A Wild Finish

Heading into the last round of Northwood playoff games one team has clinched a spot in the Championship game and four others all have a shot. Next Saturday is going to be a hectic, tense day with the final three round robin games all having teams fighting for a berth in the hardware games. Brandyn scored the prettiest goal of his hockey career on Saturday after predicting that he would score one.

I took the fork from Sophia into Farzam and he quickly jumped out of the chair where he was resting on a slow Sunday afternoon. Minutes later the slightly damaged threads were re-tapped and I was leaving with the proper Campagnolo tools (borrowed) to reassemble the frame. You may save some dollars shopping online but you will never get this kind of treatment from a business that you only visit through a webpage. Support your local bike shop.

And for today's Marinoni Monday, a close up of a 1982 Marinoni from the Schwar Flickr page. The chromed lugs and pantographed fork make me drool with envy. Sophia is a beautiful bike (imho) but can't quite match this one.

gorgeous detail

Highlights of #56

My 56th started with a project I had been reading about, lubricating chains with paraffin wax. It takes a little longer than simply dribbling some more lube on but is supposed to keep things nice and clean and it doesn't attract dirt. We'll see.

Sal made me some eggs with cheese and spicy salami and gave me a bottle of Effen cucumber vodka. I love this stuff in a caesar.

Next I took a 90 minute, 34 km ride on Lisbeth who has seen limited action this month. I've been on a road bike kick lately but she still provides a very comfy ride and is rock solid.

After a shower we headed out on a few errands. Petries was our first stop as I needed a master link for Bonnie to complete her chain service. The road was 'closed' in front of the shop but we snuck through. Parked next to the shop in the lane was Cindy Loohoo's food truck. These are popping up around town and I guess it's about time. We shared some fries and then finished up our errands. Not a great day for the road to be closed.

At supper we went to Mama Alfa's for her amazing Caesar salad and pizza. If you haven't tried this place put it on your to do list. We've never had anything but great food at this little place.

Sal made me a carrot cake and Aj, Jess, Jen, Curtis and Brandyn came by for a slice. While they were there Cullen dropped in via facetime. Man that kid can pack away the food. 

Finally we decided to take in an outdoor movie, Evergreen the local volunteer group was screening 'Despicable Me' at Widnall Park so we grabbed our folding chairs, sweaters and some snacks and watched it on the side of the building. The city was running the same movie down at Marina Park but with Ribfest going on it was going to be pretty busy there. The kids running the movie were a bit disorganized and the crowd was thin but it's a great movie for adults and the few kids who actually sat and watched.

All in all a nice relaxing day.

Waxing Molly's chain

Effen Cucumber vodka, best caesar ingredient

Food truck outside Petrie's, great fries

Beer, caesar salad and...

pizza at Mama Alfa's

outdoor showing of Despicable Me

Almost Packed, Ready to Go

I don't leave for Calgary until Saturday but have almost completed packing. This is going to be a long week as I try to get everything tied up with the house, hockey registrations and so on. I have enough music on the xoom (318 albums) to drive to the moon and back without listening to the same thing twice.

Brandyn and I went for another ride on Sunday over to Mission Marsh. He handled the bridges with no effort at all. I'm nervous with him at times but he has great control of the bike so I'm learning to trust his skills. We rode up on several deer as they aren't really afraid of human visitors over there and the bikes are quiet enough not to spook them. On the way back we stopped in at Charry Park where there is a small bike and skate board park. He had been trying to hit every puddle all morning and here he found a nice big one and rode through it over and over. He was very proud of the mess he made of his t-shirt. We stopped at his house for a change of clothes and then back to our place where we made salad to go with our scampi pizza. He helped cut up the salad and enjoyed it along with the pizza and cucumbers in vinegar. We started an online book for Cullen and then he messed around on the computer while the thunder boomed overhead. Back to his place for supper to wrap up another great day. Funny how one thing in common can change the vibe between us so quickly.

link to video

Mr. Cool, mountain biker

Having a blast

the mud makes it official

Epic Day

As bike rides go today wasn't long, it wasn't grueling, it wasn't even enough to break a sweat but it will probably mean more than any ride since Conquer Cancer. Brandyn and I set out for a day long adventure based around riding.

I set off at 8:45 with Lisbeth on the rack to park the car at the end of the bike path in Park Dale. I rode back to Curtis and Jen's to pick him up.We headed out and at first he was hesitant to leave the sidewalk but I convinced him he would be fine if he just stayed on the side of the deserted Sunday morning roads. We crossed a walk bridge by the CLE and he let me know that was his first bridge. I told him there would be lots of firsts today. We went through the parking lot and then walked across May St. and crossed another bridge to get to the bike path behind the McIntyre Center. From there it was bike path all the way to our destination 8.17 km later. At one point when he was coasting along and standing he said it felt like flying, "he gets it", I thought to myself.

