Training Update

I did not miss this sight!

A couple of quick Friday training notes:

I cycled indoors for the first time in months on Tuesday, after a couple of days without cycling.  I love to run in the snow/cold, but I do not think it is safe on a bicycle, where I live, especially with the winds.

I'll be back.

However, I did manage to take advantage of great weather on Wednesday to do some big hills. I had done Hawkesville-Erbsville last weekend, but this was my first time cycling on the Ament Line between Hawkesville and Linwood.  That was insane!  Heading into west directly into gusts of 35km/h winds, I was not able to ascend the entire major hill without stopping, either time I tried.

Stay tuned.  We will have some big sponsorship and donation news in the coming week!

Jordan

B4B Updates

Hi everyone,

Lots is happening right now in the Bike for Bricks.  Here's the latest:

- We ordered clothes this week from Runners' Choice in Waterloo (yes, they do cycling and tris, too).  Should be in by the end of the month.  Then we will look GREAT.



don't know why it's sidways...

 - As you probably know, we launched our Facebook fan page.  We will use this as our primary social interface, especially for some fundraising opportunities and events this summer, and also for quick and easy photo sharing.  If you don't already, you can "like" us here. 

- We are working on some branding and graphic design.  Here is a logo that I sketched out: it's a bike in a brick.  We hope to update this soon!

- We have made a major change to our planned route.  Rather than ferry from Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques on the west coast of Newfoundland, we will instead ferry to Argentina, which will cut about 700km from the first leg of the trip.  This is a conservative move that we believe is more realistic (proper rest and mileage), but also fits our schedule better.  Win-win.

- Donatations will be accepted ASAP.  You'll know!  In the mean-time, get inspired by the work that Heartwood does. 

- We have tentatively set the date for our next major training run: we are looking at a bike-camping trip the weekend of May 25-27 up into the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario.  Until then, just cycling to work and around Waterloo Region.  Right now, I'm putting in about 300km/week and increasing steadily. 

That's it for now.  Thanks for reading,

Jordan

Here she is!

The beautiful machine that will accompany me across the country.  Still needs a few modifications: pedals, water bottle holders, and a new rack for new panniers.

I took the first few spins already this week. Yay cycling in snow!

The First Big Bike!

The beginning of the Easter long weekend also marked the first real test for the Bike for Bricks team. We took advantage of the holiday and instead of relaxing in the springtime sunshine we decided to jump on our bikes and make the 121km trip from my house in Waterloo to my grandparents house in Grand Bend. It is probably the single biggest step we have taken towards attaining our cross country goal and one of the biggest mental hurdles of our trip training. We managed to complete the day trip in just over 7hrs including breaks with about 5.75hrs of butt numbing time on the bicycles. Despite the chilly temperatures and the wind hitting our faces coming off Lake Huron for the final 30kms of our trip we exercised our mental toughness declined my parents offer for a ride as they drove past us a mere 13kms from our final destination. We pressed on and arrived to a very warm reception from my family that made this small trip feel very worth it. We passed the rest of the night eating and talking before hitching a much appreciated ride back to the tri-cities with my family with Jordan and Kyle asleep in the back.
Lessons Learned:
1) Dress appropriately - I elected shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt for the trip. A mistake when the daily high is less than 10degrees.
2) A clear destination provides a lot of incentive to press on - especially when you want to pack it in.
3) Consuming food is really important. After Arriving in Grand Bend we had an Easter feast and that will be hard to find when biking across Canada
4) Wind sucks.

Next Step - Overnight camping trip on bicycles.

Thanks to Nanny and Grandpa for the destination and the fantastic meal waiting at their house, to mom and dad for driving us home, and Jordan and Kyle for good company and the PB&J Sandwich.

Grand Bend or bust

In the first major training experience of the trip, the three of us took advantage of a commond day off and cycled the full 121km to Grand Bend for an Easter dinner at the Cadman's. 

Personally, I wasn't sure we were going to make it, especially because it was my first time cycling outside this season.  (Probably not the smartest of ideas.)  Even though we had an "out" because our ride would be passing us late in the day, we didn't take it, but rather persevered downhill into 25km/h NW winds and finished the day strong.

Stats: The trip is 121km, about 75% of the average trip day.  It took a total of 7 hours, 5:45 of which was on the road.  That's 21km/h, which is approximately our long-term trip average.  Trade exhaustion and weight for training and experience, and we're in good shape!  Here's our route. 

You have no idea what you're in for!

Logistically, it was a little bit tricky.  Still without a GPS, I drained half of my BlackBerry battery doing mapping.  It worked very well, but that won't be sustainable in remote areas with no charging opportunities.  But we have gained confidence in our ability to navigate country roads quickly and while mobile. 

Physically, we are all very capable of this Grand Bend excursion.  It wasn't particularly fast or physically taxing, but more of a lesson in cycling.  It is very much a mental struggle, including the psychology of the long hours, as well as the willingness to take a long, slow beating.  I felt good right after the cycle, with my lower back but especially my knees taking a little bit of soreness over the following few days. 

The only downside so far is that Braun's really didn't come through for us.  My bike was a week late, which really isn't a big deal, but it is just not possible to get updates from their sales staff.  It came down to the wire, but Chad came through for us and lent me his road bike. 

In summary, big thanks to Nan Cadman for the dinner, all the Cadman's for the ride home, Chad for the bike, and the randoms in Mitchell for filling up our water bottles.  Next step: an overnight, multi-day cycling trip.  Until then, nice work guys. 

Jordan

In like a lamb...

It is TOO nice outside to be cycling indoors.  I ordered the bike 2.5 weeks ago, and the delays in shipment are made agonizing by this unseasonable weather.  This is so frustrating!!

This Friday, we are taking our first "official" training cycle together.  We are going to Tyler's gradma's house in Grand Bend, about 120kms.  It is going to be a great test of fitness, but an even greater test of bike smarts.  And I don't have a bike yet...