Bikes and Beers Adventures

Mountain Biking for Stress Management

Wed, 04 May 2022 09:29:46 -0700

A friend of mine sent me this link for an article that was recently published in the Globe and Mail. The article highlights the many benefits of riding a bike on the trails with a focus on the mental health side of riding. The demands of Mountain Biking are such that you need to pay attention the entire time you are moving the bike, hence it promotes focus on the activity at hand, subsequently allowing you to clear your mind.

I know this feeling very well. The one thing that always clears my head on a stressful day is to take the bike and hit the local trails. On top of the beauty of the surrounding nature, the ability to clear your head for the 1.5 to 2 hours provides so many benefits. I no longer see problems as problems and in many instances I can look at a situation differently and hence react differently.

Check out the article for yourself and see what you think. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section if you want to share :-)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-looking-for-a-way-to-reduce-work-stress-try-mountain-biking/moun

BNBA Group Ride at Turkey Point

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 14:35:10 -0700

It was great to get out on some nice dirt trails again - long time coming. Trail conditions were perfect at Turkey Point on Saturday and even the weather cooperated. We did have to drive through some pretty heavy rain at times to get there, but not a drop while we were riding.

Getting your Bike ready for another Season

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 09:35:35 -0700

With a new riding season upon us comes the opportunity to make sure you are prepared to enjoy your rides by undertaking a few things prior to hitting the trails.

This is great time to start by getting your bike tuned up at your local bike shop, DIY, or for members of our club you have access to Northern Spokes (Don Green).

If you are willing and able to do some stuff on your own, then here is what we recommend;

1) Clean the bike. You have to start somewhere so if your bike has been sitting in the garage or shed all winter with last years riding dirt, then it is time to bring it out and clean it up.

Use a good mild soap to wash the bike and use only garden hose pressure (power washers are not recommended).

On the chain and cassette use a degreaser to ensure you get all of last years lubricants off. An old toothbrush goes a long way here to get the hard to reach spots.

We recommend using rubbing alcohol to clean your discs for the brakes. Just wet a spot on a clean towel and rub the disc on both sides to get any grime off. As far as the brake pads go, a little fine sandpaper can be used to clean off the grit on the pads. This is also a good time to check the brake pads to make sure they do not need replacing.

2) Lubricate the chain and cassette. Use a good chain lube for starters and apply it generously while you are circulating the pedal to get full coverage. Once you are satisfied that you covered the chain, use a clean rag to lightly remove any excess lube on the chain.

3) Check the shifting. By propping up the back tire and spinning the pedals with your hand, click through the gears and make sure that the chain is moving up and down freely with each click. If there is any hesitation with the gear shifting or it takes multiple clicks to shift a gear, then you may need to make some adjustments with your deraileur.

4) Check the brakes. You...Read More

Spring is Coming........

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 09:12:26 -0700

We are getting warmer temps this week with March break and we have pushed out the clocks by an hour so it is time to get ready for spring riding.

We will be updating our ride calendar in the coming weeks so you can get a feel for what we have scheduled this season. We will send out an email blast to update you when that is ready.

Starting in April, we will schedule rides on Saturday's based on trail conditions. Turkey Point, GORBA, and Puslinch are typcially the best for spring riding as they seem to drain well with rain and the winter melt. Of course that does not mean that these rides happen 100% of the time so everyone needs to be flexible with cancellations or trail changes.

In June, we will start our weeknight rides which will follow a similar format to last years riding schedule. Monday night will be a group ride held at Christie Lake (this is also ladies night). Thursday will be a group ride for all members and will primarily be held at Kelso, however, we will look at GORBA, Hydrocut, and Puslinch as otpions on Thursday nights as well. Wednesday night will be challenge nights with a little more focus on skills development for all levels. Wednesday night rides will be held at Kelso and will be for all levels of riders. More details will be forthcoming on how these will be managed.

You will start to recieve emails in the coming weeks to renew your membership, for those that have already completed their renewal - thank you. Renewals will be important this year as we are considering capping the membership at the current level so that we can ensure a great experience for all members at all times. We will provide an update on this in the coming weeks as well. We are now over 50 strong so thank you to all of you for your support.

