very spontaneous, last-minute, book-a-flight-at-6-in-the-morning-to-the-wrong-province decision. i was really wanting to visit tone out east, so wtf - go for it! left last saturday and got to ST. JOHN'S newfoundland - not SAINT JOHN new brunswick - by noon! and 2 hours later, tone had me climbing signal hill . . .
what a gorgeous start to my east coast holiday!
3 hours of glorious hiking with a lot more exploring to come . . .
20 days - 3948 km - heading out of Salmo BC today - 2 days into the mountains. AMAZING Beautiful BC!! Blew through Alberta in 2 1/2 days - One scary night with a torrential downpour and massive thunderstorm but totally dry inside tent - (praise the mighty MEC) - truckers at the side of the road handing him water bottles and his picture in the Moose Jaw Times-Herald (see link below) after a chance encounter with an intrepid reporter. Met another guy walking to Vancouver from Halifax! making a bit better time than the first two he met! Decided to take the southern route out of Medicine Hat through Lethbridge and up into BC via Crowsnest Pass. Could see the mountains in the distance for a long time slowly getting closer, closer and then suddenly - you're in the mountains!! Bear-Care signage everywhere, Mountain bikes on car roofs, long-haired dudes with blond dreadlocks, Cars honking encouragement on long 30 km, 10% grade climbs, reaching the summit to cheers from the people who'd passed him in their cars on the way up to the lookout/rest stops - this must be BC!!!
Little motel in Salmo after a killer climb up to Stagleap Provincial Park and equally killer descent - pictures of bike racing on the wall, older British couple running the place and turns out the husband was a road racer back in the day in England! Slowing down a bit now to enjoy the incredible scenery, take lots of pictures and relish the climbing - 17 mountain passes to get through before reaching Hope - and then on to Vancouver - should be there by the weekend!!
after my run this morning, i jumped on the misfit and rode over to the horsey park in palgrave to watch my client jaimie who was attempting to qualify for one of the spots on the canadian dressage team heading to the pan am games in october. great ride holland - must have been the threat of making you haul me around on a toboggan in the parking lot of the community center just before you went into the ring . . .
this is holland's really tall boyfriend, ian . . .
man this horse is big! kendra - meet fleurina . . .
so like i mentioned above, before the whole horsey thing, i managed to put in just under 3 hours - palgrave up to hwy 9 and back - on the bruce. and ya know, you sometimes see the strangest things when you're running . . .
thursday, i ran up . . .
and up, the dingle . . .
and of course i had to stop at my fave spot along the way - the creek . . .
and admire my new tatt - which i absolutely LOVE . . .
and finally, it was back to private torture with the mighty one this week! 10 x 100m SPRINTS while pushing the prowler weighing 125lbs! FUCK i love this shit! check out the shirt . . .
i got these pics from the cycle for sight page the other day and thought i'd pass them along. awesome shot of michael and sheldon coming into the finish.
little miss vivian and her partner . . .
daina and me rolling in . . .
You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
go your own way
just a quick note - it was Steve's 41st birthday yesterday - said it was one of the hardest days of his life - went from Moose Jaw to Swift Current - the road was dead flat and prairie straight except for maybe a very gradual rise over the course of days (very slowly gaining elevation towards the mountains) but the bike would be in the small ring on back and the easiest gear in front and he still had to stand up out of the saddle - it was the nastiest headwind he'd ever experienced. (and this from someone who rides outside in any weather, all winter) It was an all-day 11-hour sufferfest and, of course, he LOVED it! - super glad to have experienced one day like that. Maybe he'll get more "presents" when he hits the Rockies in a few days!!
nice and easy - recovery run on saturday up the palgrave sidetrail. put in just over 1:45 and felt pretty good!
coming up to the gore . . .
ah, the birthday tree . . .
the 'cookie' couple strikes again - another note!!
took the giant into crossfit on sunday and was the only victim. not so bad though - had father jimmy all to myself!! little annoyed doing deadlifts - had 190 on the bar and somehow managed to tweak the back. grrrrr! dropped the bar immediately and settled for a much lighter weight and a bunch of push-ups.
and look who showed up on a road bike! josh! he rolled in on a borrowed red sekine that weighed about as much as him! classic! he had never even been on a road bike before this week, and managed to put in over 50k - not fucking bad for a rookie!
after i was done the wod, we both decided it would be a good day for breakfast, so we did just that! mmm - omelets and bacon! and check out the inov8 crossfit shoes, the harley sox and the cages on the pedals! this guy is awesome!
and today i drove myself south of 7 to get some more work done by my favorite tattoo artist glen at art addictions inc. i basically told him what i wanted, and he did the rest!
it's been a great year so far for my trail group and ghetto gym! we had the incredible-bendable anna vrana join us and 'try' to help with some yoga . . .
