Gear For Sale

Mountain Hardwear Gear For Sale

MHW Brono Jacket Gore Windstopper softshell mens small only used once. Retails $240 Asking $100.

MHW Monkey Man Heavy Weight Fleece, Used but in great shape.. Retails for $160 Asking $50.

Merry Christmas

It is Christmas Eve and we have almost zero cm's of snow. I think people are generally more excited that there is no snow and that it has been a very green December then they are a white snowy Christmas. I love snow, period. Large amounts of deep white fluffy gold, the more the better. I much rather have -10 degree temps and 3 feet of snow then have 2 degrees and rain. It is already crappy enough that the days are so short.. (thank goodness winter solstice has past) without having almost freezing temps and rain. If it were only a few degrees colder it would be snowing where we can nordic ski, snowshoe, downhill ski/ snowboard etc. Anyways I just find it sad when I am making small talk with people on the lack of snow topic and they actually seem happy for it to be grey, almost freezing, raining and overall shitty out. I just cannot comprehend that mentality.

Anyways enough of a debby downer... On a much more positive note, friends of ours just had one of the most special gifts imaginable. They welcomed their first child, a son early this morning.

I am very fortunate to be sitting here trying to decide what to do today. I am ready for Christmas with my shopping done and all I have on the skeddy is visit with family and friends (after a wee bit of exercise).. Now if we only had some snow I my exercise options would be more plentiful then run or ride..

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Cheers.

1 month ago today with photos

1 month ago was my last entry into my blog. Quite a bit has happened in the last 31 days. I am going to make a solid effort to post more frequently from now until I start to slack off and the posting gets more spaced out...again..

Lets start off with the fact that I am engaged! Big step in a small life, probably one of the biggest I will ever make and it will define who I am from this point onwards. I am more excited then I ever could of imagined I would be for something so simple and yet satisfying. I truly look forward to spending the rest of my life with someone so special.

I am currently fighting a wee chest cold, nothing serious but with a increase in some sleep and a bottle of cold-fx I should be good to go. I have been holding steady with the running miles, with a weekly average around 110km's. All of those km's are on trail, in every condition that winter can throw at us. Wait... the weather has been quite pleasant, hasn't it? It feels more like October or the beginning of November then it does the middle of December. Christmas is creeping up with 11 days till Jolly old Saint Nick raids my cookie stash. I haven't started Christmas shopping and plan on doing a 60min blitz and get everyone a LCBO gift card or a Swiss Army Knife.

I have been trying to lay out my racing schedule for 2012 and.... WAY too many wicked cool events to choose from. I want to do a few 100 milers (trail running), a handful of bigger multi-sport adventure races and then most of the highlights on the MTB circuit. I also have a shoebox full of maps that are just begging to be explored. I have 4 or 5 epic's in mind for the winter and a few for next summer/fall. I am going to have to lay it all out on a calendar and see how things shape up.

This is going to be the most random mishmash post as I am literally just typing as things pop into my mind.

I got a iPhone. Sorry Blackberry, but the iPhone is just to sweet a rig to hold out for the simple reason that BB is Canadian. Oh and BBM. I am blown away by the usefulness of this little heavy device. It can do almost anything. ANYTHING!

Now for some more useful info:
I have changed the way I have run completely. I mean I have taken the way I used to run and tossed it in the trash. I read the book "Born to Run" and it got me thinking, researching and learning more about why we are the way we are. (Bio mechanically that is). We have evolved a very certain way and nobody really knew why until recently. (Or nobody cared). I stumbled across a Russian guy who seemed to have his bio mechanics more figured out then all the other research I was engulfing put together. His name is Dr. Nicholas Romanov PhD. He has dedicated his entire life to running mechanics. I took a weekend course with him in August and learned way more then my money's worth. I left with a overwhelmed brain full of techniques and drills to help me run more efficiently. He has started the "POSE METHOD" and teaches you how to run the way nature meant us to. Fast forward to today and I am really starting to feel the effects of time spent training myself how to run rather then just running to run.

Below are a few recent photos to check out.

