February Mileage

I just finished 15 miles on Ethel to get within a mile of my goal. My butt must be getting tougher because I can still sit down to write his post. I'm going to be away for 4 day weekends twice in March so I have kept my goal manageable. The weather has been tough today as I was all pumped to ride outside as I have all week but then...snow. Warm but too much snow for me with all the ice hidden under it. The first events for the cycling club come up in April so I want to build for that. I'm not sure how anything works but am looking forward to it. It will be good to see how I stack up against the other entries in the 'masters' class, that's the 50+ gang.
Treadmill: 19 miles
Cecelia: 49 miles
Molly: 10 miles
Ethel: 201.2 miles
Total: 279.2 miles
Weight +/-:-6
March goal: 350 miles, 4 pounds

Monday Morning Weigh-In X-86

Yes it's that time of the week again, Monday morning. Oh boy! I hit the scale after a mile on the treadmill and was ok with another pound. It was a bit cool this morning so I waited for lunch and then decided to ride back to work. Cecelia was thrilled to get out again. We took the long way home heading north from work up to John St. and then Oliver through LU and the (icy) bike path. The sidewalks along the west side of Memorial were a mix of sand, ice, slush and water. Slow going and very demanding on the balance. The slower you go the harder it is to keep everything in line and moving. I feel so good on Cecelia, I could just keep on going when I hit a dry stretch. The round trip ended up being almost 9 miles so if I can do that every day it will really help. As a bonus all I wanted for supper was salad, can't ruin a good ride now can we? Gotta go, I need a few extra miles today if I'm going to hit my goal of 280 for the month.

Long Slow Ride

The temps rose enough today to get out for a good long ride. I decided Cecelia would get to go out as Molly is torn down and waiting for some goodies and it's just too messy out there for Bridget. We headed north along the sidewalks of Memorial and then Algoma, did a lap at Boulevard and then headed home through LU and the path system. Things were still frozen early but coming back was wet and dirty as the sand got picked up and thrown on the frame. For the most part it was pretty slow going, dodging the puddles, easing over icy sections and braking for the slop. We managed 16.5 miles in a couple hours, lots of fresh air for me and a good cleaning for Cecelia.

Supper With Ginko

We were at Pizza Hut but 'HAM' was definitely on the menu. After devouring 1/2 a pizza the Ginko polished off some ice cream while making faces for the camera.

Wrestling Match is Over

I finished lining these monsters this morning after 14 hours on them. The final bill came to over $2800 so it was well worth the struggles. And they paid with a visa card within an hour of picking them up. I wanted to get some better pix but the driver was waiting as I put in the last screw so I only had time for a quick shot of them in the back of the truck.

Monday Morning Weigh-In X-85

I can probably thank a job I have in the shop at work for better progress this week. It's a band from the bow-thruster on a grain ship I have been wrestling with that weighs about 400 pounds. I was just trying to get the old lining off and swinging a 5lb. sledge for about 4 hrs. along with just moving the thing around the shop is a workout. I'm using our shipping dock lift to raise and lower it as I bang away on the 2" solid rivets. Great times, but it will be about $2000 once I finish and an extra pound or two for sure.
X-85 gets me 1 pound from dropping another digit, it will be 230 and change instead of 240 hopefully by next week.

Molly's First Outing

I gathered up some courage, pumped up the tires and adjusted the seat and took Molly on her first ride this afternoon. The feel is very different and since I haven't been on a road bike in 30'something years I was a bit leary but got used to it pretty quickly. Narrow handlebars are the most noticeable difference and the handling is a bit twitchy but not as bad as I imagined. I was afraid to get up out of the saddle, the brakes aren't great so I didn't want to let her go down the bridges. The 8 miles to Mission Marsh and back went by quickly and if the roads were a bit drier and there was no meeting to attend I would have gone a lot longer.
Hockey was a bit tense this weekend as our playoffs got rolling. Our 6th place team is tied for the lead after 2 games of the 5 game round robin. It was a tough day for a couple of the goalies as one muffed an icing an ended up with the puck in the net and another tried sweeping it behind his net and put it dead on the post. I'm going to offer some bungie cords to keep them tied into their nets next week. And then there was the scuffle in the hallway after the game, what fun!

A Cool One

After posting last night I got the bright idea that today would be a good day to ride to work since I was staying over lunch anyway. The Weather channel said -12 so I threw a light on Cecelia and bundled up. I was fine except for the vents in the helmet channeling cold air to my head. The Buff kept my face and neck good and warm but wasn't up to the wind on top of the old noggin' which was making it more like -24 and I was heading straight into it most of the way. The new tires felt great as she rolls much smoother but I'm not so sure about ice handling, next year studs for sure. Despite a bit of cold I was happy just to get out for the first time this month.

