Thursday, July 1 - Rest Day
Well, it was supposed to be a rest day, and strictly speaking it was. I stayed off the bike and hung out with my daughter. I also spent 5 hours building a new railing on my front deck. The railing is required because the deck has a huge drop on one side. And with a small daughter a huge drop, leading to a steep bank and a rocky cliff and finally a drop to the beach, is not something that child safety advocates would recommend.
After all of my work the railing was pretty bombproof. 4x4 posts connected to the joists via lag bolts. That should withstand the best efforts of a toddler. But I do think back to the packaging I saw for a waterproof camera case that was guaranteed against everything except shark attacks and children under five.
Friday, July 2 – 38 kms in 2:54
This weekend the plan calls for a three day/eleven hour mountain bike camp. I presume the intent is to get used to long back-to-back days. But on the TR my problem was never that I could not ride for long periods day after day, it was that I was a plodding diesel. But Cory's plan is building the entire physical skill set needed for a successful TR. And if I finish three or four hours of riding and can do another long ride the next day, then the TR should be okay.
The first two hours of today's ride went pretty well. Some nice single-track and double-track, some technical climbs, a short rocky descent, a bit of pavement and then into a great single-track descent. And then I looked down and notice that my bike computer was missing. I didn't notice until I was at the bottom of the descent. So I rode back up the entire climb and then back down VERY slowly. No bike computer. Oh well. I'll have to buy a new one. I quite liked this model as the numbers were large and easy to read. I have the same model of bike computer on two of my other bikes, so I will likely just swap one over. But I will need to make sure that I don't lose this one as well.
Saturday, July 3 – 53 kms in 2:54
I know, it was to be a four hour ride. I was out of the house for four hours and did plan to spend more of my time riding. But the fates did not cooperate. As I was in town and my TR bike was not, I had to do this ride on my commuter bike. This 1990 mountain bike has no suspension at all, but does have reasonable geometry and low enough gearing to climb pretty much anything. (Being from 1990 the chain rings are 48-36-26 rather than my TR bike's 44-32-22.)
Before I started my ride I check the bike over and pumped up the tyres. What did I hear? A steady "psssss" from the front tyre. The presta valve had separated from the tube. So I replaced the tube and pumped up the tyre, then went back to the apartment to wash my hands and get a new tube. Of course once I was back in the apartment my daughter wanted to know what "dada" was doing and this added a bit more delay.
Eventually I was underway and headed over to the North Shore. Vancouver is blessed with riding opportunities. No matter what type of riding you are looking for, you can find it near Vancouver. From the crazy trails built by people like Digger and Dangerous Dan to the Burnaby velodrome and everything in between. I really like the North Shore climbs. (Yes, a glutton for punishment.) Mount Seymour, Mount Fromme, and Cypress Mountain. The Mount Fromme climb, at the top of Mountain Highway in North Vancouver, is a long gravel road climb that leads to well-known trails like Ladies Only, Oil Can, and Seventh Secret and eventually to Grouse Mountain. But as I lack both the skills and the bike to ride these trails I grind up the gravel road and then go back down.
I had climbed up past the sixth switchback and stopped at a new creek culvert. Here I turned around and stopped for a bite. I rolled forward to rest my foot on a boulder by the side of the road when what do I hear from the rear tyre? "psssssss". Apart from being very pissed off that I've got another flat, I'm very glad that I picked up a replacement tube before I set off. So, in the midst of hoards of mosquitoes I wrestle the rear wheel off, pull out the old tube, discover that it has the same valve separation problem, put in a new tube and go to work with my hand pump. After far too long a time I had the tyre back to a manageable pressure and was ready to head back home. But it was not too be. Bouncing down the road the head of my seat post came loose causing my saddle to take a sudden lurch to the rear. So another stop and a fight with post and Allen key to get the saddle to stay put. An hour later I was back home. In all I'd been out for four hours, but only managed to get in three hours of riding.
Sunday, July 4 – 89 kms in 3:48
My four hour day, and I actually rode for almost four hours. Given yesterday's flat tyre fiascos I made sure that I had a couple of spare tubes and a full tool kit with me.
I wanted to ride some trails and so I headed out to Pacific Spirit Park. If my time was all my own, and I didn't have to spend time being a parent, I would probably spend more time riding the trails around Squamish. Squamish calls itself the "Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada". Given the wealth of opportunities I can't really disagree. In the 1990s I was a regular summer visitor rock climbing. Now I only make the journey for a bike race.
Pacific Spirit Park offers some interesting trails, but they are all pretty mild. I rode a few of the less used trails in the north end of the park and also did a few climbs on the hill from Spanish Banks up to the UBC campus.
I was on my old pig of a commuter big, so the hills were a bit of a chore, and the trail descents were a bit harsh, but I was pretty happy with my ride.
Monday, July 5 – Rest Day
I really do find these rest days trying. The weather is great and I'm itching to go out for a ride. In previous years I'd ride as long and as hard as I could pretty much every chance I got. As a result I had a great base, but didn't have that extra kick that I'd need in the technical single-track. As a result I'd end up walking too much stuff that was completely rideable.
This consisted of a few walks with my daughter and some shopping. Not very aerobic, but it is always good to go out a stretch the legs.
Tuesday, July 6 – 10 kms in 0:34
Cory's plan called for an hour ride today, but I had to cut my after-school ride short to get home for daddy duty. The weather is starting to improve and it looks like we will have some real summer weather by the end of the week.
Vancouver implemented a bike lane trial on one of the bridges leading to downtown. It is now a year since the trial began, so most cyclists expect it to continue. (And most motorists have consigned themselves to the fact that they will never get the lane back.) This bridge has become part of my commute to school. It is quite gratifying to run into traffic jams consisting entirely of bicycles on both the bridge and its approaches and exits.
Wednesday, July 7 – 25 kms in 1:14
After yesterday's shorter ride I made up for it today. The Wednesday plan is for 30 minutes of riding and 30 minutes of exercises. I usually manage to squeeze in the exercises after the family has gone to bed. My commute to school and back is usually my ride.
As I didn't get my full one hour ride in yesterday I tacked on a loop around Stanley Park to my commute home. I was riding my pig of a commuter bike. Fully loaded it is probably over double the weight of my road bike. Despite this I managed to hang with a couple of guys on road bike until we got to the climb up to the causeway and the Lions Gate Bridge.
I think that Cory's plan and the heavy and light weeks are really helping.
Thursday, July 8 – Rest day
Only one month before the start of the TR. My training is proceeding pretty well and I'm happy with the results. On July 24
I'll be doing the Gearjammer in Squamish. It has been a few years since I last did the race, although I did ride a big chunk of the course in the 2008 BC Bike Race, and it will interesting to compare my last time.
On my rest days I usually go out for a walk with my daughter. Today we had two trips to the library and also made it down to the park for some swing and slide time. Vancouver is in the midst of a heat wave. Clear skies, hot days, and lots of people complaining about the temperatures. I would have loved to go out on my bike, but I was a good boy and left my wheels at home.
Tomorrow I get to ride to Bowen Island on my road bike and then two hours of mountain biking on Saturday and two hours of road biking on Sunday.
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