Predawn ride!

Wanting to get the $2/dozen "Grade B" brown eggs from St. Lawrence Market (they can be sold out as early as 7 AM), I headed out from Long Branch at about 5:20 this morning. At this time of year it's still quite dark, though the sky is getting light in the east.

I didn't have to stop at all on Lake Shore between Brown's Line and Park Lawn. (I did run a very early red at Royal York, otherwise it was clear sailing.)

The pavement on Lake Shore is a lot more polished in the car lanes than it is to the right of the car lanes, in the bicycle/parking area. I'm not talking about major cracks or breaks, just the micro-quality of the pavement.

Although the streetlights were bright, they don't show bumps that made me go "ooof!". Oh well, just--oof!--enjoy the ride. It was very nice to not have to pay attention to a million cars, both driven and parked, because they simply weren't out. It's a bit of zen, looking around, observing, thinking. Not like riding even in light traffic.

Lake Shore seems generally flat in south Etobicoke, but with little or no other traffic, green lights to the horizon, and no wind, I could really feel the elevation changes. I'd find myself going 5 km/h slower or faster, changing up or down two gears. Speed was generally between 29 and 35 km/h.

It was nice and cool, and the lack of wind was appreciated. I de-layerd at the Humber bridge, keeping the cycling jersey and MEC jacket, but removing the light fleece pullover.

It took 45 minutes (including all stops) to cover 18.something km from my front door to St. Lawrence Market. And yes, I got there in time to purchase two dozen Grade B eggs....and some red peppers. (No, I'm not planning any vegetarian omelets.)

By the time I was heading back, the sun was just up. Traffic on Lake Shore was bad (the Gardiner is closed) and it felt like a "regular" day, not like the ride in. I did have the sun exactly at my back on Lake Shore and in bits of Bike Route 2; my stretched-out shadow ahead of me was neat to see, wheels clearly separate from the stays/forks.

I did ride the new Yonge bike lanes under the railway tracks. The light timing was better than I expected, and I wasn't hugely delayed by the red light at Lake Shore.

Maybe I'll do this again in the fall. I'll need better batteries in my old Cat-Eye HL500 than the ancient NiCads I have, probably won't last the whole ride, and it may be dark even when I get home!