Raid The Hammer

I have wanted to do the orienteering race tittled "Raid the Hammer" for the past few years. It is basically a race through the woods just shy of 30km's and you have over 30 check points that you have to navigate your team to. It is done in teams of 3 and my teammates were Chris Piller and Ryan Atkins. The race kicked off at 9am although my morning started just before 5am... When the whistle was blown, the pace was way faster then I had thought it would have been. We went to the front and throughout the majority of the race we jockeyed with two other very respectable teams as we navigated our way through the 28km course. We all felt pretty solid for most of the race, Chris did a excellent job navigating both Ryan and I to a sprint finish with only 100m separating us from the first place team. We finished strong, cheered a bunch of other teams on as they approached the finish of a long day running through the woods. It was a really well organized event and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a challenge crossed with a day outside cruising through the forest with fast cool people.

La Cloche Trail 9hrs 25mins 45sec.

I finished running the La Cloche trail yesterday just before 5pm. For those of you who have hiked the trail, you know how rugged the terrain is. The trail measures 80km in length and just under 8000ft elevation gain/loss. It is one of the hardest trails I have ever done and is probably one of the hardest trails in Eastern Canada!

We drove up wednesday night making a stop in at to pick up a pair of new kicks to use on the trail. I was previously planning on running it in a pair of New Balance Minimus but after much pondering I decided I needed a last minute switch to something more substantial. I went to to see what they had. I was set on a pair of Salomon's as they fit me well and were the only shoe company that I would toss on strait out of the box and run 80 of the most gruelling km's in. I grabbed a pair of Salomon Crossmax in men's size 9.5... I wore them around the house for a few hours and decided that they were probably going to be to small, especially once my feet start to swell during the run. Size 10 it is.

We arrived in the park just after dark with a full belly of good old Swiss Chalet.. topped off with a pumpkin spice latte (skinny) from Starbucks. PS. There is now a Starbucks in Parry Sound! We set up camp, packed our packs, made a few last min changes to the set up and hit the hay. It was way too short of a sleep before we woke with sound of the dreaded alarm...5:45am and it was still pitch black out. Gah. We had a slow morning with a relaxed breakfast and two rounds of brew. We would be thankful of that slow, chill morning 8 hrs later.

We set out with a comfortable pace. We were going to be running the trail in a counterclockwise direction and it was going to be wise to get the most technical sections out of the way early on, when the body and mind are still fresh. We made it through the crack in 59mins and felt great! We stopped for about 5secs to check the views and with the next cairn in sight we ran on. We were deciding if we were going to run Silver Peak or not. Silver peak is technically a "side trail" and therefore not part of the trail proper. We hit the cut off for SP at around 2hrs 45min and opted to just put in a good time on the trail without a added difficult section to a already difficult technical trail. We made excellent time from SP through the La Cloche range. We hit the other side of the range at around 6hrs. It was a weird day for weather, as we had rain, sun, hot and cold temps. We were fortunate not to have rain while were running on the compact slippery section of quartzite rock.

With the biggest climbs and most technical sections behind us, we upped the pace a bit as a sub 10hr time was now in sight! We hit campsite H16 at around 7hrs24mins and filled the bottles with water and tossed in some aqua tabs. At this point in the run I was feeling better then I ever have and my running partner Ryan Atkins was feeling the effects of 60km's of one of toughest trails in Canada. We had discussed earlier in the run what to do in the last quarter of the trail if one of us was feeling better then the other. We concluded we would part ways and the one feeling better run ahead and put in the best time that they could. With that in mind, I was feeling good and handed him my cell phone (in case of emergency) and hammered the last 20-22km. I felt great running the last section of the trail. I kept on expecting my body to surprise me, but it just functioned as I had hoped. I had calculated in my head a finishing time of 9hr 33min, but I was very surprised to see the trailhead come so quickly! I had a time on my watch of 9hrs 25min 46sec.

