Training Log Archive: Bash

After all the rain yesterday, I caught up on Stage 6 of Le Purr de France with a 2.5 hour ride with 'Bent on the Dufferin Forest trails. We rarely ride there so we relied on Trailforks for navigation, which usually works perfectly. Today, not so much! It's not often that I have to download my GPS track when I get home to find out where I went. I used my phone's compass to find our way back to the parking lot. The silver lining is that we rode farther, even when we were hit by a short burst of heavy rain. (This is the Trailforks map - not our track!)



The gypsy moth caterpillars have defoliated a lot of trees so it was bright on the forest trails. It felt more like early spring than mid-summer. It's the same on some trails here in Palgrave - weird. Also, we had to be careful not to inhale moths! But otherwise, it was fun.









[Time includes lots of navigation stops. Fixed data to add section where watch was turned off.]

It was a perfect day to earn the Summer Scavenger Hunt "What Weather?" badge in Palgrave West. Honestly, I would much rather run in heavy rain than in sunshine with a 40C humidex. But the rules said we had to run in the rain unless we live in a desert. It was wonderful. :)







Running in glasses didn't work so well, lol.





Drowned rat.

Purr de France, Day 5
Flat Stage

Sooo hot - but at least I finally got more than 7 hours of sleep. Since the pandemic started, I've had a hard time falling asleep until the wee hours. Everyone else in our house likes to get up early so I've had a lot of short nights in recent months.

I rode in Palgrave East and West. Wildflowers are blooming everywhere and the F&M Raspberry Patch is at its peak so I had to take a break there.





When I got back to our property, I rode 'Bent's Covid Crusher single track. He really needs to make a video to show it off properly but here are a few photos.

Upper body strength - a mix of TRX, dumbbells and Nautilus machine.

I collected and destroyed a bunch of gypsy moth pupae and caterpillars this afternoon but it was only a tiny drop in a huge bucket. I hope something happens to prevent them from returning next year in these quantities. Otherwise, a lot of trees will be lost - especially oaks, but they'll eat pretty much anything. It's already too late to collect pupae around our oaks. The stupid moths are out. But the females don't fly and they can be squished. We'll be looking for eggs all summer. #Hobbies

Purr de France, Day 4
Mountain Stage

To get some variety in my mountain stages, I stayed in Palgrave West and did repeats on Raspberry Hill. On the way back, I did repeats of raspberry picking. Soooooo hot and humid.

I did a short out-and back to Thinker's Hill. It has that name because our 77-year-old neighbour's father used to walk up there to sit on the bench and watch the world go by.



Back at our place, I was thrilled to see new leaves on some of our trees that were devastated by gypsy moth caterpillars. This is the change in 72 hours. The caterpillars finished defoliating these pyramidal oaks then moved on to other trees.





Now many of the caterpillars have moved to the pupa stage. I'm going to find and destroy as many as I can!

My neighbour came with me to SUP yoga a few times two years ago. She was intrigued enough to buy an inflatable SUP but never took it out of the box. She asked if I would go paddling with her in our other neighbour's small pond but I suggested Island Lake. Considering that she'd never inflated the SUP, and all the various pieces were still wrapped in plastic, things went pretty smoothly.



It wasn't a workout but she was so excited and appreciative that I was really glad we went. She has lived within 15 minutes of Island Lake for most of her adult life but this was her first visit. Now she's been bitten by the bug and is keen to go regularly.



Logged @50%.

Someone wasn't pleased to be left at home.

Purr de France, Day 3
Flat Stage

With hills around us like this one in our front yard (which Raid The Rib racers might recognize), there is no "flat" way to leave our house.





But I tried to spin more and take it easier. I avoided steep hills where I could and followed more double track through Palgrave East. In the end, this Flat Stage was only 15 meters less elevation gain than the Day 1 Hilly Stage. But in virtual races, it's all in the way you imagine it.

Today's Purr de France stage included a leg and glute strength workout that looked good so I gave it a shot.