good job girlfriend . . .
stoopid glasses keep falling off . . .
and we celebrated andrea's birthday with a cheesecake. man she's jacked!
mmm cheesecake!
did the august long weekend workout at the birthday tree!
nice bench jump andrea!
the girls even did their own thing one night when i was really crabby and had to get in a crossfit class. look real close and you'll see a snail crawling up jan's shirt!!!
we were all pretty stoked with the new equipment i managed to beg, borrow and steal for ghetto. check out the rings and the pylon orange boxes . . .
we even got a chalkboard . . .
and the best - a pull-up bar! wahoo! thanks dunc! although i'm not sure exactly how happy the girls are now that they have to use it.
great great job my friends - you are all amazing and i salute your strength!! fantastic!!
Made it out of Ontario 2 days ago. FINALLY!!! it took 10 days to get to the Manitoba border. Much relief to be done with that stretch of the trip. The last 2 days out of Thunder Bay were brutal - weather turned really nasty for one day but somehow he still managed to do 200 km (took almost 10 hrs that day) worrying that the campground he was aiming for that night was still too far ahead, riding through rain and thunder when suddenly out of nowhere appeared a nice, cozy little motel at the side of the road with a super friendly little old lady at the front desk - absolutely nothing else around for miles - like right out of a movie. Slept really well that night! What's really strange about this whole trip is never turning back, never changing direction. If there's a nasty headwind there's never any relief coming when you change directions or turn around and head for home and get that wind at your back. There is never any turning around and heading for home!! Very strange. So after that last haul out of Ontario and the same road and the same trees and the same steady long climbs and not much else and straight into the Prairies... and WHAM... pancake flat. seriously, suddenly absolutely flat, for miles and miles. Had a bear sighting, was just humming along when he suddenly saw it - scared the crap out of the bear and it high-tailed it into the tall reeds at the side of the road. Another time heard this big Whoosh, Whoosh in the reeds and a huge bald eagle flew out right in front of him. Started seeing a new kind of roadkill - a lot - wondering what the heck is that animal, finally realizing ohhh- it's prairie dogs!! And tons of these beautiful green and white butterflies everywhere, running into the bike continually. (hmmm, do you think he's started hallucinating??!!- not yet, I hope!) Saw a girl on a road bike turn onto the road ahead of him, wanting to talk to her and find out about the roads in the area, or campgrounds, or bike shops, or anything really (long days without talking to anyone) but couldn't catch up to her and watched her just ahead fading into the distance for hours because the road is so flat and so straight. Just outside Brandon tonight and did find a bike shop and had a good chat with the local boys about all things bicycle and will head into Saskatchewan tomorrow, as it's only 550 km through Manitoba. Passed the 'Center of Canada' marker just outside Winnipeg. Has had to stick to the Trans-Canada mostly due to a lot of roads being closed because of all the flooding. But aside from the 2 crappy days leaving Ontario the weather has been amazing. All is well. more from Sask...
and of course, i just had to stick in the friday night club picture. how come they make the old lady climb up on top of the skids!??
nice recovery week. legs aren't feeling too bad, although i'm sure the 150 squats, 45 deadlifts, 100 double-unders, 100 overhead squats and the 75 cleans didn't help . . .
i 'huge heart' crossfit - it's great to be back!!!
Rolling out of Thunder Bay today... one week down, 1342 km in and only 3458 km to go! Doing great, had a bit of a rest day yesterday - only did 130 km to get to town, hit the bike store, the laundromat and the health food store (system on a wheat and sugar overload - too many Tim Horton's along the route!!) Probably the last chance to load up on a few healthy granola bars, some spare tubes and more 'DZ Nuts' chamois cream before hitting the Peg.
Met 2 young guys from Alliston WALKING to Vancouver - bahaha!! they're hoping to get there by February!! - wonder how high they were when they came up with that idea??? they were trying to find a canoe to paddle off a few km though! locals have been friendly, lots of tourists, camper vans, families with the kiddies, moose sightings, bugs not bad, unbelievable amount of lakes, wicked hills, only blew out one tube so far on a scary decent and the saddle sores are either hardening up enough that they don't seem as bad or the brain has just stopped paying attention to them due to the prolonged discomfort!
starting to have zen-like thoughts about existence and the immenseness of life - could become more of a spiritual journey than anticipated. hours of road stretching out ahead... the rhythm of the pedals turning over and over... day after day... little human on bike... vast Canadian Wilderness... vast endlessly expanding Universe... Whoooa - and then there's the Timmy's sign up ahead - couple coffees and some bagels and back on the road.
check out the very kool arm sleeves we got at the dirty girls run on the weekend! SO much more practical than another lame t-shirt in my opinion!!
so the idea behind this race was to see how many 10k loops you could complete in your choice of time - 6 hour, 12 or 24. i was in for the 12 hour.
