The 2020 ii News Retrospective will be published later today, but for now, here’s all the cycling news that happened in the year that was 2020…
Whereas I started last year’s Roundup by observing that 2019 was more of the same, 2020 couldn’t have been more different. It was the first year since moving to Calgary that I didn’t take part in any organized gran fondo events. The Badlands Gran Fondo and the Tour de Victoria were both cancelled. And yet, lots still happened.
After doing over 10,000 km in 2019, I made a New Years’ resolution that was a little different than most: I resolved to cycle less. Or to be precise, to not worry so much about distance and more about the ride. I set a goal of 8,000 km which freed my mind to enjoy the activity. And yet, I ended up with 9,565 km, not exactly a huge step down.
2020 started normally: I signed up for the Badlands and the whole family was signed up for Victoria. I got a new Wahoo Kickr Core trainer for indoors, and I started making new decals for my bike on the Cricut Maker. Tammy and I attended the Bow Cycle Service School together (one of the last non-socially-distanced activities of the year). I killed the crank on my Valence from overuse and I even got promoted to Ride Director for the Bow Cyclist Club.
But that was when things started to go sideways. March break saw everyone being sent home just as the roads were clearing enough to go for a ride. The Alberta Bicycle Association lowered the boom on clubs and races, and it was clear that the season would start late, if it started at all. We started up Zwift rides five days per week and extended them to the public, which really caught on, at least until the weather was good. With COVID numbers falling and precautions in place, the BCC started rides in June. There were fewer, smaller groups, but we doubled the rider turnout this year, so it was really busy.
With the cancellation of the gran fondos, the BCC filled in the gap, organizing rides:
- Banff to Lake Louise
- Canmore to Banff
- Millarville / Road to Nepal
- Drumheller
They were well-received and I enjoyed the heck out of them, too. People started to get creative with their solo riding, and I joined in with an attempt at riding every road in Tuscany. I missed the Lake Louise ride because of my odd chest pains. For a bit in the summer I was wondering if I’d have to give up cycling because of it.
Then the summer ended. October was snowy, but November and early December was nice. I’d been putting off getting Ian a new bike, because he’s growing and it seemed a bad idea to get him one at the end of the season, but COVID has caused a global shortage in new bikes. So I ordered him a mountain bike and it arrived just as the snow came again.
The Zwift rides kicked off right away this fall, and we’re doing five club rides per week. I’ve noticed the difference, and it helped me blow through my distance goal for 2020 (not that I was worried about it).
Don’t know what 2021 will bring, but I doubt I’ll ever be complacent about it again.
As long as you enjoy the rides and not trying to set out hard to achieve goals….