To this point in the season, I’ve managed to keep myself pretty much injury free. By absolutely no means do I feel that this is an accident. Pro-active body maintenance plays a pivotal role in lowering my chance of injury.

In a previous article I mentioned the importance of warming up, stretching, recovery, massage and Active Release Therapy (A.R.T.) as methods to combat injury, but there is another element that I neglected to mention (or wasn’t aware of at the time). It combines the benefits of stretching, massage and active release in to one magical device of both torture and relief.

It is the foam roller. (insert dramatic music here…)

Bearing in mind that nothing can really replace what a trained professional brings to the table, the foam roller acts as a very close second and is a fantastic way to maintain and extend the benefits of a great massage or active release therapist.

Now, I’m not going to lie to you – using a foam roller (especially on tight areas) hurts like a *$%&#^@, but just like a really deep massage, it’s a good pain that pays dividends after the fact ;-)

The foam roller is like a pool noodle, but a little denser and is used to perform ‘self myofascial release techniques‘ (SMRT). Effectively it stretches the muscles and fascia to help increase blood-flow and break up/release adhesions and scarred muscle tissue. The roller acts as a form of accupressure on trigger points, knots and sensitive areas in the muscle.

Knee pain was a chronic battle for me throughout my early cycling career and was directly affected by a combination of training load and intensity. The higher either of these variables got, the more pain I battled. Introducing the foam roller into my routine has not only almost eliminated my knee pain, but has also helped significantly with other sore spots and tight areas – namely my hips and glutes.

I won’t pretend to know what exercises you should be doing, but the marvelous intertubes offer many resources for those compelled to learn more. I would still probably recommend hooking up with a good A.R.T. specialist and letting them guide and jump start your recovery, but for those keen on fixin’ themselves up here are two great resources that offer both fantastic information, and informative videos (a quick Google search will offer hundreds more):

Cycling Physio – Dave Holmes

In my mind Dave Holmes does an outstanding job of explaining in detail how to not only properly conduct foam rolling exercises, but also goes into great detail as to the source of the muscle imbalances that tend to create these problems in the first place. Some of the videos are a little long, but if you’re interested in the physiology behind these things (I am!) they’re really interesting and I find they help me perform the exercises better, and help me to stay in tune with my body.

With Dave being an avid cyclist and having an office in Calgary, I’m definitely going to schedule an appointment next time things start acting up!

Foam Rolling – Michael Boyle
An oldie but a goodie. This article was actually originally published in 2006, but it does an good job of explaining precisely what foam rolling is, how it came about and offers some good exercises.

The videos are a little less than informative, but at least they ‘show’ you a number of different exercises with descriptions underneath.

Another tool I’ve found helpful are myo-release-balls – To be honest I usually just use a tennis ball, but the smaller surface area really lets you get into hard to target areas.

The foam roller is probably my most important weapon against injury… With the amount that I ride, I probably don’t stretch nearly as much as I should, and often can’t make the time for regular massage or A.R.T. treatments. I find the foam roller helps me do a descent job with general stretching and an excellent job at stretching problem areas and areas resistant / difficult / impossible to stretch (like the IT band).

For around the $30 mark you should just go out and buy one, try a few exercises and thank me later. Nuff said.

Related posts:

1. Riding through the pain

At first I didn’t really buy into the whole compression scene – I wasn’t sure if it was simply that I thought it better to let my body recover at a natural pace, or whether I thought the whole thing was a little goofy.

But then it occurred to me… I’ve shaved my legs, I routinely wear lycra, and think a big helmet with a bunch of holes in it makes me look cool. I’m already pretty much as goofy as it gets.

With multi-day races (TransRockies) and enduro events (Giver-8-r, Superhero Enduro) on my race calendar, I felt that exploring a decrease in recovery time might be worth the money. After checking with some friends savvy to the compression gear the recurring recommendation were the Zoot CompressRx Recovery tights.

According to Zoot, there are four specific technologies at work here:

• ZoneRx – Muscle specific zones of compression stabilize and prevent post-exercise soreness;
• CRx – Graduated compression that improves blood flow back to the heart;
• SynchroRx Polypropylene and Silver tech provide moisture wicking and 99.9% antimicrobial protection;
• Dynamic X Proprioception panel provides enhanced support and body positioning

According to me, here’s how the CompressRx Recovery tights shake out:

The Pros
I can definitely say that these bad boys work. I’ve compared my post-ride both with and without the tights and there is a noticeable difference. Now, I’m not saying that these provide you magical fresh legs every morning, but I found that it did manage to keep almost all soreness at bay.

