Victoria's Island

Catching Up

Sorry I haven't been posting. This no Internet thing can be a problem at times... Truth be told, I haven't really missed having constant access to the Internet. It has been a welcome change to not be staring at my computer monitor. Though I have felt slightly out of touch - particularly with my email! Yes, I got your email, I'll respond as soon as I can.

So there has been some racing action these past few days here in St. Georges de Beauce. Racing for some kicked off on Friday with the national time trial. Ottawa was well represented with lots of riders pulling out a good day on the fast bikes. Congrats to Warren M. for his sixth place finish in the elite men's time trial - awesome ride. The Ride with Rendall crew all put together some excellent rides in the "race of truth". Saturday was the women's national road race. I wish I could tell you all about my race. But really there isn't much to tell. I did not finish. Not sure what happened. I just didn't get it done. No excuses. No reasons. Just not a good day. But this day is now behind me and I'm looking down the road at my real goals and ambitions. Congrats to the Ottawa girls for some super strong rides on Saturday: Cynthia, Nataha, Sophie, and Tricia represnted O-town super well and all deserve a pat on the back for their great rides. Sunday was the men's national road race. Pretty exciting day. A bunch of us spent the day in the feed zone handing up bottles and words of encouragement to the Ride with Rendall boys. What a day! Massive congrats to Aaron Fillion of Ride with Rendall for capturing the elite men's title. Wow. It was an interesting day to be a bike racer/superfan. Lots of lessons learned by everyone on the dynamics of bike racing.

I'd say it was a pretty darn good weekend. I really enjoyed hanging out witht the Ride with Rendall team at the "team house". It was the perfect environment for a weekend of racing. Everyone was in good spirits. Lots of stories and laughs were shared. I did escape a few times with my book. It really helps to be surrounded by friends when in what can be a tense race environment. Thanks to Glen and the Ride with Rendall crew for extending their hospitality to me this past weekend. Now Marc and I have a couple of days with a quiet house until the masters and junior teams arrive for their racing this weekend.

Not much else really going on. I got in an excellent three hour ride this morning. I've got to say that I'm getting pretty comfortable on the hills. It seems like I'm either going up or getting ready to go up. Very hilly around here. Nice change of pace from my regular riding routine.

I'm a bit out of touch of the "news of the day" so I can't comment really on anything that has happened.

I can say this though, I think Frances Itani is my new favorite author. Loving her novel Remembering the Bones. Totally addictive. Read this book. It is so powerful.

Thanks very much for the emails over the past couple of days. These help a lot when things are a bit trying.

Okay, I'm off. Time to read my email and to get caught up with the world. Have a good one.

Chillaxing in Beauce

(I started this post earlier in the day at the house sans Internet...)

Just chilling out here in Lac Poulin. I'm lucky to be able to stay with the Ride with Rendall team in the "team" house. It sure makes the stay here in Beauce so much easier. Can't really beat having a kitchen, a private room, a deck and a view over the water. Very calm and peaceful. The added bonus is not having to step around bikes in a small hotel room.

So it is the day before the road race. Perfect day to just relax and spin the legs out a bit. Marc and I drove the road course yesterday - it looks pretty good. It is a 45 km loop with a few kickers, descents and flat sections. Basically a standard road course.

Drive down yesterday was mostly painless. We did get stuck for an hour on the 20 going through Montreal. Ouch! I started to loose my patience at one point - think it was the small bladder and the empty stomach that took over!

So really that is all that is happening. (I'm sure I'll write more later when I can actually post to this little site.) That is the one thing - we don't have Internet access here at Lac Poulin. This is the only downfall. I suppose in a way it is a good thing. Break the habit from the endless computer watching and actually do something else to relax. (Like read.) Speaking of reading, I've given up on the Short History of Tractors in the Ukraine. I just can't get into it. So now I've got a couple of magazines to keep me busy until I pick up my next novel: Wend (a great outdoor magazine) and the New Yorker summer fiction issue.

Alright, time to go. I want to get out for a spin and open my legs up for tomorrow. Happy Friday.

(Now back in real-time.)

