Cesar's Blog

156k on Wednesday on the coast, from Port Saint Lucie to Melbourne and back to Vero Beach where my sister picked me up. I had a side side wind all the way up which wasn't that bad, but of course as I turned around to head back the wind was on my head all the time #$%%% bott I figured it was around 60k wind judging by the speed, but having the amazing view of the beach on one side during the entire ride, the wind wasn't going to ruin my ride :-))). Riding at sea level feels way easier, although I drank twice as many water bottles.. I left the house with two bottles, then stopped to buy two more and then another stop for three more.. I passed through a few state parks that looked awesome this time of the year, I can't picture myself camping with plus 30c, no way. I love the weather in Alberta year round, almost always cools down at night and you can sleep without ac. I also had a few stops on open bridges, pretty cool to see ::--)))))   The shoulders are not that wi...

Today was a my lucky day as my brother in law had to drive down to West Palm Beach early morning and he dropped me off down there so that I could ride back to my sister's house along the coast on A1A (well, some times had to take old Dixie hwy, Federal hwy and US 1) but most of the time on A1A which is the oldest hwy in Florida that goes from the far South to North. Because it is an island you have to go over bridges a few times to main land and then back to the island (and that is the only elevation I could see in my watch). The wind was unreal today, and of course coming from the North, so the workout despite not having elevation was great. Wind it is quite annoying, but and excellent mental training (I think). It was only 98k today and felt more intense than the 175k of Wednesday. The new bike feels awesome, super stiff, can't wait to test it out in Calgary when I actually can use the disk breaks.... Starting the ride this morning the temperature was 7c, not so bad ...

So, after the last winter ride of the year with the biggest Cadence group I have ride with at -15c (Craig S., Ryan, Kate, Shawn, Andrea, Erik, Thomas and myself) I was almost ready and packed to head down to Florida for some time off and holidays with the family. The ride was pretty much in between the city limits, but mostly single tracks (including 12 mile up and down, Bowmont, Side Show Bob, and the south side of the train tracks towards down town). I bailed after 45 - 50k to head back home and finish packing for the big trip. With Maria and Nick ready for the Sunday flight all was left was to land safely in Florida and unpack my new Ridley X Fire to get out and ride in the +30c temperatures of this side of the country. Went out first for a quick test ride of 45k to Jensen Beach to make sure the bike was working fine and next day with minimal preparation and hesitation headed down from Port Saint Lucie to Fort Lauderdale (where I previously made arr...

This Sunday was my 3rd winter ride with the Cadence group (well at -13 was only Kate and Ryan). After waiting for Ryan to have breakfast, fix a flat tire, dress up, say hi to a few friends, stop by bow cycle, etc etc we managed to go out for a ride. Decided to go south this time into some awesome single tracks I didn't know. Amazing single tracks, with plenty of fresh snow and even some icy stairs, where surprisingly I managed to stay on the bike with the rubber down :-)))))) yeepiiii this has to the the best training to improve my handling skills, that is for sure. After about 45min of single track we hit downtown for some pathway. After that, we made it to Glenmore res where we stopped to warm up with some coffee; the coffee shop was full of runners in a pretty happy mud (might have been all the endorphins from exercising, because it was snowing and -13!).  We took of to hit more single tracks going south and had to stopped a few times to warm up our han...

The reason I don't even have a picture today wasn't because I forgot my BB, but because I didn't have the energy to get it out my pocket ! After a week on antibiotics for a throat infection I decided nontheless to join Kate, Craig M and Erik for a casual (85k ride).. We met at Cadence @8am and after a short coffee and some chat we headed out. This time we tried crossing to Tuscany through to ravine, but this time was really wet ! Craig had a nice swim and ended up petty wet, where I ended up taking my time to cross them while staying dry.... We managed to get across and up to Tuscany where Erik turned around for other commitments at work and the rest of us explored some other ways to get to Cochrane. Lot's of snow on the way out, but blue sky and warmer temperatures :-)))) I wasn't feeling well at all with all the medications and lack of sleep, but was willing to stay with the group and suffer till the end !@### I was walking quite a bit up the hills and w...

