Carlsbad to San Clemente in Flirtees!

Just got back from another glorious vacation in California. My fiancé has the good sense to live there so I am down often, but this is the first time I've worked in a road ride.


Mainly this is due to my hatred of flying with bikes. So I was super glad to find Synaptic Cycle's Joe Bartoe who rented me a wonderful carbon steed for less than I would have paid to bring my bike on the plane one way.


The bike was a "Liscio" by American company Volagi, which is apparently the only one to include disc brakes as a standard feature on their road bikes. I was skeptical but won over in the end. I would almost say this bike was even better than having my own with me.


Here are the other big wins of my experience with Synaptic:

• The bike was fitted against measurements from my road bike emailed in advance so it arrived ready to ride
• It was delivered and picked up by the super affable Joe
• It came with full Ultegra, and the saddle and pedals of my choice. 

Top marks for Synaptic Cycles, and I am sure I will be in touch again soon. 


So with my borrowed bicycle, Gerhard and I set out for his first "real" bike ride (i.e. I made him stop to buy bottle cages and H2O receptacles at the local REI before we set off). We went from his place near La Costa Ave all the way to Pedro's in San Clemente where we gobbled down ten tacos and a lot of pop before turning back for a glorious tailwind push home.


All told, we conquered about 115km together, and it was wonderful!! Highlights of the ride included:

• Carlsbad Boulevard closed to cars for a triathalon course (which was nearly finished and didn't have any racers left on it) giving us a very large cycling lane for our personal use
• The old highway 101 now closed to cars through Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, but is still open to bikes, making it the biggest rec path I have ever seen
• Unusual road signs like "Tank Xing" as we rode through range after range *yikes* 
• The sweet sweet taste of tacos to shut down a full-body bonk
• A very welcome tailwind all the way home
• The chance to show off my new Flirtees Kit (Thanks Casey!) [Find Flirtees on Twitter and Facebook]
• The part where we were finally finished. ;) 

Now that I'm back in Toronto where it's hotter than Cairo, riding bikes seems less fun. In fact, anything but sitting motionless in my air-conditioned office seems less fun. Til the heat wave breaks, guess I'll continue California dreamin'.

Photos by Gerhard Gross 

Coming Around the Mountain When She Comes

Well ... racing is just around the corner and my my my, it's time to get my shiz together.

I'm in the middle of a pretty tough training block at the moment which will see me training through Paris to Ancaster this Sunday. In conjunction with the race, there's also the Grand Opening of the Hamilton Cycling Centre's new Training Centre. Ribbon cutting at 2pm at the Ancaster Rotary Centre. With more than 2,000 riders anticipated for the P2A, something tells me they'll be having a good turnout!

Until last night, I wasn't sure I was actually going to have a trusty steed for this thing, but thank goodness Derek and Sweet Pete's came to the rescue. Turns out the Bontrager wheel-hubs that are afixed to my Trek have a habit of self destructing. It's a common problem apparently. Which is why the part they need to fix it is on back order. Uh-oh. With no delivery in sight, I had to rely on the kindness of friends. Huge thanks to Derek for letting me use his very nice XTR rear wheel and hub. You've got me back on my mountain bike in time to get used to the position again! And thanks also for even letting me take them out on the race course. Fingers crossed that the part gets here soon.

In other news, the road bike is now at the shop too. After 5 years of abuse, my pedals and cleats are ready for retirement. So, a new set of Ultegras have been selected and are soon to be installed, along with a full tune up to keep my girl going. She's got enough kilometres on her right now to get to the moon. I'm scared this is the beginning of the end. When I ride it on the trainer, I can see the bottom bracket dancing around left to right. I don't think they even make some of the parts for it anymore, but she's still a beauty to me.

So, mechanical issues aside, things are set for a great season of XC (and some Super D ... and maybe DH?) in Ontario. My schedule is much more domestic this year because of the Olympics taking up vacation days, and to try and save some money too.

I'm looking forward to having more free weekends, that's for sure. Might actually get to go home to the beach ... or to the cottage ... or even just sleep in on a Sunday! Now that'd be nice!