Here's wishing this is what après cycling will be like. . .

It was planned, I would cycle to our son's house in Cambridge one day, sleep overnight and cycle back with my daughter-in-law the next day. Clean clothes, etc. were there already. Tuesday was the day - right after lunch I set off, thought I was dressed for the weather but was only a km from home when I decided to go back and get some warmer clothes. I set off again and headed out into only a slight wind . The weather forecast had said that the winds would be getting stronger in the late afternoon. The country roads I cycled were reasonably flat but the winds did pick up so it was hard going especially towards the end. My daughter-in-law passed me at one point and offered to give me a ride but I was determined to make it on my own - she went to pick the kids up from school and came back again just yards from their home. I managed to do the whole distance and pulled into their yard with 37.63 km on the odometre - more tired from cycling into the wind than from the distance. This trip had taken me more than 2 hours - I was chilled right through.

Before I knew it, my daughter-in-law had filled their jacuzzi tub with warm water, added bubble bath, lit some candles, poured a glass of white wine and ordered me to get into the tub. Wow, this was just what I needed - it felt so good I could have stayed there for hours but my stomach was telling me it was time for supper.

I was in bed just after the grandkids went so had a great sleep. Woke up early to a sunny but chilly day on Wednesday....we left right after the kids went off to school and Geri and I headed back to Waterdown, taking the same route from the day before. This time the wind was on our backs. We still had to dress warmly - winter gloves, headband and a few layers of clothes. We were making very good time.... but had stopped because Geri's cell phone was ringing and while I was waiting for her, my cell phone also rang. It was my daughter asking where we were and I told her we were just 10 kms from home and we would be there within half an hour. Since she lives just down the street from us she told me that coffee would be ready and she would put soup on and we could eat lunch as soon as we arrived.

Talk about being spoiled by your kids! I am very blessed. If only this could/would happen on our actual tour this summer - this would be the ultimate!

On Thursday evening I rode off into the sunset on the "Evening Bliss" trail on the ExpressoFitness Bike at the local Y. A mere 7 1/2 km ride followed by weights. It was a day of social committments and when they were over, it was drizzling outside, it was cold and it was easier to go to the Y.

Leaving the "FIFTIES" behind....

Well this week it happened, I turned 60 - others are saying that it is much easier to turn 60 now than it was before because we are turning 60 at a much younger age than they used to - 60 is young to some of you and old to others. I've learned that age is relative - you are only as old as you feel and at times that can be very real... like yesterday when I went out for a ride with 3 other SeatoSea cyclists. I won't name them, but some of you will know who they are. My brother in law, Ed, suggested a 50 km ride - just a few hours in the morning. I was game - one of the cyclists was 18 and the other in her early 20's and Ed is just a few years younger than I am. We started off from Ed's home and we were only a few kms away when my chain fell off - meanwhile the others are way ahead already.... I fixed the chain - it just so happened there was a towel lying beside the road so I could clean my hands off...caught up to the others and off we went again. I could tell very soon that this was no match for me - I just couldn't keep up so I urged them to go on and I would meet them back at my sister's home for lunch. We all arrived back within 5 minutes of each other - I had done a much shorter ride than the others but we all had a good workout. Ed admitted to me that he had a hard time keeping up with the young riders. We will all find our comfort level on the tour and those will be who we ride with.

On Thursday Rita came down/up from Dorchester and we did a 60 km ride up country from Waterdown. Now, we were very compatible - we had a good workout and we had fun - we plan to ride together from Denver to Jersey City.

The total distance cycled in 3 outdoor rides was 130 kms for the week - this along with a spin class and anther session at the Y on their newest bike/trainer was my exercise - needed that to work off the "birthday meals and cake". Good thing birthdays come but once a year.

Today I joined my 9 year old granddaughter for a 21 km ride at her pace - not a real workout until the last little bit when we found a very challenging road with some rolling hills to get the cardio up - we had fun while she tried out her new bike.

The weather in Southern Ontario has been just great for cycling - no excuse for not getting outdoors - it's supposed to change over night so we will see what the new week brings.

Now to keep up the momentum....only 9 weeks till the tour starts. Keep on cycling - keep safe out on the roads.

First Flat...

Well a week has gone by - did get out 4 times for a short ride for a total of 125 kms. An indoor spin class at the beginning of the week plus some weights was my total exercise for the week. The knee discomfort is slowly going away. This week I should up the total kms cycled - the weather is supposed to be great once again for outdoor cycling.

Last Saturday Joe and I were out for a ride up country from here - lonely country roads with some hills for a good workout when we met up with someone we knew who was out rappelling. We stopped to chat with him and all of a sudden a loud pop from my front tire and slowly the air went out of it - a real sinking feeling. Dave offered to drive us home but Joe said he would try to fix it. I had some new tubes with me but there was a cut on the tire as well. My hands stayed clean so guess who changed the tire. I watched closely but don't think I'm ready to do this on my own yet - will have to learn. Joe temporarily fixed the hole in the tire with a piece of paper but I will need to take the tire into the cycle shop to have it either repaired or replaced. We also left home on Saturday without our wallets or cell phone, not a smart thing to do in case we would have needed to call someone - must make a check list for each time we/I go out.

