| Biking 2009 2008 record is located on the September 28, 2008 post. Week of November 9-13, 2009 Saturday, Nov 14, 2009
Did a conditioning ride to prevent loss of muscle memory due to lack of riding because of the rain. 4.5km, 3 times around the park. 15 minutes.
Did a test on the Castelli bibs: 1) pour water over it - water simply slips off the fabric
2) hold a small amount of water on the fabric - it took quite a while before any feeling of dampness was felt on the inside
Learned that Pearl Izumi is the clothing sponsor of the professional cycling team Garmin Slipstream.
Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 (office trip #36)
Second ride of November means it has been a rain rain rain month. Debut of my Castelli bib-tights. 39.1 km/h max, 18.1 km/h average, 1:15:07; 6 degrees Celsius to and 8 degrees Celsius back. The bib-tights did a good job keeping me warm. I need bike racks!! Took my time today: the roads were damp, and I haven't rode my bike since last Tuesday.
Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009
Did about 4 laps around the park with the Castelli bib-tights. My quadriceps had hurt on Tue (I was limping around the office) because I had tried them on for about 10 minutes on Monday. Today tried them again and the quads seem to hurt a little, but I hope they get used to them. I found that my seat or seatpost is squeaking. It's been doing it for a while, but this is the first time I'm documenting it. Maybe I should get it checked out next time I do a tune up.
Apparently Castelli (an Italian clothing manufacturer) makes cycling clothing for the professional cycling team Cervelo Test Team. And also, after some research on the Internet I found that European sizes tend to be smaller than equivalent size names in North America. I had to purchase a L rather than M as the strap was ridiculously too small I had to contort my body to get into it. (The Pearl Izumi shorts were a M). I'm thinking about returning the Castelli bib-tights though, because I want ones with reflective lines.
Monday, Nov 9, 2009
Went to Mountain Equipment Co-op today and purchased Castelli Libera bib-tights for cold weather cycling ($109 Cdn).
Also tried out some balaclava and headbands to keep my face warm, but haven't made up my mind yet.
Finally got Giro d'Italia 2009. This should be good.
Week of November 2-6, 2009
Tuesday, Nov 3, 2009 (office trip #35)
1:11:12, 19.0 km/h average, 41.5 km/h maximum. Morning ride: ? degrees Celsius, Afternoon ride: 10 degrees Celsius.
Who says I can't ride in November? I did just that today.
Today was the debut of my new Gore Bike Wear jacket and Cat Eye front and rear lights. The lights came at just the right time. When I left work around 4pm it was starting to get dark, and by the time I was near home I was glad I had lights. The Gore jacket performed considerably better than my regular jacket in keeping my belly warm. Unfortunately I was still using a backpack so my back was soaking wet. I need to get bike racks.
It rained on Monday.
Week of October 26-30, 2009
Sat, Oct 31, 2009 I have now moved to the next level of cycling by owing some specialized cycling apparel:
- my first pair of Pearl Izumi cycling shorts ($100 USD),
- a Gore bike wear outerwear with "Windstopper" technology ($170 USD),
- and a pair of Cat Eye lights for riding in poor lighting condition ($30 USD)
All thanks to the friendly folks at REI Inc. Bellingham. Too bad they didn't have another large Bell Furio red/black helmet. I really liked the helmet.It rained the rest of the week.
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 (office trip #34)
1:09:59, 19.4 km/h average, 40.9 km/h maximum. Morning ride: 4 degrees Celsius, Afternoon ride: 11 degrees Celsius.
In the past week, I'm thought I'm going to try to make the cycling season May to October 31 (compare to the last ride of 2008 was Oct 1, 2008 - that was office ride #35). That's 6 months of the year. Now I'm considering extending it into November by picking up some new apparel. I bought my Activa wind-proof gloves at Different Bikes today because my Specialized bike gloves doesn't cover the tips of my fingers, and they feel frozen that I need to blow warm air into them at every intersection I stop at.
When I rode to Cambie Street today, they were doing road construction, so I had to walk about 25 steps. I couldn't feel my legs in this weather. I tried looking for cycling tights, but Different Bikes didn't have any stock left in my size. I think I can do shorts for maybe another week before I have to change to long pants. It was also the debut of my new Adidas Samba shoes on the bike after buying it on Sunday, Oct 18.
TO DO: I still want to add a bike rack, and change to clipless pedals.
Monday was rain.
