Trainers

I had another spin class last night and once again it was an excellent workout. The hour went by quickly and the sweat poured off me. Although I like going to them I have been searching for another way to "ride" in the winter and it seems computer trainers are the way to go.
After considerable research I have decided there are 3 worthy trainers that interest me. They all have their plusses and minuses and picking one will be difficult. The one feature they all have that I really like is if you are climbing a hill on screen the pedalling will get harder to reflect that and the reverse is true if you are going downhill. Very cool.
The first is the Proform TDF which is an entire exercise bike. It has it's own display screen which gives power output, calories burned and several training stats. You can also display this information along with this course you are riding on a computer or through the computer to a big screen tv. The ability to map your own rides using Google maps and then riding them in the basement is also possible.

Proform Tour de France
 

The second is the Computainer which you attach your rear wheel to like many regular trainers but this one also displays many different training stats through a computer onto a big screen tv if you like. You do need a computer though which hooks up to the handlebar mounted control module. It has virtual courses which are cool because you can set the power output of a virtual rider (Metal man) and then chase after him. It even has a draughting option. It also allows you to ride real videoed courses.



Computrainer


The third is the Tacx trainer which is a lot like the Computrainer in that it attaches to the rear wheel of your bike and uses a handlebar mounted control module to display through your computer onto a big screen. The Tacx has videoed courses of famous rides as well as the virtual rider option. Some models also have a steerer which your front wheel sits on so you must steer while going around corners or you will "crash". Some models, such as the Bushido power themselves through your pedalling which is pretty amazing.

Video ride from Tacx
 

All three of these trainers have their pluses and minuses and the biggest minus is they're not cheap. They are all in the $1500 to $1700 range so you would have to be pretty serious about training to purchase one. I have no doubt though that anyone training on one of these through the winter would be well ahead of the curve come springtime. If interested in one you should check out their web sites to get the complete story on each one because I have only given a brief synopsis of what each trainer is capable of.

Stiff and sore

Yesterday I rode almost all the way to Badjeros and back. The ride took 2:10 but the real story is how the ride there differed from the ride back.
While getting ready for the ride I noticed that the wind was picking up but from the house it was tough to tell the direction. As soon as I got moving it became obvious that the wind was coming from the SW and it was steady and strong. This made the climb up the Pretty River road much slower than usual. To make things even more difficult was the road surface which was tarred and gravelled several months ago and is now a rough surface with much more rolling resistance. I doubt anyone will be setting their personal best climbing Pretty River road for a few years.
The wind blew steady down the hill. I made up it to Robroy and continued straight through but now it seemed even stronger, blowing directly from the SW. On days like these I am glad I didn't buy aero wheels because they definitely would have given me handling problems in the cross wind.
At 30 kms out I turned around and headed back. Riding home was a complete contrast to the ride out. With the wind now at my back I made great time although near the end I was lagging a bit, mostly because I was pooped from the ride out.
Riding up and into the wind for 30 kms took 1:25 with an average speed of roughly 21.5 kph. Riding back took only 44 minutes with an average of 37.8 kph so it was like two completely different rides. I should also note that because the bottom half of Pretty River road is so rough and there is still loose gravel I don't push hard on that section. Crashing on that surface would rip your skin to shreds.
I also had a close call in the traffic circle at Poplar and High where the car driver was oblivious to the fact that a bike was in the circle.
In the evening I went to my first ever league curling game and it was great. I actually got some rocks in the house and swept my ass off and let me tell you, sweeping those rocks all the way down the ice is hard work. Despite my limited ability we won 8-3 so we had to buy the first round of drinks for the losers which is how it is done in curling. Certainly takes the sting out of losing.
I think I'll take it a bit easier today.

Spin class

I have now joined the Y with the intention of going to spin classes over the winter to try to keep some biking fitness in me. I would like to have a good start to next season and hopefully build on that because my goal will be to get a top ten in next years Centurion. Now if anyone had ever suggested to me years ago that I would be happy being in the top ten in anything I would have told them they were nuts but times change.
I must admit I didn't think my age group (55-59) would be so competitive. This year I worked hard, dropped my time by a significant amount yet I only improved a few places to 17'th out of 97 riders. In order to be in the top ten I would have had to knock off another 6 minutes or so . Six minutes may not seem like much but at 30 kph that's 3 km which is certainly a significant distance.
Today was my first spin class and what a workout it was. I now understand how Susan and Brian improved so quickly this year. The class was an hour long and the instructor, a very nice young lady, kept us sprinting, climbing, standing, sitting and sweating for the entire time. If they handed out an award for who sweat the most I would have won it hands down. Both my jersey and bike shorts were drenched at the end of the session. On Sundays there is a 2 hour session but I think I'll pass on that one until spring rolls around. I want to keep some leg in me but 2 hours on an exercise bike seems a little much to me.
Next time out I will wear my heart rate monitor and report back on the results. It should give me a pretty good idea on how good a workout it is.

Motivation.

With the change of seasons comes a change of activities. I haven't been on my bike for over a week now, one reason being the weather has been awful and the other reason is I am now lacking in motivation. I did ride over 3300 kms this year which was 900 more than last year.
Motivation for me this year was to improve on my time and placing from last years Centurion race. I really enjoy going out for rides but preparing for a race helps me to focus on the task at hand. When I mountainbiked a lot it was the same because I did a fair amount of racing for a while so all rides led to the goal of better fitness for better results.
I don't think there are many rides left in me this year due to the fact that there is nothing to work towards now. A rest is always good but at the same time it's a bit of a drag that my biking fitness level is sure to drop over the winter. To stay relatively fit in the coming months my activities will include hiking up Blue, snowshoeing, downhill skiing and snowboarding and to keep some bike fitness there is a good chance I will go to some spin classes. My friends Brian and Sue went to spin classses this year and the improvement in their bike fitness was impressive so it can only benefit me as well. I will be also be curling but that will be more for fun than fitness.
My one other goal is to keep my weight down. This year I dropped almost 10 pounds which makes a big difference when you are doing a tough climb. Think of the effort it takes to carry a 10 pound sack of potatoes around and then relate that to lugging that weight on your back climbing a hill. It's worth it to keep that weight off so I can start next season with a good base fitness. My motivation next year will be to crack the top 10 in my age category in the Centurion. It will be difficult to do as I was 17'th out of 97 this year and to gain the top 10 I would have had to knock another 5-6 minutes off my time. It won't be easy but goals easily reached aren't much to celebrate are they.   

Stupid beyond all imagination, updated.

This time of year in Collingwood is not the greatest because the weather is frequently lousy for outdoor activities such as biking. Today was that kind of day, cloudy, cool and drizzly.
To stay busy I decided to try baking a sweet potato pie which I have had a couple of times compliments of my friend Brian who along with his wife Sue have had me over for dinner a couple of times. Brian makes the fantastic sweet potato pie although when he first mentioned it there was no way I thought I would like it. I was wrong.  
Today I decided to make my own so it was off to the Metro to get some sweet potatoes and a few other ingredients. I got back home, pulled up a recipe on the internet that looked good and got to work. Within an 1 1/2 hours I had the filling made and poured it into the store bought graham cracker pie crust. The oven was preheated a few minutes later so I grabbed the pie and went to transfer it to the oven. Sadly, idiot that I am, I didn't take into account how heavy the filling was and when I picked it up the by the sides and went to move it the centre collapsed and the entire thing ended up splattered on the kitchen floor and lower cabinets. Fuck fuCk fUck fucK.........FUCK!
There was such a mess that I was only able to call myself a fucking moron for about 5 minutes straight before the massive task of cleaning up the mess took precedent. The amazing thing is I didn't go absolutely apeshit. I am either getting old or mellow or possibly both because years ago I would have been banging my head against the kitchen counter for being such an idiot, such a complete moron, such an incompetent twit, such a clumsy oaf. Today I was in a state of controlled rage if that's really possible. Strange. Really strange.
It's now a day later and I have tried again, this time putting the flimsy aluminium pie plate inside a solid metal one so as not to royally screw up again. All went well I think and the finished product smells good so all that is left is the taste test.
I have now had a taste and I would say it is quite good and was worth the coniption fit. I am now going to look up the meaning of the word coniption.

