Cauberg Cross

Published on February 20, 2011 in Biking. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Yesterday was the Cauberg Cross in the Netherlands. It was a first year race and when I got my start contract I was expecting a somewhat smaller and/or weaker field with the seasoned race in Eeklo on the same day. But that wasn’t the case. The organizers did a really good job of setting up the course, bringing in riders, and finishing off my season with a good experience. Gregg was kind enough to drive and help Ian and I. Thanks again Gregg!

After a couple laps on the course I said that this would be a good World Championships course. It was hard. All the road sections were false flat and there was no places to recover at all. There were lots of technical sections, tricky descents, lots of ruts, a little mud, a little sand, tons of off-camber. I saw Sven Nys doubling back to check out sections on multiple occasions. I was a little surprised to see, when I watched the recording at home, that he was using rhinos. I didn’t think the course warranted it, but I guess when the Kanibaal puts on the rhinos, the course warrants it…

I wasn’t feeling particularly motivated, but after a few laps on the course I was having a blast; I mean, it was going to hurt, but I was just having fun riding my bike. And once I got on the grid my brain started to come around. In the first 100 meters my legs felt heavy. But I got around the early crash and was on the group. Gregg even commented after about how good my start (aka. my first half lap) was. For the rest of that lap I could see a good group just up the road. I couldn’t get them back. I rode hard, trying to ride well and work on my skills. You can only do that for so long against the best in the world however.

Ian had a killer ride to finish 11th, making the cut with only 12 guys finishing on the lead lap. Kill it today in Oostmalle Ian!!

It’s been a great season. There were lots of ups and downs. I met so many new people and made lots friends. I learned a ton. Most importantly, I ENJOYED IT!!! Look for a closing post with thoughts and observations in the next little while. I’ll say it again, but THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who supported me these last 6 months and the last (almost) 25 years in every which way, from some kind words, to bikes, to a borrowed jacket, to technical advice, to taking pictures and sending them to me! You are all awesome and I wouldn’t be here and wouldn’t be who I am without each and every one of you!!

Now I’m just getting emotional… I have to go pack my bike…

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Last one

Published on February 18, 2011 in Biking and Life. 1 Comment

I got on my bike today and headed out on the roads. That’s something that hasn’t come so easily the past few weeks. It’s been a long season and it hasn’t that helped that everyone around me had completely lost their motivation and/or gone home.

But as I was about 30 minutes into my ride I realized that it’s my last one in Belgium. It’s crazy to think about after having been here for 3+ months. I’m excited to go home, but I’m actually going to miss this place.

I went for a ride with Hans on Tuesday which was a nice way to hang out, chat, and say goodbye and thank you for all he and his family has done during my stay. He also pointed down a road and said there was a good bakery down it. Today I found myself on that same road and made my way to this bakery. The lady inside spoke very good english and asked if I was English. I said from Canada. She asked if I knew Simon Lambert-Lemay. I said yes, somewhat astoundingly, and she said that he lived not far from there a few years ago and was friends with her daughter. I guess he was living with Franky Van Haesebroucke, who is a Jon Page‘s mechanic… What a small world?!?

Tomorrow is my last race in Europe this season, the Cauberg Cross. Then the dreaded packing and then I fly home on Monday. It’s been a whirlwind and I think home is going to seem like a completely foreign country when I get there…

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If you watched the race

Published on February 12, 2011 in Biking and Life. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

and didn’t see me, it’s because I wasn’t there.

I had waffled a bit over the last few days about whether to race today in Middelkerke or not. I was leaning toward taking the day and getting ready for a solid race on Sunday. Adam went back to our if you have the opportunity, you should go. But it’s been a long season, I’m tired, I’m not as excited to race each day. Another big factor is that Gregg wanted to do things around the house and didn’t want to come with me and help me out. I didn’t have a contract. I didn’t have anything tying me to the race.

But yesterday I thought… what else am I going to do?!? It’s not like I have anything else to do. Even if I don’t have a great race or don’t get to race for 60 minutes, it’s still a good opportunity and will get me ready for Sunday.

