(Finally) Summer 2015! :)

I don't think I have EVER had such a busy summer!

No, I didn't spend my summer at the beach...or camping...or sleeping in....but to me, riding my bike brings me just as much happiness as roasting marshmallows does to an 11 year old.

This summer, I competed in a variety of different races and the Ontario-Cup Series.

Starting on Good Friday and Ending on Labour Day weekend, the O-Cup Series consisted of 8 races. Each race, depending on how you place, points are awarded and are accumulated through the series. Despite missing a few races here and there, and racing with older women, I finished 4th in the series.

In July, I was chosen as a member of team Ontario to attend the 2015 National Road Championships in Thetford Mines, Quebec. This was my VERY first road nationals, and it really opened my eyes to all of the talent Canada has to offer in regards to women's cycling. I raced my heart out, (as always) and managed to get a 5th place in the National criterium race. Road Nntionals was also the first time I have competed out of province without my parents...(believe it or not)....and HEY! I survived.

After road nationals was over, my teammates and I headed straight to Rimouski, where we would tackle "Le Tour de la Releve Internationale de Rimouski" (sounds pretty intense, I know). Rimouski is a 5 day international stage race also in Quebec, and is especially known for it's INSANE hills. (One of the 85km races contained more than 1100m of climbing......OUCH). I competed at Rimouski last year, and finished 8th overall. This year, however, I set my goals high and left Rimouski with a Silver Medal in the GC. It was really cool to look back and see how far I've come in terms of fitness and 'race smarts' in one year. For me, Rimouski was the highlight of my summer. All the work I had done leading up to this race FINALLY paid off. The feeling of pride and success is worth ANY hard training session!

When I got home from nationals and Rimouski I found myself saying...

"Well...What now?"

I had spent so much time and energy into the preparation for these two huge events... and now they were over. 

It was a feeling I had never felt before.... I can't imagine how Olympic athletes must feel after the Olympics are done...

So I entered into a few different 'fun' races. Races that didn't count for points, and that there was absolutely NO pressure. I raced in the 'Tour de Terra Cotta', and won. I have done this race for 3 years, and it is one of my favourites. I also raced in the Tour de Via Italia, in Windsor's Little Italy. I had one of the best races of my life here (though results don't really show it [3rd].....). I broke away from the peloton on numerous occasions, and had A TON of fun. 

One of the last races was Road Provincials, in Huntsville. This tough 109km race was full of hills, but was also one of the most beautiful races I've ever done! There's nothing better than racing in the heart of  Muskoka on a summer day. I finished 3rd in the Provincial Time Trial and 4th in the road race. 

In case you're wondering, I somehow also managed to fit in some work... Yep, I'm still working at Webers Hamburgers. Thanks to all you people who stop on the side of highway 11 to buy burgers, at the end of the summer I was able to buy A BRAND NEW TRACK BIKE!!!!!! (very exciting, I know). 

Right at this very moment, I'm sitting on my bedroom floor drinking peppermint tea out of my mug that has bikes all over it. Now that I think back to the amazing summer I had, I realize that it wouldn't have been nearly as awesome if I hadn't been supported with all my family. I don't think there was one race this summer (with an exception of Road nationals) that I didn't have a family member at the finish line to give me a hug. You can have the best bike in the world, and win every race, but if you don't have family or friends or teammates there to share that moment with you...is it really that special?

So, a big THANK YOU goes out to everyone who has made this the most awesome summer in the books!

Cathedral Hill...2km and 12% Grade......

An Intense TT shot...

I'm back!

I realize it's been way too long since my last  post....I really need to work on getting better at this whole blog thing...

Well ladies and gentlemen, it's been a super busy last couple of weeks! I recently finished my last exam of grade 10, and summer has officially begun! 

I'll start with the training camps I've been to lately...

At the end of May, I attended the 2015 OCA Grey County endurance camp. Over the course of 5 days, we rode over 500km, the longest ride being 141km. Yes, you read that right! 141km of mountainous climbing in the beautiful Collingwood, Ontario. I took a week off of school and rode every day with a group of about 10 other cyclists. Not only was the cycling great, but we also had access to nutrition support from Anne Guzman (former pro cyclist/holistic nutritionist) and sweat analysis testing from Heather Sprenger (former pro cyclist). What's a sweat analysis test you ask? Well, before one of our rides, Heather put a patch on our forehead that "collected" our sweat as we rode, and we weighed ourselves on a scale. Then, at the end of the ride, Heather collected the samples, we weighed ourselves again, and she  took the samples to a lab and analysed them to determine how much we sweat, and how much sodium we lose while we sweat. This information can help us know exactly how much electrolytes and water we should be taking in while biking. In a 75km bike ride, I sweat 2.2L......gross eh? 

On Friday, June 19th, I raced in the Kitchener/Waterloo Twilight Crit. (If you didn't know, a "crit", or "criterium" is a type of race that is a short, closed off circuit. Great race for spectators to watch!) The crit took place in the heart of downtown Kitchener, so as you can imagine, it was very exciting. Now, this crit wasn't just any crit. My teammate and I decided we felt like a bit of a challenge....so we entered into the pro women's race. We were challenged alright...the average speed was 39km/hr. (FAST)

Here we were, Ruby (my teammate) and I, 16 year old girls...racing with women who are 25-40 years old with years and years of racing experience. 

