Showing posts with label Cycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cycling. Show all posts

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Muskoka Bike Ride

Dillon, Megan and I signed up for the Muskoka bike ride organized by MEC, and lead by Michael and Dede Berry.  This was our first organized group ride and it has been a great experience.  The ride started and finished in Gravenhurst, a town in the Muskoka region, and the birthplace of Dr. Henry Normal Bethune, a doctor who gave his life in helping others. The ride was divided into two course, one for 90KM and the other was 160KM.  Megan and I did the 90K while Dillon did the 160K.

Dock in Lake Muskoka in the morning.  E-M5 & Panasonic 14-45mm OIS

Being the first time in a group ride, I never saw so many nice bikes in one place!  There were many CervĂ©los, especially in the group that rode the 160K route, a testament to great bikes made by a Canadian company.  Of course, there were many high end Specialized, Trek, Colnago, Ridley and other nice bikes.  One brave soul was there with a Supercycle mountain bike with big tires.  If he could finish the course in that bike, my hats off to him.

Getting Ready for the ride.  Picture taken with a cell phone.

I am not going to lie, even for the 90KM (actually it was slight longer than 100K as measured by my, and other's bike computers), it was extremely tough for me.  It was relatively easy for the first 50KM, as we started fresh in the morning with full strength, but as the ride went on, we faced lots of steep hills, and this proved to be too much for Megan, who was feeling dizzy and I was concerned that she might faint.  At about 60KM, she had to be picked up by the MEC staff and driven back to the base.  Understandably, she wasn't happy that she couldn't finish the ride, but it's better safe than sorry.

Break at one of the Pit Stops at Port Carling (50KM mark).  This is the cut off point for the 160K ride.  Any rider who didn't make it here by 11:30AM would be directed to the 90K route.  You can see a police car in the background.  They were directing traffic at a few points of the ride.  

Here I must say that the ride was extremely well organized.  The routes were well marked with signs, and at critical turning points, staff were there to direct riders to ensure they didn't turn to the wrong route.  There was medical units with patrols cars.  One of the cars stopped by when they saw we were walking up the hill, and Megan was picked up and driven back.  There were four Pit Stops along the way, and they were stocked with complimentary energy gels and bars and water, with bike mechanics there in case anyone's bike needs service.  It really ensured a peace of mind and made the ride much more enjoyable.

I finished in 5 and a half  hours, with breaks and some walking with Megan.  The last 20K was brutally difficult with lots of hills.  Near the end of the 90KM, I kept telling myself it was almost there, but it wasn't.  The route was about 102KM long.  

Dillon finished the 160K route in 6 and a half hours, only one hour behind me for almost twice the distance, which was amazing, considering he was riding a heavier bike.

At the end, I was very tired, especially the neck and the leg muscles.  I felt shamefully and utterly out of shape, though I was happy to finish the ride.

Finished at last.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Toronto to Niagara Falls on Bikes - 2014

A bit over two years ago, a bunch of us rode to Niagara Falls from Toronto. It was my first time riding that far and proved to be a real challenge. Due to my knee that was hurting me, I could not ride back the next day and it has been a disappointment for me. Two years later, I wanted to do this again with my older kids, as an adventure and hopefully a fun time before school starts.

The gang - Dillon, Megan, Ryan and Lens Bubbles. Click for larger.

We planned to go at a slower and more constant pace of about 20 km/h  so that we don't exhaust ourselves early on, but that turned out to be less of a problem. We took the Waterfront Trail for most of the way there but switched to directions provided by Google Maps.  the Waterfront Trail has very good signage but sometimes signs were not visible at some turns. We spent quite a bit of time checking directions to make sure we are on the right track. The Google Maps directions had a couple of steps omitted, causing us more delays. One advice when using Google Maps directions is to check each point on the map to make sure they are correct.

Last time I rode a vintage Coppi bike with a Brooks saddle, which was a real mistake. The saddled was very hard and my butt felt like it was on fire at the end of the trip. This time I made sure everyone got comfortable seats, and I brought along a gel seat cover, which made a big difference.

Beautiful Port Credit - Sony A7 & Carl Zeiss FE 35mm f2.8 ZA. Click for larger.
 
The Waterfront Trail is very beautiful and a scenic route. It passes many towns and cities, parks and natural conservation areas, and best of all, most of the ride is along Lake Ontario. There is one section of the trail, the 8.5km Hamilton Beach Trail, is one of the best part of the ride. It is really beautiful. The last time we rode there, we missed it.

Sign of confusion: Note both street names are identical. Sony A7 & FE 35mm f2.8 ZA.

Checking the map to make sure we are on the right track.

I brought along my Sony A7 and the Zeiss 35mm f2.8ZA.  For the first 50km, I just hung it on my neck and took pictures of the kids while riding, but that proved to be tough on my neck, so I took it off and left it in my bag. My old problem, the pain in my right knee, was also starting to hurt. This really dampened my spirit as it ruined my trip last time. Expectedly, it got worse as I rode. We had to stop and get a knee brace, which helped a great deal.

Trail Blazers -- Sony A7 and Carl Zeiss FE 35mm f2.8ZA. click for larger.

We were lost a couple of times near Niagara Falls following the Google Maps directions.  Also, as we are closer to the end, the elevation in the last 30km was something close to 120 meters, and there are many hills to climb. It was difficult for Megan, as she being the youngest and riding this far for the first time, but she's tough as a nail and very determined.

Taking a break at the same spot we did two years ago!

We made it to Niagara Falls in around 12 hours. It would have been at least an hour shorter if we didn't have to do so many checks on the map and getting lost. My wife and my youngest son were waiting for us there.

