Training Log Archive: veinbuster

Sunrise service tour. I thought it would be interesting to see how many sunrise services I could find along the beach. 100% chance of rain starting at 8:00am made me wonder how many people would show up.

Headed out with full lights to see if the nearest one really started at 6:30. It did, and lots of people were late trying to park 1/2km away. The signage for the next one was ambiguous in that it mentioned the pier, but also a marina 4km further south. Tons of people at the pier, but I headed to the marina anyway and it turns out that was overflow parking (and post service brunch). People were shuttled back to the pier in suburbans.

Rain started as I approached the marina so I overshot to put on my rain jacket away from traffic, and did a turn around to see what else I could find. Rain started to get heavy as I got back to the pier, but everyone was staying - most of them huddled under spots of cover. Back to the 6:30 start service, it had wrapped up and everyone was headed home.

By then it was late enough I had no chance of getting 15km north to the next likely spot before they would finish up. And I didn't feel the need to be riding when the rain got really heavy.

Impressive to see 500-600 people standing in the morning rain for a church service.

Waiting for the rain to pass

Between the rain.

I waited out the light rain early and went out when the radar showed a decent break before the next, and heavier round. The plan was to just do the length of the beach strip we are staying on - 11km with one stop light, and to date pretty light traffic. I planned to ride a max of two hours, or until the rain showed. I figured for this length of time I could just lay out a nice tempo, so a spun a slightly higher cadence than usual and tried to keep the heart in the low 150s. This should let me keep the intervals a bit under 12.

The wind seemed calm starting out, but picked up as the ride progressed to make for a 2km/hr headwind versus tailwind differential. Just enough to flavour the ride. Traffic was quite heavy, but the car drivers were quite willing to share the road. A couple of kids in the back of one of the golf carts I passed questioned their father's manhood for being passed by a bicycle.

At the lights mid way in the second pass south, there appeared to be a wall of rain ahead. I picked up the pace to see if I could make the turn around. About half way back I heard the first rumbles of thunder so called it a day.

Mrs. ride. Through the camping area again. It as much busier today with frequent swarms of kids on electric scooters, hover boards and bicycles. Everyone enjoying the sun before the promised thunder storms.

We then head south into a 30+ km/hr headwind to explore some more of the wetlands. Great day for a relaxed ride, which ended by trying a new sandwich place: Which Wich was quite excellent. After a long ride, might go back to try the Elvis.

Ride your age session 8

This sets a new marker for future years so I thought a bit of extra distance was in order. I believe this is the furthest I've ridden a tradition bike since 1993. Legs started to feel a bit heavy at about 1300 calories but seem fine now that they are elevated.

16C to start with some low hanging fog right at the shore. I saw the last of it just before the 25km turn around. A slight headwind showed up at 45km about it didn't have much impact heading for the south end of the peninsula at 60km. As I was hoping, the bit of wind made the extra distance a bit more comfortable and my finishing pace was close to my average for the day while letting the legs spin at a cool down effort.

Nutrition: 1 bonk breaker over 7km at the north turn around. 1 gel at the south turn around. 2/3 of a tailwind. 2nd time I've tried this, using 1/2 to 2/3 of the recommended powder to water ratio. The remainder post ride with the juice of a lemon in a tall glass is quite refreshing.

C • Great distance on an upright bike! 3

Shaping up to be a successful rest day though low tide is making a short ride on the beach look very inviting. Just a walkabout with Mrs.

Ride your age session 7

This matches that mark from the last couple of years, so I am officially not old.

I got up to 4C and only have clothing for 7C and above so waited around for the sun to do some warming. It was going to be a trade off between riding warm and riding in the wind. I gave the sun an hour and then went out at 5C, riding easy to warm up the legs. At about 8 km, the legs felt good but I stuck with the endurance pace. Lots of delivery traffic outbound so at the north end I explored for extensions that would give me extra distance if I am back in future years. I expect 65 to be about as far as I can do these rides on a traditional bike and found enough road to cover that.

At 35km I headed back south. For the first time, the shops on the boardwalk were open and the people waiting for customers looked incredibly bored. Pedestrian traffic was building, and darting across the road anywhere on a whim. Once I cleared that I picked up the pace a bit to make sure I got back by 11:00 when Mrs. was expecting me. It was very hard to make the left turn onto the highway, but I still got back with two minutes to spare.

13C by the time I rolled into the driveway. Another good ride, but the legs are showing signs of wanting a day off. I'll see if I'm disciplined enough to do that tomorrow.

I waited for the sunrise today. Stretching in a new sun is certainly conducive to long lazy holds. When you can see the sun movement between the start and finish, you know you're doing it right.

Skipped the morning bike ride at 6C because my gloves and jacket were still wet from yesterday. This had the legs fresh to take Mrs. for a morning beach walk on her first day back on the ocean. Nice calm water today and clear blue sky.

Coffee shop fail to end it. My macchiato was pretty much a Tim Horton's with a dollap of milk foam on it. They did serve the bagel with a little chunk of a muffin sample though.

Mrs. wanted a bike ride so I took her north along the beach and then to a giant camp ground via an access road, so very little traffic. We toured the camping area for a bit, doing seat adjustments every 5km or so and ended up with it about 3 cm higher than what she made them set it at in the store. I looped her back to give a 15 km ride about she wanted 25, so we headed south past the house to the main access to Garden City. I looped her arou d there and shot the extra 5km down to the end of the peninsula to get some light cardio in.

14C to start, but the bright sun made it feel much warmer.