Earliest spin EVER!

Actually went to Premier Fitness this morning. Woke up at 6 and got there for 7.

Went to meet Steve Deboer for a spin class, but no one else showed up. So we just rode the spin bikes for a bit. And Steve gave me the scoop on all the action at the gym and stuff.
Had a good recovery ride spin for an hour, then did a bit of pumping iron in the circuit room. Nothing too serious, just an introduction to the gym.

Burned enough calories to warrant eating breakfast two times before 10 AM in the morning.

Weighed myself on the scale there and it says I weigh 155 lbs. Which sounds reasonable. But really contradicts my digital home scale reading of 166 lbs.

Premier fitness club looks like a great gym. And I am planning to return on a more frequent basis. I really have the desire to get in even better shape this year, and I believe getting stronger all around is the key. Especially the core.
So I might go back after work this evening for a quick core workout.

I am thinking a longer bike ride out to the Tim Hortons by the Seaway Mall tomorrow morning and return through the Hollow is in order. Possibly a return to the gym after work again.
That's the plan. But I'll just have to take it as it comes and make the best of it. One day at a time, One ride at a time.

Off to research good core work out routines.

Later!

Spinning anyone?

FANTASTIC day for ride with the Northern Short Hills Cycling Club Brothers. (and friends)
Met at the Brock Landfill for 10AM for a so called "Leisurely" road tour.
Started out with 10 riders at 10 am sharp. There was some good legs in the group so things got split up early, only to re-group after a short warm up.

Here is the route we took plotted on gmaps-pedometer.com

Turned out to be a spirited ride of just under 50 km. I really enjoyed riding in the group. But the only problem I had, was that my Kona Major One, was under geared for riding in a group on the road. I set it up at 40X18 for the trails and snowy rides. But WAY too spinny for putting in sustained pulls on the front and hanging on the back was even a chore. It was a real learning experience, in the sense that I now know what gear I need for the road to keep pace with the geared guys and familiarizing myself with the intricacies of riding in a group of riders.
I spun my ass off tryin to hang on for the whole last 1/4 of the ride and only got dropped comin down the last stretch to Brock.

So all in all a great day for a ride and another 50 km off my goal of 1000 km base mileage before some building work. Only 900 km to go!

Sorry no photos. But at least I got to hide the link behind the word. Next time I'll do a screen shot for the photo of the route.

Peace out and happy riding to all!

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Had a good 40 km mtb ride with the guys from the Short Hills Cycling club yesterday.
Trails were in great wintery shape. Only a few spots with bad ice.

Gettin' ready to head out on the road with the club guys for 10 am. We are doin' the Sulfer springs ZigZag. soit should be a good long one.

Stopped at the landfill for a pic.


I will post more later.

Inadequate thermalness leads to uncormfotable chillyness!

So after a quick wheel swap and a not so quick gear change. (42T to 39T ring) The Specialized was ready to hit the road.
The reason for the wheel change is because the on Wednesday I went out for a short recovery ride from Tuesdays 50 km ride. And as the result of an exceptionally cool Fixie skid, I stripped the threads on my Durace 7600 track hub. FUBAR! Ended up jogging the 3 kms home just to make it into a work out. CRAPtackular! Messed it up good. OH well, it just means I need to buy a new set of wheels now. Probably carbon TUBS for CX season.
So I loaded the bikes on the rack and headed over to my friend, Mary-Lee's. An introduction to single speeding for the lady. Was really just getting her to ride my bike to see if she fit a 54cm frame. And it looked pretty between her legs.


So we rode the canal path from Lock 1 to the Skyway Bridge and back. Just an easy spin on a sunny January day. But both of us were under layered and started to get a little cold from the east wind off the canal. After peeling off a few of my layers for Mary-Lee, we finished the ride in a bit quicker pace and jumped in the car to get warm.
Whilst on the ride, I managed to get a pic of the both of us.

Including a bunch of Bats in the cave and one huge snot-scicle hanging off my nose when zoomed in. Just the way ya wanna look when riding with a lady!


All in all a good day for a short ride, but mostly a better lesson in layering to stay warm while riding.

And so brings an end to another mis-adventure of a single speeder.

Pedal Pushing Begins

Finally got out for a ride yesterday.

I was soo good to got on the bike. Renewed enthusiasm for riding again.

Left here on the Kona CX rig. Went down Carlton to the Welland Canal. Rode the path up to Glendale, then road up to Lock 7. Path was clear except from the tracks up to lock 7.
Hit the service road over the Thorold tunnel, then back on the cleared path. Took that out to Allenburg Bridge. Clear sailing most of the way. Except after the Kiwanas foot bridge to the Lift Bridge. Tough slog through the slush and ice. But a nice challenge to put the power down and stay upright on the cx rig.

Canal path all the way out to E.S.Fox building in Port Robinson.

Did a u-turn and headed for home, which was pretty fun because I only had a small bar light on and a blinky MEC turtle light on the bar.

Ended up being a good ride.

I tried to map it on this cool map app I got from a runner friend.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3424058

It lets you track your route.
Pretty cool beans.

Just getting ready for a recovery ride now. So I'll finish bloggin' for now.
But a blog without pictures is pretty boring. Since the gmap pedometer didn't link up right. Here is a pic I snapped of my mtb while out on my birthday ride.

Can anyone guess where it was taken. Hint:It's on my secret CX training route.

Happy riding to all!

Running is fun!

I guess if I keep telling myself that running is fun, I'll keep on doing it.
Definitely a great work out. Even better when ya have company to chat with while out and about.

Ran for 9.92 km this evening. Pretty sure the longest I have run in the last 20 years. Just over 1 hour long.

Got a bit of stretching and warm up tips from my friend Mary-Lee. It was fun chasing her around her house warming up.
It makes a real difference when ya stretch thoroughly before and after.

Looking forward to hitting the road and double track on the bike tomorrow. It's been way too long.

Nothing to lose, but 10 lbs.

Going on a run with a lady friend. Hopefully she doesn't kill me. Run # 5 for the year.

Recently discovered the joys of running. The simplicity and ease is appealing.
Lace up and go.

Using a little proper form makes it easier on my body and lungs.

We will just have to see if I can keep doing it for the long haul. It's pretty tough on the lower body. But the gains on my system are pretty worth while.