Finally could join the Cadence group last Saturday for a winter ride.. Kate, Ryan and Erik this time. Kate leading us to Cochrane through the Glenbow Ranch Prov Park (south side of Hwy1A). It was icy and with lots of snow, but equally fun :-) we rode (not for to long on the train tracks, after receiving some tips from Erik on how to :-))))) It was a bit foggy and cold, but after all the riding in on the snow I sure was sweating like a pig @#$$. Riding down some of the single track sections I had not breaks at all! (yeah, another reason to buy my next cx bike with disk breaks !!!). Onto the path after the train tracks and some single "snowy" tracks it was even worse, as the ice on the path makes you ride even smoother... Only thinking about breaks will make you wipeout.... Up the hill with plenty of snow and soft gravel was a lot of work, so I ended up pushing the bike for a few hundred meters.   Just before the descent to Cochrane the breaks issue was...

As the CX season is coming to an end, the Beans and Barley put together once again a superb event!! despite all the skepticism we got more than 140 racers !!!! with -7c temperature and many inches of snow along the course. New to the course this year was the fly over ! more that 8ft high and super fast. Luckly no one had a crashed in the fly over, but it certainly was atrackting for everyone in the race. As part of the team, I was there at 6:00am setting up the course with the rest of the team and volunteers and at around 9am we were almost done and getting ready for a pre-ride. It was a lot of work setting up the course and I was tire only from hammering stakes and flagging!!! Got ready for a pre-ride at around 9:30 and found the course very hard to ride (even walking your bike in the of the hills was almost impossible, let alone ride it...). Anyway, I started up in the front 5 minutes before the start and by the end of the first lap I w...

First of all I have to start by giving a huge thanks to Michael at the Dome Quixote hotel in New Denver, awesome and unique little place right in town with all the amenities you need before and after a race. After spending some time in the hot tub with Maria and Nick I headed out to the pre-race meeting at Kaslo (about 50k from New Denver on a beautiful twisty road) and met there with Andy, Stefan, Many, Craig, Julie and few others Dead Goats.. The pre-race meeting went well and was very detailed about the different course markings. They warned us about the terrain, some black diamond down hills, exposure, etc... Every down hill was actually very rideable and wasn't as bad as I thought, I can't say the same about the climbs !%$ where I was pushing up the bike longer than expected... I choose a good gear for the climbs (I think) 32/21, but even with that I had to walk lots.... The start was at 7:00am sharp. Lined up at the front with Andy, Many, Trav...

Well, the so waited Bow80 came this year with an stellar warm weather for the first time in at least the last 10 years !! I decided to stay home instead of camping at Station Flats to ensure a good sleep and be 100% rested for the race. Woke up at 5:00am and had breakfast before heading out to Timys for my large coffee with cream :-)))) It was dark and the drive to Bragg Creek was quiet, but I always enjoy that pre-race feeling in my stomach... with mixed feelings, expectations and lots of butterflies. At 0725hrs I was lining up in the front ready to go. Off we went and pretty much out of breath fairly quickly, but I knew I had to put in that extra efforts at the start if I wanted to stay ahead of Andy. About an hour into the race 4 of us in single speed where riding together (that was Jeff N, Pat D, Pat H and myself. Jeff was chatting with Pat H and soon I was in the conversation... (we probably weren't working that hard if we could still talk :-)). Pat D, took off...

Last Tuesday Sep 4th was the first CX race organized by Midweek Mayhem. They had a great turn out with 41 racers in A and 60+ in B. All the trash talking initiated by Steve W on facebook forced me to sign up in the A group :-( so, getting my ass kicked for the entire season (that is what racing in A means for me :-))) Anyways, I was up for the challenge and this time I knew what was coming (pain), and although it was a painful 36minutes race I did enjoy it till the last pedal stroke! I managed some how to stay in front of Andy and Ray this time, and didn't let them close the gap :-) sweet!! yeah, but I won't get to exited, because I know they will hunt me down the entire season (well, that is what racing means to us). Don't know what position I finished since they only count the to three finishers, but I wasn't the last one either.. Ashley was there racing his first cx race (he is a monster). Mani was there as well getting the legs ready for Bo...

