The T-BAR lift

Time in between...

2010-10-31T08:46:00.003-04:00

I'm back... 6 months later with the same image. Snow and time has past...
Lots of things have changed. Hope life brings me the dream i want.

31 octobre 2010

29 april 2010

What corner are we on?

2010-04-29T00:05:00.002-04:00

Today

23 Avril ....

27 avril...

What?

Hard work, but no bike!

2010-04-20T20:42:00.002-04:00

The bike is taking the back seat in my life right now! Everything else is just hard work! Finishing the last touch on the house for the next step which will be renting the house and rooms to cyclist that want to travel the area.

The VVM work is at it's peak in the financing stage of the project. Pretty much all grants are asked for. Now we wait for the response from the different level asked. The support from the local folks is great right now! This is a good thing!

And as for the real work... it's non-stop! I like it freelancing, but can't wait for the next step! More friends in Sherbrooke and a nice team! This will be a fun step.

Still cold....

2010-04-10T09:39:00.002-04:00

The language of friendship is not words but meanings.
Henry David Thoreau

Still cold... hope it will warm up one day. Yes I'm sure.

This weekend got back to normal temps. Cold and little snow this morning. My knee problem kept me off the bike this week. I managed to do two nice cyclocross rides just like we like them. Cold, sticky and muddy.

Lots of work getting done for the VVM. Last weekend we got to flagg the first part of the "Coteau" section.

Fields section that will be done this summer.

One Weekend at -10° and now 29°

2010-04-07T10:09:00.006-04:00

This was Easter weekend, a long weekend. It started with a nice 110km ride with the Vélocia group on Jay Peak. What a great ride, nice folks, fast and experienced riders. The group gathered together at 10am in the morning at the Frelischberg Town hall. One of the members had suggested the ride, a 110 km ride from Qc to Vermont. it started with Joy hill !! It wears its name! At 1,5 km from the start you hit that little hill of about 2,4 km average 6,3% with a 14 % peak. Hard starts for the legs. We went on smoothly, direction Jay Peak, it really felt like we were riding in my backyard. The first climb was regular as i do it very often. I was keeping my legs for the rest of the ride. What i need to work is the second climb. The route 242 climb to the resort. I have more difficulties with that climb. it has about the same average gradient of 4,5% that the route 105 has, but it has these pitches 4 or 5 of them at 14%. I'm having a hard time keeping a regular pace on those climbs. Like the end of last season i faded as the ride km added. But this is my year objectives. I will leave myself some time, we are just at the start of April and i just passed my first 1000km.

One think is that I will have to change my road pedals. The old stuff is giving me knee problem. I will look at new options.

I love to ride with a group. Like a friend once said to me, there will always be a faster one then you, still pushing our selves more makes us better riders.

Nice first group ride of the season.

On top of the 105.

The next day Claudia, Dan and me did another little 50km ride, Claudia had to put training in the legs, but sadly she didn't feel right. She cut the run a little, because she was feeling sick, but she managed to have fun coming up from Mansonville to the house on that 5km climb. Dan and me got to finish the little run. My legs were not as good, they felt the km of the day before. We got to the house at about the same time as Claudia did. It gave me a "ok" average speed. Dan as always was faster than me. We then learn the scary way that you have to hydrate yourself properly for this sport and also learned that it's not good to stay to long in the spa, you get dehydrated fast!

I saw this saying on the next day. For me it mean something.
A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.  Arnold H. Glasow

On Sunday and Monday i played the gardener around the house. It's fun to play in the dirt!

More pines... they grow fast.

Nice little CX run...

2010-03-28T13:56:00.004-04:00

La run de la Fusée! ( version CX )

There is this rocket landmark at Bolton-east. I don't know why it is there. Maybe because in the 70's there was this "Space Research Lab" in Mansonville?

I enjoy that run a little 50km with 750m of climb. I saw yesterday that it has a point that hits the 14.8% on the climb scale. Just as you leave bolton-east on the gravel climb boom! Total a little 3km at 6% average! I like it!

Last year at this time i had 220km under my belt. This year is going great with 860 right now. A great season on the way. I already have two Jay Peak Climbs, and some good training. I'm much more relax on the bike and i'm gaining regular rhythm. This is all good for a nice and fun season. I will soon start to go out with the Club Cycliste de Sherbrooke. I will also do a lot of training with Claudia that needs all the km training for her triathlon season.

Again enjoying the run with my good friend Dan gerous.

Red.... spring

2010-03-25T20:35:00.006-04:00

The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.

Tony Robbins

In cycling one important thing is the fit of the butt on the saddle, be comfortable on it! I got me the saddle that fits my ass. A Specialized Toupe Gel in white and red. As i decided to keep the white seat on the cyclocross. The black Toupe want from the CX to the SuperSix last year.Unfortunately it won't stay white very long. And that is the good thing. it means you had the time to ride your bike.

Lots of things happening with the VVM right now, news will be spreed soon. Let's say that, like always, nothing happens for nothing in life. The "Canton de Potton" will be infested buy mountain bike soon.

I'm also putting red plants in the house which means, "The House" is almost done. Hibiscus red! Colors it's nice.

Go! do a little ride outside

2010-03-18T22:45:00.003-04:00

I had to go kill a hour and get the legs going. little 30km... perfect for intervals. It will be the next step. Gain power on the little hops and finish with speed.

Hope i get it! because

First race is here! Almonte Paris-Roubaix on April 25th. They say part road, dirt, gravel, mud.... http://cyclocross.org

Back at it... 2

2010-03-18T01:48:00.008-04:00

Going up

Last week and last weekend, i got to do two Jays! One with nice and soft spring snow, and the other ride with the sun the side hill route 105 of Jay with good friend Dan Gerous. Jay #2. Fast start to the season this year. we are just in march. This is good!

I am not sure about my training this week. With the speed everything it's going and the lack of training, i'm one week ahead of my rest week. oups!

Ride it!

Big Jay!

CX strating the season.

Little bit cold on top... of route 105.

Next!

Back at it...

2010-03-08T21:38:00.012-05:00

My favorite 66km run up route 105 VT.

This is the corner where it starts to climb. I like that climb. It's a good training ground. I enjoy having the easy access to this sort of road.

This weekend was my first climb of route 105 in 2010. The simple loop gives you 66km from my home to Jay Peak (105) and back via Highwater. I did it at a good pace for a first ride of the season. I'm happy about the pace. Again the ride down the other side was cold. I always bring a second layer to cut the wind. but still cold!! Can't wait for warmer temps.

And Sunday we did a little 45km around my place. Mansonville, Bolton, Vale Perkins. I had to loosen the legs!
Total 111km this weekend.

Up on top... 10km later.

The little climb from Mansonville Village to my place. I still just can't get it. It gets me! It kills my average speed every time.

Little bit of snow... melted fast!

2010-02-25T17:49:00.009-05:00

Wednesday snow from the house window.

Nice little Thursday morning run At Jay Peak on the 25th of January. A 36 inch of snow and more had fallen on the mountain. It showed! The snow was wet and heavy, still it was a fun to ride! I got the Fish out once this year!

