HSB is throwin' down.

Getting some good riding in at Hardwood Ski and Bike as always. Seems like I have been having trouble lately resisting the urge to hurl my body against the ground in a I-hope-nobody-saw-that-flail fashion. Luckily both times there were no witnesses and also both times my bike came out of it pretty much un-injured. I would say I too for the most part have come out un-injured given the serious potential of the crashes.
First one was on Friday. For some reason my pedal came unclipped just as I was cresting the steepest part of boneshaker. Thought I was going to be able to ride it out but just as I was reaching the steepest part my bike got spooked and tossed me upside-down onto a nice new patch of quick-crete. It's like landing on 2-grit sandpaper lol. That one got me pretty much all up the right side with a swollen ankle, wrist, and a bit of rash on my calf, hip, arm, and back. Again was lucky to get away with only superficial damage.
Today I was doing some tempo laps and my front wheel washed out on a steep downhill corner. It was one of those 20km/h launches where you have about 36 seconds of hang time in the air before gravity brings you back down to reality. In the interest of protecting my sore wrist I decided to break my fall with my face which worked really well. At this point I am glad I bought the Rudy Project sunglasses that were designed for S.W.A.T. to be impact resistant. Amazingly my helmet shows no damage but I think I should probably replace it to be safe. Got a bit of a shiner on my forehead and added to my raspberry collection on my knee and arm and hip. All in all a good day in the saddle.

The Canada Cup course is pretty tough and it is going to be a hard race. Laps are long and moderately technical with lots of climbing and very little rest. It is going to be a race of attrition with lots of people struggling on the later laps. Hopefully my fitness will make up for my lack of top end speed and I can come out of it in a decent position. It is already very slippery and dusty so if this heat and dryness keeps up it is going to be a really tough race. You know the ones where black dust sticks to your whole body and lungs and nostrils and you cross the finish line looking like an 80 year old coal miner.
Should be fun as always!
Benoit