Olympus has fallen

I was greated this morning with a beautiful sunrise and what promise to be a hot day.  Race start was at 11 am so I knew it would be toasty by the time we exited the water.  Had breakfast with the usual suspect, Lisa and Allison, the only two other competitors from North America and good friends.  Mr Nicholas, Xterra Director extra ordinaire was already gone to the site.  I wasn't too sure which race kit I was going to wear.  I have my Canadian and Brand Champion one.  I always feel somewhat pretentious wearing my Canada kit but I opted for it today in Honor of my fiancée.  You see Steph was an Olympic athlete and competed in Greece in 2004 so it was only fitting I would honor her as she could not be here on this trip.

  I went to transition fairly early, wanting to get marked before the rush only to be told no body marking.  I went and set up my transition, went for a light run and was lucky to have pro Ben Allen loaning me a co2 cannister in case I flat.  Airlines don't let you fly with them although the plane is full of them, but I digress.  Water was nice and I was looking forward to race with my cool new Synergy wetsuit.  As the gun went off it was fairly crowded for quite a while, I got kicked on one of my goggle on the first lap and I kept being cut off by a swimmer who kept zigzagging on the second lap, clearly unable to sight.  I got off  the water in about 27 min or so.  I headed on the bike course, and no turtle today but plenty of racers.  First lap went well but the second lap was more laborious as the 3000 feet of climbing total would slowly take its toll.  In typical European fashion, this course was no different, fair amount of climbing and nothing too technical.  I'd book the 30 km in about 1:45. I headed out to the run at a nice 35 degree sunny day and I was flat, I didn't have any juice to give on the run.  Not too sure if I had pushed too hard on the bike or the fact that there were few aid station did not help.  I would booked the 10.4 km in about 58 min, good for a 3:10 overall.  I don't have a clue where I stand as no results were posted but knowing how was the European are, I doubt it will be a podium.  This is been a great race and a special one for me, you see my mother always had wanted to see Greece, unfortunately after she lost her battle to cancer last year, she would never get to see it.  This was my way to honor her memory so close to her birth day, I doubt she was not watching.  So that's why when I saw that Greece was having a race, despite the cost, I had to do it.

Time for some R&R for a few days.  I hope you enjoyed the journey, happy trails!

Carpe Diem

Scouting report from Xterra Greece

It has been an interesting journey so far, bike lost for 48 hours, at one point they couldn't even told me where it was.  Pro and good friend Ben Allen had even offered his bike so I could go practice.  I couldn't take the offer, I would be too scare to brake something.  What a classy move, one that I am convinced you would never see from road triathlete. I finally got my Gray bike today, 20 hours before the gun is set to goes off.  Relieved but also hoping that l wouldn't have more issues.  The bike course is a 2 x15 km lap, so I was able to build my bike quickly and head out.  This is a fast bike course, medium size climbs, couple of single tracks. I predict the pro will be just over an hour for the entire bike course.  I saw a turtle on the course! Had to stop and take a photo, hope the little guy won't be on the trail, someone could think its a rock! The run course wasn't fully mark but what I saw is again a fast course with not much elevation, 2 x 5.2 km.  I didn't swim today but the water temperature is not too cold and thank Zeus, it will be wetsuit legal.

People sometime wonder, why racing so far.  Racing in Greece has a special meaning for me this year but I digress, I'll talk more about that tomorrow.  It's almost bed time for me, forecast tomorrow, sunny and 30 degrees, just the way I like it.  Stay tuned for the post race blog.  The new Gray steed is excite to race, lets see what man and bike can do in a very big field of 32 racers in my age group alone and 180 total.  Hope you're having fun where ever you are and that you take the time to do something outside.  Happy trails!

Carpe Diem

Gear 2.0. Gray 20nine frame

I received my new frame just in time to have it built before my race.  Lets look at the set up:

I'm running SRAM components, XX rear deraileur, crank, shifters.  Front deraileur in X0 .  Breaks are Avid.  Wheel set Easton 90 with Kenda tires, Carbon Handle Bar, Thompson seat post and crank brother egg beater pedales. And off course Gray full Carbon frame, and its sweet looking.  Jason at Cap's Westwood maple ridge built that bike in no time.   I took it for a ride overall really love the bike, I feel more centered and was able to corner and climb better.  There were a couples of issue, the carbon fiber seat clamp, although wickedly awesome and light does not work for me.  I'm a big guy and it couldnt clamp the seat post in place which cause it to slide down. This was easily fixable by using the aluminum clamp from my other bike.  The fork was rattling a bit after the initial ride, again Jason was able to fix that after talking with the great people at Gray.  Can't wait to race the new steed but if you're in the market for a bike or a carbon 29 frame, you would be crazy not to consider Gray.  Happy trails!

Carpe Diem

Gear 2.0 Synergy wetsuit

I tried my brand new Synergy Hybrid wetsuit before packing it in for Greece.  I am please to report that its a great wetsuit. I feel really buoyant in it and the different thickness on the different part of the body really works well for me.  I definetly feel higher out of the water and since I'm not the greatest swimmer on the planet, it really helps me.  The shoulder wer quite supple as well and getting in and out was a breeze. My swim time seemed to have improved and i think that part of it is the fact that i Felt so buoyant. I highly recommend it if you are in the market for a new suit. My Hybrid  is packed and ready for the swim in Greece!  Happy trails!

Carpe Diem.

To the land of Olympus

It has been a while since I have posted anything race wise as I didn't have any races on the calendar until now.  In 6 days I will be packing my new bike and will be heading over to Greece for the first edition of Xterra Greece, part of the World and European Xterra circuit.  This is the first time that the Tribe will head over to Greece.  The race will take place at Lake Platsira , about 300 km North west of Athen.  I am excited has I have never been to Greece and also at the fact that I will be part of the first people to ever partake in an Xterra over in Greece.  I can't wait to see all the usual suspect racing and a chance to see old friends.  Stay tune for tale for the trail as well as the scouting report once on the ground. The gun goes off June 15 and it should be a great one!  Happy Trails!

Carpe Diem

Welcoming 2 new sponsors! Gray Cycle/ Synergy Wetsuit

It is with great pleasure that I am now part of the Gray and Synergy family for the 2013 season.  Of you remember back in March I raced in Guam and lost to Stefan Laursen, former Danish Olympic team triathlete and pro.  As it happen he is also the CEO of Synergy Wetsuits and Gray Cycles.  They were kind enough to get me on their team and starting today I will be riding a slick 29er Gray Carbon frame which I just received.  The crew at Cap's is furiously doing the change over and the new racing steed should be up running, just in time for my next race.  Now this frame is so light it's not even funny.  It weighs at 3.3 pounds ( to give you an idea, a BMX frame weighs on average 5 pounds)  I can't wait to take it for a spin.  I also received my brand new hybrid wetsuit and I am taking it for a swim tomorrow, stay tuned for my first impression.  So if you are in the market for a wetsuit, mtb frame, tri bike or carbon road wheel, take a look at what Synergy/Gray has to offer.  If you live in canada please look at these websites for all your needs www.synergywetsuits.ca and www.graycycling.ca

Carpe Diem