November 25th (Morning)

Well, it snowed last night. And all evening. And all night. And all morning. There was a lot of snow this morning.

But, like an idiot, off I went. I mean, really, I can’t just assume that I have found my limit until I try it, right? Right! Well, yep, I found my limit. And my limit is too much snow…

At first, the trails were OK. I actually was enjoying myself! I was wearing a pair of Scott goggles that I borrowed from Dave and Esther. They had an orange tint to them, but with the light it wasn’t too bad. I probably would like a lighter yellow tint which I think would be perfect. But they did great on eliminating (not just reducing) the glare of headlights from oncoming traffic, so that was cool.

Once I got to Rose Hill, all the foot traffic had ceased and I was the only tracks in the snow beside the deer and coyotes. The valleys were tough, I couldn’t make it up any of the hills without slipping out, and I didn’t get enough speed going down to make it up anyways. But, once I got to Frolek’s road things got easier. I still had to keep my speed down quite a bit as a few times I hit a rock or stick that I couldn’t see under the snow which would send me skidding sideways.

Going down into Peterson’s Creek on the Billy Minor Trail North was OK. I had control (front brake was good, but the rear brake kept freezing up), and was able to go as slow as I wanted. But it was tiresome for sure. Going up the other side I walked the whole way and it was brutal, as every step I slipped meaning for every 1 step forward I slid 1/2 a step back… What a waste of energy!

Once I exited Peterson’s Creek my hell began… The snow plows had made a nice big bank on the sides of the road, meaning I had no where to bike unless I wanted to ride in the lane (not!). So, I stuck to the sidewalk (even though that’s illegal). But sidewalks here are so unpredictable. I couldn’t see where the edge of the sidewalk was, and constantly slid off the side. Some home owners shoveled their walks, some didn’t. Some just piled the snow from their driveway on top of their sidewalks! I couldn’t tell where the approaches were, so when crossing streets I often ended up hitting the curb hard, causing me to flounder all over in the snow… And, Kamloops has a wonderful sidewalk system that constantly jumps from one side of the street to the other (many of the streets don’t have sidewalks on both sides), meaning that suddenly my sidewalk would end… Arrggg!

After almost an hour of probably the worst ride I’ve ever had (add to that the 1/2 an hour of trail riding already), I finally made it to work. I have never had a ride yet where I was so desperately wanting to just quit and give up!!! Not fun.

So, I’m done. Old Man Winter has defeated me soundly. I will sit back on the bus licking my wounds ‘till the warm airs of spring put him back in his place and I can emerge once again (maybe on a Scott Scale 29er???). It was a good ride!!!

Two quick numbers before I sign off:

• 3600 – The amount of kilometres I put on this season
• 35 – The amount of weight (in pounds) that I lost

Cool!

November 24th (Evening)

I took my old, original biking route home tonight again as I did on Monday. It was snowing a lot, so I’m not sure how tomorrow’s ride will go. Tonight was still fun, though. The snow makes for a hard ride to be sure, and a bit hairy going down into Peterson’s Creek, but the quietness is almost surreal. The soft crunch of snow under my tires is the loudest noise aside from my breathing. It really is quite beautiful. If only I could figure out how to keep my hands from freezing I’d be set!

Oh, and I’m not sure if you recall, but there was a dirt path between Springhill and Roger’s Way that ran alongside the old Merritt highway. I complained about it many times when it was wet and muddy as this was the muddiest part of my entire ride. Anyways, the city has now paved this path and it is a great little path! So smooth… And with a fresh layer of snow it makes for a neat little section.

The toughest part of the ride is the streets as they are getting narrower now and I have to hang out right at the edge, by the snow bank created by the snow plows. As such, I often will end up hitting the bank and causing me to slide and fishtail, not fun! Plus, cars are driving by now even closer and with less control, not a good combination if you ask me!

The temperature was -13° and it felt OK. My gear is good, and other than toes and fingers it feels great. Almost too warm sometimes (I had to unzip the fleece today). Also, I used sandwich baggies over my toes, wore two pairs of socks, and then put the toe warmers on top of the baggies (instead of inside them). As these are air activated, I figured this made more sense. And I think it worked, as I didn’t have any issue with my feet being cold ‘till about 15 minutes left in my ride. So I guess there’s tricks to everything here!

November 24th (Morning)

No ride yesterday (-17°, and with the wind chill it felt like -29°). So, once I saw that I waited at home and got a ride with Corrie to work after she took Taryn to school.

A couple of people have brought it to my attention that it’s not just being out in the cold, or even being out on a bike in the cold, but its the being out in the cold on a bike alone in the middle of nowhere that is risky. I guess I can see their point, really. I mean, if I were to get injured or knocked out or something out on Frolek’s land, by the time someone came along to find me, I’d be frozen stiff… Therefore, I have decided to make -15° my personal cut-off point. Colder than that, I ride the bus or get a ride. Warmer than that, I ride the bike.

So, this morning was -17° and Corrie had scrounged together some change last night so I jumped on the #16 bus out of Juniper. That was fine, and all, until we got to TRU and I noticed that the Pineview bus (my connection) had already left… Oops!

But, no worries, I felt good and warm and decided that I would just ride the streets to work. That way if I fell and got hurt, surely someone would see me laying on the ground!!!

