A Completely different November trip

Usually the middle of November means a big training camp in Silver Star, lots of calories consumed and even more burned, living like a monk and waxing new pairs of skis. Well, I have done the traditional nordic skier training camp thing for a few consecutive years that I figured it was time to change things up considerably.

Travelling without any sports equipment is a breeze (and easier on the pocket book). Two backpacks each and we were set (although it did take some convincing to get Mrs. G to condense her carry on). Travelling without having to stress about an upcoming race is somewhat of a rarity for me and this was a welcome treat.

After road bike season finished off, I noticed I still had 5 vacation days remaining for the year (don't know how that happened but I'm not complaining). Again, something that has never happened before. What to do with these five days? People who know me well know that I am a religious deals/points/frugal (my wife will say tight-ass) person. Three years ago, naively, I started collecting Airmiles. Airmiles dictacted my spending patterns and grocery purchases but I never used them for anything. Now was the time.

Let me first say, it is easy to collect airmiles but a pain in the ass to actually get something you want from them. I must have spent six hours on the phone over four days to get flights and a hotel to a destination that was cool and we were both excited to travel to. We started out with Thailand, too short of a trip. Moved onto Peru, didn't have our dates. Vegas, not for me. Looked into All Inclusives in Mexico, Cuba and the Bahama's but we weren't stocked about those. I managed to argue my way up to a senior airmiles booking agent who finally got us our trip.

Quick tip: when calling a help desk or something, press "2" for the French agent. You will probably get connected to an actual person much faster compared to waiting for an "English" agent. All the people at airmiles are bilingual so it makes no difference.

OK, enough about the boring semantics about how we booked the trip. Mrs. G and I decided New York City in November was it. Mrs. G was so excited to go to New York (mainly to relive every episode of "Sex and the City" I think) while I was equally excited to simply soak the city all in. I had been to New York in September 2001 for a short two days and always said I would be back. It was amazing back then but didn't have enough time to do too much. If you must know, I was in New York for a Michael Jackson concert with tickets I bought from a scalper on eBay (I now know why I was single those days). The concert was mind blowing but my first trip to New York was right before September 11th, 2001 and the hotel I stayed in was directly across the street from the World Trade Towers. Freaky. Needless to say, I wanted to go back.

So we get to New York and right right away the cacophony is intense. Getting off the subway in Penn Station with thousands of people all yelling "Bruuuuuce!!!" was what we were greeted with. Once outside and onto the street, we realize there is a Bruce Springsteen concert about to start at MSG. It took us quite a while to find our way out of the massive crowds and walk to our hotel. The subway and the sidewalk was our domain that week. People who drive in New York are nuts. There is no such thing as defensive driving in the city.

Taxis everywhere, pedestrians everywhere, suicidal bike messengers and food delivery guys everywhere. The smells of the street permeate from everything. Horns honking and yelling and fast walking. We love it! This was what we were looking for.

We had a whole week to ourselves. Nothing on the schedule. Just go out and explore. And explore we did.

I can't remeber why the subway was empty when I took this picture. That was the only time where we weren't crammed against the doors.

WTC Construction Site Looking East. Very hard to imagine what stood there before. The firehall is on the right. I got chocked up right away when passing by the wall of names of firefighters and police that died that day.

Wall Street with St. Paul's cathedral right after the 4PM closing bell. Very busy. So cool!

Mrs. G was happy to see the tree at Rockefeller Plaza. Its massive. Like old growth massive. I can't imagine being the driver of the rig that brought that thing to Manhattan.

When I was in NY in 2001 I never saw a G.W. Bush t-shirt vendor. How odd.

NYSE with a Chinese company ad right below the flag. How fitting.

Time Square when we arrived. Our hotel was steps from the Square. Prime tourist real estate!

Lady Liberty from the Staten Island ferry. The best view for the price (the ferry is free). Tip: don't spend any time on Staten Island. Not impressed.

Market research for work. FAO Schwatz Toy store.

I did get some training in...

