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Laurent " The Professor " Fignon passed away today at the age of 50 from intestinal cancer. I remember watching him a Greg Lemond battle it out on tv with my father way back in 86...i think it was 86. He was a true champion of France. I am sure he is in a better place doing hill repeats and enjoying a nice Borduex! FUCK CANCER!

So Micals race was bit rough. Broken chain the 1st lap, followed by a flat tire last lap. With all that time wasted running she still was not pulled and finish 19 mins back. I try and focus on the positive. She was worked worse then i had ever seen. We got her all cleaned up, dropped the bike off at the Trek Toronto trailer supplied by Barry Near ( thanks again ) and I took her out for some Sicilian pizza. A very bad ass pizza i must admit. The next day we drove up to Vermont to a place called East Burke and The Kingdom Trails. This network is often in mags as being a must stop locale for riding. 100 miles of trails?? OK, i am in. You pay 10 bux and all the proceeds go to trail maintenance. These trails were so fun and the way they wind through the farming community is a real testament to what you can achieve if we are all on the same page. It is so humid out here i am soaking through with sweat all day, every day. But it has been nice to get away from the thoughts in my head. I know

Well I can be honest when I say that I have never slept like that in my life. I think the first time I even rolled was at 730am. God damn it really felt great. Was debating about riding the course during practice time but to hell with it, when will I going to be on a World Cup course again. So I suited up and rolled out around 845am so I could get two laps in at least. You climb right up and out of the village and it is a really rad track. Lots of sweet techy wooded sections and some grunty climbs but nothing really sustained. My first lap was easy peasy recon mission then I tried a med/hard second lap and was surprisingly strong given all that’s been going on lately and not being on the bike much. I rode the whole lap minus one small section in my middle ring and I think I might be able to do it if I race Sunday. Got back in to the cottage and made some lunch, kicked back and waited for Mical to arrive from her pre ride. I think it’s a good course for her. The climbs aren’t hyper

Mical and I are going east for a World Cup and then World Championships at Mt. Saint Anne so lucky for us we are catching the 11 o'clock to Toronto. Did I mention its the 11pm?? Ouch. This flight messes with my body and brain. The flight is leaving at 11 and its a 3,75hr flight and we arrive at 6:30.......oh man its going to be a long day! We land fine after trying to sleep in a cramped ass Jet, which I can never do anyway, then grab a quick hopper to Montreal to grab a rental and drive to New York. Mical had rented a Matrix as we have two bike boxes and two large bags so we needed the room. Apparently if you book a car they don't necessarily hold it. ( see link for the explanation of my frustration ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSZYsyrP3Co So after a some mild anger and frustration at the lack of common sense we got stuck with a Yaris sedan which if you've ever seen one you know it isn't holding a couple boxes! We get it all sorted out and repacked and shuffled and

So I got home the other night after a ride and check my messages and with some urgency my mother was trying to get a hold of me. I noticed that Aaron had tried to phone during the day but I figured I would just phone him when i got home as i talked to mom the previous night and he was doing ok, a lil down, but ok. I phone back to his room and Doug ( my dads good friend ) answered the phone and informed me that Aaron had passed on. I can't even begin to describe all the thoughts that rushed through my head. After just losing Dad in November it is a little much to have to fly back home to bury my brother as well. My thoughts shifted to my mother who has now lost the love of her life and her first born. Whatever sorrow i am feeling is magnified 10x for Donna I am sure. Losing Aaron is bittersweet. He has been bed ridden for about 15yrs and has been suffering through a spinal cord injury for 20+ yrs. He had the worst kind of injury where you are paralyzed but can feel all the pain th

