Tempus Fugit

Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies

Category: FOG

  • Modified Goals

    I read some things about goal setting a while ago that goals should be like a Lighthouse, something to guide you, to help you make course corrections and not as a destination. One analogy was if you had a goal to “run a marathon” that might be considered a “destination”. Once you achieve it you’ve “arrived”. Verses “get healthy” more of a Lighthouse goal, that may well involve running a marathon, but would allow for other options to achieve the goal and for “course corrections”.

    It seems like a “course correction” is in order these days.

    Earlier in the year I set a goal when I was feeling awesome and the world was more normal. Maybe not a pure Lighthouse goal, but something I really wanted to try to do and something I thought was within my reach to achieve. It was about my cycling. 2018 was not a good year for my cycling but 2019 was pretty good. And, over the 2019/2020 I was training indoors quite regularly and doing the Wednesday FROG ride outside through the winter, regardless of the tempertures.

    I was using a combination of Zwift and then some Sufferfest for an additional challenge. Then I discovered Xert (Canadian eh!) and started getting serious with a formal training plan to reach my goal.

    So, what was the goal? “To ride with the FOG “B” group by April 15, 2020, full distance (~95km) and not get dropped on the 206 hills”. That last part was the challenge, “not get dropped”. Once upon a time I could do it, and I wanted it back. With this in mind, I set my Xert training plan to get there:

    Here is the setup for being ready by April 15 for the first potential group ride, which is totally not happening this year. Fairly aggressive training for me anyway.

    And the modified goals thanks to Covid-19 and my current health challenges. A more relaxed training plan that I’m hoping to maintain. More course corrections may be required.

    Basically this is a switch from “peak” training to “maintenance” and planning for some good relaxed group rides late in the season, in town and hopefully around the Kenora area.

    Wishing all my ride buddies all the best during these challenging times. Ride On, and be safe.

  • The iPhone photo year in review – long version

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Rode with Hincapie

    On the weekend club ride, we had a couple of “special” guests.

    The other special guests were the Woodcock Race team that joined up with us at Lockport. The FOG fast group went off with them to Selkirk, and then from Selkirk to “The Big Bridge” Tim & Don pulled the train at 46-48km/h and most of us just hung on for the ride, it was a good time. Then, after the sprint to the top of the bridge, the Woodcock team went on a head as we stopped to re-group. The ride boss was pushing for some extra mileage and the group was willing, so it was off to Cooks Creek and then a stop at the beach in Birds Hill Park for water. With riding from home to the Legion and all the way back to the house it racked up 145 km for the day.

    Good preparation for the Muddy Waters 100  (160km) coming up on August 12, 2012. This year the route is a little different with the start from Kildonan Park. The 1st loop is out to Lockport and back via Henderson and Highway 202, and then ti’s the standard FOG route, including Cooks Creek and 1 1/2 laps of Birds Hill Park to round out the 100 mile course.

    Habitat for Humanity is sponsoring the ride and it’s a fund raising event. If you’d like to support them, and me, a tax-deductible donation can be made here, or by using the form in the sidebar.

    If I reach or exceed my goal, I’ll get a cool cycling jersey to add to my collection as a small perk for me, so thanks for your generosity towards this worthy cause.

    Actually, I didn’t ride with “The” George Hincapie, but it made for a catchy title.

  • With a little help from my friends

    I thought I knew how to change a flat, and I do, but last Saturday I learned a lot more. I learned how to do it with the help of friends.

    It was the first official FOG ride of the year and we were about 45 minutes in and just about to turn off Main St back onto River Road and the bike was feeling a little funny. Just after the turn it was for sure the dreaded flat on a group ride. Protocol has everyone stop and wait for the flat to get fixed, so there is a little pressure to get it done quickly.

    Flying through the change the tube is out, wheel and tire checked quickly and new tube installed an re-inflated. Just as I’m putting the wheel back on the bike I notice it’s flat again!

    Lesson #1: Be quick and careful.

    One of my friends has a very close look at the tire by turning it inside out and flexing it back. This process discovers a small piece of glass which is pried out. Now we’re ready for another tube.

    Lesson #2: Have lots of the right tubes.

    I have a 2nd tube with a short stem and the new rear wheel with the Powertap has a deep rim. Friends to the rescue as I’m given a tube. A quick but careful tube and tire assembly followed by a CO2 inflation and we’re good to go.

    Another 30-40 minutes go by and it happens again! Another flat! Frustrated I call for a pickup but the friends insist that they will help get me on the road again. A close look at the wheel shows that the rim tap has moved leaving 3 exposed spoke holes that most likely caused the tube to puncture. Another friend supplies the solution with self adhesive tube patches to cover over the spoke holes. Another friend supplies another tube and while inflating with a borrowed frame pump because i left mine at home, I hear the dreaded psssssss sound. The metal valve stem has snapped! Unbelievable!
    I’m given another tube and this time all goes well and were back on the road.