Way Behind

I just read a report from the North American Handmade Bicycle show that listed Portland Oregon (home of the show) as having the highest percentage of commuters in the states at 3.2% of the workforce. Amsterdam blows them away with 40%! I can't wait to get back to daily rides to and from, its a great way to wind down and forget everything that frustrates you during the work day. The pic is one of the bikes form the show.

Monday Morning Weigh-In X-82

Not as good as I had seen earlier in the week but another pound. The damn weather has turned colder and getting out for a ride seems unlikely this week. But when I do I'll be ready. Seen here under my helmet is my 'Buff', an all-purpose piece of headgear. This is a polar version which has some polar fleece around the neck. It can be worn as a bellaclava, a headband, a mask, a bandana, a beanie or a tube top for the ladies. If you watch 'Survivor' this is the headband they have been wearing, less the polar addition. I've tried it once outside under the helmet and it works great. It keeps out the wind and lets out the moisture. I wear it every day around my neck and feel a whole lot warmer.

The State of Music

Ok, I have an open mind when it comes to music. I listen to everything from classical to country. Yes my favourites are still classic rock, but come on. If you heard the 'Record of the Year' on the Grammys last night, use the winning melody? and insert these words "Amy wins the Grammy I say No-NO-NO!"
Kanye lost his mother and replaced her with his ego. Stevie Wonder must have been in charge of the evenings fashions. Give me a 30 year old tune and I'll be happy, most of what I heard last night was awful. The classical duet was of more interest, at least you could appreciate the talent.

Spring...Right!

Just as the weather seemed to be getting better, some dumbass had to declare 'spring is here' and the temperature drops to -21 and the wind kicks up and the snow starts falling.

Cecelia/Eyowen Gets New Shoes

I've had these for a while but wanted to wait until winter riding was over. It's official, spring is here. My daily commutes will begin March 3rd. These Panaracer Crosstowns hold a bit more pressure than the 15 + year old offroad tires and will roll a whole lot smoother. The wheels will be moved to Eyowen's frame once the painting is completed and things are a bit cleaner out there.

What's New

I got a few things done today, bingo reports were number one of the todo list for far too long but they are all caught up. I picked up a few tools and managed to learn how to fix a chain, installed the clipless pedals on Bridget and lock-on grips on Eyowen's handlebars.
I'm going to the 'bikes for humanity' session tomorrow night. I decided to give that a try to help out and hone my skills a bit. They are currently loading a container for shipment to Africa.
AJ and I did supper tonight, just bs'ed about the Super Bowl and other things. I guess Ginko is coming for a sleepover on Friday so the weekend is looking good, and the weather is supposed to be warm so maybe we'll get out for a ride.
So far I'm keeping close to my required 10 miles a day for the month, I'm short 2 miles but have 10 to play with.

Monday Morning Weigh-In X-81

Only a pound but I'm finally off the 'plateau'.

Winding Down

Another long hockey season is winding down. One more weekend in the regular season and then playoffs and we'll be done March 2nd. I had to do a little bit of tweaking in the schedule, Easter snuck in early and with the kids March Break would have meant a 3 week layoff to go back for one or two games to finish everything.
After 22 games played for all 6 teams, 12 points separates 1st from 6th. Just over 22% of our games have ended in ties. Not letting the coaches draft the teams has been one of the better ideas I've had, some of them just don't do well and the kids end up paying for it all season. This season we ranked them with a couple of drills and then as they scrimaged we ranked them again and then I put it all in a spreadsheet, got the brothers and sisters, cousins, 'need a rides', and best friends colour coded and put on teams. The rankings were totalled for each line and also by team so everything is balanced mathematically. The screen ends up looking like a peacock exploded but the effort has paid off and not one coach has complained about his team all season and parents love it. In our first 15 games there was only a total 15 goal difference between the winners and the losers. That same weekend the Lakehead Minor IP2 season opened (7-8 year olds) and one of the first games posted was a 15-0 blowout. Those games don't work for anybody.

A Movie Not to Miss

Sal had an early evening and I had taken a chance that we might both be able to stay awake long enough to catch a movie. I picked up 'Reign Over Me'. It was excellent. "We laughed, we cried", no really we did. It has the 9-11 attacks as the cause of the story but it is not about the event. Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle are the main characters and both are very good. I won't spoil the story for you but if you get a chance, it's definitely worth a look.