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End to a great Race Season

Well the 2019 race season has come to a close for me. I have had an overall good year and am already looking forward to the up and coming race season. This year I have had some good and bad races but that is expected and part of racing. I accomplished one of my goals and proved to myself that I am ready for the next step in my career of racing. I am now more hungry to get after training and pushing myself to new limits and breaking personal records. The 2019 Recap The start of the year went very well considering how busy I was with having 7 races in less then 2 months and also the fact that I was dealing with some physical issues as well. I had a slight break in the middle of June and then attempted the 24 hours of Summer Solstice which was a fantastic event. It was a metal and physical challenge that I will never forget and one that I will do again. I pushed myself to limits and came out on top with the win in the solo category which was absolutely amazing! After two wee...
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Racing at it's Finest

What a fantastic race season it has been so far! The 2019 winter took its time to leave this spring so it made for a late riding season at home. Now that summer is here the riding has been great and I am putting it lots of time on the bikes! The race seen has been lots of fun and I have already completed 7 races on my schedule. I have been feeling strong this year and am very happy with my race performances so far. During the winter I worked many hours and trained a ton. With dedication and hard work you can make big improvements which I am experiencing this year. A big thank you to my coach Andrew Watson of AWI Coaching for helping me achieve better results and my goals in cycling. Here is my completed races and results, Ontario XC Marathon #1 @ Turkey Point Ontario: 13th Place Ontario XC Marathon #2 @ Mansfield Ontario: 3rd Place Ontario Cup #1 @ Woodnewton Ontario: 7th Place Spring Chicken Marathon @ Beachburg Ontario: 4th Place Ontario XC Marathon #3 @ Ganaraska F...
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5 Weeks Until Race Season

This winter has been a long one and I can't wait for the snow to start melting. With still lots of snow and only 5 weeks until the first race of the year I know it is going to be a crazy spring. My training over the past 2 months has been good and I am feeling ready to get out and ride especially as I have completed my race schedule. I have made a big leap in the marathon seen as I am going to take on the 24 hour Summer Solstice this year as a Solo competitor. This event will be the biggest and longest race I have ever been apart of so it is a very big deal for me and I am super excited for it. The rest of this years schedule is very exciting as seen below. Ontario XC Marathon #1 @ Turkey Point Ontario: April 13th Ontario XC Marathon #2 @ Mansfield Ontario: April 20th Ontario Cup #1 @ Woodnewton Ontario: May 5th Spring Chicken Marathon @ Beachburg Ontario: May 11th Ontario XC Marathon #3 @ Ganaraska Forest Ontario: May 18th Ontario Cup #2 @ Albion Hills Ontario: May 26th...
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Welcome 2019

Another year has passed and a new year is upon us. 2018 was tough with challenges but I learned a lot and in the end it turned out great. During the year I tried some different events and I really enjoyed them, they are definitely on my 2019 race schedule. I also worked 3 jobs and that took its toll on my racing but I now know what I can handle and have better plans for my 2019 year. I had some good race results but I am planning on improving with the help of my coach Andrew Watson of AWI Coaching. I have to thank all of my 2018 sponsors for supporting me through everything! Lauf Forks, Frog Cycles, AWI Coaching, Colour and Code,  Glass Eagle Studios, Pro Home Solutions, Sir Sam's Ski & Ride, Integrity Construction, Todd's Independent Grocer, I hope to continue working with all of these great sponsors in the near future. I will be on the hunt for new sponsors for this year, as it will be an exciting one. For 2019 I am lining up some n...
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End of Season Report

Me with my bikes and sponsor banner Well the race season has came to an end and winter is close upon us. I finished the last two races of the year and now I am full force into training for next year. You can read my latest blog post about the Sausage Suit Individual Time Trial here: https://nickemsley.blogspot.com/2018/10/sausage-suit-individual-time-trial.html A week after the SSITT I did an 80km gravel race put on by Substance Projects called the Howeling Coyote. It was around the freezing mark on race day so it was a cold one. Even though it was the shortest gravel race this year it was the hardest in my book. There was endless climbing, and my legs could definitely feel it near the end. After a tough day of pace lining, chasing and riding solo I placed 22nd out of a field of 77 competitors in my division. Overall it was a tough challenge and a great way to end the race season. The 2018 race year has had some tough points but overall it has been a good learning year. I...
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Sausage Suit Individual Time Trial

Hello Everyone! Thank you for taking the time to come and read my latest blog post. It means a lot to see all of the post views, likes and comments about my blog. Now on to my latest race, it was held on October 13th in Mansfield, Ontario. I have competed in this event for the last two years and had an absolute blast so I was really looking forward to this year. The event is called the Sausage Suit Individual Time Trial, I love the name and I wish more events had funky names like this one. It was nice and warm leading up to the event and guess what, on race day the temperature had to drop and it was around 6 degrees. Not my cup of tea so I packed some extra racing gear and was on my way to the event. One of my favorite things about this race is that the start is at 1:30 in the afternoon, so I actually got to sleep in a bit :). We arrived with about 1 hour to race time and that was perfect for me since I didn't have to be in the cold any longer then necessary. Once I signed ...
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Racing season is almost done!

2018 has had it's up's and down's but I have had some great experiences so far. I took a different approach to my racing year as I did not do as many Ontario cup races and instead focused on Marathon racing and having as much fun as possible on the bike. In the Ontario cup series I moved up to the Elite division, it was a great experience since I did one more lap and the competition was a lot tougher. In the marathon racing scene I added some new races to the calendar and had an absolute blast competing in them. One new race for me was the 60km Spring Chicken Marathon held in Beachburg, Ontario.Unfortunately it ended with a DNF due to breaking my derailleur hanger.  I was also back competing in the Ontario XC Marathon series and new to me was the Stuporcross Gravel series, both series are put on by Substance Projects. I did a blog post near the start of the race year about the True Grit gravel frame made by Lauf Forks, my sponsor from Iceland, you can read the artic...
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