It looks good...I think.

New toys

The fall colours were brilliant this year but now the wind is blowing, the leaves are starting to fall and snow has already been spotted, only for a minute or so, at the Scenic Caves. It also seems unusually cold to me for this time of year so buying a new pair of skis seemed like the right thing to do so it was off to the annual ski swap at Blue.
The skis I have now are Dynastar Sultan Legend 85 all mountain skis and I love them but for this year I wanted something a little turnier so to speak. I arrived at 9:30 AM last Friday and it was already busy there. I figured a shorter slalom ski would be a good ski to contrast my Legends. After talking with a young racer and then getting help from a gentleman named Carl, who really seemed to know his skis, I settled on Dynastar Omeglass Speed 155 cm slalom skis with an 11 metre turning radius.  They are not the titanium model but they reviewed very well so hopefully I will be heading down the hill this winter linking a lot of nice round turns.

 

I have also joined the curling club in town so it was off to Play it Again Sports to see if I could find any decent prices on shoes and a brush (brooms are for wives and witches and my understanding is sometimes they are hard to tell apart). I managed to get a nice pair of shoes for $40, a gripper for $16 and a brush for $15 so it was a very worthwhile trip. Shoes at Canadian Tire were $130 so I saved some money (remember, I'm a cheap guy) and still ended up with new equipment.

 

So here comes winter and the only left to buy is my 5x7 ski pass and I am good to go.
I also have to admit that my somewhat unreliable memory (OK, I'm bordering on mindless twit territory) almost cost some some cash this weekend. I had put in ski boots for Lori at the swap and I was supposed to go back Thanksgiving Monday to pick them up if they hadn't sold but of course I forgot. It was Tuesday when it finally dawned on me that I had forgotten so I rushed over to the swap but everything had already been cleaned out. Luckily, after a few phone calls I tracked down the guy in charge of the swap and the boots didn't sell so he's going to drop them off at the house. Talk about great customer service. I guess I should also say sorry to Lori. Please don't beat me with your broom.

A Comedy of My Errors.

So I walk into the liquor store on Tuesday in a GET BEER! frame of mind and see a young guy who looks sort of familiar but I have BEER! on my mind so I continue on my quest. He approaches me and says "hello Gary" and it is then that I realise that he is a fellow employee at Scenic Caves. We talk for a while with me racking my brain trying to figure out what his name is. I think it's Jackson.
We meet up again at the cash and I see some Makers Mark bourbon so I mention that all bourbon is made in Tennessee. Wrong again, all bourbon is made in Kentucky. We get through the cash and I say "see you later Jackson" and head home.
When I get home I realise that all bourbon is made in Kentucky so I go into the work email list and find Jackson's email address and apologise for not recognising him and I correct myself on the origin of all bourbons.
The next day I get an email from Jackson. He doesn't know what I am talking about and figures I have the wrong email address.
I then go back into the company email list and realise that the guy in the liquor store is named Mark and not Jackson. Fuck fUCk FuCK fucK...........fuck!
I then had to send new emails to both Mark and Jackson explaining that I am now in the fast lane on the highway to senility and my only hope may be that I forget where the hell I'm going.
So this afternoon I am at the Turkey Tent sale at Blue Mountain and I see another Scenic Caves employee and wonder of wonders I recognise her AND I know her name. I tell Krista about my comedy of errors but when I mention that Mark is an Aussie she say no, Marty is the Aussie. I know who Marty is and insist that Mark is an Aussie as well only to be corrected by Krista for what I hope will be the last time for the next few minutes. Mark is a Brit.....who sounds a whole lot like an Aussie to me. Where's my Geritol?

Centurion 2012.

 Today my legs are a bit tired because yesterday I competed in the Centurion 50 mile race. It's a great event consisting of hill climbs up Scenic caves road, a kids ride, and races of 25, 50 and 100 miles.
The event has only been going on for 3 years at Blue Mountain but it is easily the biggest event they have.
 Registration is done online and starting on Friday evening you were able to pick up the race packets which have bib and bike numbers, a timing chip and a t-shirt. Like everything else on this weekend registration was well organised and I had my race packet in a few short minutes. That is one of the things about this event that I really like, it is very well organised.
 Leading up to the race I had done some good preparation over a 2 week period which included 550 kms riding with numerous wind sprints included in these rides. The wind sprints helped my legs last much longer when climbing and my recovery time was reduced significantly after working hard. The week before the race I tapered by doing hour long rides with sprints at 80 to 90% of max, reducing the number sprints each day. The day before the race it rained so I went downstairs to my rollers and did 20 kms at over 40 kph average with one fast sprint. As well I tried to load up on carbs in the few days before the race.
 I arrived at the start line at 7 AM and met up with Terry who has just started road biking but has mountain biked in the area for over 20 years. It was good to see him there. At 7:30 the race began with 1350 riders paced behind a car for the first 5 km until we turned right to head up the Grey 19 climb. That's also where the chip timing started.
 Although I was getting passed on the climb up I was certainly doing much better than the previous 2 years and I arrived at the top in good time and was able to get in with a good group of riders. We stayed together as a group for most of the race, splitting up sometimes and then finding ourselves back in a group a few minutes later. My climb up to Epping was a personal best and after that there were no more long climbs. Heading back from Ravenna I made good time and a group of us flew back down Grey 19 and made good time to a sprint finish. Terry finished a short while later in under 3 hours which was a great ride for him. The only real problem I had were some minor stomach cramps near the end caused by a mixture of energy gels and 2 different kinds of gatorade. After the race the cramps got worse so I headed for home early.
 One of the things that make this event really fun is the number of people who come out to cheer the racers on. I don't think they realise how much the riders appreciate their cheers and shouts of encouragement. I made sure I thanked them for their support several times during the ride. The volunteers at the feed stations also deserve a pat on the back for a job well done.
 And now for the numbers.  Time....................................2:43.21
                                             Chip Time...........................2:31.23
                                              Pace....................................33.8 kph
                                              KOM..................................13.03 minutes
                                              Result-age group................17/97
                                              Result-Mens overall...........197/967
                                              Result-overall.....................215/1370

Tough Mudder

Today every muscle in my body hurts. I was at the Shoppers Drug Mart at 8 AM this morning to get some Tylenol for muscle aches and pains. Going down stairs hurts like hell. That was definitely the first and last tough Mudder I will ever do.
The day started by picking up my buddy Aaron at 10 AM in Wasaga Beach. We then had to drive almost 1/2 an hour past Mt. St. Louis to the parking area and then be shuttled back to to the ski resort. We finally started the event at 2 PM. I had already decided at that point that I would never do a Tough Mudder again.
The first obstacle about 1 km in required us to lie on our bellies and crawl through mud. It was easy but the clasp on my fanny pack, which had to be removed for this obstacle,  jammed up with mud and it wouldn't snap back together properly. I took a fanny pack because it was recommended by this guy on You Tube giving Tough Mudder tips. It was bad advice.
We then ran back down the hill to near the start and jumped in a 20 foot long container filled with ice water which was a shock but at least it remove a lot of the mud. It also removed my fanny pack which I realized after exiting. I couldn't go back in so it was goodbye $30, gel packs and Aaron's and my gloves.
We then headed back up the hill for some more slopping through mud, jumping ditches filled with mud, swinging from rings (I failed that miserably) and trudging through a shallow pond.
After getting covered in mud trying to jump the ditches my soccer socks (the guy on you tube with the tips said to wear compression socks to save your calves but soccer socks were a bad substitute) weighed about 3 pounds each so I removed them. Now my problem was the grit from the mud ate at my feet. Not very pleasant. Also going downhill was harder because of the grit and my toes started sliding forward into the front of my shoes. Eventually I started taking my shoes off for some of the longer downhills.
We had to miss 2 obstacles, the 15 foot jump into water was lined up because someone was being put on a stretcher and the water slide down the hill was closed because a woman was cut open on it. I could have done those two easily.
I also bypassed the monkey bars and the two 12 foot high Berlin Walls because I was just too tired to try them. I think my legs started to really started to tighten up at about the 10 km mark.
The electric eel was one of the toughest obstacles because you had to crawl on your belly through water for about 12 metres with electrified wires dangling down a few inches above the water level. Aaron, being thinner than me was only shocked once but I was zapped 6 times going through. We exited there for a grueling climb all the way back up the hill. Then back down the hill and then back up part way, grab an 8 foot log, throw it on our shoulders and carry it another ways up the hill and then back down the hill to where we had picked it up. It was then to Everest where you had to run and try to get up half of a half pipe. I made it first try thanks to the guys on the top who helped out. It should be mentioned also that the teamwork aspect of the event was admirably demonstrated by a great many participants and so I send a thank you out to them.
The final obstacle was running through electified wires suspended from above. This one was not so bad and I was able to only get shocked once while Aaron didn't get zapped at all.
In total I think we climbed up and down the hill at least 5 times and the total distance was 16 kms. I'm glad I made it through although I really didn't becaused I skipped some obstacles. I have got to hand it to Aaron as well, he did everything and made them look fairly easy. At the finish he didn't even seem that tired and he certainly impressed the hell out of me.
I will have to just cling to the fact that I may have been the oldest person I saw participating. I'm  sure there were some people older than me but on average I would guess I was at least 25 - 30 years older than most of the participants.

