I got an email from the Canmore organizers recently:

I just returned form a venue trip a week ago. The Canmore Nordic Centre continues its refurbishment project, with the main lodge under construction. We will again be staging the event in the biathlon area. The Food & Beverage and Washrooms, plus showers from the main lodge will be lost for this year. The good news it that the new lodge is much bigger and will add to events in the future. Good news… the Food & Beverage folks will be setting up down in the biathlon area. Additional washrooms are being brought in to off set the loss of the main lodge.

I am definitely glad I bailed. No showers at all, temporary food setup, porta-johns for the whole weekend? I’ve also heard of potential floods in the area, meaning the trails are probably pretty saturated right now.

That just doesn’t sounds like an awesome time to me.

Another thing I should mention is that last weekend I decided to not do that Canmore 24 Hours of Adrenaline. There are lots of factors involved in that decision. I haven’t really felt like doing the race for the past few months, so getting myself out to ride always involved guilting myself. That isn’t fun.

A couple of my teammates also had to bail (for other reasons), and they were part of the reason I signed up in the first place. Without them I would have been racing with a bunch of relative strangers, and that is not why I signed up.

I have other vacation plans around the race timeframe, so by not going I can free up more time for camping.

Lastly, by not going I will save probably close to $500 for travel, camping, and racing expenses.

I feel crappy for bailing, but in my heart I know I wasn’t committed to doing the race. I did get out for rides recently though, and that is a good thing.

Riding to and from work is pretty easy, and really isn’t all that far. Still, to be on the safe side I always carry a small toolkit and a spare tube. That came in handy for yesterdays ride. About a 1/3 of the way to work I got a flat and pulled over to change it.

I whipped out the tools and set to changing the tube. While doing this I was passed by at least six cyclists, none of whom asked if I was OK or had everything. Most roadies and mountain bikers I know do this for one another. It is called karma. I have helped people patch tubes, wrench on their bike, and have given up tubes to others in need. Road rides I have done I have ensured other cyclists were taken care of. Here I was though, and nobody said a thing. Weird.

As I was about to put the new tube back in the tire I suddenly had an inkling that I should check the tire for debris. Sure enough I found a 1/3 inch long shard of glass poking though the tire. With that removed I got the tire remounted and inflated with my CO₂ filler. It wasn’t a fast replacement, but it was effective.

Last night the wind kicked up before I could ride home so Sox picked me up, and today I rode home instead. No major ride here, but at least I know I can ride 7 km at a brisk pace with no problems. 🙂 Canmore here I come! (maybe)

Color me disappointed.

My intentions this morning were pretty grand. Today was my morning to sleep in, and after getting up I had some oatmeal, a cup of coffee, then I was going to head out for a ride. I was thinking 1.5 hours.

I got all geared up, grabbed some food, filled the water bottles, then searched for my shoes. I could not find them. Then it dawned on me. I had left my shoes at work.

I was very disappointed. I was really looking forward to the ride. Instead I was able to do some errands that I had been wanting to do for a bit. I was wondering how I would get those things done today too.

No ride today, but there is a plan for me to squeeze one in tomorrow.

I had a great ride home from work yesterday. I took the long way home, and rode along beach drive. I pushed myself as much as I could and sure felt it by the time I got home. From the office until the Johnson St bridge I was averaging 29 KM/H which is pretty good for me. By the time I got home, my pace had dropped to 28 KM/H. It took about 45 minutes as well.

I did have one stop along the route so I could take a picture. Other than that I only stopped for lights.

Strangely enough I arrived home at the same time as Sox and Sprout.

I got out for an awesome ride today. I rode with a buddy of mine that is a much stronger rider than me. This pushed me a lot, and I certainly noticed it. I was out of breath way more than when I ride alone. We covered almost the same route as my last training ride, but time-wise it was shorter.

It was a little breezy so a couple sections were a tough slog, but the sun was out so that raised my spirits. Add in a warm temp and it was almost bliss.

I almost overdressed though. I was going to wear a jacket, but as I left the driveway I remembered that I had forgotten some food. As I went back into the house I made a snap decision to swap my jacket for a vest. Good call! I would have been way too warm in the jacket.

Over 20KM in less than an hour. I have a feeling that was a short, slow ride for T, but it was a good push for me.

Thursday I rode to work. This came hot on the heels of a blood donation, and I actually felt pretty good for the ride to and from work, although I noticed my heart rate sure spiked quickly on the hills. I have my HRM set to beep when I crest 170 bpm. A few times on the way to work I reached 170, and on the way home I hit it quite a few since I took a hillier route home (I had to stop at the bike shop to pick up my new leg armour).

Sunday morning is ride morning. This morning was beautiful out. Warm, sunny, and no breeze.

And yet I had no inclination to get out and ride. I wasn’t feeling into it. I used Sox’s old trick of just getting out for half an hour, and see how I feel.

I hadn’t drank enough water yesterday and today, and my breakfast wasn’t great for a ride, but I gathered my gear, and headed out with a route in mind. I actually added the out and back on the fly since I wasn’t feeling too bad and thought I should push myself a little.

According to the map maker this route was almost 24 km, and apparently I burned 2123 calories in the hour that I was out. That seems high.

I’m glad I did go outside and ride, since it was nice to feel the sun, but I could have used slightly warmer clothing. Now I have eaten, and showered, and am waiting for Sprout to wake up so we can play.

Rode to work yesterday. Riding to and from work seems like it is getting easier. The ride in was no problem at all.

The ride home was extra fun because Sox and I got to race home after she picked up Sprout from daycare. I did a good job of keeping pace with the car, but Sox dropped me after the Johnson St Bridge.