I'm usually non-confrontational. But two days ago I was riding along a slight downhill, curving stretch of road. Parked cars on the right, and a row of cars zipping past on the left. This guy in a truck gets right behind me and lays on his horn, then pulls away.
Well, a couple of hundred yards later he's stopped at a red light. I manage to catch up and go up to the passenger side, the window is open and past the passenger I yell, "WAS THERE SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO TELL ME? BECAUSE YOU BLASTED YOUR HORN AS YOU PASSED SO I FIGURE YOU MUST WANT TO SAY SOMETHING TO ME" and he takes a few seconds and mutters something lame about wanting to warn me about getting out into traffic.
Here it is, where Woodbine and Lakeshore meet.


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Out the front door and riding at 6:40 AM this morning. It’s cool, and I’m ready to try for a new PB by riding at least 50 km. Got a bottle full of water, some trail mix, and a thermos of coffee and clementine if I start to fade.
There are some really nice long stretches of road without much traffic and I’m cruising along all right. Next thing I know I’m passing Scarborough Town Line. At one point I was about to turn back but two kitted-out guys on road bikes also out for a morning ride pass, so I speed up and try to stay with them, and for a while I do but they are around 5 kph faster than me, and eventually pull away on a downhill section and I can’t catch them again. Maybe I need slicker tires.

But thee are very long stretches without having to stop, and some challenging fun hills and next thing I know I’m at Markham Road and Ellesmere, and have gone 25 km. Halfway to the target distance, and still feel pretty good. Take a quick break for a sip of coffee and some trail mix, then start going west along hilly Ellesmere Road. A few kilometers later I realize the rear tire’s gone flat. It’s not even 8:00 AM, I’m somewhere in the Scarberian wilderness, and did not bring:
Cellphone
Patch kit/inner tube/pump or any tools at all

Had a twoonie and a $20 bill so I didn’t even have the right fare to hop on a bus to…somewhere. Bus to subway, subway then another bus. At least an hour. I see a convenience store and start walking to it to get change for a bus when a cab goes by, without a fare. I wave him down, throw the bike in the back seat. I figure the twenty dollar bill will be more than enough, and on the way back start to realize how far I’d gone. Cab ride ending up costing $40 and I still had to get the tire fixed.

Finally 10:00 AM rolls around and the local bike store is open, so I take the bike there. On the way, I see the lights at intersections are not working, and then realize that the electricity is down in the area and all along Parliament. The LBS is open, but with no power. Since I have to get the tire fixed, I ask the man who sold me the bike about the price for easier-rolling tires. He looks at mine and says, "I'm impressed you wore these out so fast, look how much the tread has worn down".
So I switch out the Continental Speed Kings for Specialized Nimbus 700x35c and they are a bit faster (and have a supposedly puncture-resistant lining), around 2-4 kph on level ground, which is pretty good improvement considering I'm stuck with the same old legs.

OMX Series: Moore Park Ravine to Brickworks

“So you think you can bike” is not a challenge to anyone but myself. An incentive, a piece of advice - to keep moving forward.