Day 112

And another...

Day 111

And another day off...

Day 110

More rest, more hungover

Day 109

Nothing but rest and recovery from a long semester these days

Day 108

Day off, Christmas lunch, then Christmas party at night... hangover to follow

Day 107

Went out for a ride during the day!  Feels like I've only been riding in the dark for months.  28.73km in 59:47, for an avg speed of 28.8km/h.  Still having problems with my power meter.  Last ride it was giving me values that were way too high, now they're way too low! 

Day 106

Another day off, went to a matinee

Day 105

No ride, just a full day hangover

Day 104

No ride, just birthday drinks and fun

Day 103

Let the postseason begin!  Final done my exams!  I just got in from writing my organic chem final... having a quit beer to cool my jets, then it's off to work.  I've been postponing a good 'ol drunk since September, so I'm gonna take care of that tomorrow, then hopefully follow that up with some rides over the holidays.

Day 102

And more studying...

Day 101

Every time I hear "101" I think of a university course, so it's sort fitting that today I'm stuffing my brain with organic chem!  So no ride today.

Also, since yesterday's post that said I only had one donation in the past 100 days, I received 4 more donations!  That makes me very happy. 

Day 100

Yesterday was my birthday, and I spent it studying math.  Possibly my lamest birthday ever, even considering I've spent about the last ten years writing exams right around my birthday, none have been this plain.  Pure plain.  But that's behind me now, and so are 100 days of (very inconsistent) training.

Tonight's ride was weird.  It was cold and wet, but there was something else that just didn't feel right, so I turned around at half my planned ride.  Ended up doing 15.42 in 38:36.  If you follow that link, ignore the power data... I'm not sure what's going wrong with my gauge, but I know I wasn't pushing 600W for 40 minutes!

On another note, Marty showed me this article about some hope for the fight against malaria.  It was a nice birthday present to think that some of the work I've been doing is in some way a part of this success.  Hopefully the next 100 days of this fundraising will see more donations than the first... two donations would be twice what I raised in the first 100 days!

Day 99

STUDYING

Day 98

Rode out around UBC Monday night after a full day of studying, but for some reason the file won't load.

Day 97

STUDYING

Day 96

STUDYING

Day 95

STUDYING

Day 94

STUDYING

Day 93

Got out for a quick burn today.  Left when the sun came out, then got poured on 30 minutes into the ride.  28.49km in 58:00, for an average speed of 29.5km/h.  Nothing really interesting happened, so I'll leave it at that... but it sure felt good to get out during the daylight for a change! 

Day 92

And, again, no ride, just studying for finals

Day 91

NO RIDE!  BOO!  too much school work to do...

Day 90

Final exams time.  Didn't get to ride today, but I'm optimistic about being able to get out more often in the next two weeks.  I've got lots of studying to do, but I think I'll be able to get out every second day or so.

Day 89

And finally a ride!  Went out in the sun today for some beautiful scenery.  Anyone who lives in Vancouver knows that it's a beautiful city all year, but there's something about sunny days when the North Shore mountains are covered in snow... So it seemed like a great day for a ride along the ocean.  But it turns out that the slow sun means lots of shade on Marine Dr. along Spanish Banks.  It was pretty much a skating rink over there!  All the moisture off the water makes for a lot of frost... after a few little slips and slides I dialed down the speed and pressed on, but there was nothing I could when the road slanted off to the side!  Somehow I managed a 20ft powerslide and didn't fall, which had the added bonus of being able to jump back from the road before the car sliding behind me got too close.  My chain got jammed in the process, and I watched two other riders wipeout and about a dozen cars lockup and slide while I pulled the chain out... so I figured I would turn around and ride back up to higher ground, away from the water.  Apart from my lesson in the limited traction of two very small contact points of near-tread-less rubber, it was a really nice ride.  Went out around UBC and back: 33.26km in 1:17:43, for an "average" speed of 27km/h (but I spent a while fixing my chain and riding slowly on the ice).

Here's the view looking past a frozen Kits Pool, just in front of my place

Day 88

And more books.  And work to 330am...

Day 87

Just a full day of books!

Day 86

No ride today, just studying all night... business as usual these days

Day 85

Finally got out for a ride.  I was pretty tired after finishing up my school work around 11:30pm, but decided to get out there anyways.  Power meter is going all wonky since I put in a new battery, hopefully it just needs to be calibrated... Went for 28.47km in 59:58, for an avg speed of 28.5km/h.  Really felt good to stretch the legs.