My knee was getting very bad and I knew it would not be possible to ride back in this condition. My wife prepared some vitamin treatment for me, and I prayed for my knee to get better in the morning. In credibly, it did and I was feeling much better but still hurts. I really didn't want to disappoint Dillon, as I knew he really wanted to ride back, so I decided to do it.

We left Megan and Ryan in Niagara Falls, and Dillon and I headed home. 1/3 of the way home, my other knee was having the same symptom as my right knee, which was starting to hurt. Another knee brace and a couple of Tylenol later, I forced myself to continue. Needless to say, the last 20 km was one of the most difficult ride I had ever done, but we made it home.

I am so proud of the kids, especially Megan. She's one tough kid. Ryan has been training for this for a few weeks and it was much easier for him this time than the last, and Dillon, he made the trip seem so easy. He was carrying most of the supplies and tools, and he was the front person for drafting.  It's too bad this will likely be my last long cycling trip due to my knee problem, but I am happy I made it there and back.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Cycling in the Winter

The weather we are having has been weird.  Just over a week ago, we had temperatures in the high of 12C, and now, this whole week, we are in the deep freeze with the mercury dropping down to as low as -17C, or -26C with wind chill factor, with snow thrown in for good measure. This, does not stop hardcore cyclists who ride their bikes to work.

If you live in warm climates, or even some who live here in Canada, you may think this is crazy. No, we Torontonians love to ride our bikes, and we ride them any time of the year, come sunshine or sleet. I have done this for more than 10 years. It's really not as bad as most people would think; you just need to be prepared, dress warm and use the right bike for the weather. I ride a road bike for dry days, and a mountain bike with good grip on tires for wet/snowy days. In fact, I am shameful to admit that I also collect bicycles, unintentionally, with about a dozen now and counting. Not the expensive bikes, but different ones. Many are old and fixed up by me as a pass time hobby. I was fed up having to rely on bike shops to fix minor stuff like truing a wheel, change the bottom bracket, or adjust the gears, so I spent the money on tools and learn to do this myself. It turned out not as hard as I thought and it's a great deal of fun. I can now re-spoke an entire wheel from scratch without breaking a sweat ;)

Pictures from today:

Crossing the street - NEX-6 & Wollensak Raptar 50mm f1.5. Click for larger.

Waiting to cross - NEX-6 & Wollensak Raptar 50mm f1.5. Click for larger.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Biking From Toronto To Niagara Falls

On Canada Day (July 1st), seven of us rode our bicycles from Toronto to Niagara Falls, to test our endurance.  We started at 6am and arrived at Niagara Falls at 7pm, for a total of 13 hours, covering more than 170KM of distance.  My 13-year-old son Ryan, who rode more slowly, hence the longer time it took.

Dillon, Kevin, Lens Bubbles, Ryan, Quang and Ivan. My friend Cliff would join us later in Mississauga. Click for larger.

The event didn't start out smoothly.  I had a fall just a few kilometers from where we started, and had  a scraped knee.  Luckily, it was only the skin and nothing serious, except a sore shoulder.  We pressed on and at around Mississauga, two flat tires from Dillon's front wheel.  Fortunately, after this, no more flats.

Scraped knee.

I am very proud of Ryan, who didn't have much bike riding experience and made it to Niagara Falls, despite the initial rough start.  And also for Dillon, who's a year older than Ryan.  He also rode back the next day.  For me, about 2/3 of the way there, my right knee joint started to hurt and it got worse as I rode.  By the time we were near our destination, I was practically peddling only with my left leg, and was limping my way to the hotel.

Taking a break at Grimsby.

There were seven of us riding to the Falls, but only three were riding back (Quang, Kevin and Dillon).  The rest of use either was driven or took the train home.  It took roughly 12 hours for the three to ride back.  The trip was very challenging for all of us.  The hot weather and humidity made it worse.  We consumed large amount of water and sugary drinks on the way there.  It was truly a great experience.

Lens Bubbles and Ryan arriving at the Niagara  Falls.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Cyclist Rights?


Ghost Bike to Protest in front of old City Hall -- Canon Digital Rebel 550D & Pentax-M 20mm f4.

A recent court ruling that dropped all charges against former politician Michael Bryant, who hit and killed Darcy Allan Sheppard on August of 2009, sparked an outcry among many cyclists. As you can see from the picture above, a ghost bike has been placed in front of the old Toronto City Hall to protest the ruling. The writing on the piece of paper says "This bike is a reminder that cyclist rights were killed on this spot by the Ontario justice system - May 25, 2010."

As someone who rides a bike to work everyday, including winter days, I have my own experiences on the behaviours of both drivers and cyclists. Some cyclist are very aggressive riders that zoom through open streetcar doors, red lights, between cars, etc, with little safety regard to himself/herself as well as others. Of course, there are car drivers who just should not be driving vehicles at all. They drive their car like they own the road, but most are just careless -- making right turns without signal or checking blind spots, opening car doors without checking for bikes coming from behind, driving too close to the curb without checking bicycles beside them.

My personal view on this matter is that both drivers and cyclists need to be alert and practice restrain. Some courtesy on the road will go a long way toward a safer environment for cyclists and cars alike. Cyclists should obey traffic signs and signals just like cars drivers (should) do. The bicycle lanes on the few Toronto streets help tremendously for safer riding, but they can not be implemented on most streets as they are extremely busy streets or lane reduction to make way for a bike lane is just not possible.

So, take it easy. Be alert. If you bike, wear helmets, and make sure your bike is tuned up and in good shape, especially with good brakes, and have safety flashers for both front and rear. If you drive, look out for cyclists, especially in the winter when you don't expect people to bike. Check your blind spots before making a turn, and look before opening the driver's door.