Brian & Tom Battle The Wind

We live on the Prairie and when the wind blows (which it often does), there's not much to slow it down or hide behind ... unless you're biking and your riding partner is nice enough to take the hard pulls when it's time to battle directly into it's fury ... thanks Brian for giving me shelter at the end of a hot and gusty ride! :-)

So Brian and I got together today for a roadie ride from his place in La Salle to Sandford and back ...


Brian's less than two days away from heading off on his Habitat For Humanity - Cycle of Hope Ride, so our long overdue link up for a road ride was just in time today ...


The winds were gusty over 35 kms when we headed out of town, but Brian was all smiles and I was ready to see what my bod was up to after the recent end to my almost three week battle with a cold/flu ...


We got out on the open road and it was time to work.  I did my part early on, but as the winds increased to gusts over 50 kms and the heat increased, it was Brian who did the wind braking and quietly adjusted the speed when he noticed my status on the day ...


When we got to Sandford, it was nice to ride sheltered from the wind for a bit and I got a guided tour of Brian's old childhood haunt ...


We got a bit of push for a while heading back, but the crosswind and headwind made us earn our chat time along the way ...


Three hours of riding may not be that long, but battling the wind and enjoying it, felt like a victory ... thanks to Brian mostly! Thanks bud.

Ride safe and enjoy the Cycle Hope Brian. Remember ... you don't have to ride ALL the days ;-)

FGBC Tue Nite Ride - Ahh ... Summer!

It was an awesome summer nite to be riding, hang'n, eating Poutine (Oh Yah!) and 'libating' with the Tuesday Nite ride gang!
It was Tenacious Vic's B'Day and so the flow followed Vic's wishes ... which were all 'on spot' of course! Good times!

Brian's Cycle of Hope ride is coming up

Brian is soon to embark on yet another Habitat for Humanity Cycle of Hope ride to raise money to build a new, affordable home for a family in need.  You can read more info here, and if you'd like to donate just fill out the form and use your credit card after the jump (I thought it was unlikely that Brian would be this forward on the site so I've taken it upon myself to embed the donation form after the jump).

Another Pain in the Assiniboine

Scott will attest to my increasing nervousness about the race as it approached but race day was a pleasant surprise - everything went better than I had hoped.

I started out near (ish) the front of the controlled start, far enough back that I didn't feel like I was holding any faster riders up but close enough that I wasn't bogged down myself behind too many slower riders. It was super helpful that I knew the route so well - it followed my normal route from The Forks to home and past to the Assiniboine Forest. After that, it was onto the Harte Trail and keep going! From Omand's Creek to the Forest an unknown racer and I traded pulls. Once we got into the shelter of the Forest we parted ways- not much point in drafting on a wood chip trail, really. I tried (and succeeded) to catch up to a large group in from of me just before we turned onto the Harte Trail and into the wind and rode with that pack till past the Perimeter, where we started to split up somewhat. Managed to stay with a group though till the last few kilometers when I was really starting to feel spent. But in a good way since I was pretty sure I was ahead of my target time. (For some reason, though I had both a bike computer and a watch, it didn't occur to me to check.)

Rode alone into transition and Graham was waiting for me. He did a great job of helping me get out on the river quickly, even to the point of taking off my other shoe for me when I got a massive cramp after taking the first one off myself. Thanks Graham!

It's a really odd transition from cycling to paddling. On the bike, everything feels fast. High cadence, high speed (well, compared to paddling anyway). But then I got on the river and... everything almost seemed to stop. It's like racing in slow motion. Got another massive leg cramp shortly after starting and floated sideways down the river for a bit with my leg held out in front of me on top of the deck, pulling back on my foot as hard as I could. Finally managed to get it worked out and paddle again, but about a billion boats passed me anyway as I made my way downriver to The Forks. At about the Maryland bridge I noticed another solo racer behind me and decided I would not be passed YET AGAIN. I was fading fast but I forced myself to push hard and essentially time trialed in from there, terrified all the while that they'd come up right at the line and all my effort would be for naught. But I managed to hold them off and it felt like victory - both for the 'win' and for just finishing in the first place. Found out only when they announced our arrival that it was a colleague of mine from work (heh heh).

I have no idea how I actually placed. I suspect I did fairly well in the bike, but fairly poorly in the paddle. But I'm good with that. For this year...

