Wedding Weekend

After two long years of anticipation, AJ and Jess' big day seems to have come out of nowhere and landed on the calendar.

Thursday was the rehearsal and everything went well. Cullen and Campbell behaved unbelievably throughout the time at the church. They will definitely steal the show, at least until Jess makes her entrance. The party at Chanterelle was excellent, the food and lounge were perfect. A very classy place for smaller group events.

This is the first time in several years that all three kids have been in town at the same time. We had Cullen sleep over Tuesday. Sal was getting her nails done so I had some time with him and then she spent her time the following morning. He never fails to put a smile on my face. We watched some video of him playing baseball and we were both laughing. 

Saturday was a perfect day weather wise and in pretty much every other way. Cullen and Campbell came over early in the morning and then we all went to the church together. We helped them get dressed for the ceremony and then waited for things to get started. They remained very will behaved and when I saw them heading down the aisle something got in my eyes. There were a few times my eyes gave my feelings away during the day. It was great to see Sal's mom at the ceremony, I know that made her very happy.

The ceremony was surprisingly quick, smooth and beautiful. Off to Vickers Park for family pictures and then to the hotel for a short rest. The dinner, speeches and party after were all excellent. The wedding party had a ton of fun all day. I'm fairly sure that the day Jess and AJ envisioned was the day we all got to experience.

Some of the fantastic pictures in Maria Maria Photo's sneak peek.....

Canada Day Ride

Well it wasn't in Banff or even particularly long, heck it wasn't even on Canada Day but it was an eye opener.

I haven't done anything longer than 20km all year. The long layoff has admittedly taken away some of the motivation to go for a ride. I planned to at least take a longish ride on Cananda Day but the weather was less than ideal. When today started off sunny my mind was made up. With my normal long distance ride (Sophia) up for sale, I decided on Lisbeth. Initially I thought an hour and 20km would be more than enough and have me back home before the day heated up.

Big tires make things more comfy for all of your contact points. Feet, hands and especially butt enjoy the time on the road a whole lot more. I got up through the college and university campuses and then deviated from the plan and headed west on Oliver Road. Things got a little tough as my calves started threatening to cramp and my hands were tingling. Uphill and into the wind on a 30+ pound bike didn't help. 

I turned off on Mapleward and after climbing a small hill enjoyed a couple of kms of gliding downhill. That seemed to rejuvenate me. When I got to Arthur St., Lisbeth made another right turn and then kept going on 20th Side Road. I came back on Rosslyn Road with a beautiful tailwind. It's not often I can get Lisbeth into top gear but she flew in with only a few cars to deal with. All told 40km under the tires.

I've been tired on a bike. Exhausted, winded, sore and even bleeding. Hot, sweaty, cold and shivering. But I don't feel fat and I don't feel old on a bike. That's worth suffering through all the rest.