Sunday, April 29, 2007

Open Parkway


Open Parkway
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
It was a pretty wet weekend but the sun finally came out on Sunday after lunch. I went for a ride in the Gatineau, hoping for some quiet roads with the parkway gates still closed from ski season... but it was not to be. I guess the spring cleanup of the parkways has been completed and the NCC opened the gates to motorized traffic for the season. It was pretty strange being up there with cars and motorbikes screaming around. For the last few months the Park has been so peacfully quiet - skiers are a relatively quiet bunch. Now the park echoes with high revving motorbikes who treat the Parkway as their personal Laguna Seca speedway (most cars seem to obey the speed limits). The racing motorbikes is nothing a few RCMP speedtraps won't cure (a spring ritual and I believe a real RCMP moneymaker ;-) but the cars are back on the roads for the season I suppose. Two more weeks before the trails are dried up and open for mountainbikes. I suppose I can wait that long.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Marathon course measurement


course measurement
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
This morning was course measurement time. As part of my duties as co- route coordinator to the National Capital Marathon I get involved in the measurement of the race course for the upcoming marathon. Today we headed out to certify the new course to the correct distance. This is done on bicycle with a calibrated instrument attached to the front wheel. The riders ride the full route and must ride the tangents (shortest distance) through all the curves. This sometimes requires riding on the left hand side of the road and drifting back and forth as the curves of the road dictate in order to get the shortest (straightest) line which the runners will use on race day. To do this safely we hire two police cars to drive as our escort - protecting our pack of riders from any early morning traffic. In theory it sounds easy but most motorists we meet at 6am aren't ready to deal with a fleet of squad cars (sometimes on the left) with lights and sirens blazing. In a few cases they panic and do strange things. Pictured here is the "hand off" from Gatineau police to Ottawa police as we cross the border back into Ottawa. It wasn't too smooth and a few cars leaked into our group... but Ottawa police quickly neutralized any movement and we were soon on our way again.

From a riding perspective its one of the nicest (safest) rides I've ever taken. We ride wherever we want and the police cars lead the way - traffic rules be damned! It's a bit pricey but if you get the opportunity, I strongly recommend it.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Barn near the Luskville falls

Today I took what is becoming a spring tradition - the hike up to the firetower along the Luskville falls. It was the first really warm day of spring today (20C) with a cloudless blue sky. Perfect weather to make the climb. This hike is a great warm up to a summer full of hiking/climbing that lies ahead. A few steep pitches but never too long. Just enough to get the heart rate up and remind you that going up hill is hard work. Mike, Bryan and I went up to the firetower on the main trail and then descended (bushwhacked) closer to the climbing crags on the way down to watch some rock climbers in action. A great hike.

Some of you may be wondering what happened with the last big snowstorm Monday. Well it did snow a bunch (close to a foot) but the grooming contract had expired so there was no compaction of the trails. Many people went skiing anyway and made their own track but I decided against it. This storm exposed a weak link in my ski fleet. I wasn't prepared (for one or two days in April) to put klister on my classic skis (perhaps pure laziness on my part). What I need - for just this condition - is a pair of waxless skis. Hmmmm, perhaps I need to review some online ski shops and see if I can add another pair of "boards" to the fleet. It would be silly to miss out again next year should this or other conditions present themselves. I promise to be better prepared for next year. In the meantime I await the first snows of November... and start work on the summer climbing

Saturday, April 14, 2007

April skiing


April skiing
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
Well I managed to finally get some April skiing in. I was more or less commited to go south (yes south!) this weekend to find some snow. Word had it there was some good skiing to be had in southern Vermont and I was going to check it out but, with the car half loaded, it snowed here... a bunch. I decided to save some gas money and ski at home instead. We got 10 - 15cms of snow in the Park on Thursday and I went out Friday after work (in a soft drizzle) and again Saturday morning. The new grooming contractor had been out to groom the parkway from P10 up to the lookouts. They even groomed a classic track. The snow was wet and soggy - a little mashed potatoe like - but perfectly serviceable and I had a good ski both days. Used good skis and didn't scrape through to asphalt once. There were quite a number of people up.... okay only a few, but it is mid-April. The weatherman is calling for another "heavy snowfall warning" Sunday night.... Here's hoping the Northern Pikes are right - Snow in June, It happens all the time....

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Spring Parkway


Parkway
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
Went for an Easter ride today. For those looking for snow - it's still there, but we certainly didn't get the 3 foot snowstorm I was hoping for. There are now only a few stretches of snow on the parkway. They only last for a few hundred meters each so skiing would be a lot of walking. To my surprise I only saw two other cyclists in the park... I guess they don't like to walk either. Actually I was able to quite happily ride over the snow so it didn't slow me down much.

Cold and murky weekend. It was actually snowing the whole time I rode today but nothing really accumulated. I had full winter clothing on as it never got above freezing. It was nice tho' to get out and stretch the riding muscles. Some of them have been dormant for a while.

Sunday, April 01, 2007


last ski

Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.
I went for what will probably be the last ski this season on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day and the snow - where I could find it - was great but the walks between sections of snow had grown surprisingly long overnight. I stuck to the Parkways and enjoyed the warm sunshine. Not a great ski but a nice day to be out regardless. Lots of people up enjoying the day with a little skiing and then partaking in Lafleurs' (farewell) season ending picnic. Lafleur won't be back next year so their expert grooming will be missed - hopefully the new contractor can fill their big shoes.

Today was mostly overcast and rainy so I took the rock skis in and cleaned them up ready for next year (or Easter weekend if we get a sudden 2 ft dump of snow... it could happen!).

Pictured is one of the poorer sections of snow. The skis were willing but the owner is perhaps turning his thoughts to the next season. Mud season will perhaps limit the amount of climbing to be done for a little while but the bike has been lonely... and there's this event I'm involved in just 8 weeks away which should fill my time.