We packed Sharon and Lisbeth and stopped at Timmy's for a coffee and muffin/lemonade and chocolate chunk cookie. A quick trip out Arthur Street and we were at the the Pennock Creek Trail in the 25th Side Road Tree Farm. We searched around for a bit riding on the pine needle covered trail and then took a few steep hills via push-a-bike across a pair of bridges into the main farm.

After a half hour he was tiring so we headed back to the 25th and rode out of one parking lot and back to the other, avoiding the steep trail. We drove to Mom and Dad's where lunch was waiting. He ate the biggest meal any of us had witnessed and then we were back on the bikes up and down the camp road. He loved climbing the short hill and then gliding all the way back down. He has little fear and I had to remind him to stay on the brakes. He did very well at every new obstacle other than pushing Sharon up one of the hills. It was short but mountain goat steep so I did it twice.

We went down to the lake, I walked and he rolled down the grass hills. He threw the required rocks in to Superior and then was back on his bike doing circles in the driveway. He slept most of the way home but was awake for a second deer sighting of the day.The bear cub we had seen on the way in was nowhere to be found.

I dropped him off thinking he's had enough but he put on his helmet and rode off down the sidewalk with a "thanks poppa". No, thank you Brandyn.

at Pennock Creek Trail

around and around

time to get dizzy

the wind up

Ginko's First Free Ride

I texted Jen to see what Brandyn was up to, he was trying to ride his bike in the back yard....hmmm would he like to go for a ride. Ten minutes later we were heading over to the school yard. I made him follow me around some obstacles to see if he had enough control to go further and he seemed pretty stable. We walked across Simpson and rode all the way south on Hardistry to the Kam River Park and then along the boardwalk. Round trip was about 5 km. As we approached the house it started to rain. I got him to the door and took off trying to keep one hand over my cell phone while shifting and braking with the other. And it came down. I was totally soaked but happier than he** that I have someone to ride with and show how much fun two wheels can be. It might even be better than Minecraft but we'll let him decide that one. Next time the bike paths or the tree farm.

Success

I picked up Brandyn today with a single objective, he was going to ride a bike today.

We went to Petrie's and he totally clammed up. Wouldn't even tell Farz how old he was. I got him to say he liked a bmx bike but Farz found a good used Marin mountain bike that fit him. Off we went with a helmet for him and high hopes for me. I still had serious doubts.

Farz said start him on grass. So I headed to the road inside the golf course. We found a spot and we got set. I held the seat for maybe 5 steps then put my hand on his back for another 5. I let go and told him he was riding as he pedaled off. He had some trouble stopping and banged various parts a few times but never fell. We came home, made some adjustments and went to Vickers park with Bonnie on the back of the car. He had trouble so we came back and dropped Sharon (the name he selected) off and came here to work. He helped load the car with scrap from the bathroom destruction as I removed nails and cut boards to size. I hope the afternoon will be as memorable for him as it was for me.

It was so easy I think I might have been played. The little so and so was just waiting for a new ride!

First Ride

After a weekend of playoffs and fighting with a stubborn bios password in the computer which was holding up a small upgrade, I finally made it to the basement last night.  The weather is warm enough, the streets are dry enough so I pumped the tires, lubed the chain, set the tension and charged the battery for the lights. Eyowen was ready to roll this morning and so was I. 

I managed to leave early enough to get in a 'long way to work ride' of just under 6km, then home and back at lunch for another 9km. I should get to 20km for the day as long as the snow holds off. My butt is feeling the effects of walking rather than riding but the only thing I miss about walking is the chance to listen to tunes. The SIII has more than 200 complete albums stored on it and room for at least 100 more. 

The fight with the computer was worth it. A solid state drive is amazingly fast. I probably went too big since most of what I work on is stored in the cloud these days but at least I won't have to fight my way through it again. I swear Dell set the bios password when I let them in remotely to fix the registry a year ago or so. I've never set one and all the factory defaults are for the bios to be unlocked. The rep on the phone was upset that I didn't want the $200 warranty and I'm guessing he made sure I'd be calling again if anything went wrong or I tried to update anything. Sorry pal, I found the way around it.  

Ginko R. Kendall, goalie for a day.

Change of Season

Northwood playoffs ended with a pair of shutouts, no controversy, no overtime and much less drama than recent seasons. After the tightest round robin since we moved to the current format the final games were sort of anti-climatic. I've come to expect wild, crazy games with last minute goals and very loud crowds. It was loud but really tame.  The losing teams just could not score, just didn't make the connections that sometimes result in a lucky goal. Ahh.... but it's good to have it all wrapped up for another year.

