FIrst and Last Time I Swear!

Yesterday I drove 7 hours into upstate New York.  My Team and I will be racing the Tour of the Catskills, which begins today with a 20km Time Trial.  Despite the car being packed floor to ceiling I awoke this morning to the realization that my helmet and my shoes remain on the closet shelf back in Ottawa.

What followed was a complete systems crash.  My brain become scrambled eggs my legs like noodles and my heart dragged heavy on the floor like an anchor.  I didn't think a solution was possible, and I could not bring willpower into my body or my mind.  It's true the season is wearing hard mentally at this point.  It seems I have motivation enough as long as everything goes smooth.  Unfortunately when I come to a block I haven't the force of will to solve the problem.

Thank god for Michael DeKelver my team manager and directer sportif.  Without him I probably would have just wandered off into the woods and become some harry mountain man.  "There's always a solution," he says.  "You are ridding this race.  That's obligatory.  We can tape your feet to the pedals if we have to, it's been done before."  Right away Michael started on solutions, and eventually he had me coming around too.

Here is the solution.  After aggressively networking we found a man from Rochester, NY who will loan me a helmet for the weekend.  He found me through the twitter-verse, our world really is shrinking.  If you appreciate the kindness of a stranger please follow @k0demonkey and thank him on my behalf.  As for the shoes.  The good semaratin k0odemonkey has also offered his extra shoes, which are 1 1/2 sizes too big.  After some deliberation and a visit to the Local Bike shop to plead my sob story I have decided to purchase a second set of shoes.  This is justified as either rainy weather training shoes or resale.  I bought an entry level shoe in the same brand and size that I always wear.  Big thanks to Windham Mountain Outfitters for hooking up a deal on that.

I am once again equiped to race.  My Time Trial start time is at 6,54pm. My mind is still like mashed potatos and I will spend the rest of the day relaxing and getting my head screwed on straight.  My focus will be the two road races tomorrow and Sunday.  Each is over 150km long and includes several mountain passes.

pray for wings

Cuylar Conly

RE-structured

This is my restructured scheduled for August.

Today -Quebec provincial Criterium championships.
Aug 5-7 Tour of the Catskills, NY
Aug 14  Niagara Classic or Montreal du Quebec?
Aug 25 move back to Saskatchewan and start University

Thought you ought to know

Cuylar Conly

So what else is on your mind.

Today I entertained my right brain.  I went on a walk about in the National Art Gallery.  From my doorstep its about 4km to the museum, plus wandering the halls and galleries for a good 2 hours, and then I plodded my way home. This is the most walking I have done in months and my feet agree.  I suppose I could have taken the bus but I felt like walking. It was worth it.

The Art Gallery was super deadly.  Although I have little artistic talent, I do have a great appreciation for art and those with talent.  I particularly liked the contemporary exhibit and the collection of Inuit sculptures.  I would go into more detail except I neglected to take a note pad.  Instead I thought it would be a good idea to just take pictures of everything.  I was immediately chastised.  photographs are not allowed... DUH.  I guess I didn't think that one through.

I probably could have spent more time wandering around and I might even go for a return visit before leaving Ottawa.  It is strange I have been in Ottawa almost four months now and I have neglected investigate any of the monuments or museums.  I suppose that's what locals do though.  Now with only one month left in Ottawa I want to commit to a little tourist activity.  Maybe I can awaken my brain from its hibernation before returning to school in the fall.

Cuylar Conly

What are your goals

As the saying goes, "you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone."  I had some big goals for the month of August.  I was presented with the opportunity to travel to the Caribbean and race in the Tour of Guadeloupe.  This 10 day race would dominate the remainder of my summer.  All training was to prepare for this race and all other events became secondary.  In fact this became the only race I planned to do in August.

When this project was cancelled the sensation was that of a misfire.  I had been so focused and dedicated, and still felt that way.  Except that I was now aiming at a void.  My goal, the target, had been removed.  All my work and planning now had end point.  The rest of my summer was suddenly void of any racing.  I find myself with no goal or target event  and my motivation has taken a serious blow.

