In early April I rode in the Pacific Populaire, a 100km ride put on by the BC Randoneurs Club. It was a beautiful day to ride, which was a good as I had a LOT of time to look around due to my rather slow pace. All those lycra clad boys on their 15 pound road bikes sped past me shortly after the start, never to be seen again. There weren't even any date squares left at the checkpoint - and isn't that why we all ride anyway - to eat! I bet Marcus and Mike wolfed down my share of date squares when they arrived at the checkpoint hours ahead of me. Those boys can eat!
I stopped a few times to take a few pictures and at 80km absolutely had to stop and get off my bike. It seems that 80km is about as much as both my mind and body can take in one go. Fortunately on our trip we will be stopping every couple hours to watch the cows on the prairies, so it should be much more enjoyable. Although there is the one small fact of having panniers full of gear attached to our bikes. Hmmm.....more reason than ever to pack lightly.
I continue to ride to work and find time for some longer rides on the way home a couple days a week. I've gotten into a routine where I have my favourite routes - one of which is the long way home via SFU. Yes, I practically ride right past my place in doing this, but it's a nice ride up a long hill with a fun downhill as a reward. And at this time of year I get treated to a fabulous sunset on my descent, well on those few and far between sunny days here in Van.
This weekend, being Easter, I will do a couple more longer rides in Squamish or at Whistler. I even plan to get my mountain bike out soon and start hitting the trails. Road riding is okay, but mountain biking rocks! If I had oodles and oodles of vacation I'd like to ride across Canada on the trans Canada trail just to get away from the cars. But don't get me wrong, I'm only going to traverse this country on 2 wheels once!
I stopped a few times to take a few pictures and at 80km absolutely had to stop and get off my bike. It seems that 80km is about as much as both my mind and body can take in one go. Fortunately on our trip we will be stopping every couple hours to watch the cows on the prairies, so it should be much more enjoyable. Although there is the one small fact of having panniers full of gear attached to our bikes. Hmmm.....more reason than ever to pack lightly.
I continue to ride to work and find time for some longer rides on the way home a couple days a week. I've gotten into a routine where I have my favourite routes - one of which is the long way home via SFU. Yes, I practically ride right past my place in doing this, but it's a nice ride up a long hill with a fun downhill as a reward. And at this time of year I get treated to a fabulous sunset on my descent, well on those few and far between sunny days here in Van.
This weekend, being Easter, I will do a couple more longer rides in Squamish or at Whistler. I even plan to get my mountain bike out soon and start hitting the trails. Road riding is okay, but mountain biking rocks! If I had oodles and oodles of vacation I'd like to ride across Canada on the trans Canada trail just to get away from the cars. But don't get me wrong, I'm only going to traverse this country on 2 wheels once!