I awake thinking “holy crap, it’s already Day 3!” Not only that but I get to ride on a bus: then a boat. How sweet is that? It’s a bag style breakfast so we can grab the shuttle to the boat and I was thinking I may need more fuel then that. Surprisingly there was enough grub in the bag to get me through the day. This is one of those days were we need the little red race bag as we take a bus to the Courtney Ferry Terminal over to Powell River and trust me, you don’t need to wear a chamois that long unless your riding! We end up waiting at the ferry terminal out in the sun, catching up with Drew from Decline/Niner. He is from L.A and met him last year at BCBR and was stoked to see he made the long journey again. It goes to show you how awesome the trails are around here. Walk on the boat and its more relaxing for a bit. We need to get race ready on the ferry as we race shortly after getting off the boat. It’s just a matter of a short walk and trying to find your bike amongst 500 other

Day 2 starts off in the quaint little town of Cumberland so it is an early wake up ( one of many ) to get loaded up and drive up. This will also be one of the last days we will have the truck as we are ahead of support for the rest of the race. Base camp is to be at Village Park right at the end of Downtown Cumberland. I spend some time here on and off during the summer and its great place to come and ride. If you can get here I recommend it. The route will take us right up the main drag of this historic town and into some of my favorite trails on the whole Island . With trails names like “T wo and a Juice, Buggered Pig, and Short and Curly bouncing through my head how could you not love it? Weather is again magnificent as we herd together in the field. Luckily our Start is also our finish today so its one huge loop ….kind of. With approx. 60km and 1300ft I am hoping the chain holds today. No worries, I am on my bike so life is good. The gun goes and we are off. Its c

Day 1 has arrived and we awake to great European breakfast prepared by our host at the B+B we invaded the night before. Our star is the Departure Bay Ferry Terminal which just happens to be below the house we are occupying. With breakfast done and nothing else to occupy my time I guess it was time to suit up, hop on the bike and roll down to the start line. A mass of spandex and wheels hits you as you peel into the terminal to await the start. A huge inflatable archway name “Bob” is erected and waiting for the riders. Music blares as people line up and await the gun to send them on there way. We will be getting a police escort through the town and up into the awaiting starting trail, “The Abyss”. Having loved here I am stoked to rid this trail. Fast and flowy with some cool textured rock lines. About 4 minutes into the trail my chain snaps. Just when I was starting to have fun and now all the people I just passed are zipping by me as I stand still! Oh well, get it fixed and keep it pin

My Saturday starts off as every Saturday does: Peeling myself out of bed and rolling downstairs to fire up the espresso and start to make some pre ride breakfast for Mical and myself. She makes her way downstairs shortly after the purr of the bean grinder, gives me a smooch and wanders over to the desk to check her email for her days workout. She tells me that Pedal Mag has asked her to do daily online updates and a magazine spread for BCBR like the one she did for Trans Rockies. Regrettably there were obligations that wouldn’t allow her to report so she was asked if she knew anyone else that would be up for it. She looks over at me and says “Hey Babe, you wanna do BCBR?” Well obviously my answer is yes and over the next few days I work through the logistics of riding and reporting with Pedal Mag. I make sure the guys at Pro City Cycles (my employer in Victoria ) are cool with me being gone and they couldn’t wait to be rid of me! Sweet! I am about to do BCBR on no training other then

I had the pleasure of being invited to ride the BCBR and write about the "experience" with daily reports and then a spread in the magazine in teh fall. I am a little bummed outthat teh article needed to have its personality chopped out. Now it is just a bland update style article that i am not very proud of. So i will share the other still chopped down but not as bland article that I originally wrote. If you have any feedback it would be greatly appreciated.

This governing body is run by a bunch of Idiotic bureaucrats that probably don't even like bikes. In there infinite wisdom they open up events to UCI points, for whatever reason, which spreads out a great big purse to the most boring and least competitive categories and leaves nothing for people that are in a no point category. Look at teh BCBR and Trans Rockies and tell me that Open Mixed hasn't really been the most competitive categories going. ( aside from masters men category in bcbr this year. ) Its a grab for points for people that can't or wont get over seas to race and its lfucking lame! yes, i am biased but that's not the point. I am proud of Mical and I love her more then anything and I am always going to put her interests first. *puts away soapbox*