Day 84

I can't decide if I'm losing motivation to ride at night in the cold and rain, or if I'm just being good about putting school first.  In any case, I just finished up doing my studying for the day, at 11:45pm.  I was planning to ride after finishing, but now I'm planning to get some sleep so I can wake up early and study.  I guess it's good that I'm focused on school, but kind of disappointing  that I'm not riding much these days. 

Day 83

Just finished up my organic chem homework, now moving on to math that I need to finish for tomorrow, and it's already 11:30pm.  No ride tonight, hopefully tomorrow.  At least the snow's gone.

Day 82

No ride today... spent the day running errands and finishing a report for biology, now it's time to go to work.  Really hoping to get in at least an hour outside tomorrow!

Day 81

School from 6am to 7pm, then work til 430am... no time to ride today... hoping to get in a good ride tomorrow if the rain keeps up and all the snow is gone

Day 80

My new solution to lots of school, snow, and ice: indoor trainer in small doses.  I don't have the time (let alone the patience) to spend hours on the trainer, but I figured that some short rides each day would be better than no rides at all.  So I did 16.8km in 20.1min, for an avg speed of 48.6km/h.  I love adding these ridiculous speeds!  I feel so fast when I ride indoors! 

Day 79

No ride Wednesday, just a ton of school work.  That's getting to be an old excuse, I'm tired of it!  At least I'm not missing out on nice sunny days anymore... lots of snow and ice out there, so probably just as well that I'm not slipping around on it.

Day 78

20.09km in 27.21min, avg speed of 49.7km/h.  That's my fastest ride yet.  I think the secret was riding indoors, who knew?!  Anyway, subzero temps meant that despite the sun, the icy shadows weren't worth the risk, so I finally used my trainer.  Just not the same, but I did manage to do a little physics reading while I was at it...

Day 77

Most of campus was still covered in snow yesterday, so I didn't ride.  I had lots of school work to do and decided it wasn't worth risking my skin on the icy roads.

Day 76

Yup, you guessed it, no ride tonight!  I wanted to go out this afternoon, but there was still a fair bit of snow in the shade, so I decided against it.  Below freezing tonight, and I just went out to confirm that it's icy... so probably not a good night for a midnight ride.  The forecast is for sun tomorrow, so hopefully the remaining snow is melted away and it's not too icy to go out tomorrow night.  Otherwise I might have to ride the trainer.

Day 75

Too much snow on the ground today for a safe ride outside.  Might try the trainer, but it seems like a pretty good excuse to get caught on some school work and hope for better conditions tomorrow.

Day 74

I'm almost tempted to stop counting these damn days when I'm stuck doing school work instead of riding!  Sure felt good to get out last night though, even if it wasn't for long.  Hoping there isn't any snow tonight...

Day 73

Finally cold enough for the swim cap.  Sometimes I can't believe more people don't wear them on a ride, they practically work like a thermos for your head and take up almost no room under the helmet.  Apart from that, tonight was the first snowfall I've seen for the year, and I discovered a few equipment shortfalls while I was out tonight.  So, it turns out that my jacket and gloves are much less water resistant in the snow... within 10 minutes I had puddles in my gloves!  Also, no front fender wasn't so bad in the rain, but filling my shoes with slush was a little less comfortable.   I meant to go for about an hour, and although my swim cap kept my core nice and toasty, my feet and hands were getting pretty numb (my guess is that numb hands at least doubled my braking distance, on top of whatever effect the snow had).  My glasses also seem to fog up much more in the snow and that meant that I couldn't really see anything.  So after about 20 minutes, I decided I'd pushed my luck long enough, having not run into anything yet, even though I did have a few close calls.  And since I had to slow down a bit because I couldn't really see anything, I decided to turn back once the snow was starting to stick.    So in the end I went 14.24km in 36:39, for an average speed of 23.4km/h. 

I thought I might try another picture, since there aren't any up of snow yet...

Day 72

Yup, you guessed it, no ride on Wednesday either.  Not great, but it feels kind of good to know that I'm doing the best I can... even if that means doing the best I can in school takes priority over doing the best I can on my bike.