It wasn't even 5pm and in what most peoples day's work timeframe would be, I hammered a 80km trail. So Cool! I then turned my butt around and started back to meet Ryan. There was no celebration at the finish, no banners or crowds of people. It was only a few campers who looked at me very strangely. On the way back to Ryan I decided I would walk and then pace with him back to the finish. I met him shortly after I had a little black bear bluff charge me! He was small and looked like last years cub. He walked out of the forest onto the trail and then ran ten steps towards me and stopped all puffed up. I got into my attack pose and ran at him yelling as loud as I could. He turned and bee lined it through the thick forest. I met up with Ryan and we ran back to the trailhead where we had clean water and towels waiting for us. Ryan crossed the bridge in a time of 10hrs 45mins! It was his first time on the trail and he did amazing! It was my third time running the 80km obstacle course and I knew what to expect. He didn't.

We then hopped in the car and hit the road home. A quick stop in at the restaurant in French River for a burger and fries and with our bellies full we relaxed as the sun dropped and we made our way back towards the suburbia concret jungle.

Logs Rocks and Steel

I had a great weekend of playing "racing" in the muskoka district this past weekend. The sun was shinning and the temps were perfect.

I had wanted to do the Adventure Race "Logs Rocks and Steel" for the past few years, but the event always seemed to conflict with other races I had committed to. This year my intention was to race the 85km Adventure race on the Saturday and then race mtb Provincials on the Sunday...

Saturday was a fairly early morning with a 530am alarm. I woke still full from last nights pizza a la Metro. I stuffed some cereal in my mouth and washed it down with some random java found in the mystery container in the cottage... mmmmmmmm....

The race started at 8:07am and since I hadn't sat in my 78lb 17.5ft Boreal kayak in almost 2.5 years, I figured I better give a test paddle before I raced. Ha I did a quick 100m out and back and everything looked good to go!

We started the race with a 14km paddle, which I quite enjoyed (insert sarcasm). I am not a paddler and never have been. I am as good of a kayaker as I am a swimmer... I don't float and mainly choose to doggy paddle. After what seemed like a good chunk of time I checked my watch and sunk deeper in my boat as my stop clock had 7min4sec on it... I was in for a long 14km paddle. We had 3 portages of roughly 300m each. The first one I carried my boat. The second I carried it halfway and then seeing everyone else drag their boats, I dropped it to the ground and proceeded to slug the 78lbs of plastic along the dirty rocky trail. I ended up paddling most of the way around a few other guys in similar boats as mine. Plastic, slow and heavy. It didn't mater how hard I paddled, my boat only goes so fast. So I then proceeded to check out a few of the small granite cliffs and wonder if anyone has climbed the few small routes that I could see.

I finished the paddle 21min behind the cigarette boat (seemed fitting) Jakob Van Dorp. He was a crazy fast paddler! I have never seen someone on a dinky little boat go so fast! He was also the 2009 and 2010 champion so I had my work cut out for me come bike and run time.

I hit the familiar feel of my Trek Top Fuel and pinned it. I had roughly 55km of rad mtbiking ahead and some serious time to make up. I was given'er all head down and stuff when I noticed I made a wrong turn... crap. Backtrack to where I was supposed to be and giver again with the head up, not down. I knew some of the trails that we were racing on and I got a little to comfortable with where I thought I was and just made a wrong turn onto the running section of the course. It was a great day outside and with a abundance of trails everyone was sure to make a little navigational error at some point during the race. Besides who doesn't like doing a few extra km's of wicked trails?

I got back into my rhythm and after about 1hr 40min I finally caught the cigarette boater. He had made a u-turn and backtracked to make sure he was on the right trail. We road together for 2 mins and then it was time to pin it again. Getting towards the end of the mtb leg of the race, I hit the deck (granite rock) hard. I cut my hands up badly and couldn't see where all the blood was coming from. It didn't hurt that bad, so I kept on. I finished the bike feeling good and switched into my runners and was on my way for the trail run section.

The run was fun. It was a mix of forest bushwhacking, rolling hills, creek crossings, fast single-track and pure wilderness. I kept getting a terrible stitch and it was probably due to the still digesting 3/4 pizza I mowed last night...gah. It was hot running out in the open on the barren rock, I was getting hard to drink because I felt bloated and full. During the creek crossing I stopped both times for a quick swim and a refreshing cool down.