Renting bikes in Central Park was an awesome spur of the moment idea. I guess we looked honest because I just gave this dude on the street $20 and he handed me two half decent bikes. No credit card, no ID, just here you go, be back in two hours.

Central Park is just amazing.

Colbert is my new favorite guy.

He did the show in one take. Had a Wayne's World type feel to the show. It is taped in a small studio in Hell's Kitchen with a tiny audience of about 70 people. We loved every minute of it.

Just like the Calgary Stampede.

Brooklyn Bridge.

30 Rock.

We were sad to leave but had an great time. Coming home to Kelowna feels like a million miles away from New York. Looking up at the night sky I see a bazillion stars, don't hear any honking horns and have so much space. We will be back though.

First Tracks

I ventured up to Silver Star today and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to ski from the village to the summit quite easily. Rock skis of course.

A rare guest post from Mrs. G.

No, I didn't hijack Cyrus' blog, I was actually surprised when he asked me if I wanted to post something. I guess the pressure is on for a good read. (No promises from me.)

For those of you who don't know Cyrus that well, decisions for him do not come easy. Things must be calculated to the very last detail, no pro nor con is not considered. I often wonder how he ever agreed to marry me, he must not have done all the research ;) So when we both agreed to buy a "new" vehicle the search began. We agreed on most points, I wanted something rugged and sexy that was mechanically sound. His list went on and on and on to say the least. He would find an ad online and get super stoked about it and then somehow talk himself out of it. This was repeated over and over until I was about to lose my mind. Thankfully he came across an ad that caught his eye.

A 1990 Nissan Safari, 6 cylinder diesel, long wheel base with a high roof, JDM for sale by owner. The owner was Jim from Japan now residing in Kamloops with Papa Jim. After many emails and phone calls, the Jim's were nice enough to drive to Kelowna so Cyrus could take a look and a long test drive from what I hear. Unfortunately I was in Calgary working so I missed out but thankfully we planned to go to Kamloops the day I got back. When we arrived at the Jim's, the Safari was still sparkling form the wash. The interior was immaculate, there wasn't a crumb in sight. We were amazed how well it was cared for, no one would ever guess it was a 1990. After taking it for a test drive we both agreed it was what we wanted. We got back to Jim and Jim's and they were so kind to offer us coffee and fresh baked muffins. How nice is that!? We agreed on a price and then had to take care of all the paper work. Talk about stressful trying to buy a vehicle on a Saturday when the banks close at 4:00 and you didn't agree on a price until after 3:00. That was our fault and thank you to the nice lady at RBC for helping us out.

After the paperwork was finished we went back to the Jim's and had a really nice visit. I have to say they were the nicest people and we couldn't have been more fortunate to buy the Safari from them. They sent us home with a bag of muffins and a full tank of gas! Don't worry, I've sent them good karma in return. :) Cyrus and I traded off driving home giving us both a chance to get used to the right hand drive. I have to say that it wasn't as hard as I thought. Just a couple weeks and I know it will feel totally normal. So I guess on future posts you'll be seeing allot more of "Taro" our new addition to the family!

I must conclude on a note that I know Cyrus would have left out. As excited as I am that Taro is now with us, I am quite sad to have to say goodbye to Sapphire the Beetle. Cyrus made fun of it, but I know he loved it too. It was a great car and we'll have to find her a good home. I guess that just how it goes. It's the circle of life in the world of cars.

There he is in all his glory.

Posing on his left, his best side. ;)

The space waiting to haul Cyrus' equipment and my supplies.


For sale. :(

The hills above Kelowna

Lately I have been exploring the upper reaches of the Okanagan valley on my new cross rig and on Cory's spare mountain bike (thanks Cory!). Absolutely amazed at the variety of trails around here and all the stunts built up (not that I would try any) but some are quite impressive.
I rode on my first teeter-totter by accident the other day and had a blast.
Also, I remember why I stopped mountain biking. My technical skills need more fine tuning. A trip through the air and a roll around in the dirt while riding way beyond my ability brought this realization back to me. Won't forget the full finger gloves at home again. My palms got pretty banged up (along with my left ankle, left knee, left hip and chest). It was one of those crashes where in mid air, I was contemplating what I was going to break. I came out in much better shape than I was anticipating.

