Two rides in one

This week's recap is actually a bit of a 2-in-1. The main reason for that is that last week, rather than writing about my Sunday ride, I decided to put in a plug for the MS Bike Tours. So this week I'll start with a recap of that ride first.

This first ride was another group ride with the TBN, and actually followed the same route as the one I did a few weeks back when I totally bonked and barely made it home. This time around however, things went much better, but I can't say it was totally without some adventure. First of all, I came much better prepared, with lots of food and liquids in hopes of avoiding the dreaded dehydration that led to my previous bonk. It's probably a good thing too. Unlike the previous ride, this one for some reason started out much faster, with the group pushing a pretty high pace right from the get-go. I was fine with that as I like a little higher pace than we had done on the previous ride.

What I didn't like was getting another flat and losing the group at about 40k in. What was unusual about this flat was that it was most likely the result of a pothole I hit at about the 25k mark. Once again, I hit it pretty hard and thought for sure I would flat immediately, but it didn't. It wasn't until I was going downhill at about 45kmh much later than the air finally let out. I certainly didn't hit anything, and the tube damage had all the earmarks of a pinch puncture typical of a pothole hit. Anyway, I was left alone with no way to catch up to the fast moving group after a 10-minute repair stop.

I checked my map and realized that if I cut-off the top part of the route's loop, I just might be able to rejoin. My shortcut trimmed about 5k off my ride total, but I couldn't have timed it better. Just as I reached the crossing point, sure enough the group was right there. I hopped back in and finished out the ride at a pretty steady 30-35kmh pace. In all, 109km in 4h06. Perhaps the most notable moment of the return ride was that I fianlly made it non-stop over the dreaded "Weston Wall". I've been up that thing 3 times now, and this was the first time I didn't have to stop for a breather. I also learned that the "Weston Wall" is actually called "Strawberry Hill". That certainly sounds a lot less daunting, but it is still brutal none-the-less.

4-fifths of my TBN group heading south back towards Toronto

Yesterday's ride was also a TBN group ride following a different route to the northeast and a little town called Mt. Albert. The morning sky was very grey with a cool breeze, and I actually went back to my long sleeves for the day. This kind of cool is almost unheard of in and around Toronto in July. Normally it's low 30's celsius and 90% humidity. The cool makes for great riding, but a lot of people are starting to wonder if we'll ever get a summer. I think maybe it's time for someone to give Al Gore a wake-up call too.

This turned out to be a great ride and pretty well paced. Nothing eventful of note to speak of, other than climbing a hill next to a shooting club and listening to the pop of gun fire. We were just hoping they were shooting in the other direction. Unlike the Tour de France, we cyclists shouldn't have to worry about getting shot at. After a short stop for a bite to eat in Mt. Albert, our remaining group of 5 headed back south towards Toronto and I totalled out at 103k in 3h45. That now puts me just over 1500k for the year.

I should have no trouble reaching my next goal and perhaps even a bit more. Now that I am unemployed again, I've got no shortage of time for riding. So much time in fact that I've decided to turn pro. Sure there's not a lot of money in it at my level, but at least I can fill in the gap on my résumé with a job title until my next paying job comes along. By the way, if there are any pro teams out there looking for a domestique, I'm currently accepting offers.

GearingUp for MS Bike Tours

As a participant back in June in the Becel Ride for Heart, and having seen first hand what cyclists can accomplish for charity, I thought I'd start out this week with a little plug for some other upcoming cycling events created to raise awareness and much needed financial support for a very worthy cause.

Since 1989, the RONA MS Bike Tours have combined fun with fundraising as cyclists of all ages and fitness levels ride to end Multiple Sclerosis. In the years since that first event, the RONA MS Bike Tours have raised over $50 million for the MS Society of Canada. The various Tours include food and beverages, rest stops, cyclist support vehicles, first aid, basic bike repair services, and a finish line massage and barbecue.

This year, there are five MS Bike Tour events on the calendar throughout Ontario and a total of 21 events right across Canada that are expected to attract more than 10,000 cyclists from coast to coast. The local the RONA MS Bike Tour here in Toronto will be held on Sunday, September 13th and offers routes of 30 and 55 km, perfect for cyclists of all levels of ability. Rides will start and end in Centennial Park in Etobicoke and will be followed by a barbecue lunch for all participants.

