Good afternoon everyone, hope everyone is surviving!!
Its been a while since I have done a post on the TVG site. To answer some questions, yes I am still alive! Like many, it has been a different winter/spring time. For myself, a new bike trainer has given me a new motivation over the winter, and prior to Covid-19 coming in, a training plan for the Spring 8hr solo was in full swing. Oh how things change… No more spring 8hr, no more 24hr at Albion, pulling the chute on the 24hr in New York, Sausage Suit ITT which was suppose to be in the coming weeks is postponed. Bike trips that were planned for the spring time, cancelled or postponed.
I’d say it is becoming depressing, everything we looked forward to all weekend is being pulled out from underneath us. But there is light at the end of the tunnel (see what I did there, referenced the title of the post….), plus many things to look forward to. Use the coming weekend for example! Beautiful weather, with warmer temperatures. Now I know that Dufferin Forest is still off limits, and personally I am abiding by that. But what we can do is make sure the bikes are in tip top shape! Most if not all Local Bike shops are open for tune ups, and over the course of the last year, bikes have been ridden, abused, and put away. As soon as we can hit the trails running…. I mean spinning… you want to be able to.
With all the races being postponed/cancelled, I change my focus to other riding endeavors. Instead of focusing on races, I am moving focus onto adventure riding / bike packing. There are many rides that can be done in Ontario which takes you and your bike off the beaten path, and just to lose yourself in the beauty of the province we live in. There are rides such as the Simcoe loop, and 160km single day or multi day ride from Barrie and around, there is the COLT (Central Ontario Loop Trail) which is a 450+km multiday trip situated around Bancroft, Haliburton, Peterborough etc. and there is also the BT700, which is a 700km ride starting and finishing in St. Jacobs.
Now, like everyone I have hope that through the summer months we have the opportunity to race the 8hr, or have larger group rides again. At the end of the day we will all be able to ride our bikes together in the forest soon. This whole Covid-19 is just a blip in the road, a proverbial log on the trail, the rocks in a rock garden.
Now is a time to ride and focus on what is around us, take it all in, enjoy the ride. I will try and become more active on posts, many many many many many beer have been consumed over the winter with many writeups to contribute.
Cheers all, stay safe and see you out there eventually.