I have been scrambling to organize a new calender for the rest of the summer.  Unfortunately all my plans remain abstract.  I could list for you races that I would like to do, but for each one I cannot say if it will actually happen.  So, I remain with out target races.  I don't know if I will be racing and so it has been very difficult to motivate my training and diet.  I feel broken, and it's only because I don't know where I am going.


Training shall be based solely on feel,
while racing shall be guided by sensations and instinct.



Cuylar Conly 

Now What do I do.

Last Night I arrived home to a heartbreaking e-mail letter.  The tour of Guadeloupe project, has been cancelled.  The reason behind this cancellation is that certain mandatory logistical deadlines could not be met.  Essentially the managers ran out of time to fill two more spots on the roster.


I feel lost.  I have devoted so much focus and energy into this project and now, I don't know where to go with it.  I have been training hard the last two weeks in preparation sometimes fueled only by the goal.  Now without the big goal it is hard to be so dedicated.  I need to find a "plan B" race calander for August, so my fitness does not go unused.


I want to take this time now to thank the individuals and organizations that pledged to fund my travel costs for the Tour of Gudeloupe.  I was amazed and grateful to those that came forward offering to make this project possible.  For offering financial support I would like to thank 1% for the planet, My trade Team Fresh Air Experience/Ottawa Bicycle CLub, The Saskatchewan based Western Cycle Development Team, the Saskatoon Racing Club Cycledelia, and of course The bank of Mom&Dad.  I also want to thank my landlord who offered to cut my rent for the month as well as the mechanics at Fresh Air Experience who assured me that they could all balance out the scheduling for me to go away for 12 days.


Thank you to all my supporters.  I was so amped to do this race, and it wasn`t going to happen without you.  Unfortunately it is not happening now, and this is beyond my control.  I am currently working on some contingency racing plans and I will update later on.




Training shall be based solely on feel,
while racing shall be guided by sensations and instinct.



Cuylar Conly 

Guest post. The Art of Cycling

Today I am bringing you a blog entry written by my very good friend Michael Spehar.  Michael is not a cyclist.  Yet as an outsider he has written a piece that clarifies the complicated simplicity of bike racing.  There is this never-ending analysis of technique, training method, tactics, and physiology.  All of this vocabulary can creat barriers to improvement.   What a cyclist needs to focus on is just one thing...  Turning the pedals.

The Art of Cycling: A Layman’s Perspective

Watching professional cycling is always an entertaining venture, avid fan or casual viewer alike; albeit for vastly different reasons.  To a person indoctrinated and baptized into the world of cycling, the intricate nature of strategy and rhythm is no doubt akin to a general mobilizing his troops.  Planning a dozen moves ahead, taking into account the terrain, the time, the weather, barometric pressure, the capabilities of your enemy, the perpetually shifting face of the engagement.  I imagine to the enthusiast, a 4 hour race would be akin to a slow dance which culminates in a blitzkrieg of muscular and pulmonary prowess. Reading signals and responding in turn with grace and practiced ease, a balance of violence and control.  A world where one might lay in wait for an eternity only to spring forward, when a few seconds can make or break your day.  A world where a strategic move may be made and the fruits of your calculated act will be reaped hours from now.  A world of multi-layered complexity coupled with the peak of mental and physical prowess; the perfect sport.

Or so I would imagine. 

I have glimpsed into the looking glass of cycling while watching the passionate, animated, and frankly zealous reactions of my cycling friends gathered around the television during the Tour De France.  Hearing the big names of Jan Ulrich, Eddy Merckx, and Alberto Contador being tossed around with the same fervor as 16 year old girls gushing over the “hunks and hotties” of the week.  Yes, there is much entertainment to be had in the month of July. 

