Gearing Up
Kristina Bangma
At the start of every season, the first 100 kilometres seems to be the hardest milestone.
The magical number makes those last 10km feel like they are never going to end. So when Chad Eberle, the owner of RepOne Fitness where I also work as a trainer, announced one recent Friday morning that he would lead a group of us on our first century ride of the year, I was skeptical.
Eberle is an impressive Cat 3 racer, instructs three spin classes a week, races at the Burnaby Velodrome Track twice a week, and the last time I rode with him, he spun circles around me as I struggled to keep up with the pack.
But he painted a pretty picture of gliding along at a nice, slow, steady pace with enough Starbucks breaks to keep us fuelled by caffeine and sugar. He convinced me to join.
Keep in mind, this is not my preferred or recommended way to complete a long ride, but when you are trying to break the ice on your first 100km of the year, The Starbucks Century ride may be the perfect way to go!
I called up a recruit, Aerdna Rodgers, and committed us to the ride. On the morning of our mission, the weather cooperated with a balmy 10 degrees and there was no rain in the forecastrare!
We met the Glotman Simpson club ride at 9 a.m. and rode with them until the Arthur Laing Bridge. As we regrouped before the bridge, Eberle convinced Ian Hiltsy and Dan Smidtz to join us. So with a bit of trepidation, I watched the Glotman group ride away and followed the four on our personal mission.
We double pace lined at a nice mellow speed of 28 km/hour towards New Westminister. Just as I was getting comfortable and deep into the middle of a great conversationor maybe it was just good gossipEberle announced we had arrived at our first Starbucks rest stop.
We racked our bikes along the unused, wet patio furniture and wandered in. I ordered an Americano and a chocolate chip cookie, which was a welcome relief from having to choke down either of the two gels I brought with me as my nutrition choice.
We took off our helmets and settled into big comfy chairs, the ones with high backs and big arm rests. I dont even remember how long we sat there chatting away, but it was long enough to receive glances from other customers envious of our chairs.
Slowly we made our way back outside and on to our next destination, the Diplomat Bakery in Steveston. I had no clue what time it was and didnt really care. After resting at the Diplomat, it proved even more difficult to get back on the bike a second time, especially with 30km still ahead of us.
We were gliding west along Southwest Marine Drive when we got our first and only mechanical of the day. Hiltsys fender had snapped. We chatted and waited as he removed his broken fender, preventing it from getting caught in the spokes, and changed his flat tire.
Finally at 2 p.m., I rolled my bike back home. It had taken us five hours to complete a distance that we would usually ride in less than four, but it was the perfect way to break the100km barrier. The Europeans are definitely onto something.
Kristina Bangma is a coach, personal trainer and writer with a love of riding and racing. Email questions to [email protected].