Going from two wheels to four; I'll start rollerskiing next week. Not exactly looking forward to it but I know I need to get some form of upper body muscle onto my frame soon if I want to be competitive this winter. Speaking of rollerskiing, I stopped by Kelowna Cycle for some random parts and I came away with a set of Skikes. Pat at KC is selling these things but wants to know how they "ride". These things look nuts and I expect to getting even more crazy looky-loos than normal when I am trying out these bad boys. Perhaps I will do I review or something on my blog after some testing.

Pictures...

Not sponsor approved eyeware. Out riding in Penticton on Ironman Sunday trying not to look too racy. Didn't matter as I had a blast riding up to Yellow Lake with the age groupers near the end of their ride.

One of the best roads for riding in Canada. Green Mountain Road just outside of Penticton.

CorFor trying to clean a super sketch uphill section. Its much harder than it looks on camera. He was going to give me a $100 if I cleaned this section. I failed miserably.

Riding the Kettle Valley Railway. Great way to spend Labour Day (note sponsor approved eyeware).

Trestles! First ride on the new CX rig. Very nice! Now this is my type of riding.

Bellview Trestle.

Overlooking Kelowna

Odd shot, eh? According to my Garmin GPS, this hill climbs at a grade of 21%. This hurt with a 42 tooth chainring (single) up front and a 25 tooth gear in the back.
From my door to the top of the KVR in about an hour. 1000m of climbing without respite, no warm up. I love living here!

Trading jerseys

New duds

This weekend was supposed to be pretty standard I guess. Drive to Van, stay with awesome friends, surprise my sister in-law for a b-day party/dinner, head home early, hit the hay and race BC road provincials the next day. The team plan for road provincials for me was to stay conservative and let 'er rip in the last one or two kilometers.
Other than staying with awesome friends and my sister-in-law's birthday going according to plan, not much else did.

Perhaps I'll leave my story of the drive to Vancouver through a hail storm for another day. The quick and dirty version involves hail on the Okanagan connector highway, the most adrenalin I have ever experienced and pulling out three people out of two overturned vehicles.

G and I (and our Beetle) were unscathed and got back into the car and not thirty seconds down the road from where the incidents occurred to find blue sky and clean, dry highways. Another minute down the road we passed a sign I have seen a thousand times but never really paid attention to: "High Mountain Road. Extreme Weather Changes. Be Cautious." (or something to that effect).

The sign speaks the truth.

Saturday was a great B-day party at the Blue Water Cafe in Yaletown for my sister-in-law. I had never been to Yaletown in Vancouver and this is a very hoity-toity area. Quite nice, but I could not see myself hanging out there for extended periods of time. The restaurant was amazing although there was one hitch: it was full on seafood (like really good fresh seafood, not the stuff guys sell out of the back of their refrigerated trucks on long weekend's in the prairies that I am used to). Normally the night before a 140km race, I carb up pretty good with pasta. Not on this night: muscles, clams, crab, sashimi, jelly fish and some things I have no idea what they were. I also did have one oyster (first time ever) and didn't enjoy it because Mr. Bean has ruined my oyster days forever.

I don't like seafood. Mrs. G does.

OK, so with seafood stirring in my belly (odd, but fine) I was set to race road provincials. 140km, 2300m of climbing, all the usual suspects in attendance.

