Mother Nature decided that rain, and a south wind would be the perfect companions for the event. The rain we could’ve done without but the south wind was helpful on the northbound leg of the ride. ECC members met in south Etobicoke at 5:30am before riding along the Martin Goodman trail to the start line at The Ex. At this early hour it looked like we might avoid the rain but by time we made it to York Mills the rain had started to fall. With a lot of force. It made the southbound riding a bit more challenging but it didn’t slow us down, nor dampen our spirits.

We regrouped at the Bayview/Bloor turnaround and rode the balance of the ride pretty much as a group. We finished the ride much earlier this year than last year – a testament to our improved fitness, riding skills, and new members.

Wow. We had an incredible adventure – faced with cold, wind, snow and slush. We set off from San Remo and headed north. The first three kilometres or so were fine, and then the snow started. The further north we rode the heavier the snow became. When we entered the park path system the route was completely covered in snow. Another 500 metres or so and it became unsafe to ride, and barely passable on foot!

We had to change the route and took Albion over to Martin Grove instead of the path. This was by far the safer route but not nearly as much fun.

At the winery we enjoyed a couple of sample glasses of wine while we dried out and warmed up. The ride from Milan back to San Remo was just as treacherous, and more slushy than the outbound leg.

Check the photos on our Facebook page by clicking here.

And check this video from the Team Sky car at todays official Milan – San Remo bike race. It’s hard to tell who’s got it worse – the pros or us?!?!

Hey gang,

It’s time to get together off the bikes, out of the spandex, and in the warm confines of a local pub. Watch your inbox for a club email with details of the next pub night.

And if you’ve got suggestions on how to improve our pub nights, where to hold it, etc, please let us know.

Thanks,

Chris

It’s a wonderful time to be a cycling fan as we’ve got two world class bike races taking place right now… and for the first time both of them are being broadcast in High Definition in Canada. The wonderful folks at Sportsnet are showing every stage of both races on their network of channels.

Both races feature world class riders and teams best known from their appearances in Le Tour de France.