Solutions/Norco/Louis Garneau</div>
<div>
Disera Racing</div>
<div>
And anyone who donated or assisted in my efforts to make it to South Africa! </div>
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<div>
Thank You!<br />
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<br /></div>
Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-78452226224199304622013-08-13T18:35:00.001-07:002013-08-13T18:49:10.203-07:00Mont St. Anne World Cup<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The World Cup in Mont St. Anne is always one of my favourites. It is also a special race for me. St. Anne was where I did my first World Cup ever. Placing a respectable 6th. It was also my first time racing against any other country and first time running someone over (he simply flipped over in front of me and I rode over his bike). This year, however, things were a little different.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FlqRDYWEFL12drH_kBj_o1a4eZdsP9uiwRTVuRscVaqM1nNkLIl8xiudXgyZidvzEAgx9FA-ql9a49ABkusUXTFvS220bCYKy3f0mNCtKCY7YWK5fQTorGA41Nm86D4yRYjgKK-X2h8/s640/blogger-image-415707581.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1FlqRDYWEFL12drH_kBj_o1a4eZdsP9uiwRTVuRscVaqM1nNkLIl8xiudXgyZidvzEAgx9FA-ql9a49ABkusUXTFvS220bCYKy3f0mNCtKCY7YWK5fQTorGA41Nm86D4yRYjgKK-X2h8/s640/blogger-image-415707581.jpg"></a></div><br><div><br></div><div>The difference between where I was in 2012 at Mont St. Anne competing in my first World Cup, to where I am now as an athlete, both mentally and physically, has changed drastically. I am stronger this year, more focused, more disciplined; but that's not all. Mentally I have felt I have made leaps and bounds. I still get nervous, but not like I used to. I can control myself now, focus and execute what needs to be done. In the wise worlds of Dan Proulx, National Mountain Bike Coach: </div><div><i>One does not try to be extraordinary; One must simply be ordinary. An ordinary performance can prove to be extraordinary.</i></div><div>The reason why is simple. If you try too hard, get too excited, push too hard too early, your overall performance is not going to be grand. But! If you have a normal race like any other day, you will have an ordinary race and an ordinary race can prove extraordinary results! For myself this was a key mentality. This mentality keeps me from getting stressed mid-race, keeps me out of crashes, and keeps my bike safe from mechanicals. It's what prevents me from pulling out of my pedal off the start (XCE Val di Sole). It prevents me from ripping my tire off my rim (Worlds 2012). It prevents me from getting nervous. Why would you get nervous for something that you've done ten thousand other times? It's a start, a race, a finish - know your cards, know your body, know your competition and know that you've done it before. And that's what I did...</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCi_hm7jsmwCNMbLGKVMv4b23_seyd0cdCvZlViSR2n3y1VYJXem2Y_nJDayoqif8Pzi38aL9SmsAHKDLUNjA91b3cFuP5hv1ahc__rsrBrnwm41YW664tVMSwlip7daswdV5fo5n7eY/s640/blogger-image-1679807634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCi_hm7jsmwCNMbLGKVMv4b23_seyd0cdCvZlViSR2n3y1VYJXem2Y_nJDayoqif8Pzi38aL9SmsAHKDLUNjA91b3cFuP5hv1ahc__rsrBrnwm41YW664tVMSwlip7daswdV5fo5n7eY/s640/blogger-image-1679807634.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Mont St. Anne World Cup was a huge highlight in my cycling career last year and proved to be an even bigger highlight this year. Off the start I was calm. My work was cut out for me but I was prepared. Team Canada's support, Angry Johnny's support, Norco's support and my family's support had all come together for a solid 1 hour and 9 minutes. Winning my first World Cup was surreal. Leading off the start was scary. I had to suppress every thought of winning. I didn't want to jinx it, didn't want to get worked up and I didn't want to disappoint myself. Focus - that was all. Crossing the line knowing that I had done it, we had done it, it was a good feeling. On one of my favourite courses of all time - even if Beatrice wasn't in it this year - I had pulled it off. My first World Cup win! </div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOpIL9xvvRK8X02GgGLoFXO24mSufkKvZFLrxcuYljXnC4jsiycfO868GTTpyWROcCMA007ZKw-c_VlMvI0qdnmAhBygst_ItNTS5cr_WjL8IvvsLi98cDRPsBERvMBg-q_0XpqCEphw/s640/blogger-image--264795686.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; "><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOpIL9xvvRK8X02GgGLoFXO24mSufkKvZFLrxcuYljXnC4jsiycfO868GTTpyWROcCMA007ZKw-c_VlMvI0qdnmAhBygst_ItNTS5cr_WjL8IvvsLi98cDRPsBERvMBg-q_0XpqCEphw/s640/blogger-image--264795686.jpg"></a></div><div><br></div><div>The celebration lasted for about 25 minutes in my head and ended almost immediately when someone mentioned worlds. Worlds... What could I pull off at worlds? How could I do at worlds? Quickly billions of questions popped into my head which I quickly suppressed in order to not get nervous. The thoughts were swirling but I chose to ignore them for the time being. But now preparations have begun for the World Championships in Pietermaritzberg, South Africa. Physical tuning and equipment checks are being done, but mental preparation has also started, as I am beginning to learn it is fundamental to performance. The game has begun!</div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>If you wish to assist me on my way to South Africa please swing by Hardwood Ski and Bike Wednesday August 9th to purchase some Chips and Dip that have been donated from Garden Fresh and Chris Wong! </b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>If you are not able to make it out for that, please visit my website at <i>www.pwrper.com/peter</i>. There you can find more blogs, results, videos, articles and a PayPal account I have set up for generous people like yourself! <i>Thank you. </i></b></div></div>Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-67546029213502152832013-07-28T18:27:00.001-07:002013-07-28T18:27:46.405-07:00Road ProvincialsFantastic day at the 2013 Road Provincials. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing and the racers were revving. The day was simple: start, go hard, see what happens and try to win. This is my approach to all road races. <div>The race started off simply with an attack here and there. Nothing too major came until 2nd lap out of 8 on a 12km loop. Break away here and there, pull them back, go off, get pulled back; it was a regular day. Nearing the middle of the race 3 riders were able to get away. Seeing the wind was blowing and the climb on the lap was quite tough I had decided to let them go. Then another two riders went out to chase. It wasn't until half a lap later that I had decided to go after them. Taking two riders with me, who I also ended up sharing the podium with, we started our long trek up to the front. I believe it was a lap and a half until we made up the time to the lead group. There we decided to work and make our break stick. The next time split we got was 1 minute, 20 seconds. Things were looking up for us. Nearing the end of the race, however, I was getting nervous as Miles Eastwood of CHCH was sitting in and saving energy. On the last climb I set the pace and waited for Miles to make his move. When the move came I was ready. I sat on his wheel cresting the climb and let him pull in the wind. Rounding the last turn to the finish we found ourselves in a tail wind. This was perfect to attack! Kicking hard out of the turn I got a good gap. Slowly dying as I crested the final climb into the finish I was super happy it was over!</div><div>Provincial Champion! Woot!</div><div>Thanks to Team CDC and Barrie Cycling for all the support. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Q8ewmjANZiHE1jsw3qyi8n6QN49qHYnkzqgInwZasTSDWuZgXtIImFxO_Yp5Tx6CcsB56CIWAnGloHcmpjJKXZNqZGsa4Xb4qcIMKWWRCf9du6ETuZ1Gxr9YbuGF63lYz3lNu-Ntt68/s640/blogger-image-56691185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Q8ewmjANZiHE1jsw3qyi8n6QN49qHYnkzqgInwZasTSDWuZgXtIImFxO_Yp5Tx6CcsB56CIWAnGloHcmpjJKXZNqZGsa4Xb4qcIMKWWRCf9du6ETuZ1Gxr9YbuGF63lYz3lNu-Ntt68/s640/blogger-image-56691185.jpg"></a></div> </div>Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-39296598814203314202013-07-27T13:32:00.001-07:002013-07-27T13:39:23.702-07:00Mountain Bike NationalsNationals always marks an important part in anyone's year. Even though I had already been to CX nationals and road nationals this was the big one to me. Mountain bike nationals held at Hardwood Ski and Bike was where I would attempt to go for my third national champion jersey and my 4th national title. The course at Hardwood was excellently built. The venue was loaded. The people were there. Now all that was left to do was race!