My first training ride after surgery

What a beautiful Saturday morning for a ride with my cycling friends in "Le Peloton" ( www.lepeloton.ca ). Today, we headed south from UBC along Marine Drive, braving strong westerly headwinds out along Iona near Vancouver International Airport, then along River Road out to New Westminister and back. Believe it or not, the wind was so strong, my cheeks flared out like a chipmunk whenever I took in a gulp of air. There is only one time I've ever had to ride in a wind like that was when some friends and I were cycling through the Copper Triangle mountain passes in Colorado a few years ago. It was all I could do to keep a steady hand on the bike when a crosswind would hit. I later learned that gusts had reached as high as 67 km/hr - which would explain the whitecaps frothing in the ocean off Iona Beach.

Iona Beach, near Richmond.

The photo (not mine!) is from http://picasaweb.google.com/joekuo/2007Summary#5125424973104070146 )

As you can imagine, the return ride along Iona road was absolutely a completely different experience. It as if an unseen hand was gently pushing our backs, so that we were coasting along at 40-45km/hr (25 -28mph) without effort. In a car, that my not seem like much, but on a bike, that's a pretty fast pace. So, 70km after we started out (a short ride, thanks to those headwinds), my cycling friends and I were in a coffee shop sipping a latte, talking about my upcoming GearUp4CF ride in June. I am so happy to be back on the bike again. My right ankle, broken last year, performed splendidly in its first big test since my surgery just over two weeks ago. It feels like I am completely recovered.

By the way, we're looking for a few more riders to join us on this magnificent fundraising ride for CF, from White Rock to Banff. This requires a serious commitment, but it will be great fun. The ride is limited to 22-24 cyclists. Interested? Contact the GearUp4Cf office, located on the website www.gearUp4CF.org and let them know as soon as possible.

Late afternoon update: It's a good thing we came back when we did. It's starting to hail now. What a wild day!

A visit to my surgeon

I took a trip to the orthopedic surgeon today to have my stitches taken out from my ankle surgery two weeks ago. I'm delighted to report that I've got a clean bill of health, and a green light to start training in earnest! That's a relief, as I've been cycle training in the garage for three nights this week already. The only caveat was, "Just don't crash for the next month or so".