Bum Sores

WEATHER THERE: clear, 8C, 11 km/hr tail/crosswinds
WEATHER BACK: sunny, 9C, 21 km/hr cross/headwinds gusting to 30 km/hr

My ass bones are sore. I guess not biking for a few days in a row gives my bum the opportunity to heal from the pressure sores I get from bike-riding. Since returning to the saddle on Wednesday, then riding for three days in a row, I found that by the end of the day today my bum felt raw like I'd just been paddled in some old-school fraternity initiation. It wasn't pleasant. I'm definitely glad that I get to rest a bit over the weekend, so that hopefully by the time I get back to the saddle again on Monday I'll have healed enough for it to no longer be sore, but not enough time has passed for the "ass callous" (the immunity I develop to the saddle pressure with regular riding) to fade completely.

I've heard that some cyclists - though I suspect it's more for the long-distance riders - wear padded shorts. That would be helpful, no doubt, for minimizing unfortunate ass-sores, but I just can't see pouring myself into those skin-tight bum-goblins twice a day for my meager 16-18 km round-trip commute. It just doesn't seem worth it. Besides, I suspect that wearing those when it's not absolutely necessary might eat away at my already threatened dignity. Maybe someday I'll become a long-distance rider and invest in a fine pair of ass paddings . . . but not now, and not anytime soon.

Speed Demons

WEATHER THERE: clear, 4C, 28 km/hr cross/headwinds (gusting to 39 km/hr)

WEATHER BACK:sunny, 13C, 8 km/hr cross/tailwinds

"Wow, you're fast!" I blurted out in awe.
"Haha, thanks," my fellow cyclist replied, "I'm not that fast, though - there was one guy who passed me back there going a lot faster than me!"
"Yeah, I saw him too, that was crazy!"
"He must've been in quite a rush."

I had this conversation at a red light today on the way home from work. I felt compelled to comment on this fellow cyclist's speed because I had been clipping along 100 Avenue at what is probably my top speed on a flat stretch of road - 27 km/hr - when this guy blew past me and quickly vanished out of sight around a bend in the road. I caught up to him at the light a couple blocks later and started the above conversation with him. He seemed like a nice guy - it's always nice to chat at red lights, it's one of my favourite things about bike-commuting!

Yesterday, the same thing happened (minus the red light and the conversation). Along 100 Avenue, while I was making personal land speed records for myself, two guys passed me at a speed I guesstimate to be around 30-35 km/hr - likely even faster! That is unheard of to me! How the hell do they do it? They're not even in spandex. It kind of blew my mind, and made me feel like a chubby slow-poke.

I missed bike-commuting last Friday because that sore throat I had at the beginning of the week turned into a sinus infection that really knocked me out by the end of the week. I wouldn't have gone to work on Friday if I didn't have two important things to attend to, so I drugged myself up with daytime sinus medication and hauled my sick, sorry ass to work in my car. Yesterday was my first day back to bike-commuting after being sick, and my third day of bike-commuting after returning from Mexico. So, basically, I haven't done a lot of biking over the past two or three weeks.

The illness and the vacation and the lack of exercise have left me feeling kind of out of shape. This feeling has been really driven home by how many people who keep passing me at such extraordinarily greater speeds than I'm going. I mean, these people aren't just passing me, they're leaving me in the dust! And it seems like it's everywhere - those guys on 100 Avenue two days in a row, a middle-aged lady on the High Level Bridge yesterday morning, even some dude riding on the sidewalk without a helmet was going faster than me the other day! What gives?? The weirdest part about all this is that according to my bike computer, I'm going as fast or even faster than ever. I usually top out at 21-22 km/hr on flat stretches of road, and the past couple of days I've been managing 24-27 km/hr along certain parts of my commute (in particular, the High Level Bridge and 100 Avenue). I've been a regular Speedy Gonzales!! So why are there so many people who seem to have come out of nowhere who are apparently rocket-powered?

Go figure. I guess I should just be grateful that there are so many cyclists still out on their bikes at this time of year. It is, after all, November, and it's been beautiful weather. Perhaps I should focus more on that - and also on my record speeds (yay me for hitting 27 km/hr today along 100 Avenue!) - and less on comparing myself to other people.

I daresay that's good advice in all aspects of life, not just biking.

A Sad Day in Cyclingville

WEATHER THERE: clear, 3C, 11 km/hr tail/crosswinds
WEATHER BACK: sunny, 11C, 5 km/hr headwinds


It is a sad day in Cyclingville, my friends. I recently read an article in the newspaper describing how the driver of a pick-up truck that smashed into a group of six cyclists on the side of a highway in Quebec in May - killing three people - will not be facing any charges. Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, though the driver was apparently a volunteer firefighter on his way home after a night shift so perhaps exhaustion played a part.

It's difficult to understand how a driver didn't see a pack of six cyclists travelling on the side of a highway in broad daylight (the accident happened at 10:00 am in May). What is most shocking is that absolutely no charges are being laid - not even careless driving - after three people have died. It angers and saddens me that there will be absolutely no consequences for whatever mistake led to this tragedy. I also feel angry and sad about what message this sends to cyclists: ride at your own risk, and if you get hit and killed it's your own damn fault for being on a bike in the first place. I know that highways were built for cars, but multiple modes of transportation do exist, so peaceful coexistence is necessary. As it is, the vehicle is the unchecked bully of the road and the cyclists are their innocent victims - often with fatal consequences. Yet time and again, the bully just keeps getting a slap on the wrist - if anything at all. What a sad, awful day for cyclists everywhere.


A newspaper article describing the original crash can be read here.