<div><br></div><div>In the week leading up to nationals my brother and I were with team Ontario. We stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast, had some excellent mentoring and had a great time with all the others athletes that attended! It was great. Unfortunately, this time around, Brendan Arnold of the OCA was not willing to place bets with us based on results (When I was at road nationals we made a bet that if I won a jersey he'd shave his head into a Mohawk. He wasn't keen to bet this time around). All week we worked on the course getting lines, trying the rocks and slaying coffee run. The intense heat was something that took some getting used to and required lots of hydration. Luckily for us juniors and cadets, we were racing at 9am so the heat wouldn't pose too much of an issue. </div><div><br></div><div>On Thursday leading up the race, the national cross country eliminator was held. A very interesting course as the first section was quite technical and the last section was primarily fitness based. The strategy was to sit 2nd wheel the entire time and move on each round without having to work too hard. This was a great strategy as it allowed me to save energy and ride safe and smooth. In the quarter finals I missed my pedal 3 times off the start. This put me in last place. I thought to myself that this wasn't going to be good if I couldn't get up into second. Putting the pedal to the metal, and without sliding out on the hay, I fought my way back up. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4aZPcasLJNRacFuVf9fbhk_uhZm9PAa35YO-UaL8ZDYrtEO_Rxqd8lR5LZNq0Sd33UlHxNO3NCDfkVP6U1JRhOhOs18gsauv-MvRQ876KR7S2N0457vh0aA32xGQLnGekqQCW0ZC_Uk/s640/blogger-image--176518187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih4aZPcasLJNRacFuVf9fbhk_uhZm9PAa35YO-UaL8ZDYrtEO_Rxqd8lR5LZNq0Sd33UlHxNO3NCDfkVP6U1JRhOhOs18gsauv-MvRQ876KR7S2N0457vh0aA32xGQLnGekqQCW0ZC_Uk/s640/blogger-image--176518187.jpg"></a></div><i><b>Eliminators are so exciting to watch and ride as they are extremely fast pace and tight. </b></i>Two inches in front of someone else and you can move them wherever they need to go - most of the time they go behind you.</div><div> I had made it all the way to the finals. There I was met by fellow Barrie resident Mitch Bailey and two other Quebec riders; Léandre Bouchard being one of them. This racing was going to be intense. Off the start things were looking good. I passed Mitch in one of the technical pieces and was on Léandre's wheel. Going over the last Joyride jump Léandre slipped his pedal; I made my move. I got a little bit of a gap over Mitch. This was it, 4 turns, a drop, a log and a finishing straight and I'd be home free! However it didn't turn out that way... I slipped out on one of the turns, put my foot down...but quickly pulled the bike back underneath me and continued. And then it happened... I looked down and my chain had fallen off. Quick shift and I was able to pull it on without breaking anything. Now I was in third. I stayed in that position as I could not make up the distance between Mitch and I. I think 3rd, at the first ever national eliminator, as a junior is respectable. Fist pump to that!</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimu6KAwAb4WHrvWd_hQ2_S2Z021fLmGHhkn9vgT3JTmxaw0L2JZ60jdT5oUDhgQcekB8D1vwf5MK_dcdmpaBg0SjiH0sreF18COPgnqcPiFJRjjyg6Uw8iJv8I8yjr3f6P1FtVhcBcF0Q/s640/blogger-image--275660152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimu6KAwAb4WHrvWd_hQ2_S2Z021fLmGHhkn9vgT3JTmxaw0L2JZ60jdT5oUDhgQcekB8D1vwf5MK_dcdmpaBg0SjiH0sreF18COPgnqcPiFJRjjyg6Uw8iJv8I8yjr3f6P1FtVhcBcF0Q/s640/blogger-image--275660152.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>So the eliminator was successful and it was fun! The cross country race was good too. Early morning start, cool weather and the recent rain helped out the course greatly. Off the start I had to work really hard to get a gap but I knew if I could get to coffee run first I could really get a gap. Well the plan was executed perfectly. I had a solid gap coming into the feedzone first lap. All I <span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">did </span>then was try to make it grow. A few more seconds here and there until I hit 1.5 minute gap. Then I toned it down to ride safe and bring the jersey home. It was a successful race, no drama, the course was great but I did dab once... </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghiSOTDY5_GmqMqKNLGPXWlWY3jtxsXxZaz14qPRjgnpTO-6OEqUcnZoQMJZs1_-_JGvMbX1b6GNRT-pnJIx8bPs5FaUE7Reyy4_GwuPGHhK2TYymFto1RWFIxcDmEMPqRPLwaihpgIuk/s640/blogger-image-1491962280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghiSOTDY5_GmqMqKNLGPXWlWY3jtxsXxZaz14qPRjgnpTO-6OEqUcnZoQMJZs1_-_JGvMbX1b6GNRT-pnJIx8bPs5FaUE7Reyy4_GwuPGHhK2TYymFto1RWFIxcDmEMPqRPLwaihpgIuk/s640/blogger-image-1491962280.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>It was a fantastic day for the Disera household as little brother Quinton also won his race in cadet. Two national champions under the same roof - Flückiger brothers better watch their backs! </div><div><br></div><div>Big thanks to:</div><div>Ontario Cycling Association for a great project</div><div>Angry Johnny's</div><div>Norco</div><div>Louis Garneau</div><div>And M&D Racing! </div><div><br></div><div><b>Next steps will be the World Cup in Mont St. Anne. The next big focus is World Championships in South Africa! Going to be good! </b></div><div><b><i>If you would like to support me in my endeavours I encourage you to please check out my website www.pwrper.com/peter and click on the donate button at the top. Any and all help is appreciated! </i></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwcWkgarguyAnjhlj4VRfLpKDKfQYFA4NSVYuvF56joVkWUeg3MpNf5KVHN3Us8L4DglelckJZaI2IOUPMMMGwUx0IzeO2YAEZthVBQA9-ngxWr7JyDC-x4jseDDV8xdiP74o1WfHLo8/s640/blogger-image--1226632802.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwcWkgarguyAnjhlj4VRfLpKDKfQYFA4NSVYuvF56joVkWUeg3MpNf5KVHN3Us8L4DglelckJZaI2IOUPMMMGwUx0IzeO2YAEZthVBQA9-ngxWr7JyDC-x4jseDDV8xdiP74o1WfHLo8/s640/blogger-image--1226632802.jpg"></a></div><br></div>Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-42564621369606125442013-07-05T19:17:00.001-07:002013-07-09T08:01:49.294-07:00Nationals Monsoon - Road Race & CritAs I post this, my experience in the beautiful Lac Mégantic, I would like to express my condolences to all the wonderful people of Lac Mégantic. As this post is after the terrible train derailment that leveled the downtown.<div><br><div>This blog is about the Nationals Road Race and Criterium. </div><div><br></div><div>Rain. That's an understatement. </div><div>After the ITT the skies unleashed. Friday was the day to do road race recon. We decided that doing a full 55km lap was too much if it was to rain the entire time. Instead we drove out to the bottom of beautiful Lac Mégantic and rode the hills back. The sky was dark, but not yet raining when we left the safety of the vans. It didn't take long to get a little rain, but we managed to stay relatively dry. This however was only the case for recon day, because race day was a whole different ball game. </div><div>After some strategic talking that night (very unusual for a mountain biker) it was time for bed. We knew we would be waking up to thunderstorms and maybe a teeny, weeny bit of rain...</div><div><br></div><div>Race day. Hummm sky dark, air damp, low ceiling - terrible day for flying - but I guess we could race bikes. As we lined up to race one might say, 'hey it might rain' or 'hey look at the wall of torrential downpour coming across the lake!'. Legitimately there was a wall of water. </div><div>Well as you may have guessed it began to rain. The setting of the race and my personal nervousness was heightened. I don't wish to crash on the road, I don't believe it would be enjoyable. Within the first couple minutes of the race the usual happened. Break away here, attempt there; nothing was sticking. The Ontario team was to send a rider up the road. There were some solid attempts but Quebec was having non of it. They were going to bring everything back. As for myself, well I couldn't move to the front without an entourage of other riders, I couldn't move to the back without people staring nervously over their shoulders at me - you could say that I was marked. Very interesting contrast between road and mountain in that regards. You can be marked on a mountain bike, but you'll probably just beat everyone to the single track first. Road, yea don't try to go up the road, they don't like that.