The Buzz on The Fuzz

Received a helpful email today from the Toronto Cyclists Union on how to avoid traffic tickets on your bike ... Read on to save some dough (and stay safe while not contributing to cyclists' bad reputation in this city)!

Fellow Cyclists,

Please note that Toronto Police are now regularly paying closer attention to the behaviors of cyclists on the road, and giving tickets for infractions. Several people have noted getting ticketed this week in particular.

This is not all bad news of course. With this increased attention comes a greater awareness of the negative impacts that some driver behaviours / driving infractions have on the cycling population, along with increased ticketing for these actions. Although we don’t like to discuss it much, there are many drivers and cyclists that drive and ride recklessly and are sometimes deserving of fines – though unpopular, penalties are proven to be an effective tool to help motivate behavior change.

That said, many feel that an $85 fine for not having a bell is unreasonable, in particular when your voice can be more effective in many cases… Unreasonable or not, it’s the law and you can avoid this particular fine by spending a mere $5 on a bell and 5 minutes installing it. Besides, the sound of bike bells is so lovely, the more the merrier!

Please take a moment to consider your cycling habits (good and bad) and remember that cyclists, as per the Highway Traffic Act, must follow the same rules of the road as other vehicles, and are subject to many of the same fines. Cyclists are required by law to have front and rear lights after dusk and before dawn, to have reflective tape on the front and back of their bike frame, to signal direction & lane changes, etc...

Some fines that apply to cyclists:

- Disobey stop sign or fail to stop $85
- Fail to signal for stop or turn $85
- Cyclist riding in or along crosswalk (this included X-walks, and pedestrian crossings at intersections) $85
- Red light, fail to stop $260 - plus 5 costs plus $60 victim surcharge = $ 325
- Red light: proceed before green $260
- Fail to stop on right for emergency vehicle $400
- Careless driving $400 - plus 5 costs plus $90 victim surcharge = $500

Additional cycling related infractions for which you can be fined can be viewed at this excellent City of Toronto site. Please note however that although the fines for Running a red light, and Careless driving have recently been increased, these changes are not yet reflected on the City of Toronto site.

Demerit Points
One very common misconception/error made by Police is that demerit points apply to cyclists.

Demerit Points DO NOT apply for cycling infractions

Please note that in response to the confusion around whether or not Demerit Points apply to cyclist, the yellow infraction tickets have recently been modified to show clearly that the fine is for a cycling related infraction.

Two things to look for on the ticket:

1. Near the top there is a 'Motor Vehicle Involved' box - the officer should put a check in the '[ ] N' box to indicate ‘No’.

2. Near the bottom is where a license plate number would be included - this should be left blank, and then in the license plate code box next to it, a 'C' should be marked to indicate Cyclist.

ID
It is advisable to provide ID when asked to do so by police. If you do not regularly carry ID on you, you can simply identify yourself, and provide your pertinent information, verbally – you are legally allowed to do this. Most officers will request a driver’s license because it helps them to know your level of understanding of the rules of the road.

Please note: If you know that you have made a mistake and are in contravention of the law, it is better to accept the ticket gracefully rather than lose your cool or fight with police. Even if you feel you have not done anything wrong, arguing with a police officer is rarely a good idea and can lead to more problems than it’s worth.

If you, or someone you know has been ticketed incorrectly, or been treated poorly by police when stopped for an infraction, please connect with ARC (Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists) http://www.respect.to/

Safe cycling,
Yvonne & the bike union team

2010 Ride to Conquer Cancer

It rained. For once, the weather man got it right much to our chagrin. Even more annoying, apparently our route was the only wet one, as the 200K riders stayed dry all day. Anyway, I don't want to get all Eyeore on it, but the rain made a challenging weekend that much more difficult. I was going to write a long winded report, but in hopes that you might actually read on, I've decided to go with point form:

Friday:

- Mom came too, and we four (mom, dad, G and me) went to a Happiest on my Bike teammate's house for eats and greets -- amazing spread, thank you Larry!

