Thunder in the Don

A few weeks ago, I was out with the Boy. I needed a guided refresher on a couple of trails in Taylor Creek, so we skipped most of the regular trails from Pottery, taking the bike path right up to the "teeth", and hung a right under the DVP. After a short warm up on Training Loop, we rode up the path to the entrance of Boomerang, the trail I wanted to check out. We were partway through, and it was getting darker and darker. We knew that a storm was coming, and we were riding on borrowed time.

We decided to cut the exploratory ride short, and came out after the first third. We headed for shelter under the DVP, and got there just in time to catch our breath before some serious rain hit.

We stayed under the bridge for about half an hour, and the water rose about 5 feet in that time. It was crazy to see the water rising so quickly. We had to leave before the rain stopped completely because our access bridge was close to being flooded out.

niagara mini-break

Last weekend was awesome. It was the perfect combination of hanging out at home & relaxing/getting errands done, and having a little getaway. Long live long weekends!

Started early on Saturday, with a Don ride with Wes. For some reason, I find it impossible to get out the door by 8:30 in order to get to work on time. However, ask me to be ready to ride by 8am, and I am totally set! Our ride was part ride and part photo shoot - and part flat-fixing workshop. I hadn't ridden with Wes in a while, so it was nice to hit the trails, and it was early enough that it was still fairly cool. And felt totally deserted! We planned to do a figure 8 around the lower Don - Starting at Pottery, it was the Ridge up to Don Mills, cross over to the River trail, and at Cricket, come south on the ridge, and finish on the River, going through the dirt jumps. Wes needed to take some photos for a feature in Dandyhorse's next issue, so we stopped near Loblaws for some camera time. I was coming off a two week break, so I was taking it pretty easy, just enjoying being out. The trail was dry and great... until we were doing the northbound River section, and I heard that familiar pop followed by hissssssssssssss, and felt my rear end get rather squishy. The valve was nearly pulled right out. Luckily, the Boy had talked me into taking CO2 and a spare tube, and even though I was a bit slow, I got it all changed up. It was a nice reminder of how to use my CO2 valve, since it doesn't normally see a lot of action.

We continued on our ride, but when we came out at Cricket, realized that it was much later than anticipated. And Wes had a deadline for getting home. So we turned around, and came back down the River. Wes was ahead of me and, again, I heard the dreaded pop. Seriously?!? I hadn't had a flat in years, and here I was with my second one in half an hour. I kept riding, hoping Wes would eventually realize that I wasn't with him, since I needed a tube, which is what happened... eventually. After getting my required supplies, I let Wes go so he wouldn't be late(r), and took my time changing the tube. Same problem - big hole, right at the base of the valve. This time, I put lots of extra air in, and rode home as gingerly as possible to avoid any other problems.

The next morning, we lazed around the house for a bit, and at about 10am, threw our shit together for the 10:30 GO train to Niagara. We packed up camping stuff onto the trailer, and headed out to Exhibition Place. There were a few other cyclists waiting, and on-board the special bike cars (bike racks on the first level!), it was busy. Awesome! The two hours to Niagara Falls passed by quickly, and it felt so euro to just hop off the train and ride off on our own.

Saturday was the "low mileage" day - we took a look at the falls first, and then had a picnic lunch before heading south. Mostly concession roads on our way to Lake Erie. Our first break was Crystal Beach. We stopped for a break and some food, and it turned into about an hour at this little burger shack, after I got hit with the worst combo of heat stroke and/or bonk. I went from "feeling good, ordering food, looking forward to ice cream dessert" to "pretty sure I am going to barf" in about 5 min, coupled with overheating. It was bad! I managed to eat the chicken souvlaki, but it was slow-going. I had a ginger ale, and lots of water. You know I am not feeling well when I pass on ice cream! We took it easy along the Friendship Trail for most of the afternoon, going through Port Colborne, where we stopped briefly but didn't really want to deal with the Canal Days crowds with bicycles and a trailer of stuff. The map showed camping at Camelot Beach, just outside of town, but we didn't see anything. We just kept going until we found a beach that was somewhat secluded, and seemed quiet enough, so we stopped. 70km done - in three hours of riding time, but about six hours of real time. Made dinner, ate, and set up camp as the sun went down. We could see the Canal Days fireworks back over the bay, which was a nice little show before bed.

The next morning, we were up early, and after breakfast, headed back into town for coffee, and then up along the canal for our day of riding and exploring. I had ridden along the Welland canal before, and remembered a smooth paved path, with minimal hills. Hmmm, that must have been the other side of the canal - on the east side, the road eventually gave way to a gravel road, which we gave up on after about 10km. I'm pretty sure it would have taken us as far as St Catharines, but on road bikes, it was far from ideal. We exited onto some concession roads, and followed a small river for a bit, heading back to Niagara Falls.

