Macho Cycling

Yesterday was a great day for a leg-busting, neck-killing, shoulder-hurting, foot-swelling endurance ride, with the exception of a high UV index… the imminent danger of which was hidden by cloud cover. While I did remember to throw some sunblock in my jersey pocket (along with a near arsenal of emergency preparedness items), I was deceived by the lack of direct sunlight and threat of rainstorms, and never remembered to actually apply the goopy stuff.

My 5.5-hour adventure began somewhat accidentally. In fact, I had barely passed the 10k mark (Meadowlands Dr) when I debated turning around and subbing my ride for a swim … nature’s call so early in the game presented a problem for me – riding solo – and I am loathe to leave my bike even for a minute while making use of public facilities.

However I soon decided that turning back would waste too much good-weather time, presenting another discouraging hour of city riding and stoplights. Summoning up all my courage, I continued southward to Manotick, knowing that I’d need to problem-solve when the time arose. Today would be the day that I defined myself as a real cyclist! No measly bathroom break would get in the way of a good ride. If the guys could handle it, then so could I…

Well I made it to Manotick, eyes peeled for a convenient pit stop. I tried in vain to recall whether Cedarview S was less built-up, debated over taking Malakoff, and ended up just spinning on toward Kars. I slowed to check out every conservation or park area by the highway. A crazy notion came into my head, to wait until Kemptville and go down the nature trail there. I thought about hopping the barbed wire fence that stretched along both sides of the road indeterminately, and then realized I could easily puncture a tire by doing that.

I continued on, hoping for some more tree cover (a few less houses perhaps?) until I saw a small grassy swath leading away from the road, and no houses in sight. A few meters away, a semi-wooded area beckoned. While the mosquitoes were terrible, there was no poison ivy so all went well. Why do guys have it so easy?

Ok so, after that I was feeling a bit macho and reckless, so I thought I’d go to Kemptville after all… never mind that my longest ride this season was 72 km, and my longest ride last season was barely 140km. My left foot, injured after the marathon, wasn’t hurting too much on the bike, so I felt invincible.

I continued to within 5km of Kemptville, then decided that I wanted to go exploring. So I turned off at the Kemptville/ Merrickville sign and headed toward Burritt’s Rapids. The road was quiet and smooth, and the scenery was peaceful. I was cruising easily at about 30kph and kept on until I hit the village central. It was beautiful… next time I’ll stop by the locks for a break.

Well I should have noticed the big tailwind that helped me get there, because now I was fighting a headwind on increasingly tired legs. My speed dropped quickly and my feet began to suffer. I stopped at Rideau provincial park to drink some Gatorade and take a short rest. The little kiosk was selling Coke and worms… nothing I could use! After that, being exhausted, facing the wind, and in some pain, I started counting down the kilometres. 50 to go… 40 to go… 30 to go… I stopped briefly in Manotick to take my shoes off and get some circulation into my throbbing feet. I pedalled on… I knew this was a dumb idea, to almost double my mileage in a single afternoon, while injured! I hit Hunt Club, and saw an OBC rider heading out… he nodded, but I was too exhausted to acknowledge him. Then a right on Meadowlands, and it’s Colonel By Drive – the homestretch! I was thinking about how great it would be to chug a litre of cold water , and was looking forward to standing on some ice packs.

Thankfully, I didn’t hit many red lights. My bike computer logged 133.6km, which was too long a ride for my current state of health! But I was happy to be home, and certainly relished the beef & lentil burritos, frozen yogurt and blackberries I feasted on later. I don’t think I’ll even feel bad about taking a rest day today…