The Cambridge Tour de Grand

With my charity ride in the Ride for Heart on June 7th fast approaching, I decided to think about what I might do after that one is done. Since it will still only be early June, there will still be a lot of time to get involved in some other organized rides. Believe it or not, it even crossed my mind to look into getting back into doing a little racing. Mind you, I wasn't thinking of doing that with the goal of winning any races. This thought came to me moreso with the idea that it might be fun to try a little informal racing after close to 25 years out of competition. After being able to stick with the Cervelo guys for a bit last week and reading so many tweets on twitter and blogs from fellow amateur cyclists who go out for races, it kind of inspired me to think I might still have enough in the legs to race a bit myself.

I did a little research to see if there was any such "casual" racing going on in my area, starting with the Toronto Bicycle Network (TBN.ca). It turns out that they are strictly a touring club, but I was pointed in the direction of the Midweek Cycling Club in Mississauga. I took a look at their website and sure enough, it does seem as if they offer the kind of racing I'm looking for. My only problem is the mid-week part. With work commitments, making it to Mississauga in time for an evening race would be tough if not impossible. I do have to read their site a little more closely to see if there are any weekend events that are up my alley, but for now that idea is on hold.

In my search, however, I did find a site for the 12th Annual Cambridge Tour de Grand. For those of you not familiar with Ontario, Cambridge is a town about an hour west of Toronto down the 401. The Tour de Grand is not a race, but rather a fairly popular annual touring ride in and around Cambridge. So, after reading the info on the site, I thought it would be fun to join in and ride through some countryside that I normally wouldn't get to see living in the Big Smoke. I could have signed up for a 100k or 160k ride, but decided to go with a 72k route. That's pretty much my comfort zone for a ride right now and it means I don't have to get up quite so early to get there for the start.

I have to say I'm really looking forward to it. Should be fun and it gives me something else to focus on beyond my ride on the 7th. As for the racing, I'll keep looking for something my speed and keep you posted. I sure would like to win one of those nice red participation ribbons that the guys who come in last get.