Going Clipless

I've made a change to Bryn's set-up. This week I switched my pedals to new clipless pedals. They're made up of a metal cleat screwed to the bottom of my shoes (there was actually more gum on the bottom of the other shoe...where have I been?) and a receptacle on the pedals. I used to have toe clips or cages on my pedals that I'd slide my foot into and out of. The clipless pedals work a bit differently. Like a ski binding you press your toes in first and then lean back until you hear a 'click'. To release your feet you swing your heel out. Clipless pedals are apparently more efficient than cages. They're certainly much more efficient than nothing because you can pull up on the pedals as well as push down on them. Efficiency can only be a good thing when riding an average of 100 km a day.Apparently there is a bit of a learning curve with clipless pedals. I confess that I've been afraid of them for years. If you don't release your feet (or at least one foot) quickly enough, over you go! I practiced clipping in and out in my living room with my non-clipped foot resting on a dictionary (a very large dictionary). Today I decided that while standing on a dictionary was good fun, it wasn't going to get me anywhere. I puttered around my neighbourhood stopping at all the stop signs and didn't fall over once (although I hear that the falling tends to happen when you stop concentrating on your feet). I am finding that its harder to clip into the pedal than it is to get out of it.

Buoyed by my success I ventured out onto Danforth in search of a birthday present for my nephew's fourth birthday (awww he's so cute). Unfortunately the drizzle I thought was subsiding turned into a major downpour. Back at home, I spent a good long while cleaning and lubricating Bryn.

Training ride 6 - Finch to Lake Wilcox 50 km

"A ride to the pretty little Lake Wilcox in the Richmond Hill area. Features a break at Grandma's Bakery, a popular stop for the cyclists of the infamous local "Donut Ride"."

Today was pretty well perfect for a ride. It was sunny but not too hot or windy. The route was basically a big square. We rode north up Bayview into Richmond Hill across King Street and down Dufferin. I find that Toronto is fairly predictable in terms of terrain. Generally if you're going north, you're going to be heading uphill. Richmond Hill was no different. The climb to the lake was fairly gentle but steadily upwards. Here's a photo taken from the top of a particularly long climb.

Thankfully there wasn't much climbing after this one (before the break). It wasn't too long after this hill that we arrived at Lake Wilcox and the break at Gramma's Oven Bakery. The route description said this place was popular with cyclists but I didn't realize it would be that popular. The place was hopping with spandex and the click of clipless pedal shoes. I bought a yummy poppy seed danish but saved it until the end of the ride. I nibbled my Clif bar on the way down Dufferin.

Although the route home was basically downhill, there were a few uphill sections. Thank heavens for coasting.

Next week I won't be doing the official training ride because I'll be helping out with Doors Open Toronto at the City of Toronto Archives. Frankly I'm a bit nervous from here on in. I know I can do 50 km, I've done it before but more than 50 km is new for me. The next training ride I'll do is 72 km. YIKES! I'll let you know how it goes.

Training ride 5 - Kennedy - Rouge Valley 49 km

Humble apologies for being so late with this update. It is encouraging to know how many people actually read my blog, I've heard from a number of you this week!

Here's the bike rally website`s blurb about last Saturday's ride: "This route takes you through the scenic Rouge Park by the lake, over a footbridge crossing the Rouge River and then along the valley and around the Metro Zoo."

I think this was my favourite ride so far. It didn't take too horribly long to get out of the busier part of the city. The route was quite pretty and there were good stretches without street lights or stop signs. There were more hills than I would have liked but I managed them reasonably well. I find that if I get all tense about the hill, I have a harder time but when I concentrate on keeping my feet moving and relax, I do alright. It also helps to hum a happy tune, fortunately I had the great Caribbean Medley stuck in my brain from Laurie`s recent UofT Gospel Choir concert (if you ever get a chance to see the UofT Gospel Choir in action you won`t be sorry; they`re amazing!).

The best part of this ride was that I didn`t get lost once! I was concerned because the route was quite twisty and there were a goodly numbers of turns to watch out for. I think it also helped that I had other riders in sight most of the time (although its never a good idea to follow blindly, I learned that a couple of weeks ago). This week`s photos were taken where we crossed the footbridge crossing the Rouge River.

I`ll try to do better this weekend with my update.

Cheers!

Training ride 4 - Kipling to Meadowvale - 46 km

This training ride started from Kipling subway station and covered some of the same ground as the ride to Port Credit. The most scenic part of the ride was along Old Derry Rd into Meadowvale. After crossing the Credit river we cycled into Meadowvale. It was pretty with its historic homes (or at least historic styled houses) and details like the post boxes being housed in a gazebo. Otherwise the ride was through lovely Mississauga which featured subdivisions and industrial parks... In order to keep the ride interesting I tried counting the number of garage sale signs but gave up somewhere around six. Garage sale season is definitely in full swing. The road kill season is also in full swing. The count this ride: 1 raccoon (maybe it was two), 1 skunk (smelly), 2 squirrels, 2 unidentified.

I've had some questions about how heavy Bryn is, so here's a photo of me hoisting her over my head to prove how light she is. Note that this was after finishing the ride but I did take off all the luggage (like my water bottles and rack bag).

Laurie joined me for a training ride for the first time. It was a good one to start with as the route was pretty flat and the day was beautiful. Note to self for next time...more sunscreen! Here's a photo of our post ride triumph and no we didn't coordinate our shirts on purpose.