12
July
2018
At RockPaperCoffee we're all about supporting big dreams and ideas, as this business was one of ours. That's why when we heard our friend Greg over at Bike Doctor was attempting one of his, we wanted to help. He'll be cycling the Haute Route in France, which is a 3-day event of the Tour de France route... All the while being fueled by RockPaperCoffee!
Go, Greg, go!
I was never interested in riding, running, swimming long distances. When I was racing road bikes I never rode longer than 3 hours, and 12 hours was my maximum week. (That might explain where I plateaued but that’s another matter).
But on Friday I did this...
200k in 8 hours 48 minutes of riding. And I loved every minute of it. Howard Hemingson and I started at 6:30 a.m., then Ron Golden Joined. Howard gave up at 10:30 so I didn’t bother taking a picture of him, but Goldie and I had coffee at Museo then continued on for another 90 minutes. Here’s a pic of a happy couple of cyclists.
I had earlier promised to head out in the evening with Matt Walker, and even though I’d already put in 7 hours I didn’t want to miss the chance to hang out. We did a casual ride South of town and I looked down and said, “hey, I’m at 195 k.” Matt said, “so you gotta do 5 more.”
Well, I’ve never been that guy. I hear people all the time give some version of a story like this: they’ve ridden 95 miles when they got home so they rode around the block until they get in a century. It always sounds so pedantic and obsessive to me. But now, apparently, I am that guy. Matt and I rode to 200, took a selfie (I guess I’m also that type of guy too).
Everybody knows how invigorating it can be to sign up for a challenge that is so big that it makes you nervous. It’s easy to pass these opportunities by, and I almost passed on the chance to do the Haute Route Alpe D’Huez. But even if I sprain my neck in the first 500 metres, the training with good friends and long conversations while we pedal away have already made this worth it.
Today is Sunday, much cooler out, so I’m getting ready to ride by doing a pour-over using this artisanal, new Canadiano coffee making device provided to me, along with coffee, by Rock Paper Coffee company. One of the owners of RPC is my bud Craig Campbell and he thought it would be cool to power me through some rides with his coffee. The pour-over from this machine really brought out a sweetness in the coffee, compared to aero-press—which is my usual favourite type of coffee making. It only took a bit of fiddling with the grind to get it right. Thanks Craig, and RPC. Cycling and coffee are two of the greatest inventions of all time, and it’s a pleasure to drink it made this way.
One last thing. I just bought this Helinox fold up super light weight chair from my friends at Ebs. I’ll be taking it with me to sit is as we wait with tired legs, as the Tour is about to come by. It will be hours of waiting, eating baguette and soft cheese, and maybe washing it down with red wine, but I haven’t decided yet.
Follow along for Greg's Adventure at www.bikedoctor.ca