I haven’t been sleeping really well and I woke up this morning at 10 and was just tired. I could have stayed in bed. But I got myself up and started getting things ready for the bike race. When it came time to get my bag ready and load the van, I was just exhausted and was looking for any excuse. I didn’t have one, but I didn’t get ready and didn’t go to the race.

I think it was a good decision. I just finished watching the race on tv. It looked hard. Well, all the races are hard; I wasn’t wishing I was there. It’s almost time for me to go home… but I will race tomorrow. Rick, Gabby and I will go in the RV. It will be good.

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The Best

Published on February 6, 2011 in Biking. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

Today was a day was a day that really separated the best from the rest. The course in Hoogstraten was unbelievably hard! The number of crashes, even by the leaders, was good evidence that it was a hard day on the bike. And the gaps after only 3 laps were huge! There was some fast sand and some fast corners to begin with, then we rolled up and over the many mounds of dirt that sapped the legs going up and the rutted descents tried to eat your wheels alive. Then there was the rutted mud bog sections of flat straight that just killed you. Today, you were either on or you were really, really far off.

I was tired today. It was my 40th cross race this season! I was not looking forward to nor feeling good about the suffer-fest that lay before me. Craig was shattered and opted to not to race, Davy got a little carried away with the Campari last night and wasn’t planning on racing for that long. I said that I would go for it on the start and fight for every spot, but if I was gapped off the back on the first lap, I would be done. The image of riding alone off the back was not the show I wanted to put on for my supporters. However, the thought of choosing to DNF, going against one of my major goals for my season since nationals, didn’t put a smile on face. Luckily Craig was able to convince to grit my teeth, hang on, use it as a learning opportunity. Stef also assured me that as long as I continue to be motivated to race and train and keep improving that this is a participation sport and that if everyone who knew they couldn’t ride with Sven or Niels or Stybar didn’t ride there would only be 8 or 10 guys in the race and the fans stop coming away and tv would disappear and there wouldn’t be any racing. So I determined to fight it out and grit my teeth, learn, improve.

With the leaders doing 5 minute laps I was bound to have a short day. I did have a good start again and felt like I was in the race. The field wasn’t as big today and I was near the back, but just behind Ben Berden and felt like I was in the group, in the race. I got stuck in traffic in some mud on the first lap and the mere 5 meter gap would quickly become insurmountable. I gritted my teeth. I wasn’t coming back, I was really struggling to not scrub all my speed on the descents while staring at the deep ruts at the bottom and my back and legs were barely powering up the little climbs. I only managed 3 laps today, but I look at the gaps that were forming all over the field and the crashes that were taking out even best cyclocross riders as positives, knowing that I wasn’t the only one struggling out there today. This was a real hard cyclocross race. That is all.

Holding the rut in Hoogstraten

Holding the rut in Hoogstraten

Powering up a climb in Hoogstraten

Powering up a climb in Hoogstraten

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Pretty cool

Published on February 5, 2011 in Biking. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

I went to the GVA Trofee race in Lille today with Craig, Davy, Gregg, and Kenny. I was pretty motivated and have felt pretty good on the bike the last few days. The course was really cool, tons of sand, with most of it being rideable. If you hit the lines right you could absolutely fly! But if you messed up you would be forced to dab, or jump off and run. It was fun.

The good sensations I had on the course had left by the time I got on the trainer. A few efforts should fix that though right? Yeah, I’ll be ok. Rolling around the starting area I thought today would be a good day for a good ride. It was a field that if I rode well I could have guys to ride with and maybe get a good result.

After everyone here talking about struggling with their starts and missing their pedals, I went on to say that I don’t think I really messed up any of my starts this year… until today… I didn’t clip into my pedal right away, but was ok, then a few pedal strokes later, my right foot came out of my pedal! Oh man! I was pretty much at the back going around the first corner now. It didn’t really matter with huge bottlenecks in the first few sand corners. However, I’m not at the point where I can mess up the start, get held up, and make it back up to a good group. I was really struggling trying to find a rhythm. I was getting tired and then making mistakes. I was trying to ride when I should have just run, I was putting my weight in the wrong places and missing the ruts. It was not a pretty sight. But it was fun. I was pushing my limits and working on my technique and going as hard as I could. Today though, it wasn’t enough.