Week of October 19-Oct 23, 2009 It rained on Tue-Fri :(
Monday, Oct 19, 2009 (office trip #33)
1:09:33, 19.5 km/h average, 39.9 km/h maximum. Last week I seriously thought my October 9 entry would be my last entry for 2009. On that day I've achieved 32 office trips (surpassing my own goal of 30 trips), as well as riding 5 days a week. The weather has gotten colder. The highs are around 13-14 degrees Celsius and low around 5-6 degrees Celsius. Last week was all rain so no riding at all. It's kind of paradoxical that the week of October 5-9 was all sun, then Oct 12-16 was all rain. I have been unable to remove the underlining of my previous entries (so they look like they're shouting), so I'm starting a new paragraph altogether. Sadly, the next few days I'm out at clients and at a training course on Thursday, so Friday's my last hope this week. Week of October 12-Oct 16, 2009
No riding
Week of October 5-Oct 9, 2009
Fri, Oct 9, 2009(office trip #32)
FIFTH RIDE THIS WEEK! First time for 2009 achieved. Rode 29.9 km today on my Trek Soho 3.0 and Total moving time: 1 hour 38 minutes. Went to Bicycle Sports Pacific and tried out the Cannondale Six Carbon 3 which is apprantly on sale for $2199 (reg $2999). I could feel the hunching position in a typical road bike. This one was full carbon, with Ultegra 6700 component group. Unfortunately, they did not have a 52cm Trek Madone 5.2 which I wanted to try. Also, I unsuccessfully tried to find a good new helmet at both Dizzy Cycles and BSP.
Thurs, Oct 8, 2009(office trip #31)
Rode 34.4 km today on my Trek Soho 3.0 and Total moving time: 1 hour 56 minutes. Went to try out the Specialized Roubaix Comp at Bicycle Gallery located at 4433 W10th (at Trimble St past Alma). The salesperson, Jason, told me the Specialized Roubaix Expert was sold out in April from Specialized. Took the Comp on some hills and found going down the hill was very fast. Fortunately the brakes were good. The price was a whopping $3,099 (discounted from $3,199). 700x23 tires.
Wed, Oct 7, 2009 (office trip #30)
Untimed. Went to test ride the Specialized Roubaix Comp today at Dizzy Cycles (they didn't have the Specialized Roubaix Expert which I wanted).
Thoughts:
PROS: lightweight, nimble, and the Zertz inserts were great at shock absorption.
CONS: uncomfortable seat, cannot add kickstand
Tue, Oct 6, 2009 (office trip #29)
1:08:57 moving time per Trek cyclo-computer. Max speed 45.6km/h, Average 19.6km/h. Took my own time to stop today.
Mon, Oct 5, 2009(office trip #28) 1:07:17 moving time per Trek cyclo-computer. Max speed 46.5km/h (new record!) Average 20.0km/h.
Week of September 29-Oct 2, 2009
No riding. Audit
Week of September 21-Sep 27, 2009 Fri, Sept 25, 2009(office trip #27) 1:06:30 moving time per Trek cyclo-computer. Max speed 46.1km/h (new record!) Average 20.2km/h.
Thurs, Sept 24, 2009(office trip #26)1:05:18 moving time per Trek cyclo-computer. Massage today was good! Max speed 44.5km/h (new record!) Average speed today and Monday is 20.6km/h. (didn't reset timer this morning)
Goal: reach 30 office trips for 2009.
Monday, Sept 21, 2009(office trip #25)1:05:56 moving time per Trek cyclo-computer.
Week of September 14-Sep 20, 2009Thursday, Sept 17, 2009(office trip #24) 1:08:06 moving time per Trek cyclo-computer. Avg 19.8 km/h
Tuesday, Sept 15, 2009(office trip #23) 1:06:45 moving time per Trek cyclo-computer. Avg 20.1 km/h
Monday, Sept 14, 2009(office trip #22) 1:08:10 moving time per Trek cyclo-computer. Kind of cold. Had to wear wind breaker.
Week of September 7-Sep 13, 2009 Friday, Sept 11, 2009(office trip #21) 1:05:46 moving time per Trek cyclo-computer. Felt very fast - went at 44.4km/h down Knight Street hill.
Thursday, Sept 10, 2009(office trip #20) 1:06:03 moving time per Trek cyclo-computer. Felt very fast - went at 42km/h down Knight Street hill on the way back, reached 35km/h at the base of Nanaimo hill. I feel refreshed!
Tuesday, Sept 8, 2009(office trip #19) 1:07:31 moving time per Trek cyclo-computer.
Week of August 31-Sep 6, 2009
Monday, Aug 31, 2009(office trip #18) 34 minutes to, 40 minutes back.
Week of August 24-30Auditing. No riding.
Week of August 16-23, 2009
Thursday, Aug 20, 2009(office trip #17) To and back.
Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009(office trip #16) 35 min to, unknown back. Achieved 41km/h today.
Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009(office trip #15) 35 min to, unknown back. Took Canada Line today.
Week of August 9-15, 2009Wednesday, Aug 12, 2009(office trip #14) After 2 days of rain-like weather, back at it. Maiden voyage of the adjusted higher seat Trek Soho 3.0.
I was able to produce 10% more power while utilizing 10% less effort. Thanks Micky for commenting about the seat position during our Aug 1 Stanley Park ride.
1:10 round trip of moving time, per cyclo-computer. The distance was 11.1 km to, all the way down to the bike rack. ??? minutes to, 37 minutes back.
Sunday, Aug 9, 2009 2nd day experimenting with higher seat adjustment. Noted can use higher gear with the same amount of effort. This is good - going uphill appears to be easier.
Week of August 2-8, 2009 Saturday, Aug 8, 2009 Experimenting with higher seat adjustment. Having some difficulty getting on and off the bike - need to practice. Going uphill appears to be easier with the more standing-like posture with the higher seat.
Thursday, Aug 6, 2009(office trip #13) To and back from office. New route: Nanaimo, distance 11.1km.
Wednesday, Aug 5, 2009(office trip #12) To and back from office.
Tuesday, Aug 4, 2009(office trip #11)
New cyclo computer shows 11.4km to the office.Approx 36 min to, 45 min back (had to take several phone calls)
Sunday, Aug 2, 2009
2nd Annual Barnabas Stanley Park trip - nice to go with Steven, Micky, Ricky, Kenneth Lee, Jason, Denny & Jenny.
Week of July 26-Aug 1, 2009 Friday, July 24, 2009
Stanley Park trip
Taking advantage of our office's Fridays Off, I rode my bike around the whole day.
I left at around 10:30am, arriving at Burrard & Pacific at Bicycle Sports Pacific to drop off my bike for a tune up. At around 12:30pm they told me it was ready for pick up. So I did that (I had walked to Thurlow and Robson for Starbucks coffee) and picked up some new toys for my bike. A Trek incite 9i cyclo-computer. This baby displays current speed, odometer, trip distance, elapsed time, 12/24 clock, average speed, pacer, maximum speed, and temperature.
42 min to office, 15 min to Burrard & Pacific, 10 min to Georgia & Denman (3km), 1:10 around Stanley Park, 1:42 home from Stanley Park.
After having the staff install it on my bike, I rode my bike along the bike route near Beach Avenue to Cardero then to Georgia & Denman, then took a whole lap around the Stanley Park seawall. Then I rode all the way home. The trip distance read 32.4km, so add about 14km equals about 46km total distance rode today. I just got home, and it's around 4:30pm.
Also purchased a new Trek Streetwise U-lock and Cable to carry around the city.
Next Target: SOMEWHERE IN RICHMOND
Week of July 19-25, 2009 Wednesday, July 22, 2009(office trip #10) 39 minutes to, 41 minutes back. New target: ride from home to take a loop around Stanley Park then go home. On Monday, Stephen gave me his bike magazines. Time for good reading!
Week of July 12-18, 2009 Thursday, July 16, 2009(office trip #9)
I rode my bike across the Burrard Bridge!!!
The new Burrard Bridge bike lane came into effect on Monday. Of course, it's smart to go on the 4th day for the following reasons:
Day 1: nobody knows what's going on so it's total chaos. Day 2: some people know the path from Day 1, but some new riders are trying it out. Still chaos. Day 3: by now a lot of drivers are avoiding the Burrard Bridge because of Day 1 and Day 2's congestion. Many bikers know the route. Day 4: now I can go and follow some experienced bikers from Day 1-3.
37 minutes to office, 15 minutes to Kitsilano Beach, 20 minutes across the Burrard Bridge, spent 30 min at the beach, 1 hour 15 minutes going home (took breaks). Saturday, July 11, 2009
10:30am - 1:30pm.
I rode my bike to UBC!!!
What I success - I had wanted to challenge this for some time, now I've done it!! To UBC.1:19 to arrive, then spent 20 min at UBC, then 1:25 to arrive home. Rode most of the way home with a cramp on my left quadracep.
Week of July 5-11, 2009 Friday, July 10, 2009
Thought about riding to UBC today, but decided to leave it until tomorrow. 3 laps around the park. Thursday, July 9, 2009(office trip #8)
After a week of seeing Clients, and Mon-Wed's cloudy rainy weather, finally back at it. 39 min to, 47 min back. Took my time.