Early on, I was feeling quite comfortable. The pace was fast but the heat is always on for the first 40km in any BC race. I was paying a lot attention to the heavy hitters and didn't give them much of a leash at all. I really didn't want to miss a big move like I have done at a few races this year. Fortunately, 30km in a group of ten of us rolled away from the rest of the pack and we were off.
I was rolling with this group and pushing the pace for a bit then I noticed that this might not be the best of situations for me and my team. In this big move there were four guys from Trek Red Truck, three Garneau Evo riders, Tim from Total Resto, Sebastian from Dizzy Cycles and myself. With four Trek Red Truck riders (all of whom can hold their own pretty well) in this move I was almost resigned to sprinting for table scraps.
I was still pulling through in the break-away but not killing myself in the process. That was what the Red Truck guys were there for. Essentially, I was waiting patiently for them to start attacking and hopefully I would be able to latch onto a good move.
With 40km to go, Rob Britton began the attacking in earnest. The heat was back on. At this point, I could see that a few of my fellow break away companions where showing the effects of a long day in the saddle. Lots of fists to the quads, lots of leg shaking on the downhills, the occasional cramp. I was feeling loose and the legs were still strong. Things were looking up. Another 10km went by with Rob attacking but not getting free. He was getting frustrated I believe. With 26km to go, Rob says to me that he will open up a gap behind me and get the Garneau Evo guys to chase. I almost didn't know what he was saying but 20 seconds later I take a glance back and voila: I had 100m on the group.
The next 26km were intense. I rode on the absolute rivet the entire time. Head down. Turning the pedals over as fast as I could. Thinking circles but pedaling squares. I would hold back slightly on the climbs and really turn things over on the flats. Giving it everything I had, never missing an opportunity to gain a millisecond.
I still can't believe I pulled it off. I won BC Road Provincials. I didn't think it was even a possibility until I was 100m from the line. Right then, the pain and suffering I was feeling completely vanished and was replaced with shock and elation.

Last year I won the Alberta Provincial Road Race in similar fashion and it felt amazing but this felt like another step up. I wore the white, blue and gray jersey with pride. Next year I'll be even more proud to have a setting sun emblazoned across my jersey. Two years, two different provincial championships! Doesn't get much cooler than that. And no, next year I do not plan on moving another province to contest their provincial champs.

I am very proud of this accomplishment. It has been a long time coming. I think I did pretty much everything I could to get to the finish first. I didn't race like a nordic skier on a bike, I raced like a road cyclist with the engine of a nordic skier.

Heading to the line. Rob and Tim are just out of the picture I believe.

I can't believe I pulled that off

Rob, me, Tim Shersty on the podium

Borsch, Sunshine and the Warmest Tree Lined Lake in Canada (?)

When I first visited the Okanagan, I was in awe of the lake and the fact one can just go for a dip without turning blue due to the cold. One of Mrs G's friends crushed my dreams by saying that Lake Okanagan is good but has nothing on Christina Lake. We had the opportunity to check out Christina Lake on the weekend as we stayed at her said friend's cabin. She is a self professed lake snob and I now understand why.

Lake life is the good life.

Christina Lake is about two and a half hours south, south-east of Kelowna right near the border and has trees around it. Not sure why this is important but that is what it said on the sign in the hamlet. Needless to say, I was really looking forward to jumping in and took every opportunity to do so. The water is so clear and so warm! At night, it was warmer in the lake than out. Such a peaceful and relaxing place to spend the weekend. Thanks Heather!

I didn't forget my bike though. I had to acquaint my GPS mapping computer with some new roads! Like I have said before, exploring random roads (and the occasional deer trail on the road bike) is one of my favorite things to do. My Garmin has gotten me into lots of trouble because I always want to see where this road leads to and the tiny map on my screen keeps egging me on. 2 hour rides easily end up being 4 hrs. Anyway, I was out on the TT rig this weekend (I will explain later) so my offroad capabilities where vastly diminished. None the less, I had an amazing ride trying to circumnavigate the lake, heading to the border and eventually climbing Bonanza pass. Ascending a 1100m unrelenting pass on the TT bike wasn't exactly the most comfortable and the descent was worse. I much prefer descending something of that length and grade on my road bike. Coasting at 70km/hr for what felt like an hour (probably 5 minutes) while trying to get out of the aero bars and into the slightly more stable outer "bull horns" was more than slightly nerve racking.

Worthy of "what you missed this morning"?

Paulson Bridge in between Christina Lake and Castelgar on highway 3. I would have liked to have taken my camera out while there but I was in Tron climbing mode on the way up and too scared to stop on the way back down. Photo via Flickr.