</div><div>Sorry I got off track. The weather, now pouring, with the occasional lightning bolt(s) in the distance progressively becoming more frequent. You could say it was intense. On one of the descents Mother Nature decided to unleash some marble sized rain drops. My face, lips, arms, legs were numb but that wasn't the worst part. The scariest thing happened to my on that descent. I hit a section of the road that was covered in water, deep water, and hydroplaned. It was scary. I was slowly being sucked off the road but managed to regain contact with the pavement. I wasn't the only one to experience this as there was lots of screaming when we got to the bottom.</div><div>I had tons of wonderful one-sided conversations with people about the weather, how they were feeling etc etc. For some strange reason talking, or being able to talk, was throwing people off. The French riders would look at me like I was an alien because I was chatting. What? No one else likes to talk? I guess not</div><div>Unfortunately there was a crash, well there was a couple but this one stood out because I saw Adam Jamieson flip over the bars. Adam is a neighbour and a good friend of mine and I've seen him go over the bars many times on a mountain bike. It was unfortunate that he broke his frame and could not finish the race. </div><div>Nearing the end of the race the lead of the group consisted mainly of Quebec riders with some CHCH, Ontario, and one rider from Nova Scotia - who may I mention killed it! Awesome job dude. The strategies had been ditched, nothing had worked. It was Will Elliott, Jack Burke, Sean Mackinnon and myself left to defend Ontario. Sean slowly cracking, Jack consistently pulling and myself too marked to do anything, this one was for Will. With 25km to go Will would try to get away, but couldn't get it to stick. Even with his skillful tactics he needed someone else, but I couldn't do it. At 15km to go, right after Will had been caught again, I decided to take control. I jumped on the front and drilled it situating Will on my wheel. 42-46km/h was the poison forced onto everyone in the group. Sean would occasionally come up and give me some rest, but this was it, I was going to turn myself out and get Will to the finish. With about 2km to go it was hurting. No one had yet to counter my pace but on the final little riser before the descent into town I was overtaken. I wasn't yet ready to give up control so I brought Will and Jack to the other side of the road and paced them out. On the descent I was giving it. Oh man junior gears, just spinning so fast! With about 350m to go I was overtaken and boxed in. I couldn't get out to give Will a lead out, but somehow he was able to get out and got into the mix. The last turn, 200m before the finish, was gnarly. Off camber, two cross walks, two manhole covers - oh and it was raining! At this point I really didn't care because Will had made it into the mix and I was spent. Hitting the exit of the turn I stood to sprint and quickly found myself sideways. Remaining rubber side down I used my traction control to get myself safely across the line. 10th was earned on that rainy day. Will got 4th. </div><div>Thanks to the OCA <span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">and </span><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">all the guys on</span><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "> </span>team Ontario! Everyone did awesome! </div><div><br></div><div>The crit was that of a different nature. May I say in my favour as well as in our control? </div><div>Criteriums are something I am not familiar with. Well I guess that's not entirely true as they are sort of like cross races on the road. Anywho, Adam Jamieson and I decided it was our day. Starting off as a beautiful day, the road was dry (Thank You!) and the legs felt good. I started at the back and had to beat my way up to the front of the race. This took almost 8 laps until I felt comfortable. It was great shredding turns and going fast. Very rarely did I come out of my junior gears. Sean Mackinnon was up the road mid way through the race. Unfortunately Sean was being reeled in. As Sean was being caught Adam pulled up beside me and told me to go. I trust the Chief so I decided to do it. We got away effortlessly through the turns. This was at 18 laps to go...out of 36. We dangled. And dangled. Big shout out to the CHCH and Ontario boys that were chasing down people trying to bridge. There was one rider that got too close for comfort at 3 laps to go. He was sitting about 30 feet off my wheel and the pack was about 50 feet behind him. I may, or may not, have screamed at Adam to go faster. It was close! Last lap Adam was totally wrecked. Like Statefarm I decided to be a good neighbour and bring him in. Pulling the whole last lap and gaping Chief on the last turn we rolled in. Good times. Painful times.</div></div><div><br></div><div>Thank you Centurion Development Canada for their support, the OCA and the team. Fantastic experience and exposure to the road scene. It was fun! </div>Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-57845930864676368562013-06-28T06:42:00.001-07:002013-06-28T06:42:55.729-07:00Nationals Individual Time TrialWow! What an exciting experience! <div>The scene, Lac Mégantic, Quebec, beautiful green rolling hills, fast ripping roads and French people. Good times for sure! </div><div>The individual time trial was the first event. I do not own a time trial bike for the record, instead I borrowed one from Matthias Schmidt. I had nice little training ride three days before the race. This was my first time riding a TT bike. I rode it for the second time doing course recon. The course was a rolling, turny course with some elevation gain. I was extremely concerned about the climb that was in the course as for it was a solid kilometre or two. Besides that, to a mountain biker it just looked like road - not much to it.</div><div>Race day I was nervous for no apparent reason! I had never done a TT before. This was my third ride on a TT bike. This was going to be experience. However, I was still nervous. Lining up in the start gate with my borrowed beauty I took a few deep breaths and went for it. I was told to not go too hard off the start, keep it just chilled out for a while then crank it. There was a tail wind on the way out so I just ripped like mad. Beautiful junior gears allowed my to tuck down the climb. At the turn around I was ready to turn the gas on. Into the head wind and up hill. Cranking out some good watts I had caught my 2 minute man. Riding it like a mountain biker with some good digs on the climb and recovery on the decent. At the lap turn around I almost hit the fence - I like going fast around turns ok. On the way out for the second time it was flying time! I had to save a little for the way back though! At the turn around someone yelled to me that I was in the lead, my immediate thoughts: "you're lying." After thinking about it a little more I thought that maybe they were right as I just came from the tail wind section; then it hit me. What if I could hold it throughout the head wind section? Giver!!! And that's just what happened. Cooking up the climb and sprinting my face off (in an aero position) I came out with a time of 39:09 for 30km. It was a fantastic result as this was my first time and I astonished myself. Apparently I was in the lead. Only Adam Jamieson had to finish. When Adam came in for 4th place I knew I had done it! </div><div>National Individual Time Trial Champion! </div><div>Woot!