Christmas Greetings

Wow, where did the time go. Can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner! It seemed to really sneak up on people this year, which in a way seems weird considering the amount of snow we have had this December. You think we would have been long prepared.

So what has been happening the last while? Well we are officially the biggest tour to cross North America! We now officially have 104 cyclists riding straight across! Another 46 are doing sections of the tour! This is so exciting. It's hard to believe that the tour is only another 6 months away. I sent out fundraising letters a couple of weeks ago to my church but hope to really launch my fundraising come January. It's great how many of my friends and family have already showed their support and want to help me in my fundraising in whatever way they can. Many e-mails regarding fundraising ideas and other bike related items have been flying back and forth between the cyclists on the tour. It's so great to see how others are doing and how they are coming up with the funds for the tour.

Obviously though I have stopped biking outside. With 3 storms having hit our area already there is no way you will see me outside on a bike in this weather. Instead I have retreated to the gym for spinning classes twice a week, soon to be 3 times. I even ended up taking a course to get my own spinning instructor certificate. My friend Mari has been so wonderful and has given me some pointers, so over the holidays I hope to put some spinning sets together and then hopefully in the new year I'll be able to start teaching at my own gym :) I'm kind of nervous in someways (as I've never felt that I had the qualities to be a teacher of any kind) but I have had so much encouragement from those who know me well that I am also really excited about this new venture and feel I need to push myself and try something out of the box for me.

Lately I've been reading the devotional What's So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey and it amazes me how so often we forget that is exactly what God is about. What us Christians should be about. Giving grace. Just today I listened to this YouTube post about a boy who talks about how he had to put down his sick cow and he yelled out to God, "Why, she was special to me?" and God answered him, "You know, my son was special but he died for a purpose and it's kind of the same thing." God understands when we go through these moments because his own son died for us so that we might live. At this time of the year though we remember the birth of Jesus. How he was sent to earth to give grace to those of us who are so underserving. Sometimes we as humans (myself included) forget that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more or nothing we can do to make God love us less. I pray every day that I can lead a life of grace to those around me because God showed me grace. I pray that God may use me and challenge me to become a living answer to those around me who desperately want to know Grace in their lives.

Well I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May God bless us all as he always does and may we all enjoy our time spent with family. I can't wait for the days I'll get to spend with my family. See you in the new year!

God's blessings through friends

When I look back at the last 10 years of my life, I have really seen God watching over me and answering my prayers through the people he has brought into my life. Over the years I have come to the realization that some friends are meant to always be a part of my life and others are only passing through, but with that realization comes also the understanding to truly appreciate those around me while they are in my life. I've learned that some will just drift through and others will touch your heart stronger than you might realize at first but they are all a part of your life for a reason.
There have been a few times were I have sadly been hurt by those in my life and times where I have felt myself rather alone, but when I most needed a friend in my life God has always come through and put that person there.
The first time was when I first started College and all those highschool friends who you thought you would be "Friends-4-Ever" with seem to disperse into their own new lives. At that time I met my best friend, Julia. She has been the biggest blessing in my life and I am thankful to God everyday that she is a part of my life...of course I wish she lived a lot closer as she also moved across Canada 6 years ago but whenever we talk on the phone or get together on vacation time it's like no time has passed. Julia and I have been through hard times and bad times and of course good times, and believe me we have had our share but we have always been there for eachother, always with listening ear, a great big hug and love. Right now she is going through some hard times again with her health and I lift her to God and entrust him as I know he will take care of her and watch over her. I love you so much Julia. Don't ever forget how special you are to me.
Another moment was 2 years ago when I lost another best friend in my life but God came through again and I met the most amazing friends when I started rock climbing. Though some of us don't see each other as much as we use too (down to maybe once or twice a month as most of them no longer climb, you suck guys ;) lol) we have had some great times and moments and I am so glad to still be a part of this amazing group of friends.
Recently I have been going through some other changes. Though I can't go into much detail I've had to give space to someone who I hung out with a lot and is very special to me and it's been hard to not get to talk all the time and hang out one on one but hopefully in due time that will be able to happen again. Another good friend is going traveling for a month and then next May is moving away to NWT.
Now what made me start this blog that seems to not really have anything to do with biking or the sea to sea? Well actually it has a lot to do with them both. Because of biking and especially the tour God has brought a new friend into my life and I am so thankful. Though I love all my friends, I don't have many friends who are christians and lately I have been really needing to have someone who is and who I can talk about things that affect my life as a Christian and to discuss my faith with. Someone who can understand where I am coming from without judging but also will point things out that I might need reminding of.
Last Saturday Hilena and I went out again for another road ride. November 3 and the weather was georgeous still! Beautiful colours on the trees, bright shiny sun and great company. Nothing like riding and laughing as you go along :) I took my camera along this time (though sadly it died after only a few photos, guess I should have checked the batteries) and we had fun taking some goofy shots :) We ended up going for a 50km ride in about 2 hours. Had a bit of wind on our way back in. After riding we got cleaned up and headed out for dinner to fill our starving tummies. It's unbelievable how with some people you just click and talk about everything under the sun. In fact we did so much talking we pretty much missed the movie we were planning on seeing after. LOL. Oh well, what can you do :) It was almost a perfect "date". LOL
I am looking fwd to next year when I will get to meet all the other cyclists on the tour. I know many more friendships will be made, some stronger than others, but all will make an impact on my life and I am thankful for the opportunity.
In closing I just want to say that sometimes it is hard to see people go in and out of your life but remember God is always there and is always watching over us and he will always put people in your life when you need it. Have you thanked God lately for those friends in you life?

