Ride Report from Vaune Davis:

A great time was had by all on the Markham Woodville 200 km…with one new rider Adil as well as RO vets Stephen Jones (organizer), Albert, Vaune, Phil and William. No one set any records on this 200 km… but for me, socially, it was a ‘personal best.’

Albert and William reversed course to help Phil, who had a mechanical early in the ride, hence their less-than-blistering finish time. Vaune, Stephen and Adil clocked in at 10:46 after stopping for a sit-down lunch and leisurely breaks at every control. Hopefully our strategy of ‘not-killing-Adil’ will lure him back for another brevet. Adil’s lightning quick humour more than compensated for his newbie pace. This man is surely capable of making a paceline giggle through the night. And he ate up the highest compliment I bestow on fellow riders, a term meaning ‘gluteal cavern.” Phil, just building his early-season conditioning, finished 45 minutes later with self-confidence intact, taking first place for enthusiasm.

Conditions were cold with a blustery north-west wind that added to the challenge but did not overwhelm. Lots of short steep hills through the Oak Ridges Moraine. And a new cycling horror for me: wheel-eating “tar snakes”… ropes of tar used to seal parallel vertical cracks in the asphalt along many of the roads of Kawartha Lakes and Durham Region.