- Late packing, got me to bed past midnight. Stayed up long enough to experience the torrential downpour that made it difficult to sleep well, envisioning a wet ride in the morning

Day 1:



- All that was left of the rain (sounded like pebbles pelted at our windows!) was the humidity; G drove me to the CNE with 4000 other cyclists. I ended up walking in so we didn't have to sit in the traffic

- Opening Ceremonies wrapped up and we slowly moved out of the CNE. Ten minutes in spot the first crash victim; ambulance was cleaning up ... sucky way to start and end the weekend. Good reminder to keep wits about us!

- Not very long before 200M riders split from 200K riders. Varying levels of experience with group riding in our posse of 6 Team Happiest riders, but managed to stay mostly together

- Rain started just before halfway, with full downpour at the 100K mark. Oh yeah, if we'd signed up for the other route, we'd be drinking beers now!!

- Near the end, dad's knee began to give him some grief ... hrmmm

- Finished the ride up the big escarpment climb, and rolled into camp where the party was in full swing

- Ryan Leech peformed, two free drinks for everyone, good eats of turkey sausage and salads with veggies

- Stats: 4,108 riders, $16.1 million dollars raised, 35.5 million calories burned, 45,000L of sweat, enough kilometres to circle the world 23 times, 1,000 volunteers. Oldest rider? 82

Day 2:

- Weatherman promised better weather, but he was wrong and we began in the rain again

- Dad's knee bothered him from the start and so the ride had a strange tension for us ... knew he could complete it, but should he? Each rest stop we talked about packing it in, and each one, he decided to go "one more". He showed the kind of determination Cancer demands and I'm so happy we finished together to show Cancer what's what. Way to go DAD!!!

- Mom, G and the Gledhills met us in Port Colborne at the cheering station!! Woo hoo!! It was so awesome to see them there, let me tell you.



- More drama: apparently a rider before us fell on the bridge over the canal in Port Colborne (one of those metal grid type surfaces) and lost her finger!!! We walked across that one.

- After the cheering section, we didn't see anymore rain, so we finished in relative peace

- Final 18km section was all along the Niagara River, on smooth flat road. Ahhhhhh.

- We made it!! Beers and burgers were our reward, but then we upped the ante back in Toronto at "My Place" (Jane and Bloor, great pub) where I had a steak dinner, and dad opted for pulled pork. Only, for some reason we were the ones who had trouble finishing while G and mom demolished their trout dinner and portabello burger.



Aftermath:

- 340km, ~13hours ride time, 10,000 calories burned

- Took yesterday off training. It was glorious. Made G a nice dinner to thank him for being such a good fan this weekend, driving all over southern Ontario, taking photos, getting up early on a Saturday and everything. Thank you Gerhard!

- Thank you mom for coming, cheering, taking photos, and all your help leading up to the ride!

- Thank you Aunt Mindy for coming out and cheering!! (... and with a sign too!!)



- Thank you Donors for making it all possible and standing up to Cancer with us

- Thank you Dad, for starting, for finishing, and for an awesome weekend (minus the farts in the tent. not cool.)

- Legs held up great, happy about that. A little knee pain (sports med on Thursday) and of course my "rib-out" is totally enraged at the moment (chiro on Monday)

- Dad's got his knee in a brace and he's icing and elevating (or else he'd better be!)

- Already signed up for 2011. Who's coming with us?



In case you didn't follow the "live updates", here they are:
Twitter

Terrible night's sleep ... but woke up to birds, not raindrops. fingers crossed. 4:50 AM Jun 12th

good news! T-storms out of the forecast!! On with the show ... 4:51 AM Jun 12th

Having breakfast. smoothie. cereal. rain. 5:22 AM Jun 12th

Dropped off my bag, now just need to find my team. Thanks G for battling the event traffic! (@ Opening Ceremonies w/ 24 others) 6:47 AM Jun 12th

Looking for team "Happiest on my Bike"! (@ Opening Ceremonies w/ 27 others) http://4sq.com/boRcoC 6:48 AM Jun 12th

Found the team! Found dad, found mom, and hear aunt mindy's going to be cheering at a zone in mississauga. Woo hoo! (@ Opening Ceremonies) 7:07 AM Jun 12th