"You turned my wailing into dancing...and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever." - Psalm 30:11-12

"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me." - Psalm 13:5-6

100 cyclists!!

That's right. I checked the Sea to Sea website today and there are 100 cyclists now signed up for the tour!! How awesome is that!
But we still want more. So if you are thinking about it I really encourage you to sign up. Don't think about all the what if's and how am I going to be able to do this and so on. Remember God is a big God and he is always watching over us. If it is in his plan for you to be on this tour things will fall into place. Trust in him.
Just think of all the amazing memories to come! and all the people you will meet.
Please also continue to keep the committe and all those involved in the tour in your prayers.
This is going to be a great summer! See you there!

Beautiful Weekend

What a great weekend. We had amazing weather with high's of 18 and 25 degrees for mid October! Couldn't ask for anything more...well maybe less wind, right Hilena? lol
Hilena is another rider on the Sea to Sea. We connected about a month ago and have made it out for 2 rides so far. It's been so great having someone to ride with, especially since we click so well. Quite amazed actually that I found someone who talks more than I do! lol.
So we planned for an afternoon ride and originally I was going to just do my "usual" route that I had taken her out on the week previous but due to winds coming from the west at 35-40km/hour I thought it best that I change it up and do more of a south/north route. So we rode off to Paris. The winds were a bit strong on our way out but not too horrible. The colours on the trees are finally becoming more brilliant which made for a touch of heaven feeling. Especially when we turned down this one road with the winds at our back, the colours were just amazing and we were just flying along with absolutely no effort. I looked down to notice we were going between 35-40km/hour.
But of course the very last part of our ride was back into those winds and we had 2 hills to go and I swear that wind picked up to over 40km/hr, I don't know but man was it tough, then we were only doing like 18km/hr. Hilena and I kept taking turns leading so the other could have a break for a moment while drafting.
In total we did about 42km in just under 2 hours. Not the fastest but a very enjoyable ride to say the least, with excellent company.
Saturday night was another evening spent in the presence of God. Brian Doerksen was playing here in Cambridge at Forward Baptist Church. My best friend Julia gave me my first CD of him a number of years ago for my birthday. I now have all 3. He is so talented when it comes to music, and the lyrics really speak to the heart and worship of God. The place was packed with people. I went with my wonderful Aunt Yolanda and Uncle Donnie. (Also great company.) I want to write so much more here but sometimes I find it hard to really put into words how I feel. It just simply was an amazing evening of worship.
Sunday was another great day, went for a rollerblade down at Pier 4 in Hamilton and then spent the afternoon with my parents.
I truly felt blessed this weekend.

September - What a great month!

Wow can't believe I totally missed writing anything on here in September. Well, it was a pretty busy month. Ended up taking 2 weeks off of biking after my injury and during that time I ended up moving into my own basement apartment!! Very exciting. Been here for over a month now and I absolutely love it. Love that it's my little space.

Managed to get 2 more rides in with the freewheel group before we sadly had to close up shop due to the sun setting ealier and earlier. Can't believe the summer is over already...sigh...

