Sat, Sep 2 2006 - Hamilton West to Jerseyville Bike Ride (View Original Event Details)
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Despite certain challenges, which shall be outlined below, the TOC’s first Hamilton West to Jerseyville bike ride was a big success.
As the date of the event approached, the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto were also quietly approaching southern Ontario. The forecast for Saturday, the day of the event, was dismal: meteorologists were all predicting a day with periods of heavy rain. When Saturday morning arrived, the forecast had not changed. Even so, a message went out from Jim O, the eternal optimist, indicating that the event would proceed. Participants were advised to bring appropriate clothing, including rain jackets. His further suggestion—that everyone bring a sufficient amount of water—proved, in retrospect, to be a bit of a cruel joke.
While Alan, Prashanth and Lori made it to Hamilton West without a hitch (though Jim O wonders how Alan and Prashanth were able to stuff two fully grown bicycles and men into Alan’s Hyundai, and how Lori could make it to Hamilton West from downtown Toronto in fifty minutes without speeding), the same cannot be said for Jim O, Hanna, and Diane (DK). They were faced with some significant challenges on their way to the event.
Hanna and Diane were to meet Jim O at his apartment near the University of Toronto, where his car—equipped with a new, state-of-the-art bike rack of which Jim O was most proud—awaited them. By the time Hanna arrived, Jim O had not only attached the bike-rack to the back of his car; he had also secured his own trusty hybrid to the rack. Not one drop of rain had fallen. Hanna arrived on her bike and what appeared to be a medium-sized knapsack—strangely resembling a medium-sized suitcase—of “things that she apparently thought she might need. Given that it was just her second event with the TOC, Jim O did not formally question the size of her luggage. Instead, he boldly picked up her bicycle, a lady’s touring bike—and, feeling the first drops of rain touch his face—attempted to direct it onto the middle spot on the amazing new bike rack. You can imagine how dismayed Jim O was when, having lifted Hanna’s rather heavy bicycle high into the air, he could, no matter how hard he tried, fit the thing onto his fancy new bike rack. You see, the bike rack designer had apparently never considered the fact that some people—a large portion of the human race, for instance—might actually be riding a “woman’s bike: that is, one not with an even upper cross-bar, but with an elegant slanting upper cross bar intended to respect the dresses and skirts that women are sometimes inclined to wear.
After twirling the bike around in the air a few times, and even with the able assistance of the eager Hanna, Jim O could not fit Hanna’s bike onto the bike rack. By this point, Diane had arrived with her bike. Jim O glanced over at it, invisibly uttering a silent prayer, something to the effect that he wished rather fervently for it not to be another “woman’s bike. To his great pleasure, it was a gender-neutral bike with a fairly even upper bar. Anyhow, with the intelligence of Hanna and Jim O combined, a plan—Plan B—was developed in respect of Hanna’s bike. Why not place it in the trunk of the car, and by-pass the bike-rack altogether? Not a bad idea. In furtherance of this idea, Jim O removed his own bike from the bike rack, and then managed to open the trunk of the car while leaving the bike rack in place. Hanna’s bike was once more picked up by Jim O, who felt thankful, by this point, for his many weightlifting sessions at the gym, and he attempted to “stuff the bike “as is into the trunk of his car. And guess what? It did not fit. Plan C quickly developed. Why not take the front tire off Hanna’s bike, and then place it into the trunk? An attempt was made. There was, again, failure. Plan D rapidly was advanced by Hanna, and quickly agreed to by a slightly dazed Jim O, who was, by this point, glancing occasionally at his watch, grateful for the fact that he had budgeted an extra half an hour to get to Hamilton West. Plan D? Well, why not fold down the back seat in Jim O’s Ford Focus? Good idea, Hanna, except for the fact that Jim O had never done this before and did not know where the secret buttons for this feature of his car were located. Pausing momentarily, but ever aware of the ticking clock, Jim O remembered that his Ford Focus Driver’s Manual was in his glove compartment. He retrieved the manual, and quickly learned where the secret buttons were located. The larger section (two-thirds of it) of the back seat was soon pushed forward, such that Hanna’s partly dismantled bike and the loose wheel were thus fit, finally, into the trunk of the car. Success! Because there was even one-third of the back seat left-over for Hanna herself, she wisely declined the offer of a ride to Hamilton West on the third and remaining bike-rack spot (the second having been taken by Diane’s bike).
