Monday 30 June 2014
to Strava or not...
How Strava is changing the way we ride
Interesting read - I am a Strava newbie, but find that I do like it, and find that for me, at least, it has not changed the way I ride.
It might, however, focus me a bit.
Mostly, I think it somewhat dorky, a quintessential expression of pure Fredliness, but since I dropped my Garmin GPS and broke it (sigh...) it has become a useful way to track what I am up to. I like the data collection aspect of it as I have been collecting and plotting my mileage for years, either on a spreadsheet or on Garmin Connect. For me, the collection of data does not take away from the ride itself. I have been using bicycle computers since the first CatEye devices which used double A batteries, and still love to ride.
I don't care so much about the leader boards, and since my BlackBerry has no Strava app, I truly have no idea where the timed segments are while I am out. An upcoming switch to the iPhone, with all its app goodness, won't change that because I am too busy riding when I am out to really care what my phone is up to.
While I find it interesting to note what other people have done over certain distances, it is largely meaningless.
Think about it. Locally at least, the segments with leader boards are so short that overall effort on a ride is rendered meaningless, supposing all you care about is leaderboards. If you can hammer it like a mad fool for a kilometre or so, you can scoot up the leaderboard. Then, you can die, and take forever to recover, and try again.
Sorry, but I am more impressed with dropping the hammer over a longer segment. Like at least 100km. At a minimum.
For you see, I don't race and don't care to.
So I miss out on the rah rah that comes with participating in local events (although, truth be told, that rah rah seems missing from cycling races and appears confined to triathlons and running events from what I have seen). I see Strava as a good way to get the rah rah without having to actually race and subject myself to the crazy that is the sport I love so much.
One thing I like about Strava though, and can see myself participating in, are the challenges. I have few people to ride with, and having these artificial challenges is a real motivator. Again, I don't care to be at the top of the leader boards, but having a goal just hanging out there and hitting that goal and being able to say, "See? I did it!" matters to me.
Wednesday 25 June 2014
Friday 13 June 2014
Monday 9 June 2014
MonigraM Coffee Roasters
So what does one do if one desires a good cup of coffee?
Open a coffee shop of course.
And roast all of your own coffee.
And so, with that thought, MonigraM Coffee Roasters was born.
And a good thing that is.
Tonight, my lovely wife and I were out for a walk around Downtown Galt and happened, quite by chance, on this coffee shop.
Bit of a coffee snob that I am (bit? a lot try) I was immediately intrigued with the idea of a coffee shop that roasted its own beans. Clearly, I mused to myself and all who would listen, this may mean something good is in the air. Clearly as well, my detour into a back alley and my wife's exclamation of, "Hey look! A coffee shop!" was fortuitous as well.
The first thing to note when entering the shop is that this is not a canned environment. No canned coffee. No canned food. No canned music. Decor. Flooring. Chairs. Counters. None of it canned. It was also packed with people. We were quite honestly lucky to get a table.
A good sign that.
Upon securing a place to sit and ordering, we were struck by the incredible hospitality of the owner, Graham. The name of the company is actually a combination of his name and that of his wife. Very clever.
Graham is a genuinely nice guy. He refused payment until we had sampled our food. He brought us what we wanted promptly, and positively gushed over the food and coffee he was serving. If it sounds like I am gushing over the shop and the owner, it is with good reason. Let's just say it is several cuts above what I have come to expect even from high end one off coffee shops.
Speaking of the coffee.
The above cappuccino was so good that George Takei likely would have exclaimed as only he could exclaim, " Oh Myyyyyy".
It was perfect. The flavour appeared like a vapour and the foam was just so. Bitter, but not overpowering, the small cup was just the right size. I would not want more than this.
Mel, on the other hand, not being a coffee drinker had her own special yummies.
The soda pop was superb, and the jam? To die for. Chocolate raspberry. And Graham did not even blink when she asked for a spoon to eat it. It made perfect sense to him that this jam would be eaten in such a manner.
Sadly, there was no dark chocolate to go with my coffee, but I was able to snag a delicious pastry and nibble on it for a bit.
Yummy, just don't inhale the icing sugar...
So will we go back? Yes.
Has this place become my de facto South Galt coffee shop for post ride coffee? Yes.
Long live the independents!
Open a coffee shop of course.
And roast all of your own coffee.
