My cousin is a professional figure skater. He was telling me recently about performing at a private function on a full sized rink built in someones backyard. Imagine having a fully lit hockey rink in your yard.
This got me thinking.
I often see tennis courts, swimming pools, even putting greens in peoples yards. Tiger Woods even has several championship holes in his yard. But we road cyclists need more space, and smooth, paved roads. A lot of them. And different terrain. Hills, Flats. Rollers. I realized I have the perfect training route right outside my back door.
I have known this for some time, and have written about it previously. But it just keeps getting better. And because of it, so do I. This past year, it has been completely resurfaced. It’s smooth, fast, and scenic with frequent views of Coal Harbour and English Bay.
I can roll out the back door, cycle a traffic-calmed bikeway to the park, complete a lap (sometimes more) around the park’s road, and return on the same bikeway. It’s a 30 km round trip (unless I do additional laps). It is short enough that I can do it every day, and long enough for a demanding workout. The route includes two 3 km climbs (I live atop a mountain) averaging a 5-7% grade, a 2Km descent, and the rest a rolling mixture of flats, short climbs, and gentle descents. It has a good mix of terrain for training, excellent surfaces, little traffic, and lots to look at.
I never tire of this ride. It enables me to practice climbing, descending, sprinting, and cadence variations, aerodynamic positions, nutrition, hydration, and kits. It’s perfect. I have other routes I enjoy out the back door, but this one has everything for working on my skills, and conditioning. And, my gym is on the route so that when I’m finished cycling, I can complete some wright training before heading home.
Perfect.
Today I completed the ride faster than ever. My average speed was faster, meaning I maintained a faster pace throughout. I summited all the climbs faster, and descended more quickly than ever before. There are several reasons for this. The sum of small marginal gains. A smoother surface. Faster tires. And, I have lost 30 pounds which makes the climbs easier. At 135 pounds, now I’m a climber 😂
Do you have training ride out your back door?
PedalWORKS 
I have several good rides at my doorstep but far too many pounds to carry round them.
Haha. I was tired of saying the same thing. At my age I thought it was not a good idea to continue carrying the weight.
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