Training Log Archive: Bash

I'd agreed to take some photos of different sites for the upcoming online Caledon Community Map, so 'Bent and I approached it as a bicycle scavenger hunt. Nice to combine volunteer work with training - and finish it off with frozen yoghurt in Caledon East - yum.

It's just 3 months until the big day when Leanimal will become Phatty's ex-fiancee, so it was high time for a wedding shower in beautiful Orillia!



Guests included a couple of the lovely Salomon Bobkittens. Here's Slice...



And here's Dog Runner.



As is traditional, we gave Leanimal some silly stuff to wear.



The back of the shirt was especially nice.



She didn't wear this outfit at the party, but I'm sure we'll see her in it at an adventure race sometime soon. It's sooo lightweight!



There was a crafts table to make gifts for Phatty & Leanimal. Although I had been stressed about this before the party due to my lack of artistic talent, it went just fine. Slice and Dog Runner painted some very cool-looking ceramic mugs with adventure racing scenes, including a commemoration of the famous moment when Leanimal stepped into a bear trap during a wilderness trek.

Here's my first-ever quilt square, which I made to remind Leanimal of our hilly runs on the Humber Trail - and the way she kicks my butt out there!



There were wedding bells at the party, and even balloons - but *definitely* not for kids!

I've been allowing myself a hot fudge milkshake every time something outrageous happens related to the growth issue in our small town - something that is taking up a lot of my activist time and energy lately. Looks like I'm going to get fat.
http://www.thestar.com/article/453259

Wed. morning ride at Albion with 'Bent and Goose. This was my first time tackling these very familiar trails with my new Specialized Epic, so I was able to compare its handling of specific sections to my old Fisher Sugar. For the most part, it did well. The trails were in perfect condition, so I don't know how it would have behaved if things were slippery like at the 24-hr race. Today the bike felt very sure and precise on the rocky, rooty single track, and 'Bent claims that I was faster than usual. One worry about the medium frame was that it might feel like navigating a tank, but it felt agile enough.

I'd been told that my old Sugar was designed to be a climbing bike, so in switching to just about any other bike, I might notice a difference in both climbing (not as good) and descending (better). That was not great news, since I didn't really want to descend any faster, and I do enjoy easier climbing. So far, this seems to be true. When I'm ascending switchbacks on single track, I don't notice it, but when there's a steep, direct uphill, particularly on loose gravel, I need to work harder at it and shift my weight farther forward than I did with the Sugar. However, the descending does feel better, and it's not scary - maybe a little more controlled. Hard to describe. Anyway, there are still things to fiddle with - suspension rebound setting, etc. Maybe I can get the climbing to feel a little easier.

Fun ride! We pushed hard when we rode, but took breaks (unlogged) for chat time. Great way to start the day.

Happy Canada Day! 'Bent and I headed out in Palgrave East and West before I'd even had my coffee (gasp!) It was still stinking humid, but at least the air was cooler than it's going to be for the rest of the day, and that meant that BulletDog could join us. She did about 20% more distance than we did, and turned it into a duathlon with several swims along the way.

BulletDog is a miracle of modern veterinary medicine! The doc had said it was unlikely that she would regain her full abilities after TPLO knee surgery (involving metal plates and screws and changed joint anatomy), but we can't see any difference from before. Still, we try to rein her in a bit when she dashes around doing the quick, twisty basketball player turns that probably tore her ACL in the first place. She has a 30% chance of tearing the other one some day, and we're not eager to go through that long recovery with her another time.

Lots of hills on this run - and dense poison ivy in a few places. 'Bent found and ate the last strawberry of the season; I found and ate the first raspberry. Tough luck, birdies! ;-)

A significant percentage of the trail distance in Palgrave East will be closed in 2009, and at that point, we will probably have to leave this area to the equestrians. Even now, there is so much serious trail damage and horse poop that it's a lot less fun than it used to be. I like horses, and am happy to have them there on a separate trail system, but anyone who thinks that horses can share the sensitive, wet trails in Palgrave without seriously diminishing everyone else's experience is living on another planet. Mountain bikes have caused a little damage in Palgrave, but it's less than 10% of the damage that a few horses have caused. The TRCA is talking about building boardwalks (slippery!) but the only solution for the really bad areas will be bypasses for non-equestrian users.

Now it's time to go to the Canada Day Strawberry Festival for some strawberry pancakes - yum!!!

Finally! I've ridden my new bike! And I think I'll keep it.

'Bent and I rode to The Shed coffee bar in Belfountain, taking a nice route that included a bit of pretty much everything - rocky single track, mucky ATV trails, chewed-up horse trails, rail trail, gravel roads and paved roads. We picked up Knobless along the way to act as a wilderness guide for the navigational Bermuda Triangle that lies in the woods between Inglewood and Belfountain. There was a long, mucky stretch of trail that sometimes gets used by ATVs, so it was similar to most adventure races. I was happy with the way the new bike handled, and I waited with utmost politeness for the boys to catch up after the more technical bits. :-)

We made it to The Shed in 1:55 riding time, then dawdled as we enjoyed iced lattes, chocolatey baked goods and free newspapers. (Thanks, Dave Corner!) Knobless had cleverly packed along his laptop so he could download his e-mail using their Wi-Fi.

On the way home, we stopped at DJ's house to tour his new geothermal system - we hope to get one soon too. The contractor stopped by to check us out this week and said that our kind of property is their bread and butter, i.e. really easy to set up with geothermal. Too bad Urthbuoy is so far away!

I pulled up to the house with 3:59:30 on my bike computer. Of course I had to ride around the yard for 30 more seconds! Sadly, my bike was slathered with mud. I should have taken one picture while it was clean.