It was quite the day. I will definitely never do it again but I am glad I gave it a try. Tommorow I turn 57 so hopefully that means I will start to act my age.

New helmet

Two days ago I made the trip over to Kamikaze bike shop to check out some helmets. I figured one of the reasons I was sweating into my eyes so much was that my inexpensive (cheap) MEC helmet did not have very big vents and therefore not enough cooling power.
My rule of thumb in the past when buying helmets has been "$40 helmet for a $40 head" Sadly over the years helmets have increased in price due to inflation and my head value has decreased due to loss of memory, loss of hair, loss of self esteem, loss of vision, loss of looks, loss of hearing......I could go on but you get the picture I'm sure.
Holly at Kamikaze helped me pick out a new snazzy looking helmet made by Giro. It was a real nice fit but as usual I looked like a doofus wearing it as I do with all helmets. I was a bit conflicted as well wearing it because I now had a helmet that was worth far more than my head. It was $109. My head is down to about $20 but the only $20 helmet there had flowers on it and was so small I looked like a gay rabbi with a balance problem. I had to get the Giro. I then came to the realization that there was no way I could buy this helmet. Why you ask? Simple. The helmet's model name was "Savant". Let's face it, there is no way I should ever be wearing a helmet called a Savant. Talk about being conflicted. The helmet would probably be picking my ride routes. Funny thing happened as well. Someone dropped a box of toothpicks on the floor in front of me and I had them counted in 6 seconds. Weird.
In the end I bought a Bontrager helmet with big vents that should help keep my head cooler. I'm not at all conflicted wearing this helmet either. It's a Bontrager Snail.

Sweat Gutr

Yesterday I tried out my Sweat Gutr for the first time. It is worn like a headband and its sole purpose is to channel sweat that is running down your forehead to the sides and hopefully away from your eyes. It is fully adjustable for just about any size head.
After my first ride wearing it my impressions are both good and bad. The first thing I noticed was it kept on getting pushed down by my helmet so that it was resting on my brow which was slightly annoying to say the least. As I heated up and started to sweat climbing Grey road 19 the Gutr did stop most of the sweat from running in my eyes. Most. I could feel small amounts of sweat at the corner of my eyes but for the most part it didn't get in my eyes until much later in the 2 hour ride. Twice near the end of the ride I had a bit of sweat run into my left eye which seems to be the eye I always have trouble with. One other problem I had was it rested on my ears and that was a bit uncomfortable.

Overall the Sweat Gutr gets a 7 out of 10 from me for keeping the sweat out of my eyes. This doesn't mean that score might not improve in the future because I think it will take a little time and a few adjustments to improve the performance of it. I will continue to wear it and try to fine tune the fit so that hopefully one day I can complete a ride without stinging eyes.

Drink Water!

I have now been sick for 4 days and I am going to have to take antibiotics for the next 10 days. I have a kidney infection which has caused my temperature to soar, 102F last night. This meant a trip to the hospital was neccessary. It was the second time in 3 days that my temperature had gone out of whack. The first time I started popping Tylenol which brought the fever down and convinced me that I was suffering from the flu. Somehow I figured the reason I wasn't exactly peeing with force was strictly caused by the fever. After a day of Tylenol my temperature dropped from 101.5F to normal so back to work I went feeling run down but thinking the worst was over with. By the time I got home from work yesterday I again had the chills and a temperature of 102F and could hardly pass water at all so it was off to the hospital.
It turns out it wasn't the flu and fever causing the problems, it was a urinary tract infection most likely in my kidneys which was the root of my misery. Taking the Tylenol to reduce fever masked the origin of my troubles and in the long run caused things to worsen.
All this may have been avoided if I simply drank more water through the day, in particular when I am at work where I am quite active but because I don't sweat profusely there I don't drink much water. Water flushes out the system and helps prevent infections from proliferating.
I have already talked about my bad water drinking habits while riding my bike and I have improved in reminding myself to drink all the water that I bring on a ride. That is simply not enough it seems and it will now be neccessary to remind myself at work to continually be hydrating. It seems the simplest things are sometimes the most important.
I should also mention that going for hard rides now or for the next few days would be counter productive. The best thing is to just rest and not worry about losing some conditioning. I learned this the hard way many years ago when I had a bad cold a few weeks before the 24 hours of Adrenaline. Instead of resting and making sure I ridded myself of the cold I continued to ride and consequently took much longer to get better. My nose ran like a tap on every lap I did and for the first time ever I had severe leg cramps. Another lesson learned.
P.S.......I don't like to use the emergency at the hospital but I figured not being able to pee for a couple of days before I could see my own doctor meant I had to go. For a while I was waiting beside a woman and her young (roughly 6-7 years old) daughter. Mom had brought the daughter in because she had been swimming in a chlorined pool 2 hours before and now her eyes were sore and red. No problems seeing, no swelling, just irritated. How ridiculous!

Rescued on the high ropes

Last night the Scenic Caves ecotour staff were invited by Blue Mountain to try their Timber Challenge High Ropes. At the Caves we have our treetop walk which is fun but is simply a nature walk high in the trees whereas the Timber Challenge High Ropes are more of an obstacle course walk.
It starts off with the fitting of a body harness and helmet followed by ground school where you learn how to work the safety clips and pulley. The two safety clips were very high tech. Only one clip would open at a time so when transfering from one obstacle to the other you would remove the clip that opened, clamp onto the new safety cable and then place the clip over a sensor which released the other clip allowing it to be removed from the first cable and transferred. Very cool and it meant that you could never be caught out with no clips attached to the safety cable.
There are three levels of difficulty on the high ropes and they use the same colour code as the ski runs, green for easy, blue for more difficult and black for advanced. The greens and blues have some fun obstacles but the real test is when you start the blacks. After climbing a ladder where the steps spin on a rope making it unbelievably hard to get up to the platform your first obstacle is a set of 8 ropes with 8 inch square blocks on the bottom for footing. The ropes are knotted higher up so you can get a good grip. Just getting on the first rope and trying to stand on that small block of wood was tough enough. Then you have to grab the next rope about 3 feet over and move to it while trying to stand on its block which is swinging all over the place. Very difficult. I was doing OK but I was getting caught up in the ropes I had already used which meant I had to stop and untangle myself resulting in a lot of energy expended which I would need to make it across. Suffice to say I didn't make it and ended up sitting down on a block 2 ropes from the end.
This meant I had to be rescued by the wonderful Alexa who came out on the safety cable and then used a 3 in 1 to lift me to the platform level and then pull me across. During the rescue I got very up close and personal with Alexa's crotch which at one point was about a foot away from my face as the crow flies. I bit my tongue..........and said nothing.
All in all it was a great time and I would recommend it to anyone who is adventurous and in good shape. It is completely different from the nature walk at the Caves which just about anyone can do. Both are great in their own way.