Canadians have one of the highest rates of MS in the world, with three more people being diagnosed each day. Women are diagnosed three times as often as men. For people living with MS and their families, your fundraising and participation in the RONA MS Bike Tours may be life-changing. Proceeds of the Tours will fund world-class research into the cause and cure of multiple sclerosis, as well as innovative programs and services for people living with MS. More information is available at www.mssociety.ca.

The MS Society of Canada has also launched a great new blog called Gearing Up, offering news and tips about the RONA MS Bike Tours and cycling in general. You can visit it at www.gearingup.ca.

So if you're looking for a great cause to ride for this summer, register for the RONA MS Bike Tour nearest you today. In exchange for your fundraising efforts, you will be awarded with various prizes based on fundraising total, including a very nice Louis Garneau semi-relax cycling jersey.

Choose a Tour. Choose a distance. Choose to end MS.

A Weekend Off

Although I started this weekend with every intention on doing my regular weekly ride, I actually ended up deciding to take a weekend off from the bike. Due to a family commitment, I couldn't ride on Saturday, which left today as the only opportunity to hit the road.

As it turned out, I didn't go for a ride today either. The first reason why I didn't get going was that the Toronto Bicycle Network, with whom I normally do my group rides, didn't have a 10am "tourist" class ride scheduled for this morning from the start area nearest my house. There was a 55k "Easy Roller" ride scheduled, and I thought of joining that for a roll-out before splitting off for a solo to extend the distance. Not being a big morning person however, I had a bit of a sleep-in and would have had to rush to make it for the start time so I decided to pass on that.

During breakfast, I thought about going for my typical solo ride, but for some reason, just couldn't seem to get myself going. It had nothing to do with the weather as it was a beautiful day for cycling. I think what it really boiled down to is that I just felt like I could use a little break, both physically and mentally. My last couple of rides had been pretty tough and I had successfully reached my first kilometer goal for the year last Saturday, so the timing seemed right for some time off. So instead of a ride, I opted for some chores around the house. Besides, because this past Wednesday was Canada Day and a holiday, I did sneak in an easy 55k ride, so my week wasn't entirely cycling-free.

I also spent a bit of time on Saturday working on that bad click I've been hearing coming from my bottom bracket. My nearest local bike shop, Spokes and Sports, very kindly loaned me the tool I needed to take my BB apart and I overhauled it as best I could. I have no idea if I was successful fixing it, as a good test ride is really needed to determine that. Fingers crossed though, problem solved.

Needless to say, like a lot of fellow amateur cyclists, I've also been glued to OLN TV (Canada's version of Versus) and the first 2 stages of the Tour de France this weekend.

I don't think that my break will have a negative impact on my reaching my new goal as I suspect I'm soon going to have lots of time for cycling in the coming weeks, if not months. Unfortunately, due to a significant slow down in a major project at work, I got my 2 week notice for a layoff on Friday. It wasn't a big shock and I had actually expected it for some time. Things have not been very busy at work for really a couple of months now. It does kind of suck though as I don't get paid to ride a bike. So, in addition to lots of cycling ahead, it's back to looking for a new paying job, which is something I kind of dread. Wish me luck!

1200

I’m starting to think that I should have called my blog the “Monday Morning Cyclist”. Seems I can never get around to doing my post-ride write-up until I get to work and actually have some free time (Shhh! Let’s just keep that between you and me). Anyway, better late than never.

A quick pause for a picture at the 1200k mark.

Post-ride, celebrating my 1200km.

This was a milestone weekend for me on the bike. If you’re one of the millions of faithful readers who’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I started this year with the target of riding at least 1200km in total in 2009. I’m happy to report that during my 105km ride on Saturday, I surpassed that goal, and finished out the day with a total of 1225km. Now I realize that a lot of you probably don’t consider 1200k a lot of mileage (in fact thanks to Twitter, I know of at least one person who doesn’t seem too impressed), but if I can put it in context, maybe it will make more sense.

Over the last number of years, I had kind of gotten away from my bike a bit due to various other personal commitments and priorities. While I always continued to ride, I wasn’t doing a whole lot of it. In more recent years however, I rediscovered my bike and the joy of cycling so I’ve been gradually riding more and more. Last summer, a friend and I each set a goal of riding 1000k. I achieved that goal of course, but I got off to a much later start at it than I did this year and I really spread the distance out over the summer. It wasn’t actually until mid-September that I surpassed the 1000k mark, and I finished out ’08 with a total of 1054k. Based on that, I decided this year to push the envelope and try for 1200k. After a much earlier start and a much greater commitment to riding, and here I am…end of June and already over the top. With a solid 3 months of good riding weather still to go my next step is to reset my goal and see what I can do for the rest of this year. More on that later.

