Tribute to the Cycling Sisterhood

Joy here...This summer, I've been very lucky to ride with some really interesting women who have become good friends on long rides in Gatineau Park.  With our tongues firmly planted in our cheeks, we called ourselves the "sisterhood", and this sisterhood is comprised of 6 women, any number of whom might get together for a ride on any given day.

As autumn descends upon us with its cold winds and falling leaves, I know that our cycling days are limited, and most of us are already shifting from being cyclists to taking up some other sport that will see us through the winter.  In honour of a great summer of cycling, I invited this sisterhood over for an "Awards Tea" as a fun afternoon event to thank them all for riding with me.  I even gave out awards to each "sister":

Most Aggressive Rider - The Trainer (for always powering ahead of us and intimidating all the male riders out there, and, of course, for bringing out the best in all of us!)

Super Domestique - The Sashinator (for hauling a giant bag of food with her every ride, including a whole nectarine, a boiled egg with a spoon to eat it, trail mix, nuts...)

Best First Loop Ever - The Professor (because she had never ridden in the park before riding there with the rest of us, and even though she was out there on a cross bike, she was just as fast, if not faster than those of us who had ridden in the park previously and were riding on carbon road bikes)

Most Powerful Legs - Power Penna (for not only hauling her daughter through the park in a Chariot, but for being an ex-bike racer with super powerful and strong racing legs)

Most Improved Cyclist - Cili Padi (for making exponential progress as a cyclist throughout the summer...consistently cutting minutes off every ride time)







And they also surprised me with an award as well:

Great Ride Organizer and Enthusiastic Amazing Accelerator (for which I'm very grateful, especially since my award certificate was pink - the universal colour of friendly!)

In honour of our super fun summer of cycling, I've put together some of the best cycling pics that we took throughout this summer in a little montage:

Over and out,
Joy

KABOOM! Loop #21...

The autumn leaves on the ground.

Joy here...When we woke up this morning the temperatures were around -4C.  There was a thin sheen of ice on the top of any shallow pools of standing water, and if you left plants outside overnight, they'd be dead by the time you awoke.  Yep, it's that time of the year:  the time when frosts become the norm, and it's time to get the snow tires put on the car before it's too late, and the time when normal people pack away their bikes for the winter.

I guess we're not normal.  The Man, Superdave, The Professor, and I all bundled up and headed out on our bikes to the park.  Now, my last loop of the park was last month, and somehow October has gotten away from me.  I've been so busy, that I've been hanging on to my fitness by the skin of my teeth, so to speak.  I was prepared for those hills to hurt.  I was prepares to feel my legs explode as I powered up the Fortune climb towards Champlain lookout.

The guys changing the tube and patching the tire.

But what I wasn't prepared for was the fact that some jack@$$es would throw a beer bottle out of their car the night before, so that there was shattered glass on the road that we didn't see, so instead of my legs exploding as we turned the corner to power up the steepest part of the hill, it was Superdave's brand new tire that was slit and his tube that exploded.  We stood there at the side of the road, getting progressively colder and colder and colder as he changed his tire before we could keep on going up the rest of the climb to the lookout, with me falling a little bit further and further behind the guys as my legs somehow didn't feel quite as powerful as I remember them feeling last time I did the ride.

The late autumn view from Champlain Lookout.

So today's ride - with its cold, its tire mishap, and with my legs seeming far less powerful than I'd like - sort of serves as a good metaphor for sport.  It doesn't always turn out the way you'd like, and at times you wish you could just curl up in bed and not leave the house, but it's in the very act of doing that sport offers its value.  It doesn't really matter whether your ride goes as planned - with no tire kabooms - and it doesn't really matter whether you're as strong as you'd like to be, get out there no matter what the weather and you will feel better.

At least I do.

For now that is.

So even though this cycling season may just be winding down; even though there are limited days before the snow comes and I can't ride outside at all; and even though life just gets busier and busier, I'm thankful to my cycling "sisterhood" who got out there throughout the summer, doing loops of the park with me, and helping me to learn that very important cliché:  it's about the journey not the destination.


Over and out,
Joy

Cili Padi's Birthday Ride!

Joy here...The sun rose this morning into a windy sky where clouds ran quickly after one another, hiding the blue behind their grey and white.  And while Cili Padi and I had originally planned on heading out for a loop of the park, it turned out that neither of us were up for such an adventurous ride.  I had been out until midnight, so when the 5am alarm went off, I was pretty darn tired.  She woke up feeling sniffly and on the verge of a cold, so she was pretty darn tired.  Given that, we decided to dust off our cross bikes from Sunday's ride and head west along the pathway.

