best intentions

That's right, I had the perfect plan to for a ride yesterday, I great loop that could have raised the standards of Tristan and Jacob's so called manly ride. Unfortunately the conditions of the so called trail changed in less than 12 hours and made the bay unridable. An inch and a half of snow along with milder temperatures is like riding into a bowl of oatmeal. It sounds fun but all it ends up being is a balance challenge since forward momentum is almost impossible.

I did have a destination on this ride though so I was forced out on to the highway and heading toward Midland. Traffic was light but I'm not a big fan of this section of highway and usually use are rail trail anytime I'm heading this way. The winter just makes it a little nerving since the roads seem to be a little narrower and drivers are not expecting to see a cyclist out in February.

After catching a draft of a snowplow for a few km/h, I rolled my way into the next town. I was ducking off the highway as much as possible, the towns added miles and gave me a little mental rest. This was good because I got flagged down by a car. I tried not to laugh to hard when they asked for directions. You want to go where??? Kitchener??? You should have seen the look on his face when I told him how far away they were. Something tells me that they had been heading a few hours in the wrong direction already. Maybe they should have been using a handheld gps and talking to CAA for directions on their cell phones, guarantee they wouldn't have been lost.

I finally rolled into my planned stop. Had I known what was about to happen happened I would have put in a few more miles before stopping. A quick stair climb to Brandon and Ange's apartment found me being tempted by coffee. What was I going to do, say no?? My feet were cold from the head wind so I figured a coffee would equal just long enough to thaw then back at it. Well one coffee leg to a second and as much is caffeine is a motivator the warmth was sucking the life out of me. When the chocolate chip filled pancakes came out I knew I had to go now or I would never leave.


Back out on the bike I was feeling a little slow now. The legs felt fine and I was still motoring along at a good pace but the rest of me just wanted to sit on the couch. No more than 20 minutes later the ride 3.76 km and have to pee thing started. I swear it was that consistent as the coffee caught up with me. I made a turn left towards the east. Yes east is homeward bound. My craving to be outside riding was not on the high side at this point. The route I was on was boring, had lots of traffic and also something I had ridden so many times I swear I know where every crack in the pavement was. Also the wonderful taste of salt everytime I took a drink from my bottles was starting to play on me. The salt did do a great job clearing the roads


After stopping for the 5th time I was on the home stretch. Man ride failure, coach's requirement, just a little short. 3 hours and 13 minutes. I almost wanted to count the seconds. A quick clean up, not of the bike since it was not going to be a quick one with it, and it was out on the bay for a stroll with the dog. Watched a few kite boarders play for a bit before the cold and wind took the last of my energy. The couch and the Olympics finished out the day. Good to see a Canadian Gold already.

What is on the agenda today? No riding