Especially during the Transrockies, despite pushing hard every day, the next morning the legs always felt “fresh-ish.” Once I got back no the bike I could tell my legs were fatigued, but the soreness was almost non-existent unless I really poked and prodded my legs. To me, that’s well worth the price of admission.

Not something I had anticipated testing, since I like to keep my gear pretty clean, but the antimicrobial protection of the SynchroRx fabric must work like a charm because despite wearing these for three nights straight, there was literrally no odor after the Transrockies.

The other nice thing is how ‘supported’ you feel while wearing them. Make no mistake, these tights are… Well… Tight. It literally feels like your legs are recovering while you’re wearing them. It’s a good feeling.

The Cons
While the CompressRx tights definitely perform as advertised, I will admit, they’re are a bitch to get on. I think this is probably normal for any compression gear nearing medical grade, but you need to really work at getting all the way up. If that weren’t enough, you need to be diligent to avoid getting a run in your tights (God, I sound like my mother).

With that said, the work it takes to get them on is a direct result of all that compression-ey goodness that makes your legs feel great the next day, so I’ll take it.

The only other fault I found with the CompressRx tights were the way the foot ‘stirrup’ fits. The CompressRx Recovery tights are meant to cover the entire lower body and the foot is no exception. In short durations, the foot stirrup isn’t too much of an issue, but anytime I tried to wear the Zoot tights overnight I would wake up with the fabric digging into my foot. The nice thing is that you can bypass the stirrup and simply leave it hanging – This method is pretty much the norm for me now and I haven’t noticed any real difference in the quality of my recovery.

The Bottom Line
Truth be told if you’re pushing it on your training rides, have some stage races on your race calendar, or simply like to stack epic weekend rides back to back, for $150 you can’t beat what the Zoot CompressRx tights will do for you. Combined with some light stretching and a recovery cocktail you’ll hit the trail the next day feelin’ solid.

No related posts.

A while back, Ken wrote an article on ‘The Future of Gadgets’, and the elegance of the un-cluttered handlebar.  Well, it looks like, and really we shouldn’t be that surprised, Apple has been working on this, and of course taken it to the next level. Why stop at providing consumers with a ‘smart phone’, when you can provide a ‘smart bike’ to go along with it?

On August 5, 2010, a patent was published for Apple’s upcoming Smart Bicycle System.

Though still in development, it aims to deliver a similar functionality to the iPod + Nike system already available for runners. The Smart Bicycle System will provide live data such as: time, distance, speed, elevation, altitude, incline, decline, power, heart rate, cadence, calories burned, weather, and temperature, derailleur setting, wind speed, path completed, and expected future path, etc… Now, if you’re like me, you may be asking, ‘so what’s so special about that, because my Garmin 500 already does most of that?’ Well, not only can you interface with this live data yourself, but you can also interface with other riders around you, live! So imagine if you’re the Cervélo Test Team out for a training ride, and you can all interface with everyone’s data on the fly. Pretty cool and useful, I’d say, and all via your already beloved and adored, iPhone/iPod.

The novelty comes primarily from the ability to ‘share’ data while in a group and on the go. The patent allows for option to apply this system to any typical type of bicycle, from road, to mountain and BMX. I wonder though, once this technology comes into production, will this be something we see trickle down beyond the pro team level, and which bike manufacturers will be the first to integrate it. Could we see Apple as a team sponsor in the not too distance future, ie: Team Apple Specialized? Intergraded sensors, would certainly offer a clutter free, and theoretically, hassle free riding and metric measurement experience, but like with everything, the more you add to things, the more things there are to break and petentially go wrong. This goes back to my article talking about the practicality of using an iPhone/iPod as a bike computer. I’ll wait to see what Apple comes up with before I cast a vote there.

At any rate, GO APPLE GO, and Garmin, you might need to step up its game.

The read more on the patent, link here.

Related posts:

1. iPhone Cycling Apps
2. Advantage: Cyborgs
3. Christmas Wish List of a
   Bike-o-holoic

With both Sheldon and I having fairly serious commitments this summer it just wasn’t in the cards for another full fledged 7-day epic. As we pondered what this summer had in store for us we eventually determined that the only logical alternative we had was the TR3 – well, as logical as mountain bike stage racing is ;-).

Granted we may not be officially racing together this year, but we’re still Bikeridr teammates… Here’s how we’re feelin’ from the north and south of Alberta!