</div><div>Shout out to Will 'Nub' Elliot and Jack 'ITT' Burke for their podium finishes! </div><div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdKR3ky0hCBfHmOROJV9B31lg1l-7FtjznYQdfrJgIbTPFOwc-dPZRVbBOp-FqE0_QM6gkz8o64SmNRO5bPgi9hIzZrfKhOCTHscNPrkknQ20NZG11cdZuDFDyGMEi7fRBsghSf6m1TQ/s640/blogger-image--1455755917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdKR3ky0hCBfHmOROJV9B31lg1l-7FtjznYQdfrJgIbTPFOwc-dPZRVbBOp-FqE0_QM6gkz8o64SmNRO5bPgi9hIzZrfKhOCTHscNPrkknQ20NZG11cdZuDFDyGMEi7fRBsghSf6m1TQ/s640/blogger-image--1455755917.jpg"></a></div> </div>Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-33814012020809331342013-06-23T07:41:00.001-07:002013-06-23T07:56:18.929-07:00Pizza and Pasta - Val di Sole World Cup, Italy<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); ">What an adventure! </span></div><div style="font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); "><div><br></div><div>Val di Sole Italy was the place this round. The purpose, World Cup XCO and XCE. </div><div><br></div><div>First off let's set the scene. Picture great pine trees, grass and bush covered mountain with snow caps on top. After a long flight over to Milan Italy we got in the cars. It was a 5 hour drive up to where we were staying. A few stops at some Auto Grills on the way were as I was told 'necessary' we arrived. The venue was just off a two lane highway, in the middle of two mountains, about 2 hours away from any major cities. The town we were staying in was one I would categorize as a 'Classic European Town' with all the twisty roads, tight parking spots and beautiful old world architecture. The place we were staying in was a beautiful hotel. It was very nice. For example, the shower had an electronic display to control the radio, lights, fans, Bluetooth, and volume. It was so cool! Well, enough about the setting, on to the course!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84Gi2dPuNGQt2s929yRa3caHBsKUvFaF8QVoLTaNIXRrllz1Kg6gmKcxIuhUW03LEzAPoHvZGVwDVQdFzawMx9aydIKM-Ip8ap53RE6pO7yZuVcke0xAcwrPYZN_aV4pus0fun0WNbiw/s640/blogger-image--1996757434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; "><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84Gi2dPuNGQt2s929yRa3caHBsKUvFaF8QVoLTaNIXRrllz1Kg6gmKcxIuhUW03LEzAPoHvZGVwDVQdFzawMx9aydIKM-Ip8ap53RE6pO7yZuVcke0xAcwrPYZN_aV4pus0fun0WNbiw/s640/blogger-image--1996757434.jpg"></a></div><div>The course in Val di Sole was hilly. I don't consider myself a climber, I survive but I wouldn't say I excel at it. Well, this course was a collaboration of 8 climbs per lap. It started off on a start loop, then up. 7 of the climbs were what I would call steps. There was very little down, if any, between these climbs. After the 7th climb (which had a section that my Garmin said hit 47%) it was party time. I'm sure the view would've been very nice if I wasn't cross eyed from going so hard. Next up was the downhill. I heard people talking about how this was the longest World Cup downhill. It was some switchbacks with some drops. Then a gnarly chute. That section was fun! Then it shot you down the ski hill. Good good times going 50km/h down that. Then it was feed zone time, and up the last climb. The last climb was gnarly. Straight up! Woo! The whole lap was 4.18km and roughly 210m vertical. </div><div>Race day was awesome. I love racing early because there is no time to think. The key is to not think, don't use your brain and you can't get nervous. Starting at 9:30am, 5 laps, #45. Ready? Go!</div><div>Pacing was key for this race and especially for me. I did not want to blow up. Chilling out on the start loop and letting everyone else just blow their brains out around me, I held strong, doing my thing. Come the 3rd lap I was hurting, but apparently not as much as other people as I was able to make up some spots. Thanks to Head Coach Dan Proulx for keeping me calm and on track. 4th and 5th laps I gave it! Finishing just behind 6th and 7th place in 8th place. 8th at my first European World Cup! I was super pleased with that! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZzYAOb_K4OpH31aZUB1aPAulKqZs3vGPpWBKqSw7PVJ9TateDzC-wZH1Fqmue2v7BXmS2ZSIfqhBsoDHjqcQQwVn2ghWKkQAiXcHzJNKjYw2j0QuDrIxhyphenhyphenDk3tIk0AJ-49vtluJNLYA/s640/blogger-image-1020568926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; "><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZzYAOb_K4OpH31aZUB1aPAulKqZs3vGPpWBKqSw7PVJ9TateDzC-wZH1Fqmue2v7BXmS2ZSIfqhBsoDHjqcQQwVn2ghWKkQAiXcHzJNKjYw2j0QuDrIxhyphenhyphenDk3tIk0AJ-49vtluJNLYA/s640/blogger-image-1020568926.jpg"></a></div><div>Thank you to Team Canada and some awesome mechanics. </div></div><div style="font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); ">Thank you to Norco, Louis Garneau and Angry Johnny/Emma!</div><div style="font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); ">And mostly all of my supporters! </div><div style="font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); ">Check out the interview! <a href="http://youtu.be/iYO6zGi_1Rk">http://youtu.be/iYO6zGi_1Rk</a></div><div style="font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); "><br></div><div style="font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); ">Next up is road nationals! Time to switch gears!</div><div style="font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); "><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDWXD8hCdX7rk5BFDQYDQF_GGJBz7pfg9SR7EoZ377V8So1rku-q2PmX8VfKD8IvhcCSThenmW0zYL07vbMKorzitI8hhuyXq4kjTgz0mFe1LhTVsBVPP9-oaPXS-lWCbulrfwdFLeGI/s640/blogger-image-878580173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDWXD8hCdX7rk5BFDQYDQF_GGJBz7pfg9SR7EoZ377V8So1rku-q2PmX8VfKD8IvhcCSThenmW0zYL07vbMKorzitI8hhuyXq4kjTgz0mFe1LhTVsBVPP9-oaPXS-lWCbulrfwdFLeGI/s640/blogger-image-878580173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDWXD8hCdX7rk5BFDQYDQF_GGJBz7pfg9SR7EoZ377V8So1rku-q2PmX8VfKD8IvhcCSThenmW0zYL07vbMKorzitI8hhuyXq4kjTgz0mFe1LhTVsBVPP9-oaPXS-lWCbulrfwdFLeGI/s640/blogger-image-878580173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; "><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDWXD8hCdX7rk5BFDQYDQF_GGJBz7pfg9SR7EoZ377V8So1rku-q2PmX8VfKD8IvhcCSThenmW0zYL07vbMKorzitI8hhuyXq4kjTgz0mFe1LhTVsBVPP9-oaPXS-lWCbulrfwdFLeGI/s640/blogger-image-878580173.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); clear: both; "><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDWXD8hCdX7rk5BFDQYDQF_GGJBz7pfg9SR7EoZ377V8So1rku-q2PmX8VfKD8IvhcCSThenmW0zYL07vbMKorzitI8hhuyXq4kjTgz0mFe1LhTVsBVPP9-oaPXS-lWCbulrfwdFLeGI/s640/blogger-image-878580173.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; "></a><br></div></div></div></div></div>Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-46069348750992682042013-03-01T18:51:00.001-08:002013-03-01T18:51:53.618-08:00West CoastThe Golden State.<br />
Thank you to the Ontario Cycling Association for a wonderful time down in Oxnard, California. What a sweet time it was!<br />
<br />
LA - What Up?!<br />
<br />
After an insane travel day - 22 hours - we finally arrived. We didn't even unpack, just straight to bed. The next morning we built the bikes and were off to the races!<br />
On the first couple days we rode along the Pacific Coast Highway and into some of the smaller mountains. California is a beautiful state. Riding along the ocean was breath taking.<br />
On day three of riding we ramped it up a little. Gibraltar was the weapon of choice: a massive climb, situated just in from the coast and venerable to all of the ocean winds. It was a gnarly time. At the top of Gibraltar, after racing up it, we continued to climb a little. After hitting snow at 3600 feet it was time to descend. A tight, windy, steep descent was what awaited us. It was fantastic! It wouldn't have been terrible for the ride to have ended there, but this was not the case. It just so happened that i got into the group with some of the fast U23s, we held 45-55km/h going down the PCH for about 45 minutes. It was ridiculous. Just a fantastic time!<br />
The rest of the camp included more mountain passes, riding through Malibu (seeing some sick cars), battling the head winds in the strawberry fields, and some attempted surfing. I celebrated my birthday while I was in California. Pretty cool to turn 18 in such a cool place. The team organized a Throwback Thursday themed party, equipped with cakes and thrift shop attire. I got an amazing suit out of it. <br />
