Tag: gran fondo

Cycling Review

2018 was a pretty fun year in cycling. I took it easy not having the BCBR as a goal, but still had some training goals. Sue and I did the Chafe 150 Gran Fondo, but I also trained for, and raced in, the Island Cup series of Enduro races.

This post though is about my 2018 cycling year in review.

2016 was a build year for BCBR. At the end of the year I started my long rides, and was doing two spin classes a week. 2017 was a big year for me. Lots of cycling, running, and other forms of training all culminating in BCBR. After that race I took a while off riding.

2018 had me on my road bike quite a bit getting ready for the Gran Fondo. Oddly I was also racing enduro events in amongst my road bike training. I’m not sure if that helped my enduro races or not. I didn’t get many long mountain bike rides in, so I wasn’t as comfortable on my Covert as I would have liked. The fun part about some of those races is that I raced them ‘blind’ either not having any practice on the trails, or never having ridden them at all!

The Gran Fondo itself was an excellent getaway with Sue. We rode together the entire way, though near the end of our 80 mile event my back was starting to act up. I wondered if that was due to me not riding at my natural pace?

In the fall we did the annual guys road trip, and this time we stayed on Vancouver Island riding in Duncan, Cumberland, Parksville, and Nanaimo.

What do I see in store for 2019? Well, I can answer that easily since I am late to the game with this 2018 review. So far Sue and I have signed up for the 5 Boro ride in NYC. I would also like to race the Island Cup enduro series again. The final big ride is the Cycle of Life Tour in July. A 2 day 200km ride to raise money for hospice care on Vancouver Island. That is enough to keep me busy I think

Chafe Adventure

Last weekend Sue and I headed down to Sandpoint to ride in the Chafe 150 Gran Fondo. It was quite an adventure. The drive down was long, and except for the border crossing, uneventful. Sandpoint is a neat little town with lots of great amenities close to where we stayed.

Here are some pics from the drive down.

The day after we arrived, we had a rest day before the ride. We went out for a great breakfast, did a little shopping around looking around in town, and generally relaxed. We also went for a short spin to keep the legs fresh and took in the pre-ride festivites of appies and drinks by the lake.

Early to bed and early to rise. Ride time!

The weather was looking a little iffy. In fact, in the start area it started raining a bit. I had brought them with us to Sandpoint, but hadn’t installed them on either of our bikes. Thankfully that stopped before we headed out.

The first section of the ride was an amazing backcountry road through some gorgeous farms. We got to the ‘big’ climb and I zipped up it with ease. At the top I waited for Sue and we both took off a layer. Soon we turned on the the highway portion of the ride. Overall the ride wasn’t difficult. The riding was gorgeous, but right next to the highway for 90% of the distance. The aid stations were well stocked and the volunteers were awesome.

Nearing the end of the ride I was wondering where we were. I hadn’t seen any signage in quite a while and didn’t really know where we were. After a couple more turns I suddenly recognized the location and how close we were. Woohoo! 130KM in the bag.

Beer, festivities, and Mexican food greeted us at the finish. Unfortunately the wind also kicked up so Sue and I didn’t stick around too long.

A shower, a hot tub, a little rest, then we headed out to find some dinner (yes a second dinner).

Our final day in the area saw us head down to Coeur d’Alene to do some shopping and sightseeing. Another nice little place once we got off the main highway.

Drinks and dinner in Sandpoint that night, then all too soon we had to pack up for the trip home.

Signed Exploring

Sue and I signed up for the Chafe 150 a while ago, so we’ve been doing quite a bit of training for it. The plan was for us to do some rides together, but unfortunately that hasn’t happened very often.

With all the training I did last year, I got a little bored of riding all the same awesome roads over and over again. With this training I’ve concentrated on some hills and on exploring new roads. Victoria has a lot to offer for cycling, and I have taken it for granted in the past.