For a frankly bizarre past few months, I was beginning to think that global climate change might make my winter commute a little more pleasant. Well what can I say, winter finally struck back on Friday, struck back with a vicious sort of vengeance I had previously thought only a lover once scorned could match.
With the exception of the days right after a crash (thanks to street car tracks covered in snow at the pens on Queen at Greenwood – hit concurrently with a urgent email that sent my blackberry buzzing up a storm) and a defective rear tyre a few weeks ago that caused a pinch flat every single ride until I threw the tyre out. I have been using pedal power pretty much continuously since I put my Ultegra Groupo on the Coppi back in September. (Of course I also have my beautiful carbon fibre works of fine art, but the very thought of riding one of them through the salty streets of Toronto makes my stomach knot up. The fact that Igor Kenk is due out of a jail in just a few months is yet another reason to avoid use of the bikes that exceed the value of the family car - a 2001 Audi.)
Well besides a mechanical difficulty and snow induced clumsiness (I blame the vendor who sent me an urgent email, it was a quote, for something we never actually bought before I changed employers). This winter had actually been a reasonably straightforward affair commuting wise. The feeble amount of snow has made trivial the act of getting to work each morning.
This past Friday was different, it was cold. I suppose someone from out west would point out that I am an Easterner and a complainer, just as I am sure someone from the east would point out that I am a Westerner and a complainer, but as a resident of the city that called up the army on account of the snow, it was cold. Dry cold, damp cold, I don’t know and I don’t care. Friday was so bad that every breath was painful, my lungs were taking millions of tiny knifes. I was convinced as I pulled off my three layers of gloves that my hands were frost bitten. When the blood did start pouring through my frozen fingers I rediscovered a pain the likes of which I cannot describe.
Into this cold I discovered something, a Canadian former pro cyclist, Steve Bauer, has hit upon the entirely not unique idea of establishing a Canadian cycling team. I spoke with a friend of mine about the idea and he did not think much of it. The problem as my friend pointed out is that in just a few weeks the pro season begins in Europe, by the time the big spring classics begin, races like the Tour des Flandres and my own personal favourite, The Queen of the North, The Paris-Roubaix, the European pros will have been racing for two months, into this maelstrom Canadians who have hardly trained at all on the open road will try to compete? (!) Of course I value my friends opinion on this as he was himself a formerly a sponsored UCI sanctioned pro cyclist.
Still the effort to establish a Canadian racing tradition is laudable and as I would very much like to cheer for some Canadians at The Tour or the Gyro. Therefore provided the roads are dry and clear I will be riding, come frost bite inducing cold or lunatic drivers this Saturday February 6 and Sunday the 7’th, and I have invited my friend the former pro racer (and now self employed as the owner of a bike repair shop – a useful person to have around on a long ride) and extend an open invitation to everyone else. We may be too old too out of shape too committed (to a family or career) to join a pro team, but if we ride hard we can establish a new Canadian tradition if only in our own minds but perhaps one day we might inspire some young Canadian who might one day where a yellow jersey as he (or she?) rides from Place de la Concorde to Le Arc de Triomphe.
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Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
On Winter
Alright, let me be frank. I lack the words to describe how much I thoroughly detest, despise and dislike winter. The roads are slick, bikes cannot stay clean, riding in snow is dangerous, sun rises late and sets early and it is damn cold out.
Enough of Winter!
Recently I found a way to escape winter for a short while. I got out Google Maps on the Blackberry and followed Warden road north all the way (via Civic Centre) to Lake Simcoe. I miss riding up to Simcoe, the warmth, the green open space, the fresh air, the near total absence of automobiles. Yes I think it is safe for me to say my favorite route is the Lake Simcoe return ride. (I've said that before have I?)
A week or so before I had that horrible crash that nearly killed Erin I did the Ride for Karen, a charity ride that is supposed to be about 160km. Except, since I started and finished at home, in my case the ride was about 220km. I do not believe I ever wrote one salient detail about the ride. When I was at Queensville Side Road and Woodbine (about 2pm) Lesley called me. She asked where I was and when I would be home. I told her about three hours, Lesley nearly had a heart attack, We had an appointment for that afternoon at 5.
