Life in the Fox Den

I Can Change the Weather

No seriously I actually have the power.  Think about it.  It was gorgeous here, 24 degrees and sunshine for days on end.  I figure what the heck I thatch the grass and buy myself a brand now Weber Grill and Smoker..................Poof 15 cm of snow in 25 hours and crazy wind.

Coincidence maybe?  Well I gave it another try.  Two days ago I picked up a few things, a new lawnmower, some charcoal for the grill, a Weber 22.5 Kettle Grill and I stopped off at the butcher.

 

3 Big Racks of Fingerling Beef Ribs

8 Racks of Pork Spare Ribs

2 12lb Chickens

1 Doz Ribeye Steaks

1 6lb Pork Shoulder

2 4lb Cross Rib Roasts

A side note to all you Vegatarians out there.............My Food Poops on Your Food :)

                                                                                                                                                        

And what happens 100km winds, snow and blowing snow.

Coincidence?

I got up this morning and looked outside.........barely a dusting of snow seems most of it melted on contact although I was pretty sure the house was going to blow away in the middle of the night.  A couple of patio chairs blew off the deck onto the lawn (not the swing though that hasn't moved an inch since Brian and I fixed it) we registered winds at around 95km/h last night.  But seeing as there was no snow Piper (who I kept home from school with the sniffles) and I jumped in the truck to go up and check on the Trailer.

We picked it up and brought it home, was pretty windy but all things considered the roads were just wet.  Well in about 2 km it was horizontal blowing snow again, and it has been snowing here since, that no snow on the grass is now a thing of the past..........its covered.........again.

So I am convinced.........I have the power to change the weather.  If I think or do something remotely summery we will get an Enviroment Canada Warning to the effect of Winter Storm Warning in Effect for Calgary and Area..........no matter we are going camping anyway.

It is our first trip of the year and I for one am glad to be going (ok not just me, everyone is stoked to go) after all we pulled the trailer through a blizzard for the last trip of the year up to Radium last year might as well start the year off the same way.

This is a little of what Kidd looks like

 

And if it snows............well it won't be the first time, a little monopoly or rummoli some hot chocolate (maybe a warm Rum for Papa) and it will be great.  We put a lot of miles on the trailer every year and this will be the start of another great season.  A couple of stops in Shuswap this year, Radium, Kananaskis, and a new one for us we are going to spend 5 days in Jasper.  Throw in a trip to Sudbury, a trip to Red Deer a couple weekends at home and summer will be all over again........................so why am I rushing to get it here faster...who knows.

No rides today obviously, I guess I will drag my lazy butt down to the eliptical and crank out a few hundred Kcal.

See you on the other side

The Day of the Doggy Spa - 58.1km Ride

We have this furry little critter at our house who has been sorely neglected from a overall hygiene perspective of late. Don't worry though Marley is far from neglected, he is rarely more than 5 feet away from me and comes on most errands and taxi trips.  (He doesn't come in the bike as he doesn't like the trailer much). 

For those of you that don't know we got Marley just over a year ago.  A girl I used to work with mentioned to me about these dogs called Labradoodles, they are a poodle and labrador retriever cross.  We looked into it and well next thing you know we had a ball of brown fur running around our house.  Marley is a true fit around here and I would probably be lost without him.

The half poodle part is his wiry little non shedding, continually growing, dust collecting, forever matting, chocolate brown, and silver fur.  I have a tendency to like him a little ragged but I think this time it went too far.

 

This picture was actually after a 1 hour scrub and combing and blow dry.  Seriously the dog gets more work than I do for a bath.  There is a method to my madness though and a purpose.

A while back Dave and I decided that it was somewhat ridiculous to pay upwards of $75 bucks to have someone trim our dogs (he has two Shitzu's) and cut their nails.  After all how hard could it be?  So after some research we split on a pair of Veteranarian quality clippers and accessories.  This is the 4th time I have trimmed Marley (the first was a disaster - uneven, snagging, mess).  What I have learned over time is that if the fur is not cleaned and well combed the clippers just cannot get through............simply impossible, making for a frustrating (for me) and painful (for Marley) half assed hair cut.

Now it has been at least 2 maybe 3 months since Marley's last cut and at least a month since his last bath and brush so I started at 9am in the morning and did the bath and brush.  That took me till 11am and that was to get him to the picture you saw above.

