The Ride Report

My Stats

The day started off clear and sunny at 7am, but by the time I was picking up the Starbucks at 8:30 on the way to the ride it had clouded over with a nice flat layer of grey. Not particularly threatening but keeping the temperature down at 14°C. The normal 9am sharp start time was delayed by a few minutes as on of the guys repaired a flat. This turned out to be the only mechanical difficulty of the ride as approximately 25 rides headed out.

A couple of route changes from the standard ride took place. Due to a race on a section of River Road, we went up Henderson Hwy and cut over the bridge to Lockport and resumed the normal route, until we hit Birds Hill Park. Once in the Park one of the ride leaders proposed cutting over to Garvin Rd via a path and the road that goes between Elmhurst and Pine Ridge golf courses. There was much objection about going thru this path. Many felt that it would be too muddy and heaped much durision on the person proposing the route change. We did it anyway. These roadies are a little too pristine. The path was a perfectly good single track and any mountain bike rider would think nothing of it. Sure there was a little mud, but nothing of concern even to a road bike.

Overall, the ride was quite relaxed by FOG ride standards, and there was just one group for the entire ride. The typical speed was kept under 35km and the only hard haul was up 206 where of course all the boys had to hammer up the hill to the Park entrance, into the wind of course. I think it was this relaxed because the racers were busy elsewhere.

By this time the clouds were darker and signs of rain were all around us, but we escaped getting caught in any serious rain. However, on the way home, minutes after getting back to the starting point, there was a heavy downpour that temporarily flooded the streets. I appreciated not getting soaked out on the ride! As always, a good ride and with the more relaxed pace, I’m not feeling totally wasted!