I started to head home thinking about routes I could use to get home faster. I climbed a hill with a bunch of other people and without even thinking about it, I accidentally dropped them. I looked back and saw how far back they were and realised I need to get home a lot sooner than they do. I remember thanking my lucky stars the wind was from the North as I hammered home with an average speed just less than 40km/h. From Queensville Side Road to Danforth and Warden in under two hours, according to Google maps, only 54km. What Google does not factor in is the time I had to waste at traffic lights, oh sure I ran a bunch of them out near Pine Orchard and Lemonville but Warden and Highway 7 is not an intersection you enter against a red light unless your life insurance is paid in full and you have no rides left to do. I guess my point is, I was very happy with my performance on that particular sprint down Warden.
On further thought it occurs to me, one of the reasons I was so happy about how fast I went is, sure it was only about 60 km from Queensville and Woodbine to my front door via Warden, but what that 60km does not include is the previous 160km that I had already put on my legs that morning. I will never ride in the Tour, I doubt I'll ever even enter a serious race (well some ITTs but nothing where my hand eye co-ordination, or total lack thereof, will make me a threat not only to myself but everyone around me) but I can take pride in the knowledge that I can do in a single day on my bike what most people would be happy to do in half a day in car, and best of all, not only did I not use half a take of gasoline to make my ride, I did not use one drop of gas. This was a ride fueled on carbs, protein and sweat.
Speaking of carbs, protein and sweat, I have decided I want to ride to Rochester again. That said, I am going to do things better this time. Is it not the human condition to strive towards self improvement? This time I am going to take the afternoon before the ride off, this way I can get everything ready and go to bed early the night before, I will stop, probably at a Tim's in Grimsby and buy myself a sandwich, the hunger I felt last time was almost as awful as the fatigue. For the return, I will ride, weather permitting, from Rocherster to Niagara Falls, but upon my arrival in Niagara I will take the Go Train home. Yes normally I don't approve of transporting a bike, bikes should be ridden not driven, but given that I will have covered something like 500km (or about 300 miles) in the previous 72 hours, I think a train ride is not going to be too big a violation of my bizarre ethical code.
Enough of Winter!
Recently I found a way to escape winter for a short while. I got out Google Maps on the Blackberry and followed Warden road north all the way (via Civic Centre) to Lake Simcoe. I miss riding up to Simcoe, the warmth, the green open space, the fresh air, the near total absence of automobiles. Yes I think it is safe for me to say my favorite route is the Lake Simcoe return ride. (I've said that before have I?)
A week or so before I had that horrible crash that nearly killed Erin I did the Ride for Karen, a charity ride that is supposed to be about 160km. Except, since I started and finished at home, in my case the ride was about 220km. I do not believe I ever wrote one salient detail about the ride. When I was at Queensville Side Road and Woodbine (about 2pm) Lesley called me. She asked where I was and when I would be home. I told her about three hours, Lesley nearly had a heart attack, We had an appointment for that afternoon at 5.
I started to head home thinking about routes I could use to get home faster. I climbed a hill with a bunch of other people and without even thinking about it, I accidentally dropped them. I looked back and saw how far back they were and realised I need to get home a lot sooner than they do. I remember thanking my lucky stars the wind was from the North as I hammered home with an average speed just less than 40km/h. From Queensville Side Road to Danforth and Warden in under two hours, according to Google maps, only 54km. What Google does not factor in is the time I had to waste at traffic lights, oh sure I ran a bunch of them out near Pine Orchard and Lemonville but Warden and Highway 7 is not an intersection you enter against a red light unless your life insurance is paid in full and you have no rides left to do. I guess my point is, I was very happy with my performance on that particular sprint down Warden.