Fast forward to 1pm after getting the kids to their various venues for the day, Piper was out playing with her friend Maya and Drew was out with Goran.  Even Alex (the sedentary wonder) decided he was going to spend the afternoon with Ben.  So it was just me and Marley.

I grabbed all the gear (vacuum, garbage bag, brush, burr comb, clippers, toe nail clippers, oh and coffee) and got set up.  Next with the dog........he was less than impressed.  4 hours it took me.............yup 4 hours of clipping deburring and brushing.  We had a half of a large garbage bag full of fur and one very worn out dog.  He only yelped once and he was pretty accommodating - even though he clearly hates it.  The end result?

Well you tell me, doesn't even look like the same animal.

 

Here are two more for comparison.

 

Well, I know not very exciting is it.............but its how I spent my day and in the end the result was awesome.  Traded in a mop for a cute insane little puppy who earned a few extra dehydrated liver (yum) treats.

Other than that it was a quiet day.  Tammy worked most of the day trying to keep things in check so that she isn't working till midnight every night.  She has had a couple of pretty good compliments of late which is great.  Reinforcing what I already know.  Hell I married the smartest person I know, she is also dedicated (to her family and her career) and actually really gives a damn which is rare these days.  Its tough sometimes but I have to say I am super proud of her conviction and dedication to this whole process.

Me well the day wouldn't be complete without a little ride now would it.  I jumped on the bike and headed out to Big Hill Springs for a quick 60k to keep the process going.  I was pretty happy when I hit head winds right away..........why you say?  Simple headwinds on the way out when your legs are fresh means tailwinds on the way back when they are worn out.  It was tough slogging at about the 25km point on.  My back was screaming blue murder..............seems sitting hunched for 4 hours trimming the dog was not conducive to comfortable riding.

 

I didn't do too bad..........interesting thing about getting out there is that you have to come back somehow and even though I may have thought about it there was no way I was calling Tammy for a pick up..........I am too damn stubborn.  At about the 40km point I was gassed and wished I had brought an energy bar.  Got me to thinking I am going to make a checklist of things to bring on the bike rides, seems I always forget something.

The typicals for a 50+ km ride would be

• Water
• Extra tube
• tire tools (to remove and replace tube)
• emergency pump
• Snot Rag (nose runs like a tap in this cooler weather)
• Chapped lip stuff
• Ipod (charged this time :) )
• Cell phone
• ID (just in case something happens)
• Leave route with Tammy
• Camera
• Energy Bar

Of course the list here does me relatively no good unless I read my blog before heading out on a ride :)

The normal details of the ride are

• 58.1km total distance (I cut 5km off the back as I was tired)
• Avg speed 22.5 km/h
• Top speed (Tammy don't read this part) 80.2km/h
• Total Ride Time 2:24
• Avg HR 134BPM
• Max HR 167 BPM
• Energy Burned 1852Kcal

Saw a herd of deer, must have been twenty of them.  When I got closer they all raised their flags and started bounding away......was a very cool sight.

Oh you might have noticed the Max speed in the list.  I think that is the fastest I have ever gone on a bike, it was a hill right at the beginning of the ride that is probably about a 5% grade and the wind was at my back.  I will say 80km may not seem that fast in a car but on a bike it is wicked fast.  I am starting to get way more comfortable on the bike again the miles are piling up. I have logged around 550km from the beginning of April till now.  With maybe 100km of that coming on the trainer.  As the weather warms and the evenings lengthen I expect to put down over 1,000 km this month and then another 1,000km before the ride for cancer, that might be ambitious but can't hurt to try.

Well errand day for Piper and I....................see you on the other side.

The Boys and Our Toys

About 6 years ago I picked up a remote control truck to see if Alex would be interested in them.  I had some general worries about getting them into Radio Control anything but that is another story.  Any way Alex took to it at 4 years old pretty good and it wasn't long after that Drew joined in.  Over the years we had a few different ones but seems we have settled into Electronic Off Road vehicles.

For whatever reason they have been shelfed for over a year.  Ok not really whatever reason I didn't have time to keep them up so we could never take them out, realistically it was more I never made time.

Fast forward to now and it was off to Home Depot we went to pick up a few supplies to make a little area in the basement where we could work on the trucks, cycle the batteries (this is a major pain in the rear to try and do in the garage), clean the truck and store parts and tools.  Tammy was awesome at agreeing would should set something up.  The boys and I did the shopping and then commenced to get the stuff to the basement, it was awesome to see how excited they were.