On Sunday lots of cyclists were out enjoying the day - we decided to join our local churches in cleaning up our neighbourhood for Earth Day - it amazing how much garbage surfaces once all the snow is melted.

Now The Serious Training Begins.......

It's time for me to get real serious about training….

It’s the middle of April and the push is on to get some serious training going…..enough of the leisure stuff – the snow is gone so we will put the skis away until next season. We did enjoy 3 days of excellent spring skiing at Mt. Tremblant during the last week of March, after we came home from Florida. We were invited to join some fellow cyclists from the 2005 ride along with one other couple who is doing the 2008 ride as well – it’s interesting how you meet up with people who do the same activities that you do. On the last run down on the third day I did twist my knee and once I arrived home, I needed to see a chiropractor to get it so that I could exercise again. This meant no doing the stairs or walking too far. Cycling isn’t hard on it but getting on and off the bike did cause some pain so he suggested to take it easy for two weeks. He promised to have it better so I could start cycling again by the end of this week. I have been doing the spin classes at the “Y” but at a relaxed level. Skiing was well worth it…..wouldn’t have missed it so will live with the pain and inconvenience. A personal trainer has set me up with some programs for both my upper body and legs so this will also help to get ready. Just over 3 months from now Joe will be bringing me out to Denver to start.

I met up with some of the local cyclists at one of their fund raising events last week and this weekend some others will be making and selling pies so I will try hard to get to that as well. It’s neat to hear what others are doing in regards to fund raising and training. Hopefully in the very near future some of us can get together to do a ride locally.

Last weekend I celebrated my upcoming, big “60” with family and friends – the actual date is not until next week so I can still say I’m 59. It was great to have some fellow cyclists there as well. My children, who sent out the invitation, suggested donations to the ride in lieu of gifts and I will admit that it was an excellent idea.

Monday was a cool day, only got up to 7 so I decided to do a spin class instead of cycling outdoors. Today Joe and I did get out after lunch and we did a 29 km tour up country from where we live. This was my first time outdoors since Florida. The knee held up so maybe tomorrow we will add a few more kilometers. By the end of this week the temperature is supposed to be up to 21 degrees so we should get some long, outdoor rides in. Today’s Hamilton Spectator had an article all about fitness and how we need to make our training plan public so others can hold us accountable – I have encouraged some family members to ask me from time to time how the training is going.

The Hamilton Spectator featured the attached photo last Friday - I thought it was priceless – after this summer’s ride, Joe and I should be able to pull our trailer with our bikes and go on vacation that way so it’s actually our summer vacation 2009. Who knows what the price of gas will be then….we usually head north to Killbear Park so it may take us a week to get there……

Enjoy the training, take it one day at a time, be safe on the roads…..

The H.E.A.R.T Experience

While in Florida, we looked up acquaintances that Joe had met while on a mission trip to Haiti way back in 1988. Art and Suetta were a real inspiration then and over the years we've kep in contact mainly at Christmas time. After Haiti they went back to Florida and just recently moved to Lake Wales which was only an hour drive from where we were staying. We made phone contact and were invited to spend a weekend with them. They live on the campus of Warner Southern College where Art is employed. During a tour of the campus we were taken to the site of H.E.A.R.T (Hunger, Education And Resource Training) and this village simulates many of the aspects of life in a third world country where students learn to adapt to an environment without many of the modern conveniences to which they are accustomed. Many others come here as well before they head out to the mission field so they can get a feel for what it's like to live in third world countries. I will say it is very, very basic living here for them...laundry is done on scrub/wash boards and there is a wringer available if you want to turn it by hand, latrines, very rustic solar powered shower facilites, raised housing with nothing but screens for windows, etc. etc. There was a youth group staying there from Boca Raton the same weekend we were there.....we woke up to frost on the grass the next morning so I hope they stayed warm with no heating in the houses.......there is electricity there but it is used only for cooking meals and for running the computers in the classrooms where they have their classes. College students can earn credits by staying here for 3 months at a time.

Also on this campus was a sculpture called, "Love Essence" which showed Jesus washing Peter's feet. Very meaningful.....a wonderful campus.

Florida Spring Training......

I've noticed that the Florida maps show the Spring Training Sites of all the famous baseball teams.... we didn't check any of them out but we chose our own sites/trails for spring training. The maps also show bike trails and we discovered two of them close to where we were staying that we used for our spring training. The 42 mile Suncoast Trail runs parallel to the Suncoast Freeway, not a quiet, peaceful ride but we did do 75 km on it one day - this is where we met all the cyclists who wanted to do some serious cycling without having to deal with traffic. Storm clouds rolled in on our way back and the last 3 km we did in the rain - oh well, I have to get used to that too. I hope we aren't going to have many rain days on the SeatoSea ride.

