Training Log Archive: Bash

'Bent and I biked at the Kolapore Wilderness Trails, which never disappoint. The forest is spectacular. Some trail sections are a bit too rocky for me but there is plenty of beautiful riding. In 2.5 hours on the trail, I think we met 4 other riders (not counting the parking lot) and one rock climber hiking to Metcalfe Rock. It was awesome.

'Bent went to run at Pretty River with Tarno and Milla. It's the first run either of us has done with a friend since mid-March. As the only dentist in a small town, 'Bent can't even get the sniffles right now so they were cautious.

I was going to catch a ride there and run on my own but when 'Bent left at 7:30 am, I was still in bed with coffee. Mmm, coffee.

That changed today's Scavenger Hunt plan to the New Street challenge. I figured that should be easy in Collingwood but since the Scavenger Hunt is run/hike, I wanted to choose a street that I'd never even walked on.



To be sure about that, I ran over to Forest Drive and ran to the dead ends of Craigleith Court and Georgian Court. For good measure, I also ran into the little driveway stub for a proposed subdivision that I'd been reading about this morning in their re-zoning application.



I found an access to the Georgian Trail and ran back that way. I practised for the Cheerleader badge by saying "Good morning" to everyone. About two thirds responded and the others looked at me like I'd asked for their wallet. Shrug.

This let me sneak ahead of Cristina on the Scavenger Hunt leaderboard by 11 points but she has so many bonus points that it's tough to compete. I have my fingers crossed that I might be awarded bonus points for the photo challenge. :)

As a winter lover, this makes me cringe. Humidex in the 40s! :((

I've signed up for another virtual race - the Purr de France, which supports the Bikes Without Borders charity and Eric D'Arcy, the 5 Peaks race director. He volunteers as a Freedom Driver for rescue animals so I like to support him.

The event schedule mirrors the Tour de France - 21 stages over 23 days. There are 5 different levels. I signed up for Category E, the lowest level. This means that in each 7-day period, I've committed to 5 rides of 30 mins, 1 ride of 45 mins and 1 ride of 60 mins. In the highest category, it would be 5 rides of 90 mins, 1 ride of 2 hrs and 1 ride of 3 hrs. There are optional suggested workouts for each day along the lines of Le Tour - "mountain", hilly, flat, time trial, etc.
https://raceroster.com/events/2020/31931/the-purr-...

I chose the lowest level because it would be a good habit to get on my bike regularly, and I wanted a minimum daily commitment that should be achievable, even on a busy day. Since I'm not a road rider, I'll need to ride indoors when the trails are muddy, and I can last 30 minutes on a trainer without going stir crazy.

One fun thing about virtual races is that you can do more than one at a time. So between this and the Summer Scavenger Hunt, maybe I'll burn off a few of my Pandemic Pounds in July.

'Bent and I biked from 3rd Line into Three Stage for some fun, rocky single track. Then we had a terrific ride through Castle Glen to 12th Sideroad past Lake of the Clouds. We'd made an appointment to see a house there this weekend, and this ride was so much fun that it pretty much sealed the deal for us. Then we learned that the house sold yesterday so it's back to Realtor.ca for us. (There is a crazy story here that I'll be able to share at some point.)

'Bent and I lent our canoe to Tarno and MIlla so we could all paddle around the Collingwood Harbour area. We used our kayaks. It was a nice way to start a hot day, and it got downright adventurous when we went outside the breakwater for a little while - especially for the canoeists!





We have some questions about this cottager.

'Bent, AdventureDog and I joined Tarno and Koko for a brisk, distanced hike around Pretty River Valley Provincial Park on a super hot day. Since we weren't going to be running, this seemed like the perfect day to do the Snappy Happy challenge - 45+ minutes while trying to take some nice photos. It was great to catch up with Tarno - lots of news on both sides.



















We found ways to cool down.









Oh, and I unlocked my first Hidden Challenge. It’s going be short but difficult!

'Bent and I went for an easy Canada Day paddle on Georgian Bay from Long Point to Northwinds Beach at Craigleith - a stretch of shoreline between Collingwood and Blue Mountain. We hadn't paddled there before and it was interesting to see all the nice cottages and the people playing in the water. There weren't many people out on jetskis but I was reminded of how much I dislike them. As with most G. Bay paddles, this route is best on a calm day. The breeze was coming up on our way back but we had excellent conditions.

Happy Canada Day!

Lots of behind the scenes work for the dental office in the past couple of days. I may have to start working in the clinic for the first time ever. We’re very short-staffed and it’s been difficult to find people willing to trade a summer vacation on CERB for employment as a health care worker during a pandemic. Go figure.