Saturday's Intermediate Road Ride Review 2023

[Brian]

May 6, 2023
The first week of May and riders are anxious to get out. Saturday started sunny and cool, 9C or so. Some members must have held back for a later start but we went out from RIM at 9. A nice group of nine showed up and for the majority it was their first club ride for 2023. Some confusion at the start line with a road maintenance crew blocking Millennium Dr entrance but shhhh we took to the sidewalk and got around it.

Big crowd of road riders this morning. G1-G4

Biking down the sidewalk Nooo. Shhhhh!

Finally the fast group got going

Good pace, good friendly traffic up to Jones Baseline.
Several short breaks at stop signs here and there on the way back and we were back before noon. Pace was good. The usual friendly conversations were started. New friends were made. Old friendships caught up with. Load was shared. Smiles and memories all around. Can’t beat that.

Brian

[Stevehaase]

Thanks for the awesome pics and review, Brian. Great riding 72km with you on Saturday!

[Brian]

Saturday May 13 Ride to Elora
Solid core of strong riders showed up this morning. Winds picked up as we headed to Ariss. Modified the route as we rode, so we stopped at Elora Mews for a pleasant rest. Excellent riding weather. Traffic was light and friendly. Lots of Deeres out of the field. Nothing like the farm fresh smell this time of year. No mechanicals. Tough route, crosswinds all morning it seemed. Good group.

Nice run back down Middlebrook.
Rain next weekend. Hmmm

[JeffSShepherd]

Saturday May 27th.

What an amazing day for a ride!! 18 people showed up for the intermediate ride, albeit a few where group 3 riders looking for a shorter route. A few new faces today.We split into 2 groups with myself leading the latter group. The pace line was tight even going up Hawkesville hill (both times!). Stopped at Conestoga lake for a photo op and came back to Floradale on some flat roads. Stopped at Bonnie Lou’s for a one-size fits all coffee and treats. Back through Hawkesville and Erbsville to Sobeys. Had a flat in Erbsville (sorry Andrew I did not tape myself changing a flat) but had the tube was replaced quickly and the ride ended well.

For those new people, I hope you enjoyed the ride and you will come out again.

[Brian]

Saturday June 3
9 signed but 22 showed up! The group was split into 2. Jeff and I stayed with our usual core and 4 newbies. First time this year new guy Brent showed up. I was impressed with him staying with us all morning after his long overseas trip. No jet lag either! Some confusion at the beginning not just with large group (any time) but the route wasn’t finalized until start time. Winds were stronger than I expected but the group was willing to go further than first planned. I tasked Kevin and Tommy to take the first group out. Heading to Arkell and their little coffee shop there. All road groups went there this morning, so the place was busy with at least 30 WCC riders plus the usual locals.
Roads were busy but civil, the standard pickup truck or 3 were incensed at our presence.
We had 10 to start with but 1 dropped off early with not feeling it today.

Outside Arkell Cafe.
The latest LTGR graduates were very capable riders. Nice. Thanks Heather, Dino and others

The usual WCC suspects

We were to circle Guelph city proper but it was a good bit of urban riding. Lights, construction, traffic.
East winds are tough for me to plan around. Guelph is a busy town.

At the end both Intermediate groups arrived back at RIM at the same time. Freezicles for all. Lots of post ride chatter. That’s the best part!

[MarkW]

Great job managing all those riders. I was very happy to see some familiar faces from this years LTGR show up for your Saturday ride.

[Brian]

June 10,2023
Today’s ride was to Country Sisters which is near Dorking on #86. 13 riders in total this morning. Winds were light. A few navigational errors at the very beginning caused great laughter and derision to the front leaders in the group, oh my. New this year riders Jeff H. and Del showed up, strong riders, thanks for coming out. Anyways up to Yatton, we avoided the dreaded Hawkesville hill. Roads were good, air was clear of smoke and manure. Temperature a little cool to start with but a nice summer morning. One biker had to showoff how loud his bike was compared to ours. Extra close, extra loud. Hmmm! Must be to compensate for other short comings. Whatever.
The pavement west of Yatton is breaking up again, we needed to use the whole lane just to stay smooth and safe.

