Another November Weekend

My Rockies all lit up.

After my big ride last Sunday I was feeling a little sore and worn out. After a light recovery ride to and from work Monday I wasn't feeling any more refreshed. The doggies got a chilly walk where I froze my face off and then it was just about time for my 8:30 bedtime and sleeping like the dead for 9 hours! I woke up sore and tired anyway, so, with 13 Reckers signed up for home ice Tuesday night, I passed on the game and took the night off other than another dog walk. More hibernation. The same equation for the snowy cold Wednesday too. By Thursday I just needed to do something other than walk! "Sore" goes away with movement, so the balance is tricky! Off to spin class though for some social stationary riding.

Friday I worked from home and got out with Sante for a lunch time run in Bowmont. I put a little more speed into it than my reboot run a couple weeks back, and my legs sure were grumpy about it. Sante, on the other hand, was super happy about the whole idea. Good times in the park with Mom! After that I was able to get in to see the chiropractor ... she's new ... she seems too little to be able to get me any release. She's not too sure what to do with my uber tight back and traps.

Saturday I took Sante for another daylight romp in Bowmont. Along the way we met a gal I know and her friends and their three dogs. Once again Sante found herself in a beat down. This time the responsible owners got it stopped pronto without any damage and we continued walking with the group. Sante kept to herself but wasn't so scared that she was clinging to me by any means. I hope she can build up some confidence. I'm not sure what to do for her but she's obviously giving off some signals to other dogs that say "take me down, I'm weak!" Just a soft, unsure puppy in a big dark dog's body. She'll be two in a month ... more and more maturity should help. This is a switch for me after managing Hatcher's protective dog-aggression issues for years.

After that I headed out to Bragg Creek to meet up with Michele and a couple new-to-me riders, Alison and Daryl. We hit highway 66 and rode west and back again. The road was in the shade and it was a little chilly but not too bad. The road itself was dry and clear while the shoulder was patchy with some snow and icy spots. No problem though. It felt great to be out on the Norco again. Still in the honeymoon stage with the new bike. I love it!

Today another, longer, Bowmont hike with Sante and the chickadees. I spent some time in the woods today and a couple of times, when I'd stop, a group of chickadees would swoop in and land in the branches beside me. Someone's obviously conditioned them to get snacks from humans. I see little heaps of seeds and even carrots and celery piles in the woods. I hope the hungry snacking bunnies aren't just becoming easy pickin's for the coyotes! The coyotes are abundant in Calgary.

Then I did an indoor workout on the bike. For my brother Marc's information, I don't actually ride laps in the basement on my "indoor bike." The bike goes on a trainer. The photo says it all if you look at Sante's face: riding inside is less fun! However, I'm putting my training into a coach's hands as of this week and have to trust her plan if I want to achieve the healthy gains I'm looking for into the next mountain bike season. We have an understanding that I want to be outside as much as possible though! I hope you do too! Get outside!

 

 

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Welcome weekend for the Threshold ...

Friday Spin

Monday was an icy commute again on the spiked tires. No issues other than some apprehension and a snail's pace. I actually dropped a note to the city via an internet form about what we can expect for conditions of the "Priority 1" pathways. Evidently they listened as the paths were salted the next day. I didn't bike-commute again until Thursday but Michele and Tracy noticed the improvement. Maybe it was lucky timing or maybe the communication helped. Either way, I'm hoping for some clear riding after future "snow events" this winter.

The rest of the week's activities included a hockey game Tuesday night, time trial night at spin class Thursday, a light spin Friday (on my new bike!), and some shinny Friday night. Go legs! Then it was the weekend. I really do live for weekends, despite things looking up a little at work last week.

Wolf Shadows

Saturday morning Riley came by for a sleepover weekend. So of course we had to get out to Bowmont for a romp. We picked Toby up on the way and I hit the trails with my wolf pack. Winter has stepped aside for a while in southern Alberta and the trails were equally sloppy muddy and slippery icy. Nobody cared though! We had a great time.

Heading back from Cochrane

Then I took my new Norco Threshold A1 (thanks to Kurt and Shane at Bow Cycle for setting me up!) out for a spin on the pathway out to the East Village. Nice! I love it. Super smooth shifting, light-touch disc braking, and a perfect fit. Plus it's a sexy black matt with red accents. Sweet! I've designated my second-hand Scott CX bike the indoor bike. No more hassle swapping wheels, removing fenders, and ... no more brake roulette outside in the snowy/slushy winter conditions. The Norco's disc brakes are fail-safe in the wintry stuff, and it's got internal cable routing to keep the winter grime off the cables. I'm all set. Plus, I keep hearing "you can never have too many bikes" ... bike people enable this habit.

