The U.C.I. held a stop of the Mountain Bike World Cup in Bromont, Quebec this past weekend so I (Cookie, Cycle Cambridge mech. & DH/4X specialist) packed up the fam-damily and hit the incredibly congested 401 for a 6 hour drive that took 9 hours.

WORTH EVERY SECOND! The weekend was awesome. Literally. Driving into obviously steep, dark green forrested mini-mountains and arriving at the venue we were treated us to a well-signed entrance to a beautiful resort community with a bit of a Western horse ranch feel to it. Just gorgeous. We’d move there if there wasn’t a Pemberton.

The downhill qualifiers were underway and the excitement rumbled in the distance…oh no that was the thunder of the encroaching thunderstorms. I think that the riders were all pretty confident and there weren’t any riders obviously playing the stategy game and throwing their qualifiers. Sam Hill was first, Steve Peat second etc..

The finals saw the ladies off first. A couple of girls got down before the rain but then it just started dumping. Claire Buchar came down in the pi$$in’ down rain and still threw her new bike down that hill with a vengence. Then Rachel Atherton came down and just scorched the course…like wow fast. The last rider down was Sabrina Jonnier who just couldn’t top Rachel’s ridiculous time.

The men’s final a mere 20 minutes or so later happenned in the sun on a drier course. The action was really good, as the times got faster and faster more and more people crowded the course and finishline. They were handing out noisemakers too which sure upped the stoke level down at the finish. In a moment of sheer stupidity we got my 5yr old one. Duh. Greg Minnar had ‘er pinned down and I wasn’t sure if our old/young pal Sam Hill would be able to take it but sure enough he did in a fully down-to-the-last-second kind of way that really topped off the race. Good Times.

We decided to hit the road rather than stay for the storms and the 4X and XC. My little girl was fantastically patient and so was my very pregnant wife so I couldn’t press my luck too much. For some payback we grabbed a decent coffee and hit the Atwater Market in Montreal the next morning. I’m still eating.

Props to my man Alden Woodward (www.justin.tv/dj_deadfish) for the lodging and the Rosemary Super Chive Loaves. Epic G.T.’s

For those not in-the-know 4X racing is where four to six mountain bike riders line up at a starting gate and race around a b.m.x. track litterred with jumps, whoops and berms. In some places it’s gravity fed or downhill but here in Ontario it’s flat baby, real flat. It’s all about the sprint.

I raced B.M.X. a lot as an 80’s kid so this is familiar ground for me and in fact took no time at all to get back into the swing of gated racing. The competition is fast paced and there’s often a bit of elbow rubbin’ as it’s several riders plowing down the same lines. The gate drops at a random interval now which made for tentative starts for all.

The O-Cup season consists of a dismally short schedule of three races all of which are held at the same track in Milton. I’ve raced the first two so far and the next and final race will be the provincial championships. So far I sit 4th in the standings and I’m looking forward to the championship battle.

For those thinking of checking out 4X racing in Ontario there are no pre-requisites, anybody can ride and there’s always practice time to get used to the gate starts and the courses. The right bike is a small, light hardtail with near slick tires and stiff springs. BUT the fastest guy in my class runs a 6″ travel full-suspension Banshee freeride bike and makes me look like I’m pushing a wagon. The Championships are on August 23rd at Milton’s Track 2000, Trafalgar & Brittania roads by the Terra nurseries.

The second downhill race of the Ontario Cup season happened at Milton’s Kelso conservation area again but on a new and improved course. The course included several man-made jumps, some wide open pedalling (down this time) and a particularily gnarly,wet, rocky section with an off-cambre rooted turn into it that claimed a hilarious amount of carnage.
Practice day rain poured down on us all day. The gnar-bar served up crash after crash after crash, luckily I got out Scott free, just muddy. The first jump out of the gate was a 3′ booter to flat which after I hit it I could swear I heard my bike cry. The long-travel crowd were all buzzing their saddles and my man Nick blew his clean off! (There’s some ugly footage of that one online, I’ll post mine when I get it together)
Although in the films it magically appears that race day was sunny and dry which is sooo far from true. In fact it dumped a little extra slop on the course just before my class ran. I came down with a great top half but just before I got to the sketch I bailed on a little creek crossing and came right off the bike. In the slow-mo of the moment I definately knew it was going to be time consuming. I lost. I’d hoped to do better obviously but oh-well I sure had a big, wet boatload of fun.
I was running the Time DXZ World Cup spd shoe which I put on for the first time raceday (not the best plan.) Turns out these shoes right out of the box are plenty comfy and had a great, secured feel to them when clipped-in. Absolutely love them! Still no complaints other than H.M.F.I.C. Peter (the guy my wife and I call “Johnny I” after a popular Pembertonian/Whistlerite) razzing me by referring to them as “road shoes.” My race kit isn’t quite ’sorted’ as the Brits say (nudge nudge Win.)
The scene was a bit more upbeat. It would be great if the organizers could figure out a way to spread out the p/a speakers somehow though. It seems the only way to hear what’s going on is to be at the finish line and nowhere else. Spectators spread along the course have no idea what’s going on and are left feeling out of touch with the event.