You’re racing for less than half of the time/distance from last year (3 days from 7), how has your training differed this year from last?

With only 3 stages, which one(s) are you most stoked for, most apprehensive about? Do you even care?

What’s the game plan going in – Are you treating this as a race, or as more-so an epic weekend ride?

Do you anticipate being satisfied with a 3-day experience, or do you think you’ll be left wanting?

How are you feeling about this being a solo endeavour?

Related posts:

1. Are you ready for a stage race?
2. TransRockies – Alberta Bound
3. Not TR3 ready – yet

I love anything that gets women on bikes… Primarily because women on bikes are at least 15% more attractive than all other women (it’s a proven fact, don’t bother disputing it), but also because I feel that cycling (especially mountain biking) can be a slightly intimidating environment for women.

Anything that able to put women in a comfortable environment and let them immerse themselves in the awesomeness of cycling is something I can get behind!

Not being of the female persuasion, and not willing to pull out some Ms. Doubtfire action, I reached out to two of my friends to recon the 2010 Trek Dirt Series (originally the Sugoi Dirt Series) and answer some questions for me. I wanted some different perspectives, and since both Cate and Kim come from fairly different backgrounds, I think I got it.

If you’re sitting on the fence, or even considering doing something like a mountain bike camp, I’m sure the answers below will have you signing up in no time!

So without further ado, meet your hosts:

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR:
Cate Hydeman
FIND HER ONLINE: TWITTER

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR:
Kim McNeil
FIND HER ONLINE: TWITTER & WEB

What’s your background? Tell us a little bit about yourself. How does cycling play into the mix?

Related posts:

1. 2010 Road Nationals in Edmonton Alberta
2. Top Ten for 2010
3. Bow Cycle 2010 Bike Expo

For the most part, I don’t know what I’m doing. I haven’t been racing long enough. For example, I don’t know how I should feel before a good race, versus how I feel before a bad one. I’ve thought I felt great, and raced terribly, and visa versa. Sure, I’ve read a lot, and talked to a lot of people about this stuff, but for me it’s still just guess work.

Last weekend at Nationals in Canmore, I had a good race. Best result of my season for sure, coming in 3^rd. It was a great experience landing on the podium, and one I’d like to repeat. But now with only 2 races left this season, I’m convinced more than ever, repeating that is going to be something that’s a lot easier said, than done…

Kabush signing my jersey

A seasoned racer who has a pre-race routine, a specific pre-race ritual concerning training sched the week before, favourite meals, knows measured volumes of fluid intake, their sleep patterns and so on, might be able to confidently repeat a performance. Me on the other hand, I’m still learning about all this, and about myself. That said, I have learned a thing or two about me. None of these are ground-breaking, but very likely, many of them may apply to you as well:

I really need my sleep. I am an 8-9 hour a night guy, day in and day out and I know this. If I get less than 8 hours sleep one night in the 2 days leading up to a race, I will do worse. Case in point, most of my races in 2009. Excited about the race, Ken and I would normally go out the night before, have dinner and stay out and have a few beers, only allowing for 5-6 hours of sleep. For me, this is not good.

That leads me to my second observation, beers the night before do not help me. 1, or 2 is fine, though likely not beneficial. Any more than 2, and it has certainly proved detrimental. Not only does alc dehydrate, but for me, now a 35 year man who drinks almost never, I feel like crap in the morning after any more than 3 beers.  So, I need to shut it down after 1 or 2 the night before if I care about how I am going to race the next day.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate… And by this I don’t mean drink a couple glasses of water before the race. I mean stay on the water for a couple days leading up to a race. It can take up to 7 days for your body to fully hydrate, meaning, absorb into your deep tissues. Drinking a bunch of water quickly, and then peeing clear is really only a sign that your body has taken in more fluid than it can absorb at that time. Both alcohol and caffeine will dehydrate, so I need to keep them both to a minimum.

On the podium

Stretch. I am terrible for this. I don’t enjoy it. It hurts and most often I will come up with some reason not to do it. When I do, though, my legs feel soooo, sooo much better. They recover faster between rides, meaning I can train more often, but if nothing else, stretching before a hard effort like a race wakes my legs up, and gets the blood flowing. I’m also less likely to cramp, or injure myself – which are both things I am on board with now that I’m getting older and hopefully wiser.

