One Year

One year ago I bought a Bryton Rider 330 bike computer and signed up for Strava. I thought it would be fun to keep track of the kilometres I ride throughout a year and have a record of where I went. Also, I thought it was incredibly handy to have just ONE computer that could be put on all of my bikes instead of having a half dozen, each with different wheel sizes programmed into them - on and rechargeable - and all the data isn't lost when the battery dies. I'm really happy with it.

So, how did that year go...?



I rode about 3500km in the last year. Which is, I think, a pretty average year. When I've tried keeping track in previous years - tallying the odometers of all my other bike computers - I got about the same. for a year when I was MOSTLY just commuting and not doing a lot of fun rides or "training". I think the most I did in a year was about 8000Km. I'd like to do better this next year. Go for more longer rides through the summer. Get that up over 4000Km/year.



No surprise, there was less riding through December - January - February - March... But strangely there was also a week in July where I did less riding than any of those winter months...? Week of rain where I didn't HAVE to go anywhere, so I barely left the house?



Presented as mostly totals... I started off doing a lot of riding in May... slacked off through June (I was also on vacation for two weeks and while we did some mountain biking we mostly just walked around Calgary and Canmore). September I did a LOT of riding. This was because Finnegan was doing a Wellness class and he had to log a LOT of hours doing physical activity through the month and so we went for a lot of long rides. Rides dropped off to only commutes through November and December... not sure why I did so much more riding in January...? One of the coldest Februaries on record accounts for it being the lowest of the low, and slowly starting to put down some Klicks through March and April - though that was still mostly commuting - only one or two fun rides in there each month.



The Yuba is still my get-around bike for the greater part of the year. I did more distance on the Fargo because I've been using it for a few more commute trips around town, and it's the bike I do longer rides on out of town - those add up quickly! The Big Fat Dummy was the ONLY bike I rode through the winter. The Mikado seems to have sat completely unused this past year. I was using it for short trips around town when I didn't need to haul stuff in the Yuba, but I've mostly been using the Fargo or the Bowery for those trips these days...

That is all for now.

Spring Rides

It's spring! It's time to get out and ride... well... get out and ride just for the sake of getting out and riding - not just to get somewhere - like the riding we do every other day...

So today we went out and did a quick tour of the north and south bridges.



At the north end of the loop - crossing the Circle Drive Bridge.



Heading back down the east side of the river we past a big patch of crocuses! Of course once I noticed these I spotted a few more here and there along the edge of the riverbank.



It's been a long time since I've seen crocuses... somehow I seem to have missed them the last... I don't know how many years....



It used to be something I'd always see every spring - on those first trail rides in the spring - usually north of the Circle Drive bridge along those trails that are now part of the dog park.



Usually spotted them on rides with Amanda. But it's been a long time since we've gone for regular trail rides... Today she's on a plane to Quebec City for a conference.



A little further along, near the train bridge there were scores of swallows swooping and diving and darting about over the river and above us on the east bank. Must have been a lot of bugs app there, or something. The plus side of a late spring is I still haven't seen any mosquitoes!



Nearing the south end of our loop. Gordie Howe Bridge in sight.

I recently picked up a fancy new GPS bike computer - I thought it would be fun to keep track of all the cycling I do in a year - just to see how much I actually do DO! I picked it up a week or so ago, but finally sat down and figure out how to use it on the first. Started using Strava too...