CODY SHIMIZU

A look into my life, a journal to look back on, a blog for others to see.

Yay! Thanks for checking out my site, this will be an update on how my summer went for 2016.

So the first race of the season was in Lethbridge and after my knee injury, I was able to get in a strong a training block as possible. I was looking forward to this race, excited and nervous to see how effective my winter training would be against the locals. Unfortunately, my race ended sooner than I had hoped. After getting off the line first at the first corner, I was wrestling for positions coming into the single track we both got caught and went down. When I fell I landed on my arm weird and ended up hyper-extending my elbow. My 12 hours of driving to and back from Lethbridge ended up with a busted elbow and a 30 sec race.

Fortunately for me, I didnt break any bones in my elbow, but I was off my bike for 1-2 weeks. Even when I got back on my bike I was stuck to riding on the road. Thankfully the next few races were road races that I had already planned to do because they were selection races.

The first was the Velocity Road Race, and from last years experience, I was dreading this race inside. Thankfully they had changed the selection races to cat 3 this year instead of cat 1, so I actually had a chance of finishing the race with the bunch. At the start of the race I was feeling a bit anxious, the pain from my elbow was still on the back of my mind but I tried to ignore it as much as possible. In the end, all I remember of that race is how I tried moving up too slow at the end and trying to move up in the last 800m but having old masters yelling CENTER LINE! CENTER LINE! in my face and missing out on the sprint after all. Dam roadies. I was a little disappointed since I felt like I had a lot more in me at the end of the race. At least I finished with the group. The next day was the crit, all I remember from last year was riding around by myself for 40 minutes, so I was hoping I would at least be able to finish the race this year. The race was pretty painful, lungs searing, legs burning, but I was in there. In the end, I didnt really get a result but it was nice to know that I still had some kind of fitness.

Velocity ITT: 22 (Cat 3)

Velocity Race: 22 (Cat 3)

Velocity Crit: 13 (Cat 3)

Next week was the Alex Stieda Classic, and I was sort of looking forward to this race because they were saying that this road race was going to have a gravel section in the race, as a mountain biker that was music to my ears. Or so I thought, the first time we hit the gravel set the tone for the rest of the race. Everyone was nervous on the gravel everybody wanted to be at the front avoiding any crashes. Next thing you know the pace is out of control, with people, just hammering through the section I was struggling with the gravel taking away all the power Id put down onto the bike. By the time we got through the gravel section on the first lap the peloton was shattered and by luck, I had managed to stick with the lead group; barley. At this point for me, it was quite evident that I didnt have the legs that day so the rest of my game plan was to hold on for as long as possible. By the third lap, I got dropped on a climb on the other side of the course. Completely bonked, I managed to suck a guys wheel until I got to the gravel sector where I got dropped and I barely dragged myself to the finish line. For the crit next day I knew my legs were burnt from the road race, it was going to be a challenge to hold on. By luck, the crit was a points race where I would have to counter sprints every few laps just to try and stay in the group, in the end, I was able to stay in the group; kinda.

Alex Stieda Classic RR: 13 (Cat 3)

Alex Stieda Classic Crit: 16 (Cat 3)

At this point in the season, I was feeling my fitness starting to taper off as my elbow was recovering and I could start riding my mountain bike again. I was looking forward to doing a proper mountain bike race, I couldnt do any of the Tuesday night races so I was missing the high-intensity mountain bike riding.

This next race had a big star on my racing calendar, as it was the last chance for me to qualify for the provincial team to go out to nationals and other projects. My elbow was feeling much better, and the race was out in Canmore, nice and technical just how I like it. Unfortunately, the race organizers decided to take a bunch of the courses significant features out essentially dumbing down the course. After having a decent start I could feel myself paying for it 3/4 way through the race. I was sitting in the top 5 and I could see people were slowly catching up to me, I was trying my best to hold them off. With my luck, on the second last lap, I got a flat at the very top of the course. I was one long, fun downhill section away from the pits. Thankfully there was a teammate coming up on me that dropped off a tube and CO2 for me, but the race was gone. I could feel the season slipping away through my fingers.

Mountain Maiden AB Cup #3: 20th (Expert Men)