California is definitely one of my favourite places now. Living on the ocean, riding in the mountains and chilling with movie stars is a lifestyle I could adapt to easily. I look forward to making many more trips there in the future. <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVi02guDZCLNq1ALtAq3lSXE6OA9m5kMNrNUmRBWdaW47bMVCF7nUS-7CVBxfqOCT4rvP4U7Fx3spXuUDXm8iF7m7O0dNxsfOUkZPBkwGqj9PWVAbMFzh6pKLphdroFvmBP-eaaYGRho/s640/blogger-image-1262897178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVi02guDZCLNq1ALtAq3lSXE6OA9m5kMNrNUmRBWdaW47bMVCF7nUS-7CVBxfqOCT4rvP4U7Fx3spXuUDXm8iF7m7O0dNxsfOUkZPBkwGqj9PWVAbMFzh6pKLphdroFvmBP-eaaYGRho/s640/blogger-image-1262897178.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAykWnwud6Jpmwy3jyX9pGjP3WrZOzK8ye7gF9XlrtIdqw45KnGc1MXqxX-xQ6b9jl-PGRXGCDVQKn7b2wM_rC96bw_RneQjMoUIxCbgbCJzzkEXDLRYI44DOz-h0GUXcZWk4ayQDz4ds/s640/blogger-image--76529029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAykWnwud6Jpmwy3jyX9pGjP3WrZOzK8ye7gF9XlrtIdqw45KnGc1MXqxX-xQ6b9jl-PGRXGCDVQKn7b2wM_rC96bw_RneQjMoUIxCbgbCJzzkEXDLRYI44DOz-h0GUXcZWk4ayQDz4ds/s640/blogger-image--76529029.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8seCBxzO0nggFOEkrUHB0ruUeXPbOjYIFO2C1G0ITaLjbn85PNfkRCQqm9nQS5ev8E78pP5qSS73I9gukKEld2NeJJX83v_489eiAfY2y8UAhWm-tpFBd_T_G4GiID4O_cW1Y_VPHNpQ/s640/blogger-image-1130485056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8seCBxzO0nggFOEkrUHB0ruUeXPbOjYIFO2C1G0ITaLjbn85PNfkRCQqm9nQS5ev8E78pP5qSS73I9gukKEld2NeJJX83v_489eiAfY2y8UAhWm-tpFBd_T_G4GiID4O_cW1Y_VPHNpQ/s640/blogger-image-1130485056.jpg" /></a></div>Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-35131240112371572992013-02-02T15:04:00.001-08:002013-02-02T15:15:06.454-08:00Cyclo-Cross World Championships - the RaceThe 2013 Cyclo-Cross World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky started off a bit interesting. With tornado warnings early in the week, hot weather turning to snow, and then potential flooding the races were bumped up to Saturday. This meaning that all four of the categories would race on Saturday. Not a huge deal for us juniors seeing our start just became an hour or so earlier. <br />
<br />
On the morning of the race, it was cold obviously, and there was a fresh dusting of snow on the ground. This was going to make for an interesting seeing just two days before everything had been a mud pit. Meaning that all of the mud and muddy ruts would have become frozen bobsled tracks. Almost too Canadian for comfort...<br />
<br />
The course was open for training for an hour before our start. The boys and I headed out for a lap or two before retreating to the heated trailer to jump on the trainers. After a good warm up it was time to make our way to the start boxes. The start was the part of the race that I was most worried about. It was going to be violent, fast and potentially deadly. I was sketching out a bit, not going to lie. <br />
<br />
Rolling up to the line I was the 20th call up. Quickly forcing my way up a bit towards the front and I became second row. This was going to be a good race, I felt good, confident, but insanely nervous. When the light turned green, we were off!<br />
Sprint, sprint - BREAK! (As buddy here almost takes you out flying across in front of you) Around the first turn and down the straight, settling into single file, picking them off one by one. Over the first sand pit, avoid the cartwheeling American. Up the stairs on the flyover, run over the German that tripped. Up the switchback, sliding on the icy ground. Battle for your spot, don't give in, don't give up a position - this is worlds! <br />
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The first three laps or so were successful, moving my way up from 21st to 12th. Then it started to slip away a bit on me. A position here, a slip there and I found myself in 17th. Battling with two British guys where I found myself in some tough competition. Between the screaming back muscles and the phlegm ridden breaths I held it, all the way until the icy off camber section. I slide out and they were quick to go past. For the last lap I chased and chased but couldn't pull them in. 19th is the position in which I finished. 19th in the world. <br />
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Good day at the office. <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwJRSSXqcssncBsT41Bj8cIYwChO34n_-yp1G4CAct5QGvJrG6o1T6eWsBb2w7QZyxgduzfcjSXbNjklDaRP4WEdXabE2z7VH5enHQLqPb9C_A6ZIa_XP1omIMxosMf9SRPTyOsism4Y/s640/blogger-image--447716654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicwJRSSXqcssncBsT41Bj8cIYwChO34n_-yp1G4CAct5QGvJrG6o1T6eWsBb2w7QZyxgduzfcjSXbNjklDaRP4WEdXabE2z7VH5enHQLqPb9C_A6ZIa_XP1omIMxosMf9SRPTyOsism4Y/s640/blogger-image--447716654.jpg" /></a></div>Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com1Louisville Louisville38.277735 -85.697129tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-44148912694874076452013-01-31T08:02:00.001-08:002013-01-31T08:21:22.607-08:00Kentucky is sinking man, and I don't wanna swim!Finally arrived in Louisville KY.<br />
It was a long drive after finishing up my remaining two exams early in the morning. We, my father and I, arrived at the hotel around 1am where i quickly got settled and was quickly off to bed.<br />
The next day a group ride went out at 10am on the road. The course had not yet been open to pre-ride. However, the masters course was open; and boy was it messy. The road leading to the venue is covered in mud. Cars and trucks parked at the side of the road have sunk up to their axels in the mud. The masters course its self was partly submerged in areas. There are pictures covering Instagram and Twitter with water up to people's axels as they ride through. Good times, good times for sure. <br />
It has been good that they have kept our course closed and consequently in good shape. There is a solid 1-2cm of water between the blades of grass on the flat sections. Anywhere you step water rushes out of the ground eager to soak your foot. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like it's going to be a full out mud fest. Tonight and tomorrow night it is supposed to drop down to -11C - basically making any of the mud rock hard. At the moment we are scheduled to start in -5C weather. Should be a real good time. <br />
All for now. Time to get out on course on the bikes!<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44o5bIL6jwzHcvJWG8rbYpsZ8KJkIoSnnVFIHJvvFmTUE402_FZYnDuZVa_B28zB5sWrv6J790rCaoOgisoGrbJq21wJLd-d_ouNrlO417rrRyjE0mjHBiYbYl4EWdTIUV1Qh_Kw77JY/s640/blogger-image--1288851796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg44o5bIL6jwzHcvJWG8rbYpsZ8KJkIoSnnVFIHJvvFmTUE402_FZYnDuZVa_B28zB5sWrv6J790rCaoOgisoGrbJq21wJLd-d_ouNrlO417rrRyjE0mjHBiYbYl4EWdTIUV1Qh_Kw77JY/s640/blogger-image--1288851796.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixaW5n_iCYGYa-YpshYj3oWi-UwO6fPREGm-FLXrbe7xkJhyR-Z8xfPYE1SaQ0yj05FD9mK28E1JiPEgLgRRv_UhSCMVY7Ye6JNjY0qHS00qXBiDzR-MKP-ZyIKYQ_eDKCwsotIKfV8EY/s640/blogger-image--59016990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixaW5n_iCYGYa-YpshYj3oWi-UwO6fPREGm-FLXrbe7xkJhyR-Z8xfPYE1SaQ0yj05FD9mK28E1JiPEgLgRRv_UhSCMVY7Ye6JNjY0qHS00qXBiDzR-MKP-ZyIKYQ_eDKCwsotIKfV8EY/s640/blogger-image--59016990.jpg" /></a></div>Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com1Louisville Louisville38.277694 -85.697107tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-54711541562880109222013-01-11T18:34:00.001-08:002013-01-11T18:36:44.988-08:00On the way to Cyclo-cross World ChampionshipsThe countdown has begun to the 2013 CX World Championships in Louisville KY. As expected, the nerves have begun to accumulate. This is going to be an exciting experience and something that I have never done before. Not only is it CX Worlds but it is also a race in the very early season. Since I am primarily a mountain biker, my basement is normally the pain station for the winter. It is going to be an exciting and new experience racing mid winter. I have, and will continue to, prepare my fitness for the event; however the absence of outdoor experience on grass and with other racers is unnerving. Solution? Go ride outside! A warm spell experienced at the start of January has assisted.<br />
Preparations are being made for departures and equipment. Thanks to Norco I have a beauty of a bike to ride for the race! Timing is going to be exciting for this as I finish writing my last exam and then jump in the car to drive to Louisville with my father. What a great way of finishing a semester! <br />
Well, all for now! <br />
Updates will come pre-race!Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-35373007763332595772012-12-04T18:40:00.000-08:002012-12-04T19:14:15.040-08:00Cyclo-cross Nationals: MUD, SAND, GRIT <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Little Wet</td></tr>
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November 15th, 2012...and beyond, <br />
After great success at cyclo-cross provincial championships, Will (Nub) Elliott and I made our way out west. Our destination: <st1:place><st1:city>Surrey</st1:city>, <st1:state>British Columbia</st1:state></st1:place> and Cyclo-cross national championships. <o:p></o:p><br />