It was very windy as we rolled out, and once we turned off the residential streets into an urban farm area (the "Experimental Farm" where I have gone running before), the wind buffeted us around the road, and our speed quickly went from around 24km/hr to 19km/hr just like that.*

And as we pedalled, pushing ourselves and our bikes forward despite the wind, we seemed to be riding towards ever-greying skies that looked threatening and ominous.  Instead of a ride towards a horizon beckoning us to exceed our limits and dream of the beyond, we were riding towards greyness.

The ever-darkening sky.  

But as we rode onwards, despite the grey above and the wind around, the day began to clear.  We became less and less afraid of rain (or...gasp!...snow) and more able to enjoy our ride.  For me, I was enjoying the sensation of my new cross bike.  Cross Eye rolls differently than Opie (my Opus road bike), but the gearing is smoother and offers a really great ride.

For Cili Padi, today is her birthday, so her ride was about celebrating herself, and celebrating the fact that on her 61st birthday, she was out riding over 40kms to get her day started.

So with these positive feelings in our hearts and in our legs, we rode forward into the blueing skies.

The ever-blueing sky.

With the blue skies above, the bright autumn leaves around, and the brightness of our own almost-matching jackets, a day that began tired, sick, and grey soon turned into a blaze of colour - a fitting birthday celebration for Cili Padi.

Cili Padi's red hot Gore jacket
and Joy's friendly pink Gore jacket.

So happy birthday to my friend, and happy cycling to all my friends!

Over and out,
Joy

*A note on speeds:  While a long road ride average speed would be anywhere from 27km/hr to 30km/hr and the average speed riding those hilly loops in the park is around 21km/hr (taking into consideration the faster downhill speeds topping 60km/hr and the slow uphill speeds around 14km/hr), so far it seems that the cross bike average speed is around 24km/hr.

Team Stevens: Cross Eye's First Bike Ride!

Joy here...It looks like my last bike ride may have been at the end of September, when the Trainer and I headed out into the rain.  That weekend I participated in the Run for the Cure, and so I wasn't on my bike,  and then life got very, very busy.  I ended up travelling on Oct. 4-5, Oct. 9-10, and Oct. 14-16; from Oct. 11-20, I spent each day at the local courthouse for the ongoing trial of the driver of a van who hit five cyclists back in July of 2009.  Three of these five cyclists were on the epic 100km ride that I did at the end of August, and two of them participated in the memorial ride for Danielle Naçu, a local cyclist who was struck and killed on her way to work.

So with all this travelling and court attendance, I've had to shove all my other work into my evenings and early mornings in the hopes that I can stay a mere one step ahead of the piles and piles that threaten to bury me.  And what this also means is that I've been hanging on with the barest of fingernails to my fitness.  I've still been going to my weekly spinning classes, and I've been doing my strength training, but aside from walking to and from the courthouse, I can't say that I've done any real workouts since the start of October.

That is just not acceptable.

My new cross-bike named Cross Eye.

The Man bought me a new bike for my birthday last month, a beautiful Stevens carbon-fiber cross bike, and I was not going to let it sit there and gather dust without being ridden.  So even though the temperature was 2 C when I got up on Sunday morning...I was going out there on my new bike (that I've named "Cross Eye") and wild horses couldn't keep me from it!

So at 8am on Sunday, me, The Man, Cili Padi, and Superdave all met up with our matching Stevens cross bikes (which we all bought new this summer...can you say "peer pressure"???), and headed east towards Petri Island along the paved bike path that gave way to gravel pathways with the Ottawa River to our side and the brilliant autumn colours exploding around us.

I was getting used to the fatter tires on my new bike and the smoother gearing system, while trying to figure out the different cleats that are harder to clip into and out of than my normal ones.  Or, maybe, not necessarily harder once I get some practice, but I was a bit awkward at the starts and stops as I tried desperately to clip either into or out of my pedals without falling over.  And since I routinely used to fall over on my bike rides (see here for photographic evidence of my clumsiness), it felt like it was quite a feat that I rode for just under 3 hours on Sunday WITHOUT FALLING ONCE!

Our Team Stevens bikes all lined up on the beach.

Superdave and The Man rode up ahead of us, oblivious to the whole world around them besides their bikes and their conversation about bikes.  Cili Padi and I rode behind them, keeping an average pace of around 24km/hr over the mainly flat, but gravelly terrain.