So, I had a short, tough ride this morning after all which is good. It is completely uphill the entire way, and I did walk a lot to try and keep the blood flowing into my toes and fingers. Actually, I even tried the plastic baggy over my toes (inside my shoes) this morning as that is supposed to be a miracle warming trick… NOT! My toes (and fingers) were still quite frozen by the end. However, being that this little route has so much climbing, my neck and torso were actually a bit too warm if you can imagine that.

This afternoon it is supposed to get down to -13° and even as good as -7° by Friday, so for the rest of the week I am good to go! Next week I’ll be in Vegas for Autodesk University, and the few weeks after is typically the coldest week in Kamloops (in my short lived experience here to this point), so we’ll have to wait and see if I have much more riding left in 2010!

November 22nd (Morning)

Still riding! The temperature on the internet said -10°, and yet with the 26km/h headwind, it was rated that it felt like -19°! I say “supposedly” because, really, it just felt cold!

Corrie and I found a fleece sweater at Penny Pincher’s this weekend and it turned out to be a perfect second layer. Not too warm, breathable and yet I never felt too cold. I removed my clipless pedals and put my regular pedals with clips back on so I could wear my running shoes with two pairs of socks. It didn’t really matter anyways as my toes still froze. I had slightly better traction when walking up the hills in the snow, but not much. Considering those two things, I may try my big Sorel’s… Too big? Probably. But at least I know I would be warm and traction wouldn’t be an issue!!!

It did snow a lot this weekend (well, a couple of inches I guess) so I was a little apprehensive about what this would mean for my trails. The Juniper section was no problem as it is so well travelled that the path was worn in quite nicely. The snow, however, definitely adds a rolling resistance factor, though! Sheesh…

The pipeline section at Rose Hill was good, I still got some decent speeds going down into the dips, but walked two of the hills as I was going much slower and there is precious little traction now when I do start climbing. I headed up from Frolek’s lower road to my single-track and that part of the trail was fun. Less travelled (not at all travelled in many spots other than wildlife), so it was fun to crunch along through the fresh, undisturbed snow trails. I did come across another biker’s trail at one point, so I’m not the only one!!!

As I rode along the edge of Peterson’s Creek valley on the east side, I got a bit nervous. Traction was non-existent, and I had the sudden realization of how if I slipped off of the trail it could turn suddenly very bad. Trying not to think of what was below me, I focused on keeping the bike upright and made it without issue. However, as I crested the top of the long, straight steep downhill it started getting a bit hairy again! Thankfully at this point, there are no cliff edges beckoning me to careen off of them. But, nonetheless, once it got steep I had extremely little control. The rear wheel had no effect for traction and slid from side to side. But what was worse, was the front wheel sliding! I now couldn’t control my direction NOR my speed, a very nasty combination! Thankfully the trail is about 4-5 feet wide right there, giving me room to slide around. I made it down still rubber side down so that was a huge relief! I crossed the creek and then made it up the other side by a combination of walking and biking.

By the time I got to the top of the trails and came out on Summit Drive, my water had finally frozen solid in the bottle. At least I got 30 minutes of hydration when I needed it! I might see if I can rig something up inside my jacket for a spare water supply maybe.

The rest of the ride was pretty good. I actually didn’t mind the street portion this time, probably because I didn’t face a free-falling death if I slipped off track… In the end, my toes and fingers were still pretty cold, but the rest of me was really good. If I can ride with boots, I will try that next. Not ideal by any stretch, but if it means I have traction to walk the sketchy portions and my toes stay warm, then maybe the extra weight and annoyance of the clod-hoppers will be worth it? I still would like ski-goggles if I could, but nobody sells clear lenses in town (that we found so far, I think I’ll phone around today). Other than that, things are looking not too bad… So far…

November 19th (Evening)

Another good, cold ride! I think I can make these rides work! Tonight was -7°, with a wind chill again but for me I was riding with the wind behind me so this wasn’t as much of a factor as it was in the morning. Corrie picked me up for lunch today, so we went by Wholesale Sports and I picked up a balaclava called a NINJACLAVA by Outdoor Research. It is on the lighter side, but it has a light, fleece lining inside. I still pulled my skull cap on over top of this, which helped give my ears 2x the warmth! Then, when I got a bit too warm, I was able to just pull up the skull cap a bit and it helped cool me down. When that got chilly again, I just pulled the cap back down!

I wore the track pants again over my tight stretchy sport pants. Going home, this was perfect. A bit on the warm side, but with the amount of downhill going this direction, it was good. I decided to just wear the fleece jacket without the sport jacket as a wind shell. It was pretty good, and even that was a bit on the warmer side. I would think that I might try wearing my short sleeve biking shirts with a lighter fleece and that might be perfect for the current temperatures.

My toes and fingers were still the worse off. Walking a couple of the hills helped for sure. I think I will be putting on my old pedals with clips so I can wear running shoes next week. This will allow me to wear two pairs of socks (or even wool socks maybe?), as well as give me better grip and traction on the frozen trails.

I have new resolve to keep pushing! I have one more week of riding before I go to Las Vegas for a work convention (Autodesk University) for the final week of November. When I get back, it will be interesting to see how cold it is and if I can continue into December or not. Last year, December was cold (-15° to -20°), but then January was quiet mild. Maybe we will be so lucky again?