On further thought it occurs to me, one of the reasons I was so happy about how fast I went is, sure it was only about 60 km from Queensville and Woodbine to my front door via Warden, but what that 60km does not include is the previous 160km that I had already put on my legs that morning. I will never ride in the Tour, I doubt I'll ever even enter a serious race (well some ITTs but nothing where my hand eye co-ordination, or total lack thereof, will make me a threat not only to myself but everyone around me) but I can take pride in the knowledge that I can do in a single day on my bike what most people would be happy to do in half a day in car, and best of all, not only did I not use half a take of gasoline to make my ride, I did not use one drop of gas. This was a ride fueled on carbs, protein and sweat.
Speaking of carbs, protein and sweat, I have decided I want to ride to Rochester again. That said, I am going to do things better this time. Is it not the human condition to strive towards self improvement? This time I am going to take the afternoon before the ride off, this way I can get everything ready and go to bed early the night before, I will stop, probably at a Tim's in Grimsby and buy myself a sandwich, the hunger I felt last time was almost as awful as the fatigue. For the return, I will ride, weather permitting, from Rocherster to Niagara Falls, but upon my arrival in Niagara I will take the Go Train home. Yes normally I don't approve of transporting a bike, bikes should be ridden not driven, but given that I will have covered something like 500km (or about 300 miles) in the previous 72 hours, I think a train ride is not going to be too big a violation of my bizarre ethical code.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
On A New Job
Now I know, I've haven't been very good lately at publishing new posts. My professional life has reached a turning point. I am still a Network Analyst; however, I have found a new job and no longer work at a company that first saw me wear down their carpets in April of 2000.
I want to stress I found the job before leaving my old employer, in other words, my actions and my time table, were of my choosing; but, in some respects it was a very necessary move. For years I really did love my job, but a recent change in management structure... well let me put it this way, it used to be I felt like an adult at work, but over the last couple years I have felt more and more like an untrusted child (sadly an opinion shared by many of my co-workers). Thus it was very important that I find a new job and once found take my leave.
Yet a good portion of my life was spent at my old employer and there will always be a certain nostalgia, a job is like a romantic relationship, so difficult to establish a secure situation and once parted looked back on with nostalgia.
I will be going for a ride tomorrow and will, most likely report on it later in the week to come.
I want to stress I found the job before leaving my old employer, in other words, my actions and my time table, were of my choosing; but, in some respects it was a very necessary move. For years I really did love my job, but a recent change in management structure... well let me put it this way, it used to be I felt like an adult at work, but over the last couple years I have felt more and more like an untrusted child (sadly an opinion shared by many of my co-workers). Thus it was very important that I find a new job and once found take my leave.
Yet a good portion of my life was spent at my old employer and there will always be a certain nostalgia, a job is like a romantic relationship, so difficult to establish a secure situation and once parted looked back on with nostalgia.
I will be going for a ride tomorrow and will, most likely report on it later in the week to come.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
On Automobiles
I recently discovered that I can watch Top Gear on BBC Canada. (I don't play with the TV all that much when the weather is good so it took me several years to get past the Comedy Network Channel.) Even if one lives in some theocratic autocracy like Iran or The United States, where watching the BBC is near impossible it is still feasible to watch Top Gear, I suggest using the nefarious underground video watching website, youtube.com and search Top Gear. Even an avid car hater like me gets a good laugh at the Limey sense of humor.
All kidding aside I am a little surprised no American network has tried to duplicate Top Gear, it would be funny, in a pathetic sort of way, just like most things from England that the Americans try to copy. Don't look now but I think I am becoming a total Anglophile, at least this is good news for Lesley, she's been in love with the UK, well actually not as long as I have.
Anyway the guys on Top Gear, Jeremy Clackson especially, are a little too testosterone charged for what is good for them. Yes the Ferrari Enzo with a quad turbo charged twin V-12 36L engine is quite impressive, but if we can be realistic for a second our car crazy culture is in what might be called its end of life crisis. Okay granted I am inclined to think that peak oil will not make driving a historical curiosity for a few years (possibly as much as ten years) but when one considers that we have had cheap energy, oil in particular, since Titusville opened up back in the 1850s the notion of another ten years of cheap oil does not seem like such a long term proposition. How will Jeremy Clarkson get his Volvo XC-90 to the BBC studios without cheap oil? Knock the engine out and buy a horse?