Rideitlikeitslappedyermoms.

While you have to ride a bike to get better at riding a bike, you can speed up your gains with these metabolic conditioning workouts. They are time effective, require little or not equipment and will increase both cardiovascular and muscular endurance.

Unlike traditional strength training that will usually have more rest than work, with these workouts get a synergistic effect as you are getting more of a muscular and cardiovascular improvement than you would doing them separately. Metabolic conditioning workouts give you much more bang for your buck as long as you are willing to put the work in.

The reason they work so well is that by taking a 2 or 3 functional movements and do them in repeating circuits with no rest, you are providing training stimulus to both the muscles and the cardiovascular system. You become stronger, your anaerobic threshold increases and your ability to work hard for long periods improves. Combine this with the fact that full body exercise that has a lot of lactic acid and creates a large oxygen demand, triggers your body to increase growth hormone and testosterone production. These hormones decrease as we age so increasing you levels naturally will improve recovery, increase energy and find it easier to cut body fat. And Ladies, don’t worry, the amount of increase of testosterone in your bodies isn’t enough to grow a moustache. It will just improve your athletic performance.

I have adapted these workouts from the principles developed by the Crossfit training system. There approach is to use a broad range of functional movements performed at high intensity to build fitness for all athletic endeavours.

The key to getting the most out of these workouts is to learn how to do the exercises properly, push hard and get it done as quick as you can.

Take the workouts outlined below and add them to your program every two to four days depending on what your doing on the bike and time of year. Rotate through the workouts so you do each one before you start over at the first. This will mean that you won’t repeat a workout within a three week period at the minimum.

Unless otherwise stated each Metabolic Conditioning workout is done as close to uninterupted as possible. If you have to take a break because you can’t do all the repetitions in a row, keep is as short as you can and get back at it. Don’t rest between exercises or rounds either if you can manage it.

If the workout says “For Time”, start a stop watch at the beginning and get the work done as fast as you can while still keeping proper form for the exercises. Record your times, so when you do this workout again you can compare your time and track your progress.

Metabolic conditioning workouts can be create in almost infinite variety. The Crossfit recipe of functional movements, performed in varied combinations at high intensity creates a unique stimulus that improves all markers of fitness across a broad spectrum.

Metabolic Conditioning Workouts

Crossfit.com Exercise Instruction Videos

These workouts have a unique element to track progress. Either time, number of rounds or total reps. Always track your score from each workout so when you do it again you can look back and see your progress.

Weights specified are targeted towards elite athletes. Experiment with the weights so you use a weight that is appropriate for your fitness level.

Glossary

“For Time”

Time the workout, trying to get the listed work done as fast as possible. To accomplish this rest as little as possible, do the reps as fast as possible with good form and transition quickly to the next exercise.

“As many rounds as possible”

Perform as many circuits of the listed exercises and repetions as possible in the time alloted.

“Tabata”

These are intervals done 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated 8 times per exercise. Do as many reps as possible during the 20 second work intervals. Your total reps are your score for this workout. Tabata intervals also are very effective on the bike.