Oh, and I just wanted to say that the new chain lube I’m using (Finish Line WET Lube, see October 29 (Morning) post) is pretty amazing. With the amount of wet, rain and snow this week, it took ‘till today to finally get a bit squeaky. The wax I used to use wouldn’t have lasted 5 minutes in the conditions I hit this week! So, even though it means more work each weekend cleaning the chain, it’s worth not having to worry about it all week long.

November 19th (Morning)

-8° this morning! YIKES!!! And with the windchill, it said it felt like -15°…. UFF…. DA…

However, last night Corrie and I dug out all of our winter gear. First thing we noticed was how many pairs of gloves I have, and how many toques the boys have!!! We really need to donate some of these items this year… Anyways, I found a pair of lined track pants, a fleece jacket as well as a nice toque that came down low over my ears, and yet still fit under my helmet (sort of!).

So, this morning after about an HOUR of getting dressed (obviously I’m exaggerating there), I headed out to brave the elements that had sent me running for cover yesterday morning. And I was warm! By the time I got to the traffic circle, I was still toasty warm which made me think I had now layered TOO much… My face was quite frozen, but the rest of me was warm and they say you should be slightly chilled when you leave. I was not… Sure enough, by the time I got to Rose Hill, my face had become accustomed to the cold but I was started to burn up inside with the fleece! My arms and neck were very warm! I unzipped my jackets low to my chest which helped a bit.

I continued with walking a few of the hills to get the blood flowing back into my fingers and toes, and to keep my body temperature down. This did help for sure, but seeing as how this entire route is basically one big climb, it was pretty tough to keep my temperature down! Pretty soon, I was sweating underneath the layers pretty heavily. Physically I felt pretty good, but I wasn’t really pushing any limits today in that department to be sure!

At the top of Peterson’s Creek valley, the snow starting flying around pretty good, making the streets a bit iffy. I took a fairly easy pace on the streets, not wanting to test my tires’ cornering limits. As I got to the top of Howe Road up at the trailer park, I was pretty warm and all that sweating turned around and bit me on the stretch across Pineview as the cold wind cut through my now wet layers, making for a bit of a painful final stretch!

So, with a thinner fleece and maybe a balaclava and goggles instead of a toque, I think I might have the perfect set up to continue riding! I will go at lunch today to Wholesale Sports, or maybe Canadian Tire to pick up these two items (balaclava and goggles) and  I think I’ll be set! SWEET! I think I have just extended my riding season ‘till probably -15° or so!

Now I just need to figure out how to keep my water in liquid form…

November 18th (Evening)

All day it was bugging me that I was suddenly looking at the end of my biking adventures. It bugged me that I wimped out at -4° too! Granted, I know it was the wind chill that really seemed to push me over the edge. But it still bothered me. I’m sure people bike in colder weather!

So, I looked online on www.mec.ca to see what kind of gear I might need, and instead I found an article on Winter Biking! I learned a bit about layering properly, something I think I could do with winter gear I already have. Also, I found some forum posts about people biking in the cold and learned how important regulating your temperature is. Which means walking a hill instead of riding just to keep your temperature from going up too high and causing you to sweat too much.

Therefore, with new resolve, I did NOT phone Corrie for a ride home! It was -6° now, and still the wind chill factor. However, I figured the wind chill would not be a factor for my ride as it would be a tail wind. And I was right! It felt cold, but nothing like this morning. I took it slow and steady, both up and down the hills. By the time I hit the trails, I was sitting at a perfect body temperature. My face had started to get used to the cold air, but my toes and fingers were getting pretty cold!

At the bottom of the valley, I walked from the creek crossing up to the usual stopping point on the bypass trail and then rode the rest. Not only did this help in keeping me from getting too warm, but it gave me a chance to warm up my fingers and toes!

The trails were quiet frozen and solid, making for a rather rough ride really. But it was still pretty fun, really, once I warmed up. The only downside, really, was the fact that my water nozzle froze solid by the time I got to the bottom of Peterson’s Creek, meaning no water to drink for the rest of the ride!

I continued to walk many of the tougher hills, a good excuse to really take the ride rather easy! I did take the look out trail again at Juniper, and as I came around a bend there was an owl sitting (standing, whatever…) on the trail with a dead mouse in his claws. He just stared at me as I squealed my brakes trying not to run him over… Finally, at the last minute, he flew away, leaving his mouse! It was kind of cool to see some different wildlife for sure. He wasn’t too big (not a Great Horned Owl), about the size of a large hawk or falcon (which is what I thought he was at first). Maybe a large burrowing owl?

Anyways, I have decided to try to find some better gear tonight and keep riding. At least try next week a few times to see if I can beat this weather!

November 18th (Morning)

This morning I think I met my limit. The temperature said it was -5°, but felt like -12°. Seriously? So, I left the house and soon realized why. A nasty, brutal headwind (gusty headwind, not steady) made the brisk air feel 2x as bad. By the time I got to the Juniper park, I pulled into the parking lot with full intentions of heading back home and calling in sick or something. The cold absolutely hurt, and it was only -5°! As I stood waiting for traffic, the wind stopped and it didn’t feel so bad so I continued on instead. However, I got to the top of Qu’Appelle and said “Screw this!”. My face was already hurting from the wind, and that wind was cutting right through my thin sport jacket making it feel like I was wearing nothing at all on my chest! So, I did turn around this time. I rode back home and grabbed some change and picked up the bus instead.