I finished the run feeling hot, tired and in 1st place. I had a big smile on my face, or at least it felt like I did. It was a super fun day of racing with some good competition. It was a amazing event and I highly recommend it to anyone!

Here are a few photos from my support team (Eden and Rambo). Rambo is my puppy.

Bruce Peninsula National Park

Here are a few photos from out Backpacking trip to one of Ontario's gems, Bruce Peninsula National Park. We spent 3 days hiking most of the northern Escarpment on some of the most beautiful trails in Ontario. We started the trip off visiting friends in Collingwood on Saturday evening. Sunday we drove up to the northern Peninsula and I went for a solid 3hr trail run on the rugged terrain (wow...). After my run we humped our packs and hiked the few hours into our first campsite of the night. It was the farthest away site that you could get in the park. We were actually somewhat "out there" and after a car ride of ranting about how bears won't be a issue this far up the Peninsula.. we had a bear wander right up to us while we were watching the sun set. I chased the bear down the beach tossing rocks at it and getting to within about 15-20m from the bear before it really decided to run. Needless to say it was a restless nights sleep and we were thankful we had the new pup "Rambo" to guard the tent during the night. The next day we hiked north up the Escarpment to our next site which was also down on the Bay. We were about 4.5hrs on the trail. The campsite in Stormheaven was truly amazing! It is definitely worthy of a return trip one day! The third day we hiked the shorter walk back to the car and drove into Tobermory where we treated ourself to fish and chips capped with a ice cream cone. Well worth the trip!

Hay is in the barn! Time to spread some shit! (Literally).

So what have I been up to...well..

-Running
-Biking
-Got a Dog
-Farming

I have been running a ton trying to get my body up to snuff for a sub 10hr attempt at the La Cloche trail in Killarney in a few weeks. My comrade who will be joining me is Ryan Atkins. He has been spending many hours secretly training up at his cottage near Bon Echo logging hundreds of clicks on the rugged terrain. I have been mixing trail running with strength workouts all in my Five Finger shoes. Last weekend I did my first 42km trail run of the season running all the trails in both Hardy Lake Provincial Park and Torrence Barrens... Twice. It was a great day! Cool, raining, muddy.... I picked up a pair of Merrell Trail Glove minimalist shoes from Muskoka Outfitters and I must say I have never been so impressed with a pair of shoes! Merrell really did a excellent job with that pair of kicks! Fresh out of the box, I ran a Off Road Marathon in under 4hrs in crappy weather with zero blisters and no aches and pains. I kept the effort light, endurance pace(ish). Rambo (new ausi shepherd dog) came for the first 20km in Hardy Lakes. He did excellent, hammering out the first hour and riding my heels the second. I have wanted a pup for so long to be able to come out and join me on trail runs, mtb rides etc. I am so stoked to have a dog!

Biking has been pretty laid back lately. The season was weighted very heavy towards the first half and in August I will race zero times. Provincials are in the middle of september and I am going to see how well my running fitness is going to transfer over to the bike. Not saying I haven't been riding, just that I have been riding a bit less. Mornings have been a good routine. Play with dog, exercise for a few hours then farm till dark. Hay is done for the season and now we have the monstrous job of spreading manure... It is going to be a few weeks non stop of shit spreading!

I spent last weekend on a POSE running course with Dr Nicholas Romanov and I may have to save the highlights of that course for another blog post or two. In short Romanov has changed my perspective to the way I look at sport.

Canmore update

Things out west have been solid. I am sitting in a wicked coffee shop drinking good java and I have just finished a very tasty smoked salmon sandwich. I did a super fun (long) mtb/road ride that got us up in the 2000m mark and treated us to some stellar views.

