Phew

Happy to have a tough week behind me! 4 out of 7 days I was testing. It was rough but I think I did pretty well! Monday I was at home doing school and getting a long ride in before the hectic part of the week started. Tuesday was the ACT which I felt decent on! Wednesday and Thursday was MME testing (Michigan Merit exam). Friday I had alittle bit of a break where I got to go watch Vincent and his hockey team play a game! Then Saturday I took the SAT, by far the worst test in terms of length. I think I did really well on that but we'll have to see! During the SAT I had this proctor that was just plain weird! She kept repeating herself and she made us set up the room and then put it back to the way it was, we were all kind of laughing about it. I know Tyler Williams took the SAT last Saturday too! Anyone else?

Bummed that I missed out on the Bissell - ABG Nuvo team camp, but it sounds like they had a ton of fun! The camp was in Tennessee so it looked like it was pretty warm! Everyone on the team is absolutely loving their bikes. My new Giant TCR has been awesome although I haven't been able to ride it outside yet! Also just heard from the team that we are getting BEll Javelin TT helmets...im psyched!

Sunday I was able to get out on the mountain bike trails for a fun 3 hour ride. I rode out there did a couple trails by myself then met up with some friends to finish the rest off! It was a beautiful 60 degrees here! Overall a muddy but great day in Michigan. After I rode home I changed into my running clothes and hit the streets for an easy run with my mama! After getting back I took a long shower cleaned my bike and then chilled out and watched a movie! Thats my week in a nutshell! Hope everyone is doing well! Shout out to Colin Joyce to heal up! Also good luck and congrats to Richard Rainville and Alexis Ryan in Europe! Such an awesome place to race! Great looking week ahead although... its raining right now... its not supposed to be doing that! Follow me on twitta if you want, @alexeyvermeulen!

The busy life

It all started out 4 weeks before Saturday the 11th of February when I began taking ACT prep classes every other night. By the time the 11th rolled around I felt surprisingly ready to take the ACT!I was up around 5:30 on the morning of the ACT to get a good breakfast and just start thinking about the test. The morning of a big test is just like the morning of a race! You need a healthy and big breakfast, you need to be focused and ready to go! I felt that the test went well other than the math section which I mistimed and had to rush the last 10 problems.

The next morning was off to Arizona. I woke up, groggy and tired to Britney Spears at 3:45 in the morning to my radio. I got a quick breakfast, packed up the car and was off with my dad to the airport. When I arrived I was greeted by some very nice Southwest airline employees! I arrived in Tucson in the early afternoon. Curtis and his friends were just setting up their new coffee cart/shop called Stella Java...I don't drink coffee, but they do have a mean hot coco! If you are ever in Tucson head over to St. Mary's hospital! Their website is (http://www.stellajava.com/).



The next two weeks were great! I had a wonderful time and felt at home the entire time thanks to the Zimmerman family. Curtis's boys, Oscar and Sebastian are awesome! I got to hang out with them and play laser tag, have dance parties, go exploring, play wall ball and so much more! we almost got to play paintball too...may be next year Sebastian! The days would roll through with a walk to the kids bus stop followed by a couple hours of school. Next I would suit up for some great riding! So many different routes to chose from! I mostly rode solo throughout the two weeks although I jumped into the shootout ride on Saturday!

The shootout was like nothing I had ever experienced!I rode over to the ride early in the morning half frozen. When I arrived over 150 riders were crowding around the main drag getting ready for the ride. With the likes of Danny Pate, Cole House and David Williams I knew this was going to be a fun ride. The ride starts out at a leisurely pace as we head out of town. When the ride hits the last stop light on the edge of your town its game on. It becomes a race to this hill! After that it slows down while everyone regroups and decides which level of the ride they are going to do today; 45 or 90. Then the 90 mile group stops at a store to stock up on food and drink before heading off to Madera Canyon to race up to the top and then back into town. I felt really cool when I was eating the Honey Stinger waffles and Chews just like the Competitive Cyclist pros! The 90 mile ride which I did, finished with about 15-20 riders. It was such a fun ride! I finished the day with a good 6 hours and over 115 miles and no saddle sores thanks to Enzos Chamois cream! That was what both weeks were like, school riding, hanging out, eating and sleeping...the life.

Other interesting things that happened were me running into a cactus, getting snowed,hailed and rained on...all at the same time, getting hit by a bird while descending mt. Lemmon and attending the Competitive Cyclist pro team presentation!



