Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009 Results

2nd Paris to Ancaster
2nd XC Ontario Cup #1, Mansfield
1st Super D Ontario Cup #1, Kelso
1st DH Ontario Cup #1, Kelso
14th XC Ontario Cup #2, Albion
20th XC Canada Cup #2, Tremblant QC
18th/6th XC Canada Cup/Ontario Cup #3, Hardwood Hills
10th Test of Metal, Squamish BC
7th CHIN Road Race, Toronto
6th XC Ontario Cup #5, Buckwallow
3rd XC Ontario Cup #6, Mountainview
7th XC Ontario Cup #7, Provincial Championships, Kelso
5th Overall: XC Ontario Cup Series
4th Winter Wow, Mansfield

Saturday, December 26, 2009

New Training Partner


I decided to try out Maya on a run this morning. She turned out to be an excellent training partner, never getting under foot or pulling on the leash. What a treat! Maya is a bit of a character though, and we are still working on getting over bridges of any kind and for now I just let her have her way when it comes to anything metal on the route -- she doesn't like her paws touching it or getting wet for that matter.

What a dog.

Today we ran to the canal, and then back along the Waterfront Trail in St. Catharines. Another great run despite the rain and sloppy conditions. The Garmin ("G") helped us find our way back after I got us a little lost which impressed me immensely.

Later, I used it to direct me while driving from St. Catharines to my sister's new place in Southampton. It works great in the car, on foot and I'm sure on the bike it will be a huge help too.

Anyway, after a big dinner, and a few libations, I'm looking forward to my Southampton run tomorrow already!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!!!!


I guess I was a good girl this year because Santa brought me the best thing EVAR. My very own Garmin Edge 705, the most amazing cycling computer in the world. It is GPS enabled of course, but also has a HRM, cadence and speed sensor and is fully compatible with third party power meters. You can store your favourite workouts, save courses, put lap markers wherever you train for automatic lap times ... and the list goes on and on. What more could you want?!

I took it for a little "test-run" today, literally. I haven't got a bike to mount it to at the moment while away for holidays, so I just held onto it while I went for a run around St. Catharines. I thought heading to Port Dalhousie along the waterfront trail would be a good idea, but some of those sidewalks go super close to the water and by then, I was so in love with my new gadget my HR was up five beats just from the stress of imagining a poorly-timed trip, and the Garmin (which I have nicknamed "G") flying into the cold, deep water.

Well never fear, I held on tight and we made it back to Grampa's house dropping virtual breadcrumbs all the way.

I am so stoked on this thing I can't even tell you. Stay tuned for future route-postings as I slowly learn how to make it do all the wonderful things it knows how to do.

PS - Dad got a matching one, so we're all set for our training leading up to the Ride To Conquer Cancer.

Christmas morning! Mom and I inspect every single piece in the box.

Photo shoot for blogging purposes ...

Maya Papaya wishing she could come running too ... maybe next time.

Where I went!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Joyride 150


The rumours are true ... Markham's new indoor mountain bike park is the shiz. Since I didn't have any Christmas appointments until dinner, I decided to check it out. A quick visit to their website confirmed they were open, and I was on my way, telling myself I'd just ride for an hour "to see".

Two hours later and I had to drag myself out of there.

They have a great XC track with berms, log-overs, flow and corners aplenty. There's also a pump track, skills section, and even a foam pit. Wish I'd brought both bikes!

Of course, I did have to "pay to play". Allow me to share my wipe out story: I had that masochistic thought -- just one more skinny -- that's up there with calling 'last run'. Never a good idea. I rode all of the skinnies on offer but my favourite (haha, they were all my favourite!!) was a real 20-foot log with a flattened top. It was teamed up with a ladder bridge ending in a cool little multi-line oval.

At the end of the log ride, there was a wedge-ramp. My back wheel hit it with a bit of oomph, it broke a small piece off, and I slid out, landing shin first into the neighbouring ladderbridge.


The skinny in question ...

