Take the Lane

A cross-border view of cycle cross

Michael Barry, Canadian pro road cyclist, author and Toronto-boy at heart, wrote this week about his late- season affection for cycle cross for the New York Times News Service. The subject was the Toronto International Cycle-cross Races at Centennial Park in Toronto last weekend.

I always enjoy seeing these New York Times articles written about Canadian events by Canadians. It's educational, I'm sure, for our American cousins to have their world view filtered through another set of experiences.

You can see his full article here.

Where were the cyclists today?

If there was ever a day for riding, this was it. Who would have thought it could be so warm and wonderful on Nov. 4? Definitely, bicycle shorts weather.

Yet after more than two hours wandering the streets of my fair city, I saw only five people with bicycles, and one of them was pushing his bike. Where was everybody?

Halloween Critical Mass

The Halloween edition of the K-W Critical Mass will be this Friday at 4:45 p.m., gathering at the bandshell in Waterloo Park.

It being Halloween, costumes are encouraged. Boarders and bladers are also welcome to join the cyclists on their parade down King Street.

If you are a Facebook addict, you can join the Critical Mass Waterloo page and accept or decline the invite.

Great Thanksgiving riding weather

For those of us living in southern Ontario, this is one of the best Thanksgiving weekends in memory for a ride.

The weather gods are predicting highs today and tomorrow of 27C down around Windsor, and 22C to 25C around here. If you have the opportunity to get out for a ride, take it! I envy those near Lake Erie, who can finish their ride with a dip. Who would have thought it could be this warm this late in the season?

For our household, the actual feasting is today. Whichever day you are gathering with family or friends, hope you have a great holiday.

Critical mass resumes

Ah, fall. The departure of the birds and the return of the idealists -- that is, the students that swell every social justice event and special indie film screening.

The social justice event I'm thinking of is Critical Mass, this Friday at the bandshell in Waterloo Park, at 5 p.m.

You can bet that the dreadlocked free spirits, baggy-panted anti-war activists and late-blooming flower children will be joined by federal candidates looking to make an impression. And that is as it should be. It's a heady stew of ideas and intentions.

But just let me throw in my wet blanket. Although I cannot be there due to work requirements and other issues, if I were there, I would: let the buses pass the parade (they are members of the multi-modal alternative transportation system, too) and try not to tick off too many motorists. No one needs to wear the scars of a road rage incident, and it will be their support (and tax dollars) that will help change the transportation structure.

Motorists need to think of cyclists as cool, not irritating.

Single speed cyclists are no odder than the rest of us

As if you needed to be told that many cyclists are a little nuts, comes this article from the New York Times News Service about the World Single Speed Championships on Sunday.

Although the categories for riders included one for men who wore their briefs around the race course -- clearly a violation of the dictum that true cyclists don't wear underwear -- the overall tone of the competition suggested that cyclists of single-speed cycles are as individualistic as the rest of us.

Or just as nuts...

Who wants to go for a bicycle ride?

I remember when I was a kid and my Dad would ask, "Who wants to go for a car ride?"

That was a big deal for we kids. Going someplace with Dad in the car. Getting to sit up front. Having a window seat in the back. In the wagon, being able to lay down in the back and sit up suddenly and wave at the cars behind us. It seems like only yesterday that I said roughly the same thing to my own kids. "Who wants to get go get cookies?" And we'd pile into the car and head out.

There's a different question being asked in my neighbourhood. "Who wants to go for a bike ride?"

Dads with bicycles. Moms with bicycles. Kids with sidewalk bikes with training wheels, faux mountain bikes with "suspension." Bright red and green, and burnished metal. Whole caravans "going mountain biking."

I've been watching them. A parent on the road while the young riders take the sidewalks. A gang of "biker kids" rolling down the road, after the dad who was saddled with the knapsack full of water and snacks. going up to the corner store for a bag of chips, or farther along, up to the mall to rent a movie.

This is where the cyclists of the future are coming from. Supportive parents who invest not just cash on a decent bike for their kid, but invest time riding with their kid. A dozen years from now, the roads will be filled with people on bicycles, and we will hardly notice...

Some fall bicycle tours

Onlysports.ca in Listowel is running a couple of guided bicycle tours for the leisurely minded in the coming weeks.

Next Monday, Sept. 1, is the Niagara-on-the-Lake winery tour. Five wineries and a stop in Kurtz Orchards for $25. You have to get to Niagara-on-the-Lake on your own. You can bring your own lunch (the tour will wind back past the parking area around lunchtime) or have lunch in the village. Deadline for signing on is Friday.

On Saturday, Oct. 4, they will run a guided Amish Fall Colour Tour, with stops at several rural businesses in the Millbank-Milverton area, including a carriage-maker, a chair-maker and a quilt maker. Cost for this one is also $25.

You can get details at their bicycle tour web page.

The joys of fresh pavement

Thanks to modern automotive suspension, the thrill of new pavement is lost on today's motorists.

But not on us cyclists.

There is no greater joy than hitting some new blacktop, especially if the new pavement incorporates a clearly marked bicycle lane (such as the Fischer-Hallman Road rolling into Roseville).

Thanks to The Record and my colleague Kevin Swayze, you can track some of the areas where repaving or new construction is going on in the area, and plan to avoid the construction and enjoy the repaving. Have a look at this Google map on The Record website and click on "view larger map" to get the details.

A cycling life lesson

My partner and I learned a bit about each other and bicycling on Sunday morning.

She has been riding a GT Airstream for 10 years now, an upright bike that was a step away from her road bike after a back injury made it difficult to lean forward.

The Airstream was OK for the 3K ride to work, but is heavy, and because it is upright, not suited for long rides. Anything over 20K pretty much leaves her exhausted, and with a painful backside and knees.

Her back injury is a memory and we have been talking about getting another bike for her when the subject came up with a triathlete friend who has traded up and was selling her Cannondale Optimo. At 47 cm, it is just about the right frame size for my partner, and our friend offered her a lesson, the bike, the shoes and a week to test it out.

The big change we made to the bike was replacing the Cervelo saddle with an older Brooks Professional I had on another bike. Getting the right saddle has been a problem for my partner, who pines for the old leather saddle she had on a long-ago Raleigh Record.

So we set out Sunday morning on a short trip into the country. Once we got onto some good pavement and level road surface, I noticed that she was pulling away from me. Fast.

Crumb. I had to work. The odometer was dancing around at 37 km/h when it was finally clear that she was no longer pulling away, and I caught up once we came to a long grade. We had a great morning: cruising back roads, walking up some hills (Pinnacle Drive is evil) and getting back home without being exhausted or nursing a painful backside. Riding a lighter bike was a breeze, and the leather saddle was a blessing.

The Optimo is not optimal: a triple chainring and wider range in the cluster would have helped on the hills, and the stem needs to be shortened, but a door has been opened on other options in cycling. And I may have to work a little harder when we go riding together.