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The weather was as we predicted, slightly wet. It was a solid decision to come across the country with mud tires, the forecast was only rain. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Once arriving in <st1:city><st1:place>Vancouver</st1:place></st1:city>, Will and I made our way onto the transit system. We had a bit of a journey ahead of us to get to <st1:place>Surrey</st1:place>. Might I add that the <st1:city><st1:place>Vancouver</st1:place></st1:city> transit system is very good and convenient to a pair of underage guys trying to get around. We arrived at our hotel, built our bikes and went to bed. </div>
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The next day was jammed packed with exciting Jackie Chan movies and some homework. We left for the course at <st1:time hour="15" minute="0">3pm</st1:time> to meet up with our coach's sister, "The" Wendy Simms, to pre-ride. Pre-riding went well as it was only damp. The course was barely destroyed by the end of the day, but that would soon change. The night before the race it rained and rained.</div>
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Race day was cold and wet. It wasn't raining in the morning but as Nub and I began to get ready to leave the skies opened up. This was going to be a very cold and wet day. As we made our way out to the course, the spare clothes that we brought got wet. During some pre-race laps we noticed that the course had changed to a great extent. Most of the off-camber was un-rideable as it was just too slick. The race would become very interesting now.</div>
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As we lined up behind the elite women the tension gained. There was a solid amount of water on the ground at the start. Up the road, over a curb and into barriers was the first 500m. It was going to be carnage. As the start got underway, a couple wobbles here and there, everything was good so far. Surviving the turn, the curb and the barriers was a great success. Next was just full gas, slip and slide, and elbows. Good racing I’d say. The group quickly broke up and I found myself in the lead group of three. This was going excellent. The course and conditions were such that pack riding offered little value. Riders in front would kick up way too much mud and riders behind would slide into you on turns. Because of these factors the ‘group’ wasn’t much of a group and the lead changed consistently. By the final two laps we had dropped another; two riders in the lead and I was one of them. Superb! With the final section the make moves approaching I gunned it! With no resistance from my opposition I figured I had it. Apparently he knew better. As we were running across one of the off camber sections I lost my footing in the mud and he passed me. Bad news for me as my cables we so clogged with grit my gears wouldn’t have been changing fast enough for a sprint finish. However, as I got back on in pursuit, he fell. It was super unfortunate to have to pass a fellow racer while he was on the ground tangled in the tape, I truly felt bad, but this is racing. Pulling out of that section and down the path, having only a bit of a lead, the sprint had to be mine. Some solid effort put in that day – came across the line 1<sup>st</sup>. I had finally achieved my goal to get a national champion jersey. It was amazing!</div>
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Big thank you to Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny’s Racing and Trek Store Barrie for helping with support, it was greatly appreciated. </div>
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Next, WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS! Yes, you read that right; I will be attending Cyclo-cross World Championships in <st1:place><st1:city>Louisville</st1:city>, <st1:state>Kentucky</st1:state></st1:place> in February. Thanks to everyone for your support and stay tuned.<br />
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Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-29731832033364675712012-11-05T16:21:00.000-08:002012-11-06T17:39:00.255-08:00Cyclo-cross! More Mud, More Sand.<br />
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<span lang="EN-CA">It’s fall. It’s cold. It’s raining, nope never mind, it’s snowing. Yet we all dream of racing cyclo-cross. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Well, yes, it’s a grand old time! Slaying the grassy turns. Bombing into mud at full speed. Everything you could possibly want comes from cyclo-cross – minus single track...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">It all started at the Real Deal Tuesday night cross series in Horseshoe Valley. There the races consisted of Will Elliott, Adam Jamieson, Andrew Watson and a few others. It was a grand time, on a very challenging course.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Next I moved into the S-Cup series, hitting up the Real Deal Horseshoe race and winning it. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Then onto the Angry Johnny’s Albion Cross race where there was some crazy stuff that went down. The boys, or the kangaroos, were jumping the barriers and I was having trouble keeping up. So, smart me decided I would try to hop the barrier for the first time with no practice. Yea, I went head over heels. Getting back up I noticed my rear rim was warped; a quick unhooking of the rear brake two laps later and I rode in an easy 3<sup>rd</sup>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Then Hardwood Ski and Bike's cross race was awesome! Taking the "W" there was a difficult one! The course was exceptionally challenging and posed multiple show-stopping technical areas. A solid ride indeed.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Next up was cyclo-cross provincials. Wow! That was some craziness. A nice course in the Barrie Sporting Complex. It was completely flat and bumpy, but the mud hole...made my day. Six to eight inches of sludge, you had no choice but to just blast right through it. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">It started out with the five of us: Adam, Will, Tyler, Conner and I. After the first lap, I got a little bit of a lead. Will managed to join me a lap or so later and we worked together to pull away from the group. Riding together and taking turns to pull – usually unwillingly – we had some upsets. Will managed to trip up on my rear wheel and I heard him squeak – he was going over. After yelling sorry, I took off. There was still a lot of race left and I was not confident with riding alone the whole time, thus I did not drop the hammer. Once Will had rejoined we were sitting at two laps to go. Through the mud again uneventfully, we were hauling.<i> </i></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA"><i>And then it happened... </i></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA">We came around one of the turns and Will pulled out to the side to let me lead. Well, it just so happened I was half-wheeling slightly and I ate it. This was 1.5 laps to go. It took me the better half of the last lap to catch up. Then I sat in until the mud. I excelled at the stairs – they were a lot of fun. I blasted every straight stretch that offered good passing potential. Then there was the final straight. This was the only part where being in front could pose an issue. I wasn’t about to give a lead out so I hit it! A solid sprint across the finish line with Will about five feet behind me. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Provincial Champion Title was attained!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Off to nationals in Vancouver in less than two weeks. </span><span lang="EN-CA">Let’s hope we have a repeat of provincials!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-13018899430716382962012-09-20T19:31:00.003-07:002012-09-20T19:34:03.857-07:00A Year in a Nutshell<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmacVdZ_puJ2kkmwLr8xemAW4vJ_XTMtrxRxYYoIKMXO_fRWjNAqcZHgiPRKtFLtcGx8sxjKLcOVINdWu_LKQgHz2wbkiZ7sp5BWP2c49jRB-jh2b5iwfQj-9KRe61EYEhsHl7z-6AWcQ/s1600/IMG_0614%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" hea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmacVdZ_puJ2kkmwLr8xemAW4vJ_XTMtrxRxYYoIKMXO_fRWjNAqcZHgiPRKtFLtcGx8sxjKLcOVINdWu_LKQgHz2wbkiZ7sp5BWP2c49jRB-jh2b5iwfQj-9KRe61EYEhsHl7z-6AWcQ/s320/IMG_0614%5B1%5D.jpg" width="320" /></a>After World Championships I was feeling good. I got home, tired from the trip. What an exciting experience it was! </div>
