weekend riding

Since I have Fridays off, every weekend is a long weekend for me. I typically do laundry, house-cleaning and all that other fun stuff on Fridays, but I also make sure I take time for a nice long bike ride. So, Friday afternoon I hopped on Milly, my Trek road bike, and went north of the city for a 60 km ride. It was about 12 degrees, with just a light wind, so a perfect day for riding. I didn't see any other cyclists, but I did see a few banana peels in the shoulder, an indication of those who had preceded me. I took the Roller Coaster Road detour, a couple of kilometers worth of small but steep climbs that I always enjoy. It no longer looks like this -- the trees are stripped of their leaves and the green grass is now a sad yellowish-brown.

The roller coaster begins

I rode to the seniors' home and greeted to the gentleman, who in vest and panama hat, regularly walks along the highway to the airport and back.

I didn't see any particularly interesting animals, but as I rode past the airport, I watched a large predatory bird (probably a hawk) interacting with a flock of smaller birds. My attempt to photograph this sight was not entirely successful:

I also saw a pair of colourful pigeons sitting in the shoulder, looking like they were wondering why they ever left the city.

I recently read Fitness Cycling, by Shannon Sovndal, MD. I like this book -- it's not too technical for recreational cyclists like me, and it's even set in age 40+ font (i.e., suitable for those who don't like to put on their reading glasses.) This isn't a issue for me, since I wear progressive lenses and usually take off my glasses when I read, but I know that Hubby and many of my friends appreciate a larger font.  

The book's subtitle is 56 workouts proven to improve strength, speed and stamina, and I'm sort of feeling like maybe I need to try a few of them. After a whole summer of riding, I find I'm in pretty decent shape, and my usual rides, which used to be somewhat challenging, are now a little too easy. I think this means I need to push myself a bit harder, especially on the hills. I love, love, love riding up hills. This book has a whole section of hill workouts, which I plan to try next cycling season (or next weekend, if riding conditions are still good.) 

This guy also says you should empty a bottle of water every hour. He's a doctor; he should know. This is something else I need to work on. I often ride the full two to two and half hours without taking even a sip. It has never been a problem, but I certainly don't want to learn the hard way that he is right.