Paris to Ancaster - First Report

I arrived at the staging ground for the race in good time, but I still didn't expect to be the second vehicle in the parking lot.  Nevertheless, it turned out to be the right place and because I was there even before the organizers I ended up parked in the area they eventually roped off for VIP's.

I went to take an "unloading" photo and my camera batteries decided they had done enough.  I was pretty bummed that I couldn't take any photos at all. It speaks to my philosophy that a good BLOG entry has pictures.

I will pull some generic pictures from the local newspaper so that you can get a sense of things.  Additionally, I took some pictures of my bicycle once I got home.  As I did last year, I will be purchasing an action shot from a course photographer in about a week.  I so seldom get this kind of picture of myself so its worth the $30.

I certainly have many comments to make about the race.  Lets see what comes out as I write ...

This is a common sight.  I carried my bicycle way more than last year and my overall time benefitted by this strategy.   That's NOT me in the picture BTW.

Defeated. Another common site.  All I can say is that I'm grateful I never had one of these moments.

There is a steep climb to the finish that's sort of legendary.  This lady is helping out a rider.  I didn't need any help because I was walking up this hill!

I hosed my bike off right after I took this next series of pictures.  It serendipitously resulted in my also washing the car so I had a happy wife!

I bought SPD pedals specifically for this race.  They were crap.  I was whining about it to a guy as we climbed a hill side-by-side and he told me that they are intended for on-road, not off.  

Can you guess the component?

I am not sure how long the course was.  It was supposed to be 70 kilometres but because of the heavy rains we'd had over the last two weeks they had to close and re-route some sections.  While it certainly ended up less than 70k there is still some debate about the precise distance.  They are publishing 57km but all the racers with cycle-computers I spoke with had it at roughly 63k. The point is I did ok.  Last year it was 60k and that took me 3 hours and 40 minutes.  This year I completed the race in 3 hours 5 minutes. Some encouraging improvement for me to be proud of.

No. I will never learn.

Let's just say that fenders would have been a good idea today and leave it there.

Spooked

In a few short days I will be suffering through the annual Paris-to-Ancaster race for the second time.  Competition is a funny thing that way - it's both exhilarating and painful.  At kilometer 50 I will be asking myself (aloud, I'm sure) why I do this, but 20 minutes after its over I will be jonesin' for the next time!

As a bicycle commuter I usually feel quite out-of-place among the spandex set, but once the horn sounds we are all equals in our suffering. Besides, I'll be wearing spandex too! (stupid, sexy Flanders!)

I am significantly more anxious this year than last. There are many reasons I feel like this.

First, I just finished building my bike for this.  Its the same one I used last year (my aluminum Diamondback), and it performed well.  However it's set up differently this year, I only rode it for the first time this morning, I installed a speed pedal system which I've never used before, and I'm not convinced my posture/geometry is going to be comfortable enough for 70km.  There's a brake issue too, but I'll tackle that in another post.

Another drawback is that I am not in good "cycling" fitness.  I have been runnning a lot (for a few 5km races I'm entering) but its absolutely not the same kind of fitness.  It's been a cold, cold spring here in Oh! Canada and that has chased me off my regular commute.  Admittedly, I have been a fair-weather commuter these past two months.

All this adds up to actual nervousness!  I am trying to get into the mindset that I'll just pace myself (vernacular for "I'll be going slow" without having to actually say that) and enjoy, but I know that once that start pistol goes my competative nature will fully engage.

Wish me luck!

Resurrecting the Diamondback.

I'm trying a SPD pedal for the first time.

I re-built this just in time for the race. I don't like front derailleurs so I'm fixed in the smallest ring for maximum off-road-ness!

I don't have enough gears to choose from for this race.  Oh well.

Race Preparation 2013 - P2A

This will be my second Paris-to-Ancaster race in as many years.  Other than perhaps trying my luck at a triathlon sometime again, it is the only bicycle race I will do.   It's not precisely a gravel-grinder but its the closest thing we have around here.

With exactly a month to go I find myself without a bicycle. And that brings me to my next rebuild.

I've never experienced the catastrophic failure of an aluminum frame.
Maybe this is the year.

I am taking my old Diamondback aluminum frame and cannibalizing parts from my Pake commuter  to make a machine that "may" survive the rigours imposed upon it.

The bottom bracket makes an occasional crunching noise but for the life of me I can't seem to get the caps off!  So, no new bearings this year.  How bad can it be, right?

The gear-ratio is not great for the amount of climbing I'll have to do.  The cassette is too limited in range but (21 in the back and 28 in the front) its the only one I can find that will work with my shifter set-up.

The handlebars are originally from my daughter's Peugeot.  They are small and obviously rounded at the front so I thought they would do well to miss trees and branches throughout the wooded areas of the course.  However, I can't figure out how to get road drops on v-brakes so I'll need to go back to a flat-bar.

