Shortly I'm going to write a recap of an exciting duathlon on the Quebec Cup circuit, but today there's been lots of noise on various email lists about a decision to restrict access (or speed) to the only great training circuit for Montreal road cyclists.
 
I may have the numbers wrong, but I read that after 27 accidents on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Montreal's racing track previously used on the F1 circuit), the bureaucrats managing the facility decided they want to keep road cyclists who want a safe place to train away from the track..
 

Last weekend I was relaxing with my girlfriend on the south shore of the Fleuve St-Laurent at a cottage just across Baie St-Paul, where the Charlevoix stage race on the Quebec circuit took place. I feel like my body is falling apart in pieces like American cars in Cuba.
 

We'll on April 19, was the Montreal Scotiabank half marathon. This was my third year doing the event, last year, being my personal best at 1:20. Over the winter, I was not very consistent in my running, so I knew my form wasn't at it's best.

Things slow down in the winter when you live in climate with sub-zero temperatures. So this blog was frozen just like the lakes around here. But now the rivers and lakes have thawed, and brave cyclists have been on the road for a few weeks. And in a few weeks, there will even be brave triathletes swimming in frigid open water.

It's fall, at least in the northern hemisphere, and most of you are probably taking it easy this time of year. Time to recharge, and if you've been busy racing this summer, it feels great to take some time off.

I'm not going to write about cycling, running, swimming or anything you were expecting to read on my blog. I'm going to write about something we don't stop to think about.

Last Monday morning, I was commuting to work, like millions of others across our planet. We do it, because we enjoy it, and do our share to reduce the suffering our planet is experiencing from CO2 emissions.

A common question among cyclists is, "what is the ideal cadence?". No one really has? a clear answer. Some literature I have seem from an efficiency point of view (lowest oxygen consumption for highest power) indicates a cadence between 65-70 revolutions per minute. That may be true in a lab, but on the road it seems that higher cadences will help delay muscle fatigue. Most cyclists will spin between 80 to 110 rpm. You have strong cyclists that are on the low side and others on the high side. On short hills, most cyclists usually lower their cadence.

There is a french expression, "sauver les meubles" which translates to "save the furniture from the burning house", or "save what can be saved". That sums up quite nicely my race at the Canadian Duathlon Championships last Saturday in Montreal.

Most duathlons I had done recently were sprint distances (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km bike), but this was an Olympic distance (10,40, 5). I new the field was going to be strong, and Benoit Simard who won in St-Sauveur, was at the start line.

A few weeks ago I decided to replace my old HED Standard Disc. I bought that disc second hand 3 years ago, and it still was in good shape, but I thought it was time to get a lighter disc and maybe move to clinchers.

A quick look at ZIPP discs turned my head away, as my budget was under 1000$. After a few days of searching a few models came up, RENN, Blackwell, X-Lab. Contacted a few vendors online with a few questions, and found that most online shops have terrible customer service.

Last Saturday I was in St-Sauveur, Quebec for the cyclist's duathlon. A 3km run - 33 km bike - 3km run. This is a great introduction to duathlons for any cyclist that can run 3 kilometers straight.

That's what I did 2 years ago when I did my first duathlon. No one new who I was and they were all surprised to see me ride away on the bike.

It is not the first time luck is on my side and I take first by a fraction of a second. At the Coupes des Ameriques stage race in 2004, my lead was less than 1 second. Last Saturday was the Quebec provincial (state) time-trial championship, on a flat 21.5km out-and-back course. I finished in 28:56 (44.6km/h) just half a second in front of my teammate, Carl Dessurault.