January is month when a lot of people will set their goals for the rest of the year (Note: I’m avoiding the term “resolutions” on purpose). My goals tend to be modest. A year ago, my goal was to ride 50 memorable rides in the year I turned 50. That didn’t quite work out after my crash in September, but I still completed 41 rides (I complete this quest this year, before I turn 51 in August). I also wanted to ride 5000 km, which also didn’t happen due to a low-mileage autumn.
For 2017, I’m not going to set a mileage goal because I’m still recovering from the concussion and I can’t ride long distances or high intensity yet. However, in the first few months of the year, I have a few events marked on my calendar. I’m terribly out of shape and don’t have many miles in my legs since last summer, but I’ll enter these events and just ride them at an “easy” pace:
- Sugar Shack Hustle Fat Bike Scramble (January 29, 2017)(: Run by my friends at King Street Cycles in Waterloo, 2017 marks the 3rd time for this event. It’s held at Shady Grove Maple Farm near Guelph, which is a maple syrup farm. The event, capped at 100 entries, starts in the parking lot. In 2016, the route went through the forest (through the snow/ice/mud/dirt), out onto a dirt road, then back to the parking lot, for six laps. After the race, there was a bonfire, draw prizes and awards, plus pancakes with fresh maple syrup for sale in the barn. Let’s hope we get some snow before the date of the event. Sign up Here.
- Steaming Nostril/Runny Nose (April 9, 2017): Another local event for those of us in KW/Guelph, 2017 represents the 5th annual Steaming Nostril event. My buddies at Cycle Waterloo run this (along with some fantastic road races in the summer). Steaming Nostril (which is about 65 km and the shorter 40 km “Runny Nose”) has become an Ontario Spring Classic. There are categories for: age, fat bike and single speed, and each year, this race offers challenges (one year, the temperature was below -20C. 2016 featured “The Longest Kilometre“, and both 2015 and 2016 included a stair climb of 69 steps! The organizers have some surprises up their sleeves this year, so it promises to be epic, yet again! Sign up Here.
- Paris to Ancaster (April 30, 2017): This event is Ontario’s original Spring Classic. I’ve entered this race every year since 2002, so 2017 marks my 16th straight! A few times I entered the shorter distance and this year, I’ll likely do the same because of my recovery and lack of fitness. I may even ride my fatbike!
As I’ve stated in previous blogs, one of my goals is to try Bikepacking. I’m slowly accumulating the necessary gear and I hope to be ready to try an overnight by early summer.
I might be selling my road bike and upgrading to a new gravel bike that would double as my gravel and road bike. I don’t road ride as much as I once did, so if you’re looking for a carbon Campy Record road bike, let me know. I may advertise soon.
RideCycleSpin 