Preparing for Gran Fondo Canada

Paul Stevens

Carpe Diem (but in a relaxed sort of way)

Preparing for Gran Fondo Canada

With kneecap issues seemingly resolved by maintaining some exercises aimed directly at improving quadriceps/hamstring muscle balance, I have been able to enjoy some great bike rides with my fellow Manditos. I’m the new guy on the block having lived in our new location for just a few months. The core of these guys have been riding together for many years. I’m told a team riding jersey may be on its way to me if I pass the yet to be disclosed initiation. I’m thinking this is more of a mental test than anything else. “We’ll just let him think that we have something up our sleeves and let’s see if he cracks.” OK guys, I’ll keep you amused and play along, for now.

Riding With The Team

The tagline for the Manditos appears as part of the logo, proudly emblazoned on the jersey, “A Drinking Team With A Biking Problem”. Does that not tell you just about everything you need to know about these guys or what?! Actually, they’re a very reputable group – a bunch of retired school teachers and others who are still doing that working-for-a-living thing, myself included in the latter category.

Our usual ride is Saturday morning in deference to those who are still working but the retired members of the cast will get out once or twice during the week as well for a morning spin. Depending on my schedule, I am generally able to work in a weekday morning ride.

Growing the Local Bike Scene

This past week, as we are now in to a full-on spring, the Manditos joined another group of cyclists who gather at one of Sarnia’s two local bike shops. These two shops are at opposite ends of town and although they do not share common ownership, they cooperate with ride coordination with the ultimate goal of further developing a home-grown local biking culture. The initial ride of the season last Wednesday evening convened at 6 p.m. and attracted about 50 riders. That’s more than I expected and I am told that the group will grow as the weather continues to warm up. The group consisted of riders with varying aspirations; some were looking for a group to maintain a healthy pace while others were just looking for something to do rather than spend the evening in front of the TV.

Finding Your Groove

As such, the group was split into four groups, in part to let people find a riding speed that they were comfortable with as well as to break up the size of the group so that we were not dominating the roads as vehicles still need to get around. This isn’t the Tour de France so we don’t own the roads. The Manditos of course decided that we were ready for the group that was to head out first and would therefore be the quickest around the planned route which would take us about an hour to complete.

That’s well within our range as the Mandito rides are generally about 2-2 ½ hours in duration. With a very pleasant evening temperature-wise and lots of sunshine left in the day, being on the road at that time would pose no safety issues so you didn’t have to be concerned about lighting yourself up like a Christmas tree to remain visible to motorists. By the end of August, proper lighting for evening rides will become important as the days will get noticeably shorter. Let’s enjoy the long evenings while we can however.

Preparing for the Gran Fondo

Part of the mission for these rides is to prepare ourselves for an upcoming inaugural “Granfondo” ride to take place July 31^st. It didn’t take long for one of the Manditos to misinterpret the name to ‘Grand Fondle’ and there was palpable disappointment when the correction was brought to light. We men are such simple creatures and will almost always sink to the lowest common denominator. Anyway, there are several Granfondo rides that take place across Canada and other countries around the globe have similarly named organizations. Granfondo is an Italian term that loosely translates to ‘Big Ride’.

As mentioned, this Granfondo will be first in our area and riders have their choice of three distances – 50 km, 100 km, or for the hardcores out there, 150 km; each being completed in one day. The Manditos have collectively opted to go for the 100km route and it should take about 5-6 hours to complete including time taken for breaks and snack stops.

That will make for a full day of riding but it’s not a race so we will maintain a pace that is comfortable for us. There will however be a couple of timed sections so those of us who feel the need to cut loose can do so with bragging rights thereafter. The competitive juices in all of us will no doubt get us pumped to push through the timed sections and give us something to trash talk our fellow Manditos about at the end of the day.

Details

The route will be supervised with pit stops for snacks and drinks along the way and a large meal provided at the end of the day as well as music and other festivities so it should be a fun time for all. The key here is that you are going at a pace that is comfortable for you. Sure, there will be those who see this as a stepping stone to the Olympics but at this stage of our lives, we just want to enjoy ourselves, get some serious exercise and have some fun along the way.

About the only thing that would make for a disappointing day is a cold rain. It will be at the end of July so that should mean that cold temperatures will not be a factor. There are worse things than rain but it can make the roads slick, a factor to be dealt with on tighter turns. I have done long rides on very warm days (temperatures in the 30-degree range, or high 80s, low 90’s for you old school thermometer folks out there) and as long as you keep moving and keep yourself hydrated, it has not been an issue.

Riding on the bike on a hot day is like being in a convertible – so long as you are moving, there is always air movement which helps to keep you cooler. You certainly notice the elements when you stop for a break or refreshment however so getting yourself going again is welcome relief.

Looking Ahead

We have about 2 ½ months to get the Wednesday group ready for this event and it is my sincere hope that the folks who are just getting into cycling will feel sufficiently energized and confident that they will try to do at least the 50 km route. My strong suspicion is that we’ll see a nice contingent from the group ready to roll on July 31^st!

Your friend, Paul.

And remember – Carpe Diem (but in relaxed sort of way)!

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