So much for showing off! So off I hobbled to the change room and even despite a stinging lower-leg, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face if I tried. JOY ride indeed. And afterall, isn't Joy what Christmas is all about?!

Let me know if you ever need company for a trip to Joy Ride. I'm IN!


Wednesday, December 23, 2009

New Shorts!

A week ago, @Specializedwmn who I follow on twitter posted a call for captions on their BG Pro RBX shorts. I submitted "Your new training partner" and won myself a pair! Woo hoo!

Here's the victorious tweet:
specializedwmn: Congrats to the Women's BG Pro RBX shorts winners for their great captions: @walcottav @MCjunkie @kristenmlake @camille001 #RBXcap

They couldn't come at a better time either. A couple chamois are on their way out in a big way. And I'm back on the bike a couple times a day. Yesterday, I had a lovely spin with The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and an excellent snowboard video before work.

Last night I went on over to RPM for a little Christmas spinning. We donated our entry fees to the Daily Bread Food Bank and then did a fairly intense workout for an hour and a quarter. If this all sounds good to you, keep in touch with RPM because they'll be doing another Daily Bread spin in the new year so it's not too late!

This morning, I was riding with the Griswold's in the Christmas Vacation, but then my roommate came in to head out for the holidays with the PS3 so I had to watch Canada AM instead. Boo hoo.

However, I learned that egg nog is the more nutritous choice over apple cider. And if you are choosing between a gingerbread latte or a gingerbread loaf, get the latte. Save an extra pile of calories by skipping the whipped cream.

Merry Christmas to all!! Can't believe there's only two more sleeps!

Monday, December 21, 2009

First Turns!


Just finishing up a great three day weekend mostly spent up at Blue Mountain. Got some turns in on Saturday and some more on Sunday with Gerhard. Conditions weren't awesome, but you could get an edge everywhere, so I was a happy camper.

Quickly realized by trying on new ski boots, my old ones are at the end of their time. We had a good run -- about 14 years.

Which is why I'm so happy my new ones arrived today! Heading up for a fit and binding adjustment tomorrow, so they'll be ready just in time for a New Year's trip west to Mount Washington.

Anyone who wants to hit up Blue on Sunday nights, let me know! There's room in the minivan AND, I just got snowtires. All set!


Thursday, December 17, 2009

... on Training

Dear Diary,

Am I doing my training right? Do I know what I'm doing? I hope so -- I mean it's been a few years now and I'm still seeing progress every year, so I must have picked up something by way of "lessons learned in how to train".

But for some reason, I have this fear that I'm behind. Or doing it wrong. Or not doing enough. Should I get a coach? Should I abandon my DIY home-gym plans and just suck up the membership fees down the street? Turns out dumbells and all that are pricey and the cost is holding me back from making purchases, which is holding me back from strength exercises, which is stressing me out.

Maybe I should take a cue from Nike (and Tiger Woods by extension) and "Just Do It" -- go back to the gym in all its routine glory.

What about the trainer? Do I ride it enough? What's a two-hour ride? Is it long? Is it short -- should I be doing three hour trainer sessions? What's a one-hour ride? Just a waste of time?

How is it that a whole day can go by without room for a work-out? It's closer to January than November, and it's high time I found my rythm. Where is it?!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Get your money back!

The Ride to Conquer Cancer emailed the other day to point out that all donors who contribute before Dec 31 will get their money back on their '09 tax returns instead of waiting for '10.

A little extra incentive for a good cause!

Happy Holiday season everybody! Only 10 shopping days left!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Twitter.

Some of you may have noticed the little "follow me on Twitter" button added to the sidebar. I know what you're thinking. So here's my side of the story.

I said I would never do it. But I do like to read other people's. A lot of other people's. I still can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would care about what I have to say (although I do still keep this blog, so go figure) but I like to check in with Lance Armstrong and all the others once in awhile. Becoming a member of Twitter is an easy way to do that because lo and behold, all the latest "tweets" (look at me, even using the lingo!) show up in order with just one click.