Day 71

I've spent the last couple of hours debating the long term benefits of going for a ride tonight versus studying for my organic chem midterm... I had been thinking all day that I'd ride around 11pm, expecting my brain to be worn out from studying almost non-stop since 7am, but here I am at ride time with plenty of energy.  So I've decided to stay in and keep working away.  I don't like to take more than one day off my bike in a row, and usually insist on two days of no biking to be the max.  I think at three the loss in fitness becomes significant, and I hate the idea of backtracking.  On the other hand, I keep thinking I'll discover some key mechanism in that extra hour of studying that I might have otherwise missed, and that it'll make a big difference on my midterm.  The trouble is, I didn't do very well on my first midterm in this course, so I don't have any margin for error, and if I don't pick up my grade, I'll have to deal with that low grade for as long as I'm in school/applying to other schools.  So that's that, and now I feel like I've convinced myself that studying's the right call...

Day 70

No ride for me Monday, just school from 7am to 11pm.

Day 69

I'd like to dedicate this day of my training blog to Marty Anderton, who changed my life for the better when he insisted I stop calling this a diary.  Since then I've been able to confirm at least 3 people following this BLOG.  That would be Richie, Chris, and Marty himself.  I'd also like to dedicate this day to Marty because I took the day off riding, and also because I even cleaned my bike a little (in an effort to figure out how to replace a battery on my hub, so it's still really not clean, sorry Marty).

Day 68

Really busy studying all day, but managed to sneak out for a quick burn over to UBC and back.  Felt great to stretch the legs, but also sort of a tease... Only did 16.47km in 35:20, avg speed of 28.2km/h

Day 67

No ride Friday.  School from 10am to 730pm, then had to complete a couple of assignments before midnight... hoping to get out today.

Day 66

No ride Thursday, just school work all day, again.

Day 65

Beautiful weather today, but I was stuck in class all day.  Managed to squeeze in an hour in the gym between classes though.

Day 64

No training today.  Just school, school, school.  And some mini eggs!  Can't believe they're already in stores... great news!

Day 63

Had a nice ride last night.  My power meter's battery is dead, so I figured it was a good time to pick up the pace a bit.  Not sure which is better for staying warm, slowing down and avoiding the windchill, or speeding up and burning more calories.  I kept the speed up last night and didn't get cold, so for now I'm siding with working harder keeps you warmer.  We lose about 75% of the calories we burn to heat because we aren't very efficient.  So that was about 800 calories of heat warming me last night... more than enough to make up for the cold.  Too bad it doesn't warm the air I'm breathing too!  28.38km in 57.8min, avg speed 29.8km/h. 

Day 62

No ride Sunday!  Again!  This is getting very frustrating for me, but I need to put school first...

Day 61

No ride yesterday.  I took another rest day in order to prepare for a math midterm. 

Day 60

Rest day=school/studying all day, then working all night. 

Day 59

Spent one hour in the gym today.  This week was my last week of easing into my strength workouts, so next week I start lifting heavy weights... we'll see how much that sacks me for my rides.  Even with just a moderate gym session on Tuesday, my legs were feeling pretty heavy last night.  There's a lot of controversy about whether lifting weights is good for cycling, so this might not work... The reasons against it are two-fold: strength training usually leads to weight gain (bad for cycling) and strength training is not specific to cycling, so doing a hard workout on the bike would be even better.  We'll just have to wait and see what happens weight-wise, but I'm hoping to see benefits from working out the stability muscles that don't get used in cycling.  So, in this way I think there's certainly a loss of specificity, but that it's a good thing.  Cycling seems to keep your muscles working in a particular plane, thus neglecting/no using stability muscles.  But, at least based on my limited anatomy knowledge, I think that having weak stability muscles will likely trigger an innate reflex that prevents the main cycling muscles from getting as strong as possible (some sort of golgi tendon reflex type of thing).  So by using strength training to beef up the supporting muscles, I'll be able to convince my body that it's ok to let the other muscles get stronger... or at least that's how I'm picturing it in my head! 

Day 58

It's getting kind of cold on clear nights... I think it was about 7 degrees at midnight.  Having several layers and a jacket on makes me feel like I'm dragging a parachute... kind of annoying.  I usually get past this feeling by focusing on my power, so that I know I'm still working at a certain level even if I'm going slower than usual.  But my power meter seems to be running low on batteries, so I didn't have it this time out and I swear it made me feel like I was going way slower!  25.39km in 58:22 for an avg speed of 26.1

Day 57

No ride tonight, spent an hour in the gym this afternoon.  Studying calculus now... really wishing I were going for a ride!