 

Alex and Drew cleared the a spot and commenced getting the flooring down.  We picked up some foam interlocking mats so that little parts don't get lost in the carpet and also to keep dirty trucks from getting the carpet dirty.  The boys were awesome at cooperating with each other and no disagreements or fighting broke out..........clearly they are pumped to get back at the trucks.

 

After the boys finished setting up the floor we got all the gear moved over and got the trucks set.  Seems that one table wont be enough.  (Yes Tammy you were right............again :) ) so I will blast out to Home Depot tomorrow or this week sometime and get another.  So that we have a little more room to work with.

There are a bunch of trucks.  We have 3 Traxxas Stampedes (2nd Gen) 1 Traxxas Stampede (1st Gen) 1 RC10 Buggy, 1 Losi XXX-4 Buggy, 1 HP Racecar, and one non working race car.  The Stampedes are great for the boys as they are tough, fast, fun to drive and they can handle most of the standard maintenance themselves.  Oh and a bunch of spare parts.

Once we were all set up it was time to start cleaning up the rigs and investigating for any obvious damage and to start cycling batteries (Cycling batteries will help to refresh the rechargeable batteries that the trucks run on so that we get some good run time out of them - we have lots of batteries in various condition - hopefully I won't have to get any new ones)  The boys jumped right in carefully cleaning the trucks and yammering away about which ones they were going to drive first and reminiscing about driving them years ago.  It was cool to sit with them as they worked, we need a little more space to be comfortable and we didn't have a ton of time, but it was a great start.  I like doing things with them that we all enjoy............usually I spend more time charging, changing batteries, roadside fixes, and general monitoring than driving but that is ok the boys have a blast and yell and laugh and drive like maniacs.

 

There is still snow around and it is a bit too chilly to be running the trucks yet..........although the boys don't think so.  They will have to trust me, I fully remember a couple of times we tried when it was windy and cool.  Also we need to find a good open place to run them......I will start looking more carefully when I am biking for a good spot or two. And well its going to take me a week or more to fully cycle all those batteries, but its early May and we have lots of time to get things up to operational speed. 

I am looking forward to getting out with them and running the trucks, maybe Piper will join us and like it too, we certainly have enough rigs for all to enjoy.

We Will Ride Under Western Skies - April 30 - 51km

We will ride under western skies
Down the trail of the lonesome pine
Across the creek and up the draw

Along the river to the falls

Ridin high ridin tall ridin easySome time ago............Ernie Weaver's 60th Birthday party?? I was introduced to the music of Gary Fjellgaard (Cowboy Poet).  Now I will say this is not for everybody for sure, it is true Cowboy Country stuff but I like it.  I love all kinds of music so this is no surprise.Now while riding yesterday that was the song that popped into my head.

02 Under Western Skies

Have a listen if you will, this is how I feel riding up in the Bearspaw area todays ride especially.  It was cool and crisp the road sides were still snow covered and it seemed like at ever turn there was wildlife.  I must have say 15 or 20 deer, a couple of coyotes, some hawks, and of course plenty of cattle.  It was pretty cool.  The ride itself was no hell, the roads were still wet from melting snow and it was a wee too cool for comfort.  It was worth it though, getting out clears my head good and I feel better for doing it.  I know I am obsessive so might as well embrace it, after all being obsessed with a healthy thing must be a little better than an unhealthy obsession.  So I powered through it, and trust me that was what it was shear mind over legs.

I was wiped when I was done, as tired as I have ever been.  51.6km and I was a train wreck, in my defence though I had done 45min of heavy cardio on the elliptical and some weight work earlier in the day. (Maybe I should have done a few less km)

I told you about the snow storm we had........things are slowly progressing to normal.  Figured I would try a little something different, this is more or less my view on the road.

 

Still plenty of snow on the roadsides but the roads were good.  Believe it or not a ton has melted since the storm and things are slowly returning to normal.  Hell my grass is green now under all that snow.  Time to charge up the new mower (review coming soon as I have to mow it)

Here are a couple of pictures of the deer, I apologize for the quality but they were moving and so was I.

This one and I had a bit of a Mexican Standoff going.  I actually had to shoo her off the road.  Blurry as hell but I wanted to show this one, it was kind of funny.