My name officially was placed on the Sea to Sea website and now if you go there, there is even a link to my own profile/donation page. Things sure are coming along!! Dave R. even has even put together a forum for the cyclist who are partaking in the Sea to Sea. Can't wait to really get to know eachother. Definantly can tell there are alot of different types of personalities and characters coming on this tour. Hopefully we can all learn a little something from each other.

Started rock climbing again. Just casually though this winter. I had stopped last Feb. due to training for the Paris to Ancaster Bike Race and because I was finding I was getting fustrated alot due to the fact that I wasn't coming enough so I wasn't advancing in my skills and usually felt like I was going backwards on my skills. I really do enjoy rock climbing though so this year I've promised myself to just have fun with it and just take it as it comes.

Once I got back on my bike part way through September I had to step it up a notch as I had one more race to go, St. Catharine's Liberty Squeezer 30km Mtn Bike Race. My friend Derek (who just started biking this summer) also decided he was going to try the race out, which I was super excited about. We went out for a really good ride to warm up in the Dundas Valley a couple of weekends before. I couldn't believe that here he had just started riding this summer and already he was nearly kicking my butt in riding...of course that was in the first half of the ride. Then his cardio ran out and I smoked him....well kind of...lol. It's sad and I hate to admit it, but no matter how much us girls train and gain muscle and strenght, boys are just naturally stronger. Man that sucks!

The few days before the race (which was on Sept. 30) I wasn't able to get any pre-riding in but for good reason. My gradeschool best friend who moved to Calgary before Gr.3 and I haven't seen (we figure) in about 11 years was coming down for my friend (her cousin) Melanie's Wedding. I was so excited to get to see her again after sooo long. I was a little nervous though too, would we connect? Would we have enough to talk about? Well let me tell ya, I picked her up after work on the friday and we didnt' get to bed till 2am cause we couldn't stop talking or giggling. Felt awesome. It's sad how as you grow up you don't seem to laugh that "laugh till your sides and your cheeks ache laugh" like you did when you were younger. Why is that I wonder. Is it just the opportunity isn't there as much? Or you just don't seem to get as deep with those around you? Hmm, who knows. But it sure is great when you get too! The wedding was great and the weather was perfect for an end of September wedding. Melanie looked absolutely georgeous. The reception was tons of fun too. Funny thing is I was joking about the food and what was being served as well for those of you who ride a wee bit more serious know what you eat the night before a race is fairly important and can make quite a bit of difference in how you feel while riding. Mel told me to sign up for the Veggie dish as it was going to be pasta. I said perfect, I need my carbs...and I am sure I can sneak a piece of chicen somewhere. Well, let me tell you...everyone at my table was drooling over my meal and wishing they had the veggie dish as well :) Plus sneaking a piece of chicken was no problem as the food was passed around each table :) All right! lol. I was soooo stuffed. The only thing that was too bad was I didn't end up using my 2 free drink tickets as I just didn't want anything bringing me down (that and for some reason later on in the evening I wasn't feeling so hot :P), but still danced the night away. It was sooo hard to leave and go home cause we were having so much fun. But I finally found myself in bed about 12:45am.

We had another perfect weather day for the race. The track was beautiful. So dry, but not too dry that there was alot of dust. Definantly the best year out of the 3 that I have been apart of this race. I ended up in the 2nd wave this year (there were 1100 people out this year and they send the groups out in segments, 7 min apart). The last 2 times I had been in the 4th wave so all of a sudden I had a little less time to get ready...yikes! and would you believe my friend Derek who has never done a race, also ended up in my wave!! Crazy. Poor guy was a wee bit nervous at first, but let me tell ya, he biked a good one. In fact for the first 5km or so he was ahead of me!! Till he nicked a tree and then I passed him and left him to eat my dust ;) (Love ya Derek if you are reading this, hehe) My friends Mari and Dave were also in the 2nd wave as they were riding single speed bikes. Mari is smoking fast and has strength like no other...which became obvious when it was later realized she was the only female single speed rider!! First place for her :) Dave passed me a couple of km's into the ride and I was waiting for Mari to do the same, but it didn't happen for quite some time...well actually it didn't happen at all b/c at one point all of a sudden I heard her say "Hey Steph" behind me and I was like, I'm half way through this now there is no way I am letting her get by me now :) lol. She was an added push which I credited her for later, lol. She is such a motivator.