But a day later, It's all melted in a flash! Still as it's colder at the mountain it should not be affected... Still that is fast dump and melt down! Fast cycle!

Show has just started again tonight... might have 2 to 3 inch. It should be nice and fresh in the morning.
It's a good time for that snow, as it's my relax week in the training program.

More indoor training...

2010-02-23T16:43:00.003-05:00

More indoor training has I'm heading into my relax week of training. I will do more swimming this week. Soon I'll post my 2010 calendar for the races I plan on doing this year. The training is better then last year. My months of January and February saw me click 200km and 250km of real and virtual training time.

As we are headed in the month of March we will start to go do some little Jay Peak climb.

l'Albigeoise

2010-02-16T09:21:00.005-05:00

The 2010 calendar is starting to see races line up for what will be a second season of bike racing. As my racing partner Dan and I will be again training in France this year, we have decided to find ourselves a local Cyclosportive in the middle weekend. We found l'Albigeoise a little 130km race in the Pyrenees. It will be nice to do this first race in France. The 2010 calendar will see me also start my season with an Mountain bike race. Yes, not an Endurance race, but a nice Mountain bike provincial race. The Coupe du Québec on the 22nd of May in Tremblant.

Training will go on hard as the calendar and my expectations are higher this year. Still the main goal is to have fun, lost of it... but i want to do better then last year in every race. I hope so! For that i will follow my training that my coach gave me!

New week... new avenues...

2010-02-11T00:22:00.004-05:00

This week saw me taste the pleasure i always had on a snowboard, It's back! I had the chance to go ride morning powder at Jay Peak early this week. I was back at it. And looking at the radars more snow is on its way. I will enjoy my new freelancer status and enjoy the snow.

As i always say nothing happens for nothing, New avenues are possible with my new status. I have contracts coming in for everywhere. I might even have a contract from France! That could be cool. New possibilities of teaching my work to others... who knows...

As the tracks on the snow the VVM project is going as planed and we are in serious moving stage of the project. Municipality meetings, MRC meetings, lots of work.

Speaking of France... the training is going great and it looks good for the second year at Le col du Tourmalet.
But two weeks this year! two weeks of pure European riding. With 100km in January and a good 120km right now in February everything looks promising.

2010 training well under way.

2010-02-05T16:20:00.004-05:00

The 2010 training is going great! As i have my personal coach Dan Gerous following all my workouts, I'm on the right track. Right now I'm in the "endurance" phase off the training. I do indoor training with the CX bike on the Blackburn™ trainer. As i have the chance of being in the countryside I do one or two training rides per week outside in the beautiful sun.

It looks like the 2010 season will be a good second race year. But mainly... biking does so much good to the spirit! We also have good news with the VVM bike club. We were officially informed this week that the Potton municipality will join us in the first phase of the developing mountain bike trails this year. We are also in discussion with other partners for more funding for this phase one. We discussed a three year plan with the municipality. It looks like MTB trails in my backyard!

The Thiforine™ does a wonderful job as the outside bike trainer.

2010 = new

2010-01-31T20:51:00.004-05:00

I was back to my old winter habits this weekend as i went for my second day of snowboarding. I was with nice people, good riders and it gave me back the taste of snow. I did add to this weekend my new winter fun! Yes i love riding my bike. I did two rides this weekend. One ride of 15km at -15°c on Saturday and also a nice ride after a snowboard Sunday. i added 18km at less freezing temps to my 100km January.

All in all, new + fun = 2010. What a fun time i had this weekend. And the training is good. More training in plans this week. As now i have to get more swimming and weight training done.

New + fun = 2010. Just like this nice little home made vid for this Röyksopp song.
Röyksopp _ silver cruiser

Sun, bike, rain.... snow...

2010-01-25T00:12:00.008-05:00

It all adds up to me. Well not really.

This was a good weekend. I felt relieved.
I worked a lot on myself this year. I'm proud of this.

But Sunday the cold got back to me. Merde! Encore le rhume.
And rain on Monday and now snow on Tuesday!!
What??

Liberated.

2010-01-19T21:42:00.003-05:00

Liberated and moving on.

Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more. (Tony Robbins)

FFW...

2010-01-19T00:09:00.003-05:00

Fast ForWard... tomorrow

Prodrive Impreza N2010

Drop-in... The futur is waiting.

2010-01-15T16:38:00.000-05:00

Picture of Natacha Pisarenko

Stop worrying, even though you're an expert at it. You've followed all the rules (even though it hasn't been easy for the past three weeks), and in the eyes of those higher-ups who were looking to find fault with you, But, there hasn't been any to find. So you may be facing delays. There is no way around this right now except to take responsibility and be as organized as you can. The time suggests that a new beginning might have powerful repercussions further down the line. Don't try to force the pace - allow events to flow naturally for the best results. Let it go, so you can commit to new projects.

Right now... i'm perplex.

2010-01-10T22:53:00.007-05:00

The start.

2010 has turned fast...

I started my snowboard season today... quite late this year. And honestly I'm not into it. Yes, I miss the lime board beside me on the slopes. But still, it's not that. I have to concentrate on a fight, a hard one, a fight again that is leaving me perplex. I probably made one wrong choice coming here, I did not know one person enough. Some individuals make their success by destroying others.

I have to look for new opportunities, I have to tell myself that it's a new day for me. Exactly like the day I decided to come here in the townships. I wanted to come here to redefine myself, which i did impressively, I'm definitely not the same person. Open air gave me different views on life. But primarily views on me, Self. My uncle said to me this new years eve that he felt that his life really started at 40. I'm starting to believe that mine will also take a drastic turn of event on my 40th year, a turn for the better. It is hard to believe right now, but
maybe i have spent enough time in front of a computer.

Again, this situation and this song go perfectly together. "Things I Don't Understand"

I have learned that i miss people in my life in those situations.
But in all of this, it is me that is sitting like the tree on the rock. my roots well locked on the ground.

I will look at new horizon, ride the mountain and do some hard training.
I will be the winner in this, and if i leave I'll leave with pride.
knowing that i did my best through all.

New horizon.

The new training room is ready.

Bridge to 2010

2010-01-05T22:38:00.009-05:00

Image of Fabrice Gaëtan

The 2009 year has gone quickly and brought it's turmoil down with him. Take the bride to 2010...

My 2009 year saw many things change for me. Like everything it becomes the past, with its lost, gains and its still. It will be the year i'll remember losing a good friend. I now hope that one day before life takes away too much i'll see those eyes again and just smile and say "hello", Comment tu vas... life goes to fast. This year will be my 40th year and i intend to grab it with energy.

The energy that is taking place right now is more like the one in the song i always loved by Pearl Jam. Given to fly. This energy came in with the wonders that life send you on your path of life. I intend to move, think, learn more and more... let's move this new year my 40th!

The winter riding has started and i need to pick up on the 2010 training now! Many things are ahead, trail building with the VVM club and more implication in my community. You will see MTB riding and road riding in my backyard this year. Again, a trip to France, not for a week, but for two weeks this year and it will be enhanced by a bike race in France. I hope on doing again this year road race, endurance MTB race and surely CX races.The year of my 40th on a bike.