I had a terrible race on the weekend. My legs felt as strong as they have all season and I was really hoping to be able to put the horsepower to the ground and have a good race. I had a minor mishap with another rider, when they were hoping off their bike. They somehow managed to step on my rear derailler cable and stretch the shit out of it, slightly tweaking my derailler at the same time. Obviously not their fault as it could of happened to anyone. It just sucks because I spent 4 min racing and then another few laps dealing with my bike/ trying to race. I was extremely frustrated with the situation as I was not having a easy time fixing my gears while trying to race. They were jumping around more then little kids on christmas morning. With the gears going haywire I was hoping that I wouldn't blow my chain to pieces...it did. I ran the better part of a lap and got to the tech zone where my pit crew got me going again (thanks boys). I finished with my head slumped and wishing the day to end. I had put alot into having a great race and I guess I will have to giver shit in Edmonton next weekend!

On a plus note I have had a few great days crushing some cool mountain adventures. I really miss living in Canmore as there is literally a mountain of cool shit to do! Ride, Hike, Run, Climb, it has everything and i want to do it all!

On the road again.

Last weekend was the classic mount saint Anne world cup in Quebec. It wasn't quite what the venue has been the year previous holding the 2010 MTB world championships. Still it was a great weekend non the less. I had a solid race rolling in a top 50 result and I was a little unsure as to how my fitness was, as I was tired from a large amount of training leading up to the Subaru cup in Wisconsin two weeks ago. I moved up almost 25 spots from where I got called up to where I finished. So definitely felt decent!

I am back in a car enroute to the next round on the world cup circuit in beautiful windham New York. I am driving home Sunday morning, un packing, then re packing my car for the drive out to Nationals in Canmore. I will be gone for the rest of July, minus a 12 hr visit at home. I am looking forward to the next few races!

On a side note I have been doing a bunch of research and reading on the POSE running method. Everything that I have read makes sense. Nick Romanov has really developed a program that has definitely proven itself to be the future of running. If you are a 1000m runner or ultra marathoner, the pose method can help you improve your form, efficiency and lower your impact forces on your body, reducing the risk of injury. I have signed up to become a certified pose coach/trainer and I don't think that I have ever been so excited to go on a course!





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Update

Currently as I write this I am sitting in a truck that is pulling our team trailer en-route to the Mount Saint Anne World Cup. We just wrapped up the Subaru US Cup at Mt Morris in Wisconsin. They did a fantastic job and are definitely one of the best event organizers out there! Out team had a solid weekend with a Adam banging the top ten and Peter, Mitch and myself also riding strong against the deep US racing field.

Since the Hardwood Canada Cup I have managed to log a few solid weeks of training trying to get as ready as possible for the upcoming block of races. The skeddy is pretty busy from now until August, starting with Wisconsin last weekend, MSA world cup this weekend, Windham world cup next weekend, Nationals the weekend after and then two more Canada cups after that! All back to back. I am still a bit tired from the training, but with a bunch of time slotted to be on my butt resting, mixed with coffee shop spins I should be rested and ready to go in no time.

Been a few weeks

Sometimes things always don't go as planned. Simple as that. Sometimes they do. What is the difference between things going as you had planned or things going up shits creek? Is it physical (body)? Is it elemental (ex. weather)? Mental? or maybe it is something else?

I think that there is definitely no simple answer to that question. My best conclusion is that in every given situation there is probably something different or even a combination of two or more. If your body doesn't feel right that is going to bugger up your mental. If your mental is out in left field, then your body is going to be watching the birds. Sometimes once you figure out how to best coordinate all of the elements that will effect your result, hopefully it will show or will know it and take note. For me, once I get things firing on all plains, I try to keep them all working in sync. Just some food for thought.

Anyways I had a great weekend at the HUGE Trek Canada Cup at Hardwood Hills. We had a great day of hanging out and riding with Canada's up and coming generation of cyclists on Saturday. It is so cool to see how solid of a job the crew at Hardwood is doing at helping get kids active and engaged in one of the best sports in  the world. They sure can rip!