Day 56

Typical midnight ride.  28.42km in 1:05:40, avg speed 26km/h.  You may have noticed my avg speed has dropped off since my testing last week.  I found my zones were a little high given some loss of fitness after the summer, so I've adjusted them and that's slowed me down a bit.  Otherwise, it was a really nice clear night, full of stars.  On another note, I've given up on taking pictures with my camera phone at night.  There doesn't seem to be much point in repeatedly posting the same black blurs.

Day 55

Had planned to ride tonight, then decided I was better off studying than dodging teenagers lighting off fireworks... not really worth the risk I guess.  Haven't been on my bike in 5 days!  Partly because I've been at the gym, and partly because of school.  That's really disappointing for me, but I don't have any choice.  School's my priority right now and it's taking up too much time.

Day 54

I was planning a one hour ride today, but was all stuffed up and a slight fever... decided to play it safe and swap my ride for a nap.  Feeling much better now, so hopefully that lasts

Day 53

One hour at the gym and a reassessment of what I can do this semester... Unfortunately I've got to cut back on the training for now.  My grades are suffering and I need more time to bring them back up.  So until mid-Dec at least, I'm going to have to scale back the training.  I'm kind of bummed out about this, but I don't really have a choice... a little extra suffering in France or another year of classes to retake the ones with low grades.

Day 52

Rest day.  Big exam, so nothing but books for me.

Day 51

Big day today... in addition to the hour I spent at the gym, I got a follower!  And not just any follower, the Legendary Richie Hendo!!!!  OK, that's all.

Day 50

50 days of training for my charity ride have passed by, and the donations are not exactly pouring in... actually, there's been exactly one donation since I started this new fundraising effort.  That's a little discouraging, but there's still lots of time to go.  Donate Here

I forgot to summarize my ongoing totals last week, probably because I got caught up in the excitement of the Tour route announcement.  So here we go, 2 weeks worth added together: 215.75km in 8 hours, for an avg speed of 26.9km/h, plus 3 hours in the gym.  So that brings the total for 7 weeks to 1310.74km in 47.23 hours, for an avg speed of 27.7 km/h.  That's enough to get from Vancouver to Medicine Hat along Hwy 1.

Last night's ride was nothing special.  I had a pee break and forgot to turn the timer back on, so I just used the data from the previous night to approximate, since they were basically the same.  28.45km in 1:05:58, avg of 25.9km/h

Day 49

Went for a nice ride in the wind and rain after roughly 16 hours of studying and lectures.  Sure felt good to get outside!  After my power test a couple of days ago, I've lowered my zones a bit to adjust to the loss of fitness since the summer.  So now my low intensity rides will be even lower!  28.45km in 1:05:58, for an avg speed of 25.9km/h.  Which is actually faster than it felt at that intensity and with all that wind...

I forgot to take a picture during the ride, but figured that my post ride chocolate milk routine deserved a little attention anyways... I think it's the best recovery drink out there.  I have some after every ride and just vary the amount I have based on the my ride and how much fuel I took in on the ride.

Day 48

Another day off the bike for this beleaguered student... I was considering a ride because I feel pretty good, even though coach scheduled a rest day, but in the end it was mounting assignments that made the decision for me.  Just gives me more to look forward to tomorrow, I guess?

Day 47

Took advantage of a rare break in the rain (still very windy) for a quick ride out around UBC.  Picked up the pace a bit today, 28.97km in 55:33, avg speed 31.3km/h: ride details and map.  Because of the rolling course, and the higher intensity, the normalized power was 10% higher.  Most times around this same course it's only around 1% higher!  I was able to do about 30 min at an avg of 242W, which is down from the 265W threshold I was measuring at the end of the summer.  This doesn't really surprise me, as I lost a considerable amount of fitness transitioning into this long training schedule (it's actually not as low as I thought it would be).  With this info though, I can adjust all my training zones appropriately... I've probably been going a little too hard on my low intensity rides!  Luckily the difference won't be too much, since I'd hate to have spent 5 weeks doing the dreaded in-between rides...

Went past the Royal Van Yacht Club on the way home, surprised so many still in the marina not taking advantage of the wind!  

Day 46

Just an hour in the gym today, no ride.  Nothing strange to report.  Back to studying.

Day 45

Feeling pretty rough today, hopefully not getting sick, but I figured I'd play it safe since it's a rest week and get a little extra rest tonight (aka study time).

