Let's Do the Golden Triangle

"Hey, let's do the Golden Triangle next May!" Sounds like an innocent enough suggestion, right? Consider, though, that the suggestion is coming from my boyfriend who has not only ridden the Golden Triangle before, but has also ridden across the country, from Vancouver to St. John's, in the last two years.

I know all about the Golden Triangle. The three-day, 300+km road ride from Castle Junction to Radium to Golden and back to Castle Junction (premier event of the Elbow Valley Cycle Club). I have friends who have done it and loved it. I, on the other hand, have never ridden a road bike before. I have never ridden with clips. And, let's face it, I'm a bit of a sissy.

So, once the panic subsides, what do I do? Troop on down to Mountainbike City and get set up with a Kona Dew Deluxe. I have to get the clip pedals. I have weak lungs and strong legs - better take advantage of as much of the leg power as possible. Warren the Wonderful Sales Guy won't let me leave the store without practicing clipping in and out for a half hour. I buy a trainer. It is, after all, February, and I'm not quite ready to hit the snow-covered streets with my new toy (aka torture device). I set up the bike on the trainer in my living room and I practice "riding", and clipping in and out, every day, going as long as I can before boredom drives me elsewhere (usually about ten minutes).

The next milestone: ride the bike on the ground. With it actually MOVING (the bike, that is, not the ground). Due to Alberta’s unusually late spring, I have to cancel my first two planned rides due to sub-zero temperatures and a foot of snow on the ground. Finally on March 16th I get out with the Calgary Outdoor Club to do an "easy" after work ride. And the ride would have been easy if it weren’t -2C with enormous ice patches and half-frozen puddles on the path. One of the riders informs me that most people new to clips generally fall over in them an average of six times. I tell her that I’m going to beat the odds and then five minutes later fall over with my feet clipped to the bike.

I don’t quite make it all the way on that ride – I turn around near the end with another rider. We’re both having trouble shifting and braking because our bikes are freezing up. My shifter is completely encased in ice, with five inch icicles hanging from it. I am extremely proud and thankful to have survived the 20km that I did manage.

That weekend I get out for a pleasant 37km ride with the Calgary Outdoor Club. No clipped-in-falls, no ice-encased bicycle, and a fruit slushy at Angel’s afterwards. Maybe this cycling thing doesn’t completely bite after all.

The week of March 23rd I realize that the big event is looming with only six weeks of available training and conditioning left. In desperation, I insist on going out to ride regardless of conditions.

On March 28th I cycle 42km. On the highway. With actual cars on it. With temperatures stubbornly remaining below zero, my toes and heart freeze solid after about the first five kilometers. On March 29th I cycle 47km. On the highway, again. More cars. More frozen toes. That’s 89km over two days, and I am pumped! Now all I need is to be able to do… um… WAY more than that… and in the MOUNTAINS. Piece of cake!