So happy new year!

Pearl Jam - Given to fly

Life's wonder.

Winter riding has started.

Roll on and fly in 2010.

Marry Christmas!

2009-12-24T12:19:00.004-05:00

I wish Merry Christmas to everybody that i know, loved, admire and miss.
Peace.

Farewell, powdery paradise.

2009-12-22T12:19:00.006-05:00

Mina Sharif

R.I.P Maud Carle.

You did take care and loved my father so well, today, he came down to pick you up.
Have a nice journey, Maud.

Life is so strange sometime. This morning for me it seemed like synchronicity. Snow, my love putting on some nice classical music, that she is not use to putting and then this news. He came for you.

The word "happiness" would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. Quote by Carl Jung.

J'ai toujours aimé le drum!

2009-12-15T22:33:00.008-05:00

I always liked the drums. But was never good at it. I like the drum in this song! And it's Radiohead song, another good one from them, with a kid drumming along.

So I'm still hammering at work and house work. Now it's more painting, but it looks good and done!

So it left time on Sunday to hammer the km on the bike. A little, so little 20km, but a lot of fun. It was a freezing one for my friend feet! Oups, Wrong turn! But we got in the house just in time for the snow to start again. It was now time for some new Christmas colors!

Radiohead: Where I End And You Begin (The Sky Is Falling In)

The season of the white stuff

2009-12-09T22:13:00.004-05:00

Time won't let me go
Time won't let me go
If I could do it all again
I'd go back and change everything
But you won't ever let me go
( The Bravery )

It's the start of a new season.
On this day Happy birthday dad.
I still miss you.

Finishing the house work and thinking 2010 training.

2009-12-06T22:25:00.005-05:00

The 2009 season is getting close to its end. Another year has passed. The big house project is also getting close to completion, It has been a lot of work. I knew from the beginning that it would be lots of work... or did I?

My 2009 season was my biggest season on a bike, i enjoyed every minute of it, well almost. Like everything it has it's up and down. Today I had the pleasure to be back on the bike for a small ride. What was appreciated was that my body seems to remember all the effort put into that season. It's giving me full for taught in getting my training started for 2010.

It seems we'll have some snow this week. My mind will be in between riding the mountain and riding the bike,
but definitely 2010 training for a second season of races and pleasure.

CX on the fences

Garmin over looking Jay Peak.

Jay ride... December, done!

2009-12-06T11:08:00.002-05:00

I had the chance to do my December run on route 105. My deception is that i lost all my power. I have to get back to training and think 2010 now. Still i enjoyed that little run in my backyard. It was probably my last ride of 2009 on the 105. See ya in 2010.

Work...work... House work and work...

2009-11-25T22:27:00.014-05:00

Don't sell yourself short by giving up too quickly. You can't always get it right the first time, but if you persist you probably will eventually. Instead of running at the first sign of trouble, take the time needed to do it correctly and you'll start to see that time makes a true winner.

Well, i'll say it, building a house is a lot... a lot of work. Finishing it all is the hardest part. This weekend I pasted by IKEA to get an idea of what could fit in the house, as it's almost done. Now it's time to decorate the place, give it a style. Well I went in the "tel quel" department of IKEA and found all that I needed.

The TV room will have a nice red sofa! The KLIPPAN Loveseat was just what we needed in time for a cozy winter.

One last Jay ? or maybe not...

2009-11-16T21:45:00.010-05:00

This weekend was tinted with house work again like the last month. Looking at my calendar i was under KM for the last two months. This Sunday was warm, misty rain, what... a good time for a little Jay climb.

I had called up Dan and Guillaume for the ride. They were pretty stocked about the ride, we all where. This year, my first climb of Jay was in February, now in November, I was going at it for the 11th climb of the year. I plan on doing it one time in December and one time in January. That would make it a full year. Hummm let's see if it's possible. One thing that was clear i was back to my March and April split time for that climb. No speed for me!

The partners were going way faster than me on that day!. Guillaume was back and forth between Dan and me. He was like a happy kid on the bike. He's gonna be a machine next summer!
He is already full speed on training. As of Dan, well like always modest and delivers from the legs. He was following the pace, his fastest time on Jay rt.105. He is also slowly getting things in place for training 2010. My calendar will start soon.... soon after my calendar of house work is done.

My Black Porsche... SuperSix

Guillaume

Mr Dan G. always a smile face.

The partners...

Took off...

Happy rider on his relax run.

Little CX... back at work.

2009-11-16T21:36:00.007-05:00

It's been a while since i rode the CX bike on this season end. I was always curious of one thing, In the area rides, what was the % of climb of the hill from Vale Perkins docks to Owl's Head condos. Well, it's a little wall... at 20,6% on gravel. So i discovered one little climbing challenge for the CX route now. Who wants to go climb?

And it's strait no curves...

Lime is a good color....

Finish downhill to my place with the view.

Catch up... my little star

2009-11-11T17:57:00.006-05:00

Rolitodream! by smallandround.

Sometimes we have to give ourselves the time to catch up to the stars or we're always lagging behind. Give yourself the time you need, but don't dilly dally today. The stars are fickle and don't wait for anyone. Catch up, get on track, and let the stars carry you away.

I just loved this work of art... made me think of my little star.

Home work, surprise visite and good cooking!

2009-11-09T23:10:00.005-05:00

Did a bunch of work this week-end on the house. My brother Jeff was kind to give me help with that. we had a good weekend ahead. My Friday was of from work, i had the chance to ride the bike a little, it had been a month almost without a good ride on the road... god it was hard to see that we lose quickly all the training. My surprise was coming home i had more visit then expected, Claudia had decided to come help us out with the work of the weekend. What a sweet gesture. So, my brother and i finished the isolation of the basement and garage during the two days. It's gonna help me a lot with the heating bill this winter! it's crazy how i realize all the involvement that i have put over the last year in this project. no wonder why i was tired and "selfish" over that year. So much things were to be done. But today it's my training camp and my place... near the next step; the VVM project.

Isolation... it's finish.

Nice little muffins cooked on Sunday night to finish the good weekend.

That's it... my brain has started to think snow....

2009-11-06T00:15:00.006-05:00

Robot ready...

OK ... it's coming fast, I know my bike season is getting close to a new training start for 2010 with many objectives for next year. More power... is mainly what i need. But that does not mean i'll stop riding. i plan on doing Jay every month of winter... a crazy idea. I'll see. But for sure i'll be riding Jay again this year, on the snow.

Absinthe Films, Neverland

Seeing the new teaser from Absinthe Films for the film Neverland just got me stoked on snow! Soon. riding, riding... It's a great teaser, love the song choice from The who - Baba O'riley. I wish i had a big LCD screen and watch the snow come to life under their boards.

I'll miss a riding partner this year, hope she has a good season. I wish you fun on the fish. Let's all have fun riding.

Lime was a beautiful color.

What a great idea... a Sunday ride, last ride at Burke.

