First ride of the season
Well, maybe that title is not quite accurate. It wasn’t the first ride of the season, just the first on what felt like a genuine spring day: sunny, tending to warm, and bikes starting to swarm the streets. It was 6 pm by the time I got home, dug my tights and jersey out, found my shoes, and unlocked the bike. I opted for the new urban bike: a Norco XFR hybrid that I picked up on sale at my local bike shop. The XFR features skinny 700c wheels, which are road, not mountain bike size, flat bars and a front shock with a lockout feature. I had the shop install a rack on the rear, and I plan to use the bike as my urban transit as much as possible. It weighs a ton, something around 28 pounds, and makes my road bike feel like a feather. But the riding position is comfortable and I figure that pushing all that bulk up hills will be the cycling equivalent of lifting weights.
As I set off down the back lane and up the first gentle climb I was shocked at how soon I was wheezing and felt strained. Let’s face it, this has been a bad winter for staying fit! Soon enough though, I settled into the groove and found my pace, letting my heart rate settle down to a more sustainable pace.
The cars made me nervous, whizzing by at what felt like inches away. This would take some getting used to again. Rounding Marine Drive, through UBC, I was passed by a couple on hybrid bikes. We started the descent to the beach, and I kept pedalling down the slope, passing the woman while she coasted. Her partner kept on pedalling, and I began to gain on him as we reached the flats along Spanish Banks.
It always turns into a race.
We all caught up together, and she passed me once more. I sat on the back of our little trio and enjoyed the draft. I read somewhere that a cyclist drafting uses some 30% less energy than riding into the wind alone or in the front. That leads to overconfidence, feeling that you could easily drop the group and press out on your own. I did just that, and the couple easily caught up, and now sat in my draft. I pushed on, and stood on the pedals determined to drop them. For a couple of hundred meters I did, and then they were again, patiently sitting on my wheel.
At Jericho Beach, I turned off and headed back the way I came. Now I was going into a slight headwind, and my early season legs were aching. A few road bikes blasted by me like I was standing still as I started the climb back up UBC hill. One road bike passed me, and I noticed that the rider was close to my own age group, and looked a little heavy for a roadie. Oddly, he stopped pedalling right after passing me, and so I had to pull out and go by him. A little further up the hill, he passed me again and once more briefly stopped turning the cranks. Somehow I had become his mark, and I sensed opportunity. My legs were feeling broken in by now, and I stepped on the gas and passed him once more. I avoid looking behind me after passing someone, so I watched over my shoulder for his shadow. He faded away and I notched one victory for my Sherman Tank of a hybrid over a road bike.
It always turns into a race.
By now the sunlight was starting to fade and I tried to zip up my jacket one-handed. No such luck. I sat up, unsteady, and used both hands to pull the zip up as the front wheel wobbled. Right then I passed a roadside memorial, faded flowers and pencilled notes. I had to wonder if that was a cyclist, and quickly put my hands back on the bar.
Then the long flat ride out Marine Drive, a brief climb up Camosun, and home. It’s good to be back.
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Tags: bike, commuter bike, cycling, hybrid bike, riding, vancouver cycling
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