Sunday was out turn to go and play bike racing. We had 6 laps of a butterfly course, which made it feel more like 12 laps. The day ended great with a 3rd place for me, 5th for Peter, 6th for the young gun Mitch Bailey and after a broken shifter cable Adam managed to still roll in 8th. The men's field was stacked with horsepower (comparable to the 6000hp tractor pullers that I watched friday night at the Brooklin Spring Fair). On the Woman's side we had Cayley Brooks ride to a solid 13th place and trek Subaru rider Emily Batty take the big "W".

All in all it was a great weekend! I am going to guess there were probably 1000 racers and double that in spectators!

A Day In The Life

A short film about the day in the life of a athlete. It was shot, edited and uploaded over a 72hr period using only a basic Canon G12 and imovie. It is Filmed by me, which can make it somewhat more difficult. Lemme know what ya think.

A Day In The Life

Cover Shot!

Check Out my latest cover shot for Get Out There Mag of my Sister Emily Batty riding some trails in 3rox.

You want me to cross that!

Big day in the saddle yesterday exploring the intricate network of logging roads north of Sudbury. The riding was actually fantastic! I had been planning on going into the Ishpatina ridge via the overland route for a few years. The other day I was telling Ryan Atkins about it and he was keen to join me! Sweet! We decided to giver a go early in the season before our lives would be threatened by black flies and Mosquitos. I also had a sneaking suspicion that the water levels may be above the norm for this time of year. Either way it was going to be a good day of training and exploring future route possibilities.

We Drove up Tuesday afternoon and arrived as far as my Matrix would go. We got stopped by a 200m stretch of overflowed river that had the road ahead of us under some serious water. We set camp 24km off the "paved" road (hardly that). We were roughly still 46.5km away from the point at which we were going to be dropping our bikes then only 7 more km's of hiking/running/bushwacking to the summit of Ontario!

We awoke at sun up the next morning with a good frost covering the tent and car. It was a chilly night for May 4th but the sky was clear and the day looked to be great! We hit the trail peddling our bikes at exactly 830am. Anyone that has had to deal with navigating logging roads know what a nightmare it can be. Sometimes your standing on what seems like the most major road you have seen in the last 3hrs and somehow it isn't on the old 50,000 topo map. Other times you expect to find a good road that the map shows and get to that point only to find a scraggly overgrown path.

We managed to trace the original route to the Sturgeon river crossing via 39km of soft muddy logging roads that were definitely not being used anymore. As we neared the point that we so dearly needed to find, we managed to find a beautiful logging highway for us to follow most of the way back to the car! We were not going to have to slog through some of the strangest and weirdest mud that I have ever seen and ridden. It was crazy, you would be riding along on what seemed to be completely dry gravel and then the next thing you knew you and your bike were standing in 18 inches of slop.

We hit the river crossing which was sure to be our achilles heel of the trip at exactly 3hrs after we departed the car. We were met by a large group of ATV'ers that were also hoping on getting across the river that looked about 8ft deep and moving extremely fast. They were locals and seemed to know the area well. Apparently when you don't see the big rock in the middle of the river, you DO NOT CROSS! You will be swept away, as the fellow gent proceeded to ramble off stories of guys who thought they could get across in the past and suffered a ATV loss or two.

After a brief visit with the friendly Quaders we decided to head back to the car via the Stoobe rd route. It ended up being roughly a hour faster via the route home vs the route there.

So all in all we didn't tag the top of the ridge, we got pretty close. We figured after we crossed the Sturgeon river then road for 6.5km dropped the bikes then ran/bushwacked the remaining 7km to the summit we were only 2.5hrs from the top. We hit a major road block (literally) and there was no way we were going to get across the river, it did happen to cross my mind a few times...

Great week, busy week.

I have had 2 solid weeks of long miles with tons of intensity tossed in since I arrive home from Sea Otter. I managed to fight the worst of the weather that April was able to throw at us. It seemed to honestly be raining more then it wasn't. I raced O-Cup #1 at Mansfield tired and fatigued enough that I barely felt like I should start. I ended up having a blast chilling for the first 2.5 laps before I decided that I was going to try and catch the 5 riders infront of me. Then there was the passing.... It was such a fast course and with so many riders given'er out there, the passing seemed to be a bit sketchy... All in all it was a great day out for the Trek Canada Team!

