What a ride!

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty, well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ... WOW! What a Ride!          - Unknown

They came, they rode, they conquered.

What a day for the guys!  With the wind at their backs…well, until it wasn’t.  And with the sun shining brightly…until it wasn’t.  They finished their trek soaking wet, a little chilled, bikes caked in dirt, and with a feeling of accomplishment.  And, after all was said and done, I think they found their cycling legs…

Great job!

Tour de Muskoka (TdM)

And they are off….the TdM is now underway.  The guys (Dave, Paul, and Mark) had a rolling start in Oakville at 6:30am on the one day/two stage, 2009 Tour de Muskoka.  They should cover approximately 260km by the time they reach the finish.

 

Some highlights that they can expect (and some rules to follow):

- weather: high of 27degC, SW winds, possible afternoon rain and/or thunderstorms.

-No mountain pass finish

-No category 1 or 2 climbs, but elevation gain will be noticeable in the final kilometers of this afternoon’s stage.

-Since this is a one-day only event, there are no rest days scheduled until Sunday.

- TdM cycling etiquette will be followed - nature stops and re-fueling at convenience stores/gas stations allowed with ‘no one left behind’ mentality

- No public nudity and no littering

- There will be one main feed station where riders will be allowed to stop for their musette. This will be located in/near Mt. Albert.  Wonder if there will be any Campbells ‘Soup to Go’ in those musettes?

-Team TT – since I noticed one Euskatel jersey, one Discovery jersey, and one Volvo jersey at the start line, there will be no team TT scheduled.  Individual TT to be determined en route.

-Finally, if they finish in Paris, they went the wrong way!

Check back here for post TdM highlights .  Go get ‘em guys!!

Everything is just ‘ducky’

Every spring, once the ice has melted, all that remains is some murky water that has settled on the pool cover.  It stays that way until we open the pool for the summer season.  It’s not the prettiest sight and it definitely doesn’t look enticing enough to jump in.  But, then again, we’re not ducks.

So, every spring we welcome our new guests: Bob & Margaret (the names seem like a perfect fit) the mallard ducks who have a time-share here.

 

They keep coming back to relax and unwind as they gear up for the whole ‘making babies’ thing they do.  On days like today, when it is nice and sunny, they alternate between swimming and sunning themselves, primping and preening, before getting back in the water to do it all over again.

But like some vacation destinations, things can be a zoo at times.  A couple of days ago, two raccoons were circling the pool deck trying to figure out how to get at the ducks that were in the middle.  When they finally decided to give up, a squirrel came scampering up to the poolside to see what was going on.  Before you know it, he is hanging off the edge by one leg as he takes a quick drink. I guess the cabana boy forgot to deliver the Evian he had ordered. 

At times, one gets the feeling that Bob & Margaret are perturbed that their private resort is being overrun by tourists and that they can’t wait until happy hour is over.

But at the end of the day, they are off again (to where ever it is they go)…until we welcome them back tomorrow.

Two decades later…

…and I still think he’s the best!

Taxes and Toes – a dichotomy of emotions

Preparing my taxes does not elicit any happy feelings for me. There is no joy in the process and part of it stems from my lack of organization throughout the year. Normally, a reasonably organized person, there is something about filing receipts that, well, just doesn’t get done!

They get stuffed into into my purse, my briefcase, the car console…everywhere! Then, one day in April, I go on a search and destroy mission to pull them all together. Of course, come October or November, I quite often find receipts that I forgot to submit! Argh! Who would have thought to look in my winter coat pocket or the bottom of my gym bag (although, I also found a ready-to-expire PowerBar and my favourite underwear in the process!…yes, they were clean!). “I’ll be more organized next year”, I promise myself yet again.

So, how do I get started on such an onerous task? I could take another run past the house with ‘yard art’ to at least get a smile on my face before I begin (although, I have visions of police officers at my door questioning my stalking habits).

Or, better yet, I could see Eszter! She is a foot-care specialist. I’m referring to something well beyond a basic pedicure. When I leave her clinic, the sun is shining, the air is fresh, the angels are singing, and I have ‘happy feet’. Glorious!

And so it begins…preparing my taxes with happy feet. I just hope that the Revenue Canada employee that reviews my taxes is feeling something equally divine! Do you think it would be inappropriate to E-file an ‘Eszter gift certificate’ with my tax return?! Probably, eh? Oh well…for now…it’s ‘Happy Feet’ Friday!

Running thoughts…

Last night I had a fartlek scheduled for my run workout.  No snickering!  Fartlek has a Swedish origin - meaning ‘speed play’…just in case you might have confused it with GI issues. 

I took a different route out of curiosity…sirens, lots of them, not far from home and a helicopter hovering overheard beckoned me.  The theme song intro of a COPS episode was on repeat in my head “Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?  Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?” (By the way, it’s tough to focus on my downloaded IMTalk podcast with Bevan and John when I’m rockin’ it out to an Inner Circle bad boy beat).

Well, it looks like the bad boys found out very quickly when police set-up a roadblock and the result was something more like crash test dummies (i.e. bad boys) meets a propane tanker truck and a police cruiser.  It could have been so much worse.  Alas, for those rush-hour commuters that had to sit through major delays – it would have been nasty.

Outcome: minor injuries, arrest, and realization that some barriers/obstacles/forced stops (perceived or real) are good things – reevaluate, adjust behaviour/actions, improve.

Heart rate up and blood pumping, it was time for my first fartlek and my legs felt great.  My feet felt like they had wings attached.  What a great feeling.  The parting words of the IMTalk podcast is always ‘Kia Kaha’ (Maori) which basically means ‘be strong’ or ‘achieve strength’…and it worked….until…

I got to my turnaround point and was ready to reverse my route…huh?  I don’t remember the wind?  Gusts up to 50km/hr.  Well, of course not…it had been at my back up to this point!  No wonder I had felt so good.  Mother Nature had given me a helping hand and was ready to inflict a little pain now.  Mental toughness, ‘be strong’ - Kia Kaha was needed to kick into gear.  And…it did!

Outcome:  more sweat, higher PE, still felt strong, and realization that some obstacles/barriers/forced stops (perceived or real) are good things – reevaluate, adjust behaviour/actions, improve. 

During the cool-down, I decided to make a detour.  There is a house that I pass occasionally while running that is different from all the others in that neighbourhood.  Each time I run past, there is an impromptu smile – I can’t help it!  In fact, I envision the owners having perma-smile.  I don’t know if the occupants are happy or not, but if you were to see their ‘yard art’ the seemingly obvious conclusion would be ‘YES’. 

Each new season offers up a new display and I was rewarded with post-Easter festiveness all over their front lawn and hanging from their trees (inflatable bunnies, egg garlands, baskets of eggs…oh, and lots of garden gnomes!) – photo only shows a small sampling.  One can only assume that this would be the Easter Bunny’s first stop (without opening up a discussion on the validity of said herbivore’s ability to take on such a role, if such a role were to exist).

I stopped to take it all in…and smile.

Outcome: HR was coming back down, body felt ‘that good-tired feeling’, my smile went from ear-to-ear, and this short stop on my run made me realize that there are times that we aren’t forced to stop, but we should – reevaluate, adjust behaviour/actions, and improve.

Kia Kaha