Sunday saw each line play an hour exhibition game, with wanna-be goalies including one Ginko R. Kendall donning the pads. He actually made it out onto the ice this year and despite a bunch of goals he made some nice saves. Hopefully that cures the goalie bug that he caught a few years ago, it's just not that easy. I loaded the car with 6 sets of sweaters and all the spare goalie gear I could find. On the return to storage I had an extra bucket and 4 more sets of gear, so much that the back of the car was loaded right to the front seats and the rear view mirror gave me a nice view of trappers and blockers. 

A few more things to take care of, banquet and trophies, and then it's on to baseball. Fact is that already started about a week ago.

Where Did That Come From?

I was taking a walk on my lunch hour yesterday. Some of my cold weather gear was unusable because I hadn't dried it from my morning walk to work so I was a bit colder than normal and heading straight into the wind. Without really thinking about it I started jogging. I never jog, it's just too hard on the knees etc. but off I went for about a half a km. to the far point I had planned.  Not winded or sore, just sort of shaking my head as I turned back to finish the walk. I'm feeling pretty good but jogging, I don't think so. 

Northwood playoffs are going to be a mess. Final spots in the championship will probably be sorted out with a calculator. After 3 complete rounds of the round robin there are 4 of 6 teams tied in first place. The regular season champs haven't won a game and only have one goal so far, and the second place team in the regular season has managed two ties. Brandyn's team has only 2 goals but have three shutouts to give them a share of the top spot. He played his best game of the season on Sunday checking very aggressively, at least for him. We have a two week break before it all wraps up at the end of the month. 

Ginko's Ninth

Our oldest grandchild had his ninth birthday yesterday, doesn't seem possible. We went for dinner to his choice of restaurants, Tokyo House. On walking in the door the money spent to overhaul the building was obvious. The service was excellent. Unfortunately for me the quality of the food didn't quite live up to that first impression. A good selection of items on the buffet none of which were overly hot. Don't let the little chili icon on the menu fool you, spicy isn't. The sushi that was delivered to the table was the best part of the meal, I particularly liked the crab hand roll. Brandyn had a small serving of rice and lemon chicken and a few bites of sushi. Jen brought a red velvet cake and the staff played a recorded version of Happy Birsday (not a spelling mistake) as they stood by to watch him blow out the candles. He opened his gifts and it was back out into the cold.

My gift came later as Tokyo House became diarhea-ville.

   

The Cullen Show

Nanny and Brandyn tuned into the Cullen Show.

Snow Fort

On Sunday we headed to mom and dad's with the Ginko. When I saw the huge pile of snow in the driveway I knew we'd be making a snow fort. Sal wanted to make a snowman but it was too cool for the snow to be sticky. The Ginko loves digging tunnels in the snow and he started out at the top of the 12 foot high pile while I started about 8 feet south in the base. He thought we'd dig through in no time. With his tiny emergency shovel that is perfect for kids, he excavated the snow to about knee deep while I had a hole about 4 feet in and ever expanding. He then went on to making a place to store snowballs for when 'they' came. He had a whole scenario all thought out for what he would do when 'they' came, just who 'they' are remains a mystery. During the dig I took a pile of pictures and this is probably the best shot I've ever taken of the Ginko. Trying to see in the sunlight with nothing but bright snow in the background makes every shot a roll of the dice. The second one of the whole crew was handled by the tripod and self timer.
We did finally dig from the top through but from directly above. Sal made the initial break through and of course he had to slide from the top into the bottom. Earlier he jumped knees first into his snowball storage hole and could not get himself out. Tears ensued but he had a great time and had a nice long, fresh air induced nap on the way in.

Opening Day

walk:2.6 km
cycle:3km (wow)
2 pcs. toast w/peanut butter, coffee, dim sum, nachos, diet 7up

Opening day was non-eventful. Three teams picked up wins, three got losses. I found a backup timekeeper, another former player who picked it up quickly leaving me to do my running around between coaches, collecting registration and so on. Brandyn came out and I think he's over his not wanting to be. He touched the puck twice in his first shift but not much after that. His skating gets better every time he is out there. His Canadiens won 5-2.

I really wonder why some people put their kids in. One girl has missed 5 of 6 team practices and was gone again today. What is the point of taking a hard to get spot if you never show up? If they miss again I'm going to look for a replacement.

Lazy Sunday

walk:1.8km
cycle:3km
chorizo skillet, 3 coffee, turkey, ham, stuffing, salad, veggies, v8 juice, snack mix, diet pepsi, diet pepsi and Crown Royal

We had brunch with Curtis' family at the Victoria Inn, picked up a few groceries and then I headed to the Gardens for half an hour. Brandyn wasn't in the mood for hockey. I hope he was just over-tired. He wants to play but has to give himself the chance to catch up skating-wise. We went for supper to Curtis' parents place and they served a fantastic thanksgiving meal. We came home and watched some tv and went to bed early. Tomorrow is weigh-in day and after eating out 4 times in 3 days I'm hoping for a par.