On another note, I am doing some last min packing for a quick jont into the Ishpatina Ridge. It is the highest point in Ontario at 693m above sea level. 2.5hrs (roughly) north of Sudbury we will leave the car as far as we can drive it. Ride as far as we can, ditch the bikes and continue the 14km round trip (bike to bike) distance to the summit. Hopefully the weather holds out and given the early season timeframe navigating through the forest should be decent. I will give a full trip report later this week.

Wish me luck!

Life on the road.

Sea Otter classic wrapped up yesterday and with the perfect temps it ended up being a great weekend of everything that was biking. A big highlight was definitely Emily winning the XC and out sprinting Catherine Pendral. Here is a couple photo's of her crushing.

When shit is going down, you better know how to move.

I had a great week with some solid training rides and I managed to get out and play in the mud twice, getting covered head to toe in not only mud, but a large amount of dog poop. Actually I couldn't believe how much poo was out there! Maybe people will start to realize that it takes almost no effort to flick you canine's crap off the trail so riders don't have the pleasure of tasting what your pooch had for dinner last night.

On Wednesday I had a solid 3hrs off road and with all the mud, ice and snow I managed to crash zero times. I was amazed at how well I felt and how much fun it was to get completely wrecked in the springtime trail conditions. En-route home while crossing a road at a 2 way stop intersection I decided I could crack the throttle and dart across the busy highway with tons of time to spare.
Little did I know that the township was in the mist of cleaning off the roads and with all the gunk left over after a long winter season it sure ended up being slippery. I laid my mountain bike down right in front of that oncoming car that I had thought I would be able to beat.

Before I hit the deck I was already scrambling to get out of the way of the 2 tons of steel bearing down on me. I didn't look to see where exactly that car was, all I knew was that I needed to move as fast as possible! It happened in split seconds and felt like two minutes. It is kinda crazy how sometimes when you are thrown into a situation that could end up tragic how you instinct and reactions move before you even know what is happening. I was literally already scrambling out of the way before I hit the asphalt. Ironic that I can ride 3hrs in the crappiest conditions and within a few minutes of home on a flat paved road I crashed.

On another note I have been reading, well actually listening to "Born to run". It had been recommended to me by a handful of people. It is a great book and a excellent read, that I recommend to any athlete. Whether you are a runner or a cyclist it is sure to motivate you and maybe even make you look at your sport from a slightly different angle. I crushed the 12hr audio book in 2 days and I will probably listen to it again sometime soon.

Sea Otter is this coming weekend, should be a good one as the weather looks like it is going to be sunny!

Home!

I made it home safe and sound! 2480km's from Golden CO to home in just under 24hrs!! I drove straight, stops were minimal and for fuel only. No I didn't speed, the car was set on cruise at a max of  1 mph or 2 over the limit. It was actually a pretty relaxing drive. I managed to write the below few paragraphs whilst waiting for my matrix to be re assembled.

Sitting in a transmission shop in Denver Colorado, chewing on some “Mike and Ike’s” from the candy machine as my beautiful Toyota Matrix is being reassembled. I have had a full 48hrs in Denver that was very far from being a planned stop. I had left the concrete jungle of LA Sunday at 5pm and after 1550km’s I arrived in a random parking lot somewhere in Denver. That parking lot ended up actually being the town called Golden. I called CAA or AAA down here to get a tow. I mentioned that my front end was locked up and that I needed a truck that can lift the front drives off the ground. Of course they sent me a float truck. Well that's not going to work...

I had been sitting across 2.5 handicap parking spots in front of a walmart and I had already waited 45 mins for the first truck and now I had to wait another 45 mins for the 2nd truck. I didn’t have a clue where to get the matrix towed to, so I opted for the Toyota dealership. They were incredibly helpful and given my situation were as good as they could have been. They were unfortunately way out of my price range.

