This summer I went a bit bike crazy. As I mentioned earlier in the season, Isabel and I picked up vintage Raleigh cruisers to commute and get around the city. We quickly learned that with a bike, Toronto is so much smaller, and ripe for exploring. I was hooked, but soon had to come to terms with the limit on speed and distance  a 40 year-old cruiser could manage.

So I bought a road bike.

From there, it’s been a steady progression towards further, faster, and longer. It meant waking up early most days to go for a ride – even when the weather dictates you should stay in bed. It meant obsessively tracking my goals and achievements on Strava. It meant renting and borrowing bikes while on vacation just to get the fix. It meant falling off and fracturing my elbow. And it meant getting back on two weeks before my doctor said it was wise to do so.

In the short time that I’ve been riding, I have noticed a big difference. My average speeds on the bike has increased. And my weight off the bike has decreased (not by design, but appreciated nonetheless). Because I came to it so late in the season, I have become obsessed with making the most of the few mild days we have left. Which has meant lots of layers and frozen toes. But along the way, I have loved (mostly) every minute of it.

As I write, I’m coming up on 2,000km traveled, in about 10 weeks of riding. Which I’m pretty happy about. But I’ll be happier if the season can extend just a few more weeks, before I have to start looking at indoor training, as to not undo all the good work done so far.