Had a great ride today. Don't know what it was but the hills felt flat and the flats felt like descents. This is two days in a row with this feeling. I'm not complaining - loving every minute of it. Looking forward to racing tomorrow. Should be a good day.

Had an excellent afternoon of simply relaxing at the house. Just the two of us at the house so things were pretty quiet. Spent some quality time with my mags and books. And just because I'm a bit obsessive, I've got my bag packed and numbers pinned for tomorrow. It helps me relax to be so organized.

So I'm reading Remembering the Bones by Frances Itani. Loving it. Wish I'd read Itani sooner. Guess I'm a late adopter. Looking forward to relaxing with this gem this evening.

All the Ride with Rendall guys and gals has good days out on their TT bikes. Definitely not an easy course and the muggy weather doesn't help matters. But all in all, everyone seems pretty content. Congrats for the solid rides. Most impressive. More inspiration that I can take with me into tomorrow's race.

I've been drinking so much water today and eating some extra carbs to get myself stocked up for tomorrow. Not sure if it makes a difference, but hey an excuse to eat some extra bread, pasta, and a few crackers is good for me!

Okay, I'm off. I've got a bunch of emails to check and a number of RSS feeds to get through. Have a great Friday. I hope to check back in with you on Sunday. Send those vibes on Saturday afternoon.

Hot Days

Just a quick note to say we are off to Beauce for a bit for some bike racing and a bit of a break from reality. We're staying in a smooth cottage/house on Lac Poulin. Quiet nights with the only sound being the water swishing against the dock. Great way to relax and stay fresh for the racing action. We decided to stay in Beauce this time rather than driving back and forth between my race and Marc's races.

I'm racing this Saturday. (Send some fast leg vibes at around 1:00.) Marc is racing next Friday in the road race and then Sunday in the criterium. Should be a good week of pedaling, relaxing, sleeping, and eating. We'll have limited internet access so if you don't hear from me that is why.

Hoping to take an afternoon and take a little trip into Quebec City. I'm thinking Simons, crepes, chai latte, and a nice dinner out would be just perfect.

Okay, best be off. Thanks again for the kind words regarding Marc's crash and injuries. Happy to say he is doing much better now. Still has some lingering effects but the good news is he has been given the green light to race! Yay - this makes for two very happy (and dare I say relieved) people.

Enjoy the heat!

Randomness

Brace yourselves, this post could be a bit scattered and seem a little crazy. I admit it. I've got a bunch of stuff swirling in my brain and I feel the urge to get it out.

On my cycle into work this morning I saw the most bizarre and slightly strange thing on the bicycle path. From behind I saw a woman pushing a small stroller and walking a little dog (you know the kind that make a cat look big). So as I rode by I peaked in the stroller to look at the little baby that I assumed was safely strapped inside. Nope. The stroller was empty... Said stroller was for the dog... Yep, in the event the dog got tired! Yeesh, and we wonder why we have an obesity problem if people are willing to push their dogs around in a stroller...

It is hot. Really hot. I'm not a fan of the heat. I like it to be in the low 20s. Not a fan of humidity either. It is really hot in our kitchen. I ran the dishwasher and then stood in front of it while preparing my lunch and breakfast. So now I'm hot. The tea doesn't help....

Marc got some good news from his sports medicine doctor. Head is looking clear. The hamstring is clearing nicely. The shoulder is good to go. He has been given the green light to ride. Yay!

So apparently there is the potential that LCBO employees are going to strike. Hmm. This doesn't affect me. Or so I thought... Until I tried to get to the Loblaws parking lot. The LCBO parking lot was jammed. Really people - you might want to do a little self-evaluation if you're rushing out to the LCBO to stock up.

Bought some new shoes yesterday. Decided it was time to replace my fave green hikers. I lucked out and got a pair of Timberland hikers on sale. Sweet. Funny I didn't realize how "dead" my other shoes were until I started walking around in my new shoes. Yes, I have new shoe love. Also bought some new shorts. Needed some that don't need to be ironed and aren't too casual. The hard thing about buying shorts are my legs. The tanlines are a bit ridiculous. So the length is tricky. Most are either too short so you are greeted with some blinding white flesh and then a rapid switch over to beautiful bronze lower quads and calves... Luckily I found the perfect pair of Merrell shorts (on sale as well!).