Arrived at Country Sisters intact.

According to one report the man eating this said “it was a whole apple in that there apple Danish. This is not Starbucks.”

Waiting to roll out
It was a relatively quick stop, water, Danish go. No time for a breakfast sandwich though.
Nice long stretch south through Millbank then to Streicher Rd. Good pace.

Track team mates

Just after Kevin broke off to Wellesley there was a driver who decided we were a menace and threat to his road. Interesting debriefing session afterwards. O that small small percentage of nutcakes out there!

Arrived at Sobey’s before noon. Yes.
Freezies and cookies for all.
Great day. No mechanicals. No one hurt. Good chatter after the ride. Can’t beat that.


Brian

[Brian]

June 17,2023 Saturday ride to Drayton.
17 riders to start with. Yikes! Kevin S. took 1 group, Mario and I the other. The route to Drayton was fraught with issues this day. Traffic was a little heavier even at 830AM. Temperatures were rising.

Floradale Road south of #86 was closed so it limits our options NW out of town. Our group had 8 riders. We got through the Hawkesville hill just fine. The roads from Hawkesville then degraded to Linwood (not recommended). One flat there for Jim which could not be resolved so he bade us farewell. After we left he patched up the first flat.

Lots of road supervisors here

From Linwood the road was better but busy. Rolling into Glen Allan a pickup truck, licence HORSE, was incensed with our presence. Yikes. Then he drove across the street to his house, delayed by 15-29 seconds!
With BP now up we climbed out of Glen Allan to Drayton. Mandatory, customary photo was insisted upon, sorry, at Conestogo Lake.

Arrived in Drayton a little late, the first group was comfortably waiting for us.

We got our water and drinks and departed, joining forces with the other group going home. Wind now at our backs the road from Stirton east was fast and smooth.
Back at Sobey’s freezies for those that survived. Good spicy ride
Good day. Good group. Good memories

[Brian]

First Saturday Destination Fondo of 2023.
To Dundas, the Sydenham climb and Waterdown.
We started off from Clyde Park in east Cambridge.

G2,3 group joined us for a total of 16 riders. As sometimes with me the first turn was wrong.
Yikes what a start. My Garmin was on the fritz as well as a few others. We’re so reliant on these things now. Hard to live with them, hard to live without them! But we got through the day without any further issues.
We allowed the G3 group to pass us and we next saw them in Watertown.

Riding through busy Dundas streets always seems weird since we usually avoid the city.
But the Sydenham climb beckoned.

Next stop Copper Kettle Café in Watertown
The fast group was 30 minutes in front of us but the lineup at the café was quite long. They were ordering as we arrived

They mingled just fine with the other 50 or so riders!

This ride leader from SSHP Toronto had a few extra scones to give away

Back on the road to Clyde Park.
Uneventful ride home. Good roads. Headwinds didn’t seem to slow us down.
G3 beat us back. Duh

Chef Brent arrived and began the BBQ

Food galore

Great way to end a destination ride. Good ride. Good food. Good memories

[HappyOne]

Looks like an awesome day out in the saddle and then with the feed bag. Thanks for sharing.

[Brian]

July 15th was a rain out. Many G3 and Intermediates planned to ride Sunday at the Tour de Norfolk. So off we went for a early morning ride from Delhi down in the flatlands of Norfolk County. No organization was needed on our part. Easy peasy. Just show up.
And we did.

It was a big group of G3 and Intermediates. We stayed together all morning. G3 toned it down for us lesser mortals. 18 was the usual group size. A few hangers on included. All good.

One of the monster descents we had in Norfolk.

One rest break at Port Burwell.

Friendly volunteers. Great snacks. Licorice too!

Returned to Delhi and the advertised food trucks, pool, showers and shade.
But Chef Brent showed up

Great day. No rain. No mechanicals. 34KPH. Wowza. Excellent post ride meal. Freezies as well.
Very good memories.