Eat 2 hours before the race. Eat 3 hours before if you can. For me, oatmeal with a handful of trailmix seems to be a pretty good meal. Easy to digest. Good carbs, and the nuts provide fat, which is great long burn energy that I’ve found is optimal for me, versus just straight carbs. Further to this, make yourself eat, and drink during the race. It’s hard, I know… You’re breathing hard and chewing food, or drinking just interrupts your already laboured breathing even more. But, this is key to making sure you have the energy to ride strong the whole race, and not just the first lap or two. If you can only do one, choose to drink. Find an energy drink you can tolerate that will give you energy, electrolytes and hydrate you. I’m still fiddling with this. Last race, my drink of choice nearly made me puke. Not because it tasted bad, but because it just wasn’t sitting that well. Top of the climbs on lap three, it was a close call. This might just have been because I was drinking too much at once, and not just sipping at it over the race. I am still trying to figure out how to do this.

Know yourself. Are you a racer that can blast out of the gates, be first to the singletrack, gap the field and hold on, or are you more like me, and need to start out moderately? Two weeks ago, at the Edmonton Canada Cup, I chased Ken and Gord for 2/3 of the first lap and blew up after lap 1. They were too fast, and I cracked, leaving me to struggle just to finish in 20th. Last weekend at Nationals, I went out more slowly, paced myself and tried to build up speed as I went – to push hard, but stay steady. The result was 3 moderately fast laps, and luckily, a spot on the podium.

Lastly, pre-ride the course. I never used to do this. I figured I was always just following people anyway so I didn’t need to know where I was going… But pre-riding the course is about more than knowing where you’re going. It’s about knowing what’s coming, and having a game plan. You know where you can push hard, because you know how soon you’ll hit a section where you can recover, or you know where to surge and catch someone’s wheel so you’re in position to pass when you get to the wide section coming up. In Canmore where the trails can be super technical, you’ll know better which line to take, or how fast you can go without crashing. These are just examples, but you get the idea. Knowing the course is a huge advantage.

Gord with the pull

These are some of the things I’ve found to really make a big difference for me. In the end, though, you can do all of this stuff and more, but still fall short in a race, because circumstance plays such a huge part. In my race at Nationals, I was ready physically to race well, and I did, but several circumstances played into my 3^rd place finish. Some of these circumstances were that we raced in the morning before it got hot. I race better in cooler temps. The course was set up to my strengths. It had long, grueling climbs, and tight, twisty, singletrack descents. Had the course been different, with less climbing, the result would have been different. I also had a teammate to ride with when I caught Gord on lap 2. Having him push me just that little bit to stay with him, helped a lot. I wasn’t willing to push myself to the point that I’d blow up again, but he definitely helped me out there, and encouraged me to keep up. Thanks Gord! I owe ya.

So many things come into play in a race, from how hard you’ve trained, to the course design, what you ate, the weather, the field of racers that shows up, to the state of your bike’s mechanical integrity. I mean, blow a tire, snap a chain, and there you go, end game. I guess, that’s why as little, or as much as I know now about racing,  as much as I can control about my diet, sleep, training etc…, you never really know what’s going to happen on race day. You can race smart, but in the end, no one knows how it’s going to play out. I guess it wouldn’t be much fun if we did know, though would it…?

Related posts:

1. Coffee – An Athlete’s Edge
2. Are you ready for a stage race?
3. Smart Bike

Our Husky Feature racers of the month for July are the husband/wife duo of Cyclemeisters Gabor Csonka and Spin Sisters Boglarka (Bogi) Gyorfi.

Outside of Gabor’s iconic hot-pink, rigid single speed, the couple is probably best known (and admired) for pulling the whole family together for most of their races. From serious racing roots in Hungary and the Midwest to training, racing, working full time and managing two energetic young kids – we get a brief glimpse into the controlled chaos of their lives!

Gabor Csonka

You’ve been racing for a number of years (including at a professional level in Hungary) – When did you first start racing, and how did you get started?

I started in 1992. I picked up a 12 month loan to pay for my first MTB, (an orange Scott Peak with Shimano 200GS!). The guys in the shop convinced me to try this weird muddy bike race on the weekend. They even give me some VHS tapes with Overend and Tomac and others racing the world cup.  So I did try the race, crashed hard many times and finished 2nd behind the series leader back then.  Later I joined the local MTB club and started to race the national series.

I notice that you’ve raced road, triathlons, duathlons, mountain bike races and running races. I would imagine that mountain biking is your focus?

MTB is definitely my love. All other races I did for training, or just to try it out. The MTB training/racing is way more fun (for me) than running, or even road riding. Icing on the cake is the people; I find the MTB racer community a lot friendlier and laid back than competitors in other endurance sporting events. The best place to find good friends.