2009-11-02T21:30:00.006-05:00

This sunday was election day in Potton, a wind of change was about to turn on Mansonville as my friend Mr. Jacques Marcoux got elected as the new mayor of Potton. We decided, Claudia and me to go take a last ride in Burke "kingdom trails", well we did not know that we would hve the chance to ride the last day of the season. My friend Dan told me today. Sorry Dan for not calling, we decided last minute. I said lets go ... I'll go vote when we come back... the voting closes at 8 o'clock.

We did the regular loop. we took the time because it was just the second ride for my friend Claudia. There were lots of roots and little mud holes all over the place. We had a blast. My friend liked it a lot especially the " tap and die" and the Sidewinder. Yes, she did do the famous Sidewinder with a pleasure smile at the end. She is gonna be to watch for next season! With all the training she's doing... watch out! So big Bravo to you Claudia, especially doing all this with a bike l little to big for you.

See ya next year Burke... but i think we will go less and less to this place as we will have a "kingdom trails" of our own right here in Mansonville next year. Again Congratulation Mr. Marcoux! Hope to develop lots of project with you.

New pic-nic area on top of the "old web"

New church building just on the top of the "old web" witch is no longer the same.

Having fun! And you did do the sidewinder for the first time. Bravo!

Firewood #2....

2009-11-02T21:18:00.002-05:00

I have taken the time to build a second firewood shed, this one was made from scrap wood left from the roofing crating and again leftover from the steel roof. This one will be further down my land. It will mainly be used for the wood of the "fire pit" More and more work is done all over the house and land, as the bike season is one the decline.

Firewood is gona be dry...

2009-10-26T20:54:00.004-04:00

This week i had the chance to complete more work on the house project. I had steel roofing material leftover from the house roof. So i bought a couple of ruff 4x4, 2x4 and 1x6 wood to finish the project. So now i have a beautiful wood shed that fits the style of the house. I also did finish little parts of the finishing touch on the house ... it's long doing all the little details. More and more left will be done in the weeks to come. No wonder why i was exhausted last year after 6 months of construction.

Finishing the brown roofing.

It's done! i need to finish the exterior the same as the house.

The green wood on the house will be the same on the shed.

Officially... the 2009 race season is over... More next year.

2009-10-23T22:10:00.005-04:00

My good homemade Thiforine™ Carbon MTB. Did work well all year.

Ok it's officially over my first bike race season is done! I decided to DNS the last race in Sherbrooke the QC CX championships. As my two partners are sick puppets of the last Cowansville race, I'll call it off. I'll go ride for fun instead.

With all the work done this week here on the house project, and also the job done at Mr Hébert's place in the village. I did the roofing of his house for three days. I also had a full-time job this week doing night shift at TVA, my regular job. So that's a lot... and no bike training in the last month. So DNS for Sunday.

I'm proud of my first year of racing. As my Garmin™ coming back from "Raid Bras du Nord" I've hung on all year with good steady performance. I saw the last 1/4 of the calender cut down short due to my bronchitis and then me slacking on the pace for the CX races. But still what a good first year it was! I'm proud. See ya in 2010.

The Garmin™ Edge 305 wanted to stay with us... did Qc -Trois-Rivières on the edge of the roof of the car ;) lucky me!

My good friend Dan Gerous always smiling at every opportunity! His race season also ends with a DNS.

In 3 days the last race of the season.

2009-10-22T08:43:00.003-04:00

Photo from PDXcross

In three days is the last race the quebec championships, my training has taken the back seat of my life right now. So i'll go there to have fun and get my legs going at hi speed on last time. Probably they won't like me but that's how it is. Right now i'm more working on the house then anything. We will have a little meeting of the VVM this weekend for the 2010 plan. My Partner in racing Dan is coming this weekend. Will run a little bit on Saturday and race on Sunday. Lets have fun!

Today is a day to build character

2009-10-21T23:55:00.006-04:00

Character is built when you face a challenge and attempt to resolve it.

Stop obsessing on what you have lost, just let the past go, and focus on the future. Until you let go of the past you can't have a future. The past can only diminish at this point but the future has real possibilities. The question is, how long do you want to indulge it for?

Sometimes you can't see the path, but you still know that it is there. Knowing is an awareness, not perception, but it is easy for you to confuse the two. This is the day to begin to realize the difference between what is and what you want it to be.

I love the feeling that is coming from the "now". The old vapors are leaving for good. Still i miss people that were once in my life. See you in the sky.

Photo for my friend Jacques Durand, thanks!

Cowansville CX... DNS

2009-10-19T21:15:00.002-04:00

Picture : Marie-Florence Gagnon

After a good first season of bike racing, 8 races in that first season. I decided to let it go a bit. My bronchitis has taken me a long time to get out of. I had less riding done in the last months, so i decided to put my energy at the first project i did coming here in the Eastern Townships, "The House" is want need to be finish.

So i passed on the Cowansville CX race. My good friends Guillaume and Dan did the race and had fun doing it. I will see them next weekend for the last CX race of the season. It will also be my last race of the season. I'm already planing the 2010 calender. I want to add a XC race at the start of the schedule. I like seeing Dan Gerous race the course of Mt Tremblant this year, so i think i'll add it up. I plan on going back to France in 2010, two weeks this time. I might also go do a "road race" over there. Dan showed me this L'étape du Tour 2010, why not give it a try?

Ok as i have more time off from work this week, I'll concentrate on house work, a little bike and my last race next weekend.

It's time to finish the work.

2009-10-17T00:17:00.006-04:00

My race season is almost over, it's time to finish the work on the house. Last year to this date i was finishing the construction of my new house. I took a good year off the work ( the finishing touch needs to be done! )

Now it's time to get back to work and do some of it before the snow and the cold comes. The list of small things to do is long, will go at it one item at a time.

After that, we will be back on training for 2010 and more racing. I might have a new racing partner. We will see.

Those pictures are from last year excep the fire pit built last week.

Recently builted a fire pit with the new racing partner. Hope we can light it up before the snow!
Thanks for the help my dear!

Season is changing...

2009-10-15T08:18:00.002-04:00

Today the stars bring back long lost memories. They haunt you because they have never been resolved. Don't indulgence them. There are many things in life that cannot ever be resolved, so there is no need to waste time trying to get closure on everything.

SNOW IS HERE!!!

2009-10-14T10:00:00.004-04:00

This Morning my view from my balcony was a JAY PEAK white! So slowly it's going in that direction. We'll be biking in the snow soon and fore sure snowboarding on Jay.

Flow ride at Saxon Hill

2009-10-13T22:40:00.006-04:00

This week-end was a discovery week-end. my riding partner was discovering the MTB and we were discovering Saxon Hill. My fellow VVM partner Éric told us that we should go discover the trails in that area of Vermont. They had gone just two days before, so monday we decided to go try it! What a pleasure it was. Nice flowing trails with speed, curves, little ups and downs. About 20km of fun flow! A little more difficult ride up the Mo jo trail and a nice descent back to the flow trail. Would have been easier with brakes! Sorry miss. See Ya soon Saxon Hill! We will ride again soon partner. Lovely weekend.

Nice maps get you good direction of the loops! Thanks to the Fellowship of the Wheel

The Carbon Thiforine has made the year!

A newly addicted rider enjoy the flow of the trails.

