Ride & Update

The ride: Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer

Distance: 220 km over 2 days

Location: Calgary, AB to Okotoks, AB and back again! 

The Goal: $25,000

Raised to date: $1,210

Days left for fundrasing: 93

KM's ridden outside to date:  105 (65.1 miles)

Why I rode last year: Why I Ride Blog Post

Why I ride this year: 

I ride for those who have been touched by cancer. 

For those who survived, for those who did not, for those who are still fighting, 

and for those who love them. 

I ride for me as well. 

I ride to be a part of something bigger than myself. 

I ride to make a difference.

And so, with a beautiful sky overhead, I set out for a ride last evening. As Sadie (my bike) has been in the shop for her annual tune up, I was fortunate to have the use of a friend's bike. Having ridden no other bike for the past year or 5, I was excited to try out a different bike. I'd had Sadie's tires replaced with street slicks last summer and this bike had knobby tires. Would it feel different to ride? I'd also been using clip in pedals for some time now and these were clip less. Would I notice a difference? Was there really a truth to the superiority of clip-ins? Let's find out! I added air to the tires, threw on my sneakers (runners), and headed out.

I'll fondly refer to the borrowed bike as "the Beast". I hopped on and off we went. The first thing I noticed was the seat adjustment quick release lever was sticking out at just the perfect location to whack me in the leg on every revolution. Easy enough to fix: hop off, adjust the seat, adjust the tightness, crank that quick release in tight and off we go again! I often find myself adjusting Sadie's seat during rides so no big deal. Now on to gear shifts...  The Beast has handlebar gear shifts that twist forward and back. Sadie has gear shifts that consist of 2 switches on each handlebar, one for up and one for down. A quick press of the switch and her gears change. I've never used a twist shift and wondered if there was some trick to it, other than simply twisting forward or back. I felt like I was throttling a motorcycle (couldn't resist throwing in a couple of VROOOM VROOOOM's while shifting). I'm still not sure I had it right and every "click" of the shifter had me wondering if I was breaking something. More practice needed!

Hmmmm, where to ride? Not knowing the bike well, I chose to stick around the neighborhood. I started slow, out to the trail and up Century, heading towards Ghiry's favorite wiggly trail. Somethign wasn't right. The bike felt like it was riding over a series of ruts (speed bumps!), bump, bump, bump. Hmmmm, odd, maybe the sidewalk is much rougher than I thought and the knobby tires brings it out. I decided to forgo the sidewalk for the back ally roads for a flatter ride. Bump, bump, bump, it continued. Now I'm off and checking out the bike. Are the wheels tight? Is the brake catching on one of the tires? What on earth? I found that both the front and back tires on The Beast are "flat", not in pressure but in shape. Oddest thing I've ever seen. They are on the rim, they are inflated, and they are flat! I decided to cut short the ride and headed home after only 4km and a bruised bum. Okay, I might be exaggerating the bruised bum. :D

As soon as I walked in the door, Ghiry was waiting to tell me that a walk is better than a ride any day - mainly because he can go too - and that we should go. I neglected to start the tracking app for him but we did a 1.5 hour loop along the Spruce Grove trails that wind through the forest and down to Grove Drive. An hour and a half well spent and one tuckered pup later, we were home for the evening.

NOTE: Sadie is now back and ready to ride. Stay tuned and in the meantime, donate to keep me on track with my fundraising efforts!