My first follower is Malcolm Howard, one of Canada's top rowers, so I'm off to a good start. We had a good game of croquet back in the day while I was visiting a teammate of his in Victoria. I don't know if he even remembers that, but maybe I'll 'tweet' him about it.

Anyway, in the spirit of twitter-fun, check this out: "It's like Twitter. Except we charge people to use it."

See you in the twittersphere.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

RTCC Milestone!

Thanks to some very generous donations, we've made it over the $1,000 mark. Hurray!!! But that's not all! We're also ahead of Dad's fundraising!

Just $1,500 more to go.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Dear Santa ...


Wow, what a great opportunity for just EIGHT people with Boreale Mountain Biking and Ryan Leech, Norco Pro Trials/Mtb rider.

Spend a week in a yurt, riding beautiful Yukon singletrack, eating local gourmet foods and complementing it all with an evolving yoga practice.

I've met Ryan before at the Toronto International Bike Show and from what I saw there -- both his show, and his talk on the "mental game" -- I think a week under his tutelage would be a pretty valuable use of time.

When is this amazing trip? July 3 - 9, 2010.

I've been a good girl, I swear.

Canada Cup 2010 - Posted!


Looks like the Canada Cup Schedule is up -- once again, no BC stops for XCO. Hmmm. Any one want to head out for the Test of Metal? No Canada Cup Races in June, so we can make The Test an unofficial stop on the Ccup Circuit.

Here's the sked at a glance for XCO. For DH/4X, click here.

#1 Baie St. Paul, QC May 16

#2 Tremblant, QC May 22

#3 Hardwood Hills, ON May 30

Write in: Test of Metal, BC June 19

#4 Edmonton, AB July 11

#5 Canmore, AB, July 18: National Championships

#6 Bromont, QC August 15

Saturday, December 5, 2009

A Bloggable Event

Trainer! Day one!! All set up in the warm living room while the temperature drops to the negatives outside. Got my movie, my smoothie, and all the other comforts for trainer-ing. By the way, I found Angels and Demons to be entertaining, but a bit silly. I guess it's sort of redundant to accuse Dan Brown of being over the top.



Before I started, I also made some time to get the new dehydrator working away on some apple chips. Healthy snacks all winter, courtesy of Gerhard on my birthday. So stoked.

First, core the apples ...


Then slice them up with the mandolin ...


And then a few hours in here ...

And voila! Apple Chips!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Double Century for Grandma

Me, Grandma, Grandpa and Dad on the 2008 Ride to Conquer Cancer

Our Ride to Conquer Cancer has gone from a double metric century to a true double century, 200 miles, or about 320 kilometres between Toronto and Niagara Falls.

I was signed up all along, but my dad originally opted for the 200K. When the Ride Guide called me to let me know some info, I found out that the 200M ride I'd signed up for wasn't like the 2008 edition where we got an added ride in the afternoon to make up the miles. Instead, the 200-milers are riding an entirely different route! With different rest stops! So ... if dad and were to ride together, we'd need to decide which route we're doing.

I thought switching down would make the most sense but they said that the 200km route was full!!

So Dad has now bravely moved up, and we're doing the BIG ride. I don't think I've ever been in the saddle for that long, so this is going to be something. I hope you're inspired to donate to our now-harder-than-ever challenge!!

I know we'll make it because I'm very sad to tell you, we have a new family member to add to our memorial list.

My Grandma -- dad's mom -- passed away on November 27 2009 peacefully at St. Catharines General hospital. She was diagnosed with Lung Cancer on the 25th. So we'll do this one for her, and I know she'll help us get it done.

Losing her is a reminder of how important it is to do what we can to help researchers find a cure, and families get the care they need.

Thank you in advance for whatever you can contribute.

Please DONATE to Kris Lake or DONATE to Mark Lake in memory of Marian Lake.



Water colour by my grandma, Marian Lake