[Brian]

July 22,2023 Saturday Intermediate. To Country Sisters up on #86 near Dorking. Shorter route.
Big crowd of G1,2,3 and Intermediates

For us it was a group of 10. Perfect size. Winds were light to start out with. Off to Wallenstein and Yattan. Computers were working. Bikes were working. Riders were rotating through.
And then my route gremlin appeared.
As we turned from the Glen Allan Road to Country Sisters side road 15 the pavement changed to gravel!

Discussions ensued. Alternates bandied about. Grumblings and murmurings were softly emitted. Common sense prevailed as the original route was still the shortest. Those on 23mm would just have to bear it out. Crisis averted. The latest gravel ride started.

No big deal as it turns out.
Arrived at Country Sisters ready for tarts and water and coffee and Gatorade.
And this awaits us sign
Big crowd of WCC riders standing around in the parking lot, gravel, rec, G1 and this

More discussions. Options thrown about. Anna Mae’s. Zehr’s. I’m hearing mutinous whispers. Off to Millbank regardless. Decided Zehr’s Country Market was to be our stop. Been there. Done that. Prefer it.

Mutiny subsides. Bellies are filled. All is well. Crisis averted again!
Off to Streicher Rd we go.
Heat is increasing. Bodies are dropping off the back more often.

The last hill in town gets avoided by Tommy’s local urban trail knowledge. Single track as well today!

Freezies and watermelon for all. Bonus.
No drops. No mechanicals. Back before noon. Memories. And some good memories as well.
Come back soon.

[Brian]

August 5, 2023 Belwood Butter Tart run. It seems everyone thought Belwood was the place to go to this Saturday. Rec, gravel, Gs were all there!
When I prepare for a Saturday morning ride I start Friday with night food, water, money, kit, bike cleaning and lub. Today I am ready to go early, driving up to RIM. I stop several times- shoes? helmet? Garmin? I just know I am forgetting something. What? It turns out to be my legs. Aaaa
A big G3 group showed up today. We go off with 7 riders. First timer comes out today, a confessed die hard MTBer, and a little apprehensive maybe to ride with us. Turns out to be a power house roadie!

Missing my updated route so Mario is the official route director. Garmin and pinned routes seem to be my latest gremlin with me. Aaa
With Kari supervising we now are on our best road behaviour. Full foot down stops! Signaling! Communication. It’s all good.

Mandatory Jones Baseline candid photo

Old pres and new pres.
The new route suggested to me is a bit unknown. We’re missing the west section of County Rd. 26 into Belwood which is good but gain north on 18 and west on 2. Bad! We got through it.
So just past Jones Baseline is were I find out I forgot my legs at home. Needed to get on the MTBer wheel and draft that into Belwood. It kinda worked. Ouch!
Arrived in Belwood, Charles took a shortcut down the rail trail which was a good idea. G3 was just leaving the Country Market than. More room for us. Other bikers were there as well.

Curious customer wanted to know what was going on with al the green shirts and bikes and I said Belwood tarts! He agreed that was the place to go to but wouldn’t share any. LOL. I love those old white guys. Funny!
We all recovered with food and drink and were off when the Gravel Rec group showed up. Busy place.

Turned for home refreshed, tarted up, went down Second Line. That’s just crappy pavement there! Dangerous too. Need a redo there. Go into Fergus I say.

I love that South River Road through Fergus, except for that stop sign at Bridge St.
Through Elora, down Middlebrook. Spicy. Couldn’t catch Rick he was on a mission. Held Charles’ wheel, great place to be on Middlebrook. The newbie may have got hooked on road cycling there. Nice rush!

Ended up at RIM, no issues, no mechanicals just a gassed LFTR leader. Wind was stronger than advertised but no worries. The group did drag me back. Thanks team
Watermelon, freezies, good memories all around.
Next week is our destination ride to Erin, Forks of the Credit, Belfountain, Terra Cotta, and the Ontario Badlands. Make your intent known to ride so enough food is prepared.

