RV There Yet?

Home is where you park it!! And for ten days next summer, our home is this glorious abode on wheels.

I am so grateful to my parents who have really stepped up in their roles as "Chief Inspiration Officers" on the official moral-support crew for the BCBR. There's even talk of making up team t-shirts.

Let us know if you'd like to be on the moral-support crew, too. There'll be plenty of room around our campfires for "recovery drinks" as we RV our way around southwestern B.C. June 27-July 7.

Excitement is building. Only 291 days to go.

Mother's Day Weekend

This weekend started off with a surprise trip to Charleston Lake. Couldn't have worked out better. My mom texted me around noon on her way East via Toronto wondering if I'd like to join her. Already, I'd been mulling over the idea of going home for Mother's Day weekend, but was a little daunted by traveling alone.

So this was perfect! After work, we packed up my bike and drove out to Charleston, joining my aunt and uncle, and of course my grandpa who lives in the area was around as well. Always great to get a chance to visit with family!

Saturday, after an amazing sleep in the quietest, darkest place to catch some z's in Ontario (seriously -- the sleeping there is worth the three hour drive, every time), I woke up and got myself organized for a quick little skills ride to check out the riding in the back of the house my mom grew up in.

The woods and fields back there were sporting a spring carpeting of trilliums. There are some great farm roads and lots of rocky features to practice riding up and down. Very enjoyable appetizer before heading back to the house for lunch.

After lunch, I headed back out again, planning on just spending some time on miles and endurance. Since I had the mountainbike for a whip, that meant I could be free to explore some roads I travel less often (in Leeds/Grenville, sometimes the pavement stops abruptly and turns into gravel, so a road bike is best used on trusted routes only).

The second installment of the day's training turned into an unexpected epic ride*.

*rides are billed "epic" if they include one or more of the following features: long hours/miles, water crossings, 2+ hours climbing, muddy conditions, above-average danger, long hike-a-bike sections, questionable directions. Feel free to add criteria in the comments

I meandered around, letting my iphone maps app guide the way. However, I can't believe what passes for a "road" on that thing. Before long, I found myself leaving the pavement, riding some gravel, and then that too gave way to what can only be described as double track.

Also, here's a law of nature I discovered the hard way: if there is a puddle covering the 'road' of questionable depth and integrity, then FOR SURE, the sides of it will be lined with hawthornes. Luckily, this was only a problem for a few "crossings" because it didn't take long for me to lose my balance and fall in, thus negating the need for caution on future water traps.

And so I continued. The ride also included snarling packs of dogs keen on taking a bite out of my ankles (two packs of four, actually) and I'm fairly certain that at some point around hour 2, the black flies hatched, making stopping impossible.

Even with all the unexpected obstacles/hazards, it was a great day on the bike. I got home safely and treated both bike and rider to a good hose down, and then for a recovery drink, white wine spritzer with some of my favourite ladies: my mom and my aunt.

Needless to say, I slept well that night, no thanks to the Canucks however.

The next morning, we all had breakfast together again and packed up our things to head into Gananoque for a Mother's Day lunch with Grampa. I had some training I still wanted to do, but with my bike shoes still wet from the day before, it was a great excuse to head out for a run. Absolutely perfect weather for it too.

So I headed out ahead of my mom, and she picked me up in Lansdowne after a personal best on my ten k time. I think I have her to thank for that actually, because about half way through, she pulled up and said I'd better run faster or we'd be late for lunch. And when you're dealing with Hortons, you don't want to be late for lunch!!

We picked up my grampa, and then dined at the Champagne Bay Grill which was super yummy and a spot I'm sure we'll go back to in the future.

Perfect weekend! Thanks mom, and Happy Mother's Day! Glad I got to spend it with you.

MOM: You Go Girl!

Kudos to mom who's using her retirement to get fit! She's rocking the trainer (complains it's boring though ... psssshaw), stretching and even got a strength plan from a PT at the gym. On top of all that, she's test driving a bunch of classes to see which ones will fit into a regular routine. I'm so proud!! Dad's been in on the fun too, since they picked up memberships at the local gym, Fitness Corner. I hear they offer "Movie Night" spin classes there, too: spin and watch a movie with all your training buddies! Imagine all our theatres were outfitted that way. The world would sure look different.

As for my own fitness efforts, I'm happy to report that the rhythm has been found. Lots of trainer this week, and I have finally got comfortable with the idea of the "home gym". And let me tell you, there are some serious benefits to doing strength training in your living room.

Thanks to Santa's elves, Kim and Gerhard, I have a pair of dumb bells and a fitness ball. Turns out, I think that's actually all I really need. The ball came with a guide showing all kinds of exercises and the dumb bells are the right weight to get most things done properly. Maybe I'll move up next month, but for now, I'm rockin and rollin. I could get used to this!

The best thing about the home gym is not having to wait for equipment! There are no line ups! There are also no distractions, such as "gym chat", to knock me out of focus. And I got to watch TV at the same time.

However, a word of caution. On top of gifting me dumb bells, Kim also loaned me "P.S. I Love You" which I decided to watch last night since it claimed to be a romantic comedy. Ahem. Do not under any circumstances attempt to ride a trainer while watching this movie. There is nothing funny about it. I cried through the whole damn thing and when you cry with your heart rate in the 150s, guess what! You hyper-ventilate.

Super excited for Spin Class which starts this Sunday as well. But they changed the start time so that will be a challenge for the next 12 weeks: 7 o'clock Sunday morning! The TTC isn't even up at that hour. There's still space I'm told, so if you're interested in the best spin program in town, give Mike a call at RPM. Even with the painful start time, it's totally worth signing up. I don't think I'd make the progress I've made if it wasn't for RPM.

I also picked up a five-class-pass at Moksha Yoga Danforth so I'm all set in my hot yoga habit. I was there on Wednesday for the 75 minute class but I found it wasn't for me. I'm all about the full 90 minutes. It just seemed like everyone was in a rush there, and it wasn't as wholesome (for lack of a better word) an experience as I'm used to -- it was nearly impossible to focus because people were laughing and talking in the studio (what?!). So I think Monday night is the winner -- great time, great instructor and the full 90.

In other news, looks like Blue Mountain is a GO this weekend. With spin class so early in the morning, no longer will I have to rush home and out the door again. I'll have time for the nap I'll need!! Sunday Night Snow Club will officially kick off this Sunday Night! Night passes are $39. Let me know if you want a lift in the mini-van!

Oh, and just finished "Sleeping Naked is Green" by Vanessa Farquharson of the National Post. It's about a twenty-something woman who decides to make one green change to her life every day for a year. Since she chose a leap year, it ends up being 366 changes. She kept a blog at greenasathistle.com even after the challenge, but I think she's since abandoned it. Anyway, the book was entertaining, and has really got me thinking about changes I can make in my everyday life. I think what stood out the most is the constant catch-22 going green entails. For example, do you choose the organic apple from New Zealand, or the regular-pesticides-included apple from Ontario? Check it out, it's an easy read and a great place to start if you're thinking about what you can do to green your corner of the universe.

Now ... if only I'd remembered the book I was supposed to be reading for book club ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

Today is a very important day: top commentator "Sheree" is my mom, and it's her birthday!!

So Happy Birthday Mom!!!