But it really hit me after the race, how cool this is, getting to experience and enjoy this amazing opportunity. The course in Lille was at some sort of park, with us winding around the beach and the water. The best part was one that I saw briefly on one of my preride laps was a playground structure… in the water! It looked super cool. And then when I was cooling down the number of bikes parked, leaning up against the trees was pretty cool. I guess all those fans have to get there somehow, eh? And I seem to have amassed quite the supporters club, with many people cheering for me by name, taking my photo, making me feel like I’m not wasting my time here. I even had a group of girls cheering for me right after the barriers!

So yeah, I might have had the greatest ride. I may not be as fast as I want to be. I may not have made massive improvements over the last few years, but I am here and enjoying the experience. I am incredibly grateful for all these opportunities and I’m taking them all in! Thank you!

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Macaroni and cheese, Belgian-Style and Cream Cheese Brownies

Published on February 1, 2011 in Chef Shaun. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

I don’t really know if there is such a thing as “Belgian-style” macaroni and cheese. I’m not even sure if they make or enjoy macaroni and cheese very often in this country… but I had this brilliant idea after reading a bunch of recipes to use a Belgian beer in the sauce… I had copied a recipe from a cookbook at Adam and Janice‘s house for Beer and Cheese Soup. And I’ve found a few other interesting recipes utilizing beer in some cozy comfort food dishes. And when Craig and I wanted to have Hans and Jolien over to see them again and try and pay them back some for all the help they have been to us this year, it was the perfect time. And of course (note the 14 times Sven Nys says “of course”) we needed some dessert, so I continued my current brownie kick with some Cream Cheese Brownies. Unfortunately everything was gobbled up so fast that I didn’t get to take any pictures (aka. I forgot), but here it is:

Macaroni and Cheese, Belgian-Style
Adapted from Epicurious, among other recipes

Ingredients:

  • 600g macaroni
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 pieces bacon, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 bottle Corsendonk Bruin or other dark beer
  • 3 cups milk
  • 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 cup gruyere cheese, grated
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • salt and pepper

Directions:

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, add pasta and cook 6-8 minutes (a couple minutes shorter than the package directions) or to almost al dente. Drain and set aside
  2. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil a 9×13 baking pan.
  3. While the water is boiling and the pasta is cooking, heat oil in a medium to large saucepan over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until just crispy and remove from pan.
  4. Add butter to pan, cooking until melted, then add onion and garlic to pan and cook for a minute or two until just beginning to soften. Butter should now be foaming. Add flour and stir into butter, onion, and garlic mixture, cooking for about a minute. Add beer, scraping any brown bits off the bottom of the pan and stir into flour mixture. Continue stirring as mixture starts to smooth out and beer cooks off. Slowly add milk, stirring continually to prevent clumping until everything is mixed together. Bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until thickened. Add cooked bacon back in, reserving some for topping. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses, reserving some for topping. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Combine cooked and drained with the sauce and pour into baking pan. Top with remaining bacon and cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes until Cheese is bubbling and edges are crispy.
  6. Enjoy! I know we did!

Cream Cheese Brownies
adapted from SmittenKitchen.com

*notes: The brownies came out a little crumbly. I don’t think they were undercooked so I probably went overboard with the chocolate and/or didn’t adjust enough with the flour. They also were better the next day after they had set more and cooled.

Ingredients:

  • 113g (1/2 cup) butter
  • 200g dark chocolate
  • 100g (1/2 cup) brown sugar
  • 115g (1/2 cup) sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 75g (2/3 cup) flour
  • 10g salt
  • 200g cream cheese
  • 75g (1/3 cup) sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter an 8×8 baking pan.
  2. Melt butter and chocolate in stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Stir in eggs, beating well after each addition. Stir in flour and salt. Spread in the baking pan.
  3. In another bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and egg yolk until smooth. Pour over brownie batter and use a knife to swirl into the chocolate, trying not to disturb the bottom of the chocolate layer too much.
  4. Bake in center of oven for about 35 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and sides begin to pull away from the pan. Top should be just browned. Try not to over bake.
  5. Enjoy! I know we did!
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Rice with Broccoli and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Published on January 31, 2011 in Chef Shaun. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

I really didn’t know what I was going to cook tonight and I didn’t make it to the store. Luckily I had a few things in the fridge and was able to put something together.

