Antithesis' Guide to Long Distance Riding

With September (also known as mini-New Years) here I am reading a lot of articles about staying motivated and on track with fitness goals. They mean well, and are true in theory but very difficult in practice. As someone who rides alone a lot, I have a pretty good handle on getting in the kilometers even when your brain is desperately trying to talk you out of it. Here are my training secrets, may they serve you well.

1. Visit friends or relatives who live in a rural area you are not overly familiar with, preferably an area known for its corn.
2. Set out on a ride by yourself, when the road you are on ends in an inevitable dirt or gravel section, you must back track and turn at the first street you come to.
3. Do a loop (out-and-backs are not permitted)
4. Do not ask locals for directions
5. Don't even think about using the GPS/Map apps on your phone - chances are you'll be out of service range anyway.

I was fortunate enough to be in an area where corn fields are as ubiquitous as street signs are scarce. In such an area, if these guidelines do not add at least 30 - 40 km to your journey you are either an expert navigator or you really know your corn fields. 

Not knowing where you are and needing to get home sometime is the most powerful motivation I have found so far. You ride the extra kms because there is no other option. If you do end up so hopelessly lost that you cannot return home without help from your phone, use Google Maps bike route, it will add 15 km to your journey just to avoid even the slightest bump in the road.

*Note: I just returned home from a wonderful cycling mini-break, visiting family, riding wine country - which also happens to be peach country, cherry country, corn country, pear country and most fun of all, escarpment country. Eight days of cycling bliss on both back roads and main streets with huge bike lanes, without a single motorist cutting me off, turning into me, honking, shouting or passing too close. If you are an Ontario cyclist looking for a great place to ride, eat, drink and play you have to check out the Niagara Escarpment and all the little towns that make up the Regional Municipality of Niagara and be sure not to miss The Short Hills, Decew Road and Effingham Street for those all important Strava KOM points.

A Card, A Joke and a Date With Destiny

I know, I know, I told you July would be all about cycling and it’s August now, so you figured it was safe to take a peek at the old blog – well , I lied.  This isn’t about racing; this is about the public’s right to enjoy the simple pleasure of riding a bike without fear.  It’s also about how, as a friend recently put it, “a joke went bad in a good way.”

I work for 3 municipalities. The nature of the fitness business is very transient, so instructors and trainers tend to work in many facilities. It’s nomadic but we like it that way, at least I do. At one municipality in particular, there is an excellent relationship between City Hall and the Recreation Complex and many staffers from “the hall” use the rec facility (you’d be surprised by how uncommon that is).  The CAO for the City was a regular in my 6:30 am spin classes before he was promoted to the post and for a bit afterward, but then work and life got in the way. He has a great sense of humour and the best intentions so I felt comfortable giving him a little nudge to get him back on track, but how to say “get your butt in gear” in just the right way? So, I bought a sympathy card, wrote “so sorry to hear about the loss of your motivation. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help during this difficult time”, signed it and stealthily left it on his desk while he was out. A week went by and I heard nothing. I was a little disappointed (and a little nervous). Midweek the following week he hunted me down, promised to be in class Friday and asked how things were. This question led to a conversation about the slowness of the industry in summer, cycling in the region and the problems therein. I was given a business card. I sent an email enquiring about bike to work week. He put me in touch with the Sustainability Program office at city hall. I met with an enthusiastic and thoughtful woman who matched my passion and my optimism. Our discussion went from “bike to work week” to a bike friendly region and that progressed to her suggestion that I be introduced to the staff in Clean Air Initiative at the Regional level. The wheels started turning (pun unapologetically intended) in my mind. I knew I needed feedback from the community, so I created a “group” on facebook for people to voice concerns, comments and suggestions for improvement. I invited friends and crossed my fingers. Within 13 hours on a July long weekend my little group had 44 members, friends jumping in and offering me their expertise and services and the cycling community in Durham began approaching me with offers to help in any way they could. I am still overwhelmed at how fast things are moving and how many people are willing to help a stranger in a cause they have already exhausted themselves fighting for and I am absolutely ecstatic, grateful, hopeful and every positive emotional offshoot!

I am fully aware that change is a long, slow and very hard process, but someone has to start it, why not me? I may not be the one to finish it, it may not even come to fruition, but I’d rather tilt at windmills than sit on the couch and whine.

Follow our quixotic efforts on facebook  http://www.facebook.com/groups/265156826833494/ and twitter http://twitter.com/#!/CycleDurham or send an email to cycledurham@yahoo.ca