It meant I got to work about 20 minutes early, but I wasn’t a popsicle at least. I’m hoping the wind will die down by tonight. At least, I hope it doesn’t change directions like it typically does! A tailwind with -5° will be very much like no wind at all, so I could handle that.

Therefore, I now truly do see the end. I think without the wind, I could ride for a bit colder yet, but with that wind factor there’s no way. I don’t have the gear. I need a full face/neck/head cap thingy… I need proper shirt/vest/jacket. I need actual winter shoes (NOT summer vented shoes with a mere little toe cover). After all of that, my legs were fine! As long as I was moving that is… Standing at the bus stop for 5 minutes they got pretty cold…

Speaking of the bus, I’m a bit “out of practice” for sure. First of all, I put my bike on backwards. Not a big deal, it still works. But, really, what was I doing? The J-hook goes over the front tire! Then, I got off the bus at TRU and in my hurry to make the connection, I forgot to put the bike rack back up and started riding away before I realized and turned around just as the driver was about to get up and do it himself… Sorry! And then I got onto the Pineview bus only to realize I didn’t pick up a transfer… Thankfully, the driver believed me that I just got off of the Juniper bus and had forgotten my transfer and let me ride!!! Not that the ride from TRU would’ve been too bad, but still… Rookie mistakes!

The bus driver of the the Pineview bus was pretty cool. He’s been driving bus for 41 years!!! Wow. When he was younger, he used to bike to work and back from Rayiegh. That’s a pretty good ride, really, as it’s about a 20 minute drive I think? He said he also used to leave his bike with a friend on the Westsyde side of the river and then canoe across, and then ride his bike in (the bus station is over between Batchelor and Brock I think). He had some pretty neat commuting stories for sure! Anyways, I imagine I’ll be getting to know him better over the next couple of months…

However, I did realize this morning that the bus tickets will be a bit more expensive than I was thinking. I was thinking about just buying the $30 pack of 20 tickets, which lasted me about a month before. However, that was when I was riding home on the bike, which I won’t be doing meaning that I’ll need twice the tickets. So, I will have to buy the $45 unlimited pass. Not that much more, but still! This month, as it is almost over, I’ll just buy the $30 pack (they still charge the full $45 even if I only have a week left in the month) but next month I’ll have to buy the full $45 pass…

November 17th (Evening)

The snow was melted by the time my ride started tonight, which made for some rather wet conditions! The streets were still not iced over yet, so that was good. Still, I took it rather easy due to the possibility as well as I just didn’t want to splash up too much road grime before my ride started (tends to really cause my drivetrain to run rough).

As I came over the top of Summit Drive, I noticed a biker up ahead (red blinking light). His light was higher than normal, so I figured it was probably Phil as he has his clipped onto his backpack. Sure enough, he turned down into Peterson’s Creek trails at the Castle Towers entrance and I followed him down into the Valley. I finally caught up with him as we climbed up out the east side and we rode together ‘till the end of Frolek’s land.

I let him go in front again and he took me up just past the first gulley trail down and we took a new trail down to the single-track below. I had taken this once before with Phil, but that was in the daylight when I could see where I was actually going! Tonight was another story. With the poor lighting and a very “ambiguous” trail (lots of deadfall and grass and the trail is not well travelled so it tended to just disappear). Still, I managed to find my way down to the bottom and it was fun, so I’ll have to try this again.

At the end of Frolek’s land Phil went down into Valleyview and I continued along into Juniper. I didn’t make the final climb at Rose Hill, mainly due to a loss of traction in the sand pocket, but also because I didn’t have the energy to finish it today. I was feeling a lot more tired than usual, and my speeds were much lower than normal.

In the end, it was a decent ride but slow. I guess a few slow rides in a week aren’t necessarily a bad thing!

November 17th (Morning)

MY FIRST SNOW RIDE!!!

Yep, it snowed last night and we woke up to a blanket of white stuff over the lawn and trees. I actually was excited to get out and ride in this stuff, strange I know! I’m sure once the novelty wears off, I’ll be digging for bus tickets…

The temperature was supposedly 2°, but it felt much, much warmer than that. I guess snow will do that, though. The first stretch on the streets across Juniper was just wet and nasty, but once I hit the trails it started to get fun. There was a very thick, low hanging fog cover which required me to have my light on full time again. The trails that tend to see the most traffic were clear (just wet), but once I got onto the higher single-track trails on Frolek’s land the trails were well snow covered. And it was quiet amazing, really. So gorgeous, still and absolutely quiet! At least, until I needed to use my wet brakes at which point it sounded like 20 kids all honking their little rubber bike horns…

A quick shot behind me of the sweet looking snowy trail…

And another shot looking in front with the snow covered bush and trees and the low hanging fog.

It seriously was a really sweet ride. I was getting a bit nervous as I got closer to the long, straight steep hill down into Peterson’s Creek. Would it be covered in snow? Would I have traction? Would I suddenly lose braking power and careen down out of control? However, none of my worries were merited as the trail was clean and clear (maybe too steep for the snow to stick yet?), and my brakes worked fine. Going up the other side was good too, with no issues except at the boardwalk where the snow had piled up about 2-3 inches deep. I slipped a bit on the first, steep section but after that maintained good traction and managed to clear the boardwalk OK.

