Nick Emsley

On August 21st I was up in Elliot Lake for Ontario Cup #6. The venue that the race was being held at hadn't been a part of the O-Cup circuit for many years so I didn't know what to expect. The course was very technical and challenging. There were a lot of rocks and roots and you had to make sure you rode with lots of caution and picked good lines. On pre-ride day the course was in pretty good shape but on race day it rained, it wasn't a hard rain but just enough to make everything slippery. The race went off and due to the rain the course was super slick and it was a very tough day on the bike. I finished 5th place in the Junior Expert Division and the most important part was that I had a great experience in Elliot Lake. The Junior Expert start line Here is a panoramic view from the top of the fire tower. You can see over the town of Elliot Lake. Posted By: Nick Emsley

On July 31st I made the big journey out to East Hereford Quebec. It was the Canadian Cross Country Marathon Championships and I was super focused and excited for this big event. We stayed at East Hereford for a couple of days prior to the event so I was able to check a bit of the course out before the race. The race was 82km long and the course had some really big climbs. The race start was a great thrill for me, I lined up with two Olympians which were Geoff Kabush who has competed in 3 Olympics and John Malois who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as a track cyclist. There was also a world class marathon racer Cory Wallace who placed 2nd in this years world solo 24 hour race.  The course was very challenging with its steep climbs and long technical descents. At the 50km mark of the race I had a mechanical issue with my rear wheel, I wasn't able to fix it so I had to ride my bike for 15km which was hard since I couldn't ride with much power. Once I arrived at the aid sta