Some offseason adventures!

After perusing through blogs of some fellow cyclists, I've discovered there's more than ONE format I can use :)...this will be my first attempt to post more than one picture at a time! As my time off the bike comes to a close, I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of the cool stuff Jeff and I got to do on our camping trip.

Camping coffee - somehow it tastes REALLY good!

Riding the trails in Arrowhead park

We're Getting Married!!!!!

This picture was taken in one of the most beautiful places in the World...Trout Lake, North Bay. On October 6th after a hike and lunch on the rocks, Jeff brought out a box of truffles. He had me fooled until he opened it and asked me to marry him.! It was an incredible weekend...words cannot express how happy I am...I'll have to use pictures...

 

Waiting for the train

This was the day after our race...warm and sunny! Rarely do you get to be a "tourist" on these trips. If you're not too busy to enjoy the sites, you're often too nervous or too tired. But on this day, a few of us borrowed the commuter bikes from the hotel and went to watch the men's race by bike. It was a great way to see Salzburg! (See previous posts for some more pictures of the trip) 

A few of us at Worlds

 

One of the many straw statues

 

A 22 km loop of fans!

 

A beautiful day in Austria

 

The Start/Finish at Worlds 2006

 

Time Trial Start (Ardeche, France)

 

Anne and I before the first stage of Tour de L'Ardeche (warm at last!)

 

Getting ready for the Rotterdam World Cup

 

Bike paths in Holland

 

A parking lot in Holland

 

Back to Conches

 

Getting ready to pre-ride the World Cup in Plouay, France

 

Our home base in Conches, France

Fans at the Worlds in Austria

No matter how bad a race you're having, the fans at the Worlds will always cheer you on! I had a pretty rough day myself, finishing a lap down in an extremely tough race. It's always hard to have a bad day, but to have it at the World Championships leaves you wondering why you do this sport. I had a couple of days in Salzburg after the race to get my head around this question. After spending a day with the fans and seeing their enthusiasm and passion for the beauty of this sport, I realized that just to be a part of the race is in itself monumental! 

Thank you!

I work at the best school ever! Thanks so much for all your good wishes. Can't wait to see you again soon! 

Racing in France

In preparation for the World Championships on the 23rd of September, the Canadian team travelled 10 hours from the Rotterdam World Cup to the Ardeche region in the south of France. We drove through the village of Saint Montan (pictured above) and up the mountain to a "campground". The race organizers put us up in little cabins in a recreation area complete with swimming pool, tennis courts and mini-golf (none of which we actually had time to use).

The Tour de L'Ardeche was a five day stage race beginning with a mountain top finish to the campground. We raced incredibly well as a team, securing a stage win, two second place finishes and a 9th overall GC.

We're now back in Conches (our homebase in France) taking time to recover, do our laundry and go for coffee before ramping up one more time for Worlds.

What does this picture have to do with the World Cup in Plouay?

Nothing actually...I've forgotten my cable to download my pictures :-(...fortunately Jeff will be sending me a care package so I can post some shots from overseas! The World Cup in Plouay was TOUGH...quite a shock to the system having not raced in Europe all year. I have to readapt to a peloton of very strong, aggressive women willing to lay it all down (sometimes even on the pavement) for good position! A total of 165 starters and only 69 finished within the time cut...wow. Congrats to Sue and Alex who finished in the top twenty! 

Guess where this is!

You need walk no further than 50 steps from our front door! Yes...this IS the Grand River in Cambridge. It's amazing how a sunset can beautify an urban river. My brother Mike found a rather large dingy last weekend and generously gave it to Jeff and Is now that we have "river-front" property :-). Jeff's already been out 4 times!! It's really nice to meander along this part of the river - you get such a different perspective than when you look at it from the shore. I'm looking forward to heading out with Jeff to watch the sunrise from this location when I get home!  

What would camping be without Nutella?

  

Alex...fireman to be

  

While at home...

When you travel as much as I have in the last 8 months, you really appreciate your time at home. I leave again for Europe next week to prepare for the World Championships in Austria...until then I'm going to post some memories I've made over the last month with my family! This is Nini, my youngest nephew, at the playground in Elora. 

Until next year...

This is a shot of my team at the end of the Tour de Toona. We had a good race. Rachel finished 2nd in the QOM and 9th GC. Kate finished 10th GC. Brenda won the crit! This was my last race with Victory Brewing for this year - I can't believe how fast the season has gone! I'm now home (in my NEW home) preparing for Worlds. We leave for France on August 22nd. While there we'll race in three World Cups and finish in Austria with the World Championships on September 23rd. :-)