CX plans for 2010

2009-10-06T22:07:00.010-04:00

Dan Gerous, the Club VVM and I would like to organise a Cyclocross race in 2010. We went to see the Owl's Head mountain resort to see the potentiel. We had a little 46km ride around the area, our fast friend Guillaume came with us. Congratulation to our friend Claudia who got to ride her first big long run with us. So we think it could come alive in 2010. Maybe the first Endurance CX race in canada ?? why not a CX race from Sutton to Owl's Head .. hum.. Just like the 3 peaks in England

We had a good relaxe time on our bikes.

Amazing Parc, my second edition... the big step.

2009-09-28T22:55:00.010-04:00

Me Self in the park.

This was my second year at the Défi Vélo Mag Cyclosportive du Parc de la Mauricie. It was, all and all, a good year,considering the condition the Sherboucle had left me in. 3 weeks of not riding my bike and the end of a bronchitis. I'm very happy about me shaving a hour of my 2008 time. All my year of training payed of ... from 4h31 to 3h39 this year.

Guillaume, Dan Gerous ( for that occasion "Gilles" ) and me had ranted a place to stay in Shawinigan on the Friday night. Me and Dan wanted to go for some pastas... but it seem hard to find in that city. It reminded me of my childhood because i grew up near the " Parc de la Mauricie" We had a chalet in St-Mathieu du parc, one of the entrance of the park. We finally went for good old St-Hubert BBQ. God it was rough the next morning at the start line.

My bike and Guillaume's one.

So morning came fast, it was a fogy cold morning. We got to the park early. We had the problem of deciding what to wear? I knew that i had to be warm cos i did not want to worsen my bronchitis. But i also knew that when sun came, it would be hot. We went for a little training ride the legs were ok. We then got to the line 20 minutes before the start. At 10 o'clock "BANG" it's a start. As always Guillaume goes off like a rocket! Me and Dan see that our legs are not at par straight from the start. My legs feel heavy and painful ... I'm not able to follow Dan's pace. I say to myself go at your pace the race is long and you aim is under 3h30.

I followed a good group of cyclist for 1/4 the race. Past the bridge of the lake wapizagonke when we started to climb on the other side of the lake, i decided to fuel up with the power gel. But when i tried to get the gel in my back pocket... with all the layers i was wearing, it was time consuming when my eye focused back on the road i had dropped from the group... no way i could get back with them. I was a bit "pised off" on that. I knew from the other races done before... you lose a group it's hard to get back to it. I want on and another group of 15 riders picked me up. I went on with them to the halfway mark. My pace was ok but i knew ... i was not to my best for that day. From the halfway mark people in the group started to attack here and there splitting the group up in smaller group. From there on i was ether alone or with a smaller group of riders. We got to the "belvédère" hill climb. i had a good steady pace, but not my usual pace.

From the last feed zone to the finish line it was the same... going from small group to bigger group and the splitting up. i did not have the power to go faster and try to attack and give more to the finish line. I ended up crossing the line at 3h39.. 9 min slower then expected. When i look at my stats... i was 10 mins slower in my second section. making that 9 min. If i had kept up the pace i would have finished with my desired time. And if i had not been coming back from my bronchitis i think i could have done it in 3h20 possibly? We met with our friends Daniel and Christian after the race. Daniel had done the half distance of 53km. Christian did a DNF saddly.

So next year my goal is 3h15 and better... i think i can do it. I just love that ride!

I could not get one phrase out of my mind in the last few km's of the race " juste encore un ti pitch, come on! encore un, go" I was hearing the phrase in my mind... it was said to me last year by a good friend. I wish i could have made a cheer this year for our mutual runs with that friend at the lunch afterward. I guest not... hope you had fun doing your run. I had a blast. it was a big step... See ya in 2010, cher Parc!

My friend Gilles Gagné!

Boston U2 amazing show!

2009-09-20T22:40:00.002-04:00

Gillette Stadium .. home of the patriots!

I had a couple of days of vacation to take ... i still do ... So as i had bought some u2 tickets in February.
I went of with my friend Claudia to Boston for some good hiking and walking places i had not see from Boston.

The U2 show was just amazing... amazingly big!

What a giant 360 screen!

We had a blast!

Time to go back home!

First Cyclocross of the year! Magog.

2009-09-19T22:26:00.004-04:00

This was my first Cyclocross of the year. ... but i was not in condition for a race. As i was coming out of a week of antibiotics for the bronchitis that the sherboucle gave me. I knew i was going to go at it easy. I had to.

But to my surprise i had another difficulty... my bike would not cooperate! I had a problem with the rear derailleur that left me using one one speed and not the easy one. As i was stuck on one gear my chain would join the party and come off four time to give me help. So i did a very smooth race except for the breathing that was hard on me. The only thing i can say about that race is the my friends Dan and Patrice had a good pace. But the guys at the front were flying like F1 when they pasted me.

me finding it long with all the problems!

I just was disappointed of having just one gear to race!

Thanks to Pierre Reid and Claudia for the pics.

Nice ride with friends of Vélomania

2009-09-07T22:18:00.000-04:00

Me and friends of Vélomania went for a nice little ride in Montgomery trails. What a blast a quick ride with lots of fun!

143 km for the CAB... nice relaxe run

2009-09-05T22:03:00.003-04:00

Did a nice 143 km bike run with Mr Jacques Marcoux and folks from Mansonville. it was a fund raiser for the CAB. Good riding!

See on the VVM site.

Read report on CAB web site

Sherboucle Road race #2 ... Cold and Rain!

2009-08-29T21:49:00.004-04:00

This Race was the second race of my 2009 road race program. I had lots of fun in the first one at Magog. It was time to bring my good friend Dan Gerous in for a run at road race.

It was raining again as it was all summer. But also it was cold! We lined up at the start and we could see that less people were there because of the cold and rainy weather. BANG it a start... i had the pleasure to have my friend Claudia come and see the start... but i did not see her and she did not see me, but thanks for coming.

We were off to a fast start. I saw my young friend Guillaume fly by at a good pace. but i was conscious of Dan that was at it's first race and i did not want to leave him behind. By the time i look in front the first group was off and going. We tried to get them... but in vain...

We created a group of seven riders that were not working well together witch finally had us eaten by the group behind us. We become a 20 + riders, i stayed with that group of riders and my friend Dan for a 3/4 of the race.
At some point the wind was so hard riders were riding at angles on the roads. Me and Dan got a chance to lead the group at good speed. It's so fun to ride at 50km/h +!

Just at the last feed zone i get caught in the pack that wants to feed... i did not need to feed... i had to pee! but i couldn't. I tried but could not! it was and i was so cold. I need to get the right equipment for the cold races. At that time i see my friend Dan take off ... i'm like shit! he's going... i tried to get to him but in vain. I was not able to put power to the wheels... my head was just saying " i want to pee "

From that moment on, i stayed with the little group and said to myself, It's a training for the Park ride and kept the energy to try to warm myself. I finished without any sprint. Dan came in a few minutes ahead of me.
We had fun although it was very cold, my feats were frozen after the race... it was sure i was going to get a cold from this...