The Face of a Future Star?

He came a long way this weekend. Last week he was barely standing, spent more time on his butt than his blades. This week he was moving. Small strides, the hint of a glide and a lot more blade time. He even dangled the biscuit from one side of the rink to the other. None of the other bambis could keep up. Check out the highlights.

 

He's Not Worried

Went to Ginko's t-ball kickoff last night. Got to ask 2 ladies not to smoke around the dugout and then force a catcher to wear his mask. Dad standing behind him says "he's my kid, I'm not worried". "I'm not worried about the ball, I'm worried about the bat and getting sued", I told him. He wanted to know if I was running the league. Brandyn was 2-2 at the plate.

Week 3/2
toast, banana, coffee, broccoli salad, iced tea, burger, sausage, pasta salad, diet 7up, birthday cake, iced coffee

Sal's New Ride

For her upcoming birthday and Mother's Day I had picked out a bike for Sal. This morning we loaded Sherman onto the rack on the car and took the heavyweight in to trade or sell and she tried out a Felt Cafe 7. She was thinking about an Urbana but she took an immediate liking to this far lighter and easy riding comfort bike. Comes complete with mug holder, bell and kickstand. Now I just have to get her out there.

While she was at work I went to Mom and Dad's for supper with Jen Curtis and the Ginko. I've never seen him eat so much. 2 slices of bread and then pasta WITH (News Flash!!!) sauce, and then he asked for more...twice. We have to get that sauce recipe. He was smacking around the tennis balls with his bat and I pity the coach who has to toss t-balls to him in games, he better wear a cup.

Week 1/7
banana, 3 pb cookies, 4 coffee, dim sum, salad, 1 cooler, pasta and meatballs, 2 sl. bread, cheese cake

One Horse Rodeo

Friday I was back at Petries getting frustrated by a piece of junk that someone wanted repaired. I wanted to put it and myself out of our collective misery. Nothing worked and without a major investment was ever going to work again. Myself, I would have retired the bike. Towards the end of the day electricians came in to change the ballasts and bulbs so the shop came to a standstill. Shortly after that a flood of people came in to claim their repaired bikes thankfully. There's nowhere near enough room to store bikes once they are repaired and people who are in a RUSH somehow don't show up for weeks. Tom sent a customer my way to write up a service tag so I guess he wants me to do more than adjust brakes and clean chains.

Saturday I went to Delaney to help out with a Bike Rodeo intended for 10 year olds. I assisted with the setup and then manned the Petries tent giving free basic tune-ups. Four bike shops all had tools and supplies ready to get participants into at least safe condition. Unfortunately there were more volunteers for the event than kids participating. It was clear that word never got out to enough parents. The kids that did come got a free tune-up, won prizes and had some fun learning some new skills. Another is being held in the north ward in 2 weeks and hopefully the promotion is better managed.

Brandyn stayed over last night. We had fund playing some games, watched a bit of Star Wars, pizza for supper and generally just goofed off til it was time for bed. I tried to at least teach him something on the computer while we searched for flash games, how to 'google'. Have to be careful with that as you never know what can pop out of the twisted mind of someone and end up in a search result.

This Is It, I Hope

I was stunned when I went looking for a pair of shorts early this week. I found two things, the shorts and the fact that I couldn't get my fat butt into them. That was the turning point I hope. I just can't figure out what's been going on in my head. Lying in bed I would think, no more, I just can't keep eating like I have been. And the next day I'd do it all over again. Wednesday I just stopped, and haven't eaten anything but small meals since. The cravings just seem to be gone. I'm just hoping they stay gone. More time on the bikes will help. I've been out every day this week, made my first ride out to Mission Marsh on Wednesday (no deer sightings, strange). I'm not worrying about logging every km, I'm just going to enjoy riding. I'm seriously thinking about joining the cycling club and at least having some company to pedal with on occasion. They start up at the end of the month so I'll have to make up my mind soon.

Work is about the same, quiet business-wise but busy for me. We had another big job come in from a lake boat that is going to take hours, not my favourite but we can't be choosy. The schedule is all over the place but at least if the weather continues to improve (he said as the snow starts falling) I can get out and take advantage.

I'm no longer the president of the East End Little League. I finally told them I'd had enough. I'll keep doing the books and some computer work, that or they slip back into the dark ages, but I don't mind that end at all.

Brandyn has been over a few mornings this week. He and Sal were playing tic-tac-toe. "If I go there, you'll go there, if I go here you'll go there. Why are you making this so difficult?" He comes up with some good ones. I can honestly say I haven't run into many kids with the manners he has. He's all geared up for t-ball.

Getting Ready For Halloween