We are planning a couple of big trips this year, so hoping there will be a few of you interested in tagging along. Keep an eye on this blog for updates on trips and the Ride Calendar for...Read More

Whitney's Training Journey

Fri, 01 May 2020 09:54:14 -0700

Training in Tucson - Part Two

Training days consisted of rotating through Intensity Day, Endurance Day, and Rest Day. Here's a summary of hours and km on the bike:

If you’re keen you can find my routes and other data from the rides over on Strava → www.strava.com/athletes/wsurgenor

Some memorable training moments:

"Wednesday Worlds" ride. Powered up a hill sprint and made a break off the front only to remember I didn't know the route and didn't know where the next turn was. Resulting in me waiting at the top for the group to catch up and continuing on. Note to self if you're going to "attack" the group, know the route.
Sprints and pace lines on both the Wednesday and Sunday rides. Great mock race rides to start getting my head in the race mindset for the season.
Long rides bonding time with my teammate Lindsay. 6 hr rides is a the new trend or at least Lindsay and I were trying to make it a thing, especially if there's delicious pizza and cookies from Time Market (www.timemarket.xyz/) at the end.
Swinging by a farm at the end of the rides close to the house where there were miniature horses. Gosh I have such a soft spot for those little fellas.

Tasty stop at Time Market

Lindsay and I after interval training session on Old Spanish Trail. Don't let the smiles fool you the efforts were felt soon after.

My Friends

Cruising along The Loop to head out to Gates Pass with these two ladies.

Training Week Summary:

11 days training days Tucson
998.73 km cycled
35h 10m on the bike
3 rest day
0 bolt lost during bike deconstruction and assemble for plan travel...Read More

Whitney's Training Journey

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 11:26:19 -0700

Tucson Round II - Part One

The moment you've all be waiting for on the edges of your seats, a summary of my happenings with part II of my training down in Tucson this winter .... well maybe not but enjoy. And remember if anything I hope you again take away just how grateful I am to be continuously be inspired by the people around me. As Andy Warhol puts it "The world fascinates me."

This Time Around

I'll open this time with my delight to find out that I can now pack my bike into a travel bike box in under 15mins. Progress! For reference it took me over an hour last time. Thanks again to Justin, for letting me borrow your bike box to travel with.

This time consisted of a total of 11 days of training and I again was fortunate the have Homestretch house me while I was down there. My objective during these 11 days was to: rack up some solid kms, join some "race pace" group rides and riding with one of my teammates who was joining my down in Tucson for a few days.

I was keen this time around to see how much I could push myself, while continuing to listen to my body. Continuing to expand on my knowledge of the difference between pushing myself and harming myself. This doesn't happen overnight and I am still constantly learning new things about how I adapt to different stresses but listen to my body doesn't rely on data, numbers, or pushing myself to burnouts. I continue to work on understanding the difference between I don't feel like doing this and I can't do this. Pushing myself to my limits doesn't mean breaking myself. Stress, rest, repeat. Reflect, move forward. If I fail don't blame and list excuses, embrace the failure, reflect on it and grow through it. Learn from failure, move forward and try again. Failure is inevitable towards growth. Learn to accept it. The process isn't perfect, it can be messy, but I feel it's worth it as long as my passion and dive continuous to pave the...Read More

Back to the Trails

Mon, 09 Mar 2020 07:52:31 -0700

This past weekend was way too beautiful to not get out and ride.

The weekend started off with Charles and I attending the Toronto Bike show on Saturday. We actually found some pretty good deals on the clothing side of things - shorts, shirts and some nutrition products. We also had the opportunity to chat with a lot of vendors, especially the various bike clubs and destination hosts. One that was really interesting to us was the group from Killington, Vermont - guess where we might be planning a trip to next year???

After a few hours at the bike show, I just felt super inspired to get out on my bike. Based on my inspiration, I chatted with Charles about the idea of riding Sunday morning at Hydrocut (hoping the trails would be open) and a plan was born.

We got up a decent time Sunday morning and we checked the trail reports and noted that they were still open, so we packed up the bikes and headed to Kitchener.

By the time we arrived at Hydrocut, we checked in with a few other riders at the Snyder's entrance and they let us know which trails were good and those that had turned muddy. We then got our gear on and started our ride. We knew that the snow would be getting mushy as the sun was out in full force, so we just tried to get as much trail in while avoiding any trails with mud or slush. In the end, we got 8km in on the strava and got a good enough workout as well(first ride in a long time).

The trails ended up getting closed by the time we were done which we figured would happen as the trails were starting to get mushy by the end of our ride. It felt great to be back out on the trails, especially as I got to try out my new Evolve 29er bike. Now, this ride was not ideal for the first time on this baby, however it allowed me to get a general feel for the bike. I can hardly wait to get this beast on the trails when the there is only dirt for as far as the eye can see :-)

Right now, I am hoping for an early riding...Read More

Riding in Tulum Mexico

Mon, 09 Mar 2020 07:04:19 -0700

Riding in Tulum, Mexico

Early morning ride today on “the bikes with no brakes” into Tulum Beach for a Croissant and a Cappuccino at Tunich. Tunich is a Cafe in the beach area with a "people watching" view on the main strip instead of an ocean view.

