Tempus Fugit

Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies

Category: Cycling

  • Winter cycle commuting update

    Well, we’ve hit our first cold snap of the winter with windchill in the -30°C range.  Of course prior to that, a dump of snow that has made cycling such fun! I’ve switched out the clip less pedals for some platforms, and put on the winter boots to keep the feet warm. Now that the streets and paths are either plower or packed, the riding is pretty good again.

    On one ride home I actually had a lady slow down as we passed each other and roll down her window to thank me for wearing such a bright jacket and being easy to see on the road. Nicer that the other guy on the sidewalk who asked me if I had a death wish!

  • Late Season FOG ride

    There are not likely to be too many more FOG rides this year as snow is likely just around the corner but this morning the weather was cooperative and 5 of us did the full standard FOG route. We started with 6 but someone bailed early, some thing about a ‘cross race tomorrow.
    I was up in plenty of time to get organized and ride over to the Legion for the 9am start but as I leave the driveway I hear “squeak, squeak, squeak”, it’s the new booties rubbing the crank arm. Do I want to listen to that for the next 4+ hrs? Nope, back to the garage to adjust my cleats. Good thing I went back because I’d left the water bottles on the counter. All this extra messing around and now it’s not a leisurely ride to the Legion, but more of the time trial pace to make sure I’m there at 9.

    Anyway a good ride as always, a little cool but the intermittent sunshine made you think it was a bit warmer that it actually was.

    Hope the Strava guys have fixed their stuff and the route picture shows up now.

  • Glad I was wearing a helmet

    I’ve been cycle commuting for quite a few years now including last year’s first ime ever all through the winter and never had a crash, until yesterday.

    Oh, I’ve crashed off the mountain bike many times on trails, most notably one causing a shoulder separation on the Maah Daah Hey trail in 2005, even a couple of crashes on the road bike, but never while commuting to and from work until now, well except for this, but that really doesn’t count.. It was a cool -3°C and the roads were dry and clear, there was some frost on the car windshields on our street but the riding seemed fine. I’ve just crossed the Norwood bridge and I’m making the turn into The Forks to go under the bridge and ride up the river walk to work. Normally, I go down the road a bit into The Forks and then hop the curb to get onto the path down to the river. On this occasion I made a bit of a last minute decision to turn up onto the sidewalk where there was a nice ramp (no curb hopping required).

    This last minute decision necessitated a sharper and quicker that norman turn and that’s when it happened. In a blink I’m down on the ground, I hear the “clunk” sound as my helmet bounces off the concrete. One second I’m upright and the next I’m down. Zero time to react. It seems that the frost on the road has formed an invisible scating rink! Even after the fall I really can’t see anything on the road but it’s pure ice. The right hip takes the biggest hit and later as I’m changing at work I note the road rash on the hip, elbow, shoulder and lower leg, a full right side impact. Thankfully, no damage to the bike or the nice new jacket.

    Things stiffened up over the course of the day while sitting at the desk, and the ride home was a little tentative, no crazy risk taking manoeuvres for sure. It will likely take a few more days for everything to return to normal but I’m very glad I had the helmet, without it I’m sure it would have been much worse.

  • A breezy fall day

    I’m up early and getting ready for the FOG ride. It’s cloudy and the streets are a bit wet from some overnight rain. The forecast is not promising, with 12° and a 70% change of rain. As I’m finishing up my bacon and egg breakfast and downing a cup of coffee I decide to check the FOG blog to see if there is a ride update. The ride has been canceled and I’m a bit disappointed. I have not been out with the guys for a number of weeks now and I was really looking forward to the ride. What to do? All dressed up and nowhere to go!

    As the day progresses there is no rain just a lot of cloud and wind, a lot of wind! Feeling the need for some physical activity I decide to get the gear together ad tae the cross bike out for a spin.

    The weather reporting says that the gusts are to 33km/h, but it sure feels stronger. I get pushed around quite a bit by some stiff cross winds and when it’s head on I’m working hard to keep a 23 km/hr speed. Somewhere along the ride i start to think about wind chip, my hands are getting cold.

    There is one Strava segment that I take a shot at and even with the wind at my back I only move up to 5th. I really thought I could get that one, maybe another day with the road bike.

    On the way back along Bishop Grandin I meet up with a couple of riders, one of them looks to be on the Provincial team, a young guy with a nice bike. I pace with them for a few Km before parting ways as I turn into Southdale and head for home. After a nice warm shower I’m watching the UCI Men’s World Championship and they are racing all day, 272k m in a heavy rain. I don’t feel so bad now

  • Sidewalk Evangelism

    On my daily cycle commute I travel along a paved path that runs along side Niakwa Park, I nice little area in Winnipeg where I grew up. One day last week I noticed somebody had written something on the asphalt in coloured chalk. Nicely written with good handwritting and there were two sections separated by about 50′. The sections were organized to that you could read one or the other easily depending on which direction you were traveling.