I was back at the airport exactly 2 weeks later headed back to Detroit. I arrived with no problems at Detroit and my bags arrived too! Happy face! I was very excited to see my dad when he picked me up and I got home to find a very happy mama and brothers as well. The week after I got back was filled with school, riding and unpacking.

On Saturday the 3rd of March I drove to Grand Rapids to pick up my new team bike! For those of you that don't know I am riding for the new Bissell Development team this season. I got back late in the afternoon just in time to get a workout in before night fell. Later I went out to see wanderlust at the theaters... no comment.

Sunday I worked on positioning and fit on all my bikes and now I am all ready for the upcoming season so bring it on, but first I have to get through next week.

So today is Monday, tomorrow I have the ACT. Wednesday and Thursday are half day testing as well. Friday is a little breather before I take the SAT on Saturday. Oh and I almost forgot I also have riding everyday and real school. So yes I have a very fun few days ahead of me. Stay posted on how it goes! Follow my twitter for live updates @alexeyvermeulen.

Snow to slush and back again!

The off season rides are some of my favorites! This weekend consisted of two endurance rides so, to say the least, I saw a lot of nature! I love these rides so much because I can just ride by myself in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road for miles and miles! Both days the weather was okay...the wind was driving pretty hard and it was cold but I have kinda gotten used to it living in Michigan. Using Enzo’s ButtonHole Chamois Cream, I was able to be comfortable for both of the multiple hour rides, well if you subtract that burning sensation from my legs the whole time...Did you know all of Enzos products are made right here in the US of A; that is so cool to me!

Saturday's ride started off at a nice and easy 32 degrees which I was dressed well for, but unluckily for me, a couple hours in it was all sun, and man was I burning up! The worst part was that the roads turned to complete slush and mud! I was really hoping I wouldn't have to wash my bike today. Oh well! The ride ended in sun but I ended up covered in mud! During the ride I as able to eat some of the greatest riding food known to cyclists! Honey Stinger products are the bomb! Today's lunch consisted of 1 bag of pink lemonade chews, which are delicious! 1 honey peanut butter bar which is without a doubt one of the best bars I have ever tasted, and I saved the best for last, a vanilla waffle! I am not quite sure I could have gotten through the day without such a great lunch! All of their products are like instant happiness in a wrapper!

Sunday's ride had no wind, but no sun either, so I was in for a cold one. I got about 1.5 hours into the ride and the snow just started pelting down and truthfully, it was really fun! The roads were icy as well so the name of the game was studded tyres. Talking about studs, I passed a guy whose car was in the ditch and told him, "get some studded tyres" he laughed and told me to have some fun! People out in the middle of nowhere are so nice! The wind picked up and the snow really started hammering with about 1 hour to go... I was extremely happy to have my Oakley Radars! I am pretty sure I wouldn't have lasted very long without them! They conform very well to my face making it nearly impossible for those pesky little snowflakes to attack my eyes! They also look, well, awesome!

Overall, it was a spectacular weekend! Looking forward to getting some sun in Tucson, AZ in the coming weeks! On another note, it was great finishing off the day watching the NHL all-star game as well as the Australian Open Finals; maybe next year Nadal!

Stay tuned for updates and keep on riding!

Yellowstone and Cote Dame Marie

Yellowstone was a blast! I wish I had the time to sit down and write a detailed version of my whole trip, but, unfortunately, it's not working out. We were there for just about to weeks. The scenery was without a doubt the coolest thing I have ever seen! I skied arms length away from a pack of coyotes, saw a moose that was easily 3 times as big as I was, and watched boiling water shoot up out of the earth about 150 feet high! This place is a paradise! My days would consist of waking up, breakfast, going skiing for 2-3 hours, eating lunch, relaxing for a bit, going for an evening ski then dinner! It was a wonderful feeling and there were no cars in the park during the winter. The only way in or out was in a snow coach (Yellowstone vehicle on snowmobile traks.)After being in the actual park for about a week, we then left the park but had an incident on the way out... A boulder the size of a small house fell in front of us! We were stuck in the park for one more night before leaving. We then went to West Yellowstone, a town right outside the park, and Big Sky, MT which is a little further away. The flight home wasn't bad, but what a magnificent trip that it had been!

Three weeks in between Yellowstone and Cote Dame Marie.