I put 51.6km on the road.  Wind wasn't too bad except in one spot.  I met up with an older woman walking her dog and she cussed me out.  Telling me that her dog didn't like those damn bikers or something of the like.  I was actually pretty astonished of all the modes of transportation to complain about a bicycle on a back country road being very respectful is what gets her all fired up.  Oh well I guess some folks just need something to complain about. (By the way her dog didn't even notice me)

It was a mildly hilly route so I threw a bit of a climb in the back end almost cut off and headed home but the last 5km I actually got a second wind so it wasn't too bad after all.

Ride Facts

Total Distance - 51.6km

Wind - 15km NW

Max Speed - 66km/h

Avg Speed - 22.5km/h  (a good indicator my energy was down about 3km lower than normal)

Total Energy Burn - 1567kcal

Total Ride Time - 2:14

Max HR - 155BPM (another indicator of low energy - my max is usually 165)

Avg HR - 131BPM

See you on the next ride.

What a Difference a Day Makes

The best way to describe it is

AGGGGGGGHHHHHH!

We have lived in Calgary for 11 years now and you would think by now I would be used to spring snow storms blowing in off the mountains.  Well guess what, I am not.  It sucks.  Hell I have a pretty good tan going, I was biking in 24 degrees and sunshine last week.  I just got a new smoker. The lawn has been thatched and fertilized.  I just bought a new Lawn Mower (that is for another blog though).  None of my pants fit only my shorts.  I was going to get the Monster Trucks going with the boys.

How is that for a million reasons why I didn't need to see this early this morning.

Don't know how clear that is, but that is 2 feet of snow piled against my back door.  Tammy had to toss the poor dog over the bank so he could get out to do his morning business.  (I guess we will dig him out later)

This was out the front door at 8 am this morning..........not much moving for a work day.

This one was taken out the garage door.  It was wet and heavy snow, shovelling it was a workout..........which was ok but still I would rather get my workouts riding or doing weights. I know it will all be gone in a few days but damn that is hard to take.

I actually kept the kids home this morning as the buses would be a gong show and neither of the boys was feeling up to par.  Probably could have gone but didn't kill them to stay at home.

We needed the moisture and I am sure the grass will appreciate it, as will the flower beds, could have come as rain though.  Oh well a good day to catch up laundry and tidy around the house...............................still I hate spring storms.

Nothing Like a Good Smoke

Oh come one now what were you thinking??

So for years I have used my gas grill and smoker boxes (cast steel boxes stuffed with wood chips) to try and get real bbq going.  Ribs, steaks, etc.  I have always wanted a real smoker.  For years again I have been eyeing The Big Green Egg.  It is a kamoda style ceramic BBQ but it is ridiculously expensive.  So after spending some time on the Internet reading various BBQ forums and a few books I figured out that I was being somewhat narrow minded and there are in fact many great smokers out there.

I settled on this one (two reasons I will get to in a minute)

It is the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker (hereafter known as the "WSM") I got the 18.5" vs the 22" and I am glad for once............man its huge, it would take a 17 to 20lbs Turkey no problem.

Ok why did I get this one vs many others out there.  2 reasons, it is pretty much the most widely used smoker out there that I could see on most of the bbq forums I looked to.  The second reason........well interestingly enough I had some Aeroplan miles that were going to expire if I didn't use them and lo and behold this was in their rewards booklet. Seemed like a no brainer after that.

So after it arrived I headed on down to the local bbq shop here and picked up some Charcoal and Wood Chunks, and a book.  I like this book as it gives very specific step by step instructions to a sure fire (pun intended) good smoking experience and builds on the fundamentals that can take you were you want to go.

For those that care the book is.  "Low & Slow - Gary Wiviott" it is a tongue in cheek book that is very fastidious (read anal) about the process to be used.  Plus it gave plenty of helpful insight on the need (or really lack there of) for special tools and gadgets.

So after carefully reading the first few Chapters I set about to fire things up and undertake my first real smoke in my new smoker.  So after marinating the Chicken for 5 hours "Mojo Criollo Marinade" I went out to light the smoker - wouldn't you know it..............Rain.  So took the WSM into the garage and fired it up.

I used a method called the "Minion Method" to light the lump charcoal.  Basically you pour lit charcoal onto a bed of unlit coal.  I used a Chimney Starter to get the coal going (no solvents or other stuff to add nasty flavors just paper and a match) and was pretty successful for my first light.  I used 6 nice chunks of hickory as my flavour wood, 3 buried in the unlit coal and 3 on the top of the lit coal.  I chose hickory as it is a little less intense and for chicken I didn't want to go to intense right away - although I love mesquite.

