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[4:57 PM EDT - Resting.]
Ahh, I'm taking it easy after coming back from the Ride for Heart. It was quite fun actually. Much more fun when you're with a group (and travel with the group) rather than going it alone.
Anyway, HKL took a number of pictures and I'm downloading them now. I'll find a way to piece together the events of this morning later.
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[7:30 PM EDT - Being strict.]
I'm changing my scripts to use strict, but I'm having issues with global variables. I think I need to use var or something like that. I'll get around to it. So until then, expect pages and scripts to fail now and then. Hopefully I don't break anything permanently..
In other news, I got a couple of links from girl on the Top Thrill Dragster (which basically looks like a wavy hill). More info here.
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[9:39 PM EDT - Call it day?]
I'm tired. I didn't get that much sleep this weekend and I haven't exactly taken it easy either. Fortunately, the next few days is looking like it will be another eventful week jam packed with oodles of sports and very little sleep. *thinks* Waitaminute, that's a bad thing right?
I probably should call it a night after I check news and get ready for bed. Oh geez, and respond to e-mail. Oh yeah, and update the blog. And also..
Well, maybe I won't go to bed early tonight.
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[9:42 PM EDT - News Bytes: Who needs The Huma.. er.. Spiderman?]
I found two links on setae on ArsTechnica. The first is about one of them, and the second is about many of them.
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[10:05 PM EDT - News Bytes: Fermi Raiders.]
I forgot to check the ShackNews before posting the previous entry. I found two interesting links there. The first is on Fermi questions (nothing new there, it's more for general public consumption). The second is on an Raiders of the Lost Ark remake. The trailer was interesting.
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[11:55 PM EDT - Ride for Heart.]
I got up at six this morning and wondered why I always choose events that involve getting up early in the morning. Several minutes later, I was given some bad news. girl wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be biking with us. That also meant that Dangerman wasn't coming along. Thus, our group of five had suddenly been reduced in half (nearly).
Oh well, what else could I do? Laz came by at the appointed time and I told him the bad news. He was a little shocked since he was more of a last minute addition, but anyway, at least it made loading the bikes easier.
After packing up, we headed down to pick up HKL. He was a little later than we had anticipated but we still left on schedule and didn't have too many problems loading his bike in the back.
We headed down to the parking area, but remembering last year, I knew it would be pretty packed (and I arrived early last year too!). We got there and it was indeed packed with cars. Frustrated by the traffic, Laz decided to try the other entrance, and when we got there, we belated realized that it was also the starting point for the actual ride which meant that entrance was strictly forbidden. HKL suggested that should try another entrance and since we didn't have any better ideas, we headed in that direction. We got there and I was surprised that there were so few cars about. What surprised me even more was the fact that there was a parking lot open to public parking and it was mostly empty! Lucky! *gives thumbs up*
We unpacked our bikes and that's when I found out that the batteries for my camera were dead. We all brought along cameras so it wasn't really a problem. (Although there woudln't be any videos.)
We headed into the grounds and was immediately a part of the throngs of bikers and skaters who had gathered for the event. Wandering around for a number of minutes, we guessed as to the location of the lineup and waited. It wasn't long before we started moving and eventually we found ourselves on the highway.
![[Waiting in line.]](../Pictures/2003-05-27/2003-06-01b.jpg)
Laz, HKL, and I went on the Ride for Heart this year. Actually, girl and Dangerman were supposed to join us as well, but girl got sick so it was just the three of us.
Since I had never entered through the side entrance for the Ride for Heart, I had no idea where to go to start the race. In addition, the throngs of people who were milling about didn't help our sense of direction either. Eventually, we followed the flow and ended up in the middle of some sort of holding area.
That's me and Laz wondering if we ended up in the starting line or the "we don't know where we're going either" line.
The weather was good. It was a little cooler than last year, and I decided to keep my jeans on despite having shorts underneath. The sun was warm, but it was also windy. I took it easy again on the way up, and with the cool wind, it was actually a little easier this year. Mind you, I didn't kill myself the day before as I oft have whenever the Ride for Heart came around, so that might have something to do with it too.
