weekend

It was an interesting weekend, with both good and bad points. 

On Friday, I went to the home of a former student to see her new baby. He is adorable, of course, and we had a fun time. Her sister-in-law, two other former students, and one current student were also there, and there was lots of good food and laughter. I drove into my parking spot on the west end and rode Beatrice over to her place, which is near the Mis.

Saturday morning I saw that there was a snowfall warning in the forecast. So, I decided to take advantage of the temporarily nice weather and go for a ride. Now, when I say "nice weather" I mean that in relative terms. The temp was +5 and it was cloudy and windy. But for early November in this area, that is pretty good. So I rode about 25 km. I didn't go out in the country, just rode around town. If I ride on the trails and on the streets at the north end of town, I can avoid most traffic lights and get up a decent speed, so it's a good alternative when the weather is iffy. 

And of course, the trails are pretty, too. At this time of year the larches, or tamaracks, have shed their needles, and in places the trail is covered with gold.

larch trees - October

And then around noon, the snow started to fall. Even so, I rode Miranda over to the bike shop to ask about getting winter tires put on. My idea was to have a back-up bike for winter cycling. I left the bike there and Bike Shop Guy said they will work on it as they have time, getting it ready for when I go back to work on the 12th. 

When I got home, I noticed an empty spot in the yard where Clyde had been stabled. Yes, someone stole my sturdy, but indubitably ugly, winter bike. I was not pleased. I have to admit that I must be a slow learner. After all, someone stole my blue step-through bike from the same spot. BUT, in my defense, my son's friend left his bike in that very same spot for about 4 weeks during the summer and no one took it. Admittedly, Clyde has those eye-catching yellow forks and brand-new hand grips. But still, what kind of person walks into another person's yard and takes a bike? I can only hope it was someone who truly needed a bike and not someone who just wanted to go for a joy ride and then ditch it.

I was doubly glad I had decided to get Miranda ready for winter riding.

The snow fell all day and into the evening. When we took Maggie out for a walk, it had turned to freezing rain, making the sidewalks dangerously slippery, so we didn't go far. I finished exercising on the treadmill.

Sunday we woke up to a 10-cm thick blanket of snow, and it was still snowing. Definitely a stay-at-home kind of day, especially when I didn't have a bike equipped with knobby tires. In the evening we took Maggie out and slipped and slid our way on the icy sidewalks to the library to drop off some stuff(4.5 km.) Another treadmill workout followed. 

I also used my stationary bike, applying some of what I've learned from riding outdoors and reading about riding. I did the "Speed Interval" workout, which consists of three-minute low-resistance segments followed by one-minute of high resistance. When the resistance was low, I worked on keeping my cadence over 100 and on the high-resistance sections, I tried to keep it around 75-80. Thirty minutes of this (after 8 km on the treadmill) made for a decent workout. All while watching that stupid movie, Angels and Demons. My students had told me they liked it, so I felt obligated to check it out. It`s a good thing I had something else to do while I watched, or I would never have lasted. 

I'm going to see if I can put my clipless pedals on the stationary bike. I don't know if they'll fit, but if they do, it will be a good use for them.

This weekend I also read a mystery novel that takes place in Edmonton. The title is Hang Down Your Head (by Janice MacDonald) and it centers around the Edmonton Folk Festival, which I've never attended and don't think I want to attend. I'd no doubt enjoy some of the music, but I wouldn't enjoy the line-ups and the crowds. It was kind of cool to read a book set in familiar surroundings. The heroine of the story lives near Whyte Ave and cycles for transportation, but her attitude makes me feel pretty bad-ass. She walks her bike up from the River Valley, saying, "The day I ride up a River Valley hill will be the day hell freezes over." Well, I ride up a River Valley hill every day when I commute to work -- and love it.