Once I hit the streets, however, it stopped being fun. Now it was just wet, foggy, and a bit nerve wracking wondering if approaching motorists would be able to see me well enough in the fog! Up in Aberdeen and Pineview, the wet roads turned more to icy and slushy, making corners a bit of an issue with traction. But, I took the corners slow and managed to stay rubber side down.

If I was to continue riding through the winter (which would be cool), I would have to buy studded tires. However, they’re like $80-100 EACH, so that’s out of the question! Not to mention the extra gear I’d need once the weather turns to -15° or more (like it’s supposed to next week). It kind of sucks to have to quit because of finances, but I will not have fun without the right gear. So, maybe next year if we finally can sell that dumb acreage!

November 16th (Afternoon)

Not much to report on this ride. Taryn had ballet this evening, so Corrie and I decided that I would meet them there and we would go together to the office that Corrie cleans on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So, I took off down my usual route, but instead of veering off down to the creek on the Billy Minor South trail, I continued along the Tom Moore trail. I followed that trail along the western ridge of the valley until the end where I met up with my previous route on the Billy Minor North trail which I followed down to the creek and then continued onto Columbia street, Valleyview drive, and then dropped over to Kamloops Dance Academy.

Riding my old route in the dark was a blast. It is so much fun to ride a regular route in the dark as it’s like a new trail all of a sudden. I also had some fun pushing a hard, fast pace along Columbia. Riding that narrow road (parked cars on my right, not much room for two lanes of traffic, especially with me in the mix) is nerve wracking, especially now in the dark. I have to be constantly watching the approaching vehicles, do they see me? Are they giving me enough room? I also have to be vigilant in surveying the parked cars too. Is there someone in the cars? Will they suddenly open their door in my path? If so, do I have an escape route? And then, of course, there’s the side streets where impatient motorists are trying to get onto the road. Do they see me and if so, will they wait or just go because I’m “only a bike”? Needless to say, that is a nasty stretch of road and I breathe a HUGE sigh of relief once I’m finally through that section. Valleyview drive, on the other hand, is nice, as it at least has a bike lane for me to ride comfortably in. I still need to be watching, but at least I can ride a decent pace, not pushing 120% the whole way.

By the time I got to where Corrie and the kids were, I was tired but it was a good ride. Funny how a mostly downhill and flat ride can still take that much out of you! I guess street commuting is an entirely different animal…

November 16th (Morning)

If it wasn’t enough that I have to contend with a 7 speed cassette now instead of an 8, today I had to combat some brutal headwinds! So, yeah, I’m tired… And I now need a nap…

I think the problem is that I joked in my post last night about all the puddles that appeared yesterday might be dry this morning… With the amount of humidity in the air (rain and fog), that seemed like an impossibility. However, I was wrong! I guess with sudden gale force winds, my wishes can come true! So I’m not sure what would be worse, wet feet or exhaustion… Hah!

No, it wasn’t too terrible. Plus, the weather was a balmy 7°, so how could you complain about that? Granted, Friday is supposed to be -8° but we’ll deal with that when and if it comes… I am extremely tired right now, and the wind coupled with the harder gear selection did take it out of me to be sure. I think under normal conditions, I would’ve said I had an “OK” ride, as I felt decent enough physically when I started. However, it didn’t take long for the ride to start taking it to me hard and there were a few hills where I actually had to fight with my desire to stop and take a breather! How long has that been since I’ve had to fight such urges anyways?

With the wind, granted, the puddles were very close to being dried up. There were still a few large ones left, but the majority of what I saw/rode through coming home last night were gone, so that was a bonus to be sure. The larger ones were easy enough to avoid as I never really got up to any decent speeds this morning and was able to swerve around them. With the winds, however, I was very nervous about the trees. However, I didn’t hear or see any of them come down, so I guess I’ve ridden in worse conditions!

Anyways, I’m starting to fall asleep now so I guess I should go get cleaned up and ready for the day!

November 15th (Evening)

I’ve officially decided to start calling these rides home as “evening” rides, as they actually are… It bugs me to write “afternoon” when I ride home in pitch black and cold elements!!!

Today was a very wet day. Rainy all day long, with very heavy fog/cloud hanging low over Kamloops. So, it was not much of a surprise as I started on my ride when I was met with wet and foggy conditions. Thankfully, the rain had at least ceased to fall!

I went fairly slow on the paved stretches, as I didn’t feel like spraying too much water up and getting wet which would only add to my already chilly ride. And riding through Aberdeen there was an incredibly thick fog that had settled in, which made it hard for me to even see more than 10 feet in front of me.

By the time I got to the trailhead at Castle Towers, I was already pretty wet but not bad. I headed down the trail and the fog seemed to have subsided for a bit. I went pretty easy down into the Valley, noting how many puddles had formed throughout the day (I can’t remember ever seeing more than a single puddle on the Tom Moore trail before). The creek crossing wasn’t bad, but I didn’t make it over the root nor the climb out and over the east bank. I did make a pretty good effort up the long, straight and steep climb, though, so that was good (remember, I’m on a 7 speed cogset now!). Speaking of the cogset, the chain felt very grimy, sandy even, with every pedal today. I’m not sure if it was more road grime, or if it was because of the worn drivetrain. Either way, it was as annoying as heck!

