One Thing You Might Have Missed in Cycling Canada’s Rio Selection

June 29, Cycling Canada revealed the 19 athletes (across all cycling disciplines) set to attend the Rio Olympic Games, but they didn’t mention the athletes names as team alternates – one of whom is me!

Canada earned 3 women’s road spots and 2 women’s time trial spots for Rio (announced June 2) which allows a maximum team of 4: 3 racers + 1 alternate.  Mid June, I got an email from CC titled Rio 2016 and was both extremely thrilled to be nominated to the team and also disappointed to be so close yet staying at home.  The alternate is a non-travelling alternate that will step in if one of the named team members cannot accept the spot (injury, sickness or maybe someone just doesn’t want to go?).  I truly wish all the very best to Karol-Ann Canuel, Leah Kirchman, and Tara Whitten, who I am confident will prepare themselves in the very best way to represent Canada at their Rio events.

It is truly such an honour to have been a part of the #roadtoRio as one of Canada’s top riders in contention for an Olympic spot.  It’s been just a-year-and-a-half since I committed to cycling as a career.  I have learned so much in the environment of Team Twenty16 Ridebiker.  The team has given me opportunity when they saw ability and instruction when I didn’t know any better.  We organized an important trip to race in the new Women’s World Tour events in Europe so that I could fast-track some needed experience in order to prepare for a shot at the Olympic Games.  We put a lot of pressure on me to prepare well and perform well – a similar pressure likely to be felt at events like the Olympics and World Championships.  This year I learned how to handle crashing and recovering, leading a team to overall victory and keeping our winner calm and strong.

I have many thanks to give to those of you who have been very interested and encouraging to me on my athletic journey.  Thanks for checking in after hearing of Canada’s Olympic selection.  There are still many more races in this year that need to be won.  I am really looking forward to preparing for the October World Championships in Qatar with my Twenty16 RideBiker team for the TTT and again aiming for a spot on Canada’s Road World Championship team.

Recovery on the Road

The life of a racing cyclist is a traveling one which has me living out of a suitcase for most of the year.  My husband and I do a lot of camping and choose to live simply.  This simplicity shows up in how I pack for months on the road with my professional cycling team TWENTY16 RIDEBIKER.  I pack my liquids and extra clothing around my bike as my only checked baggage. Then I take a backpack with one spare set of clothes and a shoulder bag of my essential cycling kit, pedals, shoes and helmet.  I don't pack much, but what I do pack is important!!

A big part of being a full-time athlete is resting well to recovery the body as fast as possible for the next big effort in training or racing.  Here are a few of the essentials that I take with me wherever I drive or fly to for racing.

I always wear compression socks or leggings when I fly or drive.  Sitting for long periods of time restrict the blood flood to your legs and feet.  Compression on the lower extremities protects against swelling.  I wear a long pair of compression socks from Sock Guy or a pair of full leg tights from ec3d.  After training, when there is no soigneur or chance to get a massage, wearing a pair of compression leggings improves recovery by minimizing inflammation. 

SockGuy creates all the fantastic fun socks that I wear on the daily, to ride and to live in.  This tall thin pair I wear comfortably under my pants when traveling by plane or car.

It takes a few minutes to pull these babies up because they are really tight but that's what I choose to do after a hard ride.

Then I kill-two-birds-with-one-stone by packing my 40oz MOBOT waterbottle that doubles as a foam roller!  The tagline here is Suck And Roll!  (You drink from a straw out of this waterbottle - which works superbly when driving!!)

Next up, I do a lot of yoga to compliment the many hours of riding a bike.  I have tried to travel with a regular roll-up yoga mat stuffed into a backpack that cannot close.  Now, I take with me a YOGO mat, a flat-pack yoga mat.  This mat folds up and fits in the bottom of my backpack.  During layovers or at my team hotel I lay out this mat and move through my asanas.  This mat has a couple other benefits 1) It is the most grippy mat I have ever done socked (or no socked) yoga on! 2) you can hang the mat up by its clips to wash and hang dry it in the shower!

I have my Global Relay backpack packed with my YOGO mat and my MOBOT.