Day 44

Getting pumped for the Tour!  Thinking about the route all day today.  Up and over the Galibier twice!  One of those unroute to Alpe d'Huez!  That's only about 100km on that stage, but still, two pretty mean climbs back to back.   Back to reality, and today's training included an hour in the gym around noon, then a ride around midnight: 28.41km in 1:03:44, for an avg speed of 26.8km/h.  ride details and map
Very nice ride tonight, full moon, so bright out I couldn't stop thinking about it!  But I knew better than to try and take another picture of the moon with my phone camera...

When I set out the fog horns were sounding in the bay and all the ships were wrapped in for.  You could still see them, and there wasn't any fog elsewhere... looked really cool, so I figured I'd take a pic on the way back.  Then when I got back the fog was gone, even though you can't even really tell they're ships from the picture!

Day 43

Today was a rest day.  I spent most of the day booking hotels all over France after the route for the 2011 Tour was announced this morning.  I managed to find hotels in almost every town I wanted, except for the mountains and rest day towns... those were pretty much all sold out by the time I looked (within hours of the route being released).  Getting pretty damn exciting though!  Even planning to camp out after riding up Alpe d'Huez and staying at the top until the race gets there the next day!

Day 42

Pretty excited today because tomorrow brings the announcement of the 2011 Tour de France route.  It's going to finish in the Alps, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the race going through the Alps, so there should be some pretty hard and iconic climbs in this year's Alps.  To get a taste for a day in the Alps, this past July 11th, I rode an approximation of that day's route from Station des Rousses to Morzine-Avoriaz.  Two cat 4's, one cat 3, and two cat 1 climbs over 189km.  So how did this look in Vancouver?  187.58km and 9,691ft of climbing.  I tried to find a close simulation of the distances between the categorized climbs and the length and grade of the climbs themselves.  So I left Kits beach, went out towards UBC and did a couple of laps on the hill up to UBC, then out to Iona beach and back to the UBC hill for 3 more laps, then out to North Van via the Lions Gate bridge, across the North Shore, and up Seymour two and a half times, then back to Kits via Stanley Park.  The ride took just over 8.5 hours, but it was good to get a feel for what I'll be looking at each day for 3 weeks next summer.

As for tonight's ride, it was another quiet, peaceful night.  It's so crisp and fresh at night, I'm amazed I'm the only one out!  Tonight the moon was really bright and it lit up the road, silhouetting the tree line around campus (as is obvious from the stunning photo below!).  28.29km in 1:06:26, for an avg speed of 26km/h.   ride details and map

 

Day 41

Today was a somewhat disappointing day... I was planning a 3.5 hour ride out to Lions Bay and the weather was really nice, but my school work took much longer than I expected and I've only just finished at 11:30pm.  I had to cut my ride short yesterday for school too, plus a mechanical Thursday night, so I'm a little bummed that I didn't meet my planned volume for this week.  This coming week is a recovery week anyways, so I guess I just got started a little early.  A 7 hour week is gonna be so relaxing (and by that I mean that I'll be spending an extra 7 hours studying this week.

Day 40

I was planning to go for a few hours today, but decided I should cut it short and study instead (which ended up being a nap, but who's counting).   The data's a little weird because the one minute ride from 2 nights ago is on there (when my cable snapped).  Did 2 laps around Stanley Park with Ben at an easy pace, 28.08km in 1:06:10, for an avg speed of 25.5km/h: ride details and map.


Here's a shot of Ben impersonating Harry Jerome in Stanley Park

Day 39

My bike is sitting in the shop today, but should be ready for pick up when I head home from school to have a feed and costume change before work.  Went to the gym for the first time this season today instead of riding... I can feel the knots already, like golf balls in legs and ass!  Haha!  And that was just a mellow warmup to get my muscles used to the gym again.  Should loosen up on my ride tomorrow. 

Day 38

Made it to the end of my street, then a felt my shifter give out... ride cancelled!  It's a good reminder though, that it's a good idea to do your scheduled rides now, because it might be possible to make them up later, but you might also be forced not to ride.  Maybe it's equipment, or maybe you're sick, etc... forced rest days happen, so there's no need to add any more into your schedule because you feel a little tired.

See how one cable is taut and the other is sagging... it's not supposed to sag

Day 37

Note to self: bring batteries for when headlight runs out of juice.  On the bright side, I could see even more stars without a headlight!  Did 55.51km in 2:04:10 this evening, for an avg speed of 26.8km/h.  I'm going a little slower now as the duration of my rides is increasing, but otherwise it's business as usual.  ride details and map

This phenomenal shot of the downtown skyline is from just out front of my apartment.  Camera phone, you never cease to amaze me!