I have made Whole Foods’ Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli and Cashews before and it has turned out pretty well. I wouldn’t say tonight’s dinner is even based on this recipe, but more inspired by it.

Rice with Broccoli and Sun-dried tomatoes

Rice with Broccoli and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Rice with Broccoli and Sun-dried Tomatoes

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped
  • 1 cup rice (I used a mixture of white, brown, and wild)
  • 2 tsp dried basil
  • 1 pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 cups water + a little bit
  • 2 cups broccoli florets
  • 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
  • 1/4 cup cashews, roughly chopped
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup gruyere cheese, grated

Directions:

  1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add sun-dried tomatoes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add rice and stir to combine and let toast lightly. Add basil and red pepper flakes, stir to combine. Add water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
  2. Add broccoli and mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes, until rice is done and broccoli is cooked to vibrant green. Add cashews and salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Serve topped with grated gruyere cheese.
  4. Enjoy.
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Not pleased, but not surprised

Published on January 25, 2011 in Biking. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

This past Sunday was the Hoogerheide World Cup, the GP Adrie Van der Poel, a classic. It has been the World Cup right before the World Championships for a number of years and the home of the World Championships in 2009.

It is a great course and this year was no exception. It ran differently what I’ve ridden in the past and wasn’t nearly as boggy muddy, but it was really hard. The were some fast sections, some muddy grinding sections, ruts, and hard pedaling.

Derrick told me my goal should be to be in front of him at the end of the first lap. And guess where I was at the end of the first lap? Yup, I was in front of Derrick. Now, he really didn’t have a great first lap, but I was still in front of him. I had a killer start, passing what felt like half the field, avoiding crashes left, right, and center, and felt like I was really “in the race”. I also managed to be just wheels behind JPows. He also had a bad start with a big crash, but still.

From the end of that first lap, things just kept getting slower. I distinctly remember Kurt yelling at me from the pit, “You have to hurt yourself!” That’s what I did. I just kept pedaling as hard as I could all day. I felt like I ripped my right rectus femoris in two. I drove my bike as well as I could. Despite not racing as many laps as I would have liked, I had fun. I enjoyed it. I was smiling, suffering, and just happy to be riding my bike. I really wasn’t pleased with my result and not getting to finish the race, but after the last couple months of beatings I’ve learned that this is where I am right now so I’m not all that surprised.

Thanks everyone for all your support. It’s great. I’m incredibly grateful for everything I’ve learned and all the opportunities I’ve had. So thank you! I will continue to work, learn, improve and one day pass all that on to all the athletes I get to work with and help!

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An adventure in Belgium

Published on January 22, 2011 in Biking. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

This morning I got myself together, slowly remembering what to wear and what bring to a cross race. I didn’t have to leave at the wee hours of those racing the Masters Worlds in Mol, but I figured I should set an alarm anyway. It was a nice morning and with just myself to think about, there was no stress. Although, it could be that I really just wasn’t stressed about the race in Assenede to begin with.

The drive was uneventful, but I didn’t have an exact address and the first place the GPS took me to was not it. I drove around for a while, keeping my eyes peeled, thinking the nearby forest might be a place to look. I still had time, but my prospects were falling apart. I found a couple cyclists who looked like they may have been racers, but nope. It wasn’t looking good, but I knew that I did not want to have to drive all the way back home and still ride my bike, so I drove around a bit more and thought if I don’t find it in the next 5 minutes I’ll call the house and get Craig to try and find it online. I remembered that there is a race Assenede tomorrow and I figured it had to be at the same place. After a few minutes on the phone with Craig I had a new address and new directions.

