Mission Accomplished

I know it's only numbers but it's what gets me out of bed every morning. 1224 km for the month which puts me 15 ahead of my 2014 total. Feels great.

posted from Bloggeroid

Big Month in the Saddle

I'm lucky a broken seatpost bolt didn't land me in a heap on the side of the road. Had I been cruising along no hands or in traffic things might have ended badly. As it was I felt something bang on the frame and then the seat was loose and falling while I stopped. With no way to fix the seat to the post I rode the 7km home, standing. 

bike shorts are no help here

I've been geared to leave for Calgary for more than a month now. I've changed Brandon hotel reservations three times so hopefully they won't have it messed up. Maybe throwing myself into more miles on the bike is my way to burn off some of the time before we leave, I'm not sure. Doing 20 km before work gets me in a very good and energetic mood early in the day. 

2 more weeks until I can update this shot!!

Brandyn has requested a picture here, somebody needs to fix the spelling though

Duck Duck Dock

As we sat on the deck at Mike and Norina's out at Wild Goose a family of ducks swam into the small bay. They hopped up onto a small rock about 150 yards away and even with binoculars we couldn't count them all. They came closer and passed right in front of the dock then returned and were running on the water and diving for food. They came and went again but on the last pass one of the little guys decided to hop up on the dock and after a few tries was successful. They resembled penguins with their underdeveloped featherless wings and the way they hopped out of the water and then stood tall to shake off the water. Several others tried to join the first but suffered numerous failures, until one of them got smart and went to the very end where there's a ladder. They all lined up and ended up sleeping in a pile on the end of the dock, 18 ducklings and one adult. Either the other adults are away for the weekend or ran into a predator of some kind. Quite a chore for one adult. It was a very entertaining 45 minutes. Sorry about the picture, that's full zoom on my phone.

I surpassed my biggest month of riding in the last few years with a couple hours early Sunday morning before the heat of the day arrived. I'm at 1046 km for the month and should pass my 2014 total by the end of the week. My legs are so ready for Banff.

Making Miles

On my way home tonight I'll pass 900km for the month with more than a week left to add to that. I've been on a bike every day this month averaging nearly 40km a day. My legs feel very strong for a fat old fart. Hills that would normally grind me down just seem to pass. I have just over 300 km left to surpass last year's total. I'm aiming somewhere between 6 and 7000 for the year. My biggest year was 2008 when I topped 7000km .

Last night I came close to being doored less than 5 minutes from home. I had taken a 20km long ride home and had just crossed a side street and as I approached a car parked on the side of the road another that had been parked ahead of it on the wrong side of the road pulled out pushing me towards the parked car. And then the door of the parked car opened, I yelled "hey" and the door closed about halfway leaving me about 8 inches to squeeze through without even touching the brakes. "Sorry" I heard as I continued, yep everybody's sorry.

There are so many inconsiderate people I come across every day. From the golfers that use the pathway as a parking lot, to the woman who stops on the yellow line to water her two tiny dogs. Most give me the obligatory "sorry", but not all. Now as I pass I usually mutter under my breath, "yeah I know...you're sorry".

I have renamed my long distance all road Trek 750 after the women's record holder of the Tour Divide, Lael Wilcox. I still can't believe how far she rode (Fairbanks to Banff) and then went and killed the record. I'll have enough storage to carry my Nikon DLSR and an extra lens, phone, tools, pump, tubes, food and water for the day.

In three weeks we'll be heading for Calgary. Hopefully 'we' will include Sal because she really needs a break. I'm planning one day, all day in Banff on a bike, taking in every trail I can. All of the miles I'm doing now are building towards that day.  I have an internet friend that lives there so I hope I can hook up with him for a ride or at least to talk about some suggested can't miss rides. The images on his blog make me drool. I doubt I'll be riding the road to Moraine Lake as he did in October both because there is too much traffic in August, and (the more detrimental reason) that it climbs constantly for 14km. The climb might kill me but what a place to go.

Kevin Tweed on the road to Moraine Lake, Valley of 10 Peaks Oct. '14

Lael in 'Banff' mode

Very Satisfying

Michael is in town for a very short visit to pick up a car and ferry it back west. After being away from home for about 12 hours he was face timing with Cullen. I would have expected him to be basking in the break from daily life with two very active little boys. Instead his face was as excited as if they had been apart for a month. It was so satisfying to witness his joy at being with Cullen even if only online. They are both real characters and together make for some hilarious, loud, crazy and touching moments.