I promised to take it easy today, so we stopped at most of the rest stops along the way. The first one had power bars and I snached up a few to give to the other boys. I also took a couple of bananas which taste great when you're hungry. The ride up the hill wasn't as bad as last year. I guess when you're not sweating as much, things don't feel as bad.
![[HKL and his power bar.]](../Pictures/2003-05-27/2003-06-01c.jpg)
There were rest stops situated approximately eight kilometers apart on the route (there were five of them) and since we were taking it easy, I made a point of stopping off at each and every one (to search for power bars).
HKL shows off his power bar at the Don Mills rest stop.
My chain fell off though as I was going up one of the longer hills. Just as I was pulling to the left to pass I might add. I ended up pulling to the side and spending a couple of minutes trying to put the chain back on. A biker coming the other way asked me if I was okay. My response to the affirmative was made when he was already twenty meters away from me and receeding fast, so I don't know what he would've done had it been a negative.
We made it to the halfway point without any problems. The ride back was very easy. Going downhill and downwind makes peddling optional. Actually I tried doing the Titanic "I'm flying" thing, but I didn't want to clothesline too many people so I kept it to a minimum. Besides, I didn't want to be filmed while screaming down the DVP like some red-headed..
![[Men with bikes.]](http://lh5.google.com/image/jyseto/RcVhFeP-S3I/AAAAAAAAARE/hcl4emWuwog/s288/2003-06-01j.jpg)
At the halfway point, we got a fellow biker to take these pictures for us. I was going to ask the policeman to do the honours but I doubted that he'd want to take everybody's picture all the time (he had just taken one group's photos when we got there).
I was a little surprised as to my condition at this point. I didn't feel tired. In fact, I had tons of energy! Coupled with the knowledge that the rest of the ride was mostly downhill, I was itching to burn rubber back to the finish line.
Posing with our bikes are me, Laz, and HKL.
Anyway, we were approaching the three-quarters mark when we saw pylons on the highway directing traffic to one of the exits. Most of the bikers were ignoring those pylons and continue straight through. I shouted back to HKL asking what those pylons were for and he told me that the full course required getting off the highway at that point and going through one of the intersections. This was confirmed by a biker next to us who was bringing his daughter on some chariot type attachment. I figured that we might as well go for gold. Besides, I had a lot of gas left in the tank. So we went.
Besides, the next pitstop was there too. I checked around for more power bars. Each of the stops after the first one seemed to lack any of them, and I found out (to my chagrin) that this stop didn't have any. I did notice a couple of Ski Patrollers wandering around (I also saw one at the half-way point) so I decided to ask where they patroled. Talisman I think the answer was.
I'll have to look that up later.
![[Showing off our city's language independent road signs.]](../Pictures/2003-05-27/2003-06-01f.jpg)
Since it's not often one is standing on the middle of a highway, I wanted to take this moment to prove that we were out to enjoy our city's freeways because we wanted to be there, not because the car broke down.
That's Laz and I next to the large (they're a lot larger up close than they appear from the car) orange sign.
The final leg of the trip was fairly uneventful. We did stop to take a picture of one of the road signs. How often do you get to park next to a roadsign on an elevated highway and take pictures? Once a year I think. Next year I'll try to take more stops at more roadsigns.
![[A test of sight and strength.]](../Pictures/2003-05-27/2003-06-01g.jpg)
I should mention that since the Gardiner Expressway is an elevated highway, it's not often that one gets to look over the side or even stand around at the side of the highway (since there aren't any shoulders). I must say that I'm glad those barriers are sturdy because it's a long way down..
That's HKL checking out the height, and me checking out the barrier.
When we finally finished, my legs were burning a little. It's the type of "I did some exercise but didn't kill myself" type of burning. The good type of burning really. Actually, after I sat around for a while eating lunch, I couldn't really start biking again. It was as if my legs had seized. I guess that's what happens when you sit around for a while after a long episode of exercise. It was all good though.
Anyway, we finished the course in two and a half hours. Which is good considering how many pit stops we took. Next year, I hope we'll have more people who are in as good or better shape and we can tackle the Gardener/DVP again!
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