Photos de la Route

Nic is concerned with my ability to cover long distances. He’s a regular weekend rider and owns more than one bike, the mark of a serious cyclist. My longest ride to date has only been a one-way trip to Ile Perrot, at the western tip of the island, about 30km. We obviously have to cover a more significant distance per day if we want to make it back to Montréal before the winter!

So we begin the process of putting in longer distances. A few short trips out to Lachine and back to start (and as a bonus, there’s a Dairy Queen for mid-trip refills) and then we’re up to 60km with a round-trip jaunt out to Ile Perrot. It’s important to build up distances gradually, not so much for the legs but more to develop a good “bike butt” to endure these long stretches in the saddle. I can’t imagine anything worse than starting off a 100km ride and having a sore rear by 20km — every kilometre past your threshold is pure agony, let me tell you.

As our departure date looms, I think I’m getting there. We’ve put in many longer trips, culminating in a 80km+ cycle into the farmland south of the city. That was quite a ride, also memorable for a standing-still wipeout due to my new clipless pedals — both painful and embarrassing as anyone who’s switched to clipless will attest to — and a wicked 1cm-wide sunburn I got across my thighs. Don’t ever put on sunscreen just to the bottom of your cycling shorts: after a long day of pedaling they’re sure to ride up even a little bit.