While we were enjoying our Croissant and cappuccino ... a Great conversation broke out about the economics of the Beverage situation in Mexico. A cappucino or bottle water is anywhere between 95 pesos and 130 peso. A Cerveza is 35 pesos, Conclusion you can get three times more Cervezas if you forego water and coffee :-)

We then took a leisurely cycle down the main strip to a rock formation where we locked the bikes and continued with a morning walk down the beach with the waves lapping at our toes. With the water teasing our feet, we decided that is was time for an ocean swim ... we walk into the surf and slip under the water stretching out the mind and Body under the warm sun.

In this area, there are many beautiful Beach clubs available with Palapas and available spa treatments including beach side massages - tempting, but not today.

In the afternoon, we decided on a road trip to Soliman Bay approx 16 km from Tulum, a quaint and private getaway surrounded buy ultra exclusive homes and a few Boutique Hotels all on the oceanfront ! Not too many tourists in this area

The best un-chartered snorkeling is located here. You are able to rent a Kayak from Chamico camping and head out towards the reef. Once you get to the reef, you are able to hook up the Kayak to the Buoy and then you are off to a spectacular treat along the coral reef. Brain Coral, Black Coral, Blue Fan Coral and a slew of beautiful and colourful fish and sea urchin await you under the water.

Once you are tuckered out, take a minute to enjoy a Cervezas on the beach. Another great place to relax is the Jashita Boutique Hotel where you can treat yourself to a wonderful lunch and a...Read More

Whitney's Journey - Summary

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 15:44:17 -0800

Wrapping up the entire week - Training Summary

Summary: Training Week Statistics

586km cycled
4,571m in elevation gained cycling
21h 25m on the bike
1 rest day
1 Australian shepard dog interaction
1 bee sting while descending 3.5hr into a 5hr ride (a few curse words were uttered but held my composure on the bike, phew)
0 lemons found on Mt Lemmon
0 sunburns (sunscreen skills on point!)
1 bolt lost during bike deconstruction and assemble for plan travel

What's Next for Winter Training?

I will be continuing training back in the great white north. Which means back to hot chocolate in a thermos on rides, doing interval workouts on an indoor trainer, along with mixing in some cross training like running when the weather does not permit cycling on the roads and strength training. And already planning for my next trip to Tucson for another longer training block in February 2020.

Thanks and Recognition;

Canadian Mountain Bike Adventure Corp (AKA Bikes and Beers Adventures) for your continued support;
Homestretch Foundation for housing me and being nothing short of welcoming, encouraging and supportive;
Ainley Group for allowing me flexibility to pursue my goals in cycling while still allowing me be part of a great team of Consulting Engineering, Creating Quality Solutions Together;
Hamilton United Cycling for an exciting 2020 season to come;
El Groupo for inspiring me with what a community...Read More

Whitney's Journey - The Training

Mon, 20 Jan 2020 20:10:21 -0800

Training: So it begins....

First day consisted of: travel from Toronto to Tucson → arrive at Homestretch and meeting my fellow December residences, general manager (Lauren Hall) and founder (Kathryn Bertine) → unpacking and grocery shopping → assemble bike and go for a spin up the road to see if my bike assembly practice payed off (phew, it did).

Day 2

Day two happenings. Get up, get to interval training along Old Spanish Road. Learned that Lauren Hall was offering some of her insight into sprints and lead outs later in the afternoon, so jumped on that opportunity and put in a spin in the afternoon then headed to sprint practice.

Morning Intervals

Afternoon spin and sprint technique practice

Took away some great pointers and things to consider and work on in my sprinting toolbox which is currently lacking some sprint ammunition but I'm working on filling it.

Of the group of 6 of that participated in the skills clinic, 4 were Canadian, .... we are slowly infiltrating and taking over ... shhhh don't tell anyone.

Part of the sprint practice crew, 3 Canadians and Lauren

Cycling Terminology - Lead Out: Sprinting technique where the rider will accelerate to maximum speed with a teammate, the sprinter, drafting behind, hoping to create space between the sprinter and the pack. When the lead out person is exhausted they will move to the side to allow their teammate to race in the sprint. Often a line of lead out riders will be used to form a Lead Out Train to drive the speed higher and higher (and to reduce the chances of other riders attacking) over the closing stages of a race. The purpose of a lead out is for the sprinter to achieve high speed at the sprint approach using as little of their own energy...Read More