The reason I brought my time trial bike was due to the fact I was there a local just for "fun" team time trial held in nearby Grand Forks. That worked out well, timing wise. The crazy thing about this time trial was the length. 86km! More than double the longest TT I have ever done. Could I even sit that long on my TT rig? I was about to find out. This event was super grass-roots and probably one of the most enjoyable of the year for me. Just four guys, riding their bikes hard on a gorgeous deserted valley road. I didn't have a team set up or anything but fortunately the boys from Nelson had an extra spot for me. Unfortunately, none of them had any aero equipment to speak of. I on the other hand had every aerodynamic tool available to the general public at my disposal. This was going to be interesting. In the end, everything worked out great as my teammates were more than content to hang onto my limited draft for the majority of the race giving me respite when I needed to stretch out my back or take on some water. The results were secondary to the time we all had suffering on the bike. I did feel bad for leaving Mrs. G for a couple of hours to explore Grand Forks (this was easily the most spectator unfriendly race/ride out there) but she tells me she managed to amuse herself by checking out a few of the Dukabor garage sales.

Team Nelson plus Cyrus. The cycling community in Canada is really quite small. Scott, to my right, was a teammate of mine on a the ten man corporate team six years ago at the 24 Hours of Adrenalin in Canmore. I knew his face looked familiar.

This trophy was quite fitting for a race in Grand Forks.

Race over and a short drive back to K-town. Kelowna now feels like a booming metropolis compared to the towns of the southern Kootneys.

Looking a few years back: here is a photo I found of the me at that 2003 Canmore 24 hours of Adrenalin. I can't believe I rode the first lap in only my bib shorts!

July 09

Lame title but that is I all I can think of.

OK, I have slacked on the blog once again.

Five years from now, I will look back at this blog and wondering what I did in July 2009. Without and update, I will be at a loss. Alas, I must update.
This July was actually pretty subdued compared to last year as I didn't get married and I didn't move. Wow, Mrs G and I have been married for one year. Awesome! I guess that means I have lived in the Okanagan for one year too. Cool! Actually, I should say, HOT! It has been bloody hot in Kelowna as of late. Luckily, we live right beside a beach so I have been dropping in every night for a quick refresher.
Because there are lots of triathlon geeks in Kelowna, I see lots of guys in full Orca wetsuits getting their swim on. Me being an athlete, I try emulate their technique and show them that I am faster due to my highly developed capillary system. Now, I will say that I used to swim a fair amount when I was younger. I mastered the bubble blowers class on the first day and I got all my Red Cross swim badges without too much trouble. It appears swimming is not like riding a bike because after years of no swimming whatsoever I completely forgot how to swim. I found myself thrashing wildly in the middle (50m from shore) of Lake Okanagan, swallowing copious amounts of water with every attempted breath. I somehow managed to pull a muscle in my hamstring at the same time. I think I need more practice as the tri geeks dismissed me and my odd biker tan.

I have been riding lots and loving almost every minute of it. I say almost because this morning I got my first ticket while riding. I didn't even know the bylaw officer (in his White city of Kelowna Chrysler) was after me until he chased me down two or three blocks. Needless to say, he wasn't happy when I finally stopped. Note: obey all traffic signals even if it is 6:30AM on a deserted road. Bylaw officers are hiding. Not the best start to the day I must say.

Anyway, I'm over that little bit of drama now.

Here are some pictures:

Typical ride for me in Kelowna. Full on exploring mode. 1700m ascent in 90km. 60km gravel. Road slicks. Sketch!

Killer view. The fires in West Kelowna were insane. Never seen anything like that before. Scary.

Tour de Delta Prologue. Way too hard on the brakes. Messed this one up.

Gyro beach. The smoke and fire have made for some unique sky.

Mrs. G and I. She towed me up Knox Mountain with the Beetle that day because I was tired. One year down and many more to come. :)

The view of K-town from Knox. Why did it take me so long to move here?

Full gas on the White Rock Hill Climb but I rode like garbage. I used my upper body more than my legs. Not the fastest way to ride.

