You may know who Lance Armstrong is but do you know who Lance Andre is?
Lance was one of 50 participants in the 2011 Iditarod Invitational which is a 350-mile bike race through the Alaskan wilderness.
Lance came in 8th of a field of 50. That’s pretty damn good considering that he broke his leg, and kept riding, then he broke his arm, and he kept riding, and then he fell and had a concussion, and he kept riding, and finished the race beating 80% of the field. Swear to god, talk about guts, perseverance and intestinal fortitude.
After a lot of experimenting, I’ve got my cold weather riding gear figured out. I’m also equipped to ride in nice weather … that’s easy. But I’m still working on my gear for wet weather.
This time of year is the worst case scenario for wet weather riding. Cold rain can turn a ride into an uncomfortable and unpleasant experience when the temperature is between 0 and 10 deg Celcius. I do not enjoy being wet and cold.
This is the solution to keeping my head warm and dry when it rains. MEC had two choices of bike helmet cover designs. I chose this one because I thought the flap in the back would keep the rain off of my neck. The back flap can be removed with a zipper.
I tried it out this past Sunday while riding with a few of my friends. I had brought the helmet cover with me just in case it rained. About halfway through our ride it started raining hard. We stopped under some pine trees and I got out the helmet cover. It slipped over my helmet very easily. A draw cord secures it in place. It literally took just a few seconds. I strapped my helmet back on and we were off.
The result: The bike helmet cover passed the test. My head was warm and dry. I did not have any rain go down my neck. I am recommending this helmet cover for any wet riding. My only suggestion is that I wish the front bill was a little longer and a little stiffer. It was adequate but bigger would be better. Despite that, I’m very happy with this bike helmet cover. Riding in the rain just got a little more comfortable.
A while ago I was using Google Maps with the beta bike paths feature turned on. I was mapping a route from Mississauga to Niagara-on-the-Lake. I ended up taking the Waterfront Trail because I was familiar with it.
I was curious about a couple of routes that google suggested across Burlington. Today I decided to check out one of the routes that had me curious.
Burlington Bike Trail A
I did a lot of searching on the web and I have yet to find an official name for this path. It is simply referred to as a multi-use path. That is confusing because there are many multi-use paths in Burlington. It would be easier to describe if the trail had a name. I chose the name Berton Part Trail because it passes by Berton Park. That is a good place to park and access the trail. I would suggest the parking lot near the intersection of Berton Avenue and Berwick Drive as shown in the following picture.
Berton Park Parking Area
The path passes through several parks including Newport Park, Ireland Park, Peart Park and Roly Bird Park. The Roly Bird Park is on the south end of the trail. It also has a good parking area and easy access to the trail. It is adjacent to Industrial Street as shown in this picture.
Parking at South end of Berton Park Trail
I ended up riding the trail between Berton Park to Roly Bird Park with a short detour to Ireland Park. I covered a total distance of 13.6km. The trail looked longer on the map. I estimate the trail to be about 6km. There are bike paths beyond this section at both ends but it requires some street riding to connect.
The path goes past the Burlington Heights Shopping Centre which was near the midpoint of the trail. The path would be very convenient for residents in that area to access the shopping center.
The path meanders down a green space beneath very large hydro (electric) lines. The power lines are not very scenic. It would be a wonderful and scenic path without the power towers. I kept trying to ignore the towers and enjoy the other scenery.
Besides the towers, the second downside to this trail is that it crosses a lot of roads. The crossing are well marked. However it is a busy area and it was hard to get any momentum riding the bike. The crossings required a lot of stopping and waiting for cars.
The path wasn’t very crowded but it was December and 0 degrees Celcius. I did not pass any other bikes but I did pass several dog walkers and joggers.
This is a short video capturing some of my Niagara-on-the-Lake Ride. I followed the Waterfront Trail from Mississauga to Niagara-on-the-Lake. I only filmed about 1/4 of the ride because I discovered that my video camera battery was dead when I left. I was charging it as I rode and only got enough power to film by the time I got to Burlington. After that it was dark and the camera didn’t work in the dark.
We had some snow flurries today. It is motivating me to get ready for the approaching Winter riding. Last year I learned that when it gets really cold water freezes. I bought this insulated water bottle so my water wouldn’t freeze up. It won’t be long before I’ll be needing this.
The 365 Cyclist 