Mike and I have each managed to ride 1000 k since we started riding in March, up to Monday night, May 30. We added 34 more on May 31. We thought we were riding less this year than last year. I thought we had a lot more rain this year, especially on the weekends when we would ordinarily take half a day for a long ride. We have had several rainy spells, and have lost some weekend rides. when it has been dry we have been riding almost every evening, for 30-35 or even 40 kilometers, for 3 or 4 consecutive nights.
Category: Two Wheels Good
Tough Week
The weather in the last week (from Sunday April 24 to Sunday May 1) has been cold, with sudden showers and snow flurries, which killed my interest in cycling. This week promises to be moderately warmer, with sunshine.
The preceding week was a bit warmer and that week I had a Sunday morning ride to St. Adolphe with Mike and Steve into a stiff breeze – and back with a howling gale at our backs. I also have evening rides Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with Steve or Mike or both, and a Saturday afternoon ride with Mike. Last Sunday, Claire and I drove to Portage and then on to Spruce Woods with my sister Joyce for a 10 k hike in the Carbery desert. It was warmer there than in Winnipeg – Carberry is closer to Brandon than Winnipeg. Then winter came back.
Suddenly Spring ’05
A week of temperatures near the 10 degree mark melted much of the snow cover last week. This week we have had daytime temperatures of 13.5 on Tuesday (April 5) and 16 on Wednesday, and the snow and the melt puddles are disappearing. The street are gritty with the winter’s sand but some main streets have been swept.
Spring?
Last weekend, there was packed snow and ice on most roads. The ice between the ruts in my back lane was about 10 inches deep. In the past week, that kind of ice has melted on all the streets. There is still a lot of snow in yards and on boulevards, and most City streets have puddles and wet sections. The cross-country ski season did in fact end with my last ski trip to Bird’s Hill two weeks ago.
Easter 2005
Steve, Mike and I rode on Sunday at Bird’s Hill, as we did on the last Sunday in March last year. Steve has notes and pictures in his cycling log entry for March 27. Mike has a picture in his blog entry. He has to add a table and some code (with Steve’s tech support) to fire up his cycling log for 2005.
First Ride 2005
March 25, snow on the ground, temperature below freezing – the first ride of the season.
Pro – The Movie
I saw the Winnipeg premiere of “Pro, A Feature Documentary” last night at the Imax theater in Portage Place. Woodcock Cycle, had promoted it at their store, on their web site, and through the Manitoba Cycling Association. The theater was nearly full, and I think most of the audience were fairly dedicated cyclists.
Not the Bike
The BBC Web site has a sports page with a cycling section, which has links to a cyber-area that they call the BBC Academy, which has more pages about cycling (and pages about other sports).
The lead news today is that the French judicial system has started to look at a doping allegations against Lance Armstrong. This should keep the sporting world’s eye on cycling and it may ensure that the 2005 Tour gets televised in North America. It’s a great event and TV has learned how to cover it well, but without a strong American presence like Armstrong (or Lemond before him) in the race, it doesn’t seem to be a marketable event in America.
Meanwhile Steve has come to the attention of Mike Magnuson, professor of literature, cyclist, author and redneck as he writes in the Glort blog. Magnuson, like other people we know, began to cycle a lot, almost obsessively, with positive results for his physical health and mental health. He lost weight and invested his energy in cycling and writing about it. Steve liked the book about cycling, but none of us have read any of his other books.
Snowfall
Yesterday Mike and I rode through Assiniboine Park and St. Charles. The ground was dry, except for a few places where condensation had formed ice on the road. The temperature was around zero (C) and the wind was about 20, gusting to 30 kph. Not too cold. We had numb toes by the end, but otherwise our gear held up to the conditions.
Halloween and after
The leaves are down, there are frequent frosty nights, sunset is about 5:00 PM and it’s dark by 5:30 PM as we have rolled the clocks back from Daylight Savings time. The weather turned cool, with many rainy days after Thanksgiving, which restricted our evening rides. We have managed to keep up one good ride on the weekends, until today. Mike, Steve and I rode to Bird’s Hill last Sunday morning (Halloween), and returned into a stiff cold breeze. Mike and I rode through Woodhaven and St. Charles on Friday afternoon (Nov. 5), so we have managed to ride in every month from March through November this year. Mike had not posted the most recent rides on Bike with Mike when I composed this post due to technical problems with his server but I think he will fix that.
We had planned a ride yesterday afternoon (Nov. 6), but cancelled under the threat of showers and flurries. It’s a cold sunny day today. I would ride, but I am packing for a hunting trip. If it doesn’t snow too much and the temperatures don’t fall too far below the freezing mark, we should manage a few more rides this fall.