Workout Menu

MC 1

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes

5 pullups
10 Pushups
15 Air Squats

MC2

3 rounds of 21-15-9 reps for time

Deadlifts 135 lb
Box Jumps
Pullups
MC3

5 rounds for time

15 pushups
15 dumbell swings 35lb
MC4

For time

50 pullups
50 box jumps
50 Pushups
50 dumbell swings 20 lb
50 dumnbell pushpress 20lb
50 sumo deadlift high pulls
MC 5

10 rounds for time

10 deadlifts 135lb
10 knees to elbows
MC 6

For time

5 km time trial on trainer
followed by
10 pullups
20 pushups
50 Squats
20 pushups
10 pullups
50 Squats
followed by
5 km Time Trial
MC7

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes

5 burpees
10 lunges
15 situps
MC8

3 rounds for time

Deadlifts 135lb
Pushpress 35 lb dumbbells
MC 9

Tabata intervals (20seconds hard/10 second recovery X 8 repeats)

Pullups
Boxjumps
Pushups
Squats
MC10

For Time

100 Dumbells Swings
100 Squats
MC11

5 rounds for time

15 knees to elbows
15 dumbell thrusters
MC 12

3 rounds of 21-15-9 reps for time

Dumbell Thrusters
Pullups

If you do two workouts per week, you’ll repeat these workouts once every six weeks. This gives you enough time to notice a big improvement between sessions.

Free Parking, Free Admission, Great Deals

• Great deals on all instock and special order products
• Get a tour of our newly renovated facility including our training room and new parts & service area.
• Check out new products including Orbea, Time & Opus Carbon Road Bikes, 29″ wheel mountain bikes, Single speeds and more.
• Win Prizes including the grand prize of a $250 gift card, other prizes: bike fittings, Hammer Nutrition products, etc.
• Meet the our race team and see them go through the paces in our indoor training center
• Sign up the the Cycle Cambridge - GRG Racing cycling club including the brand new mountain bike enduro group

We all know the main reason for going to the bike show is to get great deals. The problem is the flea market atmosphere and the over abundance of last years products. So come see us before the bike show and get some good deals on this years bikes, parts and accessories. Don’t get stuck with a bike bought in a rush that ends up not fitting properly.

This is the bike story of my life: I got my first CCM bike in ‘75, a “Swinger” which I recently replaced in my collection. Later I moved up to a hand-me-down banana seated Schwin copy from my punk-ass brother (he’s actually some kind of politician/eco-terrorist in Australlia.) We were fully into hitting the monster jump at Victoria park so we had to MX up the bikes a bit…the birth of B.M.X. happened everywhere at once, don’t let those Cali bastards tell you different!

After much begging my folks went to Braun’s and sprung for the Norco Hurricane with the blue Tuff-Wheels and my B.M.X. racing career began. I raced for several years in Canada and the U.S.. After thugs stole the hurricane I rode a fully pimp Hutch from Main Cycle in Hamilton, Ontario for my last couple of years. For those with nostalgic feelings for the good ol’ B.M.X. days be sure to see the film Joe Kid On A Stingray.

Enter the road bike…First a way too big Norco something I got from my friend’s 6 footed sister then later a very nice Miele that was stolen from the back of a jeep carelessly left untopped. Exit the road bike.

My first taste of a mountain bike was in 1990 in Vancouver when a friend lent me a Nishiki to piss about the city on. I did not like toe-clips(the strappy ones), not one bit! I hated the flatbar/barend cockpit and still do. I wasn’t sold.

On a whim I was lucky enough to buy a Ritchey with the full DeoreXT groupo from my buddy’s mom for $250, once again way too large. That got me in though, with my very first real offroad ride at Puslinch with Cycle Cambridge friend and all-around genius Alden Woodward showing me the ropes including not to wear underwear under my shammies. Around the same time I got my first credit card so man did they sell some purple anodized stuff in Hamilton.

Then began the famous bike fixin’ parties at Cookie’s place which is where the whole being a mechanic got started with a certain other fellow you may know Cycle Cambridge’s own P-Chez Shipley. P to the Chez Y’all! (We’ve been friends since we were kids.)

Having had enough hits to the stones I finally got wise and picked up a classy little 15″ Wheeler frame (the steel one with the chrome rear triangle) from Cycle Cambridge in ‘94 or so I guess. That bike still lives with a friend of mine. I completely tricked it out with the finest bits of kit (including the adaptation of SPD’s), which made it all the odder when someone moved it out of the way to steal my wretched old Ritchey. R.I.P.. My insurance company originally offered me $200 to replace it. I had put in an estimate that valued it at around $600. When I complained they had one of their investigators look into the replacement cost of a Ritchey. When they did they found it to be around the $4000 mark so they offered me two grand cash and I took it gladly. Hah! Cooks wins for once.

