Wogster

It is now the 24th of September, my total distance for the month is 6km. It's been wet, it's been windy, and the few times the weather has cooperated, I've had something else get in the way.

September is supposed to be one of the better riding months, today the wind hasn't dropped below 35km/h, it's also tried raining, so the whole day was a write off, tomorrow, about the same, this year may be the worst yet......

There is always next year....

Seve

I could only manage ~25 kms today, because the wind just ate me up. Dust like stuff constantly getting into my eyes and tons of road debris to dodge certainly didn't make it any better.

JoelS

Go out and ride! I've been out with winds gusting as much as 50mph, and steady at 25mph. Been out in full downpour. Even been out in the snow (MTB). It's all in your attitude. Riding in foul weather is a ton of fun, if you let it be.

Wogster

Riding on country roads where there is only a car every couple of hours, yeah, in city traffic where there is a real possibility of getting blown across the road, under the wheels of some idiots stupid ugly vehicle, uh no. I decided a couple of years ago, if it's not fun, I'm not doing it. Weather the last couple of years has been awful, last year we had virtually no summer, this year we were in a wet blast furnace from June to August, so there wasn't much riding then, September is usually pretty good weather wise, still fairly dry, without the heat and humidity of summer. This year it's been terrible. Thinking of putting the bike on the trainer in the garage this afternoon, just to get some distance in, because it's still overly windy.

Neil_B

Toronto has a reputation for being a 'difficult' city for cyclists. I won't criticize the OP for being cautious.

Wogster

Toronto isn't that difficult, it's probably one of the better cities to ride in, if your downtown, I love riding downtown, The problem with wind isn't a head or tail wind, it's the side winds, that can blow you out into traffic. So I set limits, 25km/h above that it's simply too dangerous to ride in this city. On a country road where car traffic is infrequent, then that limit isn't needed. Unfortunately Toronto is surrounded by other cities, the outer suburbs, you need to go a good 20-25km to get out of the urban area, and when you don't have a car.....

2ndBackwall

I don't get it

I'm in Pickering.... Unless the Big Smoke has some odd weather patterns, this year has been great for riding.

Hot and humid, sure.. but I've ridden all summer. In fact, aside from the soupy humidity, it has been a relatively precipitation free summer. It's only rained a few times this month, and now it's cool and autumn like. Very nice riding.

Go East young man. Plenty of nice riding out here. You should be able to pick up the Waterfront trail and take it all the way past Oshawa. Not the most challenging course in the world, but it's great in the early morning when there are few people on it. Get to Lakeridge in Ajax, and head north if you'd like.... there's a big climb past 9th Concession, near Durham forest.

It's been a great riding season for me.

Wogster

The weather is only half the story, the last month has been busy, so riding has had to take a back seat, either the weather is bad, or something comes up, a lot has come up, and October promises to be stupid busy, as we are leaving the city. Let me squash a rumour right away, it has nothing to do with the Toronto mayors race, my wife has new job in small town Ontario, and we are heading there. Were not heading East, were heading North-West, to Wiarton, Ontario. People are less aware of cyclists in small town Ontario, but when the road only sees a couple of cars an hour, it's easy to stay out of the way. We are renting a house, for less then the apartment here, more then doubling the space, I'll probably put the bikes in the basement for the winter, set up the road bike on the trainer.

I work nights, and realise that, night work is pat of the problem, getting home in the morning I'm too tired, and getting up, the light is mostly gone, so I'm limited to weekends, and other stuff gets in the way now. Next year will be better.

cyclokitty 

The thought of Rob Ford as mayor terrifies me. I can picture him banning bikes off the roads and allowing them only in High Park with the marathon runners (also banned from the streets). We'll riding in circles past the musk oxen pens.

September hasn't been pretty. My commutes have been short and so has my free time. I've managed to keep Sundays has my long bike days. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed thatmthis Wednesday and Thursday will warm and sunny. I think I'll play hooky and ditch work in the afternoon!

skilsaw

Sometimes I need somebody to kick my ass and say "quitcher *****in"

skilsaw

I just got censored. Well, there's always a first time.

After I quit moaning like a female dog, I ride my bike,
and can't figure out what all the fuss was about.

Wogster

I was honestly thinking of refusing the ballot, as none of the candidates for Toronto mayor are worth voting for, I will not be in town on the day of the vote so it's moot.

I'll try to check in here every few days, but my participation is going to be spotty at best, for the next month or two, preparing for the move.... My bike riding is going to be the same......

jr59

Get some lights and rain gear and HTFU!