I wasn't sure how well I was doing at times but I was feeling so great so I started thinking, hmmm maybe I have a chance at podium again. I'm going to push it hard...no pain no gain. At one point I ended up hearing the people who were handing out banana's at the half way point yell out, "Hey it's a girl rider." I took that for not many others had come by yet, so I was feeling really good at this point. I definantly was feeling this ride as I never got off for any of the tricky spots this year and even made it up a few sharp super rocky spots that the boys weren't even doing :) There was a camera man at the top of that one saying "That's right you show them how it's done." What can I say, makes me smile :) Near the end with only a few km's left 2 girls ended up getting by me. I was like, noooo. What if they are in my category. I just got bumped. I have to catch them. So I went hard after them and twice I nearly went over my handlebars. The end part is very dug out with a bit of puddles and one that I went through in order to get by the one girl ended up being wayyyy deeper than I thought it would be. My bike clipped the side wrong and swung out sideways. I was like oh man I'm done, but somehow I managed to stay on 'er and kept on going, of course I had put a bit of distance again between me and those 2 riders.

Near the end I caught the one girl on the last bit and there is this last hill right before the finish and I was in such a hard gear as I had been pushing to get by her and I hadn't geared down fast enough but it was too late for that hill but with the adrenaline (and the crowd is there as well as my parents screaming and cheering :) ) the pain disappears and I went. Then I saw the other chick and thought I could catch her...would have too had there been about 1/4 of a km extra to go. Ah well in the end I ended up finding out that neither were in my category after all, lol. Ah well gave me a good time!

But the best part is...I did end up getting podium!! I finished 2nd in the Female 20-29 age category!! and I was only 3min behind first place. I came in at 1 hour 35 min. I had shaved another 20 min off my time from the previous year. There ended up being 27 females in my group and in total I was 19th out of 156 women (of all categories) and 362 out of 996 men and females (of all categories). Feeling sooo good!

I was soo proud of my friend Derek too. His first race and he came in only 7 min after me at a time of 1hour 43 min. You rock Derek! My friend Mari came in only 2 min after me for a time of 1 hour 37 min! She is fast! and remember that's on a single speed!!

There's another reason though I love this race. It's also St. Catharine's Wine and Grape festival!! So afterwards (as a cyclists you get a few free tokens) you get to go for yummy food and wine, mmmmm. So good :) After the food we waited around to get my medal and for prizes after. No big wins though :( but did manage to snag a bike pump thanks to Derek's long arms :)

Well sad to say, I have about hung up my mtn bike for the year (unless a few friends want to make a day of it on a weekend) and it's back to road riding on the weekend and spinning classes or the trainer during the week night. Can't wait for the first Freewheel Cycle group ride of the season already set for April 7th :) Yep I'm weird :) But I love my biking!

Hot August Nights 24 Hour Bike Race

Race time again at Albion Hills :) I've been racing on the coroporate team with Wescam for about 4 summers now (man time flies). I love going to these weekends. Such a great atmosphere and everyone there is there because they love riding and want to have a good time. What more can you ask for.

Well this time was going to be a little different than usual with only one corporate team (10 person) entered (normally we have 2). Little too bad but what can you do. Summer time is busy for people (though really they should get their priorities straight, what could be more important than riding ;) ). The weekend at first wasn't looking to great weather wise either. Poor Chelsea and Paul headed up on the friday and got majorly poured on. I headed up on Sat morning this time. It poured on most of my drive up. I was wondering why I was putting myself through this wishing for awhile that I had been one of those who couldn't make it, but I couldn't pull out or I would be considered one of the "uncool" people according to Chris, who stated that it would be "uncool" to pull out at the last minute (lol). Too much pride I guess.

Amazingly though (well considering I prayed almost the whole way up that this rain wasn't hitting Albion Hills) it wasn't raining there :) But of course that would change later :P I was the 4th person to show up at 10:30am and the race was starting at 12pm. Slowly more of our team trickled in. We started with 6 people at 12 (oh dear, lol), but later 2 more of the guys showed up and one on Sunday morning (for the good weather...wus...lol).