Having piled the rest of the “luggage into the back seat of the car, next to Hanna, Jim O, Diane and Hanna finally got onto the highway. Magically, they avoided a traffic jam while passing through Oakville on the 403. But the windshield wipers were working regularly, and the raindrops were increasing in number.
Hanna’s bike had to be re-assembled at the parking lot in Hamilton West where the bike ride was to begin. Putting the tire back on seemed easier than taking it off. It must be said that Hanna, despite the difficulties associated with getting her bike to the event, exhibited much talent for both dismantling and re-assembling her machine. Not wanting to cover her hands in grease while re-assembling the bike, she did the obvious thing: she put, on her hands, two bright red socks that Jim O happened to have with him in the car. (See the relevant picture, if you don’t believe me). Wearing socks on her hands, Hanna managed to put her wheel back onto the bicycle in record time. Talk about talent!
Meanwhile, everyone else was donning the necessary raingear for the upcoming ride, as Hurricane Ernesto continued to make its presence felt, even though it was a mere tropical depression by this point. Everyone had a raincoat of one kind or another. Hanna, opened her “back-pack and pulled out two or three items of clothing, and was rapidly transformed into a mummy-like cyclist, with multiple layers of protection against the elements. Diane regretted the fact that she had no windshield-wipers to keep the raindrops off her glasses. Alan, Prashanth, and Lorie were ready for action.
In or around a quarter of the way to Jerseyville, Hanna requested a stop, as she needed to remove one layer of clothing. The unnecessary clothing was quickly put away in the large garbage bag with which her knapsack had been wrapped. The green garbage bag was balanced precariously in the basket attached to the broken back fender of Hanna’s bike.
The ride continued. When the riders had reached about the half-way point to Jerseyville, there was, you guessed it, another crisis. The ever-vigilant Diane noticed that Hanna’s rear tire was looking rather low. Sure enough, it was flat. Hanna requested another stop, this time to change her tire. Out of the green garbage bag, Hanna, magician-like, pulled a new tire tube and special levers to be used for changing a tube. She also pulled out a small air pump. The problem was this: the back wheel of the bike had to come off again, for the second time, in order to facilitate changing the tube. Benefiting from her earlier practice at removing the wheel, Hanna this time removed it in record time, and without the red socks. (She opted for black gloves, this time.) Having removed the faulty tube, and replaced it with a new tube, Hanna discovered, much to her dismay, that her flashy air pump did not work. Alan, able brother of the TOC President (Steph would be proud!), swiftly came to the rescue, pulling out a miniature air pump of his own. Jim O thought, privately, how impressively equipped this cycling group was! Anyhow, after some minor struggle with putting the tire back over the new tube, and putting Hanna’s back wheel on to the bicycle one more time, the group resumed its ride.
Eventually, they arrived at the huge metropolis of Jerseyville. They inquired of some local residents as to whether there might be a shelter where soaked bicycle riders might be able to eat some lunch and dry off. There was, apparently, a small restaurant at another community a mere 8-9 km away. To go there and back just to have lunch in a sheltered environment would have added another 16-18 km to the overall ride. Instead of seeking shelter at that restaurant, the TOC cyclists attempted to “enter a local church that appeared inviting, but to no avail. They also attempted to enter a local school, again to no avail. But one entrance of the school did have an entrance with an overhang beneath which the cyclists were able to huddle and eat their lunch. Alan (again, Steph would be impressed!) suggested that a nearby picnic table be temporarily re-located to the space beneath the overhang, so as to make eating lunch a little more comfortable. The hungry, wet cyclists had their lunch, placed the picnic table back in its original position, and made their way back to Hamilton West from Jerseyville (a slight downhill grade for most of the way back) in record time.
The total ride was about 36 km in length. By the time the riders got back to the parking lot at the original departure point, they were all quite soaked and covered in mud. After briefly cleaning themselves off at the local Burger King, and enjoying some hot coffee or chocolate, among other things, the gang headed home. Talk about a group of hardy TOC cyclists! Despite the rain, despite the stubbornness of Hanna’s bicycle—everyone had a good time. Everyone, in the end, seemed pleased that the rain had not prevented her/him from enjoying a fine day of cycling on quite a lovely and well-maintained trail. I’m sure we will do this ride again sometime.
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.