The Thunderbird

Today I rode the Thunderbird zip line at Scenic Caves for the second time. I must admit it's a pretty cool ride. It's 2600 feet long with a significant vertical drop which makes for a fast ride down the hill. Sadly it's not open to the public yet because they still have many finishing touches to complete as well as getting the green light from a government safety group.
The ride starts with ground training where we have 2 cables set up beside the zip to demonstrate how we will harness them and to allow guests to get a feel for the braking system. Once we feel they are comfortable with ground training they will have to climb the 60 foot spiral staircase to the "launching" platform. The guests are then harnessed up again, two at a time side by side about 10 feet apart. When all systems are go the two gates open simultaneously, we inform the catchers at the bottom that we are releasing and send the two zipliners on their rapid descent. A ride down will take anywhere from 40-60 seconds depending on how fast the guests want to go.
On todays zip ride I went side by side with friend and co-worker Skip who happens to weigh about 20 pounds less than me which meant that the race to the bottom was no contest with me, the fat guy, arriving much earlier than Skip.  For me I think the coolest part of the ride is when you are hanging there in the harness and the gate finally opens. You get this incredible view of the bay area and of the cable stretching down the hill to the unloading platform which looks pretty small when viewed from the top. I suspect there will be some guests who will be unable to go through with the ride when the gates open and they get a good look at what is about to happen.
All of the Ecotour staff is now training on the Thunderbird and we will be ready to go when construction is complete and the approvals are in place. We are hoping that will be in about a weeks time.
An interesting note. It's called the Thunderbird because the Rama Ojibway believed the thunderbird, which they thought controlled the weather, had its nest on the escarpment near Collingwood. That seems so silly now because we all know God controls the weather.  

3 Stage 2012

This morning I headed over to 3 stage to go for a quick ride. It was already 25C at 8:30 AM and quite humid and it wasn't going to get any cooler so the morning was a good time to ride. I also took the smart phone along so I could map the ride with Strava just for the heck of it. I rode many of the trails up top and worked up a hell of a sweat in the 1:24.44 that I was riding. I covered 16.1 kms at an average of 11.4kph. There were some new downed trees and because I don't ride there near as often anymore some technical sections seem to have different lines, due to erosion and in some cases people removing rocks to make things easier. There are also some sections that have been deliberately bypassed which really pisses me off because some pussies are too lazy or lack the guts to try something difficult for once in their life. My favourite mountain bike saying is "ride like you've got pair". Sadly not all riders adhere to this.
I had some technical problems on the ride as well. One thing that bugged me for most of the ride was my right nut kept leaving the nest and twice got caught in a squeeze play between my seat and my leg. Ouch! I am hoping this is not the start of early onset old man nuts, a condition which all guys who have ever been in a change room with some 80 year old men walking around naked are familiar with. Scary.
The other technical problem I had was with my bike. Some days I like this Gary Fisher Hifi and sometimes I hate it. I didn't like it today. In previous rides I was lifting the front end on tough technical climbs and therefore losing my steering so I tried to move my weight forward by sliding the seat ahead 1/2 inch and rolling my bars forward a bit. This worked well for the climbs but had some other not so pleasant effects such as making it easier to go over the handlebars. The back end of the bike seemed to be bouncing me around more as well. I ride normally with my rear shock on Pro-pedal which limits travel but I eventually gave in and and switched it to use all the rear travel. Frustrating. The front end was a bit like a pogo stick again so I checked the air pressure on the fork and it was at the low end of my weight range so I pumped another 15 lbs in it and that helped a bit. This Rock Shox Recon fork is a little too pressure sensitive for my liking although if I rode more I suppose I would pay more attention to it.
I have to say once again that without a doubt the Gary Fisher Sugar is a much better bicycle than the Hifi.

Thoughts on climbing

I have always thought that momentum is a bikers best friend. It is especially true in mountain biking where being able to see ahead, read the trail and pick the right line means a smoother faster ride with less energy spent. I used to love it when I was gaining on another rider while he was pedaling and I wasn't. I often thought that if I rode well on a particular day my time spent pedaling would be less than any of the other riders. This in turn would leave me with more energy for climbs and riding the more technical sections of a trail. I have always said "speed is your friend" for technical sections which simply means if you can have good forward momentum and hit the right line you will like flow over rocks and roots instead of bogging down like a slower rider would.
After road riding for a few years now I am discovering that there is a lot to be said for momentum on the pavement as well. In particular I am learning some climbing techniques which I think work well for me on smaller climbs and now seem to apply on longer climbs as well.
In the last year I have noticed that on smaller climbs such as what you would find in an area with rolling hills if I keep my speed up starting the climb and work on keeping my cadence up, possibly shifting to a lower gear once or twice on the way up, I arrive at the top faster while at the same time spending less energy. It seems to me many riders don't attack these smaller climbs and therefore end up "hammering" up the hill with a low cadence resulting in their spending more energy to arrive at the top of the hill in a slower time. My idea is if you can keep your momentum at the bottom half of the climb the top half will be easier and faster to complete.
I am now learning that momentum is also your friend on the much longer climbs but in a much more subtle way. It seems the faster you can climb up a hill the more that momentum aids in gaining even more speed. Think about it. If you are riding up a hill doing 13 kph while Joe Biker is doing 20 kph his bike is traveling slightly farther every pedal stroke he takes because the momentum he has created. Certainly the fact that he is stronger and in better shape than me has a great deal to do with it but I don't think it is a 1:1 ratio where because he goes up the hill 50% faster he is 50% stronger and in better shape than I am. I have no doubt an equation could be created which which could explain mathematically the science of climbing regarding energy spent, power used and momentum created to achieve maximum speed.
Or it's entirely possible I am completely full of shit.  

Strava

Today I headed out for a ride with my friend Brian. Our plan was to head up Grey 19 and then make our way over to Feversham.
Recently I heard some riders talking about a phone app called Strava so I loaded it on my smartphone and decided to give it a try today. I knew it uses the phones GPS to map your rides but after that I wasn't too sure of what else the app is capable of.
I stepped outside for the ride and went to the app and within a minute it was GPS capable so off I went. Brian was waiting for me at the base of Grey 19 and we started our climb. I made it to the top in what I thought was good time and as soon as Brian made his way up we continued on to Feversham. The trip back was down the Pretty River road.
When I got home I turned off the app and went inside to check out what information it had recorded. I was pleased to see that not only was my route mapped, it also gave me elevation gains and compared my time in certain sectors of the ride with the times of other riders who have the Strava app. Very cool.
Sadly when I see what my times are compared to the many other top riders doing these sectors the only conclusion to be made is I have an anchor dragging out behind my bike. On the bright side I am so far behind that any ambitions I had of being a half decent rider have gone out the window. Strangely I am not very bothered by that discovery.
I then went to the website and checked out my profile and I must say it is a great site. It gave profile graphs of the rides elevation and speed changes and will inform you when you have set personal bests plus lots of other interesting information. I would recommend it to anyone who rides. It's easy to use (I figured it out) and costs nothing unless you want to upgrade to get even more info. I give it 5 stars.
P.S. I had a big problem sweating in one of my eyes today (yes I'm a heavy sweater) so I have ordered a product called the Sweat Gutr and will report on it as soon as I get to test it.

Another confession

Today I decided to be lazy so I stayed in, farted around the house doing some odd jobs and then my plan was to watch the Toronto Argonaut football game at 3 pm. The plan was working until I noticed that the made for TV movie "Anne (spelled with an e) of Green Gables" starring Megan Follows was on at 2. When I first saw this movie 25 years ago I instantly fell in love with the lead character played by Megan so believe it or not I watched 4 hours of Anne (with commercials) instead of the football game. How sad is that. I think (I hope) most people see me as a manly kind of guy but as I get older my definition of manly seems to be changing.
Manly to me now means being able to admit that Anne of Green Gables is one of my favourite movies. It's a great period piece about an orphaned 13 year old taken in by Mathew and Marilla who are aging brother and sister living on their property Green Gables. They were expecting to get a boy from the orphanage but ended up with Anne. Anne can't seem to stay out of trouble. She is a dreamer who talks continuously of her wants and desires. She is incapable of holding her temper or her tongue which may be why I am enamoured with the character. I have always had a thing for red heads as well (thought I might marry one many years ago) so Anne to me was the perfect woman.
I can see it now. There's Anne across the kitchen table from me, expressing her wants and desires, dreaming of a great future for the two of us, barely stopping to catch her breath before moving on to her next vision of the utopian life we had in front of us. Two weeks of that and I would have strangled her.