Definantly a lot less people at this race overall. Alot of last minute back outs...scared of getting wet??? The rain came halfway through my teamate Chelsea's lap (poor girl, the one thing she hoped wouldn't happen) and did it come down for awhile...of course I was after her so here I was getting ready in this miserable weather (but at least it was still fairly warm out) thinking this sucks and I was definantly not all that excited about going out for my lap. It rained for the beginning of my lap and then cleared up but unfortunatly it left alot of the roots very slick. I was off my bike a lot more then I normally am, which kind of sucked but what can you do. Otherwise the lap felt pretty good. Apparently the laps were about 16.5 km. The only unfortunate part was they had put the S16 single track in and let me tell you I hate S16. It is very technical. Needless to say I walked quite a bit of it. There was no way I was breaking any bones right at the end of the lap (this time anyhow :P). I had done quite a bit of praying beforehand to God about coming home with nothing broken...as you'll find out in a bit, apparently I needed to be a wee bit more specific, lol.

Oh the one great thing about us just being the one team this time was we snagged the best camp spot in the whole place. It was awesome! We had such a good view of a section of the trail (which is normally near the end but they changed the course all around this time). And oh man was there carnage here this time! There's this bridge just down a bit which is normally fine, but from all the rain it had spread quite a bit of sand as well on it. Well the first guys from the first lap came speeding through and one after another they wiped out right into the side of the wooden bridge! One guy even broke one of the posts! So for the next hour you heard various people (till first aid showed up) yelling, "Slippery bridge! Slow Down!" Finally Shawn (one of the coordinators) put up a big sign that said that...of course then we joked that he needed another sign that said, "Watch out for sign that says, Slipper bridge...." as the thing was sticking half out into the trail, lol. He wanted to make sure it caught peoples attention as it is amazing how riders can miss numerous warning signs on the trail. So any how that was our excitement for awhile :)

Did a lot of hanging out inbetween. Had a nice massage from my wonderful massage therapist, Sam (whose been there every time I have, so I always go to her now...oh yeah the race provides the option to sign up with a massage therapist...very nice! Does cost though but at least they are there for that option).

So now to my second lap. It was early in the morning (cause yes I am a wus when it comes to riding at night...eventually I will do it) part of the dawn lap actually. It was such an awesome lap. I was going so fast this time as everything had dried up and I had somehow found my cornering back (hugging the corners closer) and everything was feeling great. I was barely getting tired and was flying up the hills. Everything was so good infact that I started going over the stuff that I walked in the S16 single track section....until I hit this one section (that I never do) and just went for it...next thing I knew was my body was being thrown off my bike and slammed, neck first, into a tree and then down to the ground. Groannn! Thank goodness there happened to be 2 spectators there and they grabbed my bike (which amazingly didn't break or anything) and made sure cyclists were aware of me and didn't ride over me. I had to lay there for a few minutes, making sure I hadn't broken a collarbone or anything else cause let me tell ya, I was flying fast through that trail so it ended up being quite a strong impact. I got up after a few minutes, got myself oriented and jumped back on my bike...hey, I only had like .5km to go! I wasn't quiting. Managed to get out of the single track, though proceded to walk a few more technical spots and rode the last bit in.

On my way back to the campsite I guess the shock of it all wore off and all of a sudden the pain started to hit me and I couldn't stop the tears from coming. I hated riding into the site like that but I could feel my neck starting to stiffen as well as my back and just wanted to sit or lay down. I think I scared people though when I got back because for some reason everyone decided to give me space for what seemed like an awful long time before someone came over to ask if everything was alright. I layed down for awhile to just rest. I had booked a massage though so I got up about 30min later, had something to eat and hobbled back over as I couldn't stand straight any more. The most amazing thing was nothing had broken but of course I prayed for that, but this is what I meant by being more specific, lol. As I was pretty stiff for the next couple of days and took about 2 full days to be able to lift my arm all the way up. Still a bit sore overall but amazingly almost no bruising either! God is amazing! Thanks for keeping me safe.

Found out later that poor Sab had also had a run in with the tree and broke his bike and hurt his leg and Trevor as well broke his fork and ran out of lights part way through his last lap. Everyone ended up taking off early on sunday and didn't stick around for the prizes or awards later. Sunday though ended up turning into a beautiful day! Just georgeous!

So except for a few mishaps the weekend was still a fairly good success. Our team came in 47 out of 89 teams in the corporate category thanks to the fast guys who are usually on the fast team, unlike me who just sticks to the fun team (not as bugged to do night laps then ;) ).