We're ready! @ the opening ceremonies! http://tweetphoto.com/26835790 7:15 AM Jun 12th

Here we are!! The "before" shot. Gonna have a great ride! http://tweetphoto.com/26835964 7:16 AM Jun 12th

Finally on our way. Back of the pack, tailwind! (@ Opening Ceremonies w/ 41 others) http://4sq.com/boRcoC 7:41 AM Jun 12th

De-layering! Split from the 200k riders now 8:52 AM Jun 12th

Is it really that hard to pee in a hole!? C'mon! (@ Pit stop #1!) 9:26 AM Jun 12th

Parking lot is our 2nd pit stop! 70km down. Six in our pack, working on road skills. A little mist ... But will it rain? 11:01 AM Jun 12th

Lunch!! My shoes are wet (my everything's wet), it's pouring rain and we *could* be done if we'd just opted for the 200K. Doh. 1:03 PM Jun 12th

Space man, oh space man, come rescue me! Brrrrrr http://tweetphoto.com/26890249 1:27 PM Jun 12th

Approaching the hammer!! Almost done day 1. Still raining ... http://tweetphoto.com/26905433 2:54 PM Jun 12th

Just heard some thunder .... Stay back!! Stay back, thunderstorm! 2:56 PM Jun 12th

Hardly any riding between us and a wet tent. Awesome (@ Ride to conquer cancer last pit stop)

Done! Day one in the bag. Time for beers!! (@ Camp w/ 37 others) http://4sq.com/9xoyZ5

Set up camp, had a shower, and now, time to eat. And long-awaited beers, of course.

4108 riders, 16.1 million dollars, 35.5 million calories, enough kilometres to circle the world 23 times. Oldest rider? 82.

We sweat 45,000 litres of sweat, collectively.

1,000 volunteers put on this event! THANK YOU volunteers!! 400 of those also added their fundraising to the cause!

By the way, the 82 year old gentleman lost his sight in both eyes in 1990. He's run the Toronto half marathon, and now the RTCC ... Twice.

Breakfast of champions! A lot of sore people around, but we're stoked. http://tweetphoto.com/27019715

I thought I was deaf in one ear. Then I remembered to take out my ear plug.

I just got asked if I am an Olympian. Now that's some morning sunshine! *flattered*

We're off! In the rain ... Please clear off, brrrr

38.75km first break. One crash on wet pavement by barb. She's ok. Joined a triathlon and felt like the race horse scene in mary poppins.

Pit stop #2. Dad's knees are hurting him ... I have faith. C'mon dad! (@ Grand island bar- b- q) http://4sq.com/aahKYi

74.76km down!

Lunch! About 95km down. And finally, the rain seems to be on its way out. Dry roads at last. (@ Wainfleet Beach) http://4sq.com/ddb5ZM

Last pit stop! 40 more km. Saw mom, g and the gledhills cheering! Wooooo!!!

We did it!! We didn't know if we could, but gramma helped us. Celebrating now! Thanks for tuning in. Full blog soon xoxo

Post-ride steak dinner. Check. (@ My Place - a Canadian Pub) http://4sq.com/aKeaN

Cake-loving cyclist starts a cupcake tour of Toronto

OMG, wish I'd thought of this!!! My two favourite things: cupcakes and cycling, together at last! I'm joining their facebook page tonight and you can bet I'll be on the next ride. Can't wait.

By Chantal Braganza
Toronto Star

Hyedie Hashimoto’s idea of a sweet ride is hopping on her black road bike and zipping across Toronto from bakery to bakery, sampling cupcakes.

Call it a kind of culinary biking tour. There are definitely enough cupcake shops across town to support one.

“I just have a sweet tooth,” says Hashimoto, a 32-year-old graphic designer. “Tying in cupcakes was tying something fun into biking.”

Having seen similar rides take place in Nashville, Tenn., Washington, D.C. and Paris, she decided to start one here last April. She drew up a logo, created a website and posted notices on city biking boards asking interested cyclists to join in. The only catch? It’s a girls-only event.

