JEtLeG more like JeTMAn

Race number one: Check, done, fini, complete...

The common syndrome of traveling is the good old jet leg. Now as a firm believer of travel fatigue I would say I had my best day in europe (other then Worlds last year) today at Diegem Superprestige. I was looking at this race as a taste blood, legs cramp, blowout, with low expectations to clean out the winter blues kind of race. Lets just say all that happened in a 5 star fashion. I was super excited for this race, its by far my favorite course in Europe. It has many tech sections, lots of climbing and many drunk spectators pollute the streets, the perfect mix for a cloudy day of cross racing in Europe. I was just wanting to go out and have a happy day in the saddle, take it all back in! Last year I remember they missed my call up and I was sitting in last place. This year they did not forget and I got called up 8th... HUGE... I was actually a little disappointed, now hear me out. I wanted to just fly under the radar and start at the back, feel out the race legs. I didnt hesitate I rode up and placed my self on the far outside. Starting a race in Europe is a mix of insanity and crazy high speeds, my middle name is insanity and crazy high speed... so right up my alley. I hammered off the start and just tried to sit on as many wheels as possible. The thing is these guys move forward and you move back there is no other way to explain it. I just kept the speed up and danced on my pedals. Around the second or third lap fellow Canadian Shaun Adamson pulled things together and put a sweet pass on me (big ups bro)  and was setting a mean pace. I couldn't resist to jump on his wheel and hammer it out. I was just hanging on to his wheel for the next lap, he was riding super smart so I wanted to put myself with him. The next lap the cycling Gods felt like giving me a boost and I franticly screamed up this muddy hill putting a gap on the little group I was in. I think Shaun went for it as well but he could not get the last 15-20ft... and in cross thats the dead zone. Shaun ended up finishing strong to my knowledge. Anyways back to my race. I ended up catching a group of five guys, which had 2 Americans in it. Perfect so I thought, chill here and fight to the death. We kept chilled for about a lap and then came the speed bursts by the Euros, then followed by an attack by the Americans. Gotta be KD... so I hit the gas and unleashed the lumberjack within and put the attack on, we ended up catching a guy and dropping a guy so it was a win lose situation. Now at this point I had 2 laps to go. The worst feeling if you have nothing left. Your thought process goes from alright I can do this to... earmuffs mom... f%$@...but at that moment a line from Rocky 6 came in to my head and it carried me to the finish... 

I think I was in the top 50... hahaha good race... top 50... if you have a problem with it fly to Belgium and we can discuss it over a cup of finger extra strong coffee...to the face

After my race I grabbed a bite to eat and got out of my muddy uniform. I was moving quickly only because I had to pit for Molly my American roommate. Molly had a sweet race in my opinon... let me ask... in his words... "eff yeah, I had fun, didn't get a result because of my flat but I had fun!!!" from the champ himself.

Anyways I will rest tomorrow and then do back to back races on Jan 1st and Jan 2nd

stay tuned,

KD

" the road may be bumpy... so ride a cross bike"

Made it

Alive and in one piece… I think that’s the best title to any story where people are wondering if you are ok…

I arrived in Belgium today and stepped foot in to my apartment at exactly 11:30am.

The last 24hrs has been an amazing adventure. It all started at 9180 Ashburn Rd with my drive to the airport. Fudges battery was dead in her truck so we had to jump it with my Mom’s truck. The drive to the airport was easy and relaxing, it was a non-issue all to the stellar driving of Fudge and my Mom. The airport is another story, my bike bags cost me $250 and everyone wanted to know what was in the bags. Before I continue on with my little story I have to thank Sonja Graham my travel agent for getting me awesome flights over to Belgium. Anyways back to the splash. I had no real problems on my first flight other then I was hungry. The long Haul was a tiny bit different. The crew forgot to fill the plane with water so we left the terminal 1hr 30mins after our original departure time. The weird part of it is that the plane landed 38mins early in Brussels, crazy. I then grabbed my bikes and headed for the train station. (Note to self…caring a bike bag hurts a cyclist body… invest in wheels or sherpa) I landed in Leuven, waited for an hr and then arrived my chariot to take me to the housing.

 

Now I am just trying to get settled in because I race tomorrow…..eeeeeeeeeeee…..

 

Cheers

KD

Tis The Season...

Over the past week I have been trying to get in the last few winter activities I enjoy this time of year. Unfortunately the weather seemed to turn to the worse and it rained all day today. We lost most of our snow... super depressing. 

To rewind a bit last weekend The family and I went out and cut down the family christmas tree... It was a blast... here are few a photos.

After tree hunting we went to the CRCS Xmas skating party...

Getting back on the Horse

Time fly’s by when you are having fun. The last time I posted on my wall was over 4 months… that’s way to long… sorry for that. I would like to say the reason for not posting was the fact that I was loaded with things to do but really it was me being pure lazy. Now that I have shaken that bug I will be posting regularly on here just to keep people updated with my adventures or just to write down my random thoughts…

 

The Update:

I will be leaving for Belgium on Dec 28^th to start my Europe cyclocross campaign. I will be racing 3 UCI cross races, 2 World Cups and last but not least World Championships on January 26^th in Italy. I am super excited about Italy, it has been a life long dream to go to Italy and now I get to go and race there…living the dream!

 

The Prep:

Well right now I am just trying to log as much bike time as the weather permits me to. As most people know Snow+Bike= sickness, depression, trainer time and crashes… With the snow I have been logging many epic snowshoe adventures. My home turf offers many unique landscapes to challenge my efforts.

 

The Life:

This time of year seems to always stress people out because of the added “to do list”… aka Christmas shopping. For me I have completed my shopping and most of my travel plans, my stress level is at an all time low.

 

The End

Cheers