A new ride season is here. Warm weather is back. Old friends return to Saturday Road rides. New destination rides are in the works. New friends are made weekly. LTGR grads move up to try the Intermediate crowd. More photos to swipe through. So for the author it began today.
May 18 2024
Forecasted winds were light or none, so they said. The standard route to Fergus was selected from RidewithGPS, not too long for a first of the season ride for some. Soo we started with 17! riders. What a start.
A threat to split this large group may have put everyone in a better mood to play nice together. And we all did. Good pace, very few break ups. It was a good group.
Break time ended, off to Middlebrook through the back streets of Elora. No breakaways were attempted today. Just a nice brisk pace.
Finished back at RIM park, refreshments were available and a nice debriefing session ensued. What a nice ride today.
June 1. Sobey’s to Drumbo via Wolverton or as I call it Wollarton then back to New Hamburg, Philipsburg and home. It was forecasted to be a cool start but 18C wasn’t that cool. Some may have overdress (me).
Good size group again today even though the route was over 90KMs. Started with 14 riders but we picked up a wayward G3 along the way. NP! Riders drove here from Mitchell and Paris. Word is spreading.
They seem friendly enough.
Headed down Blenheim Road and started up the Wolverton Climb. I think this short steep climb surprised a few riders.
Water break at the Drumbo Esso station.
Off to New Hamburg then riding over the rolling hills to Bright and beyond.
The bridge that was replaced last year on Bridge St. was under repair! so that road is closed east of Tye Road for now. Hmmm
Roads were in good shape and traffic was civil today.
We left Hamburg out the back way up to Philipsburg and home via Wilby. Refreshments at the end, the usual watermelon and freezies. Debriefing and a good chat followed. Some G3 riders smelled the freezies and joined us. It was a good day. Good group. Until the next ride, yes?
Big group this morning. 21. A few new riders for this year. Welcome to all. Reasonable route to Stratford, but that wind in our face! We needed to stay together and as a smaller group we did that.
A little slower going out.
It was cool at the start and we had another large group again, 24 riders in total. Jeff and Mario took the first group of 12 out, while Brian took the second group of 12. No issues in this first half of the ride, and the second group set a brisk pace, meeting the first group at Country Sisters. Chatter was light, and so was the wind.
Fed and watered, we left Country Sisters and headed south after Jeff’s group left. The pavement was smooth, the pace was brisk, and then the mood changed instantly. Two riders had a touch of wheels which is unrecoverable - 1 rider went down followed by 4 more to the sound of crashing carbon and shocked screams. Thankfully, no cars were behind us or were oncoming…so very thankful. The downed riders were systematically assessed, bikes were made rideable again, and we continued in a much more sombre mood and at a slower pace. Surprisingly, the bodies were still willing…adrenaline was involved here I’m sure. The group split into 2.
But this was not to be our day. HessenStrasse rd is well known for its wide cracks in the pavement that run parallel to the riding direction. The township periodically fills those in with tar to make the cracks marginally better, but there are still many, many deep cracks which can grab bike wheels. Single file riding makes the danger worse if you stay tight to the right where all the cracks are. And cracks near the shoulder, in the shade, are even worse. Unfortunately, another rider went down after hitting one of these cracks, but after dusting himself off he continued with some post-crash skin donation and bodily fluid ‘leakage’.
What a morning.
By the time we got back to Sobey’s, Jeff’s group had left, so we had all the watermelon to our selves. After a parking lot debrief, we went home to lick our wounds, mental or physical, and to plan our ride next Saturday. Get back on the horse…
DEBRIEF TAKEAWAYS:
Do not overlap wheels
Before moving off the front, talk to your partner, look back for approaching cars, signal your intent to go, do not slow down (if anything accelerate off the front slightly), drop back relatively quickly while staying close to the paceline, do not cross the yellow line, proceed to the rear promptly, wave the following riders through.
Do not over fatigue yourself before you pull off the front. Better to take a short pull than it is to gas yourself and then make abrupt, ‘fatigued’ moves.
Be vigilant: your safety is also your fellow rider’s safety
Point out pavement issues when safe, otherwise call it out. Do not assume the riders behind you can see what you are seeing.
Your safety and control is more important than vehicles behind you and their inconvenience.
June 22 Ride around Haysville and New Hamburg. The route of the day, or route de jour, was a ride to the velodrome from Clyde Park but strange weather was upon us this week and the winds shifted 180 degrees so west and south was the new route from Sobey’s. A little shorter but more elevation. No worries, we can do this I said.
Before the ride started the new riders were greeted and grilled. G3 and G2 were there but a little lost as to their route de jour.
A 5 minute lecture on 2 up riding etiquette and safety and expectations was given to remind all of us the perils of group cycling. Especially because of last weeks episodes. Thanks Brent and Ron
All my fallen riders from last week are well again and in good spirits!
Glad to see Gerry back with us today. Group of 16 so it was split with Jeff and Kevin taking the first group, Mario and myself the second. New riders this week Marco and Jeff. Garmin read 27C already
Jeff’s group was gone. I was fading so on Bleams Road I was going to cut a few KMs off the route. Everyone was quite OK with that idea so we headed to New Hamburg and the Portuguesa Bakery. We beat Jeff’s group there.
The heat was taken it’s toll. Our group speed was dropping, even with the wind behind. I’m really gassed now just vapours left in the tank. The humidity is getting oppressive. Don’t wait for me. Wilby just seems soo long some days!
We got back to Sobey’s, watermelon never looked so good!. Brent brought really nice sandwiches but the heat reduce everyone’s appetite. 31C now feels like 35C! Lesson today was big heat and humidity, shorter route. Next week should be cooler.
Saturday ride on a Monday
All day rain was forecasted for Saturday June 29 so no route was posted. But Monday July1 was my rain date. Holiday Monday mornings are usually quiet on the roads in terms of traffic. And today was no exception. Light and tempered traffic. But what a start. 13C. Misty. Damp.
My Garmin said I was still in deep recovery mode so I didn’t pull once today. Sorry. Thanks for letting me wheel suck all day. You guys are the best!
Off we went towards Wellesley then Milverton. A little cool on the arms but most were prepared for the temps with sleeves.
One pickup truck driver gave us holiday greetings, so thoughtful! That’s what I heard anyways. Stopped in Milverton, I was getting numb foot, hmmm. Needed a massage.
East towards Hawksville and Moser Young Rd, wind at our backs. scooting along. Heading back south to Wilmot Centre for Chef Brent’s BBQ and watermelon.
Today’s WCC Intermediate ride was a delight, with 12 riders heading to Millbank for some delicious Anna Mae’s apple fritters. The ride was exceptionally smooth, with a consistent pace, no sudden surges or unexpected manoeuvres, and riders rotating as expected out from the front of the paceline.
The group maintained the kind of average we expect on an intermediate fondo ride… 29.3 km/hr over the 82 km route. Brian’s route design was ideal for the light NW winds, and April managed to snag the QOM on a newly paved section on Wilmot Easthope rd.
In the last hour the heat began to take its toll on a few riders, but cold watermelon and Gatorade back in the Sobeys parking lot helped everyone press the reset button.
Overall, a fantastic outing for the WCC Intermediate group. Great company, light winds and warm summer weather, good conversations, and apple fritters!
