Two exits, no waiting or My life as a nurse

Monday, April 26 – 31 kms in 1:16

Commuting to school is a great way to put in the base distance that I need to build and maintain my aerobic fitness. I'm lucky that Vancouver offers such a huge variety of riding terrain. I managed to get a loop around Stanley Park and got home just before it started pouring with rain.    

 

Tuesday, April 27 – 36 kms in 1:31

Another ride squeezed in before school. In an ideal world we'd all live on the income from a huge inheritance, children would be well behaved all of the time, and we wouldn't need to train. In reality when juggling the three; work, family, and training, it is usually training that must take the back seat. Cory's plan called for a 2 hour ride today, but I only managed to get ¾ of it done. Such is the reality of life.

 

Wednesday, April 28 – 38 kms in 1:28

What you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabouts. Today's plan called for core work, but no ride. So I made up for the shorter distances over the past few days and still managed the dreaded core exercises after dinner.

 

Thursday, April 29 – Rest Day

It is amazing how much an eColi infections can disrupt family life. On Sunday my mother-in-law attended a luncheon celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the local parish of the Anglican Church. Some kind souls donated food and drink and everyone got to meet the Bishop. Unfortunately everyone also got eColi and felt like hell. (One elderly parishioner ended up in hospital.) By Wednesday afternoon my wife had come down with the bug and it was, as they say, Two exits, no waiting By Wednesday night Sarah was sick and at 1:30 am woke up, started crying and insisted on coming into the big bed with us. She then proceeded to throw up every half hour on the half hour until 7:00 am. I spent all of Thursday doing laundry and acting as housemaid.

 

Friday, April 30 – 49 kms in 1:59

Again, back to core day, but I also had a 1 ½ hour commute ride on the schedule. In addition, this was my day to redo the outdoor 10 km time trial. The last time I did the 10km TT outside it took me just over 17 minutes. This time I managed it in 15:16. Both times I rode the same route, a "U"-shaped road route around UBC. There are almost no traffic signals, and if I roll through one stop sign I can ride the whole route non-stop. I'll do this again in June and try to get my time under 15 minutes.

 

Saturday, May 1 – 10 kms in 0: 52

A 3 ½ hour aerobic ride was on the schedule, but all I managed to fit in was just under an hour of some hilly pavement and double track. Ah, the realities of life.

 

Sunday, May 2

Another 3 ½ ride was on Cory's training plan. But as my wife was feeling like hell and had not really recovered from her eColi infection I was home on nursemaid and daddy duty.

Back after too long an absence

Tuesday, April 20 – No ride

The plan was for a 45 minute commute to school and back. However due to the weather I didn't manage to get a ride in. This is due to the fact that I don't have a place to put a wet bike at school. Better bike infrastructure would likely get more people to consider commuting by bike.

 

Wednesday, April 21 – 20 kms in 0:53

Again, the plan didn't match reality. Cory's plan for Wednesday called for a 2 hour ride. I was hoping to stay out longer but it started pouring with rain and so I headed home. I know, on the TR I won't have this option. I've ridden my fair share of stages in the rain. But when I got home I did my core routine. Plank, and medicine ball and Swiss ball exercises. A necessary evil.

 

Thursday, April 22 – Rest day

Again, the plan did not match reality. Today Cory's plan called for me to redo the 4 km and 1km time trials. I need to redo my indoor time trials to see if I've managed to improve my time and power since the last time I did them December. I hoped to regain access to the gym next week so I can repeat the TT pain. As Thursday is my daddy day I also had lots of unstructured core work hauling my daughter around and some long stroller walks.

 

Friday, April 23 – 31 kms in 1:16

Friday is my other core routine day, but I also managed to squeeze in ride after school. I've started fitting in couple of loops of the road around Stanley Park. The route takes under 20 minutes if the road is clear and I'm pushing hard. The hill up to the Lion's Gate Bridge is short and depending on the bike I'm riding I can usually maintain a speed of about 20 km/p up the hill. This is where Cory wants me to do some hill repeats. This prospect would send most sane people would run screaming in the other direction. Lucky for me I quite like riding hills, so make your own judgement about my sanity. (6 TransRockies should confirm your decision.)

 

Saturday, April 24 – 46 kms in 1:46

Cory had a long, 3 ½ hour, road ride planned, however the realities of family life meant that I could only get ½ of the time in. I hope to get a longer ride in tomorrow.

 

Sunday, April 25 – 100 kms in 3:43

Although Cory's plan only called for a 3 hour ride I put in some extra time. I re-rode the Pacific Populaire route solo. I must say riding this route solo, despite the fact that it has almost no hills, is a real workout. You never really get a rest and the inevitable headwinds are a real energy drain. In the early 1950s my father went on a cycling trip around Europe. He told me the hardest place to ride was the Netherlands. Flat, cobblestones and always a headwind.