Beyond reaching my goal, this Saturday’s ride was better than last weeks’ disaster, but I have to say that I still struggled a bit. My lungs are great, but I just can’t seem to find the right power in my legs. Now I realize that I am not training properly and I’m sure there are lots of people more than willing to point that out as the reason for my lack of power. I’m really not that concerned about proper training as I’m not really training for anything in particular. What I find frustrating though is that I seem to have so much less power now than I did when I had only 400k under my belt. A couple times on Saturday, I really had to yell at myself to push. Mind you, the first half of my ride was into a headwind, but even so, that’s nothing new.

The good news is that I didn’t bonk like last week. I took everyone’s advice and followed it as closely as I could. I drank…and drank…and drank through the entire ride, fired back a GU2O gel just before the halfway point, stopped for a quick PowerBar lunch at around 60k and even gulped back a half-liter of chocolate milk with about 25k to go. I felt a lot better and my legs didn’t tie up in knots, but I still only managed to average 26.2 kmh over the 105k. That’s not bad I guess, but it’s still only 2 kmh faster than last week when I was dying. I actually like to think I’m riding a bit faster than that anyway. A good 30k of my regular route involves a lot of red lights and stop signs as I try to get out of and get back into the city. Of course, coasting to a required stop slows things significantly.

The only two other noteworthy items are more mechanical in nature. Mid-ride, my cycling glasses more or less exploded. I took them off during my little lunch break and as I put them back on, one of the lenses dropped out. On closer inspection, the frame was broken, which was odd because there was certainly no impact that could have caused that. Fortunately, I was able to jury rig the lens back in place and it stayed put until I got home.

More annoying than that though is that my crank set seems to have developed a nasty clicking sound, which has been there really since I rode in the rain during the Ride for Heart. That’s the main reason I hate riding in rain. It’s not that I dislike getting wet. Just seems like every time I do, my bike develops some mechanical quirk that drives me crazy. The worst with this little tick is that I can’t pinpoint it because I can only hear it when I’m actually riding with real pressure on the pedals. It has to be in the bottom bracket though, as I’ve pretty much eliminated the crank, pedal or cleat. Problem is I don’t have the right tool on hand that I need to overhaul the BB. I soon will though, along with new glasses.

Now, for the moment you’ve been waiting for. I’ve decided on going for another 900k for an even 2100, exactly double what I did in 2008.

The Agony of Defeat

If you’re old enough to remember, back in the 70’s and early 80’s, the intro to ABC’s Wide World of Sports included a clip of a ski jumper falling on his way down the take-off ramp and spilling over the side. That iconic clip of course became forever linked to what athletes know as “the agony of defeat”. For some reason, that clip popped into my mind while I was riding yesterday and I couldn’t help thinking that I wished I was that guy instead of being where I was. What’s my point? Simply put, my ride yesterday can only be described as a horrible train wreck. That ski guy had it good in comparison.

Sunday's TBN group on the 116k route, heading north on Dufferin

It all started out well enough. I showed up well in advance for the 10 am scheduled group ride with the TBN and opted to go with the group doing the 116k route. The weather was great, although the temperature was slowly climbing and it was somewhat humid. We started out at a very slow pace of only about 20kmh and stayed at that for the first 15k at least. On two occasions, I went to the front to do some pacing and turned it up a bit to about 25kmh. Each time I looked back though, no one had grabbed my wheel. I was alone off the front with the group intact about 500m behind. So both times I just sat up and drifted back to the group.

Then the first of my problems began. At about the 20k mark, I started to develop a stitch and that made it very difficult to find a good breathing rhythm. Unfortunately, the next 20k were pretty much uphill and into a pretty stiff headwind, so I couldn’t shake it. It wasn’t until a turn at the 40k mark and a slight downhill respite that the stitch finally dissipated and I got back into a comfortable cadence. Because of my stitch though, I didn’t feel like drinking a lot, which is where my real trouble began.