Ziplines and treetops

I have now been working 4 weeks at the Scenic Caves and so far it has been a fun and educational experience. The job training has been constant due to the obvious need for safety and the "lectures" we have to give at certain points of the Ecotour take some practice to say the least.
Many of my days have been spent shadowing tours, helping out where I can and staying out of the way when I should. A tour starts in the basement fitting guests into their harnesses and helmets, then outside for introductions and an outline of the tour.
The first tour stop is the suspension bridge where we have a 10,000 sq km view of the area. We briefly talk about Collingwood and its' history and also about the bridge itself and how it was built. Great story actually. The bridge was built in winter of 2003 which made things even more difficult for the workers because work conditions must have tough on a breezy cold day. To start they poured 130 tons of cement at either end of the span. The trucks could not manage the steep hill going down so they were winched down. The two towers were erected and then the difficult job of getting two 8,000 lb cables across the span without touching the land below (the area is a Unesco protected area) required some thinking outside the box. Anyone out there have a guess on how they got the cables across? I'll tell you later on. Once the cables were in place a trolley was used to run along on the cables and place the supports for the I-beams and then finally a deck of 3 inch thick boards was put down. It cost $1,000,000 to build.
Next is a wagon ride pulled behind a tractor which takes us to the treetop walk. The walk has 15 spans between trees or hydro poles with a high point of 55 feet above the ground. Some guests have a tough time on it because it sways and bounces some so if you already have an aversion to heights it can be a scary thing. I have only had one refusal, a lady who after one span was crying so we turned her around and walked on solid ground to the end. Guests get down from the treetop walk by the first zipline which is 340 feet long. It's a short ride but fun one.
Next we go through the caves (they're caverns actually) and talk about the original native inhabitants and some of the geology of the area. On a hot day the caves are also a great way to cool down for a while. The one thing we can't do is take guests through Fat Man's Misery which is a passage in the rocks where at one point is only 36 cm wide, the reason being the harnesses the guests are wearing could get snagged.
Finally it's off to the big 1,000 foot zipline which takes everyone back to the start at 55 kph. It's literally a scream for some people. A tour takes roughly 3 hours and as far as I can tell everyone seems to enjoy it and feel like they have gotten their moneys worth.
For me it's lunch and then a second tour in the afternoon. By the end of the day I am tired and my feet are sore but I should get more used to it as I continue to do it. So far I would have to say it's a great job.
The answer to how they got the cables across? An archer shot an arrow across the span with some fishing line attached. They attached a cord to the line and pulled it across, then a rope, a bigger rope and again a stronger rope until they finally could pull the 8,000 lb cable across.
The new zipline is a few weeks away from completion. The Thunderbird will be 2,500 feet long and is a double zip so guests can go side by side down the line and also control their speed as they go. I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

Casual converstion

There I was, climbing up Grey road 19, setting the pace, gasping for air. Directly behind me are riders who are far better climbers than I and without a doubt they haven't even broken a sweat. And how, you ask, do I know this for sure? It's easy. If you are gasping for air while climbing and the riders behind you are discussing their kids, where they are going to spend their next vacation and what colour their house is then it's a sure bet that you are not going to be at the head of the pack for long. In the matter of a minute 12 riders sailed by me and left me in their dust. How humbling. All was not lost though. Halfway up the final pull to the Castle Glen entrance I managed to catch up to and pass one of the women who had passed me 5 minutes earlier. I wasn't more than 20 meters in front of her when she asked me to let the ride leader know that she was turning around and heading back. Now I know I'm slow but am I so slow that the embarrassment of being passed on a climb by me was more than she could take? Did she go home and put her bike away for good? Did she wail "woe is me" like Sylvester's son after the giant mouse beat the tar out of Sylvester? I'll never know for sure.
I do know that the ride leader tapped me on the back as he passed and told me "good pull" before he continued on by and I did do a fairly long and tough ride of  90 kms over to Eugenia and Kimberly and back home. It was a great day for a ride and there was without a doubt the most riders I have ever seen out, period. Road biking in the Georgian triangle has definitely exploded.
P.S. I always felt bad for Sylvester because he never did find out that the giant mouse was a baby kangaroo. I love that cartoon.

A pain in the ass!

All of last year the biggest problem I had riding, other than my sore neck was my sore ass caused by riding on my Specialized Avatar bicycle saddle. The days were rare when my sit bones didn't hurt from that saddle. The difficult part about buying a saddle is until you ride on it a few times it is difficult to tell whether or not it will be to your liking.

I looked around in the winter for a new saddle and decided in the end to go with one made of leather by Brooks. For many years most saddles were leather and Brooks was certainly world famous for theirs. I have now put close to 1000 kms on this seat so I figure it's time for an update. So far it sucks. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a useless piece of shit but it is closing in quickly on that title. My saddle has broken in a fraction over the last 3 months but to be accurate it has broken my ass in more. The other issue is it is also breaking in my taint to the point where it soon may be an aint. I don't want to admit defeat but I don't know how much longer my parts can stand it. I have been told that Brooks saddles are seats for life but I don't want to go through life as a castrato. I really don't want to buy a new saddle either but there may be no other choice than to bite the bullet and fork out for another saddle that I may hate as well.
On the bright side I typed this post using the new keyboard I purchased for my Blackberry Playbook and it is excellent. It has a real nice feel while typing and although small it has been quite easy to use and certainly a lot faster than typing on the screen. Kudos to Blackberry.

New job, day one.

Today I started my new job as a zip line tour guide at the Scenic Caves. I have been coming up to the area for 22 years but this was my first time actually seeing what the Caves has to offer.
I arrived at 9:30 AM and after checking in I was sent downstairs to learn about the equipment. Some of the equipment I am familiar with due to my few forays rock climbing and some is very closely related to climbing gear I used at the Bell.
It wasn't long before our group came down and we started to fit everyone into the gear for the tour, myself included. I was only going as a participant and observer. After fitting we had a brief outline of the upcoming tour given by Michael and Skip, a friend and former owner of Sojourn in Collingwood.
We first made our way to the suspension bridge for the fantastic view and to learn a little history of the area. Directly below the bridge are red oak trees which got me thinking that they must be the first oak trees I have seen in quite a while. Where have they all gone? Next was the treetop walk which was fun and certainly gives one a new perspective of the forest. Then we did the first of two zip line runs, this one fairly short but if you have never done one before it was pretty neat. Next up was the  caves where there are some really interesting rock formations as well as some cool plant life such as ferns and some ancient white cedars. Lastly it was the final zip line which was much longer and dropped us off back at the start. It all took about 2 1/2 hours. I should also mention that the new double zip line is almost completed and it is a biggie, 2500 feet long and I think it's going to be a great ride. I am really looking forward to giving it a go.
There was only the one tour for today so my day was short but definitely fun and informative. The rest of the staff seem like a great bunch as well so I have little doubt this job will be a keeper. I have a lot to learn in the next few weeks but I am looking forward to it.