Mmmmmocha

Today was a Dead Sister / Spin Goat ride with Michele. We represent two clubs, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about: I'm a Spin Sister and Michele rides with the Dead Goats. Michele's my reliable winter riding buddy ... she never says no when I suggest a ride! Today we met at Cadence and headed out for a Cochrane loop. The Norco's got some harder gearing than the Kate-modified Scott, so I was wondering how that was going to feel on the big hills. COP switchbacks were the first test. A noticible difference. I definitely need to build up some strength and power to manage the gearing. Jury's out about whether I'll stick with that plan or adjust the gearing. Hmmm. At any rate, I climbed that and every other hill on our ride (2300 feet of climbing in all). We rode into a headwind to Cochrane, skipped "the Bison Road" since it looked sketchy with ice, and stopped at Java Jamboree for gourmet grilled cheese and killer mochas. Then it was up up up the hill and back east to Calgary.

Michele and Alberta hay.

That wore me out! The legs haven't felt this spent in a long time. But really who cares! I was outside, on my bike, under a gorgeous warm sun all day. In November!

Get outside!

My old friend, Riley.

 

Miss Sante

 

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Frosty Weekend

A run along the Bow.

Monday and Tuesday commutes on the bike were the end of the two wheel travel with some more snow arriving. A hockey game Tuesday night, and then a couple of lazy days before a terminally boring spin in my living room Friday in front of the TV. So boring, in fact, that the next day I couldn't face another spin, despite the -25C wind chill factor. Not quite ready to get out on the bike in the deep freeze, I actually bundled up and laced up the trail running shoes for the first time in a hundred years. Ok, I did go for a run in Seattle this summer before embarking on the cruise ship, but I was in my regular runners, not my trail runners. Sante was all in ... not quite as fun as when Mom can keep up with her on the wheels, but a jog is better than a walk!

Sante and the steaming Bow.

To my surprise it didn't suck. I ran a nice steady slow pace and managed to go 45 minutes without stopping or walking. I guess this bike fitness crosses over. Ha ha! Of course, just like the Seattle experience, this one resulted in some really sore legs today. (I need to run more regularly and reap the benefits instead of the pain.) So some light recovery was in order.

First I took Sante to the river path for a brisk morning walk. All good times until she got beat up by another dog. I won't go into it but she got a couple chunks taken out of her flank and her back leg. I took her home and cleaned her up. (I'm getting used to frozen blood. What's with that?!) Thankfully no stitches required so we avoided a trip to the vet.

The Bow being wintery.

I debated all day yesterday about what to do for a workout today. I have a great network of active friends and thus lots of options at times. I could have gone cross country skiing with any number of people (though my newly purchased skis aren't going to be ready until next Friday, I could have borrowed some), hiking, or riding if I could find someone crazy enough to go with me. Enter Michele! I figured I could use some time on the new studded bike tires to get my confidence up before the commute tomorrow morning. So we bundled up against the -25C windchill and struck out on a slow spin on the bike path.

We rode to Cafe Rosso in Ramsay and got a coffee and a snack to warm up. Not long after we got there Kate and Jon showed up for their warm up treat too. Team Ridley's out training for the Andalucia Bike race in February.

Yeah, it was a frosty cold weekend but with the right clothes and the right attitude, you can get outside (stay off the treadmills and trainers) and see some beautiful sights and breath in some amazing fresh air. Nice! And today was Remembrance Day ... a day to honour the sacrifices made for this awesome country we live and play in. Lest we forget.

 

My dad and brother honouring the day.

Studded winter tires!

Michele and the Bow.

 

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Hockey, Spin, Hockey, Hockey, Hockey and more Hockey.

Can you spot the raven?

Last week's time on the bike was limited to Jeff's spin class. It felt great to get the pedals moving again, even if I was going nowhere while I was doing it.


The weekend was a tournament weekend with the hockey girls. Suz piece-mealed a team together and we all went out to Golden to enjoy the mountains and some ice time. To keep the biking theme going, we roped Sarah into dusting off her skates for the first time in 7 years. So we had three Spin Sisters on the ice all weekend. Woo!

On Saturday, we took the first game easily then lost the second game 2-1. Sunday morning, with some ass-dragging, we won the next game and earned the chance to play for second place. After a nasty barfy breakfast (who deep-fries french toast?!) at a local spot, we won our fourth game and took home the gold-painted hockey stick and bottle of schnapps. That's right!

Sunday morning coffee.

All in all a great weekend spent on the ice and inside the clouds shrouding Kicking Horse resort. Thanks to Sarah for letting Sante and I bunk at her place on the mountain for the weekend!

This morning ... Monday ... brought a wake-up temperature of +9C. That meant a ride downtown instead of sitting in traffic! I was a little nervous on the path but I only saw one patch of wet that had a little white in it. :) Clear riding in and a glorious sunny ride home at the end of my workday. Ah, I haven't seen the sun in a couple of weeks!

Spin Sisters on ice.

 

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