Sometimes people are caught... and you just turn the page

2009-08-24T23:10:00.006-04:00

Photo Fabrice Gaetan

They are caught in there tangle web... it is there web
They react or overreact?
Hope you lose your web someday

It's the way they see it. You can't change nothing
Are we able really... to understand how people see things?
Do we imagine things... on what people say?
It's sad to lose a friend
Surrender
I simply let go

So... you just lost me, goodbye.

Let MTB live at Mt Bellevue.

2009-08-24T21:29:00.000-04:00

On Monday August 24 with friends of Vélomania and Cyclist group of Sherbrooke and the friends club Dalbix. We gathered together to protest to the closing of the MTB trails on Mt Bellevue in Sherbrooke. Thanks to ADSVMQ and everybody WE WON! See ya in 2010.

RAID Jean D'avignon... DNS !! fucking rain again

2009-08-23T21:19:00.002-04:00

On the August 23 i had my last Raid race of the season. But as i woke up on that morning at 5h30... i was full of energy ready to race... but the f*** rain got to me. As i was looking at the radars they were calling for lots of rain, and it was pouring. As i did one 77km race in mud and rain earlier in the summer. i said to myself "NO" not this time... what a big error!!!

Finally waking up to clear skies at 8h30. What a f*** race wasted i had no time left to catch the start. So i did a DNS on that one. Well next year rain or shine i'm racing.

5 time Jay traning...

2009-08-22T20:57:00.000-04:00

There is a time in life where you just need to push it a little bit more. On that weekend i wanted more climbing... just to push it. But also in life sometimes the timing is not good... It was a good training on that day with me going on the 5 hill-climb of Jay Peak. I heard that Miss JEnson was doing it 10 times in a row. I decided to go at it that morning.

New stars...

2009-08-21T23:22:00.003-04:00

Sometimes you just can't believe what life sends you... Amazing and unexpected.

Yesterday is history.............
Tomorrow a mystery.........
Today Is a gift.........
That's why it's called ..............The Present

Radiators overheating! That was RAID Bras du nord.

2009-08-17T21:27:00.006-04:00

32°C and under the sun and the humidity factor made it hot, very hot!
I managed a good regular pace but i could not put the power to the pedals.
49th in my master 30 - 39 category and 125th overall on 650 cyclist.

This was all and all a good race but hot! very hot!

Hot race this weekend! Bras du Nord

2009-08-14T16:42:00.004-04:00

This is gonna be my new RAID this weekend. It's gonna be a hot challenge of 57km.
I'll do it with Mr. Dan Gerous

FULL SPEED AHEAD! VVM project

2009-08-10T14:58:00.007-04:00

We had a great weekend with the folks of Club VVM. We will see MTB trails soon!
This Saturday august 8th we had the chance to present the project to the people of the village and others coming to the town. We did bike clinics for the kids of Masonville. Presented the maps of the trails and sector we are hoping for. Everybody is behind the project! Future mayor, project builders and members.

more info at CLUB VVM

Me in discussion with land owners of Potton.

Christine with clown tongue!

Life moves...

2009-08-07T11:43:00.004-04:00

Photo Fabrice Gaetan

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. _Buddha

links to the new RADIOHEAD SONG _ Harry Patch (In Memory Of)

Training Ride JAY PEAK!

2009-08-04T22:06:00.004-04:00

This Monday i had the chance to get my PM off from work, dew to some 21 hrs of overtime the week before.
So i went for my long training ride. 135km up Mt Sutton and then Jay Peak. 1775m of climb total. It was not my fastest time over all. I did do the ride at an average moving speed of 28,5km/h earlier this summer. I managed a good 25,5km/h on the total run, but it was a bit windy on Monday! What is interesting is that on the first side of Jay climb i managed a 22,1km/h average speed up. The new bike with good legs is a master on the climbs. All this is good for my road race objective the "Parc" later in September.

Last Saturday... Coldplay magic!

2009-08-02T21:57:00.005-04:00

Last Saturday night, i was with two friends in Montreal for the Coldplay, Osheaga show! What a wonderful night! I had not see a show with this much vibration in years! They really rock with energy! I was amazed. I could not see this show without thinking of a good friend and friendship lost recently. At some moments the songs brought tears to my eyes, i'll pick up phrases from "fix you" Tears stream, down your face. When you lose something you cannot replace. Tears stream down your face and I.... I miss that person. Last year at about the same time i was seeing Radiohead with her, witch was not the same feeling of a show, but as good. Last summer was so much different for me, in feeling, in health and stress. Viva la champagne! I guess friendship come and goes like all moments in life. See you next time.

My new road weapon!

2009-08-02T14:48:00.003-04:00

Me and my internet shopping! I found a mega deal! In calgary! Brand new custom built SuperSix Hi-MOD Cannondale! All SRAM with RED shifters. It's a climbing machine! Just what i needed in time for my 3000km mark!

RAID vélo mag 77km of muddy hell!

2009-07-20T12:55:00.014-04:00

I manage to finish 64th in my category on 200 cyclist and a good 165th on the overall 800 cyclist. Considering the extreme condition it's a very good result. i think i really like those kind of event.

I had manage to get my friend Dan.Gerous to do the event! Well it was not the good event of choice to start his first endurance race! First we stayed at my brothers place, the night before. We had less driving to do! On Saturday got to Old Quebec early enough to get our stuff for the event. Now,"no chance" of clear whether, from the first moment we got out of the car it was rain!! and rain. and rain.

So we prepared for a wet race. we had the chance to get a warm up of 20 min. Buy then we were all wet. we did go for the option to have rain coats on. Next we go and get to the start and wait! Not a good place for a start! Chateau Frontenac is nice, but not enough space. It was raining , raining and a bit cold from the wind. At 3. 2 .1 ... Race .... We get off from the banner!

Photo Par Manon Jacques

I had said to my running team mate, we will try to go out fast, to get better place as soon as we hit the woods.
We did just that, fast little pace to move up on the field. We got to the entrance of muddy hell. We were a bunch of riders together. it was tight going trough the little hill climb. We still managed a good pace and started to clear the pack. Dan as always was a good climber. i was seeing him climb in front of me with ease the rides. One or twice i was stuck behind some riders who stop in the climbs, made me get of the bike... but still i could see Jérôme in front of me! At the first feed stop, he was stop waiting for me... banana in hand, i said to him ... I'm not stopping .. I'm going... sadly from that point we lost each other he was seeing my green fluo Cannondale rain coat. But we could not get back together. From that point on i was on a good pace. Still it was incredibly muddy! always mud and mud. My pace was good till the mid point. 42km done and still 35km to go! Dan stopped at that half way mark, he had no brakes left in the back of the bike. My bike was so muddy the shifters started to go bad! And the brakes ... eating the pads and disk! Simply! At one point you get tired of the mud ... but when we got to the crossing of little rivers! you say cool lets clean up a bit! NO! the water was cold! I had cold feet getting out of that water. We had 3 rivers to cross. As the KM were moving up the more tired you get! Once crossed the haft mark, a few km later you start to have those fresh rider from the smaller RAID that pass you, they are all clean and ready to go. At first it's a bit annoying ... you have some 50km in the legs and they go at it full throttle!