It should be mentioned that it took all of my willpower not to include Lance Armstrong in that list out of an effort to appear knowledgeable and cultured in the cycling world.  A world that I am admittedly not schooled in.  While my bicycle buddies will utilize only the edge of their seats, eyes unmoving from the television while the two-wheeled battle plays out in front of them, I am there to laugh in utter confusion at their reactions and steal their beer.  Most often the ale is given willingly, since beer has too many calories.  Or so I’ve been told.

To be blunt, they watch the race, and I watch them.  And I would suspect I’m not alone.  For those of us who feel that 20km by bicycle is a marathon and $500 is a lot to spend on human powered locomotion, this world of “drafting” and “crits” and “cadence” is strange and amusing.  It is a culture of funny looking men using funny words, and the funny people watching and whooping. 

 I was watching the Tour last year with my good friend Cuylar Conly.  He mentioned how the team leader often would have a headset or earpiece, with the coach relaying information and strategy.  At this mention of strategy, I was utterly baffled.

“Strategy?” I inquired.  Lowering my/his beer and raising my eyebrows, “How so?”

Cuylar was about to launch into what I am sure would be an explanation of long term cycle strategy that would have no doubt been very informative, detailed, well structured, and looooooong.  I opted instead to state what I believe all this hifey-fifey biking guff really amounted to.  A simplistic view that I feel is the root of all bicycle “strategy.”

The root of all bicycle strategy is peddling, moving your legs in a circle, nothing more than doing the same thing over and over for the appropriate duration.  All of the instructions that one will receive from their coach will ultimately amount to doing the same thing faster at times, maybe a little slower at times.  A cyclist is made to do the same thing up a hill, down a hill, standing up or in an aero tuck.  Doing the same thing behind some other guy who’s doing the same thing you are, but he’s working twice as hard. Ha, brilliant.  In the end if you do the same thing faster and longer than anyone else you get to wear yellow and be on cereal boxes in the UK.

So I’m sure it should become apparent why we laymen find the hype surrounding and saturating televised cycling so humorous and enjoyable.  It’s a lot of people doing the same thing for a long time, and other people wishing they could do the same thing as good as Jacques Anquetil could do that same thing.  Perhaps this strategic breakdown will provide much needed perspective and clarity to any cyclists that over think the sport that they love.

Now I’m off to watch the NFL and squeal like a little girl. Excuse me.

-Spehar

Invited

Last week I came across a BIG opportunity.  I have been invited to attend the Tour of Guadeloupe as a member of a Canadian composite Team.  A composite team is one that only exists for a couple of events in the year.  Rather than have a contracted roster and staff, a composite team will "borrow" from other teams in order to attend big events world wide. I have been invited to join the composite Team 1% for the planet.

This is a huge opportunity to attend an international Stage race.  The race is August 5th -14th, and will cover 1197km in ten days of racing.  It is a UCI 1.1 Event and will feature many top professionals from South America, Caribbean and France.  A project of this magnitude guarantees the race fees, accommodation, ground support, meals and staff for the entire composite Team.  The only cost left to the athlete is that of airfare.  Unfortunately this is the biggest obstacle I face to attend this race.

This is how it breaks down.  Th advertised cost of airfare is $1100-$1200,  After tax this will be closer to $1500.  Then there are bike fees to consider.  The bike fees are an area where airlines really take a gouge.  It will cost me $250 each way to transport my bicycle, for a total of $500 just in bike fees.  The Estimated cost to the athlete is just under $2000.  That's a daunting figure for someone who's monthly budget is less than $700.

It is frustrating to think that dollar bills are the ultimate limiter.  Since I received the invite last Wednesday all of my spare time has gone into the penny hunt.  I have balanced and re-balanced the books.  And I am grasping at any and all strings that I can think of.  As it stands I have secured 45% of the associated travel costs.  By my best estimates I need to arrange at least another 25%.  Time is running short, and decisions will have to be made.  For the next week I know exactly what my spare time will be used for.

To compete in a National Tour would be a great honour,
I would love to contest this race.

Cuylar Conly