On another day we did 78 km on the 29 mile VanFleet Trail - this trail runs through swamp, forest and farmland so was a very enjoyable and peaceful ride. Everything in USA is measured in miles and my flight deck reads in kilometres so therefore the confusion between miles and kms. I was so focused on reaching my goal (had to better the 75 km day) that I did not stop to smile at the 5 foot alligator sunning itself right beside the path. Joe spotted it and called me back to see something so I did turn around and took a look....noticed the mileage mark where it was and on the way back made sure I crossed over to the opposite side of the path. It had moved closer to the edge of the swamp so was not as visible but I did see it again.

Folklore has it that when you see an alligator just laying there, it has just had a meal and the sunshine helps it to digest it's food. Comforting to think that it was not looking for another meal....so would not chase us. No camera with us this day so no picture to prove that we actually saw it. The colour camouflaged it to look just like a log......turtles were also in abundance, some even mating or so it seemed to us...lots of squirrels, salamanders and mosquitos but if you kept moving they didn't bother you.

From our trailer in Thonotosassa, we found country roads that we could take to do some serious cycling on as well. This was all rural with fresh strawberries ready for the picking as well as oranges if you could reach them.....the lower branches had all been picked clean. This was so rural there were no coffee shops, cafes, or variety stores so we had to take all refreshments and food with us. The Florida countryside is flat so it was relatively easy to cycle except the wind could be strong at times. The hills will have to be conquered now that we are back home.

On the day we were doing the Suncoast Trail, we all of a sudden had 3 dogs come out of nowhere and they started chasing us. Joe told me to just go faster and eventually they would get tired. My average that day improved greatly....I think more out of fear than anything else. They didn't give up for a long time and once they did, my heart was pounding. Joe remarked that the puppies would be getting sour milk for lunch because it was obvious that one of the dogs was nursing pups. Not sure what I would sooner have chase me - dogs or an alligator. I carefully watched all twigs lying on the paths in case one would slither away - that would have been my biggest fear...and on the last two days, I did notice them...

Team Adrian, Rita and Margaret got together one day to do the VanFleet Trail. Peter and Joe would be our personal trainers but before we knew it, Adrian had joined them and they took off ahead of Rita and myself. They were carrying the lunches and we knew that if we wanted to eat we would have to go to the end of the trail - sure enough that is where we met up with them, so we landed up doing the whole 58 miles that day which worked out to 95 km. The temperature was in the 70's so a perfect day for cycling.

These bike docks showed up along the trail as well- not sure exactly of their purpose ..they were usually beside the swamp that was covered with a layer of green scum - wouldn't want to try to walk on that water.

In the 14 days that I cycled, I have 705 kms under my butt - time on the other 7 days was spent visiting with friends and family, flea markets, beaches, pools, bingo (and not the Dutch, CRC type) euchre, reading, and being lazy - just an excellent holiday.

On Top of the World

and literally it felt like that....I spent a few days skiing at Whistler last week - there's a run out there called "7th Heaven" and we wondered if this is what heaven could be like or what we would want heaven to be like. Not a cloud in the sky, perfect snow conditions and wonderful friends to share the experience with, what more could you ask for? The only problem was that thousands of others wanted to share this experience with us - it was President's Day in the US and many Canadian students had a reading break. Who says that BC doesn't have beautiful weather? We had temperatures of +17 there and came home to -17 last evening on the way home from the airport. On one of mornings the group decided we should do the "Peak to Creek" run which goes right from the peak of Whistler to the bottom - a mere 11 km. run - an excellent workout for the legs - will this get them in shape for cycling, we'll find that out next week. We took our time coming down enjoying the panoramic view all around us - what an awesome God we have who created this majestic scenery for us to enjoy. We were able to eat lunch outdoors each day - a real treat for us from Ontario who have loads of snow to deal with yet. Skiing is so much easier than cycling - no gears to change, there is only one way to go and that is down. Going up the hill is easy - you sit in a chair and don't have to work at it at all.

Now the serious training has to begin - Florida here we come.....no snow or ice on the roads and hopefully no heavy traffic either. My bike is there waiting for me, I bought a new helmet today and our clothes are packed - we are ready. We are leaving a few days later than originally planned -a friend from church was tragically killed in a work related accident late Thursday and we want to be able to support his wife at the funeral service - shows us again how fragile life is and how it can change instantly.

British Columbia is getting ready for the 2010 Olympics and has erected this beautiful Inukshuk at the top of Whistler - it's visible for miles (km) and is a excellent place to meet up with others. I picked up a piece of paper describing what the symbolism of Inukshuk is - it's an Inuit word meaning "in the image of man" and they are/were built for a variety of purposes. It can serve as a guide post in a barren landscape - a silent messenger showing the correct place. It can also symbolize the value of friendship and can remind us that we are not alone on our journey - others too have walked this path. Probably not sound theology but irregardless it's a unique monument on top of the world.