Training continues...

If you've read previous posts you'll know that I'm trying to earn my keep as a cycling event organizer by actually riding a bike.  Something I've not done in decades :(  So I got my bike fixed, tested it out and tried the 12k route for the Tour de Greenbelt,which was great.

Kay Gardner Beltline Trail

Yesterday I used my bike as my mode of transportation for a 16k round trip.  I mapped out my route which allowed me to use the Kay Gardner Beltline which runs mainly parallel to Oriole Parkway in the neighbourhood of Forest Hill.  The trail was new to me, had I not used an online mapping tool  I still never would have known it was there.  But I followed my directions and so enjoyed using this trail for a good chunk of my trip.  I love these little gems in the city.  Riding along this beltline you almost forget that there are busy roads and building right on the other side of that beautiful green trail.

About 4km into my trip I noticed some dark clouds roll in and the wind picked up.  This was a challenge for me as a novice rider, but then came the downpour and wow, did I ever have sympathy for cyclists riding in the rain.  I was totally soaks in about 60 seconds and finally found some cover after a few minutes, but the damage had been done.  The rain only lasted about 10 minutes and once it passed enough I kept going as I had a meeting to get to.

After the rain I found my way to the Kay Gardner Beltline and things got better from there.  I attended my meeting soaking wet and filthy from the gravel trail, but glad I'd made it to my destination on time, discovered something new, and did it all on my bike!

Bike riding can be delicious!

We appreciate that when you ride through the beautiful and agriculturally rich Greenbelt that you might get a little hungry.  It's like going to a grocery store on an empty stomach.  Especially in September when the lands have been busy producing gorgeous foods all season, the corn is high and the air doesn't have the same sticky humidity and smog as it does in the city currently.

So, when you finish your bike ride as part of the Tour de Greenbelt on September 17th, whether you did the 12k, 25k, 50k, 75k, or 100k, we know you'll enjoy your greenbelt grown lunch at the end.  And we know you'll probably have increased your appreciation for where it came from having just ridden through part of the greenbelt, home to over 7,000 Ontario farms.

Today, I happened upon a Farmers' Market.  This is such a great time of year for them when you can still get early crops like strawberries and raspberries and also a whole range of other goodies like zucchini, lettuce, cherries, pepper, tomatoes, and peaches... oh those Ontario peaches!  So, sign up for the Tour de Greenbelt and enjoy your greenbelt grown food until then.

Greening inspiration

I love going to other events and being inspired by such amazing greening efforts I see.  This weekend at the Hillside Music Festival in Guelph, Ontario, I was witness to one of the best examples of this. If you've been to any music festival, you know that seeing lots of garbage and especially plastic water bottles are pretty standard things.  At hillside there are no plastic water bottles but a water truck, food vendors use reusable plates that get washed by volunteers and used again, and the waste stations even have compost bins.  It's such a great thing to see.

If you've been to the Tour de Greenbelt, you know that we also try to make our event as green as possible by using compostable dishes, also never providing disposable water bottles, offering shuttle services and using local food grown sometimes within a stones throw of the event.  Every little bit helps and we know our riders appreciate us making the event as green as they live their lives.

Riding the 12k Route

I did it!  I rode the 12k route..... and it was great!

Other than the fact that I realized my gears didn't work, which made going up, even the small inclines that are on this route a bit of a challenge, the ride was pretty awesome.  12k is a good starter distance for a beginner like me, and my brother who joined me, who was a avid cyclist but has been out of the habit for a while.  It feels like you're doing a proper ride, but you don't feel totally spent at the end.  The scenery really is lovely, and the roads were quiet.  There are a couple bits that are busier roads, one has a bike lane and the others are brief.  It's mainly flat, even without gears there were only 2 inclines that I had to walk up for about 10 paces. It took us about an hour at a leisurely pace.  Afterwards we went over to Whittamore Farms, which is a stop on this route where we met up with the rest of our family who had been enjoying the on-farm activities there.

It would only be that much better when people do the route for the Tour de Greenbelt and get to be a part of a group, participate in the rest stops enjoy the on route support and of course, the end of day bbq and festivities.

Next... it's the 25k route.

It is just like riding a bike!

Better in fact. I tested out two of the bikes, thinking I like the Raleigh over the CCM so far.  

I was a little nervous at the take off that I'd just topple right over but a couple
rotations in and it all came back to me. And I could see why people love to cycle. I
took the CCM out first and rode about a kilometre with my 5 year old. I figured that would
give me an excuse to go slow. But when he was done I went right to get the Raleigh
and really see what I could do.

I went off the park paths and onto the roads. My neighbourhood is pretty good for
cycling too, quiet streets, lots of greenery. I tested myself on some bigger roads
where there is a bit more traffic and felt okay with that too. Next stop 12k route
of the Tour de Greenbelt.

Confessions of a Bike Event Organizer

I organize bike events and I can't ride a bike.

Well, that's not entirely true, but I'm no cyclist.  I know they say "it's just like riding a bike", and I'm going to put that theory to the test.  I pledge that I will ride at least two of the 2011 Tour de Greenbelt Routes as pre-event test rides and report on them.  My quest begins now!

My bike (along with 3 other abandonded family bikes) had long been in storage, unused for ages, I'm ashamed to admit.  I retreived them and took them to my local bike shop.  The folks at Spokes and Sports were really helpful and assessed the bikes I brought in.  One was not worth fixing (my bat mitzvah gift from 1986) but the other three were.  A tune up for one, a new tire for another and less than a week later they are all back from the shop and ready to ride. *gulp*

Tomorrow I'll ride around the neighbourhood, maybe test each bike out and see which one is going to be the one I like the best.  Then Friday it'll be off to the 12k route.  Seems like a good tester distance, I've driven the route and it's straight forward, fairly flat and on beautiful, quiet roads.  I'll keep you all posted on my progress.

Horses, and cows, and raccoon.... on my!

If you're hoping to see some animals on the Tour de Greenbelt, there are a few things we can guarantee.  You'll surely pass farms where you will spot some grazing cows or horses, or both if you're lucky.  There will be birds a plenty, perhaps some bugs if they qualify as animal spotting.  You may catch a glimpse a frog or two around some wetlands, or hear them if you don't see any.

When I was going through a couple of the routes the other day I saw some gorgeous horses (pictured here),

heard birds singing, saw lots of squirrels running up and down trees, but the most unusual thing I saw were, what seemed to be domesticated raccoon.  Around a woodland area within Rouge Park there were at least four raccoon that I spotted hanging around the parking lot or along the edge of it, snacking on items around garbage bins and even approaching cars to see if anyone was willing to share their picnic lunches.

It's a bit odd to see a raccoon in daylight, they seemed so much cuter and less intimidated.

I'm always a little wary of garbage bins at night in case some big city raccoon might be lurking about.  But these ones looked like you could take them home for pets.  They were cute and cuddly... well I didn't test out the cuddly factor, but they looked it for sure.

So be prepared to make some new furry friends on the Tour this year on September 17th and be sure to register.

www.tourdegreenbelt.ca