Jill 2 Dogs 0

Got out both today and Saturday for about 50km each. Saturday's loop featured two encounters with the canine species. The first on city Road as a medium sized dog came streaking from behind me across the road and almost got hit by a car coming from from behind. He looped behind me and then came by for another pass but I clicked down one gear and came out of the saddle for a brief sprint and left him behind. The next was on the new path to Parkdale as I was coming in off the highway. There was almost nobody on the path which is rare and just as I came close to the end there was one fellow walking his dog. At the last second the pooch decided there was something interesting on the other side of the path and I faced a leash stretched across the path between dog and owner. Not a big deal just jump on the brakes, except when clipped into the pedals an unplanned sudden stop has normally meant a new bruise on the hip. This time I reacted without thinking and as the brakes came on my foot was turning out to release and I came to a safe stop and simply put the foot down until the apologetic dog owner wrangled in the curious dog. 

I made it out to Wild Goose today in about 45 minutes and then turned and discovered the crosswind was more of a tail wind and would be a headwind all the way home.

AJ's Dodgers picked up where they left off last season thumping the A's 13-4 in the season opener at basball central. 

The Wedding Tree

According to legend, everyone married at the Riu gets a wedding picture around this tree. I bet not everyone has a 'monkey' version.

Just A Day at the Beach

What Are They Looking At?

I really like this effect, not hard to do but very time consuming.

Group Shot

Here's a shot Mike took with the self-timer on the new camera, everyone that came down to Jamaica. I got 200 of the pix we took on a cd from Mike when Jen visited last week and have been gimping some of them. 

Bits and Pieces

Happy Birthday Sal!

Sal and I headed for Grand Marais Sunday afternoon. We had a nice lunch at the Blue Water and then began a stroll around the shops. 'Around' them is all we got to do as most of them were closed. We had a nice relaxing day anyway, came home for supper and watched a movie. 

Over the weekend I have not put on many miles as we were busy Sunay and Saturday was a bit on the cool side, along with high wind and bouts of snow. So I spent some time working on the girls in the basement. Jill got a tape job on the bars and has her original bar-ends back. Molly had her chain shortened and the crank is now on a manageable gear. Eyowen claimed the On-One Mary bars back from Bridget. Bridget remains locked up as I decide what to do with her. She might get sold, traded in or who knows. I just haven't had the urge to take her out yet.

My nomination for the Local Hockey hero fell short as Cosimo Filane was selected. He has been involved far longer than I and was part of the team that developed minor hockey in Schreiber. Hats off to him.

I'm really enjoying searching Google Earth for spots Brian has been posting and finding some for him and any one else interested. Friday night I spent more than an hour over France. I love the way the old European cities are laid out from central spots and the patterns of hte farmland.  

If you get a chance take in the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a strange but very entertaining movie. 

The riders in the Giro d'Italia (Italian grand tour race similar to the tour de France) went on a literal work slowdown to protest the unsafe course. As one rider remained in hospital after a spill over a guardrail and 250 foot tumble, the rest of the peloton cruised along at half speed to voice their concern over their own safety. On the day the rider was injured one racer was clocked at 73mph on a descent. 

Search The Earth

Unbeknownst to me, Google has their own little contest called 'Where in the World'. So I'm moving that part of the blog to a new one called 'Search the Earth'. Click on over and try it out if exploring Google Earth or Google Maps is your thing.

Down to the Nitty Gritty

If he gets this one quickly then he spends way, way, way too much time on Google Earth.

Where in the World 11

Good Long Ride

I finally got in a good long ride this morning, heading out at 8:30 into a nice stiff headwind. Jill's computer has given me nothing but headaches lately so off it came and Bridget's was quickly installed, reprogrammed and ready to go. I had planned on about 2 hours or 40km but once I got going I just kept on chugging along into the wind. I ended up up at the corner of Barrie Drive and highway 588, about 3 km west of Stanley, just over 40km from home. The wind on my back felt great as I zipped down Barrie Drive heading back home. Sal called and to my surprise my phone worked out there. She was going for lunch so I had no reason to hurry home. I came in on 130 and carried on up to Oliver Road and then home. 78 km for the morning. I was tired but felt good.

Gotta Stump Them Sooner or Later

Might be an easy one but then again...

Canucks are looking pretty strong tonight and if the Hawks keep the gatekeeper busy AJ may not get his game 6. He and a buddy are off to Chicago to see Springsteen, the Cubbies and standing room for game 6 of the Hawks and 'Nucks. 

Ok Mr. Astronaut, Try This One

My last irregular day off for a while so Eyowen and I got some banking and errands done and picked up some new tires for Molly. I'm looking forward to a ride tomorrow but the weather is still going to be cool. Ginko is spending the night. We had supper and watched a bit of a movie, he got his reward for a good week at the DQ and then we all curled up on the couch under a blanket to finish the movie. He didn't quite make it.