After the race, Ruby and I realized how much we could actually push ourselves while put into a situation of crazy fast racing. We both realized that experiences like this make us better cyclists! And hey, Ruby ended up 10th place and I ended up 6th! Not too bad for a couple of 16 year olds! ;)

After the race, I headed to Waterloo for a weekend training camp. The purpose of this training camp was to practice the skills that can help us excell at bigger races. (In our case, Road Nationals and Rimouski). This camp was super hard. Not nessisairly long rides, but like 75km intense rides with lots of intervals and sprinting.

As of right now, I'm packing my things up for Nationals and Rimouski. I'll be gone from June 30th-July 13th, so stay tuned after that for another post! Thanks for reading,

Ali

Special thanks to the Speed Shop in Dundas for your awesome service and help with my TT bike!

That's a Wrap, Folks!

This past weekend marked the end of the 2015 track season. This weekend also brought on a lot of mixed emotions...it was sad to say goodbye to the track for the summer, but knowing that road season has started makes me so excited!

Almost exactly one year ago today, I rode the track at the Forest City Velodrome for the very first time. Before that, I barely even knew what a velodrome was, nor did I ever imagine I would fall in love with one.

After returning to the FCV in October, I rode the track for a few weeks and then found out I qualified for track nationals in Burnaby, BC. This meant training at the velodrome every weekend, and every Wednesday night. (yes, I still thank my parents every day for driving 3.5 hours to London and back).

We came home from Burnaby with a gold medal in the U17 women's team pursuit: The event that we had practiced every single time we trained together at the FCV. Yes, London is far away, and the drive isn't necessarily the greatest, but knowing that me and my two teammates won gold at a Canadian National Championship is worth any drive.

 Once January rolled around, it was time for the grand opening of the beautiful Mattamy Centre (aka Milton velodrome). on January 11th, which also happened to be my 16th birthday, the Mattamy Centre hosted the first race on the new track, the Milton International Challenge! Athletes from all over the world came to Milton to race, and it was the closest thing I had ever seen to the Olympics. It was an absolute privilege to be in the same place as some of the best cyclists in the world. 

I entered in my first keirin, which is an 8 lap race paced by a motorcycle. Surprisingly, I ended up with a silver medal! The MIC was an amazing experience.

The extremely close finish of the Keirin....SO EXCITING!!!

In February and March I competed in 2 Ontario Cups, and discovered my love for bunch races (races that are a little bit more comparable to road races where there are numerous racers on the track at the same time). The 60 lap (15km) points race has got to be my favourite race. Every 10 laps, points are awarded to the rider that crosses the finish line first, second and third. The longer distance in this race was something I really enjoyed, and helped me explore my strengths in distance as opposed to sprinting. I came out of these O-Cups with increased confidence on the track and a few medals. 

Gold in the points race!

It may not seem like a lot, but from November to April I was able to improve my personal best on the 2km individual pursuit by a whole 3 seconds. I know for most people, 3 seconds is the blink of an eye. But for me, that is a VERY significant  amount of time, and that 3 seconds told me that my hard work and training over the winter had paid off. 

In conclusion, before I talk your ear off some more,  the whole 6 months I've been on the track has been one of the best training experiences I've ever had. I've never felt more fit in my life, and am absolutely extatic for this summer of road racing. One of my goals for this summer is to work towards buying my very own track bike (I raced and trained the whole year on a rental bike, thanks to my coach Rob Good). 

So, if you happen to stop by Webers Hamburgers on Highway 11 and see me working, know that I am probably thinking about the new track bike I am planning on purchasing ;)

Ali

North Carolina Camp 2015!

There's nothing better than escaping these cold Canadian winter days for a much needed vacation. I had the opportunity to go to North Carolina for 10 days over the March break to attend an endurance training camp with Team Ontario.  Man, was I in heaven! 10 days on my bike has left me wanting road season to come even faster.  I can't express how awesome it was to leave my rollers and trainers, and feel the wind through my helmet and on my body (not just wind from an electric fan pointed on my face while i'm in my basement).

Our journey to Highlands, North Carolina started at 4am on March 13th. The drive down took about 17 hours, and included what seemed to be HUNDREDS of pee stops (us cyclists tend to drink waaaaay too much water).  Arriving at around 10pm that same day, we unloaded our gear and headed to sleep, anxious to see the camp in daylight.

Our camp was located 4500 ft up, on the very top of Scaly Mountain.  As you can imagine, the view below us was absolutely breathtaking. (breathtaking is really an understatement).

The sunrise from the porch on our cabin

The riding was challenging, as there were virtually no flat roads! We were continually either climbing, or descending. But despite burning quads, there was always something beautiful to look at. Whether that be a deer, beautiful valley, or just appreciating the sunshine.

A typical day for us started at 7am, and for me, with a bowl of oatmeal and some eggs. Our rides ranged anywhere from 55km-125km, which may not seem like much distance...but believe me..biking up a mountain for 25km at a time is NOT easy...

After burning an upwards of 1500 calories, we all met in the dining hall for lunch, and then had time to shower and rest our bodies.

On some days, a few of us would come together to do some yoga and stretching, but most of the spare time we had was used for napping.

This was my very first camp experience, and I had the time of my life. I am still in awe about how fortunate I was to be in an environment doing what I love, in an amazing place, with even more amazing people.

Thanks to everyone who made the North Carolina OCA endurance camp possible!

A quick picture after ride #2!

Farleigh, Ruby and I 

This is a place called "meditation rock"....a peaceful place to come and just enjoy life. :)

Ali