I had thought that I might drop in my age category, given what I supposed to be increased drive among older runners. As it turns out, there were almost twice as many men aged 30-34 running as there are men aged 25-29. That must be the reason why my ranking in my age category is so much better this year. That increase in overall chip time ranking is pretty impressive, especially considering that I barely shaved two minutes off last year’s time. I’m pretty proud of myself, although during the run I was convinced I was running slower than last year.

I ran alone this year, although was greeted at the finish line by a girl I have been dating these past two weeks. She saw me off at the start line, but almost didn’t make it down in time via TTC to see me finish! The better way? Sometimes you’re better off running.

Having never rode 75km before, I think I did fairly well. My time was just over two and a half hours, which isn’t bad considering that I haven’t ridden much this year, that the 75km repeats the most difficult part of the 50km leg, and that the smog levels on this hazy day affected my breathing. However, that’s still not a great time considering last year’s time of 90 minutes for 50km. Still, even after 50km I managed to pass pretty much everyone I saw, even those I passed the first time up the DVP.

Aside from the heat and smog, my biggest drawbacks were that I stopped for water before the 75km turnoff, thereby losing my momentum, and ran out of water about 20 minutes from the finish line. Next year, I think a camel pack is in order.

FYI, here is a comparison of my chip time and placing between 2004 and 2005:

This year’s ride was much easier than last year’s, mostly because there was no wind. My time for the 50k was just over 90 minutes, a full half-hour less than last year’s effort. That time will be difficult to beat next year without switching to a faster bike.

Thanks to everyone who sponsored my ride. Sadly, donations this year were less than half last year’s total. I blame myself for not being as vigilant.

By sponsoring my ride you will be supporting research towards the understanding of heart disease and cardiovascular disease, the biggest preventable killers in Canada.

For those interested, the final results can be found online. The results are somewhat misleading as they are sorted by the time at which each person crossed the finish line, and not that person’s trip time. I was late to the starting line and so did not start until 5 minutes after the official start time. After resorting the results, my standings are as follows:

• 2706 of 5218 overall
• 1709 of 2374 for men
• 457 of 874 for ages 25 to 29
• 233 of 313 for men aged 25 to 29

Now to get ready for this year’s Becel Ride For Heart.

For these two days at the Baltimore Convention Center, you will be able to see, test and compare the mil-spec components, systems, products and software you need. Focused purely on military electronics design strategies, this event offers the sessions, speakers and suppliers that separate the unique needs of the military environment from the civilian world or commercial-off-the-shelf design.

Come to think of it, if the black helicopters were listening in on our plans, they would know that Vic and I prefer a non-military solution to global conquest. Things get messy and expensive when you start involving heavy machinery. No, we prefer the silent route of slowly co-opting already existing institutions like news conglomerates and using the proceeds to covertly amass power within developing nations. (Or was it the other way around?) The incentives in my conference invitation are quite tempting, however:

And as our special guest, you will gain free access to the show floor as well as receive 25% off the conference program!

I should mention that my main email address receives maybe two or three pieces of spam per month, tops, and that seventy-five percent of that spam originates from local businesses. This makes this invitation all the more suspicious.

Foolish illuminati! Your plans to entice me with cheap access to military hardware are sure to fail! You are doomed!

Riding on Eglinton was quick and fairly easy. At some points, I managed to keep up with the cars. I was pedalling as fast as possible so that my ride was as short as possible. Laird was less travelled but still a relatively easy ride. As with earlier in the day, there were few cars heading southbound, but enough to light my way. I couldn’t quite make out the street signs and so was navigating by landmarks alone. At one point I reached an intersection which looked familiar, and took it to be Danforth. There were quite a few cars on the road, so this confirmed my belief. Travelling further, however, the road became increasingly dark and less like Danforth. When I crossed St. Clair, I knew I wasn’t where I thought I should be.

I stopped a few blocks to ask a group of people which street I was travelling on and how I could get to Victoria Park. I felt like an idiot, but what was I supposed to do? To my dismay, I found out that I had turned off too early onto O’Connor Drive and was now heading north towards Eglinton and Victoria Park. My resolve and confidence sagging, worry and regret finally started to seep in. However, I couldn’t turn back. It was really only a matter of riding down Victoria Park.

Unfortunately, Victoria Park was darker in parts than I had feared. It would have been easier if there was more traffic. I often found myself hoping for a car to pull up behind me so that I could see what was ahead. The worst were the parked cars, which often appeared as only a gleam just in front of me. To make matters worse, cars travelling northbound temporarily stole precious moments from me, blinding me with their headlights. Several pedestrians yelled or muttered, mostly in disagreement, as I passed them on the road.

When I finally reached Kingston Road, I knew I was home free. A street car rested in the dark like a slumbering behemoth, undisturbed by the cars making their way around its body. I was able to get a few cars to stop so that I could cross and make my way to Jenever’s. Moments later I was in her friend’s yard, greeted by the smells of barbeque.

With power resumptions an uncertainty, I spent Friday and most of Saturday as a guest of Heather and Jeff, who own the house in which Jenever lives. Without them, I don’t think that this weekend would have been enjoyable in the least. I rode back to my place on Friday to check on things and pick up some extra clothes to stay another night. Even though the power switched back on at my place early Saturday morning, and then back on again when I returned Saturday evening, I was not taking my chances. I am very grateful for Heather, Jeff and Jenever’s hospitality, for their food, their spare bedroom and their company.

All in all, the weekend went pretty well and, frankly, was better than average, even considering the outage. I missed my niece’s birthday party at her grandparents’ because of the weather on Saturday (the heat and humidity meant I would have arrived on my bike drenched in sweat) and because I was much too tired from all the riding (over 100km in a few rapid trips) to make it out to High Park. However, I was still able to catch The Lion King with my niece and the rest of my family this afternoon.