We rode approximately 28kms out to the beach at Petri Island Park, and then stopped there to snack and visit a bit, before turning around to ride the 28kms back, for a total ride of around 56kms.

So for someone who hasn't been out on a bike in around 3 weeks, that's not too shabby.

Joy and Cili Padi -- guess who is the one in pink!!!

With a sore butt and a solid ride on my new bike under my belt, I'm promising myself to be better with my fitness in the weeks to come and a better blogger while I'm at it.

Nomi's recent posts, indicating that she, too, is playing with the minimalist running shoe movement and that she's having doubts about her upcoming marathon, offer testaments to the fact that both of us, a world apart - Joy in Canada and Nomi in Malaysia - are grappling with the same feelings of being strapped for time and stretched for energy.

And if there's a silver lining in all this, in all these feelings of not quite making the cut (so to speak), it's that sometimes when you fall, you just have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep on going.


Onwards!

So this was my first bike ride with Cross Eye, but I promise it won't be my last!

Over and out,
Joy

Memorial ride for Danielle Naçu

The clearly marked bike lane in which the cyclists rode.

Joy here...A lot has happened since my last post.  I wrote in August about riding with a three of the victims of a crash involving a van and five cyclists who the media have dubbed "The Kanata 5."  I've now met and befriended four out of these five cyclists who were out on a Sunday morning ride on July 19, 2009, riding in single file in the clearly marked bicycle lane when a mini-van drove over all five of them before fleeing the scene.  In the past two years since that fateful day in July, these five cyclists have picked up and carried on.  They are strong, resourceful, and remarkable.  And on October 11, 2011 the trial for the driver of that van began.  He was charged with five counts of dangerous driving and five counts of leaving the scene of an accident causing bodily harm.

The front of the van that hit the "Kanata 5" on
July 19, 2009.

I was sitting with three of them and their family members and friends awaiting the start of the trial as the jury was being chosen off in another room in the courthouse in downtown Ottawa.  We felt strange and nervous; none of us had been involved in a criminal trial, and so there was so much that was simply new about the process, and as we sat there, we fiddled with our iPhones and felt awkward.  And then the news  came in that at around 9am that very morning, a commuting cyclist who was riding down a main street in downtown Ottawa was hit by the opening door of a parked car, which threw her into the road where she was hit by a car and ultimately killed.  As I read the news update out loud to all of us sitting there, awaiting the start of the trial, our stomachs sank.  We were saddened.  We were disgusted.  We were angry.  And we were sickened.

We later learned that the cyclist who was struck and killed was a 33 year old civil servant who worked with another one of our friends (the one whose tire popped on our epic 100km ride back in August).  She could have been any one of us.  She was young; she was smart; she had her whole life ahead of her.  And simply because someone getting out of a parked car didn't bother to check over the shoulder to see if there was a cyclist coming, this young woman died on a street in the middle of downtown Ottawa.

Her name was Danielle Naçu, and I never met her.

Rest in peace, Danielle Naçu.

But when a memorial ride was planned for the following Tuesday to mark her death, I planned to go before heading back to the courthouse for the ongoing trial of that van driver.  And while I first thought I would be able to ride in solidarity with the hundreds of cyclists - Danielle's family, friends, coworkers, and those who didn't know her but were moved by this tragedy - in the end, I stood by the side of the road and watched the procession.  There were yellow balloons, yellow roses, yellow T-shirts, and yellow armbands all in memory of Danielle, a woman whose favourite colour was yellow, and who offered a ray of sunshine to all who knew her.  I stood there with the hundreds of people who walked or rode that stretch of road, stopping where she was killed to listen to her brother address the crowd.  I stood amidst the ringing of bike bells, more solemn and more rich than any pealing church bells signalling the passing of a life.

The local news, like the Ottawa Sun and the Ottawa Citizen, as well as the national news, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (the CBC) all covered the story of Danielle's tragic end and the ride to remember her.

I'm not a journalist, and I'm not a member of the media.  I didn't know Danielle, and before last summer, I probably wouldn't have really considered myself a cyclist, but I do now, and I care about the safety of our roads.  Here's my short video of that day that should work on mobile devices (at least I filmed it on my iPhone, and this is the first time I've felt it's important enough to share my own little video with others):

Over and out,

Joy

Born free......as free as the wind blows...