I ended up taking the first trail (double-track) down to Frolek’s lower road because of the fog. I could hardly see where I was going, so I figured I would either be able to get below the fog this way or, at the very least, I’d be able to have less difficulty with the poor conditions on a wider road. Thankfully, up ‘till Rose Hill, I did manage to stay under the fog. Once I hit the trails to Juniper, however, the fog rolled back in again. The main trail to Juniper was lined up full of puddles the entire way. Not such a big deal, as I was almost home at this point and not that cold. However, in the morning these puddles will pose an issue as the colder morning air and a longer ride to finish will mean getting wet feet that early could be very uncomfortable… Hopefully they dry up or freeze over!

Still, not a bad ride considering the conditions. The light did pretty good, but really no light would’ve done that great in fog like that. It was very quiet, and the strange this was that the 4° felt warmer (like this morning felt warmer than it said it was too). I wonder if it was the fog, or just the fact that there was no wind? Either way, I was thankful for a bit of warmer air with such wet conditions.

November 15th (Morning)

It was a neat morning, as the fog had rolled into the valley, but not quite high enough to hit my trails. As such, it was like I was riding above the clouds, and it looked pretty neat! Most of it had burned off to just a light fog by about 1/2 my ride, but it was cool for sure.

The trails were a bit wet, and it was supposedly 0° but it sure felt warmer this morning. I did have to use my light for the first 15 minutes, so it won’t be long before it’s fully dark in both directions! I ended up unzipping my jacket, ditching the bandana around my neck and swapping out my gloves by the time I got across Peterson’s Creek it felt that warm.

The ride was pretty good. I felt a bit nasty from waaaaay too much chips, dip, cupcakes, pop and pizza yesterday! We spent the afternoon at Dave and Esther’s (along with Andrew and Sara) watching the CFL semi-finals (Rider’s beat BC 41-38 in OT, it was a GREAT game!) As such, I didn’t feel that great this morning at first, but thankfully my legs were still good and managed to pump out a decent time of 56.5 minutes! Nothing record breaking, but a bit better than average I think. However, not having my granny cog on the back any more (too worn, the chain just won’t stay any more!) made for a tough ride in. I bet I used that gear for close to 1/2 the entire ride, and so I was for sure missing those extra few teeth that made the climbs just a tad bit easier! If I don’t replace this drivetrain soon, it won’t be long before I’m sitting on the 3rd cog down…

I wiped my glasses as I left the house and I think that was a mistake as I must’ve wiped away whatever coating I had managed that kept the fog down to a minimum. This morning, every time my speeds got below 15km/h they would start fogging over. Annoying! I’ll have to see if we have any anti-fog wipes here at work for the ride home. All I do is wash them with dish soap, and that seems to work really well as a anti-fog coating, but I guess it easily wipes off too! Or maybe it was just the foggy, wet morning.

Aberdeen and Pineview were actually icy/frosty on the streets. Not nice!!! The trail between the trailer park and Pineview was fine, but as soon as I hit the streets it looked a bit iffy to say the least. Nonetheless, I took the turn off of Copperhead onto Kryczka MUCH slower than normal… Hah!

MapMyRide–Commute Home

MapMyRide–Commute to work Map

November 12th (Afternoon)

It seems odd to call these my “afternoon” rides now, really they are evening rides! Granted, the time that I’m riding is the same (somewhere between 4:30 and 6pm), but still, if the sun’s gone it ain’t afternoon no more!

The ride was pretty good all things considered… I felt not too bad. It seemed very cold at first, yet the temperature was supposedly 6° (according to the interweb thingy). There’s just something about the evening temperatures that makes them feel colder than the morning temperature. The same degree on my ride home always seems to feel colder than that degree on my morning ride. Go figure… The ride down into Peterson’s Creek was pretty good and uneventful. I did pass a cyclist as he pushed his bike up a trail that I’ve never taken before (mainly because of the trees laying across the trail, but it’s also a tougher, steeper trail up…). He had no lights, and it was pitch black… Interesting time to be riding! Whatever floats your boat I suppose… I thought about it after, maybe he was needing help? Hah! And I just rode right on by… I’m such a jerk.

I made the creek crossing, and up and over the root again as well as the climb out of the creek over the east bank. However, the chain skipped quite a bit as I did the climb. I continued on up the trail, and decided to take the bypass trail due to the chain skipping and sure enough, only made it about 1/2 way before I had to stop because of the skipping. I figured it can’t be good to push through when it’s skipping like that. I ended up walking pretty much the entire bypass trail, but then realized that it is probably just that cog. So, for the final bit of the climb out of the valley, I kept the chain down on the 2nd cog which worked. Granted, this just made my tough climbs a little bit tougher, but at least the chain isn’t slipping! I did take a glance over the cogset this afternoon at work, and the teeth are almost coming to a point!

With no granny gear, I did have some tougher climbs, but not too bad until the final hill at Rose Hill, which I only made up to the sand pocket before I gave up… Again, I would bet anything this is just another mental game that I lost. Once I make it up in 2nd gear instead of my usual granny, it will be “easy” once again. But until then, I have to convince myself it’s still doable!

For the final stretch into Juniper, I decided to take the pipeline section today. I haven’t tried this trail yet in the dark, and it was pretty fun. I’m glad I know where the nasty rocks are, because they’re a bit tough to see in time with the light. But it was a good ride for sure! Now the weekend is here, and I get to rest up for another 2 days before hitting these trails once again. Everyone keeps asking how much longer, and I honestly don’t know for sure. I guess I should just tell them the truth. I’ll stop once my bonus gets here and I can afford the bus tickets!!!