At one point, we realized we had two options - pushing the pace to grab the 12:30 train back to Toronto, or maintain the more relaxed pace, plan lots of stops, and go home at 7:30. We chose the latter, so in a circuitous route, we went from Welland back to Niagara Falls, along the parkway to Niagara on the Lake, and followed Lake Ontario to St Catharines.  Highlights were: descending the escarpment into Queenston, coffee break in Niagara on the Lake, and hitting a bit of a wall, energy-wise, shortly after arriving in St Catharines (yet before navigating industrial-land to the train station). We ended with a massive wait for the train - 7:30pm being about two hours or so later than ideal - most of which was killed at a Starbucks. 105km, all told, at a pace that was good but gentle on my stomach, which was still feeling a bit weak from the previous days' malaise. It was near-impossible to stay awake on the train, and we pretty much collapsed into bed as soon as we got to the apartment. Still, such an awesome little break from the regular, and a trip easy enough to do on minimal notice should the desire strike again (as I'm sure it will).

tour de dufflet

Tour de Dufflet is an awesome Bike Month event with the tagline “Eat more cake, ride more bike”. The Boy and I set out on Saturday to see what it was all about. The premise is to visit all Dufflet locations in one day, by bike, and be rewarded with treats at each stop.

Our plan was to head uptown to the Yonge Street location first, so it would all be downhill from there. I rode my mountain bike, as we had plans to take a “shortcut” through some trails in the Don, and get some trail time in at the same time. The highlight of the ride up was definitely the section on Yonge, southbound from Lawrence, where they had recently repaved, and still had sectioned off. Our own private lane on Yonge, with smooth, fresh pavement!

First stop was the lunch stop. I was hungry – best not even joke about taking away my spanakopita, or I may stab you with my fork. We also got Tour de Dufflet water bottles, and much needed (and very refreshing) water.

From there, we went back north on Yonge, and cut across into some ravine, cruising down some trails the Boy knew. See, the adventure was part easy road coffee shop ride, part Ted ride. A Ted ride, as some readers know, involves trails and ravines in territory unknown, has an exploratory/expedition kind of vibe, and may feature hike-a-bike sections. They are often more demanding than other rides, but they are also more fun. The first section of ravine was really fun, and we cut all the way through to Sunnybrook park. We took the bike path most of the way down, and then took a “shortcut” through Taylor Creek. This section was not quite as much fun – it was hot, the trail was in the open, had these boggy little sections that I was not doing well with, and ended with a big hike-a-bike out under the O’Connor bridge. But we were right at the top of Woodbine, and only had to cruise downhill to stop number 2 (by which I really mean: cruise down some side streets, hop a fence, ride down a big grassy hill, race down Woodbine and duck through a back alley).

Second stop was in the Beach(es), where I opted for the sour-sour combo – lemonade and a lemon square. The Boy enjoyed a brownie and a coffee.

Time to head back west, as our last stop was on Queen West. Mostly just ran across Eastern – the only rough spot is going over the DVP, otherwise it wasn’t too bad at all - and over to Richmond on the other side of the river. We went through the CBN’s back alley before swinging back around to Dufflet. Two spots of shared history with the Boy – the place where we originally met in 2005 (the Community Bicycle Network), and the place where I finally agreed to our first date in 2009 (Dufflet).

Harder to decide what to have, knowing that this was the last delicious reward. I finished up with another lemonade and a square type of thing containing peanuts, peanut butter, rice krispies, caramel, and held together by chocolate. I’m getting hungry again just thinking about it!

Our Tour (including not-so-short shortcuts and off-road sections) was 37km. The whole thing gets huge thumbs up, and I can’t wait to do it again next year. 

 Other awesome bonuses: $5 off my next large cake just for finishing, plus the $5 registration fee goes to the Toronto Cyclists Union. Win-win-win!

birthday ride

My original plan for my birthday had been the trainer + a good movie. But a friend emailed in the morning, wishing me a happy birthday, and asking if I wanted to go out for a social birthday ride. The sun was shining... it was hard to say no.

I admit - it was cold. Like, -8C, and a bit windy. Brrr! Didn't get out of the house until just past 5, and we went west, meeting up in Etobicoke, and riding from there. I was well dressed for the cold, in fact I was wearing such a thick combination of socks, I had to take the insoles out of my shoes in order to fit my feet in! It was still great - really good conversation, beautiful sun, nice opportunity to move my legs. It was getting dark as I returned home, and I was just in time to shower and head out for dinner.

I had pins and needles in my toes as they unthawed in the shower, but I still can't think of a better activity for a birthday.

february already?