On account of the lousy weather I walked to work today. Turns out Queen Street, while wet and filthy is clearly safe for riding. Oh well tomorrow I will ride to work again. I think the big lesson I can take from today is Queen has enough car traffic that snow just doesn't constitute a serious issue. So here is an ironic thought, without all the cars, how will I ride to work? Hard packed snow is dangerous to ride though but all that hot car exhaust does wonders to snow clearing. And who on earth is going to salt roads if there are no cars?
Apparently Peak Oil is not quite the fun and games I had envisioned. Then again, I do have cross country or Nordic skis. For a couple months a year skiing to work is a real option, if the roads are properly covered in snow. Heck if the roads were hard pack I could ski to work almost fast as I bike in.
Still I wonder what all the suburbanites are going to do when gasoline is sold in in 1L glass bottles for more than the same amount of decent French Red?
All kidding aside I am a little surprised no American network has tried to duplicate Top Gear, it would be funny, in a pathetic sort of way, just like most things from England that the Americans try to copy. Don't look now but I think I am becoming a total Anglophile, at least this is good news for Lesley, she's been in love with the UK, well actually not as long as I have.
Anyway the guys on Top Gear, Jeremy Clackson especially, are a little too testosterone charged for what is good for them. Yes the Ferrari Enzo with a quad turbo charged twin V-12 36L engine is quite impressive, but if we can be realistic for a second our car crazy culture is in what might be called its end of life crisis. Okay granted I am inclined to think that peak oil will not make driving a historical curiosity for a few years (possibly as much as ten years) but when one considers that we have had cheap energy, oil in particular, since Titusville opened up back in the 1850s the notion of another ten years of cheap oil does not seem like such a long term proposition. How will Jeremy Clarkson get his Volvo XC-90 to the BBC studios without cheap oil? Knock the engine out and buy a horse?
On account of the lousy weather I walked to work today. Turns out Queen Street, while wet and filthy is clearly safe for riding. Oh well tomorrow I will ride to work again. I think the big lesson I can take from today is Queen has enough car traffic that snow just doesn't constitute a serious issue. So here is an ironic thought, without all the cars, how will I ride to work? Hard packed snow is dangerous to ride though but all that hot car exhaust does wonders to snow clearing. And who on earth is going to salt roads if there are no cars?
Apparently Peak Oil is not quite the fun and games I had envisioned. Then again, I do have cross country or Nordic skis. For a couple months a year skiing to work is a real option, if the roads are properly covered in snow. Heck if the roads were hard pack I could ski to work almost fast as I bike in.
Still I wonder what all the suburbanites are going to do when gasoline is sold in in 1L glass bottles for more than the same amount of decent French Red?
Saturday, January 2, 2010
On Ideas For Next Season
I had a long rant, about a third perhaps half, written. I was writing, at some length on how bad I think the Governments of Canada and China are. (Canada because I am Canadian, and China because Bejing has managed to plant itself squarely on A1 of major papers across the World lately.) But then I got what I guess could be reasonably described as an outbreak of common sense or cold feet. In short, I realized, nobody actually likes reading my political rantings, even if everyone agrees, Stephen Harper is an unprintable euphemism for a donkey.
Instead I would like to talk about better things, specifically, I have been thinking about the Wednesday evening ride concept for a while and I'd like to start committing idea's to paper... well alright to iron oxide magnetic state on some hard disk somewhere most likely in California (committing the idea to paper does sound better doesn't it?)
Anyway last year (2009, it is 2010 now... holy smokes I'm old!) I went on a bunch of rides, by myself on Wednesday in the early evening. It was nice, I got to listen to my iPod, log a bajillion miles, well alright about 80km/night, and get home before sun set, well actually usually just after sun set, but at least do most of the ride in daylight. I did publish the rides, but no one came with, probably because in most cases I only published the planned ride hours before it would happen.