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The day after I got home I proceeded to unpack, build my bike (not fully seeing it was clean and I did not want to dirty it again this year) and get my school things in order for Grade 12. Exciting (in the most flat, draining voice possible)… </div>
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Jet lag didn’t last long. Getting to school the first day was easy, I was practically sleeping into <st1:time hour="12" minute="0">noon</st1:time> when I woke up for the bus, but by 5<sup>th</sup> period on my first day, I was feeling a little tired. Let’s make matters more interesting: I missed about a week and a half, that’s a substantial workload. As well as that I had my first class of night school that night. That meant that night school running from <st1:time hour="18" minute="0">6pm-9pm</st1:time> was running me (on Austrian time) from <st1:time hour="12" minute="0">12pm-3am</st1:time> … class was swell.</div>
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Getting off the bike was very important for me. This entire season had been built on ‘what if’ scenarios. What if I make it to the <st1:address>Mont St. Anne</st1:address> world cup? What if I make it to Worlds? This put my coach and I under a little stress. It was a ladder we had to climb.</div>
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From the beginning of the year, <st1:city><st1:place>Paris</st1:place></st1:city> to Ancaster, right up to Worlds it was stepping stones. From starting the O-cups, making the Canada Cup project, to making the Nationals project, I was well on my way. The next was a big finish at nationals, but there were hurdles to hop. The week before nationals at the Albion Ontario Cup I hit a tree. Overcoming injury for nationals required patience and discipline. After making the North American World Cup start list, not the project, there were plans to make! Finding places to stay and such. Huge thank you to Opus, Trek <st1:country -region="-region"><st1:place>Canada</st1:place></st1:country> and the Waglers for touring me around and giving me a place to stay! After an exciting world cup experience with a 6<sup>th</sup> place finish at St. Anne it became a waiting game. Wait for the announcement about Worlds.</div>
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Training proceeded as ‘normal’ and racing did not stop. I went to the Ontario Summer Games for the last time in my career and came out with 4 golds; winning the Time Trial, XC race, Relay race and Overall Team. It was a superb exit! I am excited to see how Quinton Disera does in the up coming OSG’s.</div>
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Then the announcement about worlds came out. All the support that everyone displayed was incredibly helpful and overwhelming at times. It was and is truly appreciated. The planning and such that happened is listed in other posts. I just wanted to thank everyone again.</div>
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And now we’re back, to the present, almost two weeks after worlds… </div>
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Cyclo-CROSS! Woot! Season starts up soon! Not excited about the cold weather but I think I’ll learn to live with it! I am Canadian, eh? </div>
Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-62520279529753503952012-09-08T03:29:00.000-07:002012-11-06T17:41:08.856-08:00World Championships - The Race.....I have always been told by my family and friends to never say sorry after a race. My girlfriend says she hates it when athletes apologise, they have already done so much...<br />
Well sorry but <em>I'm sorry</em>...If you don't like me apologising then view it this way; <em>I'm sorry to myself</em>. The person I let down the most is myself. I was there! I could do it! I was physically prepared. I was mentally prepared for the 150% start. And then it happened...<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><strong>The morning</strong></span> started at 5:45am. Up for breakfast. Then shower, chill about, listen to music, get dressed and head out in the 10 degree weather. Arriving at the tent we got out chips and headed out on a warm up. Ripped a lap of the start loop and then did some tempo on the road. We proceeded to get in the pens. After being called up and squeezing/fighting your way closer to the front, I had the ideal start position, two rows back, left. <strong><u><span style="background-color: #ffd966; color: red;">This was it. </span></u></strong><br />
All the people that had helped to get me here went through my head in a flash of nerves. Music. Crowds. I was numb. 15 seconds... "This is it baby!" I remember saying... <strong>BANG,</strong> and we were off. Zero to 40km/h in 30 feet. Insanity. Every time you heard brakes of gravel flying I cringed. It was a mad swarm, turning and flowing, everyone fighting for position. And then it happened, I heard 'him' hit the fence. 'He' went down and the whole pack went down. The sound of carbon, shoes and helmets on the pavement is something I will not forget. The only lane that made it out was my lane. I was lucky, but not safe. Even though no one went down in front of me I had a Scott bike hurled though the air towards me. Flipping and flipping until it took out the rider in front of me. I made it through, fazed, but quickly refocused. "Full gas. Full gas. I can do this." The start loop went quick and well.<br />
<strong><span style="color: red;">Lap 1:</span></strong> Fast. Don't let up. This is Europe. Don't let up. Push yourself beyond your limits, block people to hold your position and keep it smooth. I was near the top 30 after lap 1.<br />
<strong><span style="color: red;">Lap 2:</span></strong> Same thing, don't settle in, just blow your brains out. Now in the top 30. <br />
<span style="color: red;"><strong>Lap 3:</strong></span> First climb, really feeling it. Tasting blood, but keep going, push yourself. Made my way up to 25th at one point, but that didn't last long. And then it happened...Maple Syrup Falls. Steep, rooty, slippery and slightly scary. I fell on it first lap and second lap didn't feel it. I was going to drop my foot and rip it this time. all went to plan and the front tire found the groove. I leaned in to rip the turn, and apparently it just wasn't meant to be. I ripped the tire right off the rim... Remaining surprisingly calm I grabbed my Big Air. Screwed in my regulator. No sound... It wouldn't puncture. It wouldn't puncture! <strong>No! No!</strong> Now I freaked. All I wanted was a smooth race, no flats, no mechanicals and no injuries. This moment was a moment of utter disappointment, sadness and awe. No time for moping, <strong>RUN!</strong> And I ran. Nobody was making it past me without working for it. I was going to hold as much of my top 30 as I could. I ran the entire downhill. Just booking it. My tire had come off the rim, my rim banging against the rocks; another sound I will not soon forget. After getting a new wheel on and setting off in probably 80th. I was going to fight, fight for 79th, 78th, 77th...I was going to.<br />
I quickly made my way up, making up positions. Working hard. Coming passed the feedzone again I made a gnarly pass! Took the guy on the inside, force him out. Aww yea. I quickly sprinted my way up to speed and then took a drink. And then it happened...One hand on the bar, drinking, and another really aggressive rider.. He bumped my bars as he went past. This sent me flying! I slid across the gravel on my side and back. Quickly I got up, swearing and bleeding. I was going to kill him. <br />
<strong><span style="color: red;">Lap 4:</span></strong> Chasing this guy, I caught him and as I passed he made no motion to block. Right as I got in front he said he was sorry. I couldn't be mad. I decked him the turn before too. It's racing...<br />
Unfortunately between flatting and fatigue, pain and injuries and constantly trying to refocus, I lost too much time. I got pulled. 1 Lap Down... Really a huge disappointment for me. I could've stayed up there. I could've done one more lap... Could've, would've, should've...DIDN'T...I'm Sorry.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><strong>Lap 5</strong>:</span> Non Existent...<br />
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Overall, great first 3 laps! I got where I needed to be, I was still able to see the front in the start, I was there. A few crashes, I was not impressed with my technical riding, stupid mistakes. But I made it here. I'm in Austria. I just did a race with over 100 juniors in it! I survived the start crash! <br />