Working together with the yoga mat, I bring with me a warm and cool set of yoga training clothes by Inner Fire.  These items are my most bright and colorful clothing options.  I wear them to yoga or to catch some extra attention at the campsite!  In my warm wardrobe I bring my Inner Fire Aurora leggings, to remind me of the sky I grew up under: Alberta - the land of the living sky.  In my cool wardrobe I bring my Inner Fire Bloom Shorts.  I love their wide waist band which makes being a #bendybikeracer a more comfortable person to be!  I found the brand Inner Fire because I have a passion for Canadian made products and brands.  Inner Fire not only is a Vancouver company, but also is working with sustainable materials made from 100% recycled bottles!  Isn't that fantastic!  So when you are meditating on how to make the world a better place you can smile when you think of your clothing for a change!  Inner Fire sells their products on both amazon.com and amazon.ca AND if you enter the code AlisonJa you can get yourself 15% off!!

Handstands have always been a favourite posture of mine.  Often I get this overwhelming feeling to be upside down!  This feeling is strongest whenever I am sitting in an airport during a layover!!

I do a lot of poses that open the shoulders to combat the rounded posture of a cyclist.

My husband and I lived on the road for 3 months traveling around California from training camp to races.  To break up the long drive we stop for me to yoga and/or for Alex to take pictures of the places we are in!

Made responsibly to make a difference!!

Remember, rest and recovery for your own body adds peace and patience and focus into other areas of life.  So, wear your compression, drink lots of water, roll out those tight muscles and breathe deeply through a few yoga poses!!

Desert Yoga

This year the plan was to get a good chunk of miles in outside.  We live in snowy Alberta now, so that meant travelling south for winter.  The main goal of my day is to get the prescribed miles in on the bike but after that we get to explore all these beautiful places!  Part of my personal approach to training and resting and increasing my happy endorphins include wrapping myself up and stretching myself out in yoga poses.  I would like to share some amazing Californian desert yoga shots that my husband, Alex Jackson, took of me featuring my partnered brand myinnerfire.  Myinnerfire is a local Vancouver-made brand that creates fantastically fun leggings, shorts, shirts and sweatshirts - and get this, the fabric they use is made out of recycled water bottles!!  Check their store out online at myinnerfire.com and use the code ‘ AlisonJ ‘ to get 15% off your order!

TWENTY16 - It's Our Year

New year = New look for the jersey

It is January 2016, new main sponsor is RIDEBIKER which is an online community for cyclists of all terrains.  When your club joins RIDEBIKER you get an online store where all of your members can access to order clothing any time of the year at the group discount price.  You can also connect with other riders and clubs across the nation.  No club is too big or too small.  In the end the proceeds of any sales goes back into developing the cycling community or sponsoring RIDEBIKER professional athletes.  Check out the community here (ridebiker.com).




My husband and I have been chasing warmer weather for longer outdoor bike rides since the beginning of December.  We have been dreaming of driving the California coastline with the wind in our hair and the sun on our faces.  In truth, we have experienced more stormy wind and torrential rain than anything else – but at least it’s warmer than below freezing! You can follow our travels on our travel blog Double 'Eh' Adventures.

In the California desert - Photo by AJCmedia

I met up with my new team in Encinitas, California for a week of heavy mileage just after the New Year.  Our 753km in one week was no short of fun…or pain.  I am excited for what this team will accomplish in 2016, an Olympic year.  It is after all our year!

Photo by Adam Pulford - Rainbow Loop

#twenty16 #RIDEBIKER

Off-season 2015

It’s over???  I can hardly believe it. Is my first real season of bike racing over?  Can I really sleep in and go camping for a few days without bringing my bike along?  Yes…but not really: Yes, it is the off-season but my off-season looks like full-time farming on my parent’s grain and bison farm.  I’ve switched from riding bikes to driving tractors, eating bison steak and stealing seconds of my mom’s fresh cinnamon buns!

All the time spent in the tractor (today I was baling straw) has allowed me to reflect on this past year.  It has been an amazing year of bike racing and exploring professional cycling.  I have far and beyond exceeded my expectations for the year.  I had four major goals: improve my bike handling (and learn how to catwalk my bike), be top 5 at Nationals, be involved in a National Team project, and learn how to motivate my team.  Alex (my hubby) taught me how to catwalk, I won the Canadian National Criterium Championship race, I was involved in 4 National Team projects with the finale being World Championships, and worked with gems for teammates.