[Brian]

August Balzac run, on the 19th. Dusty Nostril was scheduled for the next day so G3 cancelled Saturdays ride, and we received an influx of some big boys to pull us around. Weather was perfect. Blue skies, some wind from the west. Started off with 17. One dropped before we started, equipment issues, one forgot equipment, water bottles!, picked up Jon on the way out of town. 17 riders. And a new rider came up from Rec. A little apprehensive but willing. And apparently quite able. Longest fastest ever ride ever!

Route was fluid as we avoided Weimar, silly me it’s corrected now. Nice size group to be heading into the wind. Sometimes we split into 2 natural groups but always regrouped.

Picked up Rick up near Hampstead, he sure hustled to catch us. Steve dropped out that way as well.

Rolled into Balzacs, just getting there before G2 arrived.

Unusually long but nice rest before turning around. Lost a few more riders in Stratford as well. But worse one rider was left behind and it was noticed only until way out of Stratford. So sorry about that. My rider count was fluctuating and if I don’t get informed then assumptions get made, but still my fault for leaving one man back. Won’t happen again. My apologies.

Spicy ride on the way back. Wind at our backs! Yes the reward for wind in our face. 2 natural groups formed up again, some legs were starting to show signs of fatigue. But we pressed on. Wilby was a good rush.
At the end of this nice morning of riding was watermelon and freezies. Debriefing, resting. Chatting. I love it.

Preparing for a September ride from Kimberley, in the Blue Mountains , Grey Highlands, Sept 9th. Coming?

[kspangler]

@Brian thanks for this weekends last roll, gerat time and look forward to the next desitination ride(s)…

Cheers,
Karl

[Brian]

Biking to Belwood for the Best Butter Tarts, Aug 26. Another adventure ride, another lesson learned. Great day.

We started off to Belwood with 14 riders. Some new faces, some old faces and then the regular faces. Winds were non existent, nice start. 2 riders dropped off by Ariss. Still a good group. Some wind now. Traffic seemed light this morning.
Unbeknown to me the Ariss Road past #6 turned to gravel. It was smooth for gravel but we got strung out like some sort of gravel ride. Aaagh

Gravel!!

Back on the road again

The route today had a slight change in it from our last time up here. We stayed off Road 18 and 26 and used the Fergus rail trail to Belwood. Not too busy, some mucky spots. I didn’t hear any complaints within the group. But I may or may not have spooked a couple riding the trail, and it seems a few of us got an earful for this alleged transgression. I should have know better, I ride those trails too. Yell early. Yell often. Bells are lame.

What’s so funny Mario?

Belwood butter tarts are the best

Back to Fergus, down Union and River Road. Toot through Elora, to Middlebrook. Spicy to the stop sign.
Home to RIM, but o wait a flat. So unusual to have a flat it seems. Rare this year.

Dave was quite efficient at it. Experienced maybe?

Back to RIM, and watermelon.
So some gravel, some rail trail, lots of road. Good adventures today
Some more memories.

Kimberley ride on the 9th.
Big Ride on the 16th. Busy September

[Brian]

Sept 2 WCCC ride to Woodstock. The start was from the Wilmot Rec Complex west of Baden.
The morning mist was just lifting as 12 riders left for the quiet country roads leading to Woodstock. In a minute we were on them! Really no wind at all as we started, perfect riding conditions.
Some Rec riders came out this morning to test the Intermediate waters. They held their heads up just fine all morning. Well done.

Tye Road south from Haysville just had a layer of tar and chip laid down so this was a little unsettling until Bridge St. Apparently that bridge on Bridge St. is passable now.
Roads after that were great. Traffic was light and civil. Our pace was brisk pace.

