The blog has been quiet for a while - a number of rides have been cancelled because of gnarly weather, and the blogger has been on the injury list. Let’s hope that the weather has turned and that the rides will return to the weekly schedule.

The ride on the last day of January saw 5 riders assemble at the eastern end of the E & N bike trail. Brimmy, the organizer, Jeff, Cy, Mike and Norm - the only one brave enough to show up in shorts! We were in high spirits being back in the saddle after the least bike friendly winter in many a year. Under bright sunshine, but cold blustery conditions, the peloton headed west to Esquimalt. The hill in front of the Songhees Wellness Centre seemed to have become steeper since last we rode the trail! Undeterred, we rode on to the Nest Cafe for coffee. Mike, Jeff and Cy had their coffee outside while Brimmy and Norm enjoyed the shelter of indoors.

It might be hard to believe, but "you know who" was not an item for discussion! It was unanimous - we were glad to be back on our bikes and hope that the weather gods will shine positively on us in the coming weeks. Suitably refreshed, the peloton split in two with Jeff and Mike heading back towards Esquimalt while the others followed the Goose back to the Blue Bridge.

There have been a number of cycling stories worth mentioning.

Thanks to Rob Heisler for this one

Tour de France 1928

A couple of antipodeans decided to relive the Tour de France of 1928, the first tour to have anglophone participants, when contestants relied on steel bikes which had no gears, marginal brakes and weighed twice as much as the modern equivalents. Many of the roads were unpaved and of the more than 160 men who started the journey, only 41 finished — the highest attrition rate of any Tour de France. To read the full story go here.

Age is not a barrier.

How about this story from the BBC about a 105 year old cyclist

Lisa Helps, eat your heart out!

Copenhagen now has more bikes than cars!