Steve's Cycling Blog
With a new year upon us, it seems like a good time to summarize my past year (and decade). 2019 was a year of ups and downs as far as fitness and cycling go. I started the year with a renewed focus on training and I had an indoor set-up that motivated me through the … Continue reading 2020 – A Fresh Start
A lot of the online resources for bikepacking describe routes that take many long days to complete. Locally, July 14, 2019 marked the inaugural Grand Depart for the BT700 - a 700 km loop around south-western Ontario! Not all bikepacking trips, however, have to been multi-day epic adventures. Last weekend, I did an overnight trip … Continue reading Bikepacking in the Kitchener-Waterloo area
For the first time since I started entering cycling events and races, I decided not to enter the Ontario Spring Classic, Paris to Ancaster. I had entered P2A every year since 2002, for a streak of 17 years. These 17 years included several times when I was recovering from concussions and I entered the shorter … Continue reading 17 Years of Paris-to-Ancaster
There are a lot of articles (and probably books) about exercise and fitness and cycling after the age of 50. Many of them are written by exceptional people who have devoted a huge amount of time to staying fit and active. If you believe what you read on the internet, it was Bill Clinton who … Continue reading Perspective: Cycling after 50
I've never written a review about a bike before. I have several bikes - some I bought brand new, others I bought used. And I even have one that I built with old parts. Each bike has its pros and cons, and each bike has its purpose in my fleet. But when I travel, I … Continue reading Product Review: Bianchi’s gravel bike – Impulso All-Road
After considerable debate over the past winter, my family decided we'd head to Vegas for a vacation. I had two reasons I wanted to visit this area, and neither had anything to do with gambling or the Vegas strip: (1) I wanted to visit the parks outside the city and (2) I wanted to explore … Continue reading Cycling Vegas – A Tourist’s Perspective
First a bit of "History of Gravel Grinders with the WCC". Back in about 2012, I started riding on Saturday mornings in the fall with some friends. The mountain bike trails were too wet and the paved roads were cold and windy, so we decided to explore rail trails and gravel roads where speeds would … Continue reading Crossing the Conestoga River… what really happened!
So.... here we are. Another year over, and a new one's just begun. And you know what that means? Numbers and maps - two of my favourite things when it comes to cycling and motivation. So here's my Cycling year 2018 in numbers (sources: strava.com, veloviewer.com, http://www.jonathanokeeffe.com/strava/annualSummary.php) Total distance: 5450 kilometres (most km's I've cycled in … Continue reading 2018 Cycling Summary
I'll be writing a 2018 summary but I thought I'd start with some of my favourite cycling photos of the year! January - In December 2017, we had a lot of snow and cold temperatures. That made the first two weeks of January perfect for fat biking in the snow. It didn't last of course. … Continue reading 2018 Year in Cycling Photos
As daylight hours drop and temperatures get colder, it becomes more difficult for me to get motivated to ride my bike. A lot of my cycling friends have set up their trainers and moved indoors; their bikes won't see the outdoors until the spring. For others, the cycling season never stops; they may have put … Continue reading Late Fall/Early Winter Cycling – Motivation