I was making the last few turns and ran into some fencing. I thought it was for construction, I had just driven through a bunch of other construction, but I went through anyway. The next fence I came to was weird…

Parking, for two

Parking, for two

Ooohh, parking. The one car parked there didn’t quite give it away. I thought to myself, what the heck am I doing?!? Nobody is going to be here, this is a silly idea. But, I had found the race, so off I went. And it actually turned out to be a pretty big production. It was the Belgian National Championships of something, I figured the Championships of just this series. I was a little disappointed with the 10 euro entry fee, but you have to do what you have to do. There was a lot of fencing, a full on podium, a blow-up jersey, an announcer, a food stand, this was a cross race. There was also at least one racer I recognized, and was competitive with, at Lotenhulle and Petange.

Food stand=cross race!

Food stand=cross race!

The course was through a lot of corn fields, but was nice and tacky; no mud tires today. A couple little ditches and some dirt piles were the main attraction. The bumpy corn fields would give my back some trouble; luckily I’ve been top of the core work again. I liked it though. Simple. Good.

A real podium even

A real podium even

I started at the back (ok, 3rd row), not having any points in this series. I knew I had to get to the front ASAP. So I pushed through as many holes as I could find. I had made it into about 10th, but most of the lap was a lot of brown stripe racing (ie. only one real line), making passing difficult. I could see a lead group of 4 forming. I needed to get there, but a few people stood in my way and it took me a little over a lap to get the room to go full-gas. It was too little too late. And I had burned a few matches chasing after getting a clear run. The leaders were still in sight, but I had stopped closing the gap and they were splitting up. I just kept going as hard as I could, trying not to make any driving mistakes, while pushing all the blood to my legs. I almost caught one more guy who was fading at the end, but couldn’t quite make it. I rolled in for 4th. Not bad. Definitely my best result in Belgium. I had fun. I suffered. I think I could have done better, but considering what I’ve gone through tis last month, I’ll take it… with a smile!

A few fans watching the start

A few fans watching the start

The 12 euros I won made up for my disappointment in the 10 euro entry fee. And I’m starting to like these ruts things, you just push your bike in them, relax, and hang on. Just make sure your weight is in the right place and you can fly around corners.

It was an adventure in Belgium. It was a good day.

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Coconut Brownies

Published on January 22, 2011 in Chef Shaun. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

I might just be on a cooking rampage here, but I needed to make something tasty to bring to Hoogerheide for Kenny for helping us out. Well I don’t have to, but I was off the ball in Kalmthout and he hasn’t been able to come to any other races since then.

I’m currently in love with making brownies. Maybe it’s because I haven’t really made them before the last little while or maybe it’s the abundance of nice Belgian chocolate. I don’t know, but I like it. The Banana Brownies I made last week for Pontchateau were delicious, but I wanted something different. I wanted something with coconut.

I couldn’t figure out how to get coconut milk into the batter without experimenting too much and making a mess. So I decided to try and put it into a ganache topping… When I was making the ganache and realized I didn’t have enough chocolate, so I put in the cocoa powder. It gave it just a tinge of bitterness and it was little too liquidy. It set fine. But it would be better with no cocoa powder and maybe 160-180g chocolate. Next time…

But all the American masters at The Chainstay loved them! Deeeelicious!!

Coconut Brownies
adapted from JoyofBaking.com

Coconut Brownies

Coconut Brownies

Ingredients:

  • 285g butter
  • 300g dark chocolate
  • 350g (1 1/2 cups) sugar
  • 150g (1 cup) brown sugar
  • 5 large eggs
  • 235g flour
  • 20g cocoa powder
  • 50g flaked coconut
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 100g dark chocolate
  • 30g cocoa powder
  • 400ml coconut milk
  • 18g (4 tsp) butter

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325F. Butter a 9×13″ pan. I did one slightly smaller pan and 3×8″ because I wanted to give one away.
  2. Make the brownies: Melt butter and chocolate in stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. QWhick is eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in flour, cocoa powder, coconut, and salt until just combined.
  3. Pour batter into pan and sprinkle with flaked coconut. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean, with just a few crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
  4. Make the ganache: Melt the chocolate, cocoa powder, coconut milk, and butter in a stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool, before spreading over the cooled brownies. Store in the fridge.
  5. Enjoy!
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