    The writing was organized in short phrases a few feet apart, so that you could read a phrase and think about it briefly before reading the next phrase, sort of like the Burma-Shave roadside sign advertising campaign.

    Don’t take

     a curve  

    at 60 per.

    We hate to lose

    a customer

    Burma-Shave

    And indeed the chalk writer was “advertising” something.

    The first day I flew by the chalk writing and really couldn’t make out what was going on. On day two, my curiosity took over and I looped back for a read of the message. I was intrigued, and impressed by the ingenuity and the message at least until I got to the punch line which totally dampened my enthusiasm.

    A few days later I noticed the chalk messages had been enhanced by another writer, somebody with a different colour of chalk, and a better punch line.

    Chalk-0

     

     

     

    Chalk-1

     

     

     

    Chalk-2

     

     

     

    Chalk-3

     

     
    Chalk-4

     

     

     

    Chalk-5

     

     

     

    Chalk - last

  • Messed Up

    Today’s bike ride just seemed messed up.

    It started with the usual Saturday morning prep routine, and then just as I’m about to get on to the bike I start up the Wahoo Fitness iPhone app to record the ride and deliver data to the RFLKT, but it won’t start. I end up deleting the app, re-installing and paring all the sensors etc. I leave about 45-60 minutes to bike from home to the start of the FOG ride to allow for a leisurely warmup. after all this I’m down to 45 minutes, still lots of time. I start riding and notice I’ve missed a setting and all my ride info is coming up in imperial measurements, oh well, no time to stop and fix that now.

    About 4 miles from home I notice that I don’t have my seat bag on the bike. This is kind of important as it has tubes, tools etc. for road side repairs, should they be required, and  key to get back into the house. A u-turn and I hustle back home to pick it up. This extra distance is not factored in the ride time and now I’ll need to hammer all the way to try and meet the 9am start time. Because of the app re-install I don’t have a time display, just how long I’ve been riding so I really don’t know how close to 9am it is.  Just as I’m coming up Henderson I spot a clock and it’s 9:05, not good. By the time I’m at the Legion the group is gone and it’s probably about 9:10. Thankfully, there is a strong tail wind and now I’m riding hard to close a 10 minute gap.

    I pick up the group shortly after turning on to River Road and casually slip on the back like nothing happened. The ride progresses with the usual sprint to the Selkirk town line and several of the group turn off here and head back while the rest forge on to the “Big Bridge” (Breezy Point Road & Hwy 4). Up the Big Bridge is the usual sprint to the top and I’m 3rd as we’re approaching the top and then two riders immediately in front of me go down and I narrowly avoid piling on with an instinctive swerve around the two downed riders. They are slow to get up and we’re blocking a lane on the bridge for 10-15 minutes. Good to have a doctor on the rides. Both riders are OK, sort of. Some pretty deep cuts and scrapes, helmets cracked in multiple places and seat rails broken. They call for a pickup and the rest of us keep on going. I’m a little shaken, it happened so fast, and I could have been a part of it so easily.

    The group proceeds at a slower that normal pace up St. Peter’s Road & Henderson Hwy to Hwy 44. I think everybody is processing what just happened and being a little extra careful, not to mention a building headwind. More riders pull off at Hwy 44 to head back. I think about it. I”m not feeling too good about this ride and wondering if I should just pack it in. But, at the last, I turn and head towards Birds Hill Park with 5 other riders. we suffer up Hwy 206 into a brisk wind, reminiscent of last weeks ride. Did I mention it’s hot? One guys bike computer is reporting 30°C and the humidity it through the roof. For the first time ever I’d drunk all of my 2 water bottles and I’m out a long way from Birds Hill Park.

    In the Park we stop for water and a faily long break before heading out. A few more sprints at all the usual points and we’re back at the Legion. The heat is really starting to get to me now as I struggle back home. At one point I catch my self shivering, not a good sign, and that’s only happened one other time when I was riding the Maah Daah Hey trail in +100°F. Oh yeah, another messed up thing was that I forgot to engage the extra battery on the iPhone, so the ride recording and my bike computer display go dead at 123.7km. Trying to ride pace single file with no speed/power info, just going on feel was a little challenging.

    Not one of the finer rides, but we got ‘er done.

     

  • Muddy Waters Rides Again

    On Sunday August 11th I rode in the Muddy Waters event to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity and of course to get in the annual 100 mile ride into the log book. It was a great day with a 7am start for the 100 mile & 100 km group. The roll out was quite civilized as was the first 60 km with a typical pace of approximately 35 km/h. It was quite foggy that morning and while riding along River Road it was quite beautiful to see fishing boats just floating in the fog on the river.