I realized that next year I probably won't be making either of the 24 hours as I will be away at the Sea to Sea but I think I can handle that, lol. (I added a bunch of pics of our campsite, riding, where I fell and my wound.)

Almost a great ride

The other day someone told me about this great site called http://www.bikely.com/ so I checked it out and found a route new to me and near my area. Quite a bit of it followed along the Grand River so I was looking forward to that...of course I didn't end up seeing the river till the point in which I was turning off that Hwy, lol. Oh well.
Today was a great day for a ride though. Absolutely beautiful weather out, 18 degrees when I started, rose to about 24 degrees. 15km/hr NW winds. Wasn't too bad. Traffic was fairly light for the most part but it's funny how the cars seem to drive by in packs.

So anyhow why was it almost a great ride? Well after having riden already 58 km I was on the home stretch, back on familiar roads, about 7 km left to go. Feeling a bit hungry and a wee bit tired but otherwise feeling great. I was setting up for the 3rd last hill, hitting some higher gears when I felt it and heard my rim scrapping against the road...noooooooooo. I had blown a tube somehow, though funny I hadn't heard it blow, shoot must have ridden over something sharp.

So off I get, dump everything out of my seat pack, thinking I sure hope I do this right this time. I was actually doing pretty good too, managed to get the tire off the rim fairly easily, took out the tube, didn't see where the hole was so I ran my fingers along the inside of my tire just to make sure there was nothing sharp still in there. So I got my tube in all set to be blown up, set up my CO2 cartrige and...nothing...great...what did I do wrong this time. Stupid valve didn't get punctured and there was noooo way I could tighten it any tigher. That's it, I am done with those cartriges, they never work for me!! I am officially buying a small pump for my road bike!

So now what to do? Well this is why you always carry a cell. Called home to see if my roomate happend to be there...nope...next called a few friends from Brantford...none of them were home....hmmm. Well you know maybe I will just go knock on that lovely house's door across the street. Thankfully a girl about my age answers the door. "Sorry to bother you but by chance would you happen to have a bike pump?" Well she didn't have a pump but she was on her way into Brantford and would be willing to drop me off at my place. WOW how awesome is that. "Thank you sooo much I really appreciate it." So I went and put my bike back together as she finished getting ready, then loaded my bike in her truck and off we went. It's amazing where you can find good samaritans, eh! Sure saved me about a 30-40min walk back home lugging my bike along.

So sadly I didn't get my full ride in but up to that point it was great none-the-less.
58km in 2 hours 10 min. (suppose to be a 66km route)
26.5km average

Monday Night Road Ride

Well, only just my second time out on Monday's ride and already I could definantly tell that I had improved in the 2 weeks since the last group ride. Phewww! Though I'll admit that long ride up Valley Road though I was a good 5 km faster than previous, I was still going a measly 11-12km/hour up it :P But with practice it will come. I was not near as far behind the pack this time and they barely had to wait for me at the top.

I had been working on keeping my cadence higher as well, trying to spin faster rather than mashing all the time and wow did my legs ever thank me. I was able to handle most of the ride this time and had only one fall back which I later recovered from and all of a sudden found this burst of energy! It was awesome! The winds were really strong on this ride too but thankfully it was "sort of" at our backs on our way back home. In total we went for a 62km ride in about 2 hrs 15 min.

Also made it for the Wescam Mountain Bike Ride the next night. Just a few of us but it was great getting out on my mtn bike again. It had been awhile as it alwasy seems to be crappy weather on those nights.

My mom was over tonight and we took a couple of pics of me and my be-u-ti-ful bike as I didn't have any yet (shame on me I know). Almost ready to send all my papers and stuff in to officially register for the Sea to Sea and get my name up on their website :)

