Nick Emsley

On Friday, March 30th I received a package from FedEx. I was super stoked since it was a new gravel bike frame from Lauf Forks. It has been a long time since I got a new frame or bike so this was definitely a big deal. Since I am going to be competing in Gravel races this year this bike was the perfect fit. Now that I have a Lauf True Grit frame it is time to place an order with my sponsor Frog Cycles for some parts to make a complete bike. Photo to the left: this is not my bike but it will be looking like it very soon, :). I can't wait to be sporting the Lauf cycling kit and my new bike on some gravel roads. The Lauf True Grit frame set includes a headset, seat collor, thru axles, bottle opener and the Lauf True Grit Fork. The overall impression  I have of the True Grit Frame is it has one of the best finishes I have ever seen. The Midnight blue matte colour is amazing. If you want to get more details about the Lauf True Grit visit their web site at:...

Well 2018 has arrived and I can't wait for the snow to be gone so I can ride my bike. Over the past few weeks I have been planning my 2018 race season and it looks like it is going to be a very exciting year. 2017 had it's up's and down's as you can read in my previous blog post here: Going for a run So lets get right into the excitement of 2018. To start the New Year off I have been on the trainer, hitting the weight's lot's and I am super focused on my training for the next 3 months. I also will be continuing to work with Andrew Watson of AWI Coaching as my coach. Andrew has been focusing on getting me to my peak performance and making me improve every inch of the way. I have been coached by Andrew Watson for the past 4 years and I can't thank him enough for helping me grow as an athlete and competitor in the sport. Andrew giving me coaching advice from the sideline Looking at my race schedule it will be a busy year with some bigger even...

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year to all who is taking the time to read this. For me the 2017 year had it's up and downs but it came out pretty good. Before I continue I would like to thank all of my Sponsors, Family and Friends that has help me through my 2017 race season and beyond. Lauf Forks Frog Cycles Sir  Sam's Ski/Ride The Highlander Newspaper AWI Coaching Also a special thank you to my Parents for being there supporting and helping me build as an athlete. I couldn't have made it to where I am today with out the help of my Sponsors, Family and Friends. Thank You! This past race season was definitely a hard one and it wasn't to do with racing, it was everyday life. This past summer I was working at a couple company's putting in 40+ hour weeks. The work was tiring just by itself but I also was training heavily and doing many projects around home as well. Since I was working lots I was showing up to the races tired b...

On July 16th I was in the middle of the start line with 57 racers on the main street of East Hereford, Quebec.  It was moments away from the start of the 86 km Canadian Marathon Championships and I was pumped. This was my third time competing in the Canadian Marathon Championships and it was being held at East Hereford. It was held at the same location last year so I knew what to expect this year. The days leading up to the race was great. We left Thursday night after I was done work  and did a 9 hour drive to our Motel which was in Coaticook. Coaticook is only 30 minutes west of East Hereford so we weren't staying too far away. Our motel was very nice and gave us lots of room to do our cooking and rest. Friday afternoon we went to East Hereford, signed up and got all of the information that we needed about the race. Then we were off to the top of Mount Hereford which you can drive to. I was going to do the 4 km long descent so I could make sure I had all of my lines fig...

It was June 4th and I was sitting in the our car trying to get out of the sun and get cooled down before my 1:45 race start at Canada Cup #4 which was being held at Horseshoe Resort. It was a super hot day and possibly one of the hottest days that I have raced, it was more of a challenge to keep cool before the event. I was all prepared and feeling confident, I pre-rode the course two days prior and I had all of my lines dialed in. The night before the race I took one of my racing vest and socked it in water and froze it in the freezer, so on my warm up I put it on to make sure I didn't over heat before the race started. (I was warming up and wearing a cold vest. I know, something doesn't sound right here. ;) ) Once we were in the starting pen I did my final preparations and I was ready to go. The  start went out very fast since the course had a lot of climbing the pain in the legs came very quick which was not very good. To make things even worse I lost my bottle at the start...

It was the third consecutive weekend of racing and I was at the Northhumberland Forest for XC Marathon #3. The Northhumberland forest marathon has been my favorite race ever since I started racing in the Ontario Marathon series. The trail's are all ways super fast and in great shape. As always the event was very well organized by Dan Marshall of Substance Projects. Today's marathon was 70km in length and I noticed some tough competition on the starting line. It was awesome to be able to chat with friends before the race and on the start line, it definitely helps with race jitters. The race buzzer went off and we all blasted away from the start. It was a bit tight at the start but then everyone got lined out and 4 of us went out and gained a big lead on the rest of the group. About 5km in I had to back off the high pace so I didn't burn myself out. Once I dropped back a bit I got together with another group and we rode the rest of the first lap together. On the second lap I ...

Enjoying my time on the start line It was May 27th and I was at Hardwood Ski and Bike getting ready for my 5th consecutive year racing in the Single Track Challenge. I had won this event the past 4 years and I was looking for a 5th. I was doing the 44km option and I was racing in the 15 - 18 division. On the start line I recognized some faces from the other marathons so I knew it was going to be a tough and fun event. The horn went off and we all went hard off the line. I was just at the front of the group for the first km and then I attacked and dropped everyone, I had a good lead on the group when we went into the first single track. I backed it off and bit and a group of 4 caught up and we rode together for the rest of the lap. Each lap was 22 km so the laps were very fast and on the second lap I had a couple of racer open a slight gap on me but it was okay since they were in different divisions. I finished 4th overall and I placed 1st in my division and I had a 6:31 lead on s...