Nomi says,


It started with Joy and her Vibrams...then Lulu and her New Balance 890's...my interest was piqued.
I had been wanting to try the minimal cushioning shoes for a while now. My greatest worry was that i would bust my knees. As it it, they would take turns to pain periodically. But, Joy and Lulu were very encouraging. Joy had observed my running gait before and said that minimal cushioning shoes might actually work for me than against. ( personally, i thought that i looked like a frightened chicken while running:) And Lulu had no problems with her new shoes. So, I broke my piggy bank and got myself the Nike Free Run 2. They came in 3 colors at the store, grey, pink and black. The grey ones had silver reflectors along the sides and with a  water resistant coating.

Nike Free Run +2 Shield

 

 

So, i took my self and shoes for it's maiden run at the forest research institute near where i live. I must say, the shoes were very, very comfortable. They gave a snug fit ( like the feeling you get when wearing socks) without being constrictive. And while running, the uppers were supportive, and one did not get the sensation that the feet were rolling in all directions. The feet were not molded by rigid uppers or inch thick cushioned soles. The gait felt natural,  the breathable uppers and lightweight soles did give one a  sense of freedom while running. I managed to run for about an hour or so. And i felt more fatigue and running took more effort than usual. But, the knees didn't hurt as much as i expected them to. Instead, my right shin and right hip hurt after running about 50 minutes or so. The left leg was perfectly fine. I think that running in these shoes will only get better once i get used to them. I don't have to break them in for the upcoming marathon, so I"ll use my old shoes. But i am definitely happy with these new ones and look forward to hours of running in them.

The research institute was a beautiful place to run in...with lots of greenery, and trees all over. The weather was cool and fresh in the morning. However, the asphalt roads were all open to traffic, and not an ideal place to run. The running loop was a maximum of 2km+ with hilly bits in between. The route was dotted with little streams, small water falls at the sides, trees - of all shapes, shades of green and sizes ;grassy areas to just stroll along or have a picnic in and little ponds. It's a good place for a leisurely visit, but not to do a long run.

So, we shall see how me and my shoes get along.....

As I Roved Out.....

Nomi says,

Well, i think I've bitten off more than i can chew. I seriously don't know how I am going to do this upcoming full marathon in Nov. I still remember me discussing this with Joy a couple of months ago, feeling so optimistic about it, and now i just feel like slapping myself:)

Blazing hot sunshine in the background 

Anyhow, i faithfully plotted my strategy to get through the upcoming full marathon on this pretty calendar, that had cute little boxes for each day of the month. With my "Runner's World Guide to Women's Running" in one hand, I marked out the days and duration that i had to run, on this pretty calendar, at least 6 months in advance. Well, needless to say that the plans just remained plans. Every so often, i had to skip out on sessions due to home issues, work issues or just 'plain lazy' issues.  Now, I have just about 5 weeks before the upcoming race...and I am soooooo unprepared for it.

I tried to run about 3 times per week that included 2 gym sessions and maybe one long run during the weekends. By long run...I mean that i aspire to run at least 3 hours or so...have visions of me  steadily trudging along the kilometers, looking strong and fit....but in reality , the training fell pretty much on what my actual schedule was like, and i was puffing and panting like an old steam engine that belonged in a museum. The most I have been able to run for is 3 hours....and that's at super slow snail speed.. I have absolutely no idea how I will be able to complete 42kms in decent time. And by decent, i mean 5 to 6 hours. I guess, ultimately it comes down to how much pain once can take and how hot it gets, in this hot and humid climate here.

I think my fingers are in the way

But...i have to try, I guess. I set off to the local gardens where i usually run this past weekend. Well, the place where i live is not the safest, ideal place to run alone...so unless Lulu or Joy runs with me, I run when it's day light. So, it's an hour or so of running comfortably before it gets really hot. Now a days, I run just based on time and how much my knees hurt. I don't run with a GPS or check my pace. Whatever is comfortable goes. So, i have no idea on the distance or pace that I am doing. Just duration.

Yumm....fresh coconut water....

So , i just plodded thought the kilometers,. sweating buckets...and it was blazing hot!!!! I managed to run about 3 hours or so. It was a beautiful, beautiful day...but just so hot! So, when my knees hurt too much and i just needed a breather...i took pictures of whatever came along. And the flowers and plants that i see are the same every time i run, regardless of the time of the year. It adds splashes of color and life to a monotonous landscape. I remember Joy putting up pictures of herself running in snow...and i can only imagine how trying it must be for her. Here i have sunshine practically everyday of the year...and almost ideal running conditions, if it isn't too hot. To whomever is out there, running in these gardens is an a walk in the park, restful, beautiful and worth a try at least once.

