May 2008 Training Rides

25 km. Brantford Ontario -2C sunny May 1

40 km. Brantford Ontario 15C sunny May 4

26 km. Springfield Illinois 79F hazy May 6

102 km. Albuquerque New Mexico 70F sunny May 9

94 km. Grand Junction Colorado 60F sunny May 10

Colorado National Monument. This National Park sits on a 2,000 ft mesa with an entrance on either end. I have biked eastbound through the park a number of times in the past couple of years, a climb of 2,215 ft. with a 5% average grade. West bound is much tougher, with an average grade of 8%. Today I biked both directions for a total of 4,200 ft. vertical climb, starting at 4,480 feet above sea level climbing to 6,695 ft., down to 4,580 ft. and back again. A very tiring, but gratifying day. I am often asked why I am always pushing myself physically. My simple answer is "Because I can." I am always grateful to God that at my age I can still manage to enjoy His creation in so many ways. (My own little secret is that that not so many years ago I was a 340 lb. couch potato)

161 km. Denver Colorado 75F sunny May 11

I was feeling a bit down spending Mother's Day out on the road, away from my wife Elaine, the wonderful mother of my three children, but to make the best of a bad situation, I celebrated by doing a "century" ride! Denver has a wonderful system of bike paths, many hundreds of miles of paved trails connecting all sections of the city. There were literally thousands of cyclists out today. I've never seen so many bikes of all kinds in one place.

20 km. York Nebraska 73F sunny and windy May 12

53 km. Prairie Duneland Trail, Portage Indiana 73F sunny May 13

50 km. Brantford Ontario 19C sunny May 15

53 km. Brantford Ontario 9C cloudy May 16

55 km. Waterloo Indiana 55F sunny May 20

72 km Troy Illinois 60F sunny May 21

57 km. Erick Oklahoma 78F sunny May 22

Erick Oklahoma is a decaying town on old Route 66, looking exactly like scenes directly out of John Stienbeck's "Grapes of Wrath"


Anyone had a Nehi Soda lately?

Erick Oklahoma is also the hometown of Roger Miller, whose signature song was "King of the Road" I wonder if this motel has "Rooms to let for fifty cents"?

50 km. Pecos Texas 98F sunny May 23

211 km. Albuquerque New Mexico 74F partly sunny May 24

This was my longest ride ever and when I got back to my truck after nine hours of cycling, tired but feeling pretty good about my self, I didn't unclip properly and down I went. As I lay sprawled across the motel parking lot, my euphoria about my accomplishment that day evaporated in a moment's inattention. An old saying that I have heard a number of times came to mind. "Those that the gods would humble, they first make proud"

179 km. Albuquerque New Mexico 85F sunny May 25

54 km. Amarillo Texas 70F sunny May 26

52 km. Straffordville Missouri 78F mostly cloudy May 27

53 km. Burlington to Brantford Ontario 23C sunny May 29

April 2008 Training Rides

102 km. Burlington to Paris to Brantford Ontario 10C sunny April 3

82 km Brantford to Binbrook Ontario return 9C sunny April 6
First ride on my new bike, which I will be riding on the tour this summer, a Specialized Roubaix. Due to a different geometry and more carbon fibre in the frame, it has a different feel and handling characteristics than my old bike, a Trek Pilot 1.2. This was also my first use of clipless pedals. After all these years of riding, I've decided to come out of the "stone age". After forgetting to unclip, I fell only twice! Other than a bruised elbow, knee and ego, all was well.

32 km. Dallas Divide, Ridgway Colorado 52F sunny April 12
1300 vertical climb, maximum grade 7%, at 8000 ft elevation. I was going to tackle my old nemesis, Red Mountain Pass today, but it was closed due to avalanche danger, after a late winter snowfall of 30 inches the previous day.

50 km. Penrose Colorado 65F sunny April 13

56 km. Burlington to Brantford Ontario 18C sunny and windy April 16

81 km. Brantford to Waterford Ontario return 21C sunny April 17
Spring has finally arrived here in Southern Ontario!

100 km. Brantford to Lynden 2X to Oakland to Brantford Ontario 27C sunny April 18

90 km. Brantford to Cambridge to Burlington Ontario 20C sunny April 19

32 km. Stoner Colorado 52F sunny April 25

33 km. Ridgway to Ouray Colorado return 50F sunny, windy April 26
1200 vertical climb, 700ft to 8200ft

105 km. Canon City to Pueblo Colorado return 65F sunny April 27

23 km. Salina Kansas 55F sunny April 28

53 km. Burlington to Brantford Ontario 9C sunny and windy April 30

March 2008 Training Rides

102 km. Albuquerque New Mexico 67F mostly sunny March 15

My wife Elaine traveled with me on a ten day road trip road trip to Albuquerque. Saturday she spent the day shopping and I did a 100K ride. The weather was spectacular and we both got what we wanted out of the day. I got in a great training ride and Elaine bought $500 worth of clothes for $200. What a deal!

21 km. Albuquerque New Mexico 40F sunny March 16

20 km. Plateau Texas 78F sunny March 27

102 km. Rio Grande River Trail, Albuquerque New Mexico 68F sunny March 28

84 km. Arches National Park, Moab Utah 70F partly sunny March 30

Spent the day in Moab Utah, the "Mecca" of mountain biking. The town of Moab was absolutely full of mountain bikes, taking advantage of the world class trails and all the area slick rock. Springtime is prime season here as the daytime temperatures in July and August routinely climb over 100F. There were a few roadies, like myself, about 30 or 40 in number, mostly in Arches National Park, about five miles north of town. The Park has about 47 miles of paved road, great for cycling. The town of Moab is at 3900 ft. elevation, and immediately upon entering the park you climb one thousand feet. The maximum elevation is 5200 ft. but you lose and then gain this back about four or five times, for a vertical climb of over 5000 ft. for the day with the steepest grade of 9%. The whole area has a surreal feel to it, almost like being on another planet! An extremely tough, but exhilarating day!

February 2008 Training Rides

25 km. bike trainer Feb 6

25 km. bike trainer Feb 7

15 km. bike trainer Feb 8

57 km. Brantford to Burlington Ontario -3C sunny Feb 23
(Cold, but very invigorating!)

21 km. Liberal Kansas 53F sunny Feb 27

Best laid plans gone out the window!.............................
Feb 29, March 1 and March 2
I had 200 plus kilometres planned over three days,
the weather was in the 60's and 70's and sunny!
Day 1....Rio Grande River Trail, Albuquerque New Mexico
Day 2....Arches National Park, Moab Utah
Day 3....Colorado National Monument, Grand Junction Colorado
Came down with a horrible cold and was unable to bike, run,
or anything else for two weeks. O well, all was not lost, I
was able to soak all day Saturday at my favorite hot springs
in Ridgway Colorado. 57F and sunny all day at 7000 feet!

January 2008 Training Rides

42 km. Brantford Ontario 3C cloudy Jan 12

52 km. Brantford Ontario 3C cloudy Jan 13

20 km. bike trainer Jan 26

2007 Totals

Bike 4720 km.

Run 609 km.

December 2007 Training Rides

20km. bike trainer Dec 12

15km. bike trainer Dec 14