mercury falling

minus 12 ~ that's what the thermometer said this morning 

when I arrived at work.

I wasn't too terribly cold as I rode from my car along the shared sidewalk and into Crestwood, but on my descent into the River Valley, I felt the temp drop a few degrees. Fortunately, I was dressed in plenty of layers: my cami, a cashmere sweater, a merino wool cardigan, two Sugoi thermal cycling jackets, and my Sugoi Versa windproof jacket. I wore long underwear. On my ears I wore a fleece earband, on my feet I wore wool gloves and lined short boots, and on my hands I had angora/wool gloves inside a pair of fleece-lined mittens. I wasn't cozy, but I was warm enough, and that's how it should be on the bike. Best of all, I didn't get too hot, even after riding up the hill on Victoria Park Drive.

During rides like this, as the icy wind hits my face, I sometimes ask myself if I am crazy. But then I remember how much I dislike driving, and how good I feel after the ride is over. And of course, the ride home is almost always easier -- warmer and sunnier.

Today in my afternoon class, I taught the students how to write a diamond poem. They loved it.They worked together to compose three poems: Elephant (the Sri Lankan student's idea), River (Cambodian student) and Trees (Ukrainian student.) It was a wonderful way to use previously learned vocabulary, and the students were so pleased with their work that they all wanted to write more for homework. Something to look forward to tomorrow!

winterize your bike

Imagine my surprise when I saw a short article with this title in our local paper. 

"How cool!" I thought, "The city is encouraging people to ride their bikes through the winter." 

Heh, heh. Not quite, as it turns out. What the city is doing is encouraging people to record the details of their bikes (serial number, make and model, colour, etc.) -- presumably before putting them away for the winter. This, they tell us, may prove useful should your bicycle ever be stolen. Well, no doubt this is true. I wish I had heeded this advice before Bonnie Blue, my beautiful step-through bike, was stolen. And I have indeed done this for all my other bikes.

But... this is not what comes to my mind when I think about winterizing my bike. I mean, really, when we talk about winterizing cars, what are we saying? We're referring to getting them ready to drive on winter roads. 

Why not bikes, too? 

a glimpse of my commute last winter

Last winter, on all but the coldest days, I commuted to work on Clyde, my old but beloved winter riding companion. Click here for a typical ride from west-end Edmonton to downtown.

After bidding goodbye to the last of the snow last winter, I confess that in my enthusiasm to ride my "real" bikes, I simply put Clyde in the bike storage area and sort of forgot about him. But last weekend, it suddenly dawned on me that the fair weather would not last forever and that in a few short weeks, I would once again want to ride my bike in the snow. So I rolled Clyde out, cleaned the chain and other grubby parts, applied some lube and changed the hand grips and saddle, both of which were sadly worn and downright ugly. 

And last Friday I took him down to our local bike shop for some fine tuning that is beyond my capabilities. The shifting needed some work, and I wasn't sure what else might be wrong. 

Once again, the guys at the bike shop were great. As I rolled the ancient clunker into the shop, I was half-afraid they would laugh at me for even thinking this bike could be of use. But not at all. In fact, they said it was in decent shape, especially for a winter bike, adding that in the early 1990s, when this bike was made, Raleigh still turned out good quality products. The parts were intended to last, and as a result, the mechanic recommended replacing only one $15 part. Other than that, he adjusted the shifting, tightened a hub and changed a cable, all for less than $40. I bought a front and rear light and I was good to go. As I rode the bike home, I tested out the gears and all looks good. I am almost -- that is only almost -- looking forward to the snow.

weekend riding

Since I have Fridays off, every weekend is a long weekend for me. I typically do laundry, house-cleaning and all that other fun stuff on Fridays, but I also make sure I take time for a nice long bike ride. So, Friday afternoon I hopped on Milly, my Trek road bike, and went north of the city for a 60 km ride. It was about 12 degrees, with just a light wind, so a perfect day for riding. I didn't see any other cyclists, but I did see a few banana peels in the shoulder, an indication of those who had preceded me. I took the Roller Coaster Road detour, a couple of kilometers worth of small but steep climbs that I always enjoy. It no longer looks like this -- the trees are stripped of their leaves and the green grass is now a sad yellowish-brown.

The roller coaster begins

I rode to the seniors' home and greeted to the gentleman, who in vest and panama hat, regularly walks along the highway to the airport and back.

I didn't see any particularly interesting animals, but as I rode past the airport, I watched a large predatory bird (probably a hawk) interacting with a flock of smaller birds. My attempt to photograph this sight was not entirely successful:

I also saw a pair of colourful pigeons sitting in the shoulder, looking like they were wondering why they ever left the city.

I recently read Fitness Cycling, by Shannon Sovndal, MD. I like this book -- it's not too technical for recreational cyclists like me, and it's even set in age 40+ font (i.e., suitable for those who don't like to put on their reading glasses.) This isn't a issue for me, since I wear progressive lenses and usually take off my glasses when I read, but I know that Hubby and many of my friends appreciate a larger font.  

The book's subtitle is 56 workouts proven to improve strength, speed and stamina, and I'm sort of feeling like maybe I need to try a few of them. After a whole summer of riding, I find I'm in pretty decent shape, and my usual rides, which used to be somewhat challenging, are now a little too easy. I think this means I need to push myself a bit harder, especially on the hills. I love, love, love riding up hills. This book has a whole section of hill workouts, which I plan to try next cycling season (or next weekend, if riding conditions are still good.) 