I changed my shoes to the Lunarglides 3. I have given up trying different brands and different cushioning types. I guess I'll just stick to what i am familiar with for this upcoming race. It feels pretty much the same as the Lunarglides 2...but these new shoes feel like there's less support on the medial arch on the left foot, which makes one over pronate.

Lunarglides 3

Well, as Joy says...onwards!

Run for the Cure: 5km Run

Joy here...Back when I signed up for this year's "Run for the Cure" fundraising run to support my dear friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer this spring, I thought that I'd just treat it like any other run.  I thought to myself, "okay, self, you've been into this whole barefoot running thing, so you can use this 5k run as a chance to try out your barefoot shoes," and I figured "okay, self, you ran last year's 5k Army Run in 23 minutes, so this year you can aim for 20 minutes flat!"  Even though I've spent most of my summer in cycling cleats out on my bike rather than in my little Vibrams hitting the pavement, I was confident that I'd be running ahead of the pack this Sunday.  I had visions of my arms raised wide as I crossed the finish line before the hustle and bustle of slower runners and walkers at the back.  I figured that this would be the day to get my running back on track, redeeming me for all the time spent on the bike this summer in one moment of glory.

And then it hit me:  I couldn't be approaching this Run for the Cure with an attitude farther from the spirit in which is was conceived.

The World Health Organization stats say that there are just over 1 million new cases of breast cancer diagnosed each year, and while millions of people are suffering this disease - my own friend included - here I was thinking about my running and my own fitness goals as the be-all end-all.

Talk about selfish.

Let me tell you...as today approached, my attitude changed 180 degrees.  

I have stood by the sidelines watching my friend wage her own particular battle with cancer - complete with "tours of duty", which is how she's dubbing her chemo treatments - and watched her organize her schedule, her medication, her friends, her family, her support team, and deal with the after affects of her treatments (nausea and hair loss among the most commonly known, but the equally painful sense of depression and vulnerability that no one can really explain to you until you're in it).  I've had it hit home to me that no matter how good the Canadian Health Care system may be, much of the care that cancer sufferers require is in-home care offered by friends and family to be there for you when you need them. Your doctor may be able to prescribe things for you, but it'll be your hair dresser who lets you cry for hours and then cuts your new wig in an awesome and super-hot style so that you don't have to lose every part of yourself in this process.  Your oncologist may see you through chemo, but it'll be your friends who speed-drive you through the city when you have an allergic reaction and need to get to the hospital before your throat swells up and blocks your airways.  Your acupuncturist may help you deal with some of the pain, but it'll be your friends who will bring you laughter, which really is the best medicine.

And the Run for the Cure is about raising money for cancer research, but it's about soooooo much more.  It's about me learning that I have amazing friends and family who helped me raise more than $2,000 this year!  It's about me learning that my health and my ability to run are blessings that I must never take for granted.  It's about me learning that the energy and community that my friend has built around her is worth more than the thousands we raised in her name.  To quote what she says on her Run for the Cure page:  "I will need your energy and support to get me through. I can't think of a better way than a run where we can assemble and achieve something for ourselves, for others, and for a greater good. That's energy I hope to draw from."

Today I learned something about that energy and greater good.  I felt the love that all her friends, family, and students feel for her.  And more than that, I felt all the goodwill that all loved ones feel for their beloveds who suffer from, battle, defeat, and succumb to cancer. And as I ran amongst the 50+ friends and family gathered for this one friend, I took the opportunity to run with a family who are good friends of mine.  The mother and father are dear friends, and I have a significant soft spot for their kids - a boy and a girl - who are really cool, interesting, and smart children.  They just lost their own grandfather (the dad's dad) to cancer this last year, and they were out their running with their mom and dad in the full awareness that they were running to help beat cancer.  At one moment the boy - who ran the entire 5kms!!! - was running along at our side while his mom and I chatted, and he just spontaneously shouted, "I'm running for grandpa!"

That, my friends, means more than any running race time or any amount of funds raised.

The words and emotion of a 9 year old boy out there running under a cold, grey October sky encapsulated that sense of love and hope and faith and excitement that we all feel:  that with the combined energy of thousands of people united behind the goal of eradicating this disease, it really can happen.

Over and out, 

Joy