As for the race reports:

Overall winner at Twee Daagse van de Bloemenstreek, Massemen (photo by Joselyn Ryan)

Belgium – I did my first European race tour with Canada at the beginning on August.  My time there I personally used as a sprint camp.  I sprinted for every preme and took a few wins at the end too.  European racing has a huge following in Belgium and the crowds that we raced for pumped me up!  These local races often had 80 girls lined up at the start – I dream of the day that it is like that in Canada!!  One race that we did started with a 70km kermesse, or short circuit race, where the top 20 were started in a second race that was organized as an elimination race.  Cones were placed 500m apart and the last one across the line was out until only 1 remained.  After two stressful eliminations I attacked and stayed away solo to take the 1000euro prize (and a beautiful bouquet of flowers of course) for the team.

Leading the elimination race (photo by Hinnick Paul)

Attacking in the Finale of Lotto Ladies Cup in Belgium (photo by Krist Vonmelle)

France – It was only 2 weeks after returning home from Belgium that I got back on an international flight to Lyon, France for more racing (I had to come back for a TTT camp in between).  I flew with my trade team TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air for the 6 day stage race of TCIFA (Tour de Cycliste International Feminin de L’Ardeche).  We traveled with our director Mari, but had no mechanic, no soigneur and no control over where we stayed or what we would find when we got there.  When we arrived we were greeted so warmly by the race organizers and were found everything we needed by the help of so many of the other teams and racers.  The racing there was like nothing I had ever experienced.  The climbs were steep and kept coming and the descents were fast, technical and on narrow roads.  I sprinted every day to earn the red sprinters jersey and held off some very tough, experienced riders to win the jersey each stage and at the finale.  I ate more crostinis, pizzas, waffles, and baguettes than I ever have – ever!

Sprinter's Jersey in Ardeche (photo by Velo Palmares)

Mari Holden (DS), Me, Lauren K, Jess Cerra, Senna Feron (BEL), missing Sofia and Leah

#yogaeverydamnday and with a bottle of Syrah from Ardeche area

Richmond, Virginia – 2015 Cycling World Championships – I was entered in two races at this event.  My trade team selected me to race the TTT and Canada selected me to race the road race.  For me this was an honour that recognized where I came from and the hard work that got me the results I’ve had throughout the season.  World Championships would be the biggest and hardest event that I had ever participated in to date.  Our team came in 5^th in the TTT as the top North American team and I rode to a solid 36^th place in my first every Road World Championships.  I loved it! I loved the excitement and the intensity.  I loved that people cheered so loud that you forgot there was a helicopter filming you from above.  I loved wearing the maple leaf and riding into one of Canada’s best ever showings at a World Championships.

A team of Canadians (hehe ok, I am the only Canadian - but proud!)

Getting aero - It's science. (photo by Adam Pulford)

The Team - a special moment in my heart (photo by Mari Holden)

Canadian Women's Road World Championship Team (photo by Denise Kelly)

Pinned and ready to roll at the 2015 Richmond World Championships.

Now it is time for the off-season – which is something I have never had!  When I was a triathlete I was also a cross-country runner for my university, a swimmer in an elite swim club, and a club cyclist.  One season would end just for the next sport to start up and I never missed a beat.  On my wedding day I went for a run in the morning and raced a triathlon in the middle of our honeymoon while on Christmas Day I spent the afternoon on cross-country skis! I am taking professional cycling seriously and I want to build into this next season from a solid and rested start.  During this time I am reflecting on 2015 and setting goals for 2016, 2017 and 2020.  This first year was big, but I think there is a lot more to squeeze me.

Waiting for 2015 World Championship Team Selection

Hey!

Here is a cool video made by AJCmedia (Alex Jackson Creative media) to recap a bit of racing and wait for the news on who has been selected for the 2015 Canadian Women's Road World Championship team.