Golf at Monterra

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go golfing at Monterra which is the course owned by Blue Mountain. I figured my golfing would suck but I dressed appropriately so at least my appearance would suggest someone who could play the game. The tee time was 10:40 but somehow I got it in my head that I was late and so I rushed like mad and showed up for my tee time at 9:20. Oops, and believe it or not I was made quite happy that my arrival was at the incorrect time. Let me explain.
As I was walking through the parking lot an acquaintance pulled up and asked if he could join up with our threesome. I said I wasn't positive we were a threesome and continued on to the clubhouse. It was with great relief that in the clubhouse I realised I had arrived way too early. Normally this would have had me muttering "effing idiot" under my breath about myself but the reason I was happy was......the guy who wanted to join us is a total jerk, arrogant as they come, and cheap (dust flies when he opens his wallet). He's the kind of guy who shows up for dinner with shitty homemade wine and then drinks all your good stuff. Gladly I went back home to wait another hour.
Aaron and myself were teamed up with an older gentleman, Gerry, who was an OK golfer and a nice guy. Our only hard and fast rule for the day was if anyone scored a par on a hole we got to have a shot of tequila. Good rule if I do say so myself.
The course was in excellent condition and my golf game was as good as it has ever been. I was pretty good off the tee and my short game, in particular my chipping was fantastic. We played from the whites which was a mistake because the course is too short from them, especially the par 3's which are very low yardage, say 90 to 120 yards.
Considering I haven't played in almost 2 years it was hard to believe my golf would be that good. I shot a 94 which is far and away my best score ever there. I think one of the reasons for my good game is the fact that I have simplified my golf swing. One thing in particular I try to do now is to shorten my back swing. This results in less distance but my accuracy was much better and I still had some drives of around 240 yards. Aaron had a good game for himself as well so the day was a success.
I don't think yesterday's good round will turn me back into a golfer because there was still some good cursing and swearing going on. I haven't mellowed yet.     

Eat, drink and don't be like Gary.

To celebrate Ryder Hesjedal's victory I went out for a ride down to Creemore and then back up to Glenhuron (don't stick your finger in the spokes) and back home. On the way down I decided to do some wind sprints and for the entire ride I pushed hard. For the 58 km ride I averaged 29.5 kph and I was completely spent when I arrived home. My heart rate moniter said I had burned 1750 calories over the 2 hour ride.
I showered up and then sat down to watch the Indy 500 but found I couldn't keep my eyes open. This has been happening often this year after working out. I get very sleepy and lethargic so it was time to google it and see what some people in the know thought about this problem and I guess I am not surprised by the answers.
I have always been notorious for not drinking enough water while exercising going back to my hockey playing days. I take some water on rides but rarely finish the bottle even though on a day like today I sweat a lot. I have also not been bringing food with me on rides or eating beforehand and this could mean that after a couple of hours my blood sugar levels are dropping significantly. The third thing could be simply that I have been riding a little too much. I am relatively new to this road biking thing so it's possible the almost 300 kms I have ridden in the last nine days is pushing it a little bit.
So it seems the solutions are simple and from here on in I am going to try to be more careful. I will drink more water on rides as well as bring an energy drink along. I will also try to eat better before rides and bring some form of snack (mmmm, banana bread) on rides. I am still going to work hard but if I take care of my diet and hydration things should improve and these waves of sleepiness after rides hopefully will end.

Ryder Hesjedal

For the first time ever a Canadian has won the Giro D'Italia bicycle race. Ryder Hesjedal powered his way to the win on today's individual time trial. He had been one of the favourites to win the race and was in the top 3 for the entire race and also wore the pink jersey for several days. Another great fact is that he did it on Canadian bikes made by Cervelo.
I first became aware of Hesjedal 10 years ago when he was racing mountain bikes on the pro circuit, one of only a few Canadian males at that time. I don't even know if he ever won a race. Like last years Tour de France winner Cadel Evans he eventually started road biking and now has reached the pinnacle of that discipline.  Hesjedal was instrumental in the Cadel Evans Tour de France win as well because it was his job to help protect Evans from attacks and to lead him up the climbs.
This win means Hesjedal has now inherited the title of Canada's greatest rider from Steve Bauer who had a 4'th place in the Tour de France. It's a great day for Canadian bicycling. Congratulations Ryder.

Training night

Tonight I went with the Collingwood Cycling Club on a training run. We started off with 14 riders but lost a couple within the first 5 minutes, probably because they were beginners who could not keep the pace. It didn't feel right to drop them but what else could we do? Wednesday is beginner night.
We rode up to Rob Roy with yours truly being the second last to finish the climb. Then we made our way to McIntyre where we turned around and started doing wind sprints. We did four 1.5 km sprints, the idea being to "crush" yourself, or at least that's the term one of the experienced riders used.
And therein lies the problem. One of the reasons I stopped mountain biking a few years back was because I was tired of busting my ass, working so hard, gasping for air after doing a tough steep climb like Alpine. I was good at it but I simply wasn't ready to pay the price anymore to be a good mountain biker.
Now I see that to be a good road biker who has some climbing prowess I will have to feel the pain again. I will have to push the envelope, ride so hard sometimes that I am gasping for air, my legs feeling like rubber after going harder than I thought I could. I am not sure if I have it in me anymore. I am enjoying learning the finer points of road biking and this should help me to push myself but it remains to be seen whether the desire to push myself hard is that intense. Only time will tell I think.
As it stands right now my desire to improve is there and I seem to have some competitive desire back so let's hope I can keep up with the 70 year old guys in a month or two. Little steps. As soon as I rocket by those Old Age Security collecting guys I will set my sights on the guys who have just qualified for their Canada pension. Like I said, little steps.

Collingwood Cycling Club

About 3 weeks ago I heard there the CCC was starting back up after being dormant for a few years. It sounded like it was well organised and the response could be described as overwhelming. As of this morning there are 252 members of all different ages and abilities.
The cost to join was $77 and that included an OCA membership which you have to have to ride with the club. If you already are a member of the OCA that cost is subtracted form the $77. Should I decide to do a mountain bike race at Blue Mountain the OCA card is required as well so it was money well spent.
I arrived at Fisher field this morning at 8:45 and collected my membership card and went to the intermediate group ride. We were to ride to Creemore and back and hopefully learn some of the finer points of riding in a group. Going there was fun and quick compared to riding solo as I normally do. We stopped at the coffee shop in Creemore for 10 minutes and then headed back. Leaving Creemore was the toughest climb of the ride and it's clear that I will never challenge the good climbers. It's unreal how fast some folks can get up a hill. The ride ended up back at Fisher field around 11:45 and I have to say I am glad I joined. It was fun riding in a group and it will be nice to meet some new people who enjoy riding on the roads around Collingwood. I have often said that I would never want to be a member of any club that would have me (thanks Groucho) but in this case an exception has to be made. I am looking forward to many club rides this year.

For Sale

Good day, I was hoping that someone out there might be interested in buying a useless piece of shit. I purchased this useless piece of shit in the winter after reading glowing reviews on how well it worked. I am guessing the reviewer was related to Helen Keller in some way although I think even Helen could have spotted this useless piece of shit easily. Sadly I couldn't. Here is a picture of the useless piece of shit.

It is supposed to be a bicycle repair stand but the useless piece of shit doesn't really work for wide framed carbon fibre bikes. I have tried several useless piece of shit modifications but I still cannot get this useless piece of shit to do its job properly.
I must admit my Scottish roots had something to do with the purchase because it was, how shall I put this, inexpensive,......or maybe.....yea, I think cheap would be the word. Now you would think I would know better because this is not the first useless piece of shit I have purchased in my life. There was the useless piece of shit CD-DVD player that was......OK, it was cheap. I eventually destroyed that CD-DVD player with an axe and recorded the event with my useless piece of shit camera which didn't work so the actual destruction was never recorded. Shit!
I may soon have another useless piece of shit for sale soon as well. It's called a BlackBerry playbook and if this useless piece of shit auto-corrects me one more time I going to start looking for the axe.
I would like to add that a sure way to tell if something is a useless piece of shit is if it makes your face go like this.

Next week I may discuss the finer points of something else that I am very well schooled on. They're called fucking useless pieces of shit.

Revenge is sweet!

Today I was emailed a photo by Lori that was taken of her skiing by the staff at Beaver Creek. We all had them done (Cam, Lori and myself) and mine is posted on an earlier blog. Thankfully that photo makes it seem like I can ski a little bit. Lori happens to be a much better skier than I am, probably one of the best skiers if not the best skier I know. She makes skiing look easy regardless of the conditions on the hill. It is a rare day when Lori falls unless I have crashed into her and decide that if if I'm going down, damn it, she's coming with me.. I not only crash, I crash in spectacular fashion due to my need for speed and my lack of a "maybe I should think this through" gene.