Okay, I've got to go. Up early tomorrow so I can get an early start to the day (in other words - so I can leave work at noon!). Have a good one. Currently watching the F Word - big fan of Gordon Ramsay. (Don't let Hell's Kitchen tarnish your opinion of this guy.)

Quiet Night

Pretty quiet one here this evening. It is just me and Murphy holding down the fort. Marc has gone out to get his hamstring checked out by his sister. (Little known fact - Marc's sister is a physiotherapist. Very handy at times like this.) Yep, yet another side effect of Marc's crash on Tuesday night is a very tender hamstring. We think the his saddle must jammed into his hamstring when he crashed... Crashing is not fun or cool. Sometimes I hear people (who have never crashed) comment on wishing they could have road rash because it is "so cool". Uh uh. Not cool. It hurts. It feels as bad as it looks. So don't wish for it.

Racing action yesterday in Ottawa. It was pretty darn sweet. In fact the whole day was pretty darn good. Had a relaxing start to the day with some chilling out, surfing, television watching and just generally taking it easy. So nice to not have to travel to a race. Made it downtown for the 35th running of the Preston St. crit. Lets just say it was packed down there. It seemed everyone from the Ottawa race community was out plus all the people out to enjoy Italian Festival. It made for an awesome race atmosphere. The racing was pretty darn good as well. Unfortunately our race was done primarily in the rain... This made for some slippery roads and resulted in a rather big crash early on in the race. A good friend of ours and a very popular guy in the racing community went down hard. So send your thoughts out to Craig B. today. Get well soon Craig - we're all thinking of you. To keep things short, I finished third. I'm content with this. I did not have my best day technically on the bike as I was rather tense with the rain. For a complete run-down on the day and a race report, go visit Ottawa Cross.

After my race and sometime spent doing the "bike racer shower" at the car... (The "bike racer shower" involves a bottle of water, a towel and rather vigorous scrubbing. All the while trying to be a bit discreet while standing naked in a parking lot... ) I found Marc and we watched the elite men's race. What a race. The Ride with Rendall team once again dominated and really showed what team work is all about. Nice job guys! Very impressive. I had a great time cheering on the guys and chatting with all the friendly faces as we walked the course. Great way to unwind after the racing. We fnished off the afternoon and evening with a great RWR barbecue. Lots of time to sit around, eat, tell stories and simply relax.

I must admit, this morning did come awfully quickly. I would have liked to have stayed in bed all morning. But for a Monday it has been pretty fine. Nothing spectacular happened. Had a great tlk with my coach and we're putting some plans together for the fall. Sweet times ahead. Decided to beat the heat and did my recovery ride on my 'cross bike. Wise decision as I think I was still suffering some dehydration from racing in Sunday's heat. (I didn't take a drink from my bottle once during the race. It just didn't ever seem like the right time...) Hit up the trails by my place and had a fun time zipping around on the singletrack, sand and pine needles. Funny, I ride at this park pretty much once a week and I always find a new trail or a new route to my favorite sections. I also seem to always be able to scare myself. Lucky to have such solid training grounds close to the house.

Next up on the bike racing calendar is Road Nationals. We are off to Beauce, Quebec this week and I'll be racing on Saturday. Looking foward to doing a long road race and testing out the legs on a few climbs. Sunday will be a fun day - I'll get up early for a long ride and then get myself over to the race course to help out in the feed zone. I'll be passing up water bottles to the Ride with Rendall guys and cheering them on. Should be fun to hang out in the feed zone and catch up with more people I don't get to see very often.

So short week at work this week. But on the flipside, there is lots to be done here before leaving. Food to prepare. Food to buy. Bags to pack. Laundry to do. The big question is: how many books should I bring with me? I just started reading: A Short History of Tractors in the Ukraine. This is not the type of book I would normally choose but my co-worker and a number of other people have suggested it. I'm only about ten pages in, but I'm thoroughly enjoying the novel.