After getting the burn going it was back into the house to prepare the chicken from the marinade.  Simple really, remove excess marinade, pat dry then brush with olive oil and lightly salt and pepper.  Back out to the smoker and on she goes.

Put on the lid and ignore for 90 minutes.  This was the hard part for me, I am somewhat of a fusspot when it comes to cooking, I like to check things, monitor temps be sure things are going good etc.  But I stuck to the book and let it go.  It did make sense that if I opened the smoker I would lose precious heat that would take time to re-accumulate.

I set about getting the rest of dinner ready for the 90 minute mark. (my first and biggest mistake)

At 90 minutes I went out to get the chicken.

Plattered and in the house we go, pretty fine looking birds

.  

So, how did we do.

hmmm on a scale of 1 to 10.............a mediocre 5

Taste of the chicken was actually pretty good, on that alone I might have given myself a 7.  Here is the issue, the thighs were slightly underdone, and I do mean slightly but it turned off my dinner guests (Tammy and the Kids).  That is why I mentioned early that my first big mistake was to time the other food to be ready after 90 minutes.  Would have only taken 15 minutes to be ready so what I should have done is check first then start the sides.  After all even if the chicken was fully ready to go, at 225 degrees it could sit in the smoker for another 45 minutes to an hour and still not dry out or be over cooked. But in my eagerness I rushed it.  Hell its been 14 hrs and I am still ticked off at myself, I know better than that, food is my thing...............grrrrrrrr.  Lesson learned I suppose. 

Mistake number 2 was serving it.  I knew it wasn't perfect yet I plated it anyway.......also not my norm but again I was anxious not to have the family wait.

In general this was a relatively subtle recipe for smoked chicken, the flavours were good and after putting the remainders back on for a half hour the left overs are delicious.  The next step calls for a brined chicken, and while I would like to skip this one and move on to something more exciting I will follow the process, I will not however be in a rush.

A couple of things I think contribute;

• It was windy so I think the smoker ran a wee cooler
• I might not have packed the coal as good as I could have in hindsight and thus it cooled a bit when some burnt down
• My chimney might not have been fully engaged therefore leading to a slower burn in the main ring
• It was about 5 degrees outside so I didn't compensate for cooler temperature

Here is hoping the family likes real BBQ as much as I like preparing it. Plus they will have to put up with my multiple test runs to get somewhat good at it before I think of doing anything for guests.

I am looking forward to trying many many cooks on it.  In fact I am seriously considering getting a Kettle to go along with my smoker and gas grill..............nothing says BBQ like real wood fire.  Be a good use for my Christmas gift card I have been saving.

Would look good beside the WSM and the Napoleon Grill don't you think?

The Weather Network Lies!!! - 15km Winds my Tookus - 63.1km - April 26

Well after our little sojourn to Vancouver Island this past weekend I decided that it would be best if I took a little ride on Monday.  After confirming with Tammy that she would indeed be home on time on Monday I planned out my route.  Looked at the Weather Network and figured I was good to go.

This would be my biggest single ride and my longest non stop.  I did 80+km with Daz but we stopped for a quick bite and a coffee at the halfway point.  This was a non stop loop of 63.1km.  We have taken the kids many times to Big Hill Springs Park to have a picnic or go for a walk on the paths or both, we were introduced to it by our good friends the Zakresky's.  It is relatively close and a great little walk through the foothills forest. It is about 30km out to the Park.  Since I knew that the Zakresky's took a different route than we did, I also figured it would make a great bike loop provided that the distance was reasonable.  63.1km indeed seems reasonable (I dunno when that happened...........seems I have lost a marble or two recently)

Here is the route

A check of of the Weather Network said 15km winds from the SE, not too bad.  11 degrees C, ok dress warm not so bad either.

Off I go Tammy has my route map (safety first) and I hit the road.  I had spent all day in my head convincing myself that I wasn't going to go for the big ride, maybe just a 20k, its cold after all.  As soon as I was on the road I was glad to be out (did I mention how much I enjoy being out on my bike), would have been better if it was the warm weather of last week but a ride is a ride.  I knew I was in a bit of trouble when I mad the turn at the 5.5km mark onto 144ave, the cross winds had me slowing down on the downhill as I wasn't as stable as I like to be when travelling in excess of 60km/h. but it is mostly downhill from the beginning to the 11km mark (with one valley) so the wind wasn't a huge hinderence.  I have travelled this road many times on the bike now (its part of my 25km loop through Hidden Valley).