White Rock Road Race - Solid. Only a few more races with the Alberta Provincial Champ jersey. Will be sad to let this one go. I think I have done it justice.

Beauce Nationals

Well, I made it to Quebec city via Jean Lesage Airport (incidentally, the airport I have spent the most time in ever!) and both my bikes made it in one piece. Never nice to see how the baggage guys handle these things.

I just rode the time trial and man was that tough. Never felt like I was on top of things and always struggled with the humidity. Totally not used to that. I miss the Okanangan`s dry heat. I left it all out there and came away with a 22nd place. Super impressed with McNeil who managed a 20th place even though he had to stop, get off his bike and fix his rear wheel. Class act!

Lining up for the start.

This guy`s race didnt end well.

Svein destroyed the field once again but being 5 minutes slower than one of the fastest time trialer`s in the world ain`t too shabby I think. Can`t wait for Edmonton next year!

Done after the race. Give me a coke!

Hanging out after the race. No more chamois time.

Podium shot. Nice to see Zack`tree trunk legs`Bell up there.

So long MJ

For me, I already know this will be one of those moments where I will always remember where I was when I heard the news.

I`ll miss you Michael.

Lost that rollerski itch

Cory Forrest prophesied that moving to the Okanagan would cause me rethink my training and racing ambitions. I totally dismissed his musings as I have always had an intense love of skiing and ski training.
Now that it has been almost one year of living in the OK Valley, I can attest to the following:
-I have no desire to put on boots designed for -15C when it is +30C
-I don't feel like strapping on aluminum shafts to said insulated boots
-Racing down crazy hills with stop signs at the bottom without brakes is no longer my cup of tea
-Double poling uphill with slippy pole tips is not my idea of fun anymore
-Ski walking. Um, as appealing as it sounds

I am a cyclist. Yes, this is somewhat due to the late spring/early summer euphoria that I experience every year but now that I am in Canada's cycling epicenter that euphoria is much stronger. An easy ten minute spin from anywhere in Kelowna and I am on a quiet country road, climbing way up out of the valley. Every ride is different and I have so many places to explore (exploring new roads is secretly my favorite thing about cycling). Lately, with some beefy slick tires and crappy wheels, I have been out on the logging roads battling it out with livestock at large and the occasional F350.

I think this heightened exuberance for riding has everything to do with my new locale. I sincerely hope that next year I feel the same way because moving every year would get expensive.

We shall see what happens once October rolls around. Will I be yearning for snow like always? Can't see that changing.

In another unrelated note, I am really quite surprised by the number of people who read this blog. I have been updating the Team HRBK website lately and this has taken some of my creative impetus away from this blog. I need to get back on this blog train because I enjoy adding to it and looking back at old posts. Also, I enjoy reading other peoples blogs (my google reader blog list is excessive as Mrs G will attest) so I might as well give something back. Actually most of the time, I don't even read most of the posts. I just look back at the pictures. On that note:

Exploring the KVR way above K-town

Will Routley putting the hurt down in Enumclaw, Wa.

Crit action below Mt. Rainier

Working in the TT position (closest thing to technique in cycling)

I think I skimmed a pedal right after this picture was taken. Junior move.

Awesome place to stay in Van. LOPN world headquarters.

Glad that race was done with. Westside Classic last weekend. Missed the move.

Random lake in the southern interior. Near Princeton.

T'was my b-day a few days back. Amazing time with my girl. Best resto in the OK here.

Twenty minutes from work, this is where I find myself.

Westside heebeegeebees

To the rider that joined me in my attempt to bridge up to the day's break yesterday, I hope you are OK. All I remember was I flicked my elbow to pull off to the right (we weren't making any ground on the break of 12 on the straight shot slight downhill headwind section) and next thing I know you are on the ground near the ditch.

I asked the medics after the race how you were and they said you had lots of road rash but no fractures. If you happen upon this blog, drop me a comment.