Time and Money well spent!

So, I just figured I’d do a bit of quick math this morning. No, this isn’t perfect. I mean, I could go through my months of spreadsheet data and actually calculate this out to the minute, but who has time for that? Basically, I’ve been wondering how much time I’ve spent riding since March.

To figure this out roughly, I will use my total kilometres ridden to date (3400km’s). My average speed going to work in the mornings typically hovers close to 15km/h while my average speed heading home is around 18km/h. So, by a quick calculation, but average speed overall should be close to 16.5km/h.

By a quick division of 3400km’s by 16.5km/h, I’m left with 206 hours.

206 hours I have spent in the saddle since March. Now, granted, that’s nothing compared to time spent sitting at my work desk, or sleeping, or whatever, but still 206 hours is a lot of time! If I was getting paid minimum wage for riding, I would’ve raked in about $1600! Hah!!!

Speaking of money, here’s some more math while I’m on a roll here.... How about how much money my riding has saved me?

• Cost of Bike: $700 (approx.)
• Cost of Apparel (gloves, shoes, shorts, etc.): $360 (approx.)
• Cost of accessories and components (light, upgrades, etc.): $321 (approx.)
• Cost of maintenance (oil, cleaners, etc.): $60 (approx.)
• Bus Tickets: $90 (approx.)

So, with quick and completely approximate calculations, the cost of this adventure since March totals around $1531. Wow, that’s actually a lot!

So what did I save by doing this (costs estimated from Cavalier numbers last year)?

• Gas for driving (8 months): $800
• Vehicle Insurance: $880
• Vehicle Maintenance: $150 (approx.)

So a quick estimation of my savings would end up around $1810 meaning that I came out ahead by around $279 once all was said and done.

That doesn’t seem like a heck of a lot for all that work! Then again, I’m not including the cost of the car itself in those estimations, but I did include the cost of the bike. Take that out of the equation, and I’m ahead by closer to $1000 over the 8 months. Seeing as how the sale of the car gave me the money for the bike, I would think that would be a valid estimation. Plus, had I been in shape at the start, it would've been nice not to have spent the $90 in bus tickets…

But, then there is the physical aspect as well. This is a benefit that you can not quantify with financial gain or loss data. I have lost 35 pounds to date. I am more fit and I am able to play and round with the kids without feeling like I’m going to die! I’m healthier, and have a stronger immune system (I haven’t been sick for months now). So, whether I saved $200 or $2000, these benefits I think make these numbers immeasurable.

Well, if I did save $280 this year I fully plan on spending at least that much on upgrading the bike and getting it ready for another season (wheelset and brakes maybe, new drivetrain). And then, of course, next year I will also hope to save up enough money to buy a nice bike, probably in the $2000 range this time I think? And I will most likely end up spending the money on another car by then too. So, really, my reasoning for this venture will have to be about more than money as that is becoming less and less of a benefit!!!

November 12th (Morning)

Yesterday, being Remembrance Day, I didn’t ride. The day before I did, and the temperature was a decent 4°. Today was a pretty good 3°. Yesterday? Well, I’m not sure exactly (because I slept in), but it was closer to -5°!!! Hah! Take that Murphy!!!

Speaking of Murphy and his dang laws, I must say that he really dropped the ball this season. Today, I got a flat. Yes, my first flat of the season. Now it was annoying and all, but here’s the deal. I rode about a month or more with no spare tube or patch kit. You would think if Murphy really had it in for me, he’d have chosen then for the flat to occur. Or how about the fact that it’s the first week after the time change? I take back everything I said about DST being stupid. Changing a flat in the dark would’ve really sucked!

But, yes, I got a flat. Right at Frolek’s east gate. The best I can tell, it must’ve been a pinch flat probably from me coming down the “cliff”. It lost air instantly, I could hear it and I watched the tire deflate… psssssttt… Great… Thankfully, though, I have a brand new spare tube in my pack as well as the tire levers needed. The only downside, other than making me late for work, was trying to do this sans gloves at 3°. Yes, by the end, my fingers were notably frozen!!! And the little pump I have (Corrie’s old one we got with her bike) really kind of sucks… Sorry, Babe, I’ll get you a better one soon. But, it worked and that’s all that really matters in the end! After taking a few minutes to warm up my fingers and toes, I continued on.

Funny, but I did find it a bit tough to get back into my rhythm. The corners and single-track climbs across Frolek’s land were not nearly as good as they good be, not even close to an average effort. I took the corners too wide, didn’t build up enough speed for the short, steep climbs, wasn’t in the right gear…

Speaking of gear, my worn chain/cassette came out to play this morning. Almost the entire way up the climb out of Peterson’s Creek valley the chain slipped. Thankfully, only once did it slip enough that I had to stop. However, every time I asked just that little bit more of the gears to get over a steep section, the chain would start jumping around. VERY frustrating.. If this gets worse, I will most likely cease my riding season if I can’t afford to upgrade them soon. If the rides are more frustrating than enjoyable, then what really is the point?

