Coming inside

For Xmas my fiancé and her family pitched in to get me and her a pair of Tacx cycletrainers so we can both continue to cycle through the winter.

Managed to do my first 30min ride yesterday (20min on level 3, 10 min on level 2), despite the confused and worried looks from the dogs.

Deerhurst 36K

Deerhurst Resort, deep in Muskoka country and just outside Huntville, is beautiful. (Un)fortunately, it's also very, very hilly terrain, and the past two days were very, very wet.

The night before tackling the big ride I headed north out of the Deerhurst compound and got lost in the night. I wanted to try out my new Rayovac headlamp, and while it struggled valiantly, so did the wind and rain. Even with ample light visibility was terrible.

Instead of being out for an hour or so as I'd planned, the wind picked up and start throwing rain at me sideways, so I came back drenched after about 25-30 mins and only 6K. The kicker was that the last two songs I heard (at random) on my w810i were:

Standing in the rain [...]
Raindrops runnin' through my veins

Standing In The Rain

- and -

Rolling along with the waves,
A thousand miles away
Holding you close in the rain...

The Navy Song

Depressing. Anyway, Tuesday morning was bright and almost rain-free. Still windy and chilly, but once I got going that was hardly a concern. Here's the route:

Deerhust to Huntsville Loop

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The scenery is awesome, but it's overshadowed by the amount of effort required to bike the loop. Definitely something I want to do again, but in warmer and drier weather.

83K to go...

125K to go

Managed to get out and do 40K on Saturday, thanks to Paul's encouragement. Hoping for at least another 125K before the season's over, so I can see my odometer roll over 2000K. Not bad for a 3 year old bike.

Swimming upstream

After being briefly distracted by some salmon trying to swim upstream, we decided to stray from the beaten track today to follow the river and look for more.

Salmon getting ready to make a run upriver
-- click for more

We found some more offroad trails in the Morningside / Col. Danforth park system, and right around where the trail forded the river, we found a couple who'd just managed to catch one of the unlucky salmon on their trek north.

After the park we headed to Pickering via the usual route, then north to Finch and over to the Algoma Forest, which I learned afterwards is a bike-free zone. Headed for home in the grey, intermittent drizzle, finishing at about 45km for the day.

Guildwood to Pickering return

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Berlin to Copenhagen on Push Bikes

Stumbled upon a link to this blog, and I'm thinking I need to try something like this some day. Two weeks on a bike sounds like a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. Berlin to Copenhagen on Push Bikes Actually, I am planning to try The Ride to Conquer Cancer on June 20 - 22, 2008, from Toronto to Niagara Falls. Anyone intested in joining a team or donating to a worthwhile cause?

Blogged with Flock

On Walkabout

As a break from cycling, went for a 7km walk with Paul and the dogs down the Doris McCarthy Ravine/Trail, across the beach path under the bluffs, up at Galloway and over to my inlaws' place for turkey-day-leftovers lunch.

Hike, Walk or Cycle: Ravine Dr to Galloway Rd

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Then, to further break in my new Hydration Belt, I went for a 4.5km jog/walk up to Mr. Sub for dinner.

Scarborough/Pickering 60km Cycling Route

Saturday morning. Roads and trails. 60km, including 7km of the Lord Seton Trail, and intermittent rain for the last 20km. Good times.

Guildwood, Morningside Pk, Col Danforth Pk, Lwr Highland Pk, Rouge Bch Pk, Lk Ontario, Waterfront Trl, Petticoat Crk, Frenchman's Bay, Pickering Running Room, 3rd Conc, Lord Seton Trl, Taunton/Altona, HWY 2, Militaty Trl, Orton Pk, Guildwood

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