Got to say, one thing I'm really enjoying are our new chairs! Yep, new chairs. We have six chairs in our backyard now. Thanks to our neighbours, Ross and Lori, we inherited their old backyard set. I love these chairs. So much more comfortable than sitting on the back step. Murphy likes them as well. I can only imagine how much Minou would have enjoyed reclining in the sun in these chairs.

Okay, I best be off. In theory I should chip away at my list of "to dos"... But I still have Tuesday and Wednesday...

Sunday

Well, it is Sunday. Quite the Sunday it is. The perfect Sunday to round out a pretty eventful week. Most importantly, today is Father's Day. And no, Father's Day is not a "Hallmark" holiday. It is an equally important day as Mother's Day. So make sure you call or go visit your dad today - I know he will appreciate it.

Me? Well, I'll call in a little bit. I can never quite remember the time difference between here and Sask., so I like to err on the side of caution. Not as if my parents won't be up. We were raised to not "sleep the day away" so if this mantra still holds true, my mom and dad should be up by now. Hmm, I could just call and find out!

The other thing making this Sunday special is it Preston St. Criterium day. This is the 35th year for the race! Pretty impressive. It used to be that this crit was 100 km long and had only one event/category. The course has taken on many different formations over the years. I remember the first time I saw the race - it was raining, Marc was racing for Sportable, the race used the old course - up the hill and turned right by St. Anthony's Church. And little known fact - this was the scene of mine and Marc's second date! This year, due to construction constraints, the course is a bit more tight. It will definitely be a fast and furious day out there. There are also three races: 1:00 (Senior 3/4 and Juniors), 2:10 (Masters 2/3 men and Women), and 3:10 (Senior 1 Elite men and Masters 1 men).

Since it is Father's Day, it is also fitting for some big news. Huge congrats extended down the 401 to my little bro and his lovely wife. They are expecting a baby! How exciting is this? I'm super stoked for them. These guys will make pretty wonderful parents. Lucky little baby I think. I'm excited about being an aunt - I've been researching noisy toys that don't require batteries (think I've settled on a tambourine and drum set).

So there your have it. A pretty fine Sunday. Have a good one.

Lazy Blogger

I've been a lazy blogger. So very sorry. Life kinda took over and I'm only coming up for air now. Had a few busy and mostly good days that just ended up keeping me away from the computer. Suppose in reality, this is a good thing. Being too attached to this black apple is not that healthy.

Anyway, what's been going on? Well, raced on Tuesday. Kind of raced I should say. To read about my race, go check out my latest post on Ottawa Cross. (Wow - how lazy can I get by making you go to my other site?) Marc was having a great night at the crit and then he crashed. He is doing much better - many thanks for your phone calls and emails - means a lot to both of us. If I can say one thing about that crash (I didn't see it - thank goodness) is this: wear your helmet. I truly believe that Marc's helmet saved him - literally. That helmet did its job and is cracked all the way through - I shudder to think what would have happened without that helmet. So if you're ever getting ready for a ride and are considering not wearing your helmet - picture your head hitting the curb...

So that was Tuesday. Wednesday we both needed to simpy chill out. We had the super fantastic curried chicken with naan bread for supper and watched Top Chef Masters. The meal was awesome. The television show - jurry is still out.

And today? Well I rode, had a hot bath to recover from the rain and then zipped off to hook up with a pal for some conversation, shoe shopping and book browsing. A most excellent evening.

And now? Now, I'm going to bed. I'm reading Still Alice and I'm thoroughly addicted. Found this link thanks to one of my Twitter feeds: Ben McNally Bookstore's Reading List. A very thorough and interesting list. In fact the web site looks excellent.

Have a good one. Racing action this Sunday - Preston St. Crit. Come out and cheer on your favorite blogger (that would be me).

Super Tuesday

Ah, I so look forward to every other Tuesday. Every other Tuesday means it is race night in Ottawa. A time for the Ottawa bike racing crew to get together at the NRC to do some crit racing. I so look forward to these races. An excellent challenge for me, an opportunity to learn and to hang out with some cool people. The extra bonus of this is that I have my mornings free. I typically don't go to work until 11ish so I have the morning to relax and get a bunch of stuff done. So I'm sitting here with a feeling of accomplishment: laundry is all put a way, tasty chicken dish is marinating in the fridge, work clothes are ironed, veggies are chopped for salads this week.