Continue reading on the Edmonton Canada Cup blog.

Bogi Gyorfi

A competitive downhill skier, kayaker, orienteering runner, mountain biker, triathlete and mother! Is there anything you don’t do?

Yeah, I do not work :-)

I am so fortunate to stay home with my kids. I think this is the only way we can keep up this active lifestyle. If I stayed at my profession, I was a gymnastics coach, we could not arrange riding, racing times for sure.

I know that a family can have a profound impact on a persons athletic endeavours (especially a woman’s), what advice would you give to other women wanting to keep their interest in sports, but also interested in starting a family?

After many years of training and racing there is time to try different things, like raising kids… Which is the most challenging thing I have tried so far. After I have reached some of my athletic goals and was not going to go to Olympics… :-) I was ready to have family.

It was a totally different life for the first year, a nice change from the athletic scene. It is interesting how our perspective has changed after having kid… Life just got real and full. We both became whole persons as parents… [con't]

Continue reading on the Edmonton Canada Cup blog.

You can read the full article on the Edmonton Canada Cup blog.

Related posts:

1. Edmonton Canada Cup Feature Racer – Krystyn Ong
2. Edmonton Canada Cup Feature Racer
3. Burn Out – by Kirk Hamilton

As a cross country rider I’ve long since come to terms with climbing. I may even enjoy it in a masochistic type of way. But the real reason most of us enjoy climbing, the real payoff, comes after the fact… When gravity turns from your foe, to your ally.

I appreciate the balance that climbing everything I descend offers, but there are times when you just want to point your wheel down the hill and let ‘er rip… To constantly feel the wind in your hair, weaving between rocks, roots and singletrack in search of the best flow.

It’s the appreciation of these things that got me so excited to work with two friends of mine and help realize a dream of theirs.

Andrew Ellis has been mucking around with bikes since he was a wee tot back in England, but he’s always had a dream of sharing his love of riding two wheels downhill with as many people as possible. On and off over the past year, I helped him pull a website together for their new downhill touring company – Descend Inc.

Generally speaking, I’m very lucky to really enjoy my ‘day’ job, but I have to admit, it was a real treat to combine my day job and my post-work passion into something special.

Specializing in mid-size private tours of Panorama, Kicking Horse or Mount 7, as well as shuttle tours in Golden, Descend is all about capturing the challenge and chill of downhilling. Once you cough over a wee bit of cash (very reasonable amounts by my estimation), you’re effectively set – and outside of a few logistics, almost every aspect of your trip is taken care of.

• Cozy mountain cabin to crash in after driving yourself to near exhaustion on the hill? Check.
• Spacious, kick-assed Descend-mobile van? Check.
• Wicked bikes with more travel than 3 xc rigs combined? Check.
• Delicious, home-made food to get you fueled up for the next day? Check.
• A sharp, witty bloke to guide you down the narrows? Double check.

Sharing a pint with Andrew a few weeks ago, we got to chatting about how specifically a cross country rider could really benefit from a trip like this. He was a firm believer that not only would a trip with Descend would not only be a nice break from a hectic race season (or a nice way to wrap one up), but would also be a fantastic way for a cross-country focussed rider to get quite a bit faster.

I agreed wholeheartedly.

At first blush this may not make sense at all, especially since most races to date have been in/around Edmonton, where the terrain, though winding, technical, challenging and fun, doesn’t really provide any serious altitude problems. Anybody who has raced a course with sustained climbs/descents however, will instantly recognize the value competent descending can bring to your game.

At best, you’ll shave a fair bit off your times, gain a ton of confidence, and school your buddies in rough, technical descents – at worst you’ll work the kinks out of your downhill game and go a long way to avoiding a bad crash on your way down the mountain.

So with race season in full swing, maybe it’s time to carve out some time and point the wheels south and get some quality time with gravity!

Related posts:

1. Burn Out – by Kirk Hamilton
2. Summer Solstice Suffer Springs XC race report
3. Edmonton Canada Cup Feature Racer – Krystyn Ong

I came across this blog today on Lifestyle Management, and it spurred me to write this post.