“I heard last year about a report that said less women were riding bikes than men,” she says, referring to studies published by Rutgers University in New Jersey and Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. Both noted that in North American and Australian core cities, more men than women were riding bikes. The key to improving cycling infrastructure, they suggested, was to close the cycling gender gap.

“I wanted to do something to help promote girls on bikes,” says Hashimoto. Here in Toronto, only a little more than 30 per cent of cyclists are women.

This isn’t to say cupcakes are female-exclusive. But it doesn’t hurt that they fit sweetly into a bike basket and travel well. And from Yorkville to Dundas West, there’s no shortage of bakeries, or route ideas.

“The sheer number of bakeries that sell cupcakes in the city is amazing — it’s a great way to see the city.”

Her first ride, from OMG Baked Goods on Dundas St. W. at Dufferin St. for chocolate vegan cupcakes to Icing on the Cake on Queen St. E. via the Martin Goodman Trail, took place April 3. Only one other rider showed up, she laughs. However, last Saturday’s sophomore ride down Bloor St. fared better. Four women met up at Hot Oven Bakery on Bloor St. W. at Runnymede Rd. before cycling west to High Park to take part in Bells on Bloor, a cycle parade to support bike safety in the city. Within minutes, baked treats and cycling stories of first bikes — and first accidents — were being swapped.

Malena Andrade, a web designer, experienced her first “door prize” one night a couple of years ago, in the club district at Adelaide and John Sts., when a group of girls exiting a cab opened the door without looking. The door banged her wheel so hard, the wheel warped.

Andrade had never been in an accident before. Standing amid the crowd of hollering club-goers and noisy cars, she brushed herself off and cycled home. It was only when she took her wheel to get fixed, that she learn about her rights as a rider in such a situation.
“I just wanted to get out of there,” she says, peeling the paper off a fat, pink cupcake.

But that incident isn’t likely to change her, or any of the cupcake riders’ penchant for biking in Toronto.

“It’s not that scary, once you learn how to bike defensively,” says Hashimoto.

“For me the benefits outweigh the cons,” says Amelia Velasco, an administrative assistant who started cycling while living in Paris for two years, before moving back home in 2009. “It’s just the most efficient way to get around . . . most places are a 30-minute radius away from me. I get exercise, get to work and help the environment: I can’t lose.”

The next sweet ride is in the planning stage. If you want to get in on it, visit http://www.cupcakeride.com/.

PS -- all the cupcakes pictured in this blog post are from "For the Love of Cake" in Liberty Village. I was lucky enough to grab a Groupon that gets me 6 of these babies for only $7 (regularly more than twice that!). Click here to join Groupon yourself!!

Thanks, CAA!

My new CAA Plus membership came in the mail last week, and right on its heels, this announcement posted by Bikingtoronto.com ...

Thanks Rhain for sharing. Hopefully I never need it, but in case I do, I'll be sure to include my card in my kit along with my cell phone. I'm sure my dad will continue to just call Kim.

Here's the article:

The Canadian Automobile Association of South Central Ontario is starting a service called "Bike Assist", which provides assistance to CAA members when they are out on their bikes:

As Ontarians make a shift towards a greener lifestyle and with more and more commuters using their bikes as their main vehicle for transportation during the summer months, we’re introducing CAA Bike Assist, roadside assistance for your bike. If you run into a problem that cannot be fixed on the spot, CAA will tow you and your bike to wherever* you need to go. It’s available as part of your membership 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Members will not have to pay extra to be eligible for Bike Assist as it will now be a new permanent benefit for existing Members!

This is obviously excellent for CAA members who also bike (remember, not all cyclists are crazy cycling extremists – I’d say most cyclists in Toronto are also drivers, pedestrians and transit users), but also people who don’t own cars.

The basic CAA membership will run you $72 per year, or $6 per month. With that, you get 24/7 roadside assistance and up to 4 “tows” of up to 10 km.

If you do a lot of touring and what extra kilometres, $113 per year with CAA Plus gets you 4 “tows” of up to 200 km.

