Things that relate to human nature seem to be set in stone. We seem to always need to take a stance, on one side or the other no matter what the issue is. As cyclists we love to be on the road and have to share the road with pedestrian, cars, buses, trucks, even animals like squirrels, dogs, cows, pigs, chickens (I've seen a lot of those on the road in Cuba).

I have been bike racing for almost 10 years now and I have had a hard time figuring out what is a bicycle is.

My first real road bike - I had bought a 55cm Marinoni bike at a pawn shop, put the shortest stem I could find, replaced the campy seatpost so I could bring the seat as close as I could to the top tupe (I now ride a 50cm frame). I soon figured out the bike was way too big for me, so I got a 50cm Argon 18 aluminum frame, and transfered the vintage campy components, including the 7 speed downtube shifters.

This weekend, my girlfriend with the hair clipper in her hands, reminded me that it has been more than one month since the Provincial time trial. I can only put that off for so long.
 

Ok, so I didn't get kidnapped before the Mont-Tremblant Duathlon on June 6th. A few minutes before the start, I was still oscillating between yay and nay. I had strapped my right ankle and the pain on my inner shine bone persisted. So I loosened up the bandage and it felt better. Ok, I'll do the race and see what happens.
 

 
Shortly I'm going to write a recap of an exciting duathlon on the Quebec Cup circuit, but today there's been lots of noise on various email lists about a decision to restrict access (or speed) to the only great training circuit for Montreal road cyclists.
 
I may have the numbers wrong, but I read that after 27 accidents on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Montreal's racing track previously used on the F1 circuit), the bureaucrats managing the facility decided they want to keep road cyclists who want a safe place to train away from the track..
 

Last weekend I was relaxing with my girlfriend on the south shore of the Fleuve St-Laurent at a cottage just across Baie St-Paul, where the Charlevoix stage race on the Quebec circuit took place. I feel like my body is falling apart in pieces like American cars in Cuba.
 

We'll on April 19, was the Montreal Scotiabank half marathon. This was my third year doing the event, last year, being my personal best at 1:20. Over the winter, I was not very consistent in my running, so I knew my form wasn't at it's best.

Things slow down in the winter when you live in climate with sub-zero temperatures. So this blog was frozen just like the lakes around here. But now the rivers and lakes have thawed, and brave cyclists have been on the road for a few weeks. And in a few weeks, there will even be brave triathletes swimming in frigid open water.

It's fall, at least in the northern hemisphere, and most of you are probably taking it easy this time of year. Time to recharge, and if you've been busy racing this summer, it feels great to take some time off.

I'm not going to write about cycling, running, swimming or anything you were expecting to read on my blog. I'm going to write about something we don't stop to think about.

Last Monday morning, I was commuting to work, like millions of others across our planet. We do it, because we enjoy it, and do our share to reduce the suffering our planet is experiencing from CO2 emissions.

A common question among cyclists is, "what is the ideal cadence?". No one really has? a clear answer. Some literature I have seem from an efficiency point of view (lowest oxygen consumption for highest power) indicates a cadence between 65-70 revolutions per minute. That may be true in a lab, but on the road it seems that higher cadences will help delay muscle fatigue. Most cyclists will spin between 80 to 110 rpm. You have strong cyclists that are on the low side and others on the high side. On short hills, most cyclists usually lower their cadence.