However, even with the setbacks this morning, I still ended up with a pretty good time of 56.5minutes in the end. Not a record, but close to it and better than average. I also arrived at work at 7:59AM, a minute early! Granted, I like getting here at least 10 minutes early to allow for cool down and changing into my work clothes… But, hey, considering the morning I had already, that’s pretty good!

November 10th (Afternoon)

Another good ride! After a week of hard and tired rides, this week has been great! Maybe that one day off on Friday was much needed rest. So far, this morning I felt a bit tired but not bad, but other than that it’s been really good.

The temperature was a cool 6° or so, and of course dark again! That won’t change ‘till spring. But, physically I felt pretty good. I did adjust the light position on my helmet slightly, so it’s sort of in the middle of pointing only a few feet in front of the wheel. I get a decent look ahead and then only have 2 feet or so in front of “blindness”. So I think that’s a decent compromise. I still wasn’t 100% comfortable, but getting better for sure.

The way down into Peterson’s Creek was good, I slid out near the edge a bit at then end/corner of the 2nd sand pocket, which made my heart jump a bit there for sure! I made the creek crossing well, and managed up and over the root without dabbing or stopping. I then also had a successful climb up and over the east bank, so that was sweet to get both of those in a row!

Again, I decided to take the straight, steep climb up and out of the valley. Maybe once I’m more comfortable with the light I will again take the bypass. But for now, I didn’t feel like risking the narrow trail at this point. The climb wasn’t that great, though, as I didn’t even make it to my average point, but a bit of a “below average” effort instead. And that is a tough hill to walk in the dark! At the top, however, I did manage some much better speeds on the trail just before the rock “wall” meaning that I was able to clear the wall (although I dabbed at the very top more out of nervousness than necessity). After that, the trail was great. I had some decent speeds all the way to the gulley trail, and I also managed some really good speeds down that trail to my single-track below. I figure that night riding should help my technical skills. If I can make the technical sections in the dark, then I should be ready to go when the light comes back!

At Rose Hill, I was able to make the final climb again. Funny how easy this climb suddenly seems. Well, it’s not “easy”, but so much more so than before. So much of my successes and failures on these trails have to do with my mental state. Once I know that I can do something, I am able to do it repeatedly. However, if I start failing at the same point, it becomes harder and harder to make it again. Dumb head games!!!

Again, I took the main trail through to Juniper, with a short detour along the look out trail (although there’s no looking out over anything now in the dark to be sure). As I came around the final corner, my heart jumped a bit as suddenly 3 pairs of eyes were staring at me! However, once I directed the light at them, I realized they were only dear. That being said, they still didn’t move ‘till I said “Hello”! Hah! Guess they weren’t quite sure what I was at first…

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day, which I have off from work. So, no riding then! I will be staying home with the kids trying to give Mom a much deserved day off the best that I can. Friday I’m back at work, however, so I have another ride left yet this week!

November 10th (Morning)

This morning I finally felt a bit tired and sore. After two days of riding both to and from work feeling really good, I was expecting it. However, that being said, I still managed a decent time and didn’t feel that bad. If anything, I found myself finishing climbs and hills without actually realizing it, as my mind seemed to be elsewhere thinking about who knows what! It’s always nice to get to the top of a climb and think “Cool, I’m at the top and I don’t even remember getting here!” Maybe I had my first “asleep at the wheel” experience on a bike…

It was warmer this morning (4°), so I opted for my biking+driving glove setup and no toe warmers. I could’ve still used the toe warmers for sure, though! The ride was great, and I managed another 0 stop ride, making both the dip/corner section of single-track as well as the technical climb up and out of Peterson’s Creek. I let out a few pounds of pressure from the tires this morning as well as doing a quick twist of the barrel to hopefully alleviate the derailleur woes I’ve been having this week. I found it very interesting how I could actually notice just a couple of PSI different in the tires. The derailleur was OK, still rough but I think I have it set now a bit better than yesterday. Hopefully it won’t slip anymore on climbs (it didn’t this morning, but I don’t have the same “all-out” type climbs like I do going home).

This morning, as I was between the two sand pockets climbing up the Tom Moore trail, I suddenly realized how amazingly quiet and peaceful it was. I stopped and just stood at the trail edge for about 2 minutes, looking up and down Peterson’s Creek valley. I don’t do this enough, just stop and soak it in. I did notice a couple of trails going further south into the valley, though. Why didn’t I spend more time exploring these trails while I had the warmth and light of summer? Now, unless I go out on a Saturday (which won’t happen, as I have work booked from now ‘till Christmas for my Saturdays), I won’t get the opportunity to check out these potential routes ‘till next spring! Oh well, now I have something to look forward to when the weather starts to warm up again.

Oh, and now guess what? I managed to break the clip that locks my computer into place this morning while trying to take it off… The computer still snaps into place, but I doubt it will stay there during the rocky and bumpy trails and I’m sure I’ll lose it if I don’t tape it on or something. Annoying! Well, it is an old, cheap computer and I’ve considered getting a new one. I think I’ll just grab a decent, low-priced one from MEC if I do, like the Filzer dZ4L or Filzer dZ4L-C (the latter has the cadence option). For an extra $8, is the cadence option needed? Probably more annoying to have to route the wire anyways… I think this is the computer Rob has, and it seemed pretty decent. A lot of data displayed at once, though, is it easy enough to read?  Rob, if you do read this, what are your thoughts on this comptuer? I’ll also probably check out eBay…