Finding the right adjustment - never easy

Well I started the weekend out with a visit to my friends (and fellow riders) Mari and Dave's place. They have been so wonderful to me, helping me set my bike up to the best it can be. I have had a lot of issues with my back on my road bike which has been pretty frustrating at times but I feel like I am slowly getting to the right adjustments on my cannondale. A couple of riders on last Mondays ride made a comment that my seat seemed to be a few notches too high which can shift my pelvic area and arch my back which can then add to a sore back, so Dave helped me alter that a bit. He also is lending me one of his own fork's to swap on my bike to see if I need the extra height as I have felt like in the past that my back can't handle being so far down. He is such a great guy! I can't believe he trusts me so, but he says anything to help a fellow rider get out more.
Well I was going up to Long Point at a friends cottage for the weekend but I wanted to get in a decent ride on sat morning. So out I went just after 10ish in the morning (a bit of a slow start but what can I say :) ) I realized after a bit that my shoulders were feeling jammed again into my handle bars. I decided that maybe the seat had been shifted down just a bit too much, so I got off, took out my tools and shifted 'er back up a touch but after about 6km my seat was really rubbing and making for an uncomfortable ride and I was feeling like I was stretched out too far again. So once again I got off my bike, took out my tools and slide my seat a touch forward (as I realized I must have accidentally pushed it back a bit when I was playing with it before). It's unbelievable how just cm's can make such a difference. But I know Lance himself says he can tell when a mechanic has slightly adjusted his bike to not the right measurements. He says since he knows his bike so well he can tell when things are off even by a few cm's! Being a lot less experienced, even though I can feel in my body things are not quite right, to actually figure out where the problem is, is not so easy.
But off I went again having only road 15km in like 35 min or so because of all my stops :P The rest of the ride was a good one but on my way out I had strong winds so I was going pretty slow. The way back was way more fun. In total I did 55km, home by 12:30pm.
Managed to get another ride in on Monday morning as well. The ride felt way better. Though this time I had the head wind on my way back. It was a strong one again. I seem to be only able to go about 22km/hour when going into the wind. I have to figure out how to go faster but I guess that just comes with strength. I'm trying to make my rides longer and longer but even though I feel like I am adding on new routes and today I ended up going to Copetown and back and then in the last half of my ride going all around Brantford it still ended up being only 58km! Riding time was 2hours and 20 min. Funny thing is, my back felt a lot better today. I think I will hold off for another week or so, get some more riding (with this latest adjustment) under my belt before I swap stem's. Though I think I still need to change my handlebars at some point. The reach to my hubs is good, but my reach to the horn's seems to be just a bit too far (noticed on last Monday's road ride that they all had shorter handlebars). Sigghh, so much to do! and figure out! But at least I got a few more months on the road before the winter and another 10 months before the tour next year to sort everything out.

Just the beginning

Well, I thought that maybe since I was going to be participating in this big adventure next summer that maybe I would try out the blog thing to keep track of it all. I'm definantly more of a designer than I am a writer but please bare with me (and my spelling :P). So here goes...

Earlier this year I found out that my church denomination (Christian Reformed - CRC) is planning another "Sea to Sea" in 2008. What is a "Sea to Sea" event? Well in 2005 the CRC planned a tour that saw 160 cyclists ride across Canada to celebrate the 100 year anniversary for CRC in Canada and at the same time raise funds for Church planting. In 2008, they plan a similiar tour across much of the U.S. and part of Canada and could have as many as 500 participants riding!!
So how am I involved? Well after much prayer I felt that God was calling me to be a cyclist in this tour. Believe me, this decision did not come lightly or with out stress. Trying to figure out where my life is going, my job, where I wanted to live. Everything seemed to be effected by this decision on what to do.
The issues of poverty in this world has been weighing heavy on my heart (especially in the last few years) and I have had a strong need and want to do something that can make a difference. When I found out that the Sea to Sea in 2008's focus was in raising funds for poverty around the world and combined with my love of riding I knew that God was calling me and saying, "Hey here's your chance".
I have been mountain biking for, oh let's see, 4 or 5 summers now and in February 2006 I bought my first road bike. Let me tell ya, learning how to ride a road bike after being on a mountain bike for so long is not as easy as you think. My balance sucked!! But in the last year I have been doing a lot of training for my mtn bike races and have been on my road bike a fair amount and I am definantly improving.
In fact I went out for my first group road ride last night. I was pretty nervous as I know riding by yourself is completely different than riding with others. I had been averaging 26 km/hr on my usual route with minor hills at best. The ride ended up being pretty good. We did 58 km in 2 hours averaging 27.8 km/hr though often on the flats they were flying between 30-35km/hr. I was able to keep up for the first half but then my legs gave out. In a slight mercy I blew a tube so we had to stop for a minute to get that fixed and I had time to rest and recover for the remainder of the ride. I definantly realized I have not been pushing myself hard enough still and have a lot of work to go...but I will get there. Keep ya posted on how things go :)