I should have this bicycle on the road by the end of the week, so I'm not too worried about that.  It's my fitness level that's hurting.  In fact, they added an extra 10km to their traditional 60 km course. As memory serves, I had lost my legs at about 50km last year and struggled to finish with any dignity at all.  70km through mud is daunting.

I registered for the fifth (read: last) wave.  In theory I could arrange to be the final person out of 3000 to enter the course.  It's a thought.  If I did depart last there would be no expectations and every time I manage to pass someone I could view it as a small victory.  On the other hand, I think there is a "Lantern Rouge" in this race, so you never know.

V-Sixty Magnesium Pedals

At the end of 2011 I said that I would lay-off the the pedal-posts for 2012.  It was intended to be tongue-in-cheek, but it seems my exaggeration was prophetic!  No pedal posts last year whatsoever.

Alas, here we go again!  The Salsa Beargrease I rented had platform pedals with spikes, and I could not get over how well my feet stayed in place without any kind of clip system.  I did a bit of research and found that Pinkbike completed some research on the subject of the pedalling motion.  The short summary of their findings reveals that the up-stroke is overrated.  When I add my own variables to this (commuting on a flat route, and enjoying the stability and confidence that quickly getting a foot down gives me) I knew that my search for the ultimate pedal was close.

Although I haven't installed them yet, I picked up a very nice looking set of V-Sixty magnesium platforms.  They are light and stylish and I think I got a very decent price.

I intend to use these pedals exclusively even when I finish my "off road" build.  I will swap the pedals between the two bicycles.

I do wonder how I will get a bent or broken pin out - but aside from the Paris-to-Ancaster race (in just over a month) I don't think I will have to worry about damaging anything on a routine commute.  

Riding in Ottawa - it's not 1983 anymore

I always felt secure on my bicycle while growing up in a quiet west-end community of Ottawa.  I no longer live in Ottawa but my parents do, and on my last visit I rented a Salsa Beargrease and toured about the city.
Some reactions were positive, others not so much.  Since I don't have any photos for this post I shall keep it brief.

The Negative: I got stared down by a guy driving a ParaTranspo Bus, I got honked at twice (not the just-a-friendly-toot-to-remind-you-that-there's-a-car-here kind, but the GET OFF THE ROAD kind), and there were at least two times that a car seemed to pass me intentionally close.

These kinds of things don't seem to happen in Hamilton.  I wonder why?  I wonder which is a more realistic expectation for a vehicular cyclist?

The Positive:  People all over were staring at me (the good kind, I think.  Remember, I was on a big, fat-tired bicycle), I heard "that is the coolest bike I have ever seen" from three different teenaged boys on school trips, I had two city workers approach me grinning ear to ear eager to have their questions answered about the bike, I had a truck pull up alongside me (while in motion) and the fellows in it (also grinning widely) give me the repeated thumbs-up.

I have to say, I felt special riding this thing. It was a real ego-boost. In other words, since I didn't actually get hit by a car, the positives well outweighed the negatives.  I'll do it again one day but for now I will put this "thread" to rest. Cheers.

Beargrease Post III - the components

Nothing on the bicycle was stock (in case you were wondering), but the components on the Salsa Beargrease really impressed me.

I often defer to cheaper components because my philosophy is "what can the difference really be?" Well...here are a couple of observations that threaten to rock my thrifty world.

One. Disc brakes are terrific.  I don't own a bicycle with disc brakes but I can certainly see the attraction.  These were Hope Pro Hydraulic and their stopping power was excellent.  I enjoyed a feeling of security which I seldom have in wet weather.  They were quite noisy, in fact, embarrassingly so at times.  But if they saved me (even once!) from gliding out-of-control into a bus, well then, I can put up with a bit of a screech.

Two.  I loved the pedals.  They were platforms with pins and no clip-in system whatsoever.  I take it thats the rule for mountain bikes (which I don't know much about).  They had surprisingly marvelous grip.  I have used strap systems since the age of 13, but now I am wondering if even that is necessary. In Grant Petersen's book "Just Ride" he argues that we spend much less time "pulling up" than we think.

On the Beargrease I was surprised that I had no difficulty keeping my feet where they were supposed to be.  I admit, I thought that I "pulled up" more than that.  I guess I "pedal squares" as I once heard Bernard Hinault (the Badger!) put it.

Will any of this translate to the Pake - my regular commuter?  I think yes.

I am not suitably equipped to "review" the drivetrain, but I will say that it shifted quickly and flawlessly.  Brand: unknown.

I have one more post to come in this series.  It will be about the varried reactions I received cycling through Ottawa on the Beargrease.