Life always finds a way of getting in our way. It's up to us to
find a way to work around these problems.

Don't let it defeat you.

Wogster

Considering that we have just over 2 weeks until we move, and about a months worth of crap to pack for moving, it's going to be unlikely that I will get a chance to ride before then, other then maybe 5km here or there. I work nights, got home today, wife tells me a mover is coming to give a quote, he totals up what we have and says 6,000lbs or 3 tons. I think half of that is books. The home office is a staging area, it's now half the size it used to be. The computer will get packed one of these days.... That will need to be one of the last items on and first items off.

Not sure what to do about the bikes, whether I should go to a bike shop and get some boxes and pack them or whether I should get a car carrier and do them with the car. I need to get a car as well..... I expect that October will be the busiest month this year....

2ndBackwall

The Bruce Peninsula is very nice.. you'll have some great riding next year, no doubt. Pretty flat, but very scenic, and nice and clean.

Some nice trail riding up there as well.

Great swimming too!

I love the place. I work up there from time to time, at the Bruce Nuke plant. Stay in Port Elgin and Kincardine from time to time. Nice beaches.. nice trails.. decent roads (for the most part).

Good luck being 'car free' in the winter though. Some pretty wicked snow/wind up there. Reckon I’d get into cross country skiing a lot more if I lived up there.

Good on ya, mate.

jyossarian

Oooohhh...Bruce Peninsula. My wife and I have been meaning to take a trip up there and do some camping before winter. As for riding, grab some quick ones to blow off steam and de-stress when you're done packing for the day.

StephenH

Here in the Dallas area, it's too hot to bicycle about 9 months out of the year. The other three months are too cold, too wet, too dark, too windy, or something. If you want to ride, you just do it anyway. If you wait for the right time, it comes about twice a year, and you won't be in shape to enjoy it when it comes.

Wogster

Hey if your in the neighbourhood.... We're moving October 18th, if your up after that, and it's not snowing, send me a PM. Thinking of putting "snow" tires on the mountain bike and moving the fenders and rack to the road bike, need to get different wheels though for the road bike, there is a guy over on C&V I might get a set of rims from.... Then again there are some good deals on new rims, just need to find a bike shop in Owen Sound, or get wheels on a trip to Toronto. I was going to try and test fit a set of 700C, there is huge space on the brakes so, I am not worried about fit there.

As for a car, we need to get one, before we go, nice thing is we will use our new address for insurance, and I expect that it's a heck of a lot cheaper there, then it is in Toronto. I expect that insurance that costs over $1200/yr in Toronto, will be under $600/yr there.... I'll need to map some new routes, I need a 5km one a 10km one and a 15km one to start, then work longer later. Probably set the trainer up in the basement, and get some training done, down in the basement.

This is an odd time of year, you start losing the light in the evening, while I have lights, they don't always work as well as I would like. I might get another light and mount it low. Debating about when I replace the wheels on the road bike of seeing about a dynohub for the front.....

Seve

Have you spent winters on the Bruce Peninsuala before ?
Snow tires might be optimistic ..... look for chains.

Probably the best bike shop in Owen Sound is https://www.bikeface.com/ there are others, however, for items other than standard wysiwyg this would be the place to start.
Even though there is a store front on 10th street, you enter through the rear where there is lots of free parking.

Fun Fact re Owen Sound

/// * On the October 18, 2006, episode of The Colbert Report, host Stephen Colbert asked his viewers to send in suggestions for bad things to say about Owen Sound, being unable to think of any himself. ///

Yes, you are correct about the car insurance rates. They are substantially less than the GTA or other large urban areas in Ontario.

Good luck with your move, I hope all goes smoothly and safely.

Mr. Beanz

Hmm, I guess I have a hard time understanding why you don't ride other than you don't really want to ride. Which is fine if one does not complain about it. Gina works 10-11 hours a day and still rides 3500 a year. We too moved, did it ourselves without movers (I with a separated shoulder) and we still rode our bikes cause we wanted to ride. At times I have told her that I know she was tired after a long week so if she wanted to sit the ride out, she says,"ride!".

Pretty sure we are in the same age bracket (47). I worked 3 years on graveyard at a steel company, 6 days a week, steel toes all night, no sitting. I rode my bike when I got home before sleep. 3,000 per year. Other job, 6 days a week, ride after work. You just have to quit making excuses, get out there and ride if that's what you want!

2005 I worked nights, half the year 6 days week, I rode in the mornings for my biggest year of 7300 miles.