That is Marie Gilbert, thanks! for the pace! Photo Par Manon Jacques

The only good thing that came out of this group is Manon Bernard and Marie Gilbert two riders from CVM Subway-Génétik team. They were doing the smaller RAID. but they had a good pace... so i decide to keep up with the girls! They were really nice to motivate me in saying keep it up. They managed a very good result in finishing in first and second place of the woman 30-39 group. So we stuck together for a few km.. once we got to the final hill ... i could not follow any more. we were coming to the 65km mark of the ride. i knew that this was the last hill climb. i had to do my best ... the rest was just downhill, i said to myself! Forget about it! i hit the wall at the 15km to go mark! I was so tired my arms could not keep up going downhill. it was rocky downhill!
then the easy muddy part till the end was energy sucking! ...my problem was to forget to feed and drink from the mark of the 15k to the one saying 3k to go! At this time i started to see stars! too much fatigue and not a lot of energy left! I had to stop and feed on a bar, a shoot of gel and water, more water... it took me about a minute or plus to get it back together. By that time some of the other riders had went by. But at this moment you just wish for the finish! ... When i saw that finish line, i had the little sprint... I gave all i had left! i had to cross the line with arms in the air! I was happy to finish this wonderful challenge! And what a challenge it was! Next race Raid Bras du nord!

Training Ride in "Mauricie" 2200m of climbing.

2009-07-12T12:35:00.004-04:00

As i was trilled by my event in Orford, i wanted to get the last race of the season in my head. Last year was the first time i was doing the mega ride " défi vélo mag " I had done the ride with the woman that brought me back on the bike. I owe her, me going back on the bike two years ago, it means a lot to me. So her, me and other friends did last years race. I did the race in 4h40 minute. It was a good time considering my lack of training. She was motivating me to the finish with the phrase " come on, just one more little pitch! " i had made it! I miss riding with her.

So this year i want to attack the course. So i went with Guillaume and Christian for a first reconnaissance ride of the year. We did the 105km run in a relax mood. Christian did just 50km of the run. We did all the 105km in a good time of 3h50 minute. We did manage a more race pace at the last few km. just as we hit the belvedère hill i decided to get to a faster rhythm. It was very hot day, the first one of the year for me. I had gone with low water witch was not good. I know now that i will being lots of water for the race. I plan on going tow more times before the event in end of September. I love that road! it's challenging with it's 2200m of climb.

See you soon Parc de la Mauricie

Result of first Road event.

2009-07-07T00:45:00.005-04:00

I had a blast at this event on Sunday... 43th on 117 cyclist! 89km in 2h35min at 34km/h. what a trill

It was my first road event of the year. At the start it was a cold 12 degrees, more like a fall morning then a summer one. I meat up guys from the forum Velocia at the start. We decide to work as a team, but some of the riders are "machines" so i said to myself try to keep up and you will see. The start was a bit messy because people did not do a single line start, people were taking off in all direction. We were going downhill directly from the start. I soon realized the i had a little problem with my rear cog. I could not go on the last gear, it would go "chain stuck" so i was down on one speed, not to bad. so i followed the group to the front. but i was timid of going in the first field. I should have gone with them. So i let the group go in the first group and decided to stay in the second group of riders. My objective was to stay as close as possible of the front. I did just that with the first 30km. At one point i knew that we were gonna hit some hills, i tried to attack to regroup with the group just in front of us, but sadly my getaway was not a work team to get the group but more of a fallow that guy, so i decided to let go and not take my legs out to soon. So has i regroup with my group i see in front "l'orignal" ( René-Pierre ) from Velocia being sucked back by our group, as we said to ourselves we will join forces. René-Pierre realized that i was a fast climber. After a few hills he told me when we hit the 50km mark and we get a hill try to attack on the climb, as soon as we are on top i'll go in front and we will try to get away from the pack. We did just that. It was a good move. I was the leader in the climbs and he was the bigger rider so he got in front on the descent. we maneged to keep the group at bay thill the end of the event. we even manage to take back 3 other riders the had left the front group. We manage to keep those people beind us to the finish line, René-pierre got to the line just a few meters in front of me, i did not have lots of legs on that hillclimb finish. but i manage to stay in front of the rest of riders. It was so much fun! can't wait for the next race.

To relax after the race i went to my friend Nadia's place just on the side of Orford and we did go for a cool down ride of 40km ... it was very good for my legs. We like to have relax ride around Magog and Orford from time to time. It's sad now people are afraid to go biking with me ... i like to go smooth also! Please! Thanks Nadia for the good meal after the ride, see you soon.

Massif du Sud - Défi GENETIK

2009-07-03T23:59:00.004-04:00

In my last Sundays race we had a little downhill race. It was a cool feature. We had a beautiful 2km downhill S road run. There was a starting line at the top of the hill and a gate at the end. They had gave us a code bar style sticker to put on our helmets. I got to do the 82th time of 175 rider. A time of 3min 38 sec. The winner is for sure Raphael Gagné with a time of 2min 58 sec and the best woman was Sarah Lajoie with a time of 3min 32sec.

This was a good part of my race. I had seen the guy in front of me about a km before. As soon as i past the start line i knew the this was a fast downhill. So i gave it all and finished just in his back wheel! I felt my rear tire lose a few time as it was improperly inflated since the "flat" change at my first stop on km ten of the race. But god it was a fun ride!

Cyclosportive Magog, First road event.

2009-07-03T23:23:00.004-04:00

This Sunday "Cyclosportive Magog" is gonna be my first Road event of 3 this year. The ultimate one is the Défi Vélo Mag at Parc de la Mauricie in September. And i have the "Sherboucle" also on the calender.

I did my last training last Wednesday at my best training ground Jay Peak. I did a new version of my loop it gave me a 135km with 1750m of ascension. My legs were dead after this, I had done 50km , 550m the night before and my last Sunday race was still in my legs. So i went for a good meal and massage at my therapist this Friday. She had a lot of work on those legs! Went hard at it, but o so good. Hope for a good result and experience of running in the front pack. As i know the ride a bit i know that the last sprint is uphill. We will see!

My first endurance race

2009-07-01T09:57:00.008-04:00

This past Sunday was my first endurance race. It was a new thing for me. I had well prepared my self for this, with the help of my friend Dan.gerous I started my preparation in January. Now this was it, the first one! So i got to my brothers place on Saturday for some nice relax moment with him and some friends. We had a good meal, pasta and a little wine. Went to bed early because i had to get up at 5am to go to Massif du Sud.

So after a good wake-up from the radio on the new Silversun Pickups song "Panic Switch", i was energized !
Took a good breakfast in order to fuel up for the event. 6am i hit the road, I had ask for covered weather not rain! well when i got to the Massif du sud i had my weather. the day before they were running the first stage of the big RAID 120km in two days. They had to stop the cyclist at the half mark to much rain! One guy on Sunday said to me, that it was so rainy, that the trails were transformed in rivers. So the start of the first group of riders the ones for the big RAID had to start at 8h30, we had our start at 9h. So that gave me a good 20 min of warm-up before the start. This was good for me, cos i know that my machine takes 30min to get to it's performing shape. So i did the first climb ... following the first group. that also gave me a idea of what was ahead, and i knew the distance before we hit the small trails.

