Mental Barriers

Three weeks ago 55km seemed like a long distance to plan to ride. My average rides "back in the day" in Vancouver were around 60km, from Kits to Horseshoe Bay and back. I rarely went more than that. Now that I think back, I'm not sure why. I think the terrain around Vancouver made it more difficult; you couldn' t go too far in one direction without running into a mountain or river. More specifically, you couldn't go on a road forever before you had to hit a busy highway.

Cars and bikes don't mix too well.

Toronto is surprisingly good for cyclists though. You can travel in a straight line here for a long time. There are usually a lot of cars though, and the bike lanes are non-existent, but there are places you can go.

Three weeks ago it was a big loop, down Lakeshore to Winston Churchill, up to Burnhamthorpe, back to Royal York, and down to home. Busy around Square One, but otherwise ok. Legs hurt after 55km, but it was a good start considering it was the first real ride I've done since around August last year.

Two weeks ago I wanted to try going to Burlington. I wasn't sure if I'd make it all the way there, but I set out down Lakeshore on a nice day and kept going until I felt like turning around. I made it to downtown Burlington, stopped for a look at the Burlington Skyway which was creepily close to me, and promised I'd make it there next week. 82km.

Then yesterday I went for it. Same route, nice day, left earlier than before, knowing it would take me longer. Wind was against me the entire way, which sucked, but I kept going because I knew that the trip home would be oh so sweet (it was).

Through Burlington, under the Skyway, all the way to the outskirts of Hamilton. Then back.

100km.

Pretty fucking sweet for my third weekend out.

I think I'm going to try writing these while I'm out. I think I'm funnier after 50km and a Clif Bar.