On Rides, short and long

This past weekend was the Victoria Day long weekend. I had hoped to do club rides on Saturday and Sunday and a long ride Monday. Now my original plan for Monday was Forks of the Credit, but it turned out there was construction out there so instead my revised route called for a Lake Simcoe Monday. Then it turned out that it was going to rain on Monday and Sunday so I moved Lake Simcoe to Saturday.

I strongly suspect, well I know actually, because I kept moving the dates around a lot of the guys could not come out. In the end I did the full 180km by myself. Not that I minded, I took my iPod and listened to Trance for six and a half hours, turns out Trance is great music to train to.

Sometimes you get a really good song with a tail wind and suddenly you feel like the greatest thing on Earth. Such a thing happened as I was working my way east from Leslie Street to Warden at 19'th Ave. I had to climb the highway 404 overpass and the sun hit me head on with green fields all around and not a car in sight. I cannot describe what a wonderful feeling it was. It was a glorious ride, although I did push myself too hard, my stops were very short, just refills and quick washroom breaks, then back on the saddle. By the time I got home I was hurting. I did stop to take a few pictures.



On account of bad weather predictions, though the weather's been pretty good, I've been spending my time on the beater bike, which is actually a really good way to train. Holy smoke it hurts going anywhere at all! I do a couple one hour rides full out on the beater I'd clobber everyone at an ITT on Alex (my ITT bike). Anyway this morning I was just on my morning ride to work, on the beater, in the rain. And at a red light a group rolls past me (they were going North, I had to turn but there was no right turns on red), once the light changes I see red and hammer and catch up with them pretty quick. Turns out they were the Morning Glory group out for, a wet ride I guess. Then I discover why I hate group rides in the rain. I have fenders they have pretty Cervelo's, mostly Cervelo's (will not rant... will NOT say anything bad about Cervelo... must... resist urge!)

I tried to drop off their back, but despite the fact that I have office cloths and my lunch in my backpack, and am on a 25-30 year-old steel beater with a busted 6600 Ultegra groupset I still get to the front of their pelaton. (At least I did not give them rooster tails!) I guess they were out for a long ride and wanted to save their strength, mind you it is Thursday, don't they have to work? Maybe their rides don't work well in the rain, or maybe the machine needs a better engine? Sorry, I should not talk like that. :)

On Riding and Rain

I’ve done quite a bit of riding lately. Of course on account of the fact that my job is much closer to home, distance is shorter, but I am trying to make up for it by doing things faster and with more hills. Most days I now cover Cosburn from Donlands to Woodbine, or even further, faster than the cars do. (It helps that I have a bike lane and the cars have traffic – of course I have the same 40km/h speed limit they… disobey, and I often have a head wind – when I go east, go figure!)

Anyway I have done a bunch of hill climbing and a few club rides since my last post, one of the club rides involves a nice little climb on Brimely road. It turns out the hill (which we do repeats on), is about 890m (at least the loop I do). It starts at 88m above sea level and I turn and do it again at 160m above sea level, so it averages around 8%, but is in places as gentle as 4% and at other times is 13%.

Thursday evenings we have a little ride up and down the hill. I set a modest goal for myself, after all, it is only mid-May, I decided I would do four repeats of the hill, some guys did three, some did six. One person, a new guy, got to the bottom and from what I understand he basically just went up a little bit, turned around and went back down. Most of the guys were done and the new guy was still at the bottom. I still had plenty left in the tank and in my legs so I went back down the hill and rode up with the new guy. Mostly trying to encourage him as we rode. Towards the two thirds mark, the hill leveled off from 13% to 4 or 5%. I got back into the saddle (obviously at 13% I’m not going to be sitting all that much, I am no Alberto Contador). As the hill became more level I pushed the new guy, steadily, for about 150m (or about 500 feet). It is a nice feeling when you can, well frankly rescue someone, from the bottom of the hill.

The following week it rained almost continuously from, well Friday afternoon until Thursday morning. Although the grass and the trees are mostly green as a result of all this damned rain (more expected over the coming long weekend) the rain is getting to me. But at least I can now ride to work in the rain, I use the beater bike, something I could not do when I worked 25km from home. Tomorrow, Saturday, is supposed to be a nice day, so I am going to ride up to Lake Simcoe. I doubt anyone will come with, so I may need to charge up my iPod, oh well, at least I will get one good ride in before the rain that is predicted to ruin Sunday and Monday.

On Flats and Other Things

I know, I have not posted much lately, sorry. Things have been crazy.

Obviously the whole move nonsense is far from finished. It turns out the imbecile I bought the house from lied in the listing of the house, the driveway is not legal and I got a parking ticket for using it. (I've had to get an on street permit, thank goodness it's a quiet street that people don't generally park on.)

I got a new job, its not a problem with the old job but the new role, is, I think, a step in a better direction. I can take the subway to work, it's only 10km away - so I can ride even on the beater Coppi to work. And the role is itself a promotion, even if the pay is slightly lower. (I save so much on the commute, I'll suck up the slight loss of income.)

Of course all of this means that I have not had much time to write lately. Well actually, part of it is also a case of, hmmm, weather's starting to turn, I could stay home and write blog posts or...!

So I had a flat on a Wednesday evening joy ride. I was on Queens Quay on the way home, east bound, when not for the first time I noticed the ride quality was suddenly pretty lousy. Queens Quay as a westbound road is bad, but usable, for the eastbound cyclist, take another road! Maybe Bathurst to Front and across Front Street?

Thursday was hill climbing night with the club. It was very nice, I kept my pace down on the first climb and on the second climb I kept it steady, on the third climb a bunch of guys, not in the club came out and did their first climb, they passed me, but then just a few meters later, I passed them. On my fourth climb they managed to pass me again but I had to save up enough to do all the other 'tour of Scarbrough' stuff we had planned.

We rode over to Meadowcliffe Dr., there is a short hill, perhaps 30 or 40 meters long and maybe 18% at it's steepest. As the guys got to the hill, I was a little behind, having down-shifted to early, I yelled out, "anyone who climbs the hill in the saddle gets a cookie!" I did not part with any Fudgee-Ohs last night. Then again, I did not earn one either.

Still I did pretty well and had enough gas left in the tanks to really hammer it home.