So, if you are married + have kid(s) + you want to stay competitive you have to find time for training. So, for me early morning (and I mean "early") have worked to keep my wife happy and be able to spend quality time with my son. Sunday morning (6:00am) I woke up (sneak out of the bed) and withing 5 minutes I was already in the car with my bike in and ready for a good MTB ride !! Stopped for coffee and breaky in my way out and headed out to Bragg Creek with a mission in mind (to ride from Station Flats to Pneuma-Moose Packers and all four Ridge Backs) and be back home before Maria was up !! (yeah, I am not that fast just yet, but at least that was my plan ::--)))) 7:00 am and I was ready to go at Station Flats. An hour later and lots of climbing got me to the top of Pneuma with a very nice view of the mountains>>> It was an expectacular morning ride I have to say, super quiet and with no one on the trails.. Forgot my Ipod, but that was a good thing I guess, ...

Just another mega awesome weekend racing the Kootney Krusher 50K MTB at Nipika !! This is by far one of the most amazing courses I have had the opportunity to race on. The scenery and views from the cliffs were amazing, (never mind trying to stay in front of Trish !!! holy crap is she fast !). With Maria and Nick all packed and the trailer ready to go we drove to Nipika on Friday morning. Set up the campsite and jumped into the freezing pond by the lodge.... urrrrr... Then, decided to go to Radium for the music fest and the hot springs (way better idea)-->> The night at Nipika was nice, bit cold but pretty quiet.. Woke up at around 8:00 and after breaky rode to sign up. Met Alana, Deane and Andy and few others friends who drove early morning to the race. I choose 32/19 gear and without pre-riding the course was ready for another race @!! Off we go and 5ks into the race I was still behind Andy, crap I am keeping up with him that is a good sign uhoooo!! and then...

No biking for me this weekend as I needed to earn some points with the wife!! instead, we did a nice hike on Saturday (Jumping Pound Ridge) with a couple of friends and Nick in my backpack !! holi!! 25pounds for 1:13 hour going up and 1:00 hour coming down !! that is a hell of a work out :-))) I wish we weren't feeding him that well over the last year and a half ::---)) /// Well, it was totally worthy because the view is one of the most amazing views of the Rockies::>> Maria was very happy to get up there and we spent some time seating and relaxing before we started to hike down.  This has to be an awesome work out (judging it by how my legs and back were feeling the day after //  After that we stopped at Dawson Creek and did cooked hot dogs yummmm !! On Sunday we decided to go out and cut some firewood for the remaining of the camping season./ Went out to Bragg Creek area and after the first log down I couldn't get the chain saw started agai...

I had the idea of riding point to point from Bragg Creek to Canmore mostly on single track and who better than Andy for the challenge?. Also, as Amit had the day off and wanted to do a long ride before the Breg Epic it was easy to convince him for the ride, so the three of us ended up willing to do it and left early with a few changes along the way... I picked them up at around 7:00am and drove to West Bragg Creek. Parked there and started the ride. We took the new West Bragg to Ranger Summit, down Sugar Mama to Station Flat which was a good warm up for the long ride/. From Station Flats we rode Sulphur and Powder Face following the Prairie Link that would eventually take us to Powder Face road to connect with Jumping Pound. Because we weren't carrying a lot of water we had to filter some and refill the bottles before going up Jumping Pound>> so we had a quick break and got ready to continue with the trip. Andy was riding hard all the time and was looking fresh as usua...

More Point to Point riding as they are giving me a break from racing and a sense of adventure.. This time while I was camping on the weekend with Maria and Nick in Waterton I found a trail that connects from downtown to Crandell campground. So, after some fun hiking with Maria and Nick (Nick on my back of course) she dropped me off in downtown and drove with the trailer to Crandell campground. It is steep and loose, but the views are amazing !!>>> The main trail is supposed to take you up parallel to the road to about 6.6kms from Crandell CG. Then you have some fun descents all the way down to the CG (well, that is only if you don't take the left turn and get lost a bit..))) which took me a few extra ks. Yelling at the bears is a bit distracting, but certainly necessary as we had to close encounters on the last day of hiking !! Maria freaked out when she saw the bear in the bushes, but some hikers were right behind us and said that it was ok to continue as a group.....

