Vuelta D`Geo - Day One

-

Started my third grand Tour...um...er...I mean vacation week of the summer of 2008.

I attended the club ride today under ominous clouds anticipating a rousing 70km hammerfest. It was also the Garfield Memorial ride in memory of our clubmate who passed away on a club ride three seasons ago. His widow and son attended the pre ride memorial which was a touching addition to the solemn occasion. His son who was just a newborn at the time of his death was the image of his dad and a handsome lad. He was dressed in his father`s BPCC jersey.

After the memorial service the groups departed as usual. I jumped in with the second group on the road and, despite the rain, felt good on the bike although rather concerned about the train tracks along the route. I can tell you I was pleased to get over the tracks and happy to cycle out of the downpour onto dry pavement.

The legs have been feeling prime the last week as I am finally riding into mid season form.It`s a shame the BNS race schedule doesn`t have more events in late Summer and Fall when I`m in my best cycling shape. I have also been counting calories, paying attention to nutritional details and watching my portion sizes. Add to it the club`s time trial series that is an invaluable training tool and I`m exhibiting my best bike fitness to date.

The ride out to Laurie Park was good and my climb of the Fall River hill in the big ring a pleasant surprise. Switching between the saddle and standing on the steeper pitches of the climb I was amazed at how well I was feeling. The ride back to Bedford was the usual hammerfest with Jose beginning the attacks in Waverley as we approached Rockey Lake road. It immediately shattered the pack with five of us staying in the lead group. The legs remained fresh despite the tempo and I even managed to chase down three flyers off the front and keep in touch on the climbs on the final sprints into town. Nice!

Off to Second Cup for some post ride java, got a bottle of vegemite at Pete`s Fruitique and then cycled home in another torrential downfall. It was an emotional rollercoaster of a day.....Garfield`s memorial,confronting my fears of wet railway tracks, the sheer excitement of riding well and then the tough solo slog home in hurricane like rain.

Comments

Murray Yazer said…
Hey George,

Great post. Really sorry to miss Garfield's ride. Things are well here in Montreal, but we really miss the club.

Murray
6:55 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chi, Ionized Water, Good Health and Q-Ray

-
Recently I have been doing some research into the Chinese practice of achieving "Chi", the balancing of the body`s "life force" in terms of well being.The premise being that to have good health one must balance positive/negative energies (ions)to achieve harmony. From what I have ascertained thus far the act of living creates positive ions in the body that need to be countered by negative ions. They attract each other and become as one. Nature, it seems, supplies negative ions through good food, clean air and pure water. The problem is that we now live in an increasingly polluted enviroment where pure food, water and air is at a premium.It is harder for the body to get the negative ions it needs to balance the positive ones that are the byproducts of living.It all reminds me of the whole free radical/antioxidant debate. Are they, in fact, one and the same?One an ancient Far Eastern belief and the other a 20th century scientific standard but both essentially the same...
Read more

WMD-C38 Bicycle Wheel Review

-
Image
Happy Birthday to me! Needless to say I was gobsmacked when Canada Post dropped off a box this morning from Steve at Wheels Of Mass Destruction based out of Montreal Canada. Let the record show that Steve is my brother in law but I had no idea a set of (gorgeous) carbon fibre wheels were heading my way. Dude - you rock! http://ridewmd.com/index.php Not without some strings though. I quote....     "I wanted someone to test out my wheels that I know will give me constructive feedback. If you don't mind riding these wheels hard and giving me updates every couple of weeks I would really like it if you can give them a good run for the money...." No problem at all! I'll gladly do my best to test their mettle. PART ONE - INITIAL IMPRESSIONS Packaging - As a former warehouse supervisor for most of my working career I was impressed with the quality of the packaging. The wheels arrived at my door in a 26X26X12 sized S-4912 Uline singlewall box. Completely ...
Read more

Scythian Bow - Flagella Dei

-
Image
After several years of interest I finally decided to purchase a Scythian style of horse bow from Flagella Dei Archery based in Hungary.    Opted for a yew laminated bow #42@28 so it was a custom build but worth the wait. Feather light and simply beautiful. Build quality is great and pictures just do not give justice to the eye candy quality of the lamination, tip reinforcements and quality leather handle wrap. Shipping was fast from Europe and bow was professionally boxed with bubble wrap and a nice bow sack. Included was a certificate of authentication complete with the bowyer's signature and warranty information. Needless to say I was anxious to get it outside and loose some arrows. The rain held off on Saturday so it was a perfect opportunity to get out under the green. I just love this bow. Not only is it lightweight with precious little hand shock but is amazingly silent as well. I was using bamboo and wooden arrows but the bamboo arrows definitely suited the bow better o...
Read more