Kitzbeuhl, stage right

As I said earlier my impression of my photo skiing at Beaver Creek was for the most part favourable. I actually have an edge in the snow and look reasonably proficient but now Lori has sent me her photo with what looks like better form if you discount the ski pole in her right hand pointing to Kitzbeuhl, Austria. But I'm OK with her form being better because I have grown up (sort of) and I am comfortable with the fact that she is a better skier than I. Always will be. But why would she feel the need to rub it in. How petty. How childish. I would never stoop that low.
Well OK maybe I would. I can be as petty and childish as the next person. The sound I am most familiar with while skiing is Lori laughing at me, not with me. These things are hard to forget, impossible to forget actually and you know what they say; revenge is a dish best served cold so lets have a look at these rare photos.

Whatcha doin Lori?

Is there a problem?

That's good "getting up off your ass" form

Revenge is so sweet. The only disappointing thing is I couldn't get my camera out of my pocket quick enough to get the picture of Lori on her back with her ass in the air, pointing uphill (perhaps to Kitzbeuhl?). It was a race, me trying to get the camera out and Lori trying to get up before I did. I WON!!! The evidence is there. A picture is worth a thousand words. Three pictures, three thousand words.The world is my oyster. Life is good! 

Memory Lane

I walked the hill yesterday, climbing the Cascade trail which is a beautiful climb when the water is rushing down the creek. At the top I headed north and decided to go down the hill on Memory Lane. Memory is a great ski run in the winter and it now lives up to it's name with a small memorial park near the top where many "live to ski" diehards are now remembered there. Friends like Karen Menyes Gasparini and Anthony Mosely lived to ski and snowboard and now their name plaques are among many other gone but not forgotten skiers. I hope when my day comes my name will end up there as well although it's not a club I want to join anytime soon.

Memory Lane memorial

I continued down the hill using the mountain bike trail in the woods and was surprised by how steep and difficult it was. There are some rooted and rocky sections that are without a doubt experts only and would certainly have one hanging off the back of the bike.
Farther on down there are some trick and fun looking man made obstacles such as the ramp below which has a couple of banked turns which are not that hard but a lapse in concentration could find you dropping off before the end of it.

Farther on down there is a really cool ramp which has been built around a large boulder which gives you the option of threading the needle around the rock or go over the rock. Either choice is a tough one and I'm sure this ramp has been responsible for more than a few crashes.

The final man made obstacle is a really fun looking ess ramp which is wide and relatively easy to ride but a good way to end the obstacle section.
I must admit Blue has done great job making this a challenging and fun downhill which would test the skills of just about all riders. 

Guinness and the Ess

A new job? with the update!!!!

For the first time in 36 years I have gone to a job interview. The last 4 1/2 months off have been nice but after a while one can get pretty bored so in the last month I have sent out job applications to several golf courses, Blue Mountain and the Scenic Caves in hopes of securing part time work. I had no bites from the golf courses which is probably good because many of the jobs required a 6:00 to 6:30 AM start time. On average I get up around 6:30 to 7 which is not exactly late but to have to get up at 5:15 in the morning did not appeal to me. I also applied at Blue for a mountain bike guide job but they wanted someone 5 days a week and that was not something that interested me.
Several weeks ago I did see a help wanted ad in the paper for the Scenic Caves. They were looking for zipline-treetop walk guides which sounded like a fun job and something I might like so I applied and yesterday was interview day. If I remember correctly, 36 years ago I would go to job interviews trying to seem older and more mature. I doubt anyone bought that act but eventually I did get the job at Bell because my Aunt, a Bell employee, gave me an interview reference card. Yesterday I tried to look young and vigorous, bright eyed and bushy tailed, hale and hardy, rough and ready. I guess I was hoping the interviewer was blind and deaf. I limped out of the car with a stiff knee, my thinning grey hair and orthopaedic shoes exposing me for what I am, a 56 year old who has had his share of hard knocks physically and psychologically. Lucky for me it's easier to hide 36 years of Bell induced disillusion than it is a sore knee.
The interview itself seemed to go well and I will know in a few days  whether or not I will once again be gainfully employed. My fingers are crossed even though that hurts as well.





I GOT THE JOB! I GOT THE JOB! What the hell am I doing? I don't need a job. I'm retired. What the hell was I thinking. Who cares if the dog is sick of looking at me lazing around. Tough shit for him. What about my afternoon nap?.......naps. I'm going to search for my marbles now.

Goodbye tooth, goodbye pain

I am now back from the dentist and what I thought was going to be a terrible ordeal turned out to be completely painless. It has been many years since my last dentist visit and I was expecting a very unpleasant hour or so but the 50 minutes the whole thing took went quickly and easily as possible. My broken molar is now gone. I have a graft where the tooth was and one simple stitch. The freezing is still working but I imagine when it starts to dissipate my mouth will be more than a bit sore.
I wore my heart rate monitor during the procedure because I figured it would be interesting to see how high my heart rate went. Here are the surprising numbers. My low was 55 bpm, the peak 99 bpm and the average over the 50 minutes was 71 bpm. I fully expected the numbers to be much higher but I guess the fact that there was no pain had a lot to do with the results. The dentist, Dr. Chiasson and his assistant were very professional as well.
All in all it was a relatively easy visit and the first of several I suppose should I decide to replace the tooth. As I type I can tell that the freezing is slowly leaving so it's time for a T3 and some Advil.

Training

Due to the fact that the weather is terrible right now (snowed this morning) I decided to do a workout on my rollers in the basement. I use this trainer early in the season usually and it is a great tool to help improve your riding. I have been using it primarily to increase my pedalling cadence while riding which is supposed to lead to better efficiency. I am fairly proficient on it now and haven't crashed this year. Yes, you read that correctly, crash. Last year shortly after getting the trainer I tried to ride while checking my heart rate on my watch. That was a bad idea which led to me having my only road bike crash since as long as I can remember.......in my basement. I am still not sure what happened but I ended up on the floor with a sore hip. Lesson learned.
Today I decided to do a 25 km roller ride. It took about 10 minutes for the sweat to start beading on my forehead and by the time I was done I was soaked in sweat. I figure I was fully warmed up after 20 minutes. I used both the bike computer and my heart rate monitor and here are the numbers.

Average speed - 41.42 kph
Time - 36 minutes, 24 seconds
Distance - 25.11 km
Average cadence - 92 rpm
Average heart rate - 153 bpm
Peak heart rate - 172 bpm
Calories burned - 624
                                                                                                                                                                 I must admit those numbers are my best so far. The trainer does help to stay in shape when the weather sucks. The one above I bought online from Mountain Co-op for around $200. It's simple to set up and an excellent way to stay in shape and keep some pounds off during the bad weather months.

Pain

First of all a weather report. It's April 24 and it is snowing. Yes I said snowing. I suppose there will be no bike ride today.
Now for todays subject, pain. Throughout my 56 years I have been fortunate that I have only had to experience pain in small doses, an injury here and there and some medical procedures that have caused extreme pain for a short period of time. I have had tax pain as well but that's another thing completely.
For the last 4-5 days I have experienced pain like never before. About 15 years ago I was eating some venison (don't ever believe the hunter who says he has a great way to cook venison because venison is a dreadful meat) and I cracked my one of my molars on a bone shard. On my way to Vail 3 years ago a piece broke off of the tooth and the filling fell out. There was no pain so I ignored it until 5 days ago when the pain set in. It came in waves at first, unbelievable pain for 15-20 minutes and then easing off to an acceptable level. I bought some Tylenol 1's and they helped a bit but when the real bouts of pain started it seemed the Tylenol was overmatched.
Three days ago the pain changed to a more constant gnawing. It was always there, sometimes not too bad but at its' peak it was debilitating. I tried many things to get past these peaks but nothing seemed to help, not lying still, not walking around, not meditating, nothing. Yes I said meditating, I was desperate.
Yesterday I was finally able to see a dentist but not until 4 PM. Never before have I experienced pain like I had yesterday. It was constantly high with peaks that numbed my cheek, made my bottom teeth hurt and my temple ache. I was unable to function.
I am now on antibiotics, Tylenol 3's and Advil and I must say I feel human again. In two days I have to go back and the tooth will be pulled and judging by the dentist's description of the forthcoming extraction it's going to take some work. I am not looking forward to it but the tooth has to go.
Suffering through those 3-4 days of pain have made me understand a little bit how people with constant pain for years on end decide to end it all. The pain eats away at you, erodes your inner strength and ability to function on the lowest of levels. I am for the most part a happy guy in an angry kind of way but the pain took away any capability of feeling happy. Hell, I was having a tough time being angry. That's saying something.