It's still winter, which means the temperature is not so conducive to riding outside. That's ok - I am still finding the gym to be a novel thing, likely because working with J has me starting a new routine every 3 weeks or so. Coincidentally, that is about when I start to get bored and lose motivation!

Unfortunately, none of my winter cross training makes for entertaining blog fodder - not that I think my in-season escapades are all that fascinating, either...

Gym. Work. Cardio. Yoga. Rinse and repeat.

london calling

Saturday was another trip down to the track. Other than feeling a wee bit hung over, I had a really good time, and was starting to really get a good feel for it.

We drove down bright and early for a Rec session, where I spent most of my time on the black line, just practicing following wheels and modulating my speed. Getting behind a slower rider was always a good reminder that you don't need to pin it to get around the corners without slipping - even though it sometimes felt slow, it was still pretty easy to grip. DD convinced me, at one point, to come up to the blue line to try getting into the paceline. It was going fairly well, and I took my turn at the front, but just as I signaled my intention to pull off, someone decided they wanted to go faster, and would pass over top of me. Aw, thanks! I just let him by, then went up track, let the paceline pass, and dropped back down to the comfortable black line.

We stuck around during Track 1, got some food and water, and they took part in the Skills and Drills session that followed. This was a great opportunity to get more practice in, with a bit more guidance. I liked it a bit more, since I felt like I had more to do than just keep riding in circles. We did more practice with pacelines, which helped quite a bit.

Overall, I got in 2.5hrs of riding, which is a good chunk for me for this time of year. And, best yet, it was really fun!

power camp - day 1

Thursday was the first of a 6-week power camp, led by PP, one of my fave local 'crossers. He knows his stuff. It was the dreaded threshold test, which consisted of 2 8-minute all-out efforts. I had a bit of trouble pacing myself between the two. I really gutted myself on the first one, and as a result, my wattage dropped a bit for the second. Not substantially, but enough to reinforce for me that steady power output is something I need to work on! It did not help that I was suffering some pretty bad calf cramps between the two efforts, likely as a result of not getting the saddle position quite right on the spin bike.

Nonetheless, 219 watts seems a good place to start, and I am looking forward to seeing this improve over the next 6 weeks.

with thanks

I'm still sort of wrapping up thoughts on the 08 season, and my great year was really with thanks to a number of people.

Sweet Pete's is my local shop, and a good one, at that. Friendly guys at the shop, and a nice group of people to race with. Close to home, very supportive.

DD & Ms. P are probably closer to the typical definition of "team" for me. Without the wonder couple, I wouldn't even be able to get to races - and this is before I start to get into the support, mechanics, feeds, training companions, technical tips, occasional massage and meals. There are honestly not enough ways to thank them for the ways they help me out.

There are quite a few local promoters who organize the races that we all love. We have a great series, and it's an awesome little community that grows a little every year. The most notable contributors to this community are the CXO boys, and the Midweek cycling club - I honestly think without these two, we wouldn't have half the quality training, racing, or venue to chatter during the week.

Murphy's Law of Mechanicals

If you are dumb enough to have someone do "minor" work on your bike the night before a race, it will turn into a major job in the blink of an eye.

To wit - my bottom bracket was clicking, and sounded like it was coming loose. I had had the same problem a few months ago, and re-tightening it seemed to at least alleviate it temporarily. This time, I was visiting with Toronto's best mechanic, and asked him to do it real quick before the shop closed. Which turned into the revelation that my bottom bracket was seizing, was totally stripped on the left side, and the bottom bracket shell needed to be re-threaded and re-faced. No longer a minor tightening, especially since we still had to find a new bottom bracket that would fit and be compatible with my crankset. I sat and watched, drinking beer & thinking happy, positive thoughts. Two hours later, everything worked out, and I was cleared to go.

(you've lost) that loving feeling

I think taking a break from training and racing was necessary, but I am really having a hard time getting back into cycling. I'm just feeling flat and uninspired - I don't dislike riding, but I normally feel much "peppier" when I get to head out for a ride, or am finishing one up. It's a weird sort of lack of energy combined with lack of heart (for lack of a better way to describe it).

In Victoria, I thought I would get tonnes of riding in, but just couldn't seem to push myself to ride on my own for much more than two hours. I had a great time on my ride with Mike in Portland, and felt pretty good on Tuesday before my crash... but I did hills with Ms. P today, and just wasn't feeling it - I felt fine going up them, and I felt like I was climbing well, but I just didn't feel like I was in a groove or my heart was into it.

I am a little concerned, because I don't want to push myself to train if I'm not loving it. On the other hand, cross season is just around the corner, and I want to be ready to ride well from the first race, which means I do need to put time in on the bike. I am thinking about putting the cross tires on the bike and getting in a longer cross ride this weekend - hopefully that will shake it up a bit, remind me of what I love about cycling, and inspire me to pick it up a bit!