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I finished 73rd - 1 lap down.Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-88187331411549988982012-09-06T07:14:00.002-07:002012-09-07T05:38:10.920-07:00World Championships Course<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0mm 0mm 0pt;">
After some rain early on in the week, the sun finally came out. Bathing in this new found glory and happiness of warmth we hit the course. Riding the day before was like driving in the winter; brake well before the corner. It was a day of peanut butter trails; don’t touch the front brake unless you’re going straight or end up on the ground (slightly exaggerated). The gnarly off camber trails were a lot of fun! Roots quickly became nicely polished and were like riding on ice. You really had to be paying attention! Pressure control, brake control and balance were key!</div>
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With the continual sunshine the course started to dry up. The roots and polished rocks are still very slippery but on the steep drops braking was ultimately doing something! Looks like a great time! </div>
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Team <st1:country -region="-region"><st1:place>Canada</st1:place></st1:country> was very lucky to be able to ride the course at such an early time (Monday). Tuesday and Wednesday were absolutely nuts, with about 50 people crowding around the ‘Rock Drop’ and another couple dozen around ‘<st1:place><st1:placename>Maple</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Syrup</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Falls</st1:placetype></st1:place>’ (check it on Strava). It was insane trying to get a turn to try it and get people out of the way! </div>
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Ok! More about the course so you know what I’m talking about!</div>
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Starting on an oval track and shooting straight up the road for the start loop! The climb is 8.5% for 600m. Pretty gnarly… Then you shoot down a grassy decent back to the stadium and out the oval to the first flowy single track. Then the climb starts. It consists of 1.2km of bumpy double track up, anywhere between 4-15% with it getting continually steeper near the top. You also cross a stream twice and get wet. </div>
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Then you hit up ‘<st1:place><st1:placename>Maple</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Syrup</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Falls</st1:placetype></st1:place>’. It is a hard right into a log drop that you can roll, then a 35 foot gnarly steep section with roots and rocks and the works! At the very bottom it’s an awesomely hard, off camber left turn! People would just shoot right through the turn! Check the video of it! <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?v=496122823732573&set=vb.100000045780492&type=2&theater">http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?v=496122823732573&set=vb.100000045780492&type=2&theater</a></div>
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So then you rip through some tricky roots and more slippery off camber trail. It’s so gnar! Lap traffic may pose an issue, but just run the person in front of you over, right? </div>
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Then you hit a fast root covered double track with some sweet slippery turns and then hit the feed zone! Up the road climb (same as start loop). </div>
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Next you’re into the ‘Rock Drop’! Some switchback climbing to start, then drop in down another off camber right-hander. Over some slippery roots and hook a left, BOOM, drop that. The rock is fairly large and has a knuckle, meaning it kicks your rear wheel up (as in flipping you). But these guys can hit it up quite well! Just drop it!</div>
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?v=496115260399996&set=vb.100000045780492&type=2&theater">http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?v=496115260399996&set=vb.100000045780492&type=2&theater</a></div>
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After a series of turns and small log drops, you hit the grass! Or as coach Dan says, ‘Hit the grass, hit the gas’ Crazy Canuck style! You go a decently fast speed with some sludgy turns. </div>
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Following getting your face plastered around your ears you hit the biggest fly-over I have ever ridden. It is 4.7m high! Once you survive coming down and not rolling your tires then it’s quickly through the feed zone again. And then you have arrived at the final chute – quick drop/roll over, loose sand and gravel, down some rocks…easy.</div>
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Quick loop around the track and you’re done!<o:p></o:p></div>
Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3505570152779146488.post-84340425627357206062012-08-31T09:52:00.002-07:002012-09-07T05:39:21.129-07:00Euro Trip - What Weather is this?<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cb2X0Q3NrsY_E1_5Zt3XeHoexcS_r3rc9Cll7UeACluvvGxTtdJ7bI1evr-ic2nd2Q4GkCigvZUo6RzVltYirTkyUIk-qAdQT5mlLXeNlGyDf02IksomGfk7PkYlQpMGliRmWstTPHs/s1600/IMG_0602%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 132px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 181px;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cb2X0Q3NrsY_E1_5Zt3XeHoexcS_r3rc9Cll7UeACluvvGxTtdJ7bI1evr-ic2nd2Q4GkCigvZUo6RzVltYirTkyUIk-qAdQT5mlLXeNlGyDf02IksomGfk7PkYlQpMGliRmWstTPHs/s200/IMG_0602%5B1%5D.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue;">Cold? Wet? Really? </span>Waking up today around 11am here today, but <st1:time hour="5" minute="0">5am</st1:time> for me still being jet lagged. It was cold. I didn't want to move out from under neither my down comforter. I was so warm! It was pouring outside. I got some breakfast, had a long warm shower and got dressed. I put on most of my warm stuff and set out. <br />
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I had no idea where to go. The streets are confusing and tight and the country side…I have no hope of understanding the signs. I thought I was going the wrong way when I passed a sign with a red slash through it, but apparently that just means that you have exited the town. People were staring and stopping to watch me go by, I thought I was doing something illegal. Is it illegal to ride in town on Fridays? I guess they didn’t think anyone would ever want to bike on such a cold rainy day. </div>
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Then I got home and realised we had left windows open. The apartment was freezing, so we turned on the oven. That was effective seeing the central heating system wasn’t even on. Our stuff is still not dry as we do not seem to have a dryer…or any laundry machine. We’ll see, working on my German now!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykYIRjRt_PngjnR4U_CPCIq_UOZJYirbW5-FhD5U8yDNYtV6xFefPvYaQFrgc6-4Hg_8RJp7o8V3iZvHFYv4Y5n5qy9JN1EE5Qu5NiGHEIl_rShyphenhyphenqcP6wGDFnbXfpiVXnIQSN9ySv-EU/s1600/IMG_0600%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykYIRjRt_PngjnR4U_CPCIq_UOZJYirbW5-FhD5U8yDNYtV6xFefPvYaQFrgc6-4Hg_8RJp7o8V3iZvHFYv4Y5n5qy9JN1EE5Qu5NiGHEIl_rShyphenhyphenqcP6wGDFnbXfpiVXnIQSN9ySv-EU/s320/IMG_0600%5B1%5D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Town</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't let the cows out?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left or Right?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwUf_X4HhkHHUX8wrUN32E42GKmJkJDxG2iEKzNSy_2tjjGBOgbPg-pSj8tDImG390Brk43uXba60qipzmv_jXE9FeSESveUeESWiDkv_dSM5B1-uwoPJgFAHEX0bz0kN4BRg88uyi3G8/s1600/IMG_0603%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fea="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwUf_X4HhkHHUX8wrUN32E42GKmJkJDxG2iEKzNSy_2tjjGBOgbPg-pSj8tDImG390Brk43uXba60qipzmv_jXE9FeSESveUeESWiDkv_dSM5B1-uwoPJgFAHEX0bz0kN4BRg88uyi3G8/s320/IMG_0603%5B1%5D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flood issues?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horse, and the sound of a rooster</td></tr>
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Peter Diserahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00199941565193106339noreply@blogger.com0