Week of June 28-July 4, 2009 No riding
Week of June 21-27, 2009 Monday, June 22, 2009(office trip #7)
38 minutes to, 42 minutes back. Took it real easy to smooth back into a groove. I looked at some bicycle gloves unfortunately they didn't have my size (medium). The price was $24 or $32. Decided to shop around before buying.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Took my first ride since June 4. Feeling great - 5 km around the park. Yesterday Stephen showed me his bike - I want one too!
Week of June 14-20, 2009 Friday, June 19, 2009
Dad helped fix my bike pedal. Should be ready to go next week - 1st ride since my bike fall on June 4, 2009.
Week of June 7-13, 2009 No riding
Week of May 31-June 6, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009(office trip #6)
I fell off my bike.
Trip to office: At 15 minutes I became a Knight (Knight St), at 25 minutes I became King (King Edward), and at 35 min I got to the office.
On the way back, I fell off my bike in the Victoria St park. I was cruising near top speed when a bump on the road suddenly caused me to lose my balance. Scarred my right arm and right knee. Bruised my lower right leg. My left arm hurts (no scratches, but I think it got twisted a little), and rib cage also hurts a bit.
I thank God for the following:
1. I fell in a park rather than on the road
2. I fell near grass, so the damage to my arms and legs were minimized
3. I had to force myself to learn how to re-chain a bike
4. I found my glasses after they were thrown off
5. Besides a broken pedal, my bike is still intact
6. I was kept conscious the whole time
Week of May 24-30, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009(office trip #5)
To: 36 minutes, back: 49 minutes (took my time coming back. No sweat! And only 10 minutes more.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009(office trip #4)
To: 38 minutes, back: 41 minutes
Monday, May 25, 2009(office trip #3)
First time to the office for 2009. To: 37 minutes; back: 39 minutes. Results are better than I anticipated - I was expecting both into the 40's. Since both is in the 30's, it's good.
Week of May 17-23, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009(office trip #2)
Another successful ride to the office. Results were good.
To: 40 minutes (15 minute mark at 37th, 30 minute mark at King Edward)
Back: 41 minutes (15 minute mark at King Edward)
Sunday, May 17, 2009 (office trip #1)
Success! I rode my bike to my office and back. The success of today's trip means I could start riding to the office as early as next week. Tomorrow's Victoria Day, so I get one more shot at it if I want (actually, my legs feel pretty sore right now, since I haven't rode in over 2 weeks so I might just take the day off). I went in full gear: my new red "dry" Helly Henson outfit, shorts, Columbia compact backpack, and water bottle filled.
I also carried my wallet, keys, a jacket, granola bar, and a tetra pack in my backpack to imitate a real ride. It felt light.
I also experimented with my 27 speed bike. I took it down to 2nd gear (highest 8th gear), and used the "1" large gear as well. For some reason the "3" large gear on the left doesn't seem to click in properly. I won't use that for now.
To: 7:45pm - 8:27pm (43 minutes)
Major times: 7:55 to Nanaimo, 8:00pm to 37th, 8:10 to Ontario, 8:15 to Ontario & King Edward, 8:27 to office
Back: 8:30pm - 9:18pm (48 minutes)
I've noticed since last year that it takes approximately 5 minutes more to get back - mostly due to the Ontario Street climb.
Major times: 8:45 to King Edward (+2 min), 8:52 to Ontario (+2 min), 9:04 to 37th (+4 min), 9:15 to 41st Ave, 9:18 home (+5 min)
April 30, 2009
Rode 5-6 times around the park today at around 5pm. Perfect weather, wearing my new Adidas ClimaCool shirt and shorts.
April 16 & 17, 2009
It's almost May, and that means...biking season!!! I want to leave my car at home.
This year my goal is to break the 30 minute mark. I think my record last year was 32 or 33 minutes.
I'm taking baby steps to start this year, warming up with easy sessions of going about 22 blocks back and forth to Victoria and 38th yesterday and today, which according to Google maps is about 3.1 km. Round trip means 6.2km. Today, I tried out my new sharply colored red "dry" outfit from Helly Hanson, and my new blue summer style jacket from Adidas. Yesterday and today I took my new neon orange and black Columbia bag for the ride. Today I wore shorts, and although it was pretty cold, however, it felt alright.
My butt is complaining to me at the narrow, less comfy bicycle seat...it's too used to the comfy seat in my car. Relaxing time is over, punk!
Yesterday and today I did what I call "route simulation", riding along the route I would take on a real ride. Today, I did what I'll call "environment simulation", which is simulating the temperature and riding conditions on a weekday morning.
My tires are a little flat. I need to pump them up again.
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