Day 36

Fell asleep before I could post again.  I could barely keep my eyes open by 10pm last night, then when I got back from my ride a little after midnight I was wide awake, for about 15 minutes!  Hit snooze this morning for nearly an hour before I realized I was doing it... Anyways, last night's ride: 46.24km in 1:43:20, avg speed 27.0km/h ride details and map


I forgot to take a picture while I was out... remembered part way through taking off my first shoe... 

Day 35

I've decided to change things up for this week and take a rest day today instead of Friday.  I have an organic chem midterm tomorrow and I need to focus on that tonight.  So obviously I'm blogging as a means of procrastination.  Notice that I say "blogging" because Marty gave me shit for calling this diary and took my shift last night on the condition that I refer to it as a blog.  This seems like a fair deal, since I was only calling it a diary when nobody was reading it other than me, but now I have 3 confirmed readers...

So, no ride to report, just a summary of last week:  291.43km in 10.63 hours, for an avg speed of 27.4km/h.  That brings the 35 day total to 1094.99km in 39.23 hours, for an avg of 27.9km/h.  That's enough to get me over 100km past Calgary.

Day 34

I passed out before I could post my ride from last night... got in just after midnight.  I had some chocolate milk and nachos, then went straight to bed.  Pretty uneventful ride anyways, 28.11km in 1:02:33, for an avg speed of 27km/h, ride details and map.

On top of that, I forgot to take a picture while I was out, so I took one on my street just before getting home.  I know, pretty impressive shot...

Day 33

Soggy!  My toes and fingers were prunes by the end of my ride today.  Did a lap of Lulu island, 94.51km in 3:29:13, avg speed was 27.1km/h  ride details and map.  That's faster than I thought it was... lots of wind and massive puddles... felt like I was riding in mud for the last hour and half or so, pretty tired, and only brought one cliff bar.

Richmond, obviously:

Day 32

Rest day today, which really means school all day and work all night.  But while I sit here procrastinating on my school work, I thought it would be neat to see a comparison of my rides from back in March when I was just getting started and a similar one last week:

The route was about 40km, out SW Marine and back to Kits beach.  In March, my average speed was 25.6km/h, avg power was 137W, and avg heart rate was 156bpm.  For the same course last week, my avg speed was 28.3km/h, avg power was 164W, and avg heart rate was 150bpm.  That's about a 10% increase in speed and about a 20% increase in power, at a lower level of exertion based on hr.  That's faster than you would expect for a 20% increase in power, so it seems efficiency has improved too!

That's all pretty motivating for me, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks in 6 months.

Day 31

You guessed it, another ride at night.  It seems to be working for me.  I get my school work done, then go for a ride once my brain is too tired to focus.  28.38km in 1:00:46 for an avg of 28.0km/h. ride details and map Just a slight drizzle, but the clouds kept things warmer overall.

I tried to take a cool picture going down the hill, with all the lights streaming by, but my camera phone didn't get the memo.

Day 30

Went for another night ride.  Kind of liking these late night rides, it's so quiet out.  Only trouble is the last couple late night rides I've realized about an hour in that I haven't had enough to eat today...

63.94km in 2:18:11 for a speed of 27.8km/h: ride map and details

The funny thing about riding at night is you lose your bearings in the dark, and every now and then I only realize I'm going up a hill by the data on my computer!  So I thought a pic of my computer would be cool, but it didn't turn out that well...

Day 29

Went for a nice low intensity ride with Ben, who was kind enough to wait for me on the hills again... Getting a little chilly around dusk these days.  30.16km in 1:05:10, for an average of 27.8km/h, ride details and map

Here's a pic of Ben, riding out by UBC near sunset.


Week 4 summary: 270.02km in 9.83 hours, so averaged about 27.5km/h for the week.  Goal was 10 hours... gradually ramping things up.