Now, I get to relax a bit with a soothing mug of chai tea and enjoy listening to CBC Radio. Yes, definitely a super Tuesday. Very relaxing way to start the day.

The race tonight is a special one. It is the long course criterium course and the televsion cameras will be out - so keep your eyese on the CJOH weather as J. J. will be onsite doing his weather report. I'll try to wave as I zoom by!

The chicken dish in the fridge is looking and smelling so good. Thanks to Marc's sister, I received a copy of the coveted LCBO Food and Wine magazine. This magazine is full of delicious recipes and is very hard to track down (especially if like me, you don't frequent the LCBO). One of the many tasty recipes this month, is curried chicken with naan bread. So now in the fridge I've got a big bowl containing: chopped cooked chicken, diced red pepper, chopped green onion, chickpeas, raisins - all coated in a tasty coconute milk/curry powder/orange juice sauce. It looks so good. Tonight we'll have this with toasted naan bread topped with spinach, cashews, and chopped cucumber. Oh yeah, it will be good.

Amazing weather we're having. Looks like summer is finally here. Honestly, I don't need it to get any warmer. I'm happy with the high 20s. I seeem to wilt in the heat so I'm happy with what we have.

Well, I'm going to sign off. Have a good Tuesday. I'm going to poke around some web sites and then get myself off to the office. Leftover meatloaf for lunch today. Tasty. Yes, my life revolves around food, cycling, and books. Is this a bad thing?

View from the Back Step

Just sitting here enjoying the quiet of the early evening. Really nothing quite like hearing the birds chirp and blue sky to keep one in a serene state of mind. Today has been busy so I'm very appreciative to have this time to sit and relax.

Weekend was most excellent. Had some great times spent with friends and family. Got in some most excellent riding - on the road and on my 'cross bike. Saturday was super busy with a two road ride chased by a two hour 'cross ride in the Gatineau Park. But the craziness of the day was made up for with the satisfaction of some good time spent outside enjoying nature, learning new skills and hanging out with a good friend. I was lucky to have Sheri as my guide/leader for my first 'cross ride in the Gatineau Park. Thanks again Sheri - I had a blast. One of the culinary highlights of the weekend happend on Saturday. (Making it a pretty darn fine day.) I finally had baked Alaska. I've wanted to have bake Alaska since I was a little kid. But just never got the chance. I don't know where the fascination with baked Alaska came from, but I've had one for a very long time. Well, Marc's mom outdid herself and made us all individual baked Alaska's for dessert on Saturday. Wow - so good. Just might be my new favorite dessert. Thanks so much for the great treat! Sunday I hit up the Gatineau Park on my road bike for some solid loop riding with Skip and Tam. Great ride was had. Nothing like having some company while training - seems to make the hills a little less steep. All in all, a most excellent weekend.

Now the new week starts. And it appears to be a busy one. But a good one. You know me, I like to be busy. Nothing really new or startling to make it busy - just the usual training, work, recovery, and hanging out. But still, it will be busy. On Sunday we have the Preston St. bike race. So looking forward to this race. This race brings out all the Ottawa cycling fans and is a great way to spend an afternoon. I'm racing at 2:15 and then I'll be able to relax and cheer on Marc and his team mates at 3:15. If you're looking for something to do on Sunday, I highly recomend making your way down to Preston St. and catching some fine bike racing. Nothing like a criterium to get the blood pumping.

Started reading a new book: Still Alice. Yes, I wrote a few posts back that I was going to save this book for later. But I couldn't resist. I've been wanting to read this novel for so long. Lets just say, it is not disappointing.

Okay, well that is really all I have for now. Current addictions include: carrot/pineapple salad, chicken meat loaf, cottage cheese with frozen banana and chocolate protein powder. Oh, overheated my hand blender on Sunday... My smoothies are too much for the little 250 watt hand blender. So I bought a real blender today. This thing is cool - it is designed for smoothies and drinks - even has a spigot for easy serving of the smoothie. Not sure if my smoothie will fit in the spigot though - I like my smoothies thick. I'll let you know how the new blender works out.