You've Got To Be Kidding Me.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. Mine started off great, got a free lunch and a green beer, the whole thing. Top it off with some amazing temperatures for an after-work bike ride and that's what you call the Luck of the Irish.

Everything was going so well until nearing the end of my ride on Queen's Quay by the ferry docks, I realized I was not going fast enough to clear the light on its way to red. So I was hard on the brakes. If you've stopped a road bike before, you know it takes a little longer than say, disc brakes. As such, My wheels came to rest just past the cross walk. I did the usual lean on the top tube, most of my weight on my down foot as I waited for the light to change.

Next thing I know the bike is sideways, held up only by my cleat. WTF.

There were no other people around, no crowds, no cars, except for this older, handsome looking couple. Dressed like they were off to a show or something. The man sneered and stomped across the intersection. As I raised my arms, now realizing what had happened, his lady yelled at me, "You're blocking the whole crosswalk".

Flabbergasted, the only thing I could think to say was "Excuse me? Why don't you kick my bike then?" Genius. It always is, isn't it?

So this blog is dedicated to what I wish I'd done.

I wish I'd unclipped and walked with them across the street, asking for their names. I don't know what I'd have done with their names, filed a police report I guess, maybe in front of them. Because I'm pretty sure it's against the law to go around kicking people and their property. I wish I'd demanded an apology. I wish we'd finished the whole thing with a "Happy St. Paddy's".

Instead, I picked my jaw up off the ground and pedaled away furious, pushing back tears of frustration both over the incident and also allowing myself to be trompled on like that.

Comments comiserating, or expressing shared outrage would really make me feel better. However, if you somehow think I deserved to be kicked, then please keep it to yourself until I've had a beer and have calmed the eff down.

Sweet Pete's (and Toronto) Gets Its Own Bike!

I was in the shop last night catching up and what do I find but a brand new offering from Kona and Sweet Pete's! Here's a little write up from the site:

The Door Prize is a collaboration between Kona Bicycles and Sweet Pete's Bike Shop. Together we wanted to make a bike built specifically for the streets of Toronto. The Door Prize will accept racks, fenders, and baskets for all your commuter needs. It is Designed to be lighter, faster and nimbler, and is appropriately named for a city that seriously lacks bike lanes. The Door Prize is available in a full range of sizes and can be all yours for $579.99. So come on over and experience the good kinda of Door Prize, and remember this bike is sold exclusively at Sweet Pete's.

This is the commuter for me! The name is perfect, the styling cool, yet subdued so there's lots of room for customization. Check out the stickers! Awesome!

A special bike just for Torontonians is so cool. Have a little bit of city pride in your ride!

Olympic Update: Did it really happen?

Back in Toronto now, and it all seems like a dream.

Was I really there? Did it really happen?

In the aftermath, I'm looking forward to holding onto the amazing mood Canada's in right now. I'm also looking forward to a few good nights' sleep.

My last night in Squamish was spent with the Scarth's, who will be parents the next time I see them!! We made a tapas feast, and watched as the Closing Ceremonies finished off the games. Only Canada could get away with clowning about our initial troubles with the fourth cauldron arm. And kudos to us for not missing the opportunity to remind the world that we've got a sense of humour, even if we're the butt of the joke.

Once the Closing Ceremonies were over, we were all perplexed as to what we should do next. No Olympics to watch?! What?? Luckily, the Goonies were on and saved the day ... after all the amazing [experimental at times] treats, all four of us were soon blobs on the couch.


A fitting end.

My last day, I had time to kill before heading to the airport. So what else to do besides cut G's hair? I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Check out the full story on facebook.

Then my GQ man and I went to the Watershed for a quiet lunch, and a walk along the river. All too soon, it was time to go to the airport where I thought all kinds of pandemonium would await. But the Olympics weren't there anymore, either. By the time I checked in, it was just like any other day at YVR.

My flight wasn't until about 11pm Pacific Time ... which meant I landed at about 6:22am Eastern Time. Thank god Nancy was there to give me a lift downtown (nice or what?!) or who knows where I would have ended up in that state!