Total summary since Day 1:
803.56km in 28.6 hours, for an avg of 28.1km/h
The pace is gradually slowing, but that's enough to get me past Golden... next stop Calgary, to watch the Canucks beat the Flames

Day 28

Went out at 10pm tonight for 46.33km in 1:41:45, for an average speed of 27.3km/h: ride details and map

Great night, cool, crisp air, lots of stars and almost nobody around.  Tried to take a pic of the little bit of light I had from my "headlight"... as you can see, reaction time is a little limited

Also, I'm really happy Thor Hushovd won the World Championships... seems like a really classy guy

Day 27

Went for a nice easy ride out and around UBC.  Just a slight fall drizzle, kind of refreshing.  28.07km in 58:16, for an average speed of 28.9km/h.  ride details and map

Fall on campus, UBC:

Day 26

Another diary entry for me.  Never thought growing up that I would keep a diary, ever.  But, until anybody bothers to look at this, I can't see how this is any different than a little girl's diary...

Went for a mellow ride out to Lions Bay today for a coffee.  78.82km in 3:05:35, avg speed of 25.7km/h: ride details/map


View from the Lions Gate Bridge, looking West, lots of boats out fishing.

The fellas, enjoying a coffee break in Lions Bay

Day 25

Rest day!  I've moved my rest days to Fridays because it's the only day of the week that I have to attend lectures and work.  It's so nice outside, but I need at least one rest day per week.  I really want to get outside!  "need a rest day... need a rest day... need a rest day..."

Day 24

Had a great ride with Ben for an hour, just hiding out in his draft, then he went home and I did another hour in the dark.  It got a little cold, but it was nice to be outside, and I could see some stars too!  57.01km in 1:56:31 for an avg of 29.4km/h: ride details/map

I got a sunset pic for the second day in a row, and I'll post them just as soon as I figure out why I can't get them to upload on to my computer!  (IOU)

Day 23

Another flat tire!  Found a piece of something in the tire though, so I'm off to get some new ones.  Gonna splurge on some beefy ones to fight all the debris on the roadside in winter.  Other than the flats, had a couple of fun laps around Stanley park with Christian.  26.97km in 58:31 for an avg speed of 27.7km/h, ride details/map

(This is yesterday's post, I forgot to actually hit the post button.  Luckily it saves automatically.

Day 22

The sun came back today!  Had a great ride this evening, even though my shoes were still wet from last night.  30.34km in 1:04:46 for an avg speed of 28.1km/h.  ride details/map

Got a picture of Ben coming down the UBC hill just before sunset.  Of course this was all planned to go with the pic I took yesterday going up the hill just before sunset. 

Day 21

Had a nice ride in the rain tonight.  48.81km in 1:46:13: ride details/map

This is the hill up to UBC

Week 3 summary: 111.25km in 3.93 hours, so averaged about 28.3km/h for the week.  Pretty mellow week, blame school.

Total summary since Day 1:
533.54km in 18.77 hours, for an avg of 28.4km/h
So that'll get me as far as Sicamous

Day 20

Today was a forced rest day, falling behind in school and had an assignment due at midnight, which I just submitted.  I've seen enough blood smears today to last me for a while... pretty sure I'm gonna dream about malaria parasites...

Day 19

Great weather for a ride today.  Sunny and probably a little under 20 degrees.  Went out with Andrew and Ben, tried not to spend too much time riding behind them (too easy) and also tried to not make them wait to long on the hills (too hard).

Had my first flat in about 4500km!  Can't complain about that.  40.88km in 1:27:10: ride details.

Day 18

Another rest day, mostly because my school schedule has forced me to change my weekly rest day from Mondays to Fridays, but I could also use a chance to catch up on some school work...

Just had a look at the stats for my blog.  So far I'm averaging one view per day!  Guess who that is... yup, it's the guy talking to himself again right now! 

Day 17

First day of fall.  Wet, windy, and getting dark much earlier.  Had a couple of near misses on some wet leaves this evening, so I started going into corners a bit slower...  30.31km in 1:05:23: details and map.

Typical Vancouver in the fall: barely visible through the rain

Day 16

Rest day.  Beautiful day out, but need to rest today, partly because I'm falling behind in school.

Day 15

Week 3 starts today!  Only another 40 or so to go... So no big surprise, went for another low intensity ride around UBC today, 40.07km in 1:23:20: http://tpks.ws/Kr8a.  Still sunny in Vancouver, so I'm trying to max out my daylight rides before the inevitable cold, dark, and wet winter season.

This pic is from just out front of my apartment, on the West end of the street.  Beautiful sunny morning in Vancouver.

Day 14

Rest day (also known as study day).  Week 2 summary: 230.79km in 8.12 hours, so averaged about 28.4km/h for the week. 

