Low mileage week ...

The weather has been very appropriate for February this last week. Given that it's only October, it's been pretty much a bummer.

I played a crappy hockey game Tuesday night. Not our best appearance ever ... a little lethargic dealing with the weather? Who knows.

Snow and frigid temps meant I stayed off the bike and drove the Rav downtown Monday through Wednesday. But as I beared the pain of slow moving traffic, I could still see a (much diminished) stream of blinky lights on the bike paths. I started to feel like a sissy! So Thursday morning I bundled up and ventured out on the cross bike.

After making it down Home Rd and along the snowy road in front of the retirement home, I rolled up onto the pathway and found the right hand side of the path crusted with thick ice. The left side was clear so I used that for a bit. But then a guy had to pass me on the right and I didn't feel good about forcing passers onto the ice so I eased back over to the right side.

I wasn't going very fast since the conditions were dodgy. As I approached the Angels parking lot at Edworthy, I knew it was going to be sketchy through the vehicle crossover section. There's a raised manhole cover there. So I tried to ease the bike over to the clear asphalt on the left.

Next thing I knew I was seeing stars and stumbling while I tried to get up off the ground and get my bike off the path. And I wanted to hurl. Then I went to wipe the water off my face and realized I was bleeding quit a bit. After a couple minutes, (and two guys passing without asking if I was ok -- one crashed himself shortly after passing me) a little addled decision making had me pointed back the way I came for a retracing of my route back home. After a quick call to my boss I went to the hospital to get my noggin checked and see if I'd need some stitches.

Final assessment: a minor concussion, some freezing and cleaning up the road rash, a tetanus shot, and a massively bruised hip. And an excuse to by a sporty new helmet! The old one is dented and cut. Thank you helmet!

So I road all of 4.2kms this week. A couple days off work to nurse the concussion. So Saturday I didn't ride Terrascape's Beans and Barley CX race in the snow. But I was there to cheer on a big turnout of Spin Sisters and take a volunteer shift. It was a fun day with friends around the firepit watching people be crazy in the snow on bikes. Reminded me of the many Quebec-style winter carnivals I participated in growing up in a military setting. The weather doesn't stop that kind of fun!

Symptom free for the requisite 48 hours meant I could play hockey this morning at 7:15. Fun game! We are surprisingly a morning team! After that I took a walk among the hoar-frosted trees and grasses in Bowmont before retiring to the couch with a stuffed head and dripping nose. How did a cold find me?! It's been years since I've had one.

A little thawing forecasted for this week! I should be back outside on my bike before long ...

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Brrr ... Wintery Sunday City Riding

The morning brought dry skies and dry pavement. It also brought a -10C windchill but I bundled up and pedaled over to Cadence for some breaky. The air was brisk but with some heavier booties, gloves, skull cap, and an extra jacket layer, I was in pretty good shape for a ride. I had some grub with Kate, then Michele arrived to meet me. We decided on a city ride rather than a Cochrane loop.

Kate was heading out too and we followed her through some snowy fun single track into Edworthy and to the Crowchild overpass before she headed off in search of more single track in the Bowmont direction. The trail on the cross bikes was pretty sporty in the snow. A little hiking involved but some fun rooty downhill that was a little bit of a different challenge on the cross bike. Fun though! After that Michele and I went east on the paved pathway. 

We made our way past the East Village and the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary then, eventually, to a Starbucks in Deerfoot Meadows for a warm-up coffee and sandwich. After that we were on some streets to take a quick buzz through a furniture store Michele wanted to check out before picking up the pathway again near Lindsey Park. Back through the Stampede grounds and along the river home after that. 55 city kms followed by a thaw-out shower.

A chilly day but it was still good to be pedaling! 

First Snowy Ride of the Season

This week I was on the bike for a commute, a Sante Bowmont spin, and a spin to TCR for my bike fit follow up. Cory at TCR stretched me out a little on the bike by swapping out the stem for a longer one. I was feeling a little crunched into the cockpit ... so far the stretch feels more natural. A couple of nights of hockey accounted for the rest of my activity this week.

Now it's the weekend, when real life happens! This morning I was happy to wake up to dry conditions since the forecast was dodgy with some little rain drops and snow flake icons on my Weather Network app. A little walk for Sante then I rode over to Cadence to meet up with Michele and all the other riders starting out this morning ... a lot of Dead Goats and Kate. Cadence must love winter riding season ... cha-ching!

After some grub, Michele and I headed out on our own, sticking to our plan to do a Cochrane loop. Smooth riding through Bowness and up the COP switchbacks. Not long after that the little sharp zings on my face were the first signs of snow. And then it was "on" for Mother Nature. She threw some wet snow into the mix that quickly soaked the road and us and made visibility a little dodgy. I had an extra red blinky on my bike so we transferred that one to Michele's bike to help drivers spot us. After our first short gravel road stretch we were squinting through wet glasses and covered in dirty slush. Still smiling though! Push on ...