Pass + Pass = Ethical

Nice to open that envelope to see that I passed my Engineering Professional Practice Exam. Another weight removed off my shoulders. I feel lighter already.
The exam wasn't terribly hard or anything; just filled with lots of those annoying multiple choice questions with more than one correct answer where you just have to chose the "best" answer.

Now, more waiting to see if I will actually become a professional. To my reference crew: please be kind.

That is it, not much to say I guess.

Saddle up!

Beach. One block from our house. Quiet now, but in a few weeks, this place will be rockin'

South Okanagan, here I come. Team camp time starting tomorrow! Finally a few days of uninterrupted riding.

Giants Head, Carmi, Apex, Penticton dump, Chute Lake Road, Anarchist, Hawthorn Mountain. All these climbs will be ridden in the coming days. I have a feeling that the 27 tooth gear will get some wear.

I cannot believe how different riding and racing in BC is compared to Alberta. Now, at the end of April, I feel like I have already raced (and driven!) a ton. Spring Series was excellent. The circuit races around Langley easily brought the speed back into my legs and made me realize I need to be more aggressive. Almost every race, I made the selection but I was simply getting attacked by Jamie and Britton. Not fun. Actually, writing it down like that made me realize my mistakes. I think it was Erik Saunders who said it a while back when I read his blog: "Always be attacking!". I don't know, it could be that I am just confusing that with the "Always be closing" adage that Alec Baldwin spouts off in Glengary Ross and this will just lead to me burning my matches in
road races to come.

Start of the crit. Relaxed or nervous?

Walla Walla was also good, better result than last year, but left me wanting more. The biggest plus for me that weekend was having my wife come along. She was awesome; cooking for the entire team and was on bottle duty in the team car during the road stages. I genuinely enjoyed the drive to and from Walla Walla with her as my companion.

Me making faces, Mrs G none the wiser. Don't worry mom; we were safe.

The drive home was interesting as we decided to try a different route off the beaten path and this meant we would travel the whole 7-8hrs home without going through any towns bigger than 10,000 people. Also, it involved a ferry crossing of the Columbia river just up from the Grand Coulee Dam.

The ferry was small. Five cars max!

Mrs G managed to get pulled over by a state trooper while going 105km/hr in a 80 zone. Those highways are SLOW! She is pretty and batted her eye-lashes, so she got away with a warning.
Before the light got too low, I figured it would be a good opportunity to get reading on some Engineering Ethics, Law and all that good stuff for my P.Eng exam. I essentially flipped the pages really fast of my two textbooks (thanks CM) while getting nauseous on the Northern Washington roads.

Pissed off from studying and not absorbing anything.

We arrived home at midnight, I was totally bagged, couldn't remember a thing I just read and was up at 7AM to write my long awaited Professional Practice Exam. Not the best preparation I must say. I find out the results in two months. Yay! During this process, I realized that I lost touch of how to write multiple choice exams. It took almost an hour before it started coming back to me. Being away from the student life for four years can do that I guess. Anyway, I just filled in 'C' most of the time. Should be fine.

SO BUSY!

Oh, yes, I need to update the Team HRBK (sounds like a Hong Kong Bank almost) website. I'll get on that...

Wow, I cannot believe how disjointed that post just was. I will leave it like that because that is just how I roll. Disjointed.

Spring back

Newness is here.

Tomorrow we move to Kelowna from West-Kelowna (or Westbank or the OK Hills, whatever). I'll have to be a diligent athlete once again now that I can no longer rely on an crazy hilly commute (no more climbing 600m in under 17km just to get home).
G and I felt pretty isolated in the boonies surrounded by people many decades older than us. It did have a gorgeous view, was quiet and served us well. We will miss it somewhat.
All I can think of right now is how awesome my new garage is going to be. Oh, ya and it is one block from Gyro beach. Everyone tells me that dark sunglasses are a must when one frequents this locale. Not sure why yet.

With the new George W. Bush daylight savings time change passed us, I cannot believe how fast spring has changed things in the Okanagan. The goft courses are almost green, the roads are being cleaned, the quails are back and the best part is that I don't need to ride with Neoprene booties anymore (or so I thought).