So ... now I'm back in Toronto and all screwed up. I woke up in the night, and couldn't figure out where I was. Oddly, my previous night terrors about the Sliding Centre returned because in the long list of possible sleeping spots (Squamish? no. Whistler? no. Bus? no. Airplane? no.), "stuck at the WSC" was back in the mix.

It's nice to be back ... I'm so glad I got to go ... but I sure miss the Olympics.

Outside Ride!

Not sure where Winter went, but today, it wasn't here! Hopped on the bike around 2pm with a teammate. Our plan was to visit the horses up at Sunnybrook. However, despite the dry, amazing conditions on the city streets, the rec paths were not faring as well and since my training partner today was on a road bike (while I opted for my mtb since the road bike is all trainerized) she vetoed any further attempts at exploration.

Thus, we decided to head down to the CNE and see what could be seen. The boat show, I think! Or at least that's what I'm guessing from the blue Yamaha bags and a dude walking out with a sweet wake board. Ah, dreams of warm summer days!

Since the CNE was kind of a zoo, we decided to just keep on riding the "Blue Edge" ... ie the waterfront trail. I lost my training partner to cold hands and feet at the Roncesvalles bridge. Since it was such a nice day, I continued solo.

Not long after her departure, I met a man who was playing with his RC car in one of the parking lots. I was going to challenge him to a race, but thought I'd be embarrassed: that thing was quick. I think I missed a good photo opportunity. Oh well.

The next interesting pause came when I met Peter. By the time I'd arrived he'd only been there for about an hour and already he had an army of balanced-rock formations. I stopped to take a photo of his masterpieces, and got to meet their maker at the same time. When I got home, I looked him up online, and he's done some pretty amazing stuff. A Toronto treasure, for sure. He rocks.



Today was the first time I'd been that far west on the bike trail in a long time and I was happy to find it was just a little bit longer! On the way back, I turned off to get a photo and found the Humber River Trail (Number 15, people). I'd come down it once before, but never up. I figured I'd give it a shot. A bit snowy/icy in spots but totally navigable on the Trek and a really lovely ride. As I was exiting "The Old Mill", a man rolled down his car window beside me and said he'd "never seen a cyclist take on this hill!" which kind of made my day. (Although, caveat, it wasn't a particularly nasty climb or anything.)

After a quick street ride down Jane, I was back on the waterfront path. I decided to go see what was happening in Ashbridges Bay. Mostly, people were out doing the same thing as me: enjoying mother nature's little gift! I saw runners, rollerbladers, other cyclists, some tennis players (for real!) and even the skaters were out at the skate park.

With the sun going down, it was time to head home. Although most of the roads were dry, some weren't so nice so I had to figure out a way to clean up my girl so the salt and grit didn't do too much damage. I've seen it done ... but never had the guts to try it myself, seeing as I live with two others. So shhh, don't tell them but ...



After I cleaned the bike, I cleaned the tub and then I had a shower too -- one of those ones where the warm water makes your frozen toes feel like they've had too much hot sauce.

A snack, some stretching, a flop on the couch and that's a day folks.

Time for bed now -- spin class bright and early! ... and I'm cooking this in my sleep:



Here are some other shots I snapped along the way ...

From left to right (click to enlarge): 1. "And I thought my feet were cold!" 2. The Humber footbridge 3. Peter's people 4. A gull over the skyline from the base of route 15 5. The Humber 6. Bridge over frozen water 7. Tennis. In January. 8. Sun going down over Ashbridge's 9. A pile of kids were at the Ashbridges Skate Park.

2010 Ride to Conquer Cancer

I heard there were only 300 spots left in the 2010 Ride to Conquer Cancer and since my dad already had one, I figured I'd join him!

I hope you will offer a donation towards my goal of $2500. I will be working hard to meet that target because otherwise I will not qualify to participate in the ride. So as you can see, I need your help! You can donate online from this page; you can set up a monthly contribution from now until the ride; or you can donate by personal cheque, either directly to the RTCC or I would happily forward the funds in your name. And of course, all donations over $10 are tax deductible.

