Benefits of having some 'extra time'

Well well, I've rejoined the ranks of the unemployed thanks to ~1/2 of the workforce at work getting laid off (just over 350 people). Upside, is that I've been able to get some really nice rides in lately.

The weather has been terrific (no need for extra layers or arm warmers). Saturday I went with some guys from the shop out to Darlingford to do some hill repeats (hill repeats are when you ride up and down the same hills to get a good workout in a short amount of time). It was good and hard. We passed this sign on the way to the valley we would be going into, then out of, then into, then out of, then into, then out of... how many is that? Either way, did 6 climbs that day over 65km

Sebastian(left) and Marion (coach):

Dr. T with a good suffer face going on:

Panoramic shot stitched together with Photoshop:

and last but not least.

Sebastian eating a banana:

what a great picture.

Then Monday, I hit Birds hill park for a few laps. Tuesday I rode up past Selkirk for another 80km. I got a cramp on the way back, and was having troubles holding on, gotta drink more fluids.

Sick Day

Well, I'm not sick.

But Abby is today, so we stayed home from church.

Abby was watching some TV, so I decided to tie a Fly. After I had finished she came in and wanted to "make a bug too". So we made another one together.

Abby's first Fly. A "Woolly Bugger" she picked the colors and helped cut some of the excess feathers and tail with the 'Abby-sized scissors'. We'll see later this year if it will catch something.

St. Adolphe... almost.

We've been having a little warmer than usual spring here in Manitoba, so the roads are clearing up quicker than normal. Nearly all the snow is gone. Yesterday was a nice, sunny +8 degrees Celsius out, so I took advantage of that and went for a ride south to go see how the roads were out to St. Adolphe. This is a very popular route, and one that I often head out on, it's a nice 30k ride if you leave from the perimeter highway, but can be stretched to 50k if I leave from home and add a little loop just past the town of St. Adolphe.

One reason why I wanted to head out that way was it follows the Red River, which is very high this time of year (not as high as last year when the roads were flooded out). As I came up to the turn to go over the river, I saw a barricade. So naturally I went through it and rode the very loose, and very rough gravel road up to the bridge.

I had to get off and walk a couple sections, so I took a couple more photo ops.

You can start to see the water level and ice on the river.

The geese are coming in already, and there was a herd of deer out in the field too.

And this is why this post it titled 'St. Adolphe... almost"

Last year the bridge was found to be unsafe to drive on as one of the support pillars had shifted.

I remember riding over it a couple days before it was discovered and thought the gaps in the expansion joints looked different than usual. I did forget about it by the time I got back home though. Hopefully the bridge is fixed soon as the residents have to drive a long ways out of their way to get over the river now.

Riding with Abby

It was quite a nice day out, so naturally I wanted to get outside for a bit (even though I'm a little under the weather lately). As I pulled up to the house Abby, Natalie and their mom had been out drawing on the sidewalk (and tree stump) with some chalk. I had mentioned earlier in the day I had hoped to go for a bit of a bike ride when I got home. Turns out Abby wanted to go too. So I got the trailer all set up, got our helmets out, and went for a ride. Abby had a little snack (some gummy bears) to keep her occupied during the ride (~1/2 and hour or so... I think).

She must have had a long day, because when I pulled into the driveway, and opened the cover on the trailer, this was what I found.

It was a nice relaxing ride through a couple of neighborhoods. Maybe next time we'll take Jess and Natalie too.

Roller Race

Just a quick update. Went to the Belgium Club here in Winnipeg for a 2-up roller race last night. (Click here for short Demo video).

2 bikes are connected to the dial in the middle that measures how 'far' they've gone. It was a 500m timed race, so full on sprint from the start. My time was 23.96 seconds. Fastest time (that I know of) was 22.75 seconds (Nicely done Jeremy). I'll find out today how it all ended.

Had some fun. was good to see the bunch from the shop. I put up a respectable time, but didn't feel so hot afterwards so I withdrew.

Sponsored by Woodcock Cycleworks. Thanks!

Skate Skiing

Last week I had to go to a course on human factors in aviation (federal requirement for people working in the aircraft industry). It was a two day class that was at the Aircraft Museum here in Winnipeg. The course itself wasn't all that exciting, but it was a good couple of days.

On the second day we finished up quite early, the weather was quite nice, so I saw it as an opportunity to give skate skiing a try.

First, there are two different kinds of cross country skiing, Classic and Skate . I've done classic skiing before, and is far more popular and common than skate skiing. I have wanted to give skate skiing a try for a while. Last year I picked up a set with the intention to use them right away. That never really panned out. So, here's my chance.

I went home, packed up my ski gear (classic and skate) and headed to LaBarrier park (my favorite skiing location here in Winnipeg). There was only one other car in the parking lot, perfect I thought. Nobody there to see me fall as I try to grasp this new technique. I grab my skis and am pleased to see that there is a groomed skate trail right by the parking lot. Perfect. I clip in, and off I go.

The first lap must have been pretty ugly to watch, I sure didn't feel very graceful or smooth. I was getting the hang of it though. Shortly after starting my second lap, and my confidence was starting to build a bit, a family with a couple of dogs is walking back to their car (along the ski trail), heading in my direction. They pulled to the side and stopped to wait for me to go by. So here I am, trying to be all cool (which is quite hard to do while trying something for the first time, but they didn't know that), when my ski catches an edge and over I go, not 10 feet in front of them. I start laughing to myself, and say as I get up and get skiing again: "Why does that only happen when someone is watching you?" we all have a chuckle at my expense, and I ski away.

This time I went down to the river, the snowmobiles have made a nice hard-packed trail to ski on and I ski for a while down there before coming back to the car and packing it in for the day. Only one fall for the outing. I was quite pleased. I'll be doing it again. Now, how can I sneak out of work early this week....

I feel all grown up now.

This past weekend I took part in the GGG (Guys Golf and Games) weekend. After a night of Gluttony, Games and Groaning, getting not nearly enough sleep, and eating a 'hearty' breakfast, I found myself playing golf with a few friends and my father. While walking down one of the longer holes (8th possibly), my dad reminded me of the conversation we had had a year earlier.

I was finishing up school, working at the bike shop, getting used to being a father myself after 1 1/2 years, trying to be a good husband (and succeeding sometimes) etc. I had been working at the shop for a while, and was really enjoying the work. I got to fix bikes (which I really enjoy), I helped people find a bike they would enjoy riding, train other mechanics, and do some administration work for the shop too. I was enjoying it so much that I was talking with the owner of the business about buying it from him. Obviously not a small decision.

We were talking of the pros and cons of that route. Why I enjoyed it, what else I might enjoy, what else I might not enjoy. It was a good walk in the park (something we used to do, usually when I was in trouble for something).

Fast forward a year, and things have changed a touch. Abby is now 2 1/2 ish, Natalie is now 2 months old, I have been at a new job for 5 1/2 months or so (decided there was just too much risk, with not enough reward at the bike shop), I finished the classes I needed for my degree thingy and have been even more involved in the scout/youth program I help with.

And here I am, on my very first business trip. I came here to Montreal for some training on reviewing the pricing in our database and making the needed corrections (there are tens of thousands of parts that need to be verified) I got to meet some of the people I talk with, but never knew a face. Staying in a fancy hotel (The Wyndham), keeping receipts to submit as expenses, and buying a gift for Abby.

Now, I'm waiting at the airport. I talked with Jess and Abby earlier. I got my first "love you" from her as she passed the phone back to mom. Too bad I'll be waiting longer than I expected.

I'm waiting for my first delayed flight.