Over the next 15-20k, I finished off bottle #1 and was just starting bottle #2. I took one sip from #2, but as I went to put it back into its cage, it slipped from my fingers and starting skittering along the pavement. I glanced back just in time to see a guy about 5 lengths behind me go right over top of it. Fortunately for him, he hit it square and the pressure of his wheel popped the top allowing the bottle to collapse. It could have easily taken him down and that could have been messy. He actually apologized for crushing my bottle, but I told him I was just glad he didn’t take a spill. I couldn’t care less about the bottle.

The lower part of the Weston Wall.

The upper part of the Weston Wall. It's as steep as it looks.

Unfortunately though, I lost a full bottle of Gatorade and now had nothing to drink with a good 20k still to go to the rest stop. Over that distance, the first real signs of dehydration started to show. Some minor leg cramps and the first sign that I was losing power. At this point, I decided to try a Powerbar Gel that I brought along, but I honestly have to say that I didn’t notice that being of any real benefit. Just a pile of goop in my mouth that I couldn’t wash down, and no noticeable increase in my energy level.

At the rest stop, I reloaded on liquids, had a bite to eat and drank as much as I could. After a good half hour break though, back on the bike I still had nothing. I stayed with a couple of other riders for a bit, but as soon as we hit the first real hill, I was done. They were gone and there was no way I could muster any kind of strength to stay in touch. And the worst was yet to come.

This particular route returns back south towards Toronto on Weston Road, which has a hill that is affectionately known as The Weston Wall. If I had to guess, I say this hill climbs about 9000ft in probably about a half a kilometer (OK…that’s a gross exaggeration, but you get my point). With nothing in the tank I had no choice but to stop halfway up and try to recover a bit. After a 10 minute break, I jumped back on and forced myself over the top, but that pretty much finished me off. The next 15k, it was all I could do to turn the pedals. I spotted a convenience store and running low on drink again, decided I better pull over and reload. As soon as I stepped off the bike, both of my legs completely knotted up. I managed to struggle myself to a sitting position on the sidewalk, and after about 10 minutes my legs had loosened enough that I could once again stand. I wobbled my way into the store and grabbed a Gatorade for the roughly 25k still to go. During my stop, another rider from our original group showed up at the store, so we finished out the ride together. The rest was pretty much all downhill and with the exception of a few minor cramps was relatively easy. I was indescribably glad to see the parking lot and the end of a 4h45 (riding time), 115.7k disaster.

It was one of those days that I just couldn’t wait to get off the bike, and it’s clear that I bit off more than I could chew. I hadn’t been on my bike in 8 days and I obviously wasn’t ready for the distance. And once you start to get dehydrated, it’s pretty much all over, at least for me. The only good news is that I’m now just over 80k from my goal for year.

How I earned $4.77 with Google Adsense in only 2 months!

Yes, you read that correctly! I earned an incredible $4.77 with Google Adsense in only 2 months, and you can too just by following my easy 3 step program.

I know what you’re thinking. “But that’s a lot of money. It can’t be that easy.” Well, believe me when I say “Yes, it is!” In fact, it’s so simple you’ll wish you didn’t wait this long to get in on the action. So what is my easy-to-follow program? Just follow these steps and you’ll soon be on your way to earning big money…just like me.

Step 1 Start a blog!

“Start a what?” you ask? A blog is a basically an online personal diary, a website that lets you write and share your thoughts, experience and expertise with the rest of the world. Now I hear you saying “But when it comes to computers, I’m a moron”. Well, maybe you are a moron, but that doesn’t matter. The best part about starting a blog is that you don’t have to have any background in creating Internet websites. Just go to a site like blogger.com, sign-up, pick the blog design you like and start writing.

“But what would I write about?” I knew you were going to ask that. You can write about anything you like. It doesn’t even have to be interesting. For example, I write about the ins-and-outs of my year as an amateur cyclist. All you have to do is pick a topic that you know something about and off you go.

Step 2 Sign up for Google Adsense

“Google Adsense?!? What the…?” Yeah, I know. You don’t even know what Google is, let alone Adsense, right? Google Adsense is a free program that enables website publishers (like you) to display relevant Google advertising right on your blog and earn revenue from those ads. All you have to do is create a Google Adsense account and follow their easy step-by-step instructions for creating Google Ads. They’ll provide you all of the HTML code you’ll need to place the ads on your site.

Step 3 Wait for the cheques to start rolling in

Yes, you heard that right too. Once you’re up and running, all you have to do is sit back and wait for your Google Adsense cheques to start rolling in. In just a couple of months time, you could be as much as $5 richer as well, at least on paper. You don’t actually get a cheque from Google until you’ve earned something like a minimum of $100, but if you earn $4.77 in only 2 months just like me, do the math. It’s only a matter of time before the cheques start filling your mailbox.