Pain in the Assiniboine

Well I did my very first paddling race today, and overall it was a good experience.  The Pain in the Assiniboine, put on by the Swamp Donkey people, was a good event with just the right distance (for me).  Actually I wouldn't have minded if it was a little bit shorter, especially considering I paddled right passed my house with about a half hour to go - that was cruel.

I was a little disappointed to find out a couple of days ago that out of well over 100 participants Graham and I were the only two who signed up as a relay team - everyone else opted for solo or both-discipline team.  Truthfully though I was only competing against myself, so it wasn't a huge blow.

Graham of course handed off to me after finishing the bike leg in 1st place, so I enjoyed the indignity of slowing being passed by many people on my way to the paddling finish line.  I don't really have any sense of where my actually paddling ability fits in with others, and the fact that today I (a) was only doing one of the disciplines, and (b) had a much fatter/shorter/slower boat than pretty much anyone else out there didn't help with that sense, but I did feel like I put in a good effort and kept a decent pace (though I haven't actually seen the results yet).  And the boat isn't an excuse - I saw many stronger, more efficient paddlers out there who would pass me in a claw foot tub.  Still, I felt good about my effort.

Lowlights and Highlights

Lowlights:

- Slowing being passed by maybe a 1/4 of the field (though I'd like to point out that many were two to a boat)

- Matching blisters on both hands

- Not being able to see Graham and Deanna off at the start (had to go to transition before then)

- Being the only relay team

- The last half hour or so

Highlights:

- For 5 sweet minutes being in 1st place (owing solely to Graham)

- Being offered a bottle of coke by a competitor in the middle of the race (I happily accepted)

- Honey Stinger chews

- Graham, dressed like a tree, hanging from a tree, beside a sleeping raccoon, cheering me on.

- Watching my wife paddle across the line shortly after my own arrival

- The first two and a half hours or so

New Imaginary Bike

Pictured here are parts to new bike that may or may not be imaginary, though I'm hoping not. The frame kit has been ordered but it's a new model that hasn't been publicly unveiled yet so I've been sworn to secrecy (seriously).

Don't know price, colour, or even exactly what spec's will be required for the bike, but I've grabbed some of my best guesses from the shop. It'll still be a few months before the kit arrives, but hopefully it will be public information before then.

I think it's okay to say that it's from a bike builder Olympia stocks regularly, and it should also be okay to say that there are appearantly only 8 of these models making their way to Canada this year. Somehow Olympia got two of them, and both are spoken for.

Lastly, if all goes well, I may get a chance to 'race' it by the end of the year (though I always use that term loosely).

A Rocha Trg Days - Movie Premier

Hollywood tried to stop it ... lawyers made noises and barked threats ... but nothing could stop the release of Brian's "Training Coop - A Rocha Training Days" Movie!
I spotted it on his YouTube Channel and the release could not be prevented!!

Oh Yah ... here it is:

2011 Cycle of Hope coming up fast

Wow, it's hard to believe there are only 29 more days until we leave for St Louis. July 1 seemed so far away last January. Training for this event started great thanks to a little challenge between TomK and myself but has fallen more than a bit flat since mid April. Between work, volunteer activities, cutting the lawn, the crazy wind, all the rain and the cool temps my training has not gone as planned and with only four weeks left I've needed to develop a new strategy. I will try increasing my mileage but will be careful not to increase too much too fast as that can create new problems. Comfort will be my new priority. If the days are going to be long I might as well try to be comfortable. I've also been watching the temps around St Louis and it has been very hot. So comfort, hydration and pace will all be important to monitor. I've seen a few pics of the route and it looks very interesting. The planned route follows the Great River Road and the Mississippi Trail. A lot of the riding appears to be right near the river.

Of course the purpose for this ride is to raise funds to build a home for a family here in Winnipeg. This year Habitat For Humanity will build it's 200th home in Winnipeg(or Winipeg if you were at the U2 concert). Thank you to everyone who has made donation. If you are still considering making a donation here is the adress;
https://secure.encryptedtransactions.com/habitat_mb_ca
/cycling_cycleofhope_sponsor.html?kwoAdvocateId=2VCYL63

I hope to write a short blog each day and shoot lots of video, oh yeah, and wear The TrainingCoop colors.