River Run
Permanent Brevet #204 "A River Runs Through It", 204 km
Ride Date: January 29, 2022
by Bob Goodison

What a day! I had a back spasm last Monday and had been struggling with sciatica all week. I went for a short ride on Thursday after work, and it was less painful than not riding, so I went for it. My plan for A River Runs Through it turned into A River Runs Near It, as the McLure Ferry was very, very closed. Also had some trail closures due to construction through Riverside Park.

   

I was pretty happy that all the slush and mud on the approach to the Halston Bridge was frozen, and even happier that I had decided to run my studded tires, or I would have had to walk that section. The last 50 km was torture- temp just above freezing, and a howling headwind combined with fatigue and the extra drag from the studded tires made for an average speed of 14 kph on the level ground. One of my slowest 200s ever, but I'm glad I did it. 10:37 elapsed time, average temperature -1C. Lowest I saw on the Garmin was -5.6C. Route adjustments added about 4 km, for a total of 208.3 km.