PISTE 5.09

PLAN B FOR EARLY SHOULDER SEASON

by PETER THOMAS BUSCH

Well, the cold cloudy days with a wisp of wind and a blanket of wet everywhere have arrived to bring an early end to the summer.

Before that, the smoke from the wildfires became part of the pick and choose vertex around days good enough for cycling during August. June was not so great for cycling either, nor were those lazy start up days during May, with many mornings not even worth the sweat that develops during warm-up.

Let’s see now, there is wind, rain, cold, winter snow and ice, summer smoke and now an early Fall.

Let me tell you that the days for cycling were just starting to get good before the smoke from the wildfires in the Interior of the Province wended through the Lower Mainland-Fraser Valley funnel. Typically, the smog from cars and pollution from factories gets pushed into the other end, all the way to Chilliwack. But no, smoke generated from wildfires comes down from much further afield, through a higher elevation.

On a bad day, I went cycling if the smoke remained in the higher elevations. On a horrible day, everyone must stay indoors, including me, and cycling is cancelled, when the smoke, and sometimes the ash, gets pushed down to the city street level.

I did all that work on my bike only to have the day cancelled for reasons out of my control.

I have gotten cycling in, mainly because the smoke does not always get this far. I do get up in the morning and look out the window to check-out the possibilities allowed by the weather.

If the roads look wet from overnight rain, then no, not me for cycling. If the clouds in the sky look like rain, then no, not me. If the sky looks smoky, and the air feels heavy and the smell of smoke is there, then no, absolutely not.

I learned the hard way one winter, to mind the weather conditions, when I needed to go cycling in the early morning, despite a cold night of light snow and ice. I got not more than 20 meters outside my building when I skidded and fell sideways down a slight decline on the road. I mean, “don’t go cycling, right?”

Well, in a smoke out, in the city, you look at the mountains for smoke, and then you look at the buildings for smoke. If the mountains are smoky, but the buildings are clear, then you go cycling.

I would go cycling, although with the caveat that smelling smoke on the street would abruptly shorten the trip. Not in terms of like getting a flat tire, doing a repair and continuing-on, but in terms of turning around and heading home, before developing that special headache that only wildfire smoke makes, and before getting that soar throat and dry cough that can last for several days.

And then, it was almost too much to bare, after all that work tuning up my bike, there was still more work to do, tuning up my bike, because the gears stopped changing properly – in terms of the precision required for carefree riding. This discombobulation of the gears often occurs when the wheels have to come off for a tire repair, for example, and the derailer gets ever so slightly stuck in the exact wrong position.

Thankfully there is a little knob on the cable, near the rear derailer that can fix the issue. Just turn the knob, as you change that particular gear, and the cable is supposed to magically adjust in the tiny increments required for clean cycling going forward.

The irritation occurs because what goes well in the shop quickly falls apart on the street. I have adjusted the gears for three days now, and each time the gears improved, but not to the point of no more worries.

The first day I got to the end of the block before the gears started acting up again. The second day I got two of the three gears to change properly. And on the third day, I only had one gear that still refused to cooperate in proper rotation. I hate that phantom click that does not change the gear until the whole drive train is under a bit more pressure.

So, with about two weeks of rain in the forecast, I am thankful to have started returning to the gym for early weight training.

Don’t get me wrong, though, I have learned form experience during previous summers that when the sky is blue and that wind is more comfortable, then the day’s schedule gets cleared for that excellent two-to-three-hour ride.

I am happy with my fitness level now, and may even start jogging in September. The cobwebs were cleared with 13 cycling days in May, 8 in June, 13 in July, and 13 in August so far. I got three rides planned in for the next three consecutive days to break the summer of 2026 monthly record.

Then I’ll start jogging in the cold, hopefully, if my right knee cooperates.

The return to the gym has been purposely gradual. Last Fall, when I returned to the gym I was a bit too sore for my preference, and even had trouble stretching my upper body before the start of the next session. This August, I started out super slow with a 20-minute weight training session about two weeks ago, then a 45 minute session last week, and two days ago, about one hour.

I usually do 90-minutes of weight training, when I am fit, and then voluntarily end the session to leave room in the day to do other things. If I get the three days cycling in that I have planned, then I will start jogging and weight training on September 1.

If the wind and rain arrive sooner than expected, then I am heading into the gym, for heavier work outs, three days earlier than planned.

Everybody have a great transition to the next season.