7th in a series originally posted on my Ride to Conquer Cancer personal page:

Cycle blog entry #7, April 27, 2009
Only 8 weeks to go until I ride my farthest one day distance to date.

A few summers ago I think I rode about 50 km in one day. I didn't have an odometer at the time, but that's what I remember and I'm sticking to it! It was basically a loop around Vancouver from my place, down to Spanish Banks, up to UBC, through a portion of Pacific Spirit Park, then a meandering route home from there.

Sunday I went on my first long training ride. The weather was perfect. I actually planned the route this time; usually I just start riding and go in the direction that looks the most interesting.

I rode from 35th and Fraser to the end of the causeway at Iona Beach Park. That's the long thin piece of land that juts out into the water West of Vancouver and Richmond. It's 4 km from the parking lot to the tip. It's a great place to watch the planes take off and look back at UBC, the mountains and the airport.

Round trip I rode 32 km in about 2-1/4 hours. I have to admit though that by the time I crossed the Arthur Lang Bridge and got back to Granville and 70th the buses were looking mighty attractive. I have a monthly transit pass so I waited for a bus with a bike rack and got a ride from 70th to 37th. That saved me from riding a substantial distance uphill.

Plus, at that point, I was late for dinner.

All things considered it was a satisfying first training ride.