So last weekend as I was camping with Maria and Nick over at Mt Kidd I decided to through in a night ride... couldn't find anyone to do it and Maria wouldn't be happy if I was doing it alone, so I had to change plans a bit. Since a bunch of friends where racing at 24 hours it was a good idea to come over and cheer them up !! so, begged Maria to let me go just before 5:00am on Sunday from Mt Kidd to Canmore and she was ok with the condition that I would carry bear spray :-). Left the campground with lights as it was still dark and road on the highway to Barrier Lake. Up Prairie View (amazing temperature and nice view from the top in the early morning :::::::: >>>>>>>> Started the descent to Quaite and was a bit nervous about a bear encounter !! but, kept yelling like crazy and I was feeling better.. Down at Quaite my next challenge was to find the TransCanada Trail to connect with Three Sisters and...

Well, after some time waiting for it I managed to get out and ride the West Bragg Creek new trails. Andy was the guide this time and he has been in the area already quite a few times. The trails are mostly xc trails, not super steep climbs, but long enough to be a good work out for these tired legs... The maps on the trails are awesome, easy to follow and in every intersection, so it is hard to get lost! We met with Pam, Andrew and Michelle and rode close to 18.5kms in under 2hours.. Andy as usual was hammering the climbs and don't even mention the downs.... but it was good as usual. When we got to the top of the first climb (ranger summit) we got this nice view of the river valley and a TV set where they use to film and old TV show with natives... (I have no clue as it either was in Andy's times or when I wasn't even thinking of living in Canada.....). Anyway, nice view, super nice weather and fun descents. Some more climbing about 4 kms befor...

After talking with Craig S. about the Great Divide he was about to start and then watching him for little over two weeks riding from Banff to New Mexico I got the adventure spirit in my head again and wanted to do something different. I email Andy because I knew he was the right guy for this and told him that I wanted to ride from Calgary to Fernie mostly on single tracks. Of course he got back to me in no time with the following email: We'd start at Little Elbow, over Tombstone, down the Sheep, over Rickert's Pass, down Mist Creek (one  of the best/remote single track's anywhere), down Hwy 40, through  Weary Gap (into BC), back over Fording Pass (Alberta again), along  the Great Divide Trail (haven't ridden this part), Hidden Creek to Atlas Haul Road (haven't ridden this either), Racehorse Pass and  then we are into the Crowsnest area where we should be able to hook up on good single track. > > > > We could probably do it in two maybe three d...

What an epic race this weekend in Fernie. Furious3, a 3 days stage MTB race in beautiful Fernie BC. This time I wasn't "racing" as I was one of the course ambassadors.. yeah flashy title, that is why I accepted it :-) along with 3 more ambassadors (Jon, Kyle and Ray) we were riding the entire course at a good pace, but stopping to help anyone in need to sort any mechanical issues.... Day 1 was a 42kms day, with only a stocked chain that I had to help get fixed and a flat repair.. I started back at the end for a good 8kms of flat paved road and quickly as we approached the climb I started to pass people as it is always the case riding a single speed :-))) oh man got to love my ss. Legs felt good and was picking up the pace every time I could (without getting in the way of racers of course as I wasn't "racing"). Up to hyper ventilation and I found my first customer with the chain stocked between the cassette and the spokes ouch!!, we had to break the chain ...

I have been thinking of a way to describe the trails conditions last Sunday at the Nordic Centre, but I don't want to bring in bad memories... and rather focus on the positive. One thing that I do want to mention is that if I ever want to be passed by any rider I want that rider to be Kate A. Even though I was probably slowing her down for a while, she was calm and didn't push me to do a stupid move or anything, instead waited for a nice and open spot to gently say "on your left" and rode away from me. That is the right etiquette for passing, I hate those riders that push you and almost crash into you just to pass (is not that we are in Olympics or anything like that !). Race went good, I started way to fast and when I saw myself riding behind Jeff N. for the first 5 minutes on the long climb I knew I was going to fast :-) and I sure paid for that later on... My laps time went down hill as I did on this picture taken by...