“But I want to earn Google money even faster!” I know you do. Afterall, who doesn’t? Basically, you earn revenue 2 ways...through ad impressions and ad click-throughs. While you can earn as much as 1 whole cent if you get 50-100 ad impressions, the trick is to get your site visitors to actually click on the Google Ads that are on your blog. That’s how I’ve earned so much. Of the now 1,168 impressions I’ve had, I’ve had 9 click-throughs for an incredible click-rate of 0.77%. “Whoa, that’s a pretty big number and you’re an Internets expert”. Actually, no I’m not. I’m just a regular person like you. If I can do it, so can you.

So what are you waiting for? Start my program and start earning today.

Stay tuned for my next article when I take an in-depth look at the greatest invention of the last half-century…The ShamWow.

Two behind the dugout

This was a different kind of weekend for me for cycling. For starters, because of family considerations I didn't get to do any rides on the actual weekend. Unfortunately my wife has been away on business and that left me on daddy duty. Regardless of that, I suppose I could have done some riding as my daughter is plenty old enough now to stay on her own, but I chose to spend my time with her instead of on the bike.

There are really two main reasons for that decision. First of all, she'd prefer I stick around when her mom is away and I'm perfectly OK with that. Secondly, cycling being inherently risky, I would prefer that she not be alone at home if I was to, God forbid, get creamed by a car 50 kilometers from home. Now that probably sounds silly to some people, but to be honest, cautious is my middle name. A gambler I am not and chances are you'll never bump into me in Las Vegas.

The view of the Jays-Marlins game on Saturday from behind the "Dugout"...aka the Bullpen.

Instead of riding on the weekend, I took my daughter to a Blue Jays game on Saturday, which is something she's been asking me to do for a little while now. The Florida Marlins were in town for an afternoon game, so we jumped on the subway and headed downtown to the Rogers Centre. On our way to the box office, we of course were accosted by more than one scalper with a handful of tickets to unload, so I figured I try one and see if I could get a deal. At first he offered me up a couple at $60 a piece, but that was way more than I wanted to spend. As soon as I nixed those however, he offered me another pair for $40 a piece in the first row behind the "dugout", even though the face value said $31. He gave me some song and dance about that being the season ticket price and I figured that that was at least pre-tax anyway so $40 was probably about right. I paused for a minute and then offered him $60 for the pair to which he immediately agreed. Transaction completed, we headed inside with me thinking I did a pretty good job of knocking the guy down.

Inside though, it turned out our seats weren't behind the dugout, but behind the bullpen beyond the right field wall. At first I felt a bit burned, but in retrospect he may have said "bullpen" and I just got mixed up. Bullpen...dugout...it's pretty much all the same to me, not being a big baseball fan and all. Still, the seats were pretty good and I could've paid $80 for them instead of $60. And believe me, that extra $20 came in handy when it came to buying a couple of hotdogs and some Cokes. It actually turned out to be a pretty good game (even though the Jays lost again) on a great day for baseball.

I cycle...my daughter ride horses.

Sunday meant taking my daughter to her equestrian lesson up north, so a ride was out of the question for this morning as well. And for the afternoon, some household chores were on the agenda. In addition to missing my regular Sunday ride, I also missed my scheduled Tour de Grand down around Cambridge which I signed up for a number of weeks ago. Unfortunately I signed up for it before I knew my wife's travel schedule, but it was only $15 for a good cause so no big deal there.

The good thing was that I did know my wife's travel schedule early enough to foresee that I wasn't going to get any riding in on the weekend. So my only option was to take advantage of the fantastic weather we had on Friday and blow off work for the afternoon in favour of a ride. Now if you recall, I mentioned in my last post about how I felt my ride last Saturday was my worst ride of the year. What a difference a week makes. This Friday's 83.4 km in just over 3 hours may have been my best of the year. I felt great from start to finish and even had reserves in the tank when I got home that could have carried me another 30-40k easily. I just ran out of time and had to get home. The other great thing about this ride was that just before the corner back onto my street, my odometer clicked over to the 1000k mark for the year. I didn't see that happen last year until sometime in mid-September, so I'm way ahead of schedule for my goal...which now looks to have been set a little low.

Better to aim low and succeed than aim high and fail I guess.