Then the cold started to settle in and the sky wasn't looking like it had any plans to clear up. We turned back after 20ish kms. I was a little bummed but by the time we rolled back into Bowness there was so much ice on my drive train I couldn't shift into my little ring and braking required some advanced planning. Braking roulette! Fun! And my hands hurt so much from the cold I wanted to barf. For real. So I guess it was just as well we turned back. I made it home and, after peeling the clothes layers off with my club hands, thawed out in the shower for an hour or so, ha ha.

Of course, Kate and Craig made it to Cochrane ... tough winter riders! They probably went through every field and forest between here and there to do it too. :)

Mulligan! We ride again tomorrow. Who's joining?

Get outside!

Blow Street Cross Race

How do you ride 12kms in a teeny little park, you ask? You go round and round and up and around and through stuff ... 5 times. And if you're paying attention, you can punch it just before the start of the fifth lap to avoid being lapped by the winner, thus rewarding yourself with one more turn around the course! As Jeff hollered at me, "that's how you measure success when you start cross racing!" True that!

It was a great course actually. I felt like I was maxing out because I was trying hard, not just cause I was surviving climb after climb. The climbing was totally reasonable with plenty of recovery and a couple spots to get into my big ring. After the third lap I stopped dismounting for that single little black obstacle and just hammered the bike over top of it. I was just too tired of the dismounting remounting and, to my surprise, this was not hard! Woot!

My 84kms yesterday was starting to show into the third lap all around ... I had trouble getting out of my back foot pedal for dismounting and twice I painfully blew the remount after the double obstacle run through the specators. Once of those I missed the saddle entirely and wound up behind it with both feet on the ground (I think! I need a video replay) ... second try worked. Ha ha!

I finished within a minute of Sarah I think (I'm comin' for ya buddy!) ... and I was last again. Consistency! If I have one more cross race in me, it'll be Beans and Barley ... I've got a couple of weeks to chew on that!

Over and ... outside!

A big fun day on the cross bike!

That's some bull!

I was laid up a little this week after a rough Tuesday night hockey game. Some rest and some chiropractor attention and it was back on the bike Saturday.

I haven't been feeling it on the mountain bike the last couple of rides so I put the word out that I was looking to get out on the cross bike for a nice Cochrane loop. Suz, Sarah, Michele, and Pam joined me! Great group and a perfect weather day.

We started from Cadence at 10:00 and it felt great to be zipping along on the cross bike; up the COP switchbacks and west towards Cochrane as Michele and I pieced together, from memory, the ride Craig led us on in the spring. We found the gravel road alongside the bison herd and not long after that we ran into Kate and Craig. They were turned back from a police roadblock ahead so, together, we all took an alternate route into Cochrane for a lunch stop.

First flat repair.

After some yummy food, Kate and Craig offered to show us a route home that was more fun than taking the road, and more cross-bike worthy. Pam and I were in for the adventure and the rest of the girls headed back on the 1A for a quicker return. Off we went through the beautiful Glenbow Park! Paved pathway, gravel pathway, grassy fields, rocky trails, railroad track, single track, loose dirt, gravel roads ... you name it. Four and a half flat tires and one bent derailleur later, we were back in the city on the Bowmont paths.

What an awesome day! 84kms of smiling. I can't wait to do more riding like that. Cross bikes are for so much more than races in city parks!

Get outside!

Derailleur issue ... 

In Glenbow ... 

Thanksgiving Outside!

Resting is an art.

Last week saw a little of the white stuff. Nothing accumulated in the city but the early morning rides were a little icy in spots where the city hasn't yet shut down the sprinkler systems. One morning ride was -6C and the pathways were very noticeably less-traveled that morning. I skipped the riding on the sloopy mornings.

It was also the official kick off to the Reckers season this week with our first home ice on Tuesday in our new jerseys. It was fun to be back on the skates with the girls!

Pathway south of Prince's Island.

Saturday morning Kate M and I tossed around some options for riding before picking Little Jumpingpound. We figured it was low enough to be snow-free and we were right. The trail had a few puddles and some muddy patches but it was good to go and we did a couple of laps. It didn't look well ridden at all with the leaves still floating on the trail and not worn down. We saw some hikers and eventually one other pair of riders but largely we had the trail to ourselves with a couple of happy dogs -- Sante had a new friend, Maggie, along for the first lap. Then it was time to head home and refuel with a yummy Thanksgiving dinner.

Sunday Suz and I headed out to do Ridgeback with Sante and Toby. +7C felt damn chilly to start for some reason. Puddles were ice-covered but eventually the sun burned off the chill and it turned out to be a really nice day. My mind really wanted to be out there enjoying the trails but my body just wasn't feeling it. And Suz was a little "under the weather." So, we didn't go as long as we planned to, turning back well before the bottom of Moose Packers. Lots of stops but it was nice to be out there. We had to leave a little in the legs for hockey anyway. Back to the city for a snack and elevating the legs before heading out to play The Fury who've picked up some Olympic-sized ice this season. A little extra skating for the fried legs. Ha ha ...

Today's plan includes a dog walk ... goin' easy on the legs today. Happy Thanksgiving!

Calgary skyline in the morning.

Kate and Sante.

The new-look Reckers.

 

Little Jumpingpound.

Thanksgiving suppa!

Headin' out for a ride!

Suz on the trail.