Back to Base

Sometimes things don't go according to plan. A cancelled spin class and a scheduled R&R week snowballed into two weeks with no time on the bike or in the gym. The most strenuous activity I had was schlepping my luggage around Montreal. Sure, I brought some kit and spin shoes, but with my itinerary, I never got the chance to pop into a gym and put them to use.

To make matters worse, Montreal has a way of bringing out the gourmand in me. Go ahead, call me a hypocrite, but I certainly wasn't eating a big salad everyday over those two weeks. Instead, I was enjoying the land of poutine and tarte à sucre; not to mention getting treated to Au Pied du Cochon where every second dish features a generous portion of foie gras, typically garnished with bacon, cheese and/or maple syrup.

Anyhow, I'm glad Sunday's unseasonably-warm weather permitted a fat-busting aerobic endurance ride. I rode up to my favourite stretch of tarmac in desolate zone within the city: a little-known, freshly-paved access-road running alongside the 401. A fierce headwind on the way out kept the heart rate up, and the downhill trip home lent itself to some high-cadence active recovery. 2 hours of riding, targeting zones 2 and 3, 1300 calories burnt.