This last weekend was very fun! Saturday started off with a 5 am wake up call to drive to the Cote Dame Marie Ski race in Grayling, Michigan. It wasn't a boring drive though; we got pulled over for speeding. The race was really fun but insanely cold! It was -13F when we arrived around 8:30 am in the morning. I raced 20 minutes faster than last year... skiing 30 kms in just over 1 hour and 30 minutes. It was very fun but also very tiring having not skiied in three weeks since Yellowstone. Sunday it was still decently cold, so we made an ice rink on the lake and Vincent and I played a good game of hockey! I miss that sport! Just fyi Redwings are leading the entire NHL!

Headed to Yellowstone Tomorrow!

So I was skyping with my best friend ever Colin Joyce and guess what?! He is going to be in Yellowstone the same time we are! We didn't plan this at all! Im so pumped to see this kid! Hope everyone has a great holiday! Check back to hear about my Yellow Stone adventures!

Great Weekend - My Birthday, Rems Birthday and a Mtn. Bike ride on the ice

So to start it off I had a great week of training, riding, hitting the gym, skating with my brother Vincent then the weekend came. First off was my birthday on Friday. The day started off like any other...school, but after my bike ride I took a shower and went to Vincents practice to get some skating in and he got me my present there! What a great brother. After practice we were headed back home and I was texting my girlfriend Leda who had had dance that night so we were going to go out another time next week for my birthday. So we got home and I just took my time getting downstairs just messing around texting Leda until my mom called for dinner. I knew we were having lobsters that night because my grandfather was in town and thats what he was making that night...we had had some pretty amazing meals the last 3 days as well! Leda texted me that she was having lobsters as well so of course I yell down to my mother in my fake British accent "mommy isn't it peculiar... Leda is having lobsters too". I was so tired I didn't think twice about it! When I got downstairs, my legs were just toast and rightly so but either way I sat down on the couch to take a picture with my younger brother Vincent. My mom was cracking up taking the picture i wasn't sure why but I was just trying to keep smiling so once again I didn't think about it... soon I learned why. Leda was hiding behind the couch and jumped out and covered my eyes after the picture. It was an amazing surprise... I was very happy! I couldn't believe I didn't think about it before though! Next it was time for dinner... Lobsters! It was a wonderful meal! Next was dessert...the best cake ever invented, Carrot cake I loved it! After that we all just chilled out until Leda left...in the end one of the best birthdays I have ever had!! Thank you Mama, Papa, Rem, Vincent, Grandpa (for cooking amazing lobsters) and of course Leda :)

The next day was Saturday Rems Birthday wasn't until Sunday but we were celebrating it today because my grandfather was leaving the next morning. Saturday I went for a long ride and ended the ride by riding to my friend Greg's house for a bit to hang out (I beat him in pool). Later that night was Rems Birthday we opened presents, ate dinner and had ice cream Oreo cake! It was a great night as well.

Sunday...this day was long! I awoke and did my usual core workout before going downstairs to the smell of waffles! The waffles were very yummy! Then it was off to skate with Vincents team again. I feel like I get ganged up on at his practices, its all the smaller kids vs. the bigger kid I wont lie though its pretty fun! After practice we had subs before heading home to go for a ride! My dad, me and Vincent were going on a mountain bike ride! The first dirt road we took was icy to say the least. Covered by trees this road just didn't thaw out at all. We got about half way down the road and the was a car turned on its side completely totaled, both air bags deployed, I was sure someone had died but luckily the young women AND HER BABY survived. We kept riding and eventually got to the trail...it was Vincents first time on the trail so he was feeling the learning curve. He did better then I did my first time though! He had a couple bush whacking expeditions on his bike but he got back on the trail and finished the ride out! On our way back the mixture of the road being icy and everyone being tired payed a toll...Vincent wiped out 3 times on the road while my dad wiped out once as well... You truthfully probably could have skated on this road! After we got back it was time to get ready to go to Leda's house for dinner, our whole family was going over there. Her parents are so nice! We all made pizza's and had a wonderful and very loud time. The mixture of her brothers and my brothers was quite explosive. We played sardines as well as spoons and a lot of shutting the lights off and running around yelling... the weekend turned out to be a success in the end! It was great! One more week of school before Christmas break!

Road ID

The perfect little stocking stuffer! Click on the picture and keep your friends and family safe!