I was on a roll for a super healthy day when I got the urge to make chocolate cheesecake. Oh well.

This Summer Scavenger Hunt activity was fun - now that it's over - but it was out of my comfort zone! The Night Owl badge involves running for 30+ minutes and crossing the midnight hour during the run.

I was planning to ask 'Bent to join me some time but I got brave tonight and decided to just run around our 10 acres. It seemed like a great idea until I went on the Covid Crusher (formerly the Pandemic Gumby Trail) on our south hill. The dogs at the farm next door saw my light and started barking in a wild chorus like they were heading in for the kill. I know they can escape their fenced property, and they're not always friendly so that added some spice to the experience.

It was wonderful. I love running trails at night - breathing cool air, smelling the damp vegetation and looking at the stars. For some weird reason, I don't get nervous when I'm racing alone in a dark forest but unfortunately, I'm too chicken to do regular trail runs at night. Unless I have to do it for a virtual running event, of course!

Purr de France, Day 2

Today was a Mountain Stage, which required considerable imagination in the Palgrave Forest but that's part of the fun of a virtual event. I rode over to Palgrave East and did two back-and-forth repeats of the Roller Coaster trail.

This was at the bottom of a BIG mountain.



The vegetation was completely different at the top. The air was thinner too. The glacier is just beyond the edge of my photo.



The alpine views were magnificent.



Some of the descents were treacherous but luckily, I'd had a long breakaway so I wasn't doing them in a peleton.



I turned around to give Jan Ullrich "The Look".



I saw some mountain wildlife.



There was a mountain top finish at our accommodation.

Another steamy day! I did a short Hidden Challenge that I'd unlocked in the Summer Scavenger Hunt - the Ass Backwards badge. It only requires 20 minutes of running but the challenge is to go 500 meters backwards. They suggested walking but mentioned that the backward 1 mile record is 5:54! Apparently, there are Youtube videos with tips but I just went for it.

It felt like a light backward jog but my GPS watch says otherwise - a hiking pace at best. I'd scoped out a route on open, grassy parts of our property where I'd be able to follow handrails without looking over my shoulder all the time. It goes without saying that I wouldn't want to run backwards into a tree - especially now, when the tree would drop stinging caterpillars and their poop on my head.

I know some people do backward running as a drill, and I can understand why. My quads really felt it.

Mrs. Gally's Zoom Boot Camp with Browner, Alisha and Lynn.

Le Purr de France virtual race, Stage 1
(The name comes from the organizer, Crazy Cat Adventures.)

I think the PdF rides reflect the 2020 Tour de France schedule. Today was a "hilly" stage which, as Tour fans know, is different from a mountain stage. And let's face it, Palgrave Forest is very different from France. We've been advised to use our imaginations.

I signed up for the lowest Category so on most days, I only have a minimum ride time of 30 minutes. The idea is to be consistent and build a good habit - not to ride until I get saddle sores. After all, I'm also doing a virtual running race!

There are suggested workouts each day but the only "hard" rule is to ride for the prescribed length of time. As a mountain biker, it's hard for me to do things like "10 minutes of Zone 2" on the trails so I won't worry about that too much. We are allowed to exchange the workouts for two different days if that fits better into our schedule

The main goal (other than helping to support a race director) is to raise money for Bikes without Borders, a charity based in the Greater Toronto Area that "uses bikes and bike-related solutions to empower individuals in marginalized communities through mobility". Currently, their focus is on outfitting refugees and low-income families living in underserved Toronto communities with refurbished bicycles through The Great Bike Recycle.

I'm currently the top fundraiser in the event after donating to myself when I entered. This is actually kind of sad so now I feel some obligation to seek other donations to help them pass their goal. If this cause interests you, they offer a Canadian charitable receipt and my fundraising page is here.

Oh, right - the ride!

Yesterday was my longest ride of the year so I just did a short meander through Palgrave this morning. We're in the middle of a heat wave with no end in sight. On the way back, I stopped in our neighbour's meadow for some cooldown raspberries. I think this will become a regular thing. :)