At the 11km mark rather than turning right and looping back to home it was Westward Ho and up Simons Valley Road.  Here is where the uphill starts.  Apparently I didn't look very carefully at the elevation grid......seems they next 38km is generally uphill.  After the 12km point the road swings back due north giving me a bit of a cross wind again, my first view of what the tail end of the ride is going to be like.  I make the wind at 25km or so not 15 to say the least.

I can tell you one thing this tree beside the road was feeling the wind.

 

Ok so maybe that wasn't really on the side of the road but it should give you an idea of what I was thinking :)

I have to say it was pretty out there, being that far away from homes makes it feel like big sky country.  Vast open farmlands with nothing but the mountains in the distance.  This picture doesn't do it justice but here it is anyway.

When I made the turn onto 567 my speed increased remarkably, even with the general increase in elevation.  For most of the next 12km I maintained around 34km/h with the only slow down coming between 29 and 30 (big damn hill).  The riding was good, but I was paranoid about getting another flat.............given that I have had 2 in less than a week.  To no avail though things held up just fine.

The tough part was to come, turn the corner onto Lochend Rd and there is the wind still somewhat cross by more in my face, oh and uphill till Crowchild trail.  Slow going the whole way, I finally saw some other bikers but they were headed the other way........made me feel less insane knowing there were others out and about.

Onto Crowchild for 4 km of brutal head wind, my pace was around 12km/h and the wind was howling in my ears (thank god for my headphones they keep the worst of it out of my ears but I think I should think about a headband or kerchief for the ride to keep the wind out of my ears)  when I hit BearsPaw country club I debated cutting through the and shortening the ride by 8 or 9km but in the end I kept to my route (because I am stubborn and because that is where I told Tammy I would be)  In the end I am glad I did, it was a tough ride but gave me faith in doing the 100km relatively easily.  Day 2 is still in question but I have plenty of time to put a couple of big rides back to back.

Good thing I layered up, I wasn't cold other than the back of my neck.  All in all a pretty good accomplishment.

Some stats from the ride

Total Distance          63.1km

Total Ride Time         2:40

Avg Speed                23.1km/h

Top Speed                63.5km/h

Avg HR                    140bpm

Max HR                   168bpm

Total Kcal burned    2209kcal

A Time Alone - Together

This was part of what greeted us when we entered our room at the Brentwood Bay Lodge and Spa.  The Chocolate Torte with the Happy Birthday message didn't last long enough to be pictured.

What were we doing there would you ask?  Why it was me and Tammy's 20th Wedding Anniversary and her 40th Bday present.  4 days no kids in a wonderful little hotel on Brentwood Bay on Vancouver Island.

The room was very nice, great bathroom and comfy bed, the centrepiece was the view.

This was the view from our floor to ceiling window in our room

This was a great little trip, sleepy and relaxing.  Hopefully a recharge for a certain young lady that has been burning the candle at both ends so to speak (and using a flamethrower to do it).  The weather was well, not horrible it was cool and intermittent showers but to be honest I don't think it dampened our spirits much if any.  Thursday evening we just hung out in the Pub and I have to say that something that I noticed was that in general the people of Vancouver Island are a friendly and outgoing bunch of people always willing to give some advice or pointers on where to go and what to see.

Friday was a little surprise for Tammy I had booked us a couples treatment in the Spa........yup I am openly admitting it and I am fully secure in my manhood.  Any guy that says he wouldn't like a spa treatment, well he has clearly never had a spa treatment.  Almost three hours of scalp massage, full body massage, warm eucalyptus ex foliation, and warm mud cocoon, it was awesome.  I could become a spa whore quite easily.

After the spa it was off to Butchart Gardens............which quite frankly were freakin amazing.  The work and passion that would have went in to create that over the years is amazing.  After 100years it is still owned and maintained by the family.  If you are out on Vancouver Island and have the time be sure to go, it is a pretty amazing site.