Dad and I were part of a team of four back in 2008 for the inaugural ride which raised an incredible $14 million for Princess Margaret Hospital. We had a wonderful time. The event, although running for its first time, was organized to a tee. I did the 200km ride plus an additional 70km in the "Afterburn" with Steve Bauer. It still ranks as one of my favourite days in the saddle, ever.

This year I saw there was an option to be a 200km rider or a 200 mile rider. So I decided to test my mettle and sign up for the dual-century, imperial style.

While the cycling is unsurpassed (amazing scenery, and roads just for us), that's only half the RTCC story. As cancer affects more and more of us and our loved ones, it is more important than ever to work together to stop it.

I first heard of cancer when I was just a little girl, and it was hard to understand — it seemed to me that people who get sick ought to get better. But my Grandma was sick for as long as I knew her. She was the toughest woman I’ve known and I will always remember her for her grace and strength.

I dedicate this ride to all who are fighting now, particularly my grandpa, my aunt, and my cousin. I'll ride in remembrance of my grandma, and my "neighbourhood dad" Mr. Lutz.

The money raised in the Ride to Conquer Cancer will support breakthrough research, exemplary teaching, and compassionate care at Princess Margaret Hospital, one of the top 5 cancer research centres in the world.

Thanks so much in advance for your help!

Toronto 2015

I am SO excited that our Premier, Dalton McGuinty has led a successful delegation in Mexico to bring home the 2015 Pan Am Games. We took it on the first ballot, with 33 votes. Competing cities were Lima receiving 11 votes and Bogota recieving 7.

We're going to put on the best Pan Am Games ever and it will mean better infrastructure for Torontians, first-class facilities for our athletes and a feather in the cap of not just Toronto, but Hamilton, St. Catharines, Oshawa and all the way north to Barrie. After losing bid after bid, a win is just what we needed.

I've got six years to get in shape! Signing off with a ton of joy and excitement!

-K

Race Report: CHIN International

Yesterday, a teammate sent around an email reminding us that the CHIN road race in Toronto was set for today. I've never done the event, for a couple of reasons:

1) It's a road race. Enough said.
2) It's on Canada Day and usually Canada Day is a long weekend without a race, so I take full advantage on a dock somewhere

This year, lacking the long weekend and having nothing better to do (besides sleep in ... ohhh hindsight), I mentally bookmarked the race figuring if I remembered to go, I'd do it.

So this morning I woke up and still somewhat non-committal, had my breakfast telling myself I'd just go down and take a look at who's racing before dropping my 60 bucks on the entry fee (*gasp*).

The other thing about Canada Day 2009 is that it was supposed to piss rain all day. Another strike against doing this race since wet roads combined with tight packs, plentiful corners and skinny tires is a recipe for a broken collarbone and road rash. However, defying the odds, the sun shone all day long. So after riding all the way down to the CNE grounds, getting kitted up and everything, how could I not enter?

Feeling more than a little unprepared, I went through the ordeal of pinning on my numbers. For some reason roadies are freaks about this little ritual. It has to be done "just so" or else you'll be DQ'd. So numbers on the left, off I went to warm up. I certainly felt like the little fish when sharks like Merril Collins (National Criterium Champ) rolled by.

On the start line, the usual roadie conversations ensued. I felt even more out of place. At least I kind of looked like I belonged -- I mean, my shorts matched my jersey and I remembered to wear white socks and everything.

The whistle blew and we were off. Well, they were off. I on the other hand suffered a "wardrobe malfunction" right off the bat: my cleat would NOT clip into my pedal. It is really hard to start a race when only one shoe is fixed to the bike. I tried again, and the girls got farther away. I tried once more, and the girls got even farther ahead. And then -- as is the case in road races if you screw up as I did -- it was pretty much over. With the pace and the headwinds, it became quickly apparent that I was not going to be bridging the gap.

So ... you can guess how the rest of the race went. Not much more to say.

The bright side? I got a good workout, worked a bit on my cycling tan lines, and since I was all alone, I am sure I got some nice solo shots by the photographers lining the course. Hopefully they show up online somewhere.

Thanks CHIN for reminding me why I don't like criteriums.

Happy Canada Day!