    Lesson #3: Know your equipment.

    The rest of the ride was uneventful. I’m the only one who flatted, the only one to delay the ride, twice, both for an extraordinarily long time.

    Lesson #4: Always ride with friends.

    Thanks to everyone who helped me get through the ride, gave me tubes, patches, pumps and offered encouragement. Thanks to all who waited patiently.

    20120405-093046.jpg

  • Ride on

    Winter RiverAfter the FOG Annual General Meeting this morning and talking with some of the guys about winter riding and how several guys cycle commute all year round, I was inspired to get back on the bike for a spin this after noon. I tried to get a riding buddy, but something about “it’s too cold” and “I’ve got some stuff to do”, left me riding solo. 

    The hard pack snow and ice on some of the road sections were a little tricky, but the trails on the river banks were good for riding with packed and semi-packed snow covered trails. The section through Whittier Park was just as much fun as it is in the summer, but I did slow down quite a bit for some of the tighter corners. I didn’t go down, but the bike did on an icy section in The Forks. As I felt the bike start to go, instincts took over and I clipped out and stepped off the bike landing on my feet. Not bad reaction time for a first ride on ice.

    The sun came out for a while and it was quite warm even for -5°C. From The Forks it was down Lyndale Drive and Des Meurons to the bike path that parallels Fermor and back to the house for a 24km, 1:17 ride.

  • FOG ride

    Yesterday’s ride with the FOG crew was the 1st  in a number of weeks as I’ve been at the lake on most weekends, and did the Muddy Waters Grand Forno on one of the weekends that I was in town. The weather looked very nice early in the morning, with a little coolness in the air that comes at this time of year, hinting at the waning of summer.

    By ride time at 9 a.m. however it was a little blustery with some very dark clouds on the western horizon. Sure enough, 20 minutes or so into the ride, we encountered light showers for a short time, and then it cleared off for a very pleasant morning.

    The ride was quick with a +35km/h to Lockport, a no stop roll through, and the usual sprint to the Selkirk town line. After a brief stop in Selkirk it was on to the “Big Bridge” and again a brief slowdown and re-group after the bridge and then back on pace to rejoining Hwy 44. Here there is some discussion about going to Cooks Creek vs the usual Birds Hill Park via Hwy 206. No clear decision, so we move on. At the 206 junction 4 of the 22 rides opt for Cooks Creak and for some crazy reason I’m one of them. The distance is not that much further as it adds about 8-10km to the ride but with just 4 riders, you’re on the front a lot and have to work a lot harder. We quickly settle into a nice pace line taking short pulls at the front and keeping a 36-38km/h speed. Shortly before we re-join 206, I’m “cooked” and need to slow down. Thankfully, the guys wait for me and once back on 206 I’m feeling better and able to keep with the group.

    Once in Birds Hill we learn that the main group is about 10 minutes ahead of us and come to the conclusion that we won’t be catching them. I think prior to this we’d thought we might be able to do the extra distance and a pace that would allow us to catch them, but it’s clear now that it’s not happening. We follow the usual route back to town and my ride is 106km with an average speed of just over 33km/hr. Another good ride is in the log book.

  • Numbers

    Kuota Karma

    For me, the cycling season has officially begun. Last Saturday was the first official FOG club ride of the 2011 season. A crew of about 16 showed up for the 10am departure. the standard course was modified to bypass River Road to avoid the flood activities any yielded a distance of 70.42km for those who did the extra lap of Birds Hill Park. At a time of 2:14:49,  average speed of 31.34 km/hr, average cadence of 86 and a top speed of 42.17 km/hr. It was a good first ride. According to the heart rate monitor an average rate of 153 bpm and a max of 192 burned off some 2,218 calories.

    The rest of the week was cycle commuting to work for 5 straight days at about 20km per day. Monday was fairly warm in the morning at +5C, but Tuesday fell to -8C and I went with a light glove for some reason and just about froze my hands off. The rest of the week was cooler that seasonal, but dry, except for Friday evening when the snow came back!

    To mark the start of the season, I’ve noted the odometer on both the bikes. The Kuota has 5,027 km after 2 years of riding and the 2000 Specialized Rock Hopper Pro, with a new frame this year, has 14,823 km. Both road and mountain bikes are missing some mileage. I rode Scott’s Guru for a couple of years before getting the Kuota, and the Rock Hopper has had periods of broken cycling computers and not to mention the couple of months I rode Eric’s Trek while the frame was getting investigated.

    Looking forward to some good mileage in 2011, happy cycling!