Two silly time trials

Monday, May 24 – 40 kms in 1:34

Victoria Day. A holiday in Canada and the unofficial start of summer. This is when people head up to the lack, open the cottage and take an ill advised swim in the still too cold water. In Ontario they celebrate Britain's longest reigning monarch with fireworks while here in British Columbia it was yet another excuse to get outside and enjoy the great weather and fine scenery. The Monday plan calls for a commuting ride of 90 minutes or so. I managed to get out to UBC on my pig of a commuter bike. About 15 kilos and fitted out with a rack and fenders. A sturdy ride for commuting, but not the most inspiring ride. I knocked off 40 kms in just over an hour and half. I can manage a pretty good pace on the bike and it always shocks riders on road bikes when I pass them, especially if I'm hauling panniers as well.

 

Tuesday, May 25 – 26 kms in 1:05

A quick ride out to UBC and back. I was on my dreaded commuter bike and it is such a pig. The one saving grace is that it has slick tires and once I get going along the flats I can maintain a pretty good pace. I need to get back on my road bike.

 

Wednesday, May 26 – 9 kms in 0:26

Wednesday's are one of my core days. This starts with the dreaded Plank and then some variations on sit-ups and crunches. But I did manage to get a short ride in to school and back. Only 9 km in about 25 minutes, but it is better than nothing.

 

Thursday, May 27 – Rest Day

Daddy duty again. This is my rest day but I usually manage to get a few long walks in with Sarah. I've said it before, nothing like a small child to help with the core workouts. Yet another cry of, "Up me daddy" and I'm hauling around 13 kg of wriggling toddler on my shoulders. We run, or rather walk slowly, and check out the neighbourhood.

 

Friday, May 28 – 40 kms in 1:48

Hills, please make them stop!! Normally I don't mind hills. I just put my head down and grind away until I get to the top. Today Cory's plan called for hill intervals. I though flat intervals were bad enough, but these are downright evil. The plan if to find a 7-9% hill and ride it over and over. But finding a 7 to 9% hill on Bowen Island is tough. Most of the hills tend to be steeper, with one regular ride being 24%. (And this is a paved municipal road.)

The plan calls for a 1 minute interval climbing, then rolling back down to the bottom and doing it again. For me the problem was each time I rode my minute uphill I made less progress. The difference was not huge, 5 metres or so, but my diminishing performance was a real pain. Some time I'll do this again and see if I can 1) get any higher, and 2) improve as I ride more intervals in the set.

The other problem is that the gearing on the road bike is a bit narrow for Bowen Island's hills. I need to replace my cassette and try to find some slightly lower gears. (I have a 12-26 and probably need to go to a 12-28, not much of a difference.) The other alternative is to replace the cranks with a compact set. That is, however, a much more expensive proposition.

 

Saturday, May 29 – 23 kms in 60 minutes

By the time I got out for my ride this afternoon the rain had long since cleared. This should have been a hint. About 400 metres into my ride I felt some drops on my legs, but as the sky didn't look too threatening I kept on pedaling. In retrospect this was likely an ill advised move on my part. The sprinkling turned to rain by the time I got to the middle of the island and so I cut the ride a bit shorter than I had hoped. (Silly me. I was only going out for a short ride and didn't bring rain gear.) It turned out that if I'd stayed closer to home I would have avoided the rain altogether. Ah the perils of riding in a place with hills. The rain can be just around the corner, or over the top of the next hill. On the TR I expect changeable weather and always have a jacket with me, but then on the TR one can easily be out for five or six hours. (My longest TR day was day three in 2004. We finished in 11:23.)

The weather should be better tomorrow and I hope to get out for a longer ride. So far I've racked up 665 kms in May and with luck I'll get close to 800 by the end of the month.

 

Sunday, May 30 – 45 kms in 1:41

I must be mad. What would possess a grown, and some would hope sensible, person to attempt a 10 km road time trial on a full suspension cross country bike? I guess part of the reason is that my road bike is on Bowen Island and I'm not. The other is that I was interested to see the effect of XC tyres, extra weight and suspension on my time. Well, overall I'm not too displeased. 18:26 for 10 kms.