Tuesday, 17 July 2012

Across the province for heart health

A series of community rides held in communities across Nova Scotia promoted heart health - and cycling.  The Heartland Tour is an annual affair promoted by Doctors Nova Scotia, Dalhousie University Medical School and members of the health community.
Each host community held daylong events suited for the entire family from kids entertainment and rides to expert rides both on and off road.  I had occasion to participate in a posted intermediate ride of 65k from Wolfville Nova Scotia on July 7. Now, a critical part of the events were the inclusion of "core riders. "
These folks were competitive triathletes, cyclists and essentially highly fit people. I figured they would ride with the participants and split into different groups of faster and slower riders.
Maybe it was the 3 decades of smoking, but we were hitting 25 on the roll out of town - and the pace never really faltered.
I thought the pace would be about 15-18mph so I was breathing,uh,freely by the time we reached the first incline! However when we reached the first rest stop after about 20k the majority of remaining riders were Heartland core riders!  What happened to the other participants? Probably the rapid pace forced more than a few to head for home.
Over the second section I made the mistake of eating a banana.  I say mistake because I have never been comfortable eating solid food and with the pace I burped up quite a bit and bonked badly on a sinewy climb. The last portion of the ride I sucked back a Clif energy shot,  which just happened to be "the long way" as by now the remaining riders were a couple of us committed enthusiasts with the core riders.
All told, it was a great training ride with a pace that has made me stronger, but I'm hoping the other rides had core riders staying with the slower groups.



Monday, 16 July 2012

Returning to my roots - Round Two

I'm finishing my weekend in Annapolis Royal Nova Scotia, where I rejoined the cycling lifestyle in 2009.
Yesterday I covered a little over 60k (about 35 miles) from the North Mountain to Bridgetown and back.  Along the route I recalled the terrain and the places where I gassed out when I was brand new again.
I rolled past Perry's quasi-garage where I used to turn for home when I was riding 30 minutes every other day.  I rolled up a steep little lump that I used to stand on the pedals to get over, rocking side to side putting my 240 pounds over each pedal to get one more stroke.  I blew past the Belleisle Church that used to be my turn when I had worked up to an hour every other day.  I nature breaked at Hebb's Landing where I remember being gassed on a Sunday ride with Adrian Nette.
And I rolled into Bridgetown where I had never been able to ride when I lived in Annapolis Royal and was just getting healthy.
Wow.
I felt like a champ when I turned for the ride back and covered the 25k back in 40 minutes. Even as I write this my legs are fresh and recovered, ready to ride again.
Not bad for a 50-year-old former smoker with asthma,  but the journey is still just begun!


Thursday, 23 February 2012

Guys like these paint us all


Good morning. Halifax Regional Police responded to 143 calls for service over night Feb 22.
 

Bicyclist - Pedestrian Accident
12-27809
At approximately 7:30 pm members of Halifax Regional Police responded to the intersection of Windsor St and Connaught St for a report of an accident between a bicyclist and a pedestrian. Witnesses at the scene state that the cyclist was travelling north on Windsor St and proceeded through a red light at the intersection without stopping and struck the pedestrian who was crossing in the crosswalk. The pedestrian, a 56 year old female, was thrown in the air and struck her head as she hit the pavement. She was transported to hospital by ambulance with injuries that are considered life threatening. The cyclist remained on scene where he was arrested by police. The 49 year old male is still in police custody and will appear in Halifax court on February 23, 2012 to face charges of violation of a court order as well as numerous charges under the Motor Vehicle Act.