This guy also says you should empty a bottle of water every hour. He's a doctor; he should know. This is something else I need to work on. I often ride the full two to two and half hours without taking even a sip. It has never been a problem, but I certainly don't want to learn the hard way that he is right.

95 Avenue -- loving those new bike lanes

Yesterday I rode in the bike lane on 95 Ave. again. This time, after exiting the River Valley, I continued straight on 148 Street to 95 Ave. This meant I avoided the dicey intersection at 149 Street and 100 Avenue. I've never had any trouble there, but almost every day I hear annoyed honks or see uncertain motorists inching forward in trepidation... waves of tension emanate from car after car.

In the bike lanes, on the other hand, the mood is relaxed and I feel safe. I did feel a smidgen of irritation, however, when I saw a young guy riding his bike on the sidewalk on the south side of the street. He was riding west, the same direction as I was going, which meant that not only was he on the sidewalk, but riding counter-traffic. I felt like yelling across to him asking whether he's ever heard of bike lanes and why he thinks the funny white lines are on the road, but I shrugged it off. To each his own... 

am I invisible?

Just yesterday I told Hubby that I was surprised that no one has ever expressed any interest or curiosity about my morning routine. 

It looks like this: Arrive at my parking spot near a community centre. Take my bike out of the back of the van. Braid my hair. Load up my panniers -- briefcase, jacket, sweater, sometimes shoes, other miscellaneous stuff. Put my purse in the rack pack. Put on my helmet and gloves. Lock the van. Ride off towards downtown.

I have been observed by many and various people: children and young people on their way to school, dog-walkers, police officers, City of Edmonton workers, to name a few.

Some I see more or less regularly. But no one has ever shown any interest.

Until today when I returned to the van after work. After I'd put my bike in the car, an older lady, whom I frequently see in the mornings as she walks her dog, came along.

"Finished work?" she asked. I said yes. "Do you work at the school?" I told her that I work downtown. 

"Do you take the bus?" 

"No, I ride my bike." 

Her face lit up. "That's nice." I agreed, adding that I ride through the River Valley. "Oh, I used to love to do that," she said, her eyes glowing. "The scenery is so beautiful." Again I agreed and told her about the sunrise the past couple of days. From her response, it was clear she understood my joy in being able to experience that every morning.

I asked about her dog ("Dolly") and gave the little curly-haired mutt the appropriate attention. The woman then told me about the boys a couple of houses up the street, who had a bird outside with them in the front yard. 

So after Dolly and her owner had gone on their way, I went to check out the bird. It was a lovebird, perched contentedly on the oldest boy's shoulder as he raked leaves. 

After I had given the bird its due, one of the little boys piped up: "Are you the biker?"

I prefer to be called a cyclist, but I let it pass and simply said yes.

"I see you every morning," he told me, clearly in awe. "Do you ride your bike to work?" I replied in the affirmative. After a brief chat, I bade them farewell, chuckling to myself. 

Who says no one notices me? I think I must be as visible as this tree:

sunrise ... reworked

Riding east through the River Valley at sunrise...

... the infinite variety of colour and cloud combinations....

 ... reflecting off the river...

 ... just one more reason to ride my bike to work!

Looking west...

sunrise

Riding into the sunrise -- what a way to begin the day! I had to stop to take some photos and as I was clicking, I promised myself I would take a closer look at my camera's manual settings so I can get some better-quality shots in future.

 It was a gorgeous morning, about 5 degrees, so not too cold; and for the first time in days, it wasn't windy. I was not the only cyclist enjoying the beautiful weather -- I counted at least 5 others, one on a recumbent bike, as I rode through the River Valley.

Yesterday as I was riding up the first small hill out of the valley, a guy whizzed by me on a Fat Bike. He came down from Groat, so he had lots of momentum, but even so, I was impressed -- and I confess, a little envious -- when I saw him motor past. I didn't know a Fat Bike could go so fast. And it looked like fun, too. Since I'm not willing to spend $1,800, however, I'll continue to have fun on my hybrid while the weather remains bonny, and then I'll make the most of my sturdy mountain bike once the snow covers the ground.

My ride back to the car was delightful, too. Again, the wind was almost non-existent, it was fairly warm, and the sun was peeking through the clouds. Instead of riding on the shared pathway all the way to 163 Street, I have been turning south on 153 Street, which is a marked on-street bike route. From there I normally turn east on 97 Avenue, but today I decided to ride down to 95 Avenue to try out the brand spanking new bike lanes. The pavement is fresh and the paint is fresher, so fresh that the bike images are not yet stenciled onto the road. I do love bike lanes! While I don't mind riding on a normal street, sharing a lane with cars, there is nothing like a designated lane to ride in. 

Thank you, City of Edmonton! 

When I arrived back at the car, my GPS told me I'd cycled 10 km. That made me happy. Not only that, but the clouds had all but disappeared and the sky was a bold clear blue. I took off my jacket and basked in the sun as I unloaded my bike.

After getting home, I hopped on Silver, my step-through bike, and rode over to the local bike shop to have the back rack re-installed. It had come loose one day last week when I rode on the rough and tough bike lane on 106 Street. I have never ridden slower than I did on my way over there -- the rack was so loose I could hear it jiggling around all the way. I even had to stop and pick up a piece that fell as I was riding. The guys at the shop are the best -- they put that rack on so well, it looks like it will be on there for the rest of my life.