So with 3 days of "training" under my belt, it's time to go. Everything is packed, logistics organized and so after a hearty breakfast tomorrow morning, I'm taking the first step of my trip - the 100km ride into Halifax. Am I ready? Maybe not enough, but I'm as ready as I'm going to be, and I'll survive.
Training day 1 involved a ride into Wolfville and 2 hours at Valley Stove & Cycle. I need this... And this... and this... oh, and I'll need a couple of these... and this... Colin was great, and besides finding everything and giving lots of advice, they even installed everything on the bike. Meanwhile, I went looking for a snack, and found a tasty looking peanut-butter bar and gobbled it down. Peanut butter is full of energy and protein right, great cycling food... But not on a queasy stomach trying in vain to get my suddenly heavier bike back up the mountain on the way home. It's called "Murder Hill" by Otesha and it nearly got me this time, but in the end I crawled up. No walking, but no time record for sure. And my back killed. Am I really going to survive this trip? Suddenly there were a few worries flying around the back of my head. 25km and I'm nearly dead...
No way to find out but try again on Day 2. Back down to Wolfville to see the new Market (beautiful!) and pick up some forgotten cycle items. But with my cleats, a raised seat, and some proper eating, I was feeling pretty good. So, to up the ante again, I offered to pick up some food for our sleepy (and therefore soon to be starving - no veggies when you arrive at market at 11am) local farmers. A nice gentle ride into New Minas, now with 5lbs of onions and 4lbs of carrots, to be joined by 3lbs of potatoes. Still feeling good. And amazingly enough, me and my 12lbs of veggies made it up the mountain without much fuss. Sure I was still wheezing and had to stop 4 times, but it didn't seem so bad. This trip is doable - and yes, training helps. Total distance: 35km
Day 3: I'm packing up and lingering around Lorax enjoying the beautiful morning. Finally get on the bike at 2PM to return something in New Minas. Once that was done, it felt like cheating to come straight home (especially without any weight) so I decided to practice wind riding (sounds like it's going to be important) and rode out to Canning. Headwinds are certainly not fun, but without weight it wasn't so bad, and I was zooming across the dykes at 30km/h with the wind to my side. Doing a longer ride gave time for the hands and rear to start aching, but a 10 min rest cleared it all out. A beautiful day in the country, and to top it off, up the mountain in one go - in 13 minutes! Not only can I do this, it's going to be quite enjoyable! Total distance: 45km
Training - check.
By the stats:
Training days: 3
Training KMs: 105km
Falls learning to ride with cleats: 6 (including one in the drug store parking lot. Yes I'm a dork, no, I'm totally fine)
Starting weight: 83.5kgs
Baggage weight: ≈18kgs
Gear cost: ≈ $1300 (excluding bike and panniers) - OUCH!
So now it's time to put it all together - 100km with all the weight, wish me luck!
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