So 8h50 i'm placing my self at the gate for the start. I'm not that nervous i find and that is a good thing. Pow!
We are off... i'm a bit stuck in a group that does not follow the leaders. They are already a bunch of 10 riders going at it. So as we pass the first corner i go at it. lunch a attack to catch them up, i say to myself i should try to run ahead and if i can't follow I'll just find a group behind that is going to my paste. I see that 6 riders are following me in that attack. At one point i say to my self, your on the big ring you should save your legs. As i get my gear down, it goes all the way down ... No trouble! When i try to get it back to the big ring it does not! i'm stuck on two rings now! Shit that will slow me down in the fast part! Ok i'm leading the second group of riders
so i'm where i wanted to be, in the first 15 riders. Next we head in the smaller trails, it's all mud and mud and we go up and up. In total we had to climb 1300m in 53km. So climb we did. after that fist climb we are 4 riders in the second group. Two of witch are getting away in the downhill because they can go on the big ring. i'm followed by a woman Josée Tremblay from Vélo2Max of Saint-Félicien who is riding very fast. In the first rocky road downhill after the climb, i hear "pow" that's it ... i say to my self i got a flat rear tire! Shit ... that's it i got to stop... from now on it's gonna be a race to gain back position! So i stop to change my flat and by that time i'm in the back! Got to go back up as far as i can.
From that point on, i had to do two more stop to try and fix my front ring problem. I get it to work, it had turn on the frame tube... Then it was sprint to catch up for lost time!

So in the end i finished 50th overall on 100 riders and in my class of Master 30-39 i finished 20th on 40 riders. I must have past about 20 riders to get to the end the last one 3km before the end. I'm happy with the fist experience. I could have done a top 10 i think if i had not lost time to the leaders. I felt good after the race. Next one Mont St-Anne on July 18th for a 72km.

I think my first race experience is gonna be muddy!

2009-06-26T11:40:00.004-04:00

My first RAID race is this Sunday at Massif du sud in Quebec, With what i look at right now on the whether channels. It's gonna by muddy! O Well... it will be more of a challenge and determination factor. I'm nervous but ready. bring it on! 2102km since the start of the season. i'm ready.

I needed a lite MTB, but ....

2009-06-26T11:18:00.006-04:00

I needed a new MTB lite and nervous... for my RAID ( endurance race ) But no money, no candy! When i got back from France I decide to built a bike ... from Ebay, could i do it? My friend had parts, i had left over parts... i needed a frame and a fork. So i found a Carbon "no name" frame on Ebay, it got to me in 5 days. I took the good choice of taking a Cannondale Lefty DLR used to go with it. The budget made me do the choice, but in the end, it was a good choice, as i was not able to fit a Carbon Lefty on that frame. So i quickly gathered the part and built what is now known as the "thiforine" a home made cheaper copy of a Cannondale "Taurine" and as my family name is Thiffault and it was a false copy... the name came.

I just got the bike out last week for it's first 50km of singletrack and it's first 50km of gravel roads. The bike is ready for the first test, this weekend race. The RAID Massif du sud will be our first challenge. We will see.

The "thiforine" is about a 22lbs lite bike.

More training... races are coming...

2009-06-26T10:52:00.003-04:00

So I simply continued my training with more rides, more rides... And i felt the France training had been good with the legs. Now it was time to leave the road and get back on the mountain bike! But one last Jay Peak run.
witch is my training road ground for what will be my ultimate road race in September "Défi Vélo Mag" i did it, not so prepared last year in 4h40min for a 105km run with 1700m of ascension. I'm hoping to do it in 3h30 this year. We will see? Races for me are not necessarily the result but the fun i have doing it. but that one i want to go all out.

Then It was more riding, riding! and France!

2009-06-26T10:27:00.013-04:00

My backyard biking...

With the snow melting we continued riding. I had the chance of having Family in France. At start i was supposed to go in France with my love Sonia, but has we had parted ways. I told my best riding partner come with me! So Dan.Gerous and i prepared what would be my first bike trip and not my last! On May 29th we headed to France for some famous rides and memorable trills. You can read a good resume of the trip on his blog "Training in Europe" God was that good moments in my life! And she was riding with me in my mind. Sometimes

"Life isn't measured in minutes, but in moments."

Our objective famous "Col du Troumalet"

Spain in the back we go back downhill to France.

My dear friend and good bike coach Dan!

22km of hill climb! just painful...

Beautiful Biarritz

And then just after a week, we were back to Quebec...

I forgot! The VVM club

2009-06-25T11:04:00.000-04:00

I was about to forget.... This year Me and Dan and Éric from L'ADSVMQ started what is now known as The Club VVM. A project that will make my choice of becoming a full time resident of the township of Potton a pleasure.

We started the idea of forming a Club and building mountain bike trail in the area. The project is going well and will surely see full trails in 2010 just in time for my 40th birtday, that's what i predic.

Éric from l'ADSVMQ

Our friend Dan.

Than it was time to get my bike training going...

2009-05-14T10:08:00.001-04:00

With the help of my best bike friend DAN.Gerous I was off on the home trainer for what would become my investment in my self for the next year. With is precise help and coaching, i trained and trained... doing blocks of 2 to 3 hours of bike on the trainer per two days. My training was also mixed with my friend Cath advise and her yoga workout. I first got out on the road end of February on the 20th. The next weekend the first of March, Dan and I were the first official cyclist to cross the border in 2009, that's what the border patrol said to us. "are you guys crazy?" ... no we are on a hype! So i continued on cycling for the rest of winter, mixing it with the job and snowboarding at my favorite Resort Jay Peak.

And then Christmas came... to fast...

2009-05-12T09:53:00.002-04:00

And the snow started to fall on the townships... it was time to stop the work on the house. I was dead beat with full time motion design work at TVA and the finishing of the house. By that time my selfishness had made me lose the precious part of my life and my precious snowboard partner. We still had the chance to spent our last Christmas together with her kids, and my friends. The last time we saw each other was just after Valentin day. So the winter was going fast and i had to pick my self up and do something. I still had a lot of snowboarding to do.

On my birthday May 12th 2008

2009-05-12T09:37:00.001-04:00

I got to start what would be one of the biggest project of my life. Designing and building my self a nice and comfortable house with a amazing view of the mountains. From my house i see the back of Mt-Sutton and the face Of Jay Peak Resort. Witch would become my playing ground.

So beautiful...

A couple of months later the house was done... just in time for winter.

The New Eastern Township life

2009-05-12T09:24:00.000-04:00

On the February 30th of 2008, i decided to get my stuff to a new place, get the f*** out of the Montreal life. Got a new job in Sherbrooke. Installed my self in a temporary "chalet" just two place from the land i was about to build my self a house. So the new life starts here. Bigger views, more land, more hills... bike and snowboard.

Ok i was selfish in that decision, made me loose later a precious woman in my life. Witch i still miss every day.
But i had to go trough that step in my life. Will see what life brings me later. All mornings i look out and sand her my love and friendship, that's what the open air brought me.