During the winter, with snow piled high and falling often, our bikes rest downstairs, on a several-month break. There are people who persist through the bad weather, biking alongside traffic with studded tires and ski goggles. But, we just aren't into it - higher potential for a bad accident than in the summer time, too many changes of clothes, and we would both need to upgrade to different bikes.
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| Jerod, Bethann, and Bertille, a friend from France on a bike tour of an island upriver from Quebec City. Photo courtesy of Mathieu Basille. |
We bike most of the year, though - to work, around town, out exploring the countryside near Quebec City, and of course, Jerod bikes all summer chasing bison. Snow was still falling here last week, but the roads have begun to clear.
I took my first bike ride today, and felt like a giddy kid again. I am eagerly looking forward to another warm biking season. To tide all us snow-stymied bikers over, here's a snapshot of one of my favorite bike moments from last season: the Grand Prix.
While my sister was here for a visit in September 2012, I had a newspaper assignment to cover the Grand Prix, which is a cycling race in the same category as the Tour de France. The world class riders race on a 12 km circuit through Quebec City, up and down hills, and follow this route for 16 laps.
Nicole was game, so we headed out on foot, with intention to trace the route "against the flow of traffic," and thus capture several rounds of pictures. We were amazed by how fast the bikers were, and I could feel strong gusts of wind as I leaned in from the sidelines to capture some of these images.
In Quebec, Jerod and I bike to work nearly every day, and there are a couple of hills involved. However, I can't imagine what it takes to ride that course in less than 3 hours, as most of those racers did! If you're curious, here's my QCT article about that bike race.
4 comments:
Jerod chases buffalo on a bicycle? Really?
I can picture a tribe of Indians riding their bikes alongside a bison herd and shooting them with arrows.
Do you remember that song, ‘You can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd’?
Hi Mr. Sentz,Yes, they actually do. They ride mountain bikes all over the area of the park where they are working. I think they average about 15 km per day, following bison, looking for scats, taking plant samples, etc.
I bet you would have to be a world-class biker to keep up with bison on a pedal bike. :)
I do know that funny song - thank you for reminding me! Maybe I can find a YouTube version to include in a future blog post. :)
Hmm, I almost thought you were kidding us about Jerod mtn-biking amongst the buffalo. Did you do that with him when you were out there?
:) That's great! No, it really is how they get around. Yes, I did some biking, too, when I was there last August.
One nice thing about that area is the topography. The whole area is incredibly flat, so you can bike a long ways without over doing it. Mind you, they are still hauling hefty packs full of equipment, but it seems to work really well. It is much lower impact on the roads and wildlife than using motorized vehicles.
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