Beaver Creek in retrospect

I have now had a week and some to reflect on the ski trip and although the snow conditions were far from primo we had some real fun days in what can only be described as brilliant sunshine. We learned not to go out skiing until around 10 AM and when we did head onto the hill we went where the sun had been shining for a while.
The best run of the week had to be the Birds of Prey downhill run which has got to be one of the scariest downhills on the circuit. It's steeeeep in some sections and it boggles my mind that they hit the 2 jumps on the course at around 70 miles an hour. The run wasn't opened up until about 1 PM every day because it had been fertilized which caused it to turn to ice therefore rendering it unskiable until it had softened up a bit in the afternoon. There were even warning signs recommending that experts only on tuned equipment  should be skiing down that run. Fortunately they missed me snowplowing my way over there. There were also some bumps near the bottom of the run which were fun but rocky leaving the bases of my skis looking in very rough shape. The edges have burrs which would cut your finger and there is a rather large gouge out of one ski.
The staff of Kenmark were again helpful and fun to be around and the group as a whole were a great bunch. I'll be taking my skis to Kenmark in the fall  to get some much needed repairs done. Overall a great trip.

Photoshopped pic, my head, someone elses body

It's now back on the bike which is lucky for me because if I was as lousy a biker as I am a skier I would still be using traing wheels and for the life of me I can't remember where I put the damn things.

Tree hugger?

I was looking at my photos from my Vail vacation when I noticed something in one of the shots that had been missed. At first glance it looks like a simple picture of a simpleton, me, wearing a hat to further enhance my simpleton persona. The only thing that could make me look more simple would be to have me start skiing. That would seal the deal.

Anyways if you look at the background of the photo there is something going on. There is a guy in a red ski jacket having a close encounter with a tree. I suppose it's possible that he just talking to it to encourage growth or maybe he's an environmentalist and is on the verge of giving it a big hug but my guess is he's about to or in the act of pissing on that tree. In plain sight! On a very busy day at Vail! The nerve! I wish I had thought of it. It's so much easier than running into the woods in ski boots.
The other photo is of our friend and roomie for the week Tom. To say the least Tom is quite a character and the week without a doubt was more fun because he was around. There are few people in this world who can walk into a bar and shout "lock up your daughters" and have both fathers and daughters laugh. If I did it the results just wouldn't be the same.
Tom wore this T-shirt on the first day and had teenagers taking pictures of it and got a lot of laughs from the shirt itself and certainly the character wearing it.

Once again I simply couldn't pull it off, wearing a shirt like that but it's a natural for Tom. I'm not sure if he's exhausted in the photo from skiing (on Head skis), having a few at our first apres ski of the week or worn out from the anticipation of..................something. Suffice to say it was a better week with Tom around and when he's not making people laugh he's doing a great job fitting ski boots at Kemark Snowsports. Thanks Tom.

Back home

I made it home from Beaver Creek at 1:00 AM this morning and received the greatest greeting ever from Guinness and without a doubt I was just as happy to see him. The trip home took 13 hours. That's a bus ride, a flight, another bus ride, a car ride to Cam and Lori's and finally another car ride in the Vibe to home sweet home. It's great to be home again.

Not much snow but the sun was shining every day

The week of skiing was great although very hard on my skis. The edges now have many burrs, there is a dandy gouge in the base of one ski and there are some repairs now badly required. We all tried to miss the rocks but on some of the steeper and more challenging runs there was no way of seeing them. I did a total of 136,000 vertical feet of skiing with Thursday being my biggest day vertically speaking with 29,600 feet of downhill skiing. No wonder my knee is stiff and sore. For 2 of the 6 days we skied at Vail but it just wasn't the same as last year because the back bowls were closed which cut the skiable terrain in half at least. Apres ski was always fun at the end of the day and I will never tire of the complimentary champagne served at the Chophouse at 3:30 every day. I skied the Birds of Prey downhill at Beaver Creek as well nonstop. It gave me a new respect for the real down hill skiers who fly down there at breakneck speeds. Some of the steeps are steeeeep and the jumps are unbelievable.

3:30 is champagne time

All in all it was a great vacation. Thanks to the folks at Kenmark for doing a fine job organizing everything.

Day5, Beaver Creek

Today will be the fifth day of our skiing vacation. It has been fun, exasperating, warm, cold, icy, slushy and just about any other snow related description you can think of other than powder.
The previous two days we have taxied to Vail and skied there although it's not nearly the same as it was the last two years. The back bowls are closed so the amount of skiable terrain has been greatly reduced. Even the front side has some closed areas. Because of the reduced terrain the resort seemed crowded. It is also Easter so Vail is packed with skiers and boarders from latin america. Both days were fun with yesterday being the warmest day I have ever skied. Conditions in the morning were quite icy and by afternoon quite soft. We ended the day with a beer or two at Garfinkels.

Garfinkels at Vail

I am still struggling with my left boot trying to get my foot to sit properly. I still haven't got it right although yesterday was a bit better. In the end I may try a different footbed because this one still has a large pressure point covering the whole arch area and my foot slides back when I pressure the tongue to turn. I think the footbed was perfect until I climbed up Blue a couple of times in the fall without any arch support and injured my foot. That was not very bright. All in all this was the most frustrating ski season I have ever had.  I must admit I will be glad to hang up the skis for the year get back on the bike.

It sucks to suck

Today was day two at Beaver Creek and after a couple of crashes there is only one conclusion to be reached; I fucking suck at skiing. I should be wearing a fools hat but I guess just watching me come down the hill a la Zamboni is proof enough that I fucking suck. Maybe it's time to pack skiing in and go back to my board. At least I didn't look like a complete idiot on it. It's embarrassing to look like a complete fool and certainly I have done enough of that shit this year. After I make a complete fool of myself I then decide to beat myself up physically and mentally. There's a rational response. Maybe I am a fucking masochist. Yeah that's it a masochist. Sadly I'd probably fucking suck at that as well. FUCK!!!!!!
So I have now had some time to cool down and the realisation is this is the worst ski season I have ever had. I have never been more clueless as to what my problem is. I know it has everything to do with my left side but what. As much as my right boot feels perfect I can't get my left  boot to give me any feeling of edge control on a consistent basis. I have lost confidence completely in my ability to get my left ski under control all the time. Everything feels wrong about it. It sucks. I suck!

Beaver Creek, Vail 2012

I am back in Colorado once again for some end of the year spring skiing. We arrived in Beaver Creek around 3:30 yesterday and checked into our very nice condo. There are 4 of us, Cam, Lori, myself and boot fitter extraordinaire from Kenmark Snowsports, Tom. If you are ever in need of ski boots Tom at Kenmark is the man to see. Sadly I drank too much and was in bed very early last night but that means I am ready and rarin to go this morning.

The Ritz Carlton

I am back now from what can only be called a great spring skiing day. The conditions were icy this morning and it is obvious that skiing will end here soon. We had a liquid lunch basking in the sun at the Ritz Carlton. Lori decided to check out the sale in the shop there and saw a very nice base layer Bognor  turtleneck. She figured it might be $50-$60 but got a rude awakening checking the price tag. It was $399, marked down from $499. Wow. We then made our way over to the Birds of Prey run which was nothing short of fantastic. Great snow and beautiful warm temperatures. After a couple of runs on it we made our way to the Chophouse to finish off the day. It was certainly the warmest day I have ever been out skiing and although it's not primo conditions it's impossible not to have a lot of fun.I just checked the EpicMix website which I signed up for this morning. We all have a credit card sized IDcard which is read at every chairlift and at the end of the day you can get your total vertical, all the lifts you have been on and a ton of other information. I totalled out at 24,000 feet of vertical today and for the first day thats OK I should think. The technology just amazes me.