had a great day - well, actually i should say night. i headed up to mansfield just after 6 in hopes of catching my sexy friend alistair and my TRR buddy kim who were doing the 24 hour. as luck would have it, ali was just coming in from his 8th lap, and kim was having a little nap in the tent, having completed 6. it had been stinky hot all day, and a lot of the runners were suffering. big hats off to them - i don't know how they ran in that humidity!
the 12 hour runners got going at 8pm. neat concept as it made for a bunch of fresh bodies on the trail at night to keep the 24 hour people company. i had to turn on my headlamp after about 30 minutes, as it got dark early in the forest. i really liked the course - it was nice and hilly, and there were some good technical sections you really had to pay attention on. very easy to yard sale if you weren't looking down. one guy running behind me fell twice over the same root 2 laps in a row. we had great laugh over that! i saw some neat wildlife on the trail during the night too - a big milk snake, a raccoon and a bunch of toads - and no - i wasn't hallucinating, as i heard others had seen them too! the 5k aid station was incredible - cooking up grilled cheese sandwiches and pancakes at 2 in the morning! mmmm - ultra food is the best!
i don't have my exact lap times yet, but they started at 1:20 and kept getting a little slower each go around. i believe 4 and 5 were 1:55, with 6 being a little faster at 1:48, as i had to walk some of the hills at this point. at the end of 6 i could feel a few stoopid blisters on the bottom of my toes. i had been running for 10:10 - giving me 1:50 to complete one more lap. i seriously doubted i could do it, but ali convinced me i could - what a sweetie! so off i went, muttering away to myself as usual! had some cranking tunes on the i-pod too, hoping it would help. i reached the 5k aid station in 50 minutes, giving me an hour to finish. still not sure, i quickly grabbed some water and took off. my feet were killing me, but i was pushing as fast as i could, even running some of the hills. at the 7.5k mark i started up the BIG hill - again - muttering that i wouldn't get done in time. thanks to charlotte vasarhelyi who was standing at the bottom, yelling at me to get going!! and so kool - as soon as i got to the top it was as if all the sore stuff and tired legs went away. i picked up the pace and coasted to the finish, even booking it the last hundred yards. yeehaw! waytogo dora! lap time - 1:31 !!!!!!!!! and of course, it wouldn't have been complete without - you got it - the dance party! fucking love this song !!!
so i got in my 70k with 17 minutes to spare! wtf? where did that come from??!! i was one happy smelly runner for sure! i placed 3rd female and 12th overall !
great shot of me and ali after i finished. did i mention he did 120k ! love the hat sexy - even if richard doesn't!
we all looked a little bagged here! when i asked kim if i looked really bad, she graciously answered, 'as good as one can expect after having run for 12 hours'. ahahhaa! classic! she managed an amazing 90k! great job my little blond amiga!
ali's partner richard - after having run 50k in the 6 hour and placing 6th i believe!
and of course i had to get the traditional 'post-race mangled feet shot' . . .
what a fun event! had a large chocolate milk and a burger at the finish. stopped at the hockley store on the way home for a coffee and a monster choco-chip cookie, and eventually finished with a large cappuccino skor blizzard from the dq ! ultras are the BEST excuse for post-run feeding frenzies!
on another note - huge congrats to my awesome crossfit buddy marsala who passed her police physical test on saturday! KILLED the beep test and crushed the circuit! i guess all those stoopid pull-ups paid off . . .
and finally, a shot of miss lilian stretching in the sun up on the treehouse balcony - ahh, to be a kat. . .
and as always, special thanks to derrick and the mighty alex for getting me there!
''And when all's been said and done
It's the things that are given, not won
Are the things that you earned''
made it to Sault Ste Marie yesterday (240 km day) Headin up around Lake Superior now - planning on hitting Lake Superior Provincial Park campgrounds tonight and actually might go in the lake!!! (he's not a big water guy) Says it was stinking hot and pretty boring scenery but it's supposed to get pretty scenic from now to Thunder Bay. Went into a little restaurant where the waitress mentioned "we have a special all-u-can-eat buffet tonight for $15" - WHaaa!!!! their mistake - he went 'Homer' on them and pretty much wiped them out - best perogies he's ever tasted. Waitress came by on plate 3 and asked if he was thinking of coming up for air. Burning over 6000 calories a day - any special no sugar/no crap/whole foods diet is history.