So here is my vision and depending on what if any comments or feedback I get I may modify my ideas or just go on more rides by myself. (Hey as long as it's on the saddle of a beautiful little Roubaix I'm pretty easy to please.)
The name, to start with would be the Wednesday Evening how Not to get dropped big ring hammerfeast. The ride would start at say 6:00pm from the parking lot by the Boardwalk Pub down near Northern Dancer Blvd. and Lakeshore Blvd. (Its close to home.) Depending on who came with there might be a few minutes of theory, how to pedal more effectively, where and when to change to which gears for maximum effect, how to get nutrition right and so on. Then spend a nice 70 to 80km reinforcing concepts covered in the theory part by actually riding (well nutrition would not get any extra attention once the spinning started). In short there might be a maximum of 2 or 3% of time spent yakking and the other 97 to 98% of the time would be spent riding (or waiting for the people who got dropped because they weren't paying attention).
Of course all of the above depends on who comes with, if for example MM or SZ or Double A came out (friends of mine who I will protect from embarrassment by not naming), well it would be a matter of skip the theory while Michael busts his balls trying to keep up with really fast people. But the rational of this thing is really to help people who feel intimidated the Sunday BCC rides build their strength and skills so that they will feel less intimidated and better able to join Andrew, Ian, Thi and myself should we do another one of those Lake Simcoe psycho hammerfeasts.
I really am interested in reader feedback here, should I drop the theory? Something tells me even a lot of people who could benefit from theory won't be interested in it. Should I change the time? Should I start planning out my next ultra distance ride, last year was Rochester NY, I think this year I ought to go to Rochester again, by way of Kingston! Anyway comments are welcome.
Instead I would like to talk about better things, specifically, I have been thinking about the Wednesday evening ride concept for a while and I'd like to start committing idea's to paper... well alright to iron oxide magnetic state on some hard disk somewhere most likely in California (committing the idea to paper does sound better doesn't it?)
Anyway last year (2009, it is 2010 now... holy smokes I'm old!) I went on a bunch of rides, by myself on Wednesday in the early evening. It was nice, I got to listen to my iPod, log a bajillion miles, well alright about 80km/night, and get home before sun set, well actually usually just after sun set, but at least do most of the ride in daylight. I did publish the rides, but no one came with, probably because in most cases I only published the planned ride hours before it would happen.
So here is my vision and depending on what if any comments or feedback I get I may modify my ideas or just go on more rides by myself. (Hey as long as it's on the saddle of a beautiful little Roubaix I'm pretty easy to please.)
The name, to start with would be the Wednesday Evening how Not to get dropped big ring hammerfeast. The ride would start at say 6:00pm from the parking lot by the Boardwalk Pub down near Northern Dancer Blvd. and Lakeshore Blvd. (Its close to home.) Depending on who came with there might be a few minutes of theory, how to pedal more effectively, where and when to change to which gears for maximum effect, how to get nutrition right and so on. Then spend a nice 70 to 80km reinforcing concepts covered in the theory part by actually riding (well nutrition would not get any extra attention once the spinning started). In short there might be a maximum of 2 or 3% of time spent yakking and the other 97 to 98% of the time would be spent riding (or waiting for the people who got dropped because they weren't paying attention).
Of course all of the above depends on who comes with, if for example MM or SZ or Double A came out (friends of mine who I will protect from embarrassment by not naming), well it would be a matter of skip the theory while Michael busts his balls trying to keep up with really fast people. But the rational of this thing is really to help people who feel intimidated the Sunday BCC rides build their strength and skills so that they will feel less intimidated and better able to join Andrew, Ian, Thi and myself should we do another one of those Lake Simcoe psycho hammerfeasts.
I really am interested in reader feedback here, should I drop the theory? Something tells me even a lot of people who could benefit from theory won't be interested in it. Should I change the time? Should I start planning out my next ultra distance ride, last year was Rochester NY, I think this year I ought to go to Rochester again, by way of Kingston! Anyway comments are welcome.
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