    After the first 60km, things started to get interesting. Just as we’re swinging out onto Main St. at the Perimeter, the pace is picking up. A large number of riders with Woodcock jerseys are forming up at the front and all of a sudden we’re flying along at 47.5 km/h. As riders pull off the front I work my way up the pace line and take a short, but exhausting pull and begin to drift back to the end of the line, wondering if I’ll be able to get back on and how long I can keep this kind of pace. Well, I didn’t have to worry about that for very long as the bike started to feel funny and that tell-tale sensation was a front flat. Now I’m on the side of the road, it’s a little wet, the wheel is dirty and I begin the change. Several groups go by and everyone asks if I’m “OK” and as I respond “Yes”, they power on down the road.

    I eventually I locate the culprit, a small bit of steel wire embedded dead centre on the tread and I struggle to get it pulled out. So all in all it was a very slow tube change (10 min.). Two riders did stop and wait for me to finish the change and we rode together for a bit but I wanted to push on and see if I could catch a faster group. But, that we not to be as I spent the next 100 km riding alone, catching and passing a few riders, but generally a solo finish.

    So in the end my time was quite a bit longer that I was shooting for but the fund raising did exceed last years, and it was a great day of riding. Looking forward to next years adventure.

    Here are the stats for the 2013 ride.

  • Underground Gran Fondo Kenora – Minaki

    I join ed up with about 12 other folks including Doug L. and Dave M. for this inaugural ride out to Minaki and back for just over 100km.  This was my fastest 100km ride ever, thanks to some young guys setting a blazing pace on the way out, and dropping us on the way back. Coming home it was just Doug & I and I struggled to keep up with him, but we kept a pretty good pace going.

    The ride was virtually non-stop. A brief break for about 1-2 minutes at Minaki and another 2 minutes when we got stopped by a train on the way back. Had to fight off cramps in both calves on the way out and some serious leg fatigue and stomach muscle aches on the way back, but still a great ride.

    On a related note, I’ve noticed a difference in distances being reported by Strava and the Wahoo Fitness iPhone app. The app is using the speed/cadence sensor data and Strava is using the GPS data. Not much I can do about the GPS data, but after checking the app configuration for the speed/cadence sensor, I had the wrong wheel size circumference. So, all this time I’m actually riding farther and faster that I though, well at least a little bit.

  • Ride of the Day

    A nice sunny warm summer day as we’re into Day 2 of our vacation. The ride got underway at about 8am to beat the heat of the day.

    The route was along some standard roads that I’ve ridden before, but with a twist, a general reverse direction from the normal ride.  Encountered an unusual number of riders out on the road, over a dozen other cyclists, most “roadies” going in the opposite direction. I exchanges a friendly wave, and most responded. In Kenora I took another shot at the Harbour Front Sprint KOM, and came up a couple of seconds short. One day soon, I’m going to nail that one.

    On the way bacd as I came off Jones Road and onto Hwy 17 East, another rider went by in my direction. He was wearing and aero helmut and had aero bars. I also noticed a PowerTap hub, so a serious rider, probably a “Tri-Guy”. I caught up fairly quickly, he was younger (30-40) going fairly quick, but a little slower pace that I wanted to finish of my ride to the Storm Bay raod with, so I passed him and wished him a “Good Morning”.  I fully expected him to jump on my wheel and perhaps pass, but it didn’t happen. I was pulling 275-300 watts and opened up a fair size gap over the next kms. Maybe it was a recovery ride.

    I took it fairly easy on the Storm Bay road to the cottage to cool down, and jumped in the lake for my reward for the 90km ride.

     

  • The Last Mile

    Well, actually it’s the last couple of yards of my bike commute into work.

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    I ride up a sidewalk, get off the bike, drag it up the stairs and then ride a few more yards to the bike rack.

    Since the snow has been gone I’ve been thinking about this phase of the ride a lot. There is a nice concrete ramp on the side of the stairs. I’m a good rider. I think I can hop up on the ramp and ride up saving myself the time and effort of dismounting, schlepping the bike up the stairs, getting back on and riding that last little bit. It would be easy. I’d save time. It would be a challenge.

    A couple of days ago, I gave it a try. 3/4 of the way up I drop of the ramp onto the grass. Not a bad first effort. The next day I approach with more confidence. Eyes straight ahead, look where you want to go, keep peddling smoothly. Success! I nail it right up the ramp and off the end and over to the bike rack.

    Today, I’m really confident. I ride by a fellow cyclist at the nearby door and chat briefly on the fly and launch up the ramp. The approach is not very smooth, I’m not focused and suddenly I’m off the ramp and onto the steps. The front wheel ploughs into a step, the bike stops instantly, and I do a slo-mo over the handlebars onto the concrete. Embarrassed, but not too hurt except for a banged up knee and a scrape on the hip, I pick myself up and park the bike.

    I’m sure next time will be better.