I ended up getting a hotel for the evening needing very much badly to sleep on the current creek that I had found myself up. The next morning after a very good nights sleep, I decided that I was going to get the car towed to a reputable transmission shop right around the corner from where my hotel was. So far these guys have been amazing! Seriously, the guys here at AC transmission have been exceptionally helpful and will hopefully have me on the road by 1pm this afternoon.

The broke down car has given me a chance to have a full 48hrs to explore the area and I must say WOW! I am super stoked with the riding around here. I have ridden some of the coolest trails that I have ever ridden. 20mins from my hotel doorstep I could hop on fast, flowing, steep trails. There were so many cyclists out there on the trails and even on the massive network of paved bike paths I was so impressed with what the area was offering up.

Every person that I have dealt with has been exceptionally friendly and helpful. They have made a really shitty situation not so shitty. Cool looks like the car is gtg!!!! home here I come.

Joshua Tree Photos

Great Week in Joshua Tree!

We have had a solid week here in Joshua Tree. Here are a few photos from the past few days.

Look ma, no hands!

Joshua Tree

Made it down here to J Tree safe and sound. Un-eventful drive with some cool rides. Tons of wicked cool stuff to do here! Here are are a few shots so far.

The days are getting longer!

I am always a big promoter of our great Canadian winters, but I think I have had enough. I skied yesterday and it sucked. I followed the ski with a road ride and it sucked too. Strength workout outside? got soaked, naturally it sucked too. The weather has been a real crap chute. Especially when the temperature is just above or at the freezing mark. I am ready for dryer ground and bluer skies! 

Much work I have till I am ready to point the matrix due south west. I found out in that crappy rain that my roof decided it wanted to start leaking(again).  Once again, thanks weather... add that to the ever growing list.

On a more positive note, I have a sweet new rig to play on outside! My Trek 8000!!! It is going to be seeing some serious miles this season as it is going to be my main bike for logging the klicks on.  Aluminum frame, full XT, FOX fork and Bontrager components make it a wicked ride. I have only put about 7hrs on it in the last couple days but I am already very happy with it. 

On the skinny wheel side I am cruising the rollers on my Trek Madone 5.5. On the rollers it has been handling like a dream! Now all I want is to be able to ride it outside sans the salt fest.

Check out the rigs below!

Wow where did the winter go???

GAH!!! it is March 1st! where has the time gone? Seriously? I remember opening presents at Christmas, Getting hammered on New Years.... then nothing.....

Been very busy I have.

Somehow in the last two months I have managed to slip in a Personal Trainer Certification (Canfit pro) a Crossfit level 1 Trainers Certification and a ACMG climbing Instructor Certification. I am stoked to have all of those courses under my belt and I would take them all again in a second! Well, maybe not right now but I would definitely recommend them to anyone who is considering them! Now I can completely focus on the race season that is fast approaching.

I am going to be migrating south in a week, tons to wrap up before the car gets stuffed to the tits and everything but the kitchen sink finds a place in the Matrix. I am going to be updating me travels as often as possible.. cough. cough.

(insert self plug here) If you have a goal this year, wether it be run a marathon, ride a century, climb a mountain or tear through a adventure race. If you need help preparing for whatever the undertaking may be, feel free to contact me and maybe I could help you achieve that goal!

www.ericbatty.ca

New Site is Finally up and Running!

I had a rest day scheduled for today and after opening my computer at 8am I am finally closing it for the evening, seeing that it is 10pm... I have burned through a ton of computer work and I am not the biggest fan of that, other then it needs doing. Tomorrow I will ride, maybe longer in time since it is going to be 9 degrees outside!

Let me know what you think of the new website.

www.ericbatty.ca

Press Release. Trek Canada 2011

Here are a few press releases about our team this season!

http://www.canadiancyclist.com/dailynews.php?id=20837
http://cyclingmagazine.ca/2011/02/sections/news/trek-canada-announces-2011-team/

Backcountry Skiing Muskoka

Here Are a few shots from a ski trip deep into the Muskoka wilderness. We were blessed with deep snow, slushy lakes and -30 degree temps to wake up to in the morning. What more could you ask for?