With my winfall I started shopping. I chose the bike Mountain Bike Action called the Bike-of-the-year, the ‘97 Specialized FSR Ground Control A1M Pro. Phew, that’s a mouthful. It was a bright yellow 16″ monocoqued Mac-strutted beast. It lasted for years until I blew the shock which had become an irreplaceable antique.

My Friends and I had been scouring the province and beyond for every foot of trail worth leaving a treadmark on and our riding began to progress, a lot. Mountain biking was now very serious for me. I started going to trade shows, buying countless magazines and immersing myself in the culture. We developed a type of bike set-up with an extra burly front and a light rear that still holds it’s place today. This is probably where I would start calling myself a freerider but we were always and still are just trail riders. Night riding was huge too. Ask Chez about some pneumonia causing late night subzero rides on Hamtown’s bayshores (now off limits.) Hardcore y’all.

Somewhere in there my wife and I bought a couple of Specialized hardtails for touring. Me a pumpkin orange Stumpy and my wife a ripping little 15″ steel Hardrock that I actually still ride today! After the demise of the FSR money was way tight but the guys at Backpeddling in Guelph, Ontario got me on a Giant Warp 5″ single pivot for not too much cake. With the groupo from the Specialized it actually built up into a very nice little hucker that I beat the living tar out of for a year and a bit. I definitely got more into freeriding and looking for bigger and better hits.

This is about the time I finally talked Winston and Tony into hiring me on here at Cycle Cambridge. Actually Tony will probably tell you that I just started coming in without ever actually being hired…a feat I would later repeat. I outgrew the Giant quickly and sold it to finance a new ‘05 Norco Bigfoot which came shod with 8″ Hayes hydraulic brakes and a Marzocchi D.J. type fork. It was the start of great things to come. My bike was no longer an excuse for not going huge. I got very aggressive.

My wife works for a company called West49 (madd props.) Whilst sufing about on their job-postings she happened to spy an opening for a manager at the Billabong store in the Whistler Village in B.C.. Jokingly she asked if I would move to Whistler and I said absolutely not jokingly, “only if we can live in Pemberton” a little mountain town just North of Whistler I’d discovered on my many rock band tours through the area (now that’s another story altogether.) Two weeks later the bags were packed and off we went.
The Whistler area is absolutely the mountain bike capitol of the world and Pemberton is the undiscovered jewel in its crown. I spent the next two years fully immersed. My first week or so there I walked into the local shop called simply “Bike Co.” and found the coolest back country shop in the world. They had liberally used Rasta images and colours with a Jamaican flag hanging over the cash and Bob Marley on their branded merch including Bob Marley socks! The reggae was playing and Cooks was home.

I got to work in both their Pemberton and Whistler shops with some of the sport’s true greats. There I got to work with guys like Team Canada’s mechanic, Rocky Mountain’s team mechanic, even some of the original crew from The Cove. I also was lucky enough to be offered a position at a legendary shop in the village called Katmandu. A one year contact turned into a two year stay.

I bought a small ‘05 Norco Six (the extra burly one with the 150mm rear axle,) sooped it up and rode it like a fiend! Absolute heaven. Trail coverred mountains everywhere, ridin’ Pemby, Squamish, North Shore, heli-droppin’ and 2 1/2 seasons worth of bike park passes progressed my riding to new levels. Stay the hell outa my way on the dh’ers kids. I may be old but I’m faster than Jesus in Rome. I even entered the world famous Psychosis race in Golden B.C. which is called “The world’s most demented downhill mountain bike race” in the hardtail class no less. I finished 7th!!! I promise to post some pics and vids to share with all.

So now I’m back in Cambridge working at the shop again (well Tony says I don’t actually work here I just showed up again) while I fix up my old house. I’ll be flying the Cycle Cambridge flag racing the Master’s class DH this summer on the Norco Six and I also have a ripping Gary Fisher Mullet type hardtail I’ll be contesting the OCA 4X series on this season… It was absolutely heartbreaking to leave, The mountains call.

Come in and see me and talk to me about bikes, dropping, jumping, generally killing it and I’ll tune your steed while you wait. You can also hassle me at cookie@cyclecambridge.com