Riding for hours with no traffic lights, no stop signs, few cars - says it's pretty wild and makes him realize how much he has to slow down and stop even while riding around here "in the country". Seeing lots of people riding with loaded up bikes going the other way! DOH!!! Once heard his name being called out a car window - Huh? - turned out to be a fellow bike racer he knows from the city - loaded him up with some granola bars and a couple waters and sent him on his way again. he's also had to load up on more butt cream already - the saddle sores are starting to get a little brutal otherwise he's having a great time doing what he loves most - riding hard.
seriously, i just want to wish my buddy steve a safe trip. he left this morning from his place in bolton at 6am - on his bike - for vancouver. total mileage is close to 4700km and he's hoping to ride around 200 a day. that should get him there in approximately 3 weeks! his wife lexi is flying out to meet him for a well deserved holiday!!
here's a shot of all the krap he had to pack . . .
and here it is all loaded on his bike! amazing! i think he said it weighed in at 65lbs. i couldn't fit that in a duffel bag for gawd sakes!
i hope to get updates from lexi, and will keep you posted. i think this is so amazing and those of you who know him will probably agree that he should have no problem getting there!!
may the wind be at your back my friend, although i truly think you're going the wrong direction for that . . .
very spontaneous, last-minute, book-a-flight-at-6-in-the-morning-to-the-wrong-province decision. i was really wanting to visit tone out east, so wtf - go for it! left last saturday and got to ST. JOHN'S newfoundland - not SAINT JOHN new brunswick - by noon! and 2 hours later, tone had me climbing signal hill . . .
what a gorgeous start to my east coast holiday!
3 hours of glorious hiking with a lot more exploring to come . . .
this is holland's really tall boyfriend, ian . . .
man this horse is big! kendra - meet fleurina . . .
so like i mentioned above, before the whole horsey thing, i managed to put in just under 3 hours - palgrave up to hwy 9 and back - on the bruce. and ya know, you sometimes see the strangest things when you're running . . .
thursday, i ran up . . .
and up, the dingle . . .
and of course i had to stop at my fave spot along the way - the creek . . .
and admire my new tatt - which i absolutely LOVE . . .
and finally, it was back to private torture with the mighty one this week! 10 x 100m SPRINTS while pushing the prowler weighing 125lbs! FUCK i love this shit! check out the shirt . . .
i got these pics from the cycle for sight page the other day and thought i'd pass them along. awesome shot of michael and sheldon coming into the finish.
little miss vivian and her partner . . .
daina and me rolling in . . .
coming up to the gore . . .
ah, the birthday tree . . .
the 'cookie' couple strikes again - another note!!
took the giant into crossfit on sunday and was the only victim. not so bad though - had father jimmy all to myself!! little annoyed doing deadlifts - had 190 on the bar and somehow managed to tweak the back. grrrrr! dropped the bar immediately and settled for a much lighter weight and a bunch of push-ups.
after i was done the wod, we both decided it would be a good day for breakfast, so we did just that! mmm - omelets and bacon! and check out the inov8 crossfit shoes, the harley sox and the cages on the pedals! this guy is awesome!
and today i drove myself south of 7 to get some more work done by my favorite tattoo artist glen at art addictions inc. i basically told him what i wanted, and he did the rest!
thanks glen - i LOVE it!!!
good job girlfriend . . .
stoopid glasses keep falling off . . .
and we celebrated andrea's birthday with a cheesecake. man she's jacked!
mmm cheesecake!
did the august long weekend workout at the birthday tree!
nice bench jump andrea!
the girls even did their own thing one night when i was really crabby and had to get in a crossfit class. look real close and you'll see a snail crawling up jan's shirt!!!
we were all pretty stoked with the new equipment i managed to beg, borrow and steal for ghetto. check out the rings and the pylon orange boxes . . .
we even got a chalkboard . . .
and the best - a pull-up bar! wahoo! thanks dunc! although i'm not sure exactly how happy the girls are now that they have to use it.
great great job my friends - you are all amazing and i salute your strength!! fantastic!!
so the idea behind this race was to see how many 10k loops you could complete in your choice of time - 6 hour, 12 or 24. i was in for the 12 hour.
we all looked a little bagged here! when i asked kim if i looked really bad, she graciously answered, 'as good as one can expect after having run for 12 hours'. ahahhaa! classic! she managed an amazing 90k! great job my little blond amiga!
ali's partner richard - after having run 50k in the 6 hour and placing 6th i believe!
and of course i had to get the traditional 'post-race mangled feet shot' . . .
what a fun event! had a large chocolate milk and a burger at the finish. stopped at the hockley store on the way home for a coffee and a monster choco-chip cookie, and eventually finished with a large cappuccino skor blizzard from the dq ! ultras are the BEST excuse for post-run feeding frenzies!
and finally, a shot of miss lilian stretching in the sun up on the treehouse balcony - ahh, to be a kat. . .
and as always, special thanks to derrick and the mighty alex for getting me there!
and here it is all loaded on his bike! amazing! i think he said it weighed in at 65lbs. i couldn't fit that in a duffel bag for gawd sakes!
i hope to get updates from lexi, and will keep you posted. i think this is so amazing and those of you who know him will probably agree that he should have no problem getting there!!