After Butchart it was back to the hotel for another quiet evening in the Pub.  It was great just to sit and chat with Tammy, even if I did get a little too intense once or twice (its not my fault........I don't get to talk to adults much)

On Saturday morning I decided to slip out quietly and get a little run in..10km.  What I learned was that I really don't like running and that it was probably very unnecessary for me to bother given that we put another 15km or so on our feet that day wandering around Victoria.  From the Fisher-mans wharf to market square to Beacon park and back again we covered a lot of miles.  Dinner at a great little Tapas place (our best meal of the weekend, and oddly enough the cheapest - go figure)  We looked in a 100 little stores and just generally enjoyed ourselves.  We were pretty much gassed after supper and headed back to the hotel for sleep.

 

Sunday was a more relaxed morning we ordered in some room service and didn't really get moving until 11 or so.  Then off to Sydney for a browse and a walk.  Beautiful wharf they have there, folks were crab fishing and fishing for whatever would bite.  A nice finish off before hopping on the plane back to home.

In the end I hope Tammy got a little recharge out of the weekend.  I went hoping to find all the reasons that we have been married for 20 years.  You would think that with 4 days away together I would have lots of them.  I could only come up with one............She is my best friend.

Who'd a Thunk it 20yrs & My Daughter things I am a Carriage Horse 46.5km

Wow............20yrs ago tomorrow.  Funny certain portions are crystal clear and other parts flash by in a blur.  I remember that instant when she walked down the aisle. I remember when she said "I do"  I remember being very happy but oblivious as to what the whole thing meant.

20 years later.........I am far less oblivious.  In 20 years many many a thing has happened.

We received University Degrees.................Together.

We started great careers at Ernst & Young...............Together

We obtained our Chartered Accountant Designation............Together

We moved to Calgary................Together

We bought our first home...............Together

We had our first child...............Together

We had our second child..............Together

We bought our second home............Together

We had our third child.............Together

Throw in a bunch of Camping trips, hikes, bikes, vacations etc.  The dominate theme if you noticed is together.

20 years together........well almost 21 technically (the dating part).  Funny I didn't really understand that when we were married, never thought of it in the range of 2 decades 7,300 days.  Makes it sound like a lot but it hasn't been nearly enough.  Every once in a while I find myself thinking hell we could make 60 years together or more and you know what..........it makes me smile.  In this day and age I guess you could say it is a bit of an accomplishment, not to me though to me its just the way things should be.  Don't get me wrong things are far from perfect.  We disagree, we argue but in the end we are two people who still have two different opinions so of course there will be disagreements.  I hope she disagrees with me for many many more years.

Tammy and I aren't usually big on celebrating our anniversary, seems that we try to celebrate life as it comes but this one is a little different, it has weight so we are going to have a little get away nothing huge or extravagant but just us, kind of the way we started it all 20 yrs ago............just us...............Together.

                                                                                                                                                         

As for today it was another amazing day here in Calgary. The sun was blazing and the mercury hit 22C here at the house.  Today was mostly like others, get up get the kids off to school.  Piper wanted to go via bike, which normally is all good but I got up a bit late so was a little rushed for ride but it all worked out well.  We came back and had lunch and she and I went out to enjoy the day in the yard..given that its Tuesday there isn't much that can get done as the racing around dropping of and picking up of kids is pretty much a day long thing on Tuesday (Piper School, Boy Gymnastics and Swimming) so an hour outside seemed like a great idea.

As for Piper she travels in style to School.  Pack up her snack and get her hair done then find her Leapster (educational electronic game) and into the Chariot to get pulled to school.  It occurred to me that she loves to pretend about princess, so if she is the princess and the Chariot is the Carriage to carry her to the ball............does that make me the horse??  Could be worse I guess.  She is mostly a mama's girl these days but she did slip up on Saturday last.  She was playing outside with some other girls at the Clarks place and she got her feelings hurt somehow (not a big deal as each of the girls had there moments that day but in all played really well) so when she came in I gave her a big hug and brought her up in my lap for a cuddle and to console her a little.  She seemed to be getting a little happier so I turned back to the adult conversation.  Just as I did I heard her whisper very quietly ("I would marry you Papa") when I asked her what she said she wouldn't repeat it..............thats ok Princess you melted my heart anyway, I will always be there for her even if she doesn't want to tell me.