In animal news: we have a skunk under our back step... Yep. Not cool. Last year we had one under our front step and we had it humanely removed (for the cost of $550). This time around we are going to try some other techniques - cayenne pepper and loud noise. Any tips on skunk removal?

Hmm, now I'm really done. I've got the latest issue of the New Yorker magazine waiting for me. So I'm signing off for the night. Oh, cool band to check out: A Brand. They are a Belgian band. They rock. Check them out on Last.fm. Sadly I can't seem to buy their album - silly iTunes doesn't stock it.

Friday Relief

One of those days here today. Quiet. I had anticipated busy but it is not the case. Ah well, kind of nice considering the busy week I've had.

Finished reading Fugitive Pieces last night. Wow - what a book. Loved it. The language is very deep, painting a rich image. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Next up for me is An Imperfect Offering by James Orbinski. This will not be light reading. Rather it will most likely be a struggle at times as I learn about Orbiniski's career with Doctors Without Borders and his views on humanitarian aid. But I believe this is a book that needs to be read. Thanks to my co-worker I've got a stack of novels to read once I'm done with my serious reading. Can't wait to dive into these titles: Still Alice, Remembering the Bones, A Short History of Tractors in the Ukraine, and the Guernesy Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Yes, a wide mix of authors and tones in this stack of books.

Got in some great riding yesterday. Perfect day for it here in Ottawa. Very warm. Did a long ride with a solid block in the middle at an increased effort. Felt nice to be rolling along a bit faster but not putting myself in the hurt zone.

Had a pretty chilled out evening. Marc was out riding when I got in. So I had a smooth meal of leftover chicken meat loaf with a bunch of veggies and tahini. Yes, very similar to my meal on Wednesday... No biggie for me. I love that meat loaf and I think you know how I feel about veggies and tahini. For desert I had a protein-packed treat: 1/2 cup of 0% fat yogurt, a hearty amount of frozen raspberries, and one scoop of Proteins + chocolate protein powder - stir it up and enjoy. In my opinion the key to this dessert is the frozen fruit - when combined with the cottage cheese, I find the cottage cheese takes on an "ice cream like" texture. So good.

The weekend is looking most excellent. Very busy. But excellent. Hitting up the 'cross bike this afternoon for a little spin and then we're off to a tasty supper with my pal from home. Destination tonight is Kwon's. This is a great little Korean BBQ place that we stumbled upon. The owner/chef is super friendly and the food is perfect. Love the kimchi. Saturday will be filled with more riding (road and 'cross). Plan is to hit up some trails in the Gatineau Park with Sheri - should be fun - I really want to give my technical skills a test so this is the place to do it. Then we're off to Marc's sister's place for a family dinner. Nice. Salads - yes, I'm bringing salads (a carrot/pineapple salad (sounds strange but it is good) and a spinach/strawberry/balsamic salad (yes as tasty as it sounds)). And guess what, on Sunday I'll be out riding again - this time back to the Gatineau Park with Skip from Kingsbridge and then in the afternoon some specific skills work on the 'cross bike. Tired yet? I'm getting there just writing this down. Sunday night we are rounding out the weekend with a meal to one of our new finds: La Cabana. This is a Salvadoran restaurant - think meat and more meat with some fried plantains on the side. Hooking up with Sergio to get the low-down from him. Should be good. Goodness, it is a really really good thing I do so much riding - because otherwise it looks like all I would be doing is eating!

What an amazing day it is today. Sitting here looking at the brilliant sky and green grass. Summer is finally on its way. Honestly, if it stays this temperature I'll be quite happy. I'm not so good with the high 20s and low 30s. I feel like I'm melting in the heat.

On the chipmunk front - good news - we haven't seen another one. Though Murphy keeps looking for his little friend!

Well, I best be off. Hope you've got a good weekend planned. I think this Friday might signal the end of the school year? Not sure but if so, this is a signal that summer truly is here. Nothing like two months of freedom!

Just stumbled upon this and thought it would appeal to my readership... Lest you think I hunt around the Internet for such events, I'd like you to know I found out about this scintillating event thanks to Apartment613.