Seen in the video: Felt Bicycles, SRAM red components, Quarq power meter, Zipp Speed Weaponry, Speedplay pedals, Fizik shoes/saddle, K-Edge, Arundel bottle cages, JLVelo clothing, Sho-Air International sponsor, GQ-6 Hydration found at GNC stores, Modify Watches, SockGuy socks

Alison Edition: 2015 Global Relay Canadian National Championships

Thursday Time Trial – June 25, 2015

                The Canadian Championships TT would be my longest TT of the year at 30km.  The day was windy and the course was two laps of descending at 70kph and climbing up a near 7% grade.  I was able to negative split my laps while maintaining a consistently hard pace.  When I finished I had the best placed time but I knew that there were several key contenders after me.  In the end I took home 7^th place and a greater understanding of what level of pain one must embrace in order to be a champion.  Congratulations to Carol-Ann on her win.

Photo by Velo Palmares

  

Friday Road Race – June 26, 2015

                The road race course itself was selective due to the wind, a steep climb in the 3x15km circuits, with a longer climb out of the circuit toward the finish at 110km.  The Canadian field is strong and the hunt for the Maple Leaf jersey was fierce.  It was all about playing the game of tactics and riding hard.  We had a beautiful day to ride and I had a great time rolling on Quebec’s roads.  It wasn’t a perfect race but I grinded the gears to 4^th place.

Photo by Richard Wooles

Sunday Criterium – June 28, 2015

                The Sunday crit was a West Coast crit due to the rain that came down for the race.  Rain is not a problem for a BC winter riding gal like me and I had been looking forward to the punching crit course all weekend.  The course was fast, it climbed to the finish, rounded two corners descending, and then climbed again.  It was a dynamic race and I came into it with a plan.  A few breaks went and were pulled back, but the winning move was a break of two out of which I was able to take the win on the uphill finish.  The win was really sweet because my parents were there to watch it happen.

                I really enjoyed my debut riding at Canadian Nationals and am really thankful to have the best equipment to use courtesy of our sponsors Felt Bicycles, SRAM, Zipp, Speedplay and Fizik.  A huge thank-you to Twenty16 p/b Sho-Air for taking a chance on me this year and developing me as a cyclist.  Thank you to the supports of CyclingBC, Richard Wooles and Julian Base for the technical and managerial support, and running around for us all week, it would have been much more stressful had I been there on my own.  Thank you to my coach Alison Testroete, and also Felicia Gomez for working with me this year – we are looking good!  And yes, thank you Bruce and Phoenix Velo Training Group in Mission, BC where I got my cycling start.

Super happy that my parents could cheer me on to my first Championship win. Photo by Richard Wooles.

2015 Canadian Crit Champion

Full Results here.

Block II – Racing Like a Pro

In bike racing, a first-year pro is called a Neo-Pro.  I am a Neo-Pro: new to pro racing and almost as new to bike racing.  This first year my husband and I understood that there would be a lot of ‘new’ and a first-time for everything.  My family is just as excited as I am to work hard to make this career a success.  In bike racing you need a strong team to be successful and luckily for me I have three teams – my family, my trade team and a great coach (Alison Testroete).

My parents listening close to the live race feed while at lunch with Alex and my sister

Alex and I out for a bike tour: Roadie vs. Mtn Biker 

It has been really exciting for me to have the opportunity to race pro and UCI races in the USA.  The opportunities for me to grow as a cyclist stem from the support I have to develop as an athlete from my team, TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air.  My team directors believe in me and push me to learn quickly in race settings and my teammates guide me along in my bike racing education.

Photo by @dmunsonphoto

During this second block of racing:

I won my first NRC yellow leader’s jersey after winning the Highlands stage 1 of the Redlands Bicycle Classic (after crashing at 2 laps to go),

I claimed 2^nd in the Sea Otter Classic road race,

I took home the Points/Sprinters Jersey at the UCI Tour of the Gila while standing on the podium in 3^rd place for two stages, and

I finished the Amgen TOC in 7^th place overall while contributing to the overall team win for TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air.