A few weeks back I figured it would be a good idea to go for a long ride solo up the 97C connector. This road starts in Westbank and is an unrelenting 6% steady climb up to Pennask Summit (from 350m elevation to 1728m). Seeing that this is a nice divided highway with a nice shoulder and it was about 5 degrees at lake level, I thought it would be OK up higher; just cloud cover, nothing extreme. Who knows, maybe I would even punch above the clouds the higher I climbed. I was being optimistic.

I will preface this with a couple of facts:
When one is climbing hard on a bike, one generates lots of heat and stays warm. When one is climbing hard on a bike, one tends to ignore their surroundings somewhat.

Well, the higher up I went, the thicker the clouds got. The snow started to appear on the sides of the road at about 900m high. At 1300m I was now riding through snow. I was in full on climbing mode so I simply kept on pedaling. At 1500m I was in a snow storm and I could no longer see farther ahead than 100m. "OK, maybe I should turn around now."
Almost immediately when I cross the highway to begin my descent(carefully!), a snowplow passes me and the driver gives me a very bewildered look. I was very out of place and should have known what I was about to experience next. All the sweat I had built up on the climb instantly turned ice cold. My feet are soaked right through, my face is being plastered with road grit, slush and salt (getting in between my teeth nice and good in the process) and my fingers are beginning seize up as if I am suffering from arthritis. Oh crap. I'm COLD!

Now I have gone xc skiing in -40 (C or F take your pick) and I was comfortable as I was dressed for the occasion. Skiing with huge mitten, goggles, bank robber mask, toque and many layers of clothing is fine. Riding down a snowy mountain pass at 60km/hr with leg and arm warmers, mini gloves and sunglasses at 0 degrees C was infinitely more painful (until I lost at sensation and was numb to the pain). After three kilometers of descending, I willed my fingers to grasp the brake levers. I slowly skimmed off speed and rolled to a stop. Once dismounted, I proceeded to do jumping jacks for 15 minutes until I could feel my appendages. Seeing that I had no cell phone service and no cars where in sight, I again willed my body back onto the bike and proceeded to coast down another three kilometers before repeating the jumping jack process again. Not fun. Eventually, I made it back to where the snow subsided and just dragged my frozen carcass home. I was hurting pretty good and my entire body was now a Popsicle.
Very important lesson learned that day: Do not climb up a mountain pass on a road bike with summer road bike clothing in the winter (even if it is the end of winter). Stupid, stupid me.

Anyhow, no permanent damage was done (except to my ego for having to do jumping jacks for an extended period of time) and the following weekend I was in sunny Vancouver (its sunny in Van, right?) for the first bike races of the year. So much earlier than I'm used to. Usually, the last weekend of March is associated with Mt. Sharkfest ski races. Well, not in southern BC! Spring Series bike races are something I have read about but they always seemed like some sort of myth for those of us in Alberta.
Let me debunk this myth and tell you all that spring series races are real and they are full on!
A few kilometers into Saturday's race along the US border in Langley, I was quite happy to be back in the peleton suffering along side former teammates, new teammates and rivals. All comrades. Its going to be a long season but I'm already looking forward to pinning on that number many more times.

Transition time - earlier than ever

To my legions of followers (mom), I am sorry for not posting in a while. I can attribute this to: lack of blogging motivation, laziness and being busy with other things (work is quite enjoyable these days).
My last ski race of 2008-09 was two weekends ago. It was pretty epic and I will remember it for a long time. It was the slowest 30km event I have ever done (1.47min) but I worked pretty darn hard the whole way. Nordic skiing through 30cm of fresh powder isn't fast.
The day after that ski race, I applied the customary summer protective wax to all my skis and stored them away. I dusted off the road slicks and went out of a 100km ride. So nice and so fast! Just wish it would get warm like everyone in the Okanagan promised it would. I have not experienced double digit temperatures here since November and that is what this place is supposed to be famous for. I'm getting tired of wearing ski clothes for biking.
I'll post more when I have a chance...