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With the good weather and Piper in school of course I had to do a little ride.  After all seems a waste to just bike back to the house and spend an hour turn around and come back.  So I unhook the Chariot and lock it up at the School and blast out for a little tour.  I like the routes I do around the School as they are lots of hills which makes for good training mostly 1 to 2% grades but long enough to be somewhat challenging.  In all I did about 46.5 km today of which 6 is the there and back to Piper's school.  The riding today was awesome, warm sun, very little wind.  Only issue is my damn rear derailer seems to jump between gears once in a while, I got it fixed at Bow today for free, seems the derailer hanger was bent a bit (I probably bent it mounting it to the Trainer) but I have yet to test it.

I felt good for the whole ride and could have easily done another 40 but I only have so much time between dropping off and picking up but it was a great ride none the less.  The more I ride the more I like it, I am anxious to do the 200k.  Would be cool to have someone to ride with but in the end I like the solitude too.  When I ride I feel very well...Alive.  I feel my breath in my lungs, feel my muscles working, feel my heart pushing blood around, my vision seems sharper..........its my new drug, don't know how long it will last but it is cool.  I think its different because I ride for pleasure, before I rode to commute to work as exercise and while I treat this as exercise now its where I want to go and when............somehow that makes it different.

All in all a great ride today.  A different map for you today, the satellite view rather than the map it pretty much overlays the map in "The Best Laid Plans of Bikes and Men" just a little different routing to shake things up.  Also I included the graph that shows the altitude changes, so as you can see not much flat in this one.

As always

The Stats

Total Ride time 2:20 (with two stops to drop off and pick up Piper) so likely 1:50 in the Saddle

Total Distance 46.5 km

Total Kcal 1,693

Avg HR 132bpm

Max HR 165bpm

Total Elevation Changes 260M (850ft)

# of Laps or circuits 3

Thanks for looking, catch you next time.

Some Yard Work - Home Made BBQ Sirloin Burgers - A Little 31.2km Sprint

So after the gorgeous weather of yesterday the weatherman claimed it was to be a day of potential thunderstorms and rain showers.  So with Tammy getting home in the wee hours of the morning and the kids staying up well past bedtime the night before it seemed that a leisurely day at home was in order.

So after a relatively no frills breakfast and a slow cup of coffee I called the boys down to go and get the back yard cleaned up.  By cleaned up I meant the last of the spring dog shit that has accumulated over the winter and all the toys (and garbage) that gets strewn about during an average week in the Thompson back yard.  Once they were well under way I went out the garage to prepare the mower for a spring cut, a de-thatch and then a pick up run, so all in all at least three runs of the yard with various blades on the mower.  My poor mower is on its last legs, it is a cheapo craftsman I got at Sears when we first moved here and to say its on its last legs is being generous.........but it got through the job.  After that it was off to Home Depot and the grocery store with Alex for fertilizer and a few things to top up Mother Hubbards' Cupboard.

BBQ homemade sirloin burgers on the grill (man were they good) and then a look at the sky check the temperature think about how the legs feel..............what the hell I think I will do a little ride tonight.  Nothing huge just to see how the legs responded after the 80k from yesterday.

Same general route I have been using of late, out to Bearspaw through the estate neighbourhoods, down through the country club out past the prison and the landfill head up to the shopping complex then through the neighbourhood to home.

I have to say I felt great, I even kicked it up a notch or two I pushed fairly hard for most of the trek. I kept my speed cadence and heart rate higher.  My legs felt great even after yesterdays 80km, I was able to attack the hills a little harder and keep my pace up.  Be interesting to see how the legs feel tomorrow.

I only had one stop really, after I had to take a picture for the blog right?.............that and the sunset was actually very pretty.  This is taken just at the top of the hill on Bears Paw road before the assent up to Crowchild Trail.

 

So in all it was 31.2 km and it was done pretty quickly for me anyway.

Some stats from the ride

Total ride time 1:08

Avg speed 27.6 km/h (up from my 23 to 24 norm range)

Max Speed 64.8 km/h

Avg HR 146 bpm

Max HR 159 bpm

Total Kcal Burn 962.

Generally I felt great on this ride, had it been earlier I would have probably thrown another 10km on it but it was getting on late and I am still trying to be somewhat cautious in how I attack things.

Anyway that was Sunday.........maybe we will see you tomorrow.............maybe not.

Oh yah and although the weatherman threatened we didn't get any rain, I saw lots in various areas when I was out for the ride but none came our way. We could use a little, so hopefully now that the grass is done we will get some.

Time to start thinking about the flower beds..........its too early to do them but never to early to plan.