Photo by @cyclingnutz

I have been learning a lot and writing it down so I don’t forget it, but I know there is a lot more to learn and experience.  Right now, I am spending a little bit of my time learning how to ride a fixed gear pursuit bike on the track.  Riding around a velodrome is another new thing for me this year and I look forward to making these skills stick.  It has been humbling and inspiring to ride with the Canadian Women’s Pursuit Team who took home the Bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games and the Silver medal at the 2014 World Championships.  These girls started from nothing prior to the 2012 Games, paid their way to World Cups while having no official training camps together and have worked hard and steady to set the bar for Canada’s Women’s Team Pursuit.  Now, after achieving big results, they don’t have to pay for their own team kits and they have several training camps together in order to refine skills and be the best athletes they can be.  I am so inspired by these girls who believed in their dream and did it with whatever they had at the time.

Wearing the green for the final stage at Tour of the Gila

Next up for me:
Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau UCI 1.1 RR – Thursday, June 4 **I get to ride for the Canadian National Team!

Chrono Gatineau UCI 1.1 ITT – Friday, June 5 (with TWENT16 p/b Sho-Air)

PhiladelphiaInternational Cycling Classic RR – Sunday, June 7 **This will be my first World Cup race!!

Canadian CyclingNational Championships – June 25/26/28 **This will be my National Championship debut!

Keep in touch via my blog (here)

Twitter @triactionjackso

Instagram @triactionjackson or

Like my Facebook page - Alison Jackson Athlete Page

Block l: California Winters and Bike Racing

I’ve been back in Canada for a week now and it’s COLD!  The California sun has spoiled me!  Alex has been out biking in shorts and a t-shirt and I’m bundled up in wool socks, shoe covers, leg warmers, jersey + long sleeve jersey + winter bike jacket + neck gater + doubled-up gloves! (All labeled with the team name TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air thanks to JL Velo an eco-friendly sport clothing company).

I can’t complain for long though because I am so enjoying riding my bike, spending time with Alex, crafting, wedding dress shopping for my sister, and packing up property – yes, we are moving!  To spur on our life of adventure and bikes we are moving to Alberta to be farmers for the few weeks that we aren't chasing bike races across the globe.  We have the best employers out in Alberta (thanks mom and dad!) that allow us to work and travel as much as we need to so I can work as a professional cyclist.

The cycling? Yes! It has be fantastic!  I am so thankful that Alex and my parents got to meet a few of the amazing people that I've had the privilege of sharing a meal with during my first block of training and racing down south.  First off, I've joined many new fan clubs for people I love.  One for Mama V (Julia), a former USA mtb pro, a mother of two craaaazy boys, a successful business woman with an enormous helping heart and living powerfully at an age that puts a twinkle in my eye because I know what I’m going to be like at that age too ;)  And another fan club for Chef John for his kind heart that spills over into deliciously cooked meats, chill conversation and his all-in attitude when he approaches a challenge.  This is another big thank you to you two.

"This is a road bike." (photo: VeloImages)

Training camp was awesome.  When spending time with such amazing people and athletes you are bound to soak up something – especially when you are as curious as me!

TTT practice on our FELT bikes (photo: Nick Kova)

team cheer - #powerpose

Valley of the Sun was our first race weekend together as a team, and I have to say that I LOVE RACING AS A TEAM!  The tactics are so fun and I love being a part of something that is bigger than me alone.  I was so excited to race my amazing FELT TTbike with the cool sound effects made by the ZIPP disc wheel (I’m doing things I only dreamed of before).  Unluckily, I got a flat at the turn-around and waved to every person, car, and cactus that I saw until someone picked me up 6km later.  Ugh, so I became nobody’s threat to their GC standing but I did become a grrrrREAT teammate!  (heehee)  My job for the following road race and crit was to watch and bridge and chase and listen to my teammates for what they needed me to do.  It was great fun!  We got to practice lead-outs and I got to feel what it is like to lay it all down 3 laps to go to make it easier for the next teammate to lead out our sprinter for the win (and we did win)!

