I know my fellow Ontario residents and I were complaining all summer that we did not receive the nice, seasonal warmth we expected. Thankfully, Mother Nature has paid back our region with some incredible fall weather that has all the outdoor lovers extremely happy.
Once again, we had much milder than usual conditions this weekend which was perfect for a few long rides (as per my distance scale!) that I was able to put in as my family headed out for the weekend. I would have loved to join them but my hockey gig ran both Sat and Sun so I had to stay home.
With a little more free time available, I tried to get some of the Falcons out for a Saturday AM ride but most of them are involved with the indoor sessions with Coach Rob so I ended up pulling myself out of bed nice and early to get a head start on the day. I suited up and headed north on the bike, towards Terra Cotta. I have not put many miles on the bike since the triathlon in September so I tried to keep things comfortable to allow myself to enjoy the hills and weather.
The first half of the ride was uphill and slightly into the wind. A solid workout to the half marker, at the Inglewood General Store, so I did not feel too guilty taking a quick break to down one of their amazing butter tarts.
After that brief snack it was back in the saddle and up the hill along the north side of the Caledon Golf Course. I made this climb count as I knew the rest of the ride would be smooth sailing, mainly down the escarpement with an added bonus of the tail wind. It was very fun to fly home without too much effort.
The next morning (after attending the Leafs' game Saturday night, doing some DD duties for my old hockey buddies after the game, waking up to do some more chores around the house, etc), I had the pleasure of joining Tyler, Brian and Glenn on a great ride through Halton. I had received a message during the Leafs game from Tyler to see if I was up for a tour and I could not turn down the opportunity.
We met at Dundas and 6th Line in Oakville and followed a route he had planned for us that covered a lot of territory to the west of Milton. It was a solid mix of opening and closing flats with some nice tester hills in the middle.
Being a guest, I just wanted to follow along and let them dictate the pace although, as we were cruising down the busier roads where we could not ride in pairs, I felt a little bad not taking too many pulls. It may have been for the best as I am still getting use to riding with others and tend to kill the pace. Tyler is a horse on the bike so he did a very fine job putting us through a solid 80k fall workout. Thanks for letting me tag along fellas!!!
After getting off the bike, it was back to work and by the time I got home that night, I was exhausted and could not find the energy for a run. With the prospects of getting up for work in the morning, I decided it was best to get some rest.
I hope everyone else was able to put in some extra time in the fantastic outdoor conditions. It is now time to get ready for a 5k XC race this weekend. It is the opener for the Canadian XC Championship geared to those not quite up to racing against the nations top runners. They should be cool to watch after my run though! Mr Whitfield is confirmed to test his legs against Bairu and Coolsaet and gang. Should be fun.
Thanks for reading!
Larry
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