Woodstock’s Coffee Culture. Right on Main St. Nice place

After an extended socializing period (shame on those talkative types) was over at the café stop we turned NE and headed back to Baden

Just outside Baden we stopped at the WCCC clubhouse for the usual watermelon, freezies, sandwiches etc. Thanks Brent and Rita
The ride today was without issues. A real group ride. Upon reflection it was such a refreshing and pleasant ride. Everything worked. A very pleasant group ride

Quiet Wilmot and Oxford country road

[Brian]

Chef Brent’s coup des grace at the Kimberley Fondo 2023. Mmmmmm
What a finish it was to a fine day of biking. Salads, cold cuts, brownies (sugar high), watermelon (duh), freezies. Mmmm. But back to the beginning of the day
Sept 9. 9AM 11 Intermediate riders. 3 G1 riders.

Driving into Kimberley you could see the valley floor with a fog cloud just lifting.

Wild turkeys on the way in

I dropped a cooler of drinks off at Rob Roy 'S Osprey Museum first thing.

Waiting for G1 to show up

Standard Classic Kimberley General Store photo

Boys are anxious to get rolling. But what to wear? Cool start. 11C. Knee warmers? Jackets? Arm warmers? Decisions! Decisions!

Quick burst of sunlight peaking through the overcast.
Kimberley is such a great place to start from. Downhill to a long flat section, easy pace gets you nicely warmed up. And a downhill finish. Then the hills start. G1 went left towards Epping and found some road construction and gravel. We went right to Heathcote.

Tour of Heathcote. Silly RidewithGPS
Riders were evenly matched. Good speed throughout the morning

Our first big climb was up 10 Line and 9 Line Roads, circumventing Ravenna somewhat. Drawn-out climb. But there always is a reward for climbing. Grey Road #19. Nice pavement, wide shoulder and fast. Quite the rush down!

But there was another climb which was the Pretty River Valley Road. This road you want to go up. The group broke up here before regrouping at Rob Roy and the drink stash.

Steady Rick

Heading back to Kimberley. Look at that pavement. New and smooth. All roads on this route were in excellent condition.

As Brent and I were LFTR and we rode over Lake Eugenia 2 fishermen were just netting this monster fish from the lake. Doesn’t pay to speed through some places!

Riding back into Kimberley and looking into the valley. What a nice view, at speed though.
Back at our base camp at the library in Kimberley, the locals have outfitted the place for cyclists. Water station, tool station, picnic tables, portapotties. More bike friendly than ever.
More really good memories. Food was great thanks Chef Brent, again. The company was excellent.
A pleasant tired drive home. Who saw the 2 camels on the way back? The windmills? More personal memories! Last Fondo for 2023. It was a really good year
Thank you

[Brian]

Big Ride for Alzheimer 2023. It was a mixed bag of routes and riders on this day, for charity. WCC raised over $10000 for them. Well done.
So the routes were 100km, 166km, and 220KM. I did the 166km to Campbellville then returned home with the 100km group. So I have a unique perspective of 2 different group rides. My Intermediate ride for the weekend

Brisk pace down, Tim was at the front most of the time setting a perfect pace. The rolling hills broke us up but regrouped nicely at the top. Jim was shepherded nicely all the way to the lunch break.

Cool morning start, warmer clothing was chosen, and we see in this photo us passing the 220 group with a flat , still in Kitchener!
Traffic was nice and light

The first stop came up quickly,

Volunteer Carole and Robert and others unknown provided food and sag support. Awesome

While resting at the stop the 220 group flew by us the way to Twiss Rd .

Derry Rd to Bell School Line was busy but reasonable.
Mark cautioned the group for our turn from Appleby to Limestone Rd for it’s tricky speeding downhill, left turn while on the brakes. Really good advice as usual from Mark.
Lunch at Campbellville, food from Freshi

More volunteers here as well.
I switched sides here in Campbellville and returned with Kerry and April’s group.

More riders here with this being their first Really Big Ride. Legs were fading. But the hearts were still in it. Nice pleasant ride back, a little more traffic and crossing highway #6 can be a little breath taking!

The Prez helping at the back.

What a great cause to ride for today. And fun. And food. And a big ride for most of us.