Two weeks later a small portion of our team (4 athletes) drove up to Chico for a 4 event stagerace.  This was fun because we were all fairly new to pro racing and were forced to figure it out together.  It opened up a few new opportunities and I was able to take two stage wins for the team!  At the first stage, I was not ‘one to watch’ but when the pack opened in front of me on the climb 2km to go I went with all I had in a solo break that just barely kept off the masses for the finish line.  My teammate Andrea had suggested I channel energy from my last race when I got a flat at VOS TT to push hard this weekend which was really helpful to find focus for this final effort on the front.  Every race that weekend TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air had at least one person on the podium and in the end we took home all the jerseys: Yellow – GC winner, White – U23 winner, Green – points/sprint winner. After two stage wins and some hidden sprint points collected during the crit I found myself in the green jersey!  I love that cycling is dependent on having a good team – the whole team earned those jerseys, not just the person wearing them in pictures.

It’s been fantastic working with the TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air directors Mari and Nicola, my bestie team mechanic James, all of our hosts that housed us for training camp and races, and I’m honored to get to work with my favorite Canadian athlete Alison Testroete on my training program.

Race line-up for the Spring:
San Dimas Stage Race - March 27-29

Redlands Bicycle Classic - April 8-12

Subaru Sea Otter Classic - April 16-19

Tour of the Gila - April 29-May 3

Amgen Tour of California - May 8-10, 15

P.S. One of my favorite memories of of California is from building a box maze for the boys in our host house.

Oh yeah, two levels, multiple dead ends and only one way out!

Introducing ALISON JACKSON, professional cyclist

Follow @teamtwenty16 on Instagram

For me, 2015 brought with it TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air a UCI pro cycling team based out of California.  Based on some conversations after bike racing in 2014, I was offered a spot on Team TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air.  I am excited to be working with a fantastic team of directors Nicola, Mari, Julia and Kristin.  These women are both powerful and beautiful with so much experience to offer. 

Other fantastic people that we get to work with are our sponsors Kim and Scott Tedro with Sho-Air trade show and event transportation, Felt Bicycles (#therealjimfelt), SRAM #leapthefrog, ZIPP on speedy wheels, QUARQ for da power, JL Velo for team clothing, Violich Farms (my homestay and Californian almonds), k-Edge, Fiizik, GQ:6, Speedplay, Pain Pathways magazine, Clif Bar, Catlike Helmets, Ride Biker Alliance, Thule, Oakley, Arundel, dznuts, ec3d compression (Canadian company!!!), Kreitler Rollers, Arctic Heat, Modify Watches, Bubbled Wall, Pedros (keeping my bike clean), Sock Guy, City Cycle, George’s Cycle & Fitness, and Velo Images.

I look forward to the coming days spent with teammates because they have so much experience and know how that I want to learn.  My goal is to be a sponge!!

Training on the best equipment: Felt Bicycles, Fizik, Zipp, SRAM, Speedplay, Arundel

Teammates!!!!

Pit stops = Shot Block picnics

Thank you also to Bruce from Wentings Cycle and my first ever bike team Phoenix Velo for always encouraging me and supporting me to keep biking!

I am happy to represent my family everywhere I go as they are my biggest supporters of life.  My cutest husband Alex who works hard to have me follow my dreams while meshing them with his own.  My biggest fan: Mom (who comes to more races than anyone), and Dad who I know is so proud of me.  My sister who makes family time better by scheduling my training time around family time.  My bro and his new wife who share in my excitement. My second parents and brother who love that I bike and would do anything to help me succeed.  I love you all!

I’ll keep the blog updated but it’s going to be all about bikes now!  Do I need a new nickname or will triactionjackson still fit?  Only time will tell.

2014 was a Good Year!

 I was recently notified that I received the 2014 Canadian Sprint Athlete of the Year Award by Triathlon Canada, because I won the 25-29 Age Group Sprint Triathlon World Championship in August, 2014.  In addition to that, I had received the 2014 BC Senior Cross-Country Athlete of the Year Award by BC Athletics, because of my performance at the FISU World University Championships in Entebbe, Uganda when I ran for Team Canada in March 2014.

Thank you to both these sport governing bodies for the recognition and awards.

Team Canada at FISU XC World Championships

The Bronze medal that I won as part of the Canadian Womens Team (The real one was stolen!!!) This gem of a medal is brought to you by a fantastic friend and teammate Morgan Cabot

My 'team' at Triathlon World Championships cheering me on to my 1st place finish in the Sprint and my 7th place finish in the Standard distance