Great expectations. Yes, we all have them, and that’s what I had for this race season. I’d spent solid time on the bike all winter, both indoor and outdoor and started off the spring season in pretty good shape. I’d imagined this would be the platform that I’d be able to push off of and realize some great gains early to mid-season. Well, not everything always goes to plan…

The season started out pretty much like I’d expected. I was a little faster than I was this time last year. My legs felt strong. Ken was still faster than me, but the margin was holding steady. I was placing around, or just ahead of where I was last year, kind of just outside the top 10, in 11^th or 12^th on the ABA races and managed a 7^th in one of the Fat Tire Tuesday races. But since then, I’ve felt a drop off in, well, everything. I feel sluggish on the bike, and generally just slow all around. This is likely due to the fact that since spring has sprung, my training, diet, and sleep regimen has pretty much gone out the window. Life, that’s all I can say. Life for a 35 year old married man, who’s working more than full time, and doing renos about the homestead, gets a little busy… Life has been exciting for me the last while to say the least, but training has admittedly taken a back seat in the last while. That said, I don’t just want to throw away all the valuable training I have done. There is still a lot of racing left this season (including the TR3 in August) and there might be a chance I can still rally. Life isn’t going to get any less busy though, so part of that is going to mean training smarter and focusing on the weakest parts of my game.

Last night at Fat Tire Tuesday, I got smoked! It was a dirt crit, so a short 1.5km loop on the open flats with no hills to speak of except one short power climb. There was a 4 lap, 5 lap and 6 lap category. I raced the 5 lap. This was a suffer-fest from start to finish. From the second we started to the second I rolled across the finish line, I was maxed out, and red-lining it. The first 3 laps weren’t bad. I held in there just behind the lead group, but started to fade and get passed by one rider, and then another. Lap 4, I faded a little more and the lead group was soon nowhere in sight and I had to drop off the chase group totally. Lap 5 was just more of the same, with even less jam in the legs and although I didn’t get passed again, the gap between me and the chase group ballooned to a big gap. Racers I had beaten at the Bacon race not just a couple weeks ago left me in their dust, and I had to wonder why. It didn’t take me long to pinpoint, it was pure and simple, fitness. Although I’ve been riding quite a bit, mine has been waning the last month or so and this course was a flat-out sprint with nothing technical. No hard climbs, no sketchy downhills and no twisty single-track. It reminded me a lot of Cyclo Cross race actually, and although it’s painful for me to remember my lack of success in CX last season, where I really fell short was pure fitness. These kinds of races just aren’t my thing, clearly…

But, lucky for me mountain bike racing isn’t just about fitness. Mountain bike racing is about twisty single track, sketchy downhills and hard climbs. It’s about bike handling skillz,and in my provious races where I had better results, that was likely the key factor. So, my point here, know your game, or more to the point, know your strengths, so you can work on your weaknesses. Part of that is managing your expectations. I have to realize that I’m just not as fit as I might think I am, and results are going to vary depending on the type of course. Some are just going to suit me better than others, and when it comes to a race like last Tuesday, I can’t get too down on myself when I don’t place well. I know I need to put in the time, put in the miles and get my fitness up. That’s going to be my best opportunity for improvement this season, because it’s where I’m suffering most.

This is going to be hard though, because the season has started, and there is a race almost every week. Putting in the BIG miles while still trying to get in some intensity work and recovery time will be a challenge. If I don’t figure something out though, I know what I can expect – just more of the same. I’ll probably hang on to the fitness and speed that I have now, and maybe get a bit faster, just from racing, but nothing huge. Finding the time to get it all in will be the key.

This weekend is a double header in Canmore, Iron Lung XC on Saturday and then the Organ Grinder Enduro on Sunday. Wish me luck!

Related posts:

1. Ready for the TransRockies?!?!
2. Featured Racers: Gabor Csonka & Bogi Gyorfi
3. So I decided to try EPO…

In the second installment of the Edmonton Canada Cup, Husky Feature Racer series, I had a chance to catch up with a River Valley Cycle teammate of mine, Krystyn Ong. She’s been in the racing game for a while already and has a lot of experience and insight to offer. Here’s the Q & A:

So how did you get your start in cycling, and what was it that got you into racing?

I started cycling with the Dirtgirls cycling club in 2005.  They hosted a race that year called the Down and Dirty, and I decided to try racing in the U17 category.  I decided later I wanted to race more competitively so I joined a performance based club called Juventus and started working with their coaches the year after.

I know you used to race road, so what was it that made you switch over to mountian?

Well, actually, I started out mountain biking, but then raced both for a while.  Now I am just racing mountain bike, cross-country and downhill, even though I still train on a road bike. I really prefer racing mountain bike because I like technical riding and being out in the wilderness.

To read to full article, you can link here

Related posts:

1. Edmonton Canada Cup Feature Racer
2. Feature Racer: Bridget Linder
3. 2010 Edmonton Canada Cup