Total summary since Day 1:
 422.29km in 14.84 hours, for an avg of 24.5km/h
That would get me from Vancouver to Blind Bay for a few beers on the lake.

Day 13

Went for a couple of laps of Stanley Park with Ben Smith today.  Poor guy had to keep waiting for me and my low intensity pace! 28.24km in 1:02:31: http://tpks.ws/MMxv

Day 12

Nice day of mixed weather in Vancouver.  Set out thinking I'd get rained on, then just tried to stay South West of the mountains to increase my chances of staying dry.  By the end of the ride the sun was coming out! 

Another low intensity ride for this guy today, started to feel it about 2 hours in though.  Here's the link for the ride data http://tpks.ws/nDPiJVWU.  76.92km in 2:34:47.  If the data is any interest, you might notice that this is a good example of one of the benefits of using power instead of heart rate (not to mention the benefits of using both together).  As the ride went on, my heart rate steadily rose from about 150bpm to about 165bpm, while power output stayed constant.  Had I been training based on heart rate, my power output would have steadily declined over the ride, reducing the stress of the workout. 

And today's photo, taken along the short climb up to UBC, one of the many scenic views of the ride. 

Day 11

18.90 km in 41:21.  Nice and quiet around Stanley Park this morning, saw less than a half-dozen people from when I went into the park to when I came out!  Nice fresh morning, even though it looks like Kits pool is closed for the season.  http://tpks.ws/lZmT 

Day 10

Rest day today, but I did notice today that it's been over 4000km since my last puncture! 

Day 9

Pretty easy ride today, slowed down a bit, which kept my avg heart rate to 138bpm.  Nice evening, perfect temp, and the rain held off.  40.46 km in 1:27:14: http://tpks.ws/CUGw

Pretty boring pic tonight, Spanish Banks at dusk, nobody there... 

Day 8

Rode out to Steveston today.  66.26km in 2:21:23:
 https://www.trainingpeaks.com/sw/V4GP2HMWFEFFJOONPUM5VZY5HQ

And I thought I'd spice things up a bit with a photo from each ride, starting today.  I don't own a camera, so these are all gonna have to be taken with my phone.  If we're lucky, there might end up being a couple of decent ones in there by July.  So here's one from Steveston:

Day 7

Rest Day.  Nothing strange to report.

Week 1 summary: 191.5km in 6.72 hours, so averaged about 28.5km/h for the week. 

Day 6

So, today it finally rained on my ride and I put my fenders to good use.  Really enjoy not having my shorts filled with muddy water (thank you rear fender).  Also really like my shoes not filling with water every time I turn or ride through a puddle (thank you front fender).

Otherwise just business as usual for a nice wet day in Van City: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/sw/WBTFC6GPU55TANZB5ZR67YJR3M

Day 5

Went for a low intensity ride out to Iona beach and back, lots of wind today.  Somehow managed to stay dry again.  Pretty happy with the way things are going for the first week, even though it's a little hard to keep things in check after so many faster paced rides in August.

Just over 2 hours for about 60km:
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/sw/TSK4F6QHZ63AZQY5MKTBBRR6RU 

Day 4

Rest day!  I don't really like rest days... it's only 9am and my legs are already twitchy.  The twitching makes it hard to catch up on studying, but I've got to fit that in at some point.  With a full course load this year, I'm trying to rig something up so I can read while riding my indoor trainer. 

Day Three

So far zero people are following, so this is looking like it'll be more of a personal diary... I do a lot of talking to myself anyways, so what the hell!  Lots of head wind today, really noticed the fenders being back on.  About 30km in about 1:03:00.  Itchin to ramp things up already, so for now the hardest part is holding back.

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/sw/QBA37M7GWDUWOV77IXGUYJ2MMY

Day Two

Did a little over 40km in about 1:23:00 tonight, but my power meter seems to be acting up, so I don't have a file to share. 

I put the fenders back on today and then the sun came out, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before things get soggy out there.

Day One

Day one, training starts today.  I’ve been easing into the sport of cycling over the past 5 months and now I’m ready to crank things up a notch.  So here’s to hoping for an injury-free season and 10 months of consistent training. 

The pros seem to average something around 6 hours per stage, so my goal will be to keep my times around 8 hours.  I’ll be happy if I can keep things within about 30% of the pros, especially since I anticipate having to ride alone for most of the race. 

Today’s ride was a nice easy 1 hour/30km ride out around UBC: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/sw/OHISKY2N247PDQFOI4TXVY3Q6Y