42km Kennedy Zoo Loop

Cycling, as any cyclist will tell you, is rewarding and enjoyable provided you are prepared for the ride. My experience with other sports like rowing, running even snowboarding is that you can under-dress for the weather because if you over dress you can soon get overheated. Not so with cycling as I found out yesterday. Believing I would warm up during the ride, I decided no to bring my windbreaker jacket. As a result, the 75km I completed yesterday was rewarding but far from comfortable. Lesson learned, I won’t make that mistake again.

Although the morning was overcast and cool, there was one bright ray of sunshine in the form of Todd Davies. Todd is one of our Roadies who has been giving up his Saturday mornings to accompany us on our training rides. He provides us with water and encouragement along the way. A clear reminder of the important role all of our supporting crews will play in our journey to Montreal.

photo album (Kennedy Zoo Loop – April 28, 2007)

Kennedy Zoo Loop photo album

seminars

As my work requires me to travel occasionally, sometimes with very little notice, I decided to participate in as many seminars as possible before I was called away again. As a result in the past week I have completed:

• Nutrition and Training led by Sosan Hua
• Cycling 101 led by Lucinda
• Bike Maintenance & Repair led by Saul at Velotique

A big shout out to Friends for Life Bike Rally organizers and facilitators for providing these valuable seminars.

39km Kipling – Port Credit

For various reasons the second training ride seemed harder than the first. It was likely due to a combination of lack of training, the fact we rode at a higher pace and I was fighting off a nasty cold. The bottom line, it seemed more difficult than last week, but none the less, I enjoyed the ride. The weather was perfect, I completed 39km without a break and a total of 68km by the time I got home.

I started out with about 8 riders and we stayed together for a good portion of the route. Once we passed Port Credit I began to struggle. It was a gradual up hill grade and we slowly separated from each other. Heather and Lucinda realized I had been left behind and waited for me and we finished the ride together.

A few other riders joined us for the last leg of the route. We arrived to find the parking lot empty. Looks like we may have been the first to complete our second training ride.

photo album (Kipling – Port Credit – April 21, 2007)

Kipling – Port Credit photo album

34km – Finch Subway Loop

Tomorrow is the second training for the Bike Rally and the impressions from the first ride are still vivid in my mind.

For someone, like myself, riding for the first time in an organized training there was a lot to observe. New faces, bikes, equipment, road safety information, signaling and so on… Out of the 65 riders that showed up last Saturday I couldn’t recognize anyone else except Lucinda and Lesley. I was introduced to a few riders, we talked a little but mostly I stood and observed the preparation for the ride. It was fascinating to realize that I was just going to start the training together with a group of people I never met before and I was anxious to see how all this was going to unfold.

The ride was great, I didn’t find it difficult at all. A steady pace set by Lesley and Lucinda interrupted only by short stops at the intersections. I am used with this kind of workout and the experience I got in the last years as a rower proved to be very useful. We started in a group of five and then we caught up with another group. The first part of the route had a lot of intersections and stops and we shuffled position riding in various combinations. Once we hit the longer sections of the route we start spreading apart and I ended up riding in a group of three. In cycling as well as in rowing it is important to find a good pace and my plan was to stick with Lesley and Lucinda, trust their experience and let them set the pace of the ride. I am glad I did that, the girls did a very good job and my plan worked well.

The only little glitch was the big hill toward the end of the route. I definitively underestimated the incline. 2/3 of the climb I run out of energy, it was to late to recover and almost impossible to change gears at that point. Full stop, I had to walk the last third of the hill. Thursday May 3rd I am booked for the hill training session at Sunnybrook Stables and I am sure next time I’ll have to climb a hill like that I’ll do a better job.

I felt good after my first ride and I decided to ride back home together with Lesley, Lucinda and Bruce. That was fun, mostly downhill with a few really fast sections (54km/h max according with my bike computer), a nice way to conclude the first training. I counted a total of 50km, not bad for my first ride.

Overall, a very good day. I didn’t really have the chance to socialize with the rest of the riders but I am glad that the “ice breaking” session is now behind me. For the next three months we’ll be training together and I have no doubt, new friendships are going to evolve out of this.

The forecast for tomorrow looks great, sunny, high 22C! looking forward to the second ride of the season.

photo album (Finch Subway Loop – April 14, 2007)

Finch Subway Loop photo album

ready for the first training ride

Tomorrow is the first training ride and I am all pumped-up in anticipation.

I picked-up my bike form Cycle Therapy today and rode it back home. I was planning all week for this short ride. The idea was to ride my bike at least once before the training and see how the bike feels after the “upgrade” to slick tires. I also wanted to get a feeling of what should I wear tomorrow as I am not really used to ride in cold weather.

My first impression when I saw my bike in the shop was that it looks funny. A X-Large frame Trek Fuel Race mountain bike with skinny road tires and all the “required” accessories attached to it’s something that just doesn’t look right. It kind of make me smile each time I look at it. On the other hand, I am not prepared to invest in a new road bike and the perspective of riding over 600Km on fat, knobby tires was not very appealing. I guess, I’ll just have to get used with the funny look.

That bike feels lighter and definitively smoother on the road, the slick tires are making a huge difference and for that reason alone the initial “look” factor is starting to fade out . I can’t wait until tomorrow, I am really curious how a longer ride is going to feel like.

breaking the ice

A heartfelt thank you to Oana, our first sponsor.

sponsor us

There are two ways that you can make a donation to support us:

1. Directly at our on-line pledge page.
2. Mail a cheque payable to the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation to:
   

   Victor Scaletchi
   707-91 Wellesley St. East
   Toronto, ON
   M4Y 1H9

You will receive a charitable tax receipt for all donations over $15.

If you register on-line you have the option to specify if your name and/or the amount you donated should be displayed in our sponsor list. The default is set to display both but it is an easy click in a box to remove one or both.