It’s the start of the cycling season. The cycling monuments are under way and the Ronde is our tribute to the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders), which is underway as I type this. 2022 is the second time I’ve taken part, the first time was last year. With COVID rules being relaxed, it was an official club event this year, and we had 42 people sign up. It made for quite the crowd, but being outdoors and distanced, I wasn’t too worried.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35610206
This ride is a test of early-season endurance: of the 42 starters, only 12 finished, there was a faster group of five, and my group of seven. The start of the ride was at 10 am, and we finished a little after 6 pm. My final distance was 136 km, including the ride to the start.
Adam and I rode to the start at 9:00. It was warmer than last year, but the weather forecast looked sketchy. Chris Roy was the organizer of the ride and the master of ceremonies.
The group rolled together through the first three hills. The third hill is a nasty 24% climb in Bridgeland, and by that time most riders had sorted themselves out and tested their legs. Last year I had to push my bike up this, but I made it to the top this year. Part of the credit has to go to the fact that I was on Blue Steel, my Norco gravel bike, that has different gearing from my Roubaix road bike.
I was in a large “medium pace” group for most of the day. There was a faster group up the road and a slow group behind. I seemed to be the nominal leader of the group, mostly because I’d done the ride before and I was doing a good job of reading my GPS computer.
My group included Crooksy, Mark Fed, Peter and Adam, but when it is about 20 people (and you’re leading the way) there’s not a lot of “cohesion”.
The weather turned after the lunch stop. We rode through a flurry of snow as we climbed back up into Edgemont, and by the time we were riding through Scenic Acres and up into Tuscany, it was an icy headwind. Given the conditions, it wasn’t surprising that my group welcomed a stop in my garage for some shelter and some food and drink. Tammy had put out a table with water, coffee, bars and bananas.
With the weather worsening, our group started to fall apart. I know I was sorely tempted to just stay home… Tammy took this video out the window as we departed again.
Eleven climbed up COP together, and then only seven finished: myself, Doug, Adam, Liz, Heather, Brenda and Andrew (including three new club members!). Ironic, considering that the weather actually improved a lot and was pleasant by the end.
Our group split up when we reached Eau Claire. Adam and I started riding home. I tried dictating a text to Tammy to arrange a pickup, but Siri mangled it so much I cancelled it, intending to ride partway or all the way home. But little did I know, she was already heading downtown to pick me up. I had the extraordinary good luck to spot her going by on Memorial Drive as Adam and I were riding the other way. A short phone call and a U-turn by me later, I was putting my bike on the car and getting a ride home.
Congratulations on making the ride!!!!
No wonder it took so long, a straiter line would have been faster,HA HA