And so, with that thought, MonigraM Coffee Roasters was born.
And a good thing that is.
Tonight, my lovely wife and I were out for a walk around Downtown Galt and happened, quite by chance, on this coffee shop.
Bit of a coffee snob that I am (bit? a lot try) I was immediately intrigued with the idea of a coffee shop that roasted its own beans. Clearly, I mused to myself and all who would listen, this may mean something good is in the air. Clearly as well, my detour into a back alley and my wife's exclamation of, "Hey look! A coffee shop!" was fortuitous as well.
The first thing to note when entering the shop is that this is not a canned environment. No canned coffee. No canned food. No canned music. Decor. Flooring. Chairs. Counters. None of it canned. It was also packed with people. We were quite honestly lucky to get a table.
A good sign that.
Upon securing a place to sit and ordering, we were struck by the incredible hospitality of the owner, Graham. The name of the company is actually a combination of his name and that of his wife. Very clever.
Graham is a genuinely nice guy. He refused payment until we had sampled our food. He brought us what we wanted promptly, and positively gushed over the food and coffee he was serving. If it sounds like I am gushing over the shop and the owner, it is with good reason. Let's just say it is several cuts above what I have come to expect even from high end one off coffee shops.
Speaking of the coffee.
The above cappuccino was so good that George Takei likely would have exclaimed as only he could exclaim, " Oh Myyyyyy".
It was perfect. The flavour appeared like a vapour and the foam was just so. Bitter, but not overpowering, the small cup was just the right size. I would not want more than this.
Mel, on the other hand, not being a coffee drinker had her own special yummies.
The soda pop was superb, and the jam? To die for. Chocolate raspberry. And Graham did not even blink when she asked for a spoon to eat it. It made perfect sense to him that this jam would be eaten in such a manner.
Sadly, there was no dark chocolate to go with my coffee, but I was able to snag a delicious pastry and nibble on it for a bit.
Yummy, just don't inhale the icing sugar...
So will we go back? Yes.
Has this place become my de facto South Galt coffee shop for post ride coffee? Yes.
Long live the independents!
race of truth
I have ridden the race of truth and it has shown me to be a liar.
Riding a time trial, be it a real one in competition or one on your own will reveal more about your abilities and power on a bicycle than almost anything else. Riding in a peleton, you can hide, wheel suck, and not put out as much effort as those around you. The same is true in a break away. Bursts of power are shorter and more intense, with time to recover. Work is shared.
Not so with the time trial. It is called the race of truth for a reason.
I don't race. I do like to ride all the time and do like to go fast. But I don't race.
Most of my riding is solo, or with friends, some of who are stronger than me, some not so much. I find that solo efforts are harder mentally and, since I like to push myself, at least on the surface resemble time trials. It is harder when riding solo to push right up to the red zone and hold it there for a long period of time. Give me someone to chase though, and I go faster. I will bury myself trying to catch another cyclist on the horizon. Catching them does not matter, but the effort of burying myself does to me. Blowing up on a chase is just an excuse to recover and go again.
What I need to develop is that mental ability which allows almost red zone effort without the lure. I need to break free from the racing greyhound charging after a mechanical lure mentality.
It is time to stop being a liar in the race of truth.
Riding a time trial, be it a real one in competition or one on your own will reveal more about your abilities and power on a bicycle than almost anything else. Riding in a peleton, you can hide, wheel suck, and not put out as much effort as those around you. The same is true in a break away. Bursts of power are shorter and more intense, with time to recover. Work is shared.
Not so with the time trial. It is called the race of truth for a reason.
I don't race. I do like to ride all the time and do like to go fast. But I don't race.
Most of my riding is solo, or with friends, some of who are stronger than me, some not so much. I find that solo efforts are harder mentally and, since I like to push myself, at least on the surface resemble time trials. It is harder when riding solo to push right up to the red zone and hold it there for a long period of time. Give me someone to chase though, and I go faster. I will bury myself trying to catch another cyclist on the horizon. Catching them does not matter, but the effort of burying myself does to me. Blowing up on a chase is just an excuse to recover and go again.
What I need to develop is that mental ability which allows almost red zone effort without the lure. I need to break free from the racing greyhound charging after a mechanical lure mentality.
It is time to stop being a liar in the race of truth.
Tuesday 3 June 2014
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