Bike short trauma

On the scale of clothing trauma bike shorts rate nowhere near bathing suits but I can't say that bike short shopping was all that fun.

A couple of fun quotes from Frances E. Willard on clothing (recall she was learning to ride around 1895)

"If women ride they must, when riding, dress more rationally than they have been wont to do...A woman with bands hanging on her hips, and a dress snug about the waist and chokingly tight at the throat, with heavily trimmed skirts dragging down the back and numerous folds heating the lower part of the spine, and with tight shoe, ought to be in agony."

"It is needless to say that a bicycling costume was a prerequisite. This consisted of a skirt and blouse of tweed, with belt, rolling collar, and loose cravat, the skirt three inches from the ground; a round straw heat, and walking shoes with gaiters."

I wonder what she'd think of my new nylon, spandex and polyester number? I also got a fun pair of socks. The girl is flexing her muscles and saying "grrr".

Glad I didn't park here

Ah the things you see in Toronto. I hope no one's bike was parked here. Whatever hit these things took out a street sign, two rings and posts and left behind a bumper.

Quick update

Where did the weekend go? Poof, it's Wednesday. Needless to say we didn't make it out on the weekend. SIGH. But on a bright note the training round-up is back on track this week.

Cardio: 90 mins
Strength: 40 mins
Bike training: 30 mins @ 90-100 rpm

I didn't think I'd be able to sustain a high cadence on the bike but I did. Woo hoo.

Slightly less freaked

On Monday I went to an introduction session for the bike rally. I was feeling very freaked (in spite of my recent encouraging of Laurie). 600 km seems so far and $2000 seems like so much money. I left feeling so much better. Everyone was so encouraging, not everyone was a stick insect, in fact most of them looked like very normal human beings that don`t spend every waking moment cycling. PHEW! I left feeling like I could do it. I`m glad I went it was so encouraging.

I may have talked another friend into joining the rally. Do I get bonus points for recruiting? It`ll be great fun if Heather joins one of the crews. We shall see if we can persuade her...

This weekend Bryn and I are going out on the town. Spring is in the air or at least the snow has gone. It may rain but we shall not be deterred (I of course say this now that I am snug at home). I`ll likely spend most of the time rooting through the abyss (also known as my room) looking for my bicycling gear and Bryn`s accessories. Perhaps if I start on Saturday we`ll make it out by Sunday.

Signs of spring

I was really hoping to take Bryn out for her first outing this weekend but snow that fell on Friday discouraged me. It has been bright and sunny since then but still a bit cold and I'm choosing to stay inside. I was happily watching some crocus emerging in the front garden but then they were covered over with snow again. SIGH. Today they're poking up again.

Yesterday on the way home from the gym I was feeling a little glum about spring and a certain impatience for the warm weather to come so I bought myself a bunch of tulips. So pretty. They've opened up nicely.

This week's training round up is less impressive than last week's but such is life.

Training round up:

Cardio: 85 minutes
Yoga: 90 minutes
Watching the St. Patrick's day parade: too long & chilly but silly fun!

In Training

Here's last week's training round-up.

Yoga: 90 mins
Strength: 20 mins
Cardio: 85 mins
Cycling training (indoors): 60 mins

It may not look like much but the plan is to build momentum slowly so as not to burn out before departure.

"She who succeeds in gaining mastery of the bicycle will gain mastery of life"

I found the most amazing book at the bookstore today. It's called "How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle ~ Reflections of an influential 19th century woman~" by Frances E. Willard. She was the president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union from 1879 to 1898. At the age of 53 she decided to learn to ride a bicycle; very plucky. The book was all of 99 cents and was the perfect read for my obscenely long commute (which surprisingly was not so evil today). I read the last page as the train pulled into my station.

It's full of fine quotables which I'll share over the next little while.

Woo Hoo!

I've got my first two sponsors! Thanks so much guys!

Laurie's in!

My good friend and workout buddy Laurie has joined the ride. Its very exciting because she's very inspiring and has lots of great fundraising ideas. Check out her blog http://adventuresintoronto.blogspot.com/

Jumping on the bandwagon

Having thought about blogging for awhile, here I go, jumping on that blog bandwagon.

So this blog is about me and my bicycle. Her name is Bryn which means hill or mound in Welsh. She's a mountain bike and as soon as I get the hang of this blog thing, I'll post a picture of her. I love to cycle, it gets me around town, makes me feel powerful and peaceful all at the same time and gives me somewhere to think (yes, even while dodging traffic).

Bryn has been taking a break for awhile seeing as it is winter and I'm not keen enough to cycle in the snow and ice. But, I'm starting this blog now because Bryn and I are about to embark on a huge adventure. I've just registered for this year's Friends for Life bike rally. Its a six day ride from Toronto to Montreal to raise funds for the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation. I'm very excited but kind of scared too. I am neither svelte nor buff but I love to ride and might as well do some good